Evolution (game series)

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evolution
developer Sting
Publisher SNK , Ubisoft
First title Evolution: The World of Sacred Device (1999)
Last title Evolution Worlds (2002)
Platform (s) Dreamcast , Neo Geo Pocket Color , Nintendo GameCube
Genre (s) Computer role playing game

Evolution is a small series of role-playing games released for different systems. The first part, Evolution: The World of Sacred Device , was completed by Sting in 1999 for the Sega Dreamcast . In the same year, the next part, Evolution 2: Far Off Promise, appeared in Japan by the same developer. A year later, an offshoot of the series by SNK was published as Evolution: Eternal Dungeons for the Neo Geo Pocket Color . In 2002, the two parts that existed for Dreamcast were combined into one game and ported to the Nintendo GameCube as Evolution Worlds .

All games have in common the main hero, Mag Launcher, who, together with his partner Linear Cannon and a third, self-chosen member of the group, searches the remains of perished civilizations and ancient ruins in search of artifacts and technologies of bygone ages . Any finds are sold depending on the type and serve to pay off the family's debts, which is one of the goals of the game. The order in which you visit the ruins is up to the player, the story continues between the treasure hunts, while the game itself is largely non-linear . The ruins themselves are mostly generated randomly, only in the second part there are ready-made maps of the area.

You move through the environment in an isometric view, whereby random battles are not possible in the ruins, but rather you can see possible confrontations by opponents running around who attack when touched. The combat system itself is turn-based, and also uses a simple positioning system that demonstrates the position of the opponent and your own figures in relation to one another and enables additional strategic options. The disputes themselves are mainly realized through CyFrames, a technology of a bygone era that exists in various forms and can be used by the characters to use a variety of different types of attack.

Evolution: The World of Sacred Device

The first part of the series (known in Japan as Shinkisekai Evolution ) was published simultaneously in Japanese and English, and was the first traditional role-playing game to be released for Dreamcast. The graphics were strongly anime-oriented and kept entirely in 3D. The completely random game environment as well as the almost complete lack of interaction with other characters and the very conspicuous Engrish in the US and European versions were the main components of most of the reviews, while the complex combat system and the loosely told story as well as the elaborate presentation of the game were praised .

Evolution 2: Far Off Promise

The second part of the series (released in Japan as Shinkisekai Evolution 2 ) was released in Japan the same year as its predecessor, but an English version in the US only a year later, and the European release was a long time coming until 2002, which makes it one of the last games released for Dreamcast in Europe.

Compared to the first part, this time there was real interaction between the characters and the environment, and almost every conversation was spoken (the Japanese voices were also retained in the English-language versions and were only subtitled). The combat system has been supplemented by new options and life in the dungeons, which are now largely no longer randomly generated, have been made easier by game aids.

Evolution Worlds

The summary of the two Dreamcast titles for the Nintendo GameCube appeared in 2002 as one of the first RPG titles for this system in Japan and the USA, and a year later in Europe. In order to be able to publish both parts on only one data carrier, cuts were made in the first part and in the course of this the background story was slightly changed, which, like the completely reintroduced random system for the dungeon generation, led to criticism from the fans. For this, the dialogues, which were originally set to Japanese, have now been re-recorded in English. Otherwise it is a direct implementation of the Dreamcast models.

Evolution: Eternal Dungeons

The offshoot for the Neo Geo Pocket Color, which was released in 2000 by SNK in Japan (known there as Shinkisekai Evolution: Hateshinai Dungeon ) and Europe, tells a slightly different story than the Dreamcast version, but all backgrounds and characters are identical. Instead of a 3D environment, the player now sees his environment in a top-down view, but the principle of the always visible opponent was retained, as was the combat system and the random dungeons.

From a collector's point of view, this module is the rarest English-language module (an estimated 900 modules still in existence) available for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. The original number of modules of 5,000 did not go on sale in full, but was part of the recall campaign following the bankruptcy of SNK. English modules that were returned to the manufacturer in the course of this campaign were reflashed with the Japanese version of the game and offered to the still active trade there with this console. In the revival of the console, which took place from 2003 by Aruze , this game was not included, unlike others, so that no new modules came into circulation.

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