Sunday, March 8, 2015

E.V.O. Search for Eden for Super NES (1993)


Original ad published in the May 1993 of Electronic Gaming Monthly (no. 46)

Read below for the full HD version of the file.

Evolution is a grind


One of the weirder games published by Enix, E.V.O. Search for Eden (1993) is an action-platformer with some RPG elements sought after by many a gamer. This cartridge, available exclusively for the Super NES, is by far the most expensive Retro Gaming Art has ever encountered.

E.V.O. Search for Eden is based  on the Japanese title 46 Okunen Monogatari: The Shinka Ron, released in Japan for the PC-9801 home computer. It was developed by now defunct Almanic Corporation, who had some profesional ties with the designer of the fantastic and very popular ActRaiser, released for the Super NES in 1991.

This game takes the era-jumping mechanics of ActRaiser to a whole different level. In E.V.O., you must gain points to slowly transform your living creature from a basic organism to a fearsome predator to man. This is done in an action-platforming fashion by gaining points every time you kill some other beast. Very slowly, you’ll evolve into a higher being. Now what’s interesting is that you can choose which parts of your body to evolve. A horn? A tail? A horned tail? It all comes down to your personal darwinian preference.  

Check out some cool variations of different evolutions in the game



The music was not bad, but in fact very repetitive. The graphics were quaint. You would never expect to fetch an astounding 3350 US dollars for a NIB copy. But the gameplay I described above makes it incredibly unique amongst Super NES games. The only comparable game I can think of is the very recent Spore (2008)



The box-art of E.V.O. is copied verbatim to the print-ad you see here. It’s not bad, but leaves quite a bit of interpretation to the potential buyer. You get various representations of prehistoric beings but zero information about the intricate level-up design and, curiously, no game screen at all. Looks more like a poster you’d buy at the Smithsonian than a video game ad. 





E.V.O. Search for Eden for Super NES print ad copy


E.V.O. Search for Eden

The power is yours!

Now for your SNES comes the new and exciting multi-change feature found only in our newest release, E.V.O.! 

You can create almost any creature your imagination can conjure up.

How about some hideous freak of nature who looks suspiciously like your sister?

Who cares? With 12 megs full of adventure, you’ll have over 65 separate levels to perfect your creation skills.

With E.V.O., the power is yours!

ENIX AMERICA CORPORATION


As matter of fact, we are so interested in the creatures you create, we would like you ti take a photo of your favourite creation and send it to: Enix America Corp 2679 151st Place N.E., Redmond, WA 56052, ATTN: EVO contest. On the back of your photo please include your return address and choice of the following games: ActRaiser, SoulBlazer, Dragon Warrior III and Dragon Warrior IV. One game will be awarded to each winner. There will be five winners drawn each month. Contest ends 9/30/93. All entries must be received before September 30, 1993. 


No comments:

Post a Comment

Leave a comment!