That was a really enjoyable video, thank you for making it! There's a lot to take in, but I got to say that you covered a lot of the things I've always felt really strongly about Evergrace... The lore and the story, thank you so very much for wrapping it up succinctly in what took me a year to comprehend and translate LOL. The frustration in unravelling the layers, yet the surprise and joy in figuring things out, and realizing how the themes of the game can really hit home personally - it's like a microcosm of the Fromsoftware experience. The "coordinate RPG" description that Fromsoftware gave Evergrace, I've always wondered if it meant cooperation as in the two protagonists, or coordinate as in the wasei-eigo term for fashionable outfits. Either way, it works well in the describing the game. There's still a lot unknown yet about the world of Evergrace, such as the untranslated light novel or the first half the manga, but bits of it do confirm the things you say as well. One case in point, that Darius's father is also a Crest bearer (though it's hidden on his back and most do not know of it), it certainly didn't help him out in the case of being assassinated. Although, to say that his parents couldn't do much about Darius's ostracization depends on which adaptation you check out - the light novel details that his parents loved and sheltered him quite a lot, which matches up with his description of having a sheltered childhood in Forever Kingdom and being a liiittle bit spoiled in the manga. Either way, the bit about Sharline being the most formative and influential relationship in lil' Darius's life is... So true..... So true..... I myself could make a hour and a half long video essay on that. I already do it on Twitter weekly. Ahh, I have so much more to say regarding the gameplay, like the puzzles that plagued my experiences, and that I felt upgrading the luck stat is great when it comes to farming Palmira pieces or getting rare armor. Or that Sharline's voice acting is so damn dopey it loops back to being charming... If you divorce her from the somberness of the world Evergrace was trying to portray. I'm not sure if chalking it up to her not recognizing Darius at the Coliseum is because he looked so incredibly different (though I would also not recognize baby Darius all grown up and wearing naked suspenders), since the novel has her recognize him very quickly... But like you said, the game and the novel are really quite different things, and I appreciate that the analysis had a good balance on both with a proper lean to the game itself. There's just too much to say. At the end of my ramble though, thanks for including my content into it, it felt so good to see someone quote the soundtrack's inside commentary regarding the development of Evergrace PS1/PS2. And I felt honoured to see my manga scans and bits of my translations there as well, they were all a work of love and help from my friends... And also I got a jumpscare seeing my fanart in there too LOL but ALSO THANKS FOR SAYING MY NAME RIGHT and I'm really happy to have known that my work was seen by others and and and JUST IT'S A GOOD VIDEO, THANK YOU
on tumblr there are a few posts I see going around about how sometimes all it takes to keep a fandom alive is one very dedicated person, and EVERY time I see those posts I inevitably think of Evergrace's one and only big name fan mariopartylover10
@@gregorysteffensen3279 Thank you, it makes me really, really happy to hear that! I've met many fans along the way, just like Lvl Jake, and I am sure this lovely video has sparked more fans. So I am sure the EG community will be alive for many years to come!
So that's why Dark Souls 2 Majula felt so nostalgic the very first time I went there. It's ripped right out of this game's aesthetic. Now I wish more people had a chance to play this for the pure reason that it's an important step in the development of what would become Souls-like. Every element is here, it's just... raw. There's something that the review just doesn't bring across and that's how utterly surreal, dreamlike and alien the experience playing this game is. Most fantasy worlds have some relatable elements, but here, you're as lost as your character, and just as clueless. You really have been teleported to a strange, ruined land.
The craziest thing is I had completely forgot about this game, and then just randomly remembered what the name was. I googled it, and then found this video only to find out it’s a FROMSOFTWARE title. As we speak I’m working my way thru Elden Ring rn. Back in the day when I was in elementary school I never got to finish this game because it was too hard. Finishing Elden Ring is now going to feel like I’m getting that closure from not finishing EVERGRACE. Thank you for this video it really helped with laying that childhood bucket list to complete this game to rest.
"To validate my, claim I've poured over every major and minor detail possible, analyzing in-game dialogue, in cutscenes, game manuals, archived websites, strategy guides, and a fan translation of one of the official novelizations." Well alright then. Now you have my attention, Jake.
It's painfully obvious that your brand now is to make deeply empathetic videos on obscure and maligned games. You give these games the love they deserve for trying to be something that most people couldn't appreciate them for. Can't wait for your next masterpiece.
Love this, I'm a cynic so thought it was gonna be sarcasm at the end of the paragraph 🤔😂 Evergrace was sick loved it as a kid but I'm here becuase evergrace is 3d kings field or SoulsBorne Edit; I do look for evergrace content regularly and this is new/ I've just started Elden ring this week and was wondering if it relates
From this to Elden Ring. You can totally see the transition but it's still amazing to see how this company changed and yet still remained true to what it was.
The house blowing up at the start of Sharline's story gets me every time. The story here is actually much better then I thought when it's all pieced together, dope vid!
Happy two years to this wonderful video, LvlJake :) I’m still doing my best translating the light novel (halfway there!) and the two-part manga is going to be complete very soon. So excited! I hope that your video continues to enlighten people on why Evergrace is so special ❤🎉
Evergrace is one of those games that is both haunting, calming in terms of soundtrack and environment and at times, goofy seeing how it's one of those early 2000s game. A lot of characters, Darius and Sharlene have that early 2000s anime/video game design which gives off this early medieval/nomadic look. The soundtrack of this game gives this haunting and yet enchanting feel as both Darius and Sharlene are exploring the remains of a fallen empire within a wide and hidden autumn forest. In fact, Evergrace is one of those games that has that autumn feel due to the character designs and the level design of the game. The story itself can be both dark and yet tragic due to what both Darius and Sharlene experienced in their lives. Darius being hated by his village due to him being born with a crest and his only friend was Sharlene, who was kicked out of her family's hunting group due to a dispute. Both of their lives have changed for the worse when a neighboring village destroyed their home due to rising tensions that Darius' father was trying to find a middle ground too. Morpheus may come off as a silly one note villain whose evil for the sake of being evil, but he wasn't always like this. He was once a respected scientist of the Rieubane Empire who lost his sanity after he lost his granddaughter. His obsession with trying to end the cycle which has plague the Continent of Edinbury led to him destroying the Empire who once looked up to him. But the presentation of the story in the actual game came off as a bit goofy due to the limited character expressions, laughable voice acting and soundtrack being a bit goofy at times. But Evergrace is a game that was released during the early 2000s and it was one of the first games for the PS2 as the graphics were very limited.
