E. V. O.: Search for Eden

Overview

EVO: The search for Eden takes you back to the beginning of evolution on the planet Earth. As the player you get to control one of many different creatures created by Gaia,
the daughter of Sol the Sun. As the story progresses, you will learn that evolution on this planet is being toyed at by an unknown force. This force has begun to alter creatures using crystals to make them stronger and more likely to dominate the emerging web of flora and fauna. As you struggle to survive and evolve you will come to understand that to have a place in by Gaia’s side you must solve the mystery of who is interfering with the evolution of this planets life forms.

The game is a fusion of side-scrolling and RPG gameplay elements. The player defeat enemies by biting, stomping, and eating them to collect EVO points which serve to fuel the character development and evolution.

Ages

Each chapter in the game proceeds to a different "age," each corresponding with a major change in the morphology of the player-character. They proceeded as follows, with the dominant "species" of the character in parentheses:

Chapter 1: The World Before Land ( Fish)

In this stage, the player assume the body of an aquatic creature and fight in order to earn the right to leave the water.

Chapter 2: Early Creatures of Land (Amphibian)

The player evolves once more, growing legs and becoming a reptile.

Chapter 3: Age of Dinosaurs ( Dinosaur)

In this stage the player will be able to evolve into a dinosaur. There is also a chance to evolve into a bird if the player choose to jump off a cliff from the top of Mount Brave.

Chapter 4: Ice Age (Mammal)

The player is able to unlock a Human body in this era if a cat jaw and a rabbit body already have been evolved. The Ramophitecus body must also be evolved at least 2 to 3 times in order to become Human.

Chapter 5: Early Man (mammal continued, eventually human)

The player is stuck in whatever form he or she chose to evolve into.
The final clue to the mystery of the strange crystals is found in this chapter...

Each age contains an over world map with several stages to be played. Previously finished levels can be revisited in order to gain more EVO points, as well as occasionally backtracking allowing for extra exposition in the story.

Evolution

As previously stated, evolution proceeds in two different ways over the course of the game. At the beginning of each age, the player changes drastically to a new form, becoming rather weak. Over the process of each age, defeated enemies drop " meat" which can be eaten to regain health and gain EVO points. These EVO points can be spent to upgrade various parts of the body, with each part having several options to choose from. Each potential evolution has a required amount of EVO points to purchase, and is gained immediately when points are spent.

Body parts that can be evolved include:

Jaws
Horns
Neck
Body
Hands and Feet
Dorsal Fin
Tail
Back of the Head

Upgrades to each of these body parts give a variety of changes to the abilities of the player, from attack damage to health and defense.Each time that a large, story-related evolution is reached, however, all minor evolutions are lost and new ones must be purchased. The evolutions do not follow any set order,leading to the situation whereby the player can choose to upgrade any part of the body to deal with any threat or problem.

Sales and critical reception

The game was not released to much fanfare, but has generally been recognized as a work of high quality.
Its fusion of side-scrolling and RPG gameplay was too repetitive for some, as players who enjoy the side-scrolling genre may not have been interested in the amount of character development normally associated with an RPG. Those willing to endure the occasional grind, however, appreciate the game's unique subject matter and use of evolution as a gamplay device.

blog	Joystick Tuggers - BC Racers and E.V.O.: Search for Eden	sirdesmond
blog	Where I Read - Nintendo Power #50	Count_Zero
trivia	In E.V.O.: Search for Eden for the SNES, ...	Vaeran
trivia	Which is not a creature you can evolve ...	MrCrushin
trivia	In "E.V.O.: Search for Eden," how many EVO ...	MrCrushin

Game Name	E. V. O.: Search for Eden
Platform(s)	SNES
Publisher(s)	Enix Corporation
Developer(s)	Almanic Corp.
Genres	Add a new genre Action-Adventure Platformer
Themes	Add a new theme Alternate Historical Prehistoric
Original US Release	need a fuzzy date?
Original US Release	July 1993 know the real date?
Aliases	EVO: The Search for Eden

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