E.V.O.: Search for Eden: Wayback Wednesday Vol. 31, Part 2

EVO: Search for Eden is a 2D action platforming game developed by Almanic in 1993. For an SNES game, EVO was an innovative game and, even to this day, 33 years later, still deserves attention. While far from perfect, it served as a blueprint for the many evolution games that followed. It is an enjoyable diversion for a long weekend and worth the time for any fan of retro gaming.

The story at its core is quite simple: helping your creature fight off hoards of other competing animals while racking up enough points to become stronger to survive the elements and eventually make it to Eden to mate with Gaia. The story spans a gigantic time frame, about a billion years, and as your animal improves, so does everything surrounding it. The story is split into chapters, and each time you finish a chapter, you are presented with a more overarching story of the planet as told by the earth goddess Gaia.

However, not all is as it seems, and you soon learn of an unseen, powerful force trying to guide evolution for their nefarious gains. You, as a single creature out of billions on the earth, must locate and defeat this unknown antagonist. Furthermore, some crystals start appearing around the world that, when eaten, grant super strength, hence some of the bosses you face throughout the game. It is up to you to set evolution on the proper course so it doesn’t divert into some odd, twisted path. The final stage holds some shocking revelations.

Sadly, the level design, by and large, seems uninspired and, quite frankly, boring. You can usually speed through most levels in a matter of seconds as they are flat, with no obstacles and limited enemies. That is what I did for most levels, stopping from time to time to grind a lot on enemies that provided a bounty of experience. A handful of levels show some promise but, for the most part, level design struck me as lazy. Despite this glaring flaw, transforming your animal, especially without the use of a walkthrough (highly recommended at least on the first playthrough), is highly enjoyable and yields a lot of surprises that are often very nice, though occasionally a letdown.

Common enemies are usually simple, though in the rare chance they are difficult, easy to skip, and the only real challenge is from the bosses. I lost count of how many times I had to face that Queen bee, for example, who must have swallowed hundreds of those crystals because, wow, was she tenacious and resilient. It can be exceptionally frustrating to continuously go down in narrow defeat, but the second you finally win, it is very rewarding. Don’t expect a tutorial-esque first boss either, as the shark you face as the first boss is very hard considering how early he appears.

However, it was around the time I faced the aforementioned bee that I noticed a cheap exploit in the game. By picking a low-cost evolution, perhaps 100 points, and switching between it when health is low, you can regain all of your health. So what many of the later boss battles boil down to is constantly switching between one inexpensive body part.

The music serves as the perfect backdrop for the clear growth and evolution themes. There is always a sense of urgency with a subtle, underlying hope hidden below. The Cave music creates a perfect environment that showcases the constant shift but is also heavy with mystery. The “Coast theme” is perhaps one of my favorite songs, however. It seems to be sending the message of constant advancement, whether the planet and all of its inhabitants like it or not, along with the hardships that come from this rapid evolution, with these slight enigmatic and uncertain feelings. That is the thing with many of the tracks in the levels, everything feels so unsure. The same can be said for the track that plays in many of the levels with dinosaurs, it is so upbeat but at the same time, so esoteric, at least as much as music could be. The boss theme doesn’t hold back and only adds to the stress of a tough battle ahead.

Visually, the world map is basic but functional: move from one dot to another, but it holds a few well-hidden secrets. What I enjoyed most is that, as you progress through the different chapters in the game, the world map also changes, just like in real life. You see Pangea to start the game, and by the end, it resembles the current Earth.

Enemy sprites are impressive and often huge, with cool facial expressions and fluid animation for the time. What is even better, however, is seeing your animal mature and changing appearances.

Speaking of which, you can decide to evolve jaws, horns, body, tail, dorsal fin, hands, and feet, and there are several options, increasing in points according to how effective they are, for each category, but it’s always a surprise and part of the fun of Evo. Sometimes the transformation is a dud, and thus a waste of points, sometimes it is an incredible improvement. It is really a risk you have to take, but no matter what you want, you will have to grind quite a bit for the best animal variations.

Overall, if EVO is looked at as a product of its time, it is easy to appreciate it for the creativity it brings to the table. It is a short game, only taking a few hours, but it is worth checking out and is enjoyable, plus it is cool to see dinosaurs!

Wayback Wednesday Volume 1: Final Fantasy 7 and Chrono Trigger.

Wayback Wednesday Volume 2: Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Wayback Wednesday Volume 3: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete

Wayback Wednesday Volume 4: Secret of Mana and Wild Arms

Wayback Wednesday Volume 5: Illusion of Gaia and Grandia

Wayback Wednesday Volume 6: Breath of Fire 3 and X-Men Legends

Wayback Wednesday Volume 7: Star Ocean: The Second Story and Super Mario RPG

Wayback Wednesday Volume 8: Demon's Crest and Dragon Quest VI

Wayback Wednesday Volume 9: Suikoden I and Jeanne d'Arc

Wayback Wednesday Volume 10: Ranking the first 6 Final Fantasy games

Wayback Wednesday Volume 11: Earthbound and Valkyrie Profile

Wayback Wednesday Volume 12: Legend of Legaia and Secret of Evermore