I have watched this video 3 times over the past week, and even though I’ve never played the game, many of the points made still apply to many other low budget, flawed, or even freeware/self-published RPGs I’ve played. The world has plenty of picture perfect masterpiece RPGs but I really like to hear stories of games that almost had all the elements to be great but faltered somewhere in the writing and gameplay systems for whatever reason be it financial, lack of development skill, or just not having enough time to sort it all out. I’m glad to see you continue making videos like this because sometimes we learn to appreciate games a lot more when we see the good and the bad, but still see the pure love of the craft the developers put into it. Sharing these stories that only a few people will ever hear is proof of the passion many gamers and RPG fans have at their core, to express themselves, meet new people, and improve their craft whatever field it may be in. Doesn’t matter if it’s a big company like FromSoft or a person playing tabletop or writing stories in their bedroom, these sort of genuine efforts really resonate because those flaws are all too understandable, but they also show that if you keep going the finished result with resonate with some people even if it’s just a relatively small group.
This is an incredibly aritculate and endearing take, it's comments like this that make the work I put in worthwhile. Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to share your thoughts!! I hope you see you again for the next one!
I found your channel through your Quest64 analysis, and while I’ve never actually played Evergrace, I really like your style. There’s too much random and shallow negativity when it comes to game critique on RUclips. It’s so much more enjoyable to me when I see someone weigh the good with the bad without pandering for cheap clicks. Thanks for this upload.
man, thanks for that! I didn't understand much of the story at all, and i'm currently reviewing this game, i'll be sure to put a link to your video for whoever is intersted in an in depth analysis of the story!
I've had this game sitting in my PS2 backlog for a few years now, I played Darius's quest for about two hours and while I did enjoy it, I couldn't shake the vibe that it felt like a PSone game... nice to have that validated xD Flaws aside, though, there really is something special here, and I'm glad not only that it managed to resonate with a surprising number of people, but also that you managed to put together such an impressive and in-depth analysis video on every facet of it. I'm so glad I watched this before diving into the game, I feel like I'll appreciate it all the more now! :D
I had the weirdest nostalgia for this game. I remember when I first played I kept dropping the game but the atmosphere and music kept pulling me back. Playing it again recently I really got a lot more appreciation for this game.
Obscure games are really important to talk about. There is often a lot of value in obscure games and it’s unfortunate that these games rarely get the attention they deserve. I always appreciate videos about games I’ve never heard of, and have been largely forgotten, and as a result I greatly enjoyed this video! For how much has been said about the recent FromSoft games, I’m shocked at how infrequently their older games get attention. Once again, this is an excellent video about a vastly important topic
I completely agree. I really hope to see more obscure and less well-recieved games recieve more attention in the future too, especially FromSoft games since so many are worthy of a deeper analysis. Thank you so much for your kind words and support im so glad you liked the video!!!
Man, what an amazing video!! You had to of done tons of research to make this. But, I'm so glad you did. You perfectly told the story of this game, to many people who probably would have never known about it. Thanks so much for the hard work!
38:16 there anywhere I can find that artbook online? that concept art looks really interesting. I found the english manual but it doesn't have all those characters.
Here you go, it's from the official Japanese guide book. www.google.com/search?q=evergrace+ps2+japanese+strategy+guide&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwi-nIb8j_f7AhVXyMkDHe4_AXwQ2-cCegQIABAC&oq=evergrace+ps2+japanese+strategy+guide&gs_lcp=ChJtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1pbWcQAzIFCCEQqwI6BQgAEKIEOgIIKVCnBFiUI2DlJmgAcAB4AIABlQGIAccJkgEEMC4xMJgBAKABAcABAQ&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-img&ei=E7eYY_7GD9eQp84P7v-E4Ac&bih=724&biw=412&client=ms-android-verizon#imgrc=kWtCrmhQ_vBEZM
Just realized a game that you might enjoy looking into eventually: Threads of Fate, since it was similar at least in the 2 different storylines that connect, albeit it's less serious in nature, not to mention the designs are much more Squaresoft's common trait that you'd see at the time
@@LvlJake Maybe it's just the non linear nature of Evergrace's story as you explain it, but Threads of Fate would probably still be easier even though there are issues of reconciling the two stories as a single thread versus alternate histories almost, since there are points where it'd be difficult to reconcile events. Sometimes Mint is doing something that Rue would do and in some cases, the events basically branch off anyway, like at the Lake Temple scene with Prima Doll and Doll Master.
I was randomly recommended this video, and having never heard of the game before, I set to watching a playthrough to experience it myself. Now I'm back here to get the context that was missing. I knew the translation was bad from the mismatches between the text and spoken dialogue, but where it really hammered it in was towards the end where they mention Sienna having just told them something that she straight up didn't say. I looked up a fan translation in the hopes that someone did it better, but only found the light novel. So thanks for this!
Wow thank you for posting this, I had already pieced together the story but it's nice to see a video for everyone else. Maybe you could do the prequel Forever Kingdom someday?
hosnap I got the bell on but still didn't see a new lvl jake video, which is a momentous occasion looking forward to working thru this one over the next few days!
Excellent video, didn't quite convince me to play the game but damn, the story is very interesting, it's just a shame the game didn't communicate it well enough. When you mentioned magical trees being involved in the story, I immediately thought of Elden Ring, it's interesting to see elements in FROM's earlier games being present in later ones, even if they weren't entirely intentional. I hope they cook something interesting and unique that isn't a souls game next, Shadow of the Erdtree just came out and I'm both excited and hopeful for their future.
There should have been unique gameplay elements for playing as Darius since he has the crest, then before the final fight against Krysalis and Trandin reveal that during Darius’ story Sharline has been given the AI Crest by Morpheus, then make the it important for some reason that in the final fight the combatants all have crests.
I bought this game way back when it first came out and this was a spooky game because of the story everything seemed either dead gone or turned into monsters with only a few people left and it’s all because of evil Morphius 😭 good game
So underated. The algorithm shud of lead me here already but I’m glad I at least found this channel now. As someone who blindly loves the atmosphere of the game and enjoys playing it simply because of that mixed with nostalgia, I can say watching this had added so much context and weight to the in game interactions. So moved by this
I haven't seen this video yet but I've been very interested in Evergrace as of late. I recently got a PS2 and I'm thinking of playing it. I haven't seen another longform review for this game so I'm excited, it's as if this video was made for me, what with the timing and all.
I remember getting this mostly because of the cover: plus I only learned this year it had a "prequel" that never made it into English. Never even finished Evergrace, sadly, I think both stories got to a point I gave up, mostly because one dungeon seems to have lava floors that would almost insta kill by draining your health super fast.
The prequel made it into English but they changed the name from Evergrace 2 as it was released in Japan to Forever Kingdom for it's NA release. The insta killing is incredible frustrating I don't blame you for calling it quits
@@LvlJake That's right, which only made it more confusing, but it's also exceptionally rare. Not sure how much my copy of Evergrace is worth, though I've stagnated on sales for my games as it is after a slight boon for a month or so in August or September. Also not great at 3D action games, esp. since I seem to recall the combo aspects were weird, plus the female character was meant to be more ranged and that made the difficulty go up because she was squishy to boot
I remember playing it but I think it was at the beginning of the girl's quest where there sorts of octopus enemies that killed me damn fast. The lava section sounds awful. Any suggestions if another try makes sense? I hate it when knowing there might be a unfair part that cannot be skipped or even cheated that holds me back from exploring the game. Time Stalkers on Dreamcast comes to my mind. The follow up to the famous Landstalker on MegaDrive/Genesis had not really something in common and had an instant death dungeon with undead enemies. On death, start the whole dungeon again. And the level system was flawed as you only leveled up in a dungeon starting from scratch everytime again while enemies went on to be more difficult instead
@@JanoyCresvaZero Yes, but TimeStalkers only seemed to have the name borrowed. Didn't LandStalker also had very difficult parts which were nearly impossible to clear without a guide giving hints?
I absolutely love the ominous and though people probably won’t agree with me on this, but the incompleteness-ish of the story, the lore. It gives off an approach that the story is much deeper, still yet to be understood, something that can be built on some more later. The game is still very much exciting, well, at least to me. I hope fromsoft can maybe revisit this game again
In an alternate timeline this became Drakengard 1 and Evergrace was a Yoko Taro's game. They are kinda similar in many ways, though Taro's writting is definitely more raw.
this is probably a "too late" comment, but what is the song you used around 22 minutes? I was so sure it was from evergrace, but I can't for the life of me find it in the tracks. Is it from armored core?
I still remember i bought first forever kingdom and i enjoyed pretty inch of it and later on found out it is a sequal to evergrace which by chance i stop by and buy it. Both are underrated Action RPG.
This video is AMAZING, this game is seriously a hidden gem and it makes me feel cozy hearing other people explain the story since it’s so hard to understand honestly on your own
@@LvlJake of course bro, subscribed! And it is a total hidden gem for sure, especially the music! I remember being scared when I was a kid playing this game lol, I got it for $5 at my video game rental store and I’m SO glad I got it!! Watching this video inspired me to find my copy and I legit miraculously found it !! I looked through my whole room over and over haha! 😂
@@shockincj3597 Dude for real same though, the game is kind of scary at times especially with the soundtrack it's crazy. I'm so glad you found it cheap and picked it up lmao
@@LvlJake it is bro !!! I got to the first trandin encounter/boss fight and died and then never got past that when I was a kid.. I got to replay it sometime and try to beat the whole game !! I legit just made a created character of Darius in Soul Calibur 6, imma make a character of Sharline too !
Where did you find those screenshots of the PS1 version of Evergrace? This video is the only place I've seen them, and I was trying to track them down to show to a friend.
This plot, the marks that distinguish chosen ones but only certain marked ones actually being capable of doing anything, the cycles, people trying to transcend the cycles and failing, etc, is all SUPER Souls-like. It's interesting how despite how...overall kinda crummy a lot of From's older games really were, the spirit of those games really live on in their newer and more polished ones.
Really enjoyed this vid. I've never played Evergrace but have listened to the soundtrack multiple times and always thought the art direction and color scheme was interesting. I appreciated the breakdown on the issues with the game as well as detailing what it does well! I found the story explanation very beautiful, and it's a shame the game itself doesn't convey it well.
Thank you so much!! I think we're all keeping our fingers crossed for a very unlikely remake, but it certainly deserves it. If not, at least for another title in the series.
Amongst other things, the brief dialogue with young Darius at the end of the Shadow Tower confirms that Darius' crest activated and transported Sharline to the Palmira world. Its just another way that proves that yes, Darius and Sharline have been connected since Darius' youth, that Darius was a child when the event occured, and that time works differently within the Palmira world. It's really interesting to get to that point if you don't have any other material that gives insight into Darius' youth, and I'm glad they added it in regardless even if it's a pain in the ass to get to.
@@LvlJake I really love that they added it in for the end of Shadow Tower, and then the translation words it in the most obtuse way 🥲 My heart hurt a little when I learned little baby Darius says “Give my big sis back!” in Japanese...
I already loved your Quest 64 / Holy Magic Century series. So great to see you deep dive into games that are overshadowed by flaws and therefore it is harder to find more information about it. Would be great to see you go into other games, maybe Aidyn Chronicles on N64, the Shadow Hearts trilogy on PS2 or both Baten Kaitos titles for Gamecube. Lots of story, still lesser known.
I loved playing this back when it first came out, I had no idea what was going on and it was kinda hard so I never finished it. All these years later I got my old ps2 and still had no idea what was going on lol so thank you so much for this video!
It was very difficult for me too when I played it on it's release, it wasn't until many years later I managed to finish it and many, many more to understand it lmao. Thank you so much for watching!!
What is the music playing 15 mins into the video? I heard it before but can't remember the name. It's an unreleased track from the soundtrack of the game but which one? Its really peaceful. Thanks fir a great analysis of a great game
If this is the track you're looking for its from Forever Kingdom, the prequel to Evergrace. I've got a video on it as well, but here is the link to the track. Thanks so much for watching and asking!! ruclips.net/video/8WiDKfCgFgE/видео.html
the tracks you used were the Ost Versions which was different from what was used in-game. other than that great review. and i can tell you worked hard on this. i learned so much more. i love this game
Bro I owned the original back in the day. As a child I didn't know what to do where to go but I knew how RPGs worked so I would just sat there in Grand levels. I was level 6 before I even knew what to do to leave the first area 🤣 this is my experience back then, would love another go someday!
I have listened to the OST for maybe...four years now, and explored the aesthetics of the game as another measure of immersion in the music. As you stressed throughout the video, the challenge is piecing it all together into a single cohesive expression. It makes a little more sense now, and I think the core is in the cyclical nature of things, death and rebirth. This theme hits close to my heart..."Phoenix" is my favorite manga for that reason. Elysia Crampton's music often sounds similar to Hoshino's, that pan-ethnic, organic sound. Listen to her songs "Dreaming", "Elysian Dream" and "Oscollo", for example--highly, HIGHLY recommended.
Very rarely have I come across other music like "Evergrace", and for anyone interested, here is what I know: Evergrace II (some songs from which feature in this video), Yoichiro Yoshikawa ("Khypoz", "Nettai gunchou zu i"...), Soejima Takuma ("Fallout of Sky", other songs from Bouquet), Indus Bonze (異法 GQOM and other "gorge" or "hard drum" tracks), Dither ("8'05"), and Kemialliset Ystävät (the album "Alas rattoisaa virtaa"). Shoot me a comment to remind me and I may think of more.
Something I think is so funny to relate to your thoughts on the voice acting: When Trandon is defeated and he calls out out for his mother but instead of saying "mommy" he says "mom-my" as in "mom my dog ate my homework". You weren't kidding when the VAs were given no context what their characters where doing or how they were feeling.
I knew there was a plot. I never understood any of it when I first played it. But this game has dug in and clings deep in my mind. I knew about the "cut away" state of the world but nothing else.
Word of advice for downloading _Evergrace Novel Translations_ doc after doing my own quick tests (pages 1-7) with calibre's e-book viewer, LibreOffice Writer, and SumatraPDF... I recommend the docx or pdf format for how closely they resemble the online Google Doc. The former's bookmarks are mostly broken (yet mostly readable in calibre's e-book viewer), but the latter doesn't even have any. 🤷🏿♂ Next best thing is the html (web page) format, which is like a page-less forum scroll, but nearly an exact replicate besides that (just gonna have an "images" folder too instead of a single file). The ePub format's image alignments are a bit thrown off, but it's not _too_ bad. Just less "clean". The bookmarks work fine, though. 😅Large images will stretch past the margins in SumatraPDF, btw. I don't recommend the odt format at all. 😿 It's 217 pages. Have fun.
@@mariopartylover10 just noticed something the "Evergrace (Novelization, ENG Translation)" page on The Way Back Machine has problems with its epub file... it's got no images and each page is condensed to a single paragraph :x the pdf file seems fine, though
@@questioningespecialy9107 I think it might work better if you get the EPUB file from the Google Drive document. Sorry about that! I hope i can one day improve the novelization translations.
Do you think you might do the Shadow Hearts series? The series has a much different approach than lots of other RPGs. Especially part 1 and 2 might be interesting, different endings, lots of lore,...
@@LvlJake Definitely. I think the overall series got better ratings than Evergrace or Holy Magic Century and are popular among critics and fans despite being not that well known. They have things in common with the titles names: Unusual settings (in this case areas, usage of horror, western and japanese mythology influenced , unique battle system, beautiful soundtrack,...). And as well like Evergrace starting as Ps2 title starting with development on PS1 and even having a prequel on PS1 with 'Koudelka'.
Considering how this was part of a trio of launch titles by FROM, I don't mind the bad VA so much. But its kind of odd that AC 2 had the best VA out of the 3, Maybe AGETECH was under a time crunch and they put more resources into AC2 since they figured more people in the west would be interested in the mecha action game, then the FPS dungeon crawler, and JRPG. Which is kinda sad, since Ever Graces story and concepts are really novel to me. I also really appreciated how much research you put into looking up the artists driving the audio and visual style here. PS: Every time "Crest" and "Billiana" is mentioned; I think "Crest industries" and "Balena". Its like how there is a resistance group in the original AC called "Dark Soul".
I wish I could watch this video, but I still haven't played the game. I wanted to play it for like 5+ years, mostly because its style is appealing to me and I'm the kind of guy who can tolerate bad gameplay if the game delivers on other aspects... but yeah, reception has been really bad for a launch title. But it even has a prequel! It must be good in some ways! New years resolution: I'll play Evergrace in 2022 (maybe even the prequel)! Now that's a resolution probably noone else has :D
I found evergrace very difficult to play, it takes hours to figure out where to go in evergrace, and what you need to do to progress. The fucking speed shoes were insane though.
Having watched this now, I wonder if ArmsFort "Spirit of Mother Will" in ACFA is a reference to this. Also the having watch footage of the JP version, I can tell the Japanese voice acting is at least appropriate lol. And yeah great video!
Great video thanks for the explanation, i just got a cuestion, how fit the sequel here cause i know about it but i remember that game just was sold on japan and never was translated, anybody got an idea
@@LvlJake thanksfor that information, i don't know that i'm gonna watch it, that's why evergrace 2 is a japan exclusive in the rest of world got other name
I played this game on the ps2 (jeez did you just say 20 years???). Never finished it, there was no guide. Even when i tried to play the game again years later there was no help or guides online. Even the Wikipedia at the time was like a paragraph long and unfinished. I’ll always have this connection with this game mainly for to nostalgia
This game is honestly begging for a remake. Keep the same soundtrack, maybe compose even more tracks and make them dynamic so they change with cutscenes and combat, re-record voice lines and fix the localization issues, expand on the story more to make things feel more cohesive etc.
A game does not have to be objectively good to be liked. My favorite game is not the best game ever, but it harmonizes with my likes. Subjective opinions are neither right or wrong. ❤ Also, too bad we don't have a From Software Legacy collection.
this is one of the best and most interesting FromSoftware games ever made. I know it has a lot of flaws and problems but all FromSoftware games did - I think that this one is one of their most special and unique titles, even to this day. And I definitely think that the Souls fanboys should probably play this game, along with Echo Nights, Armored Core, and King's Field/Shadow Tower (And Enchanted Arms!!) It'd help them understand the studios output better than anything else.
I played this game when I was like 8 i and had nooooo idea wtf was happening. It was really difficult too. And until I watched this I had no idea it was fromsoftware but now it all makes sense
Never understood this game. So I decided to give a try, I got the game, setup emulator on my pc and started to play. After a very looong gameplay I managed to beat the game. It's a very cool game but still I don't understand what's the game is about
Evergrace truly needs a remake with a better translation. its such an interesting game with beautiful characters, environments and music, it deserves a second chance 😭
Me too, you can definitely see how where they overlap with each other especially in the games environment and some of the nomadic inspired elements. It's funny to see some people joke around calling it Evergrace 3 lol
That was a really enjoyable video, thank you for making it! There's a lot to take in, but I got to say that you covered a lot of the things I've always felt really strongly about Evergrace... The lore and the story, thank you so very much for wrapping it up succinctly in what took me a year to comprehend and translate LOL. The frustration in unravelling the layers, yet the surprise and joy in figuring things out, and realizing how the themes of the game can really hit home personally - it's like a microcosm of the Fromsoftware experience.
The "coordinate RPG" description that Fromsoftware gave Evergrace, I've always wondered if it meant cooperation as in the two protagonists, or coordinate as in the wasei-eigo term for fashionable outfits. Either way, it works well in the describing the game. There's still a lot unknown yet about the world of Evergrace, such as the untranslated light novel or the first half the manga, but bits of it do confirm the things you say as well. One case in point, that Darius's father is also a Crest bearer (though it's hidden on his back and most do not know of it), it certainly didn't help him out in the case of being assassinated. Although, to say that his parents couldn't do much about Darius's ostracization depends on which adaptation you check out - the light novel details that his parents loved and sheltered him quite a lot, which matches up with his description of having a sheltered childhood in Forever Kingdom and being a liiittle bit spoiled in the manga. Either way, the bit about Sharline being the most formative and influential relationship in lil' Darius's life is... So true..... So true..... I myself could make a hour and a half long video essay on that. I already do it on Twitter weekly.
Ahh, I have so much more to say regarding the gameplay, like the puzzles that plagued my experiences, and that I felt upgrading the luck stat is great when it comes to farming Palmira pieces or getting rare armor. Or that Sharline's voice acting is so damn dopey it loops back to being charming... If you divorce her from the somberness of the world Evergrace was trying to portray. I'm not sure if chalking it up to her not recognizing Darius at the Coliseum is because he looked so incredibly different (though I would also not recognize baby Darius all grown up and wearing naked suspenders), since the novel has her recognize him very quickly... But like you said, the game and the novel are really quite different things, and I appreciate that the analysis had a good balance on both with a proper lean to the game itself.
There's just too much to say. At the end of my ramble though, thanks for including my content into it, it felt so good to see someone quote the soundtrack's inside commentary regarding the development of Evergrace PS1/PS2. And I felt honoured to see my manga scans and bits of my translations there as well, they were all a work of love and help from my friends... And also I got a jumpscare seeing my fanart in there too LOL but ALSO THANKS FOR SAYING MY NAME RIGHT and I'm really happy to have known that my work was seen by others and and and JUST IT'S A GOOD VIDEO, THANK YOU
^yes !!!! I came to literally gush in a similar manner lol
on tumblr there are a few posts I see going around about how sometimes all it takes to keep a fandom alive is one very dedicated person, and EVERY time I see those posts I inevitably think of Evergrace's one and only big name fan mariopartylover10
@@gregorysteffensen3279 Thank you, it makes me really, really happy to hear that! I've met many fans along the way, just like Lvl Jake, and I am sure this lovely video has sparked more fans. So I am sure the EG community will be alive for many years to come!
Thank you for honoring Evergrace. It is one of my all time favorites
Thank you for taking the time to watch!!
nah bruh Morpheus's line delivery saved some of those scenes, fr you can tell the VA really made the best of that role.
I agree, you know his VA had a blast
So that's why Dark Souls 2 Majula felt so nostalgic the very first time I went there. It's ripped right out of this game's aesthetic. Now I wish more people had a chance to play this for the pure reason that it's an important step in the development of what would become Souls-like. Every element is here, it's just... raw. There's something that the review just doesn't bring across and that's how utterly surreal, dreamlike and alien the experience playing this game is. Most fantasy worlds have some relatable elements, but here, you're as lost as your character, and just as clueless. You really have been teleported to a strange, ruined land.
While I would like to note I do go over what you're talking about in the gameplay section, I completely agree
The craziest thing is I had completely forgot about this game, and then just randomly remembered what the name was. I googled it, and then found this video only to find out it’s a FROMSOFTWARE title. As we speak I’m working my way thru Elden Ring rn. Back in the day when I was in elementary school I never got to finish this game because it was too hard. Finishing Elden Ring is now going to feel like I’m getting that closure from not finishing EVERGRACE. Thank you for this video it really helped with laying that childhood bucket list to complete this game to rest.
Absolutely, and thank you for watching!!
It's wild how much of this game world reminds me of the Lands Between. The golden leaves, the ruins, the giant trees.
"To validate my, claim I've poured over every major and minor detail possible, analyzing in-game dialogue, in cutscenes, game manuals, archived websites, strategy guides, and a fan translation of one of the official novelizations."
Well alright then. Now you have my attention, Jake.
Now this is a great Evergrace video 🤩 Its actually so insightful. I had no clue the Palmira were crystalized Billiana fruits.
Thank you so much Treeky!!
It's painfully obvious that your brand now is to make deeply empathetic videos on obscure and maligned games. You give these games the love they deserve for trying to be something that most people couldn't appreciate them for. Can't wait for your next masterpiece.
Thank you Daniel this comment had so much heart to it I appreciate you so much!!
Love this, I'm a cynic so thought it was gonna be sarcasm at the end of the paragraph 🤔😂
Evergrace was sick loved it as a kid but I'm here becuase evergrace is 3d kings field or SoulsBorne
Edit; I do look for evergrace content regularly and this is new/ I've just started Elden ring this week and was wondering if it relates
From this to Elden Ring. You can totally see the transition but it's still amazing to see how this company changed and yet still remained true to what it was.
Well said!
The house blowing up at the start of Sharline's story gets me every time.
The story here is actually much better then I thought when it's all pieced together, dope vid!
Same here 😂 Thank you so much!!!
Honestly, the artstyle holds up pretty well.
Happy two years to this wonderful video, LvlJake :) I’m still doing my best translating the light novel (halfway there!) and the two-part manga is going to be complete very soon. So excited! I hope that your video continues to enlighten people on why Evergrace is so special ❤🎉
I can't wait!! Thank you for all your hard work for the community 🥺
Disappears for almost a year and returns with this epic! Bravo! Return of the king! 😁
You're too kind!! Thank you so much!!!
Evergrace is one of those games that is both haunting, calming in terms of soundtrack and environment and at times, goofy seeing how it's one of those early 2000s game. A lot of characters, Darius and Sharlene have that early 2000s anime/video game design which gives off this early medieval/nomadic look. The soundtrack of this game gives this haunting and yet enchanting feel as both Darius and Sharlene are exploring the remains of a fallen empire within a wide and hidden autumn forest. In fact, Evergrace is one of those games that has that autumn feel due to the character designs and the level design of the game. The story itself can be both dark and yet tragic due to what both Darius and Sharlene experienced in their lives. Darius being hated by his village due to him being born with a crest and his only friend was Sharlene, who was kicked out of her family's hunting group due to a dispute. Both of their lives have changed for the worse when a neighboring village destroyed their home due to rising tensions that Darius' father was trying to find a middle ground too. Morpheus may come off as a silly one note villain whose evil for the sake of being evil, but he wasn't always like this. He was once a respected scientist of the Rieubane Empire who lost his sanity after he lost his granddaughter. His obsession with trying to end the cycle which has plague the Continent of Edinbury led to him destroying the Empire who once looked up to him. But the presentation of the story in the actual game came off as a bit goofy due to the limited character expressions, laughable voice acting and soundtrack being a bit goofy at times. But Evergrace is a game that was released during the early 2000s and it was one of the first games for the PS2 as the graphics were very limited.
so happy this video exists
I have watched this video 3 times over the past week, and even though I’ve never played the game, many of the points made still apply to many other low budget, flawed, or even freeware/self-published RPGs I’ve played. The world has plenty of picture perfect masterpiece RPGs but I really like to hear stories of games that almost had all the elements to be great but faltered somewhere in the writing and gameplay systems for whatever reason be it financial, lack of development skill, or just not having enough time to sort it all out. I’m glad to see you continue making videos like this because sometimes we learn to appreciate games a lot more when we see the good and the bad, but still see the pure love of the craft the developers put into it. Sharing these stories that only a few people will ever hear is proof of the passion many gamers and RPG fans have at their core, to express themselves, meet new people, and improve their craft whatever field it may be in. Doesn’t matter if it’s a big company like FromSoft or a person playing tabletop or writing stories in their bedroom, these sort of genuine efforts really resonate because those flaws are all too understandable, but they also show that if you keep going the finished result with resonate with some people even if it’s just a relatively small group.
This is an incredibly aritculate and endearing take, it's comments like this that make the work I put in worthwhile. Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to share your thoughts!! I hope you see you again for the next one!
I found your channel through your Quest64 analysis, and while I’ve never actually played Evergrace, I really like your style. There’s too much random and shallow negativity when it comes to game critique on RUclips. It’s so much more enjoyable to me when I see someone weigh the good with the bad without pandering for cheap clicks. Thanks for this upload.
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this thoughtful comment, I could not agree more!!!
man, thanks for that! I didn't understand much of the story at all, and i'm currently reviewing this game, i'll be sure to put a link to your video for whoever is intersted in an in depth analysis of the story!
I've had this game sitting in my PS2 backlog for a few years now, I played Darius's quest for about two hours and while I did enjoy it, I couldn't shake the vibe that it felt like a PSone game... nice to have that validated xD
Flaws aside, though, there really is something special here, and I'm glad not only that it managed to resonate with a surprising number of people, but also that you managed to put together such an impressive and in-depth analysis video on every facet of it. I'm so glad I watched this before diving into the game, I feel like I'll appreciate it all the more now! :D
Another great video from one of my favorite niche channels. Thanks for introducing me to this game.
Your channel is fantastic thank you for giving Evergrace a quality upload.
Thank you so much!!!
I had the weirdest nostalgia for this game. I remember when I first played I kept dropping the game but the atmosphere and music kept pulling me back.
Playing it again recently I really got a lot more appreciation for this game.
Obscure games are really important to talk about. There is often a lot of value in obscure games and it’s unfortunate that these games rarely get the attention they deserve. I always appreciate videos about games I’ve never heard of, and have been largely forgotten, and as a result I greatly enjoyed this video! For how much has been said about the recent FromSoft games, I’m shocked at how infrequently their older games get attention. Once again, this is an excellent video about a vastly important topic
I completely agree. I really hope to see more obscure and less well-recieved games recieve more attention in the future too, especially FromSoft games since so many are worthy of a deeper analysis. Thank you so much for your kind words and support im so glad you liked the video!!!
Man, what an amazing video!! You had to of done tons of research to make this. But, I'm so glad you did. You perfectly told the story of this game, to many people who probably would have never known about it. Thanks so much for the hard work!
Thank you so much this was such a kind comment!!! I'm so glad you liked it!!
The music hits me deep in a weird way like a fever dream and memories of playing it when I was 9 feel the same way.
38:16 there anywhere I can find that artbook online? that concept art looks really interesting. I found the english manual but it doesn't have all those characters.
Here you go, it's from the official Japanese guide book.
www.google.com/search?q=evergrace+ps2+japanese+strategy+guide&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwi-nIb8j_f7AhVXyMkDHe4_AXwQ2-cCegQIABAC&oq=evergrace+ps2+japanese+strategy+guide&gs_lcp=ChJtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1pbWcQAzIFCCEQqwI6BQgAEKIEOgIIKVCnBFiUI2DlJmgAcAB4AIABlQGIAccJkgEEMC4xMJgBAKABAcABAQ&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-img&ei=E7eYY_7GD9eQp84P7v-E4Ac&bih=724&biw=412&client=ms-android-verizon#imgrc=kWtCrmhQ_vBEZM
Good seeing you again. Watching now.
What the actual fuck. This story goes so hard. I have to go read the novelization now.
Just realized a game that you might enjoy looking into eventually: Threads of Fate, since it was similar at least in the 2 different storylines that connect, albeit it's less serious in nature, not to mention the designs are much more Squaresoft's common trait that you'd see at the time
I love threads of fate!
@@LvlJake Maybe it's just the non linear nature of Evergrace's story as you explain it, but Threads of Fate would probably still be easier even though there are issues of reconciling the two stories as a single thread versus alternate histories almost, since there are points where it'd be difficult to reconcile events.
Sometimes Mint is doing something that Rue would do and in some cases, the events basically branch off anyway, like at the Lake Temple scene with Prima Doll and Doll Master.
I was randomly recommended this video, and having never heard of the game before, I set to watching a playthrough to experience it myself. Now I'm back here to get the context that was missing. I knew the translation was bad from the mismatches between the text and spoken dialogue, but where it really hammered it in was towards the end where they mention Sienna having just told them something that she straight up didn't say. I looked up a fan translation in the hopes that someone did it better, but only found the light novel. So thanks for this!
No problem, it can be a truly frustrating experience
Great job, gamer!
You got the video uploaded in time!
Excellent video to make us appreciate art and evolution of FromSoftware! I missed their old games
Wow thank you for posting this, I had already pieced together the story but it's nice to see a video for everyone else. Maybe you could do the prequel Forever Kingdom someday?
That's what I'm working on right now, it will be out In February!!
@@LvlJake You're an absolute legend.
@@thunderweirdo Thank you so much!!!!!
hosnap I got the bell on but still didn't see a new lvl jake video, which is a momentous occasion
looking forward to working thru this one over the next few days!
I am starting to see people starting to post videos on Ever grace, that's actually pretty cool.
Excellent video, didn't quite convince me to play the game but damn, the story is very interesting, it's just a shame the game didn't communicate it well enough.
When you mentioned magical trees being involved in the story, I immediately thought of Elden Ring, it's interesting to see elements in FROM's earlier games being present in later ones, even if they weren't entirely intentional.
I hope they cook something interesting and unique that isn't a souls game next, Shadow of the Erdtree just came out and I'm both excited and hopeful for their future.
There should have been unique gameplay elements for playing as Darius since he has the crest, then before the final fight against Krysalis and Trandin reveal that during Darius’ story Sharline has been given the AI Crest by Morpheus, then make the it important for some reason that in the final fight the combatants all have crests.
I could definitely see this
I bought this game way back when it first came out and this was a spooky game because of the story everything seemed either dead gone or turned into monsters with only a few people left and it’s all because of evil Morphius 😭 good game
It was definitely creepy to me when I was young too!!
So underated. The algorithm shud of lead me here already but I’m glad I at least found this channel now. As someone who blindly loves the atmosphere of the game and enjoys playing it simply because of that mixed with nostalgia, I can say watching this had added so much context and weight to the in game interactions. So moved by this
Thank you so much I'm so glad you liked it!!!
I haven't seen this video yet but I've been very interested in Evergrace as of late. I recently got a PS2 and I'm thinking of playing it. I haven't seen another longform review for this game so I'm excited, it's as if this video was made for me, what with the timing and all.
I remember getting this mostly because of the cover: plus I only learned this year it had a "prequel" that never made it into English.
Never even finished Evergrace, sadly, I think both stories got to a point I gave up, mostly because one dungeon seems to have lava floors that would almost insta kill by draining your health super fast.
The prequel made it into English but they changed the name from Evergrace 2 as it was released in Japan to Forever Kingdom for it's NA release. The insta killing is incredible frustrating I don't blame you for calling it quits
@@LvlJake That's right, which only made it more confusing, but it's also exceptionally rare. Not sure how much my copy of Evergrace is worth, though I've stagnated on sales for my games as it is after a slight boon for a month or so in August or September.
Also not great at 3D action games, esp. since I seem to recall the combo aspects were weird, plus the female character was meant to be more ranged and that made the difficulty go up because she was squishy to boot
I remember playing it but I think it was at the beginning of the girl's quest where there sorts of octopus enemies that killed me damn fast. The lava section sounds awful. Any suggestions if another try makes sense?
I hate it when knowing there might be a unfair part that cannot be skipped or even cheated that holds me back from exploring the game.
Time Stalkers on Dreamcast comes to my mind. The follow up to the famous Landstalker on MegaDrive/Genesis had not really something in common and had an instant death dungeon with undead enemies. On death, start the whole dungeon again.
And the level system was flawed as you only leveled up in a dungeon starting from scratch everytime again while enemies went on to be more difficult instead
@@thelostmotel209
God I loved LandStalker.
@@JanoyCresvaZero Yes, but TimeStalkers only seemed to have the name borrowed. Didn't LandStalker also had very difficult parts which were nearly impossible to clear without a guide giving hints?
I had this game on launch and had always enjoyed playing the first hour, but I could never progress. Thank you for this retrospective!
Thanks for taking the time to watch! It definitely isn't an easy game to get through, but it's very interesting.
I absolutely love the ominous and though people probably won’t agree with me on this, but the incompleteness-ish of the story, the lore. It gives off an approach that the story is much deeper, still yet to be understood, something that can be built on some more later. The game is still very much exciting, well, at least to me. I hope fromsoft can maybe revisit this game again
In an alternate timeline this became Drakengard 1 and Evergrace was a Yoko Taro's game. They are kinda similar in many ways, though Taro's writting is definitely more raw.
Based comment
Thank for that awesome video! What song is playing at 29:30 ?
Kadishu Town from Lost Kingdoms 2 🙂
Thank you so much for watching!!
this is probably a "too late" comment, but what is the song you used around 22 minutes? I was so sure it was from evergrace, but I can't for the life of me find it in the tracks. Is it from armored core?
I got you king, I'm pretty sure it's Forever Kingdom and one of the last tracks of the game I just don't remember which one. Maybe Staff roll?
I still remember i bought first forever kingdom and i enjoyed pretty inch of it and later on found out it is a sequal to evergrace which by chance i stop by and buy it. Both are underrated Action RPG.
This video is AMAZING, this game is seriously a hidden gem and it makes me feel cozy hearing other people explain the story since it’s so hard to understand honestly on your own
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment. I totally agree it's a hidden gem, it deserves more credit for what it is.
@@LvlJake of course bro, subscribed! And it is a total hidden gem for sure, especially the music! I remember being scared when I was a kid playing this game lol, I got it for $5 at my video game rental store and I’m SO glad I got it!! Watching this video inspired me to find my copy and I legit miraculously found it !! I looked through my whole room over and over haha! 😂
@@shockincj3597 Dude for real same though, the game is kind of scary at times especially with the soundtrack it's crazy. I'm so glad you found it cheap and picked it up lmao
@@LvlJake it is bro !!! I got to the first trandin encounter/boss fight and died and then never got past that when I was a kid.. I got to replay it sometime and try to beat the whole game !! I legit just made a created character of Darius in Soul Calibur 6, imma make a character of Sharline too !
Where did you find those screenshots of the PS1 version of Evergrace? This video is the only place I've seen them, and I was trying to track them down to show to a friend.
archive.thegia.com/psx2/everg/evergmedia2.html
These aren't great quality but if I ever find anything better I'll post them in a reply
This plot, the marks that distinguish chosen ones but only certain marked ones actually being capable of doing anything, the cycles, people trying to transcend the cycles and failing, etc, is all SUPER Souls-like. It's interesting how despite how...overall kinda crummy a lot of From's older games really were, the spirit of those games really live on in their newer and more polished ones.
Great video, good enough for me to watch in one sitting!
Really enjoyed this vid. I've never played Evergrace but have listened to the soundtrack multiple times and always thought the art direction and color scheme was interesting. I appreciated the breakdown on the issues with the game as well as detailing what it does well! I found the story explanation very beautiful, and it's a shame the game itself doesn't convey it well.
Thank you so much!! I think we're all keeping our fingers crossed for a very unlikely remake, but it certainly deserves it. If not, at least for another title in the series.
What theory does the Shadow tower confirm?
Amongst other things, the brief dialogue with young Darius at the end of the Shadow Tower confirms that Darius' crest activated and transported Sharline to the Palmira world. Its just another way that proves that yes, Darius and Sharline have been connected since Darius' youth, that Darius was a child when the event occured, and that time works differently within the Palmira world.
It's really interesting to get to that point if you don't have any other material that gives insight into Darius' youth, and I'm glad they added it in regardless even if it's a pain in the ass to get to.
@@LvlJake I really love that they added it in for the end of Shadow Tower, and then the translation words it in the most obtuse way 🥲 My heart hurt a little when I learned little baby Darius says “Give my big sis back!” in Japanese...
I already loved your Quest 64 / Holy Magic Century series. So great to see you deep dive into games that are overshadowed by flaws and therefore it is harder to find more information about it.
Would be great to see you go into other games, maybe Aidyn Chronicles on N64, the Shadow Hearts trilogy on PS2 or both Baten Kaitos titles for Gamecube. Lots of story, still lesser known.
I would love to go through those, especially aidyn chronicles and batten Kaitos!!
Bouta start playin this game again, I'll listen to this while i do
Absolutely love the intro music to this game
I loved playing this back when it first came out, I had no idea what was going on and it was kinda hard so I never finished it. All these years later I got my old ps2 and still had no idea what was going on lol so thank you so much for this video!
It was very difficult for me too when I played it on it's release, it wasn't until many years later I managed to finish it and many, many more to understand it lmao. Thank you so much for watching!!
What is the music playing 15 mins into the video? I heard it before but can't remember the name. It's an unreleased track from the soundtrack of the game but which one? Its really peaceful. Thanks fir a great analysis of a great game
If this is the track you're looking for its from Forever Kingdom, the prequel to Evergrace. I've got a video on it as well, but here is the link to the track. Thanks so much for watching and asking!!
ruclips.net/video/8WiDKfCgFgE/видео.html
the tracks you used were the Ost Versions which was different from what was used in-game. other than that great review. and i can tell you worked hard on this. i learned so much more. i love this game
Thank you for your kind words!!
Bro I owned the original back in the day. As a child I didn't know what to do where to go but I knew how RPGs worked so I would just sat there in Grand levels. I was level 6 before I even knew what to do to leave the first area 🤣 this is my experience back then, would love another go someday!
This ost is one of my favorite albums.
This is an interesting game due to the Tetsuya Nomura like artwork and the customization of armor like armored core.
I have listened to the OST for maybe...four years now, and explored the aesthetics of the game as another measure of immersion in the music. As you stressed throughout the video, the challenge is piecing it all together into a single cohesive expression. It makes a little more sense now, and I think the core is in the cyclical nature of things, death and rebirth. This theme hits close to my heart..."Phoenix" is my favorite manga for that reason. Elysia Crampton's music often sounds similar to Hoshino's, that pan-ethnic, organic sound. Listen to her songs "Dreaming", "Elysian Dream" and "Oscollo", for example--highly, HIGHLY recommended.
Very rarely have I come across other music like "Evergrace", and for anyone interested, here is what I know: Evergrace II (some songs from which feature in this video), Yoichiro Yoshikawa ("Khypoz", "Nettai gunchou zu i"...), Soejima Takuma ("Fallout of Sky", other songs from Bouquet), Indus Bonze (異法 GQOM and other "gorge" or "hard drum" tracks), Dither ("8'05"), and Kemialliset Ystävät (the album "Alas rattoisaa virtaa"). Shoot me a comment to remind me and I may think of more.
Oh hell yes thanks for the recommendations I'm going to listen to these ASAP
Something I think is so funny to relate to your thoughts on the voice acting: When Trandon is defeated and he calls out out for his mother but instead of saying "mommy" he says "mom-my" as in "mom my dog ate my homework". You weren't kidding when the VAs were given no context what their characters where doing or how they were feeling.
Excellent point!
Thanks for making this video
I knew there was a plot. I never understood any of it when I first played it. But this game has dug in and clings deep in my mind. I knew about the "cut away" state of the world but nothing else.
They definitely don't make it easy to understand at all so I don't blame you
I remember getting this game at a yard sale. I was so bad I clearly recall never getting past the first shop.
Word of advice for downloading _Evergrace Novel Translations_ doc after doing my own quick tests (pages 1-7) with calibre's e-book viewer, LibreOffice Writer, and SumatraPDF...
I recommend the docx or pdf format for how closely they resemble the online Google Doc. The former's bookmarks are mostly broken (yet mostly readable in calibre's e-book viewer), but the latter doesn't even have any. 🤷🏿♂
Next best thing is the html (web page) format, which is like a page-less forum scroll, but nearly an exact replicate besides that (just gonna have an "images" folder too instead of a single file).
The ePub format's image alignments are a bit thrown off, but it's not _too_ bad. Just less "clean". The bookmarks work fine, though. 😅Large images will stretch past the margins in SumatraPDF, btw.
I don't recommend the odt format at all. 😿
It's 217 pages. Have fun.
I await the day someone just prints out all 217 pages and makes their own book.
@@mariopartylover10 just noticed something
the "Evergrace (Novelization, ENG Translation)" page on The Way Back Machine has problems with its epub file... it's got no images and each page is condensed to a single paragraph :x
the pdf file seems fine, though
@@questioningespecialy9107 I think it might work better if you get the EPUB file from the Google Drive document. Sorry about that! I hope i can one day improve the novelization translations.
Do you think you might do the Shadow Hearts series? The series has a much different approach than lots of other RPGs. Especially part 1 and 2 might be interesting, different endings, lots of lore,...
I've never played a Shadow Hearts other than maybe 10 minutes of covenant, you definitely have me intrigued though
@@LvlJake Definitely. I think the overall series got better ratings than Evergrace or Holy Magic Century and are popular among critics and fans despite being not that well known.
They have things in common with the titles names: Unusual settings (in this case areas, usage of horror, western and japanese mythology influenced , unique battle system, beautiful soundtrack,...).
And as well like Evergrace starting as Ps2 title starting with development on PS1 and even having a prequel on PS1 with 'Koudelka'.
Considering how this was part of a trio of launch titles by FROM, I don't mind the bad VA so much. But its kind of odd that AC 2 had the best VA out of the 3, Maybe AGETECH was under a time crunch and they put more resources into AC2 since they figured more people in the west would be interested in the mecha action game, then the FPS dungeon crawler, and JRPG. Which is kinda sad, since Ever Graces story and concepts are really novel to me.
I also really appreciated how much research you put into looking up the artists driving the audio and visual style here.
PS: Every time "Crest" and "Billiana" is mentioned; I think "Crest industries" and "Balena". Its like how there is a resistance group in the original AC called "Dark Soul".
Thank you very much!
I wish I could watch this video, but I still haven't played the game. I wanted to play it for like 5+ years, mostly because its style is appealing to me and I'm the kind of guy who can tolerate bad gameplay if the game delivers on other aspects... but yeah, reception has been really bad for a launch title. But it even has a prequel! It must be good in some ways!
New years resolution: I'll play Evergrace in 2022 (maybe even the prequel)! Now that's a resolution probably noone else has :D
Hey, we can share resolution if you don't mind, I'm very interested in this game as well!
@@NegiWhite Sure, we can share a resolution :D
Why didn't you play it yet
Holy cow, what a great video
Ahhhh thank you I know it's really long and wordy but I'm glad you enjoyed it!!
I never understood this game as a kid. I wish I could play it again..
I only remember the main characters and the curse. And the absolute perfect OST
I hope you get the chance to play again in the future. The OST is truly incredible
I found evergrace very difficult to play, it takes hours to figure out where to go in evergrace, and what you need to do to progress. The fucking speed shoes were insane though.
Speed shoes are goated
@@LvlJake They really are tbh I felt like I was playing Morrowind with a shit load of enchantments to speed
@@gefehede7783 boots of blinding speed are hands down one of the best items for how dumb but also great they are
Having watched this now, I wonder if ArmsFort "Spirit of Mother Will" in ACFA is a reference to this.
Also the having watch footage of the JP version, I can tell the Japanese voice acting is at least appropriate lol.
And yeah great video!
Love the video.
I want this game to get a remaster! I love it!
Me too!!
i respect you for this
Great video thanks for the explanation, i just got a cuestion, how fit the sequel here cause i know about it but i remember that game just was sold on japan and never was translated, anybody got an idea
If you mean the other game Forever Kingdom, I have a video on that as well on my channel 👍
@@LvlJake thanksfor that information, i don't know that i'm gonna watch it, that's why evergrace 2 is a japan exclusive in the rest of world got other name
I remember buying this from a bargin bin for like 2 pounds when I was a teenager. Was the strangest thing I've ever played
I wonder if this will ever get a comprehensive breakdown including Forever Kingdom?
Edit: Nvm
I played this game on the ps2 (jeez did you just say 20 years???). Never finished it, there was no guide. Even when i tried to play the game again years later there was no help or guides online. Even the Wikipedia at the time was like a paragraph long and unfinished. I’ll always have this connection with this game mainly for to nostalgia
It's 24 years, today. :3
@@mariopartylover10oh no 😂
Just started playing on aethersx2 really enjoying it soo far
This game is honestly begging for a remake. Keep the same soundtrack, maybe compose even more tracks and make them dynamic so they change with cutscenes and combat, re-record voice lines and fix the localization issues, expand on the story more to make things feel more cohesive etc.
A game does not have to be objectively good to be liked. My favorite game is not the best game ever, but it harmonizes with my likes. Subjective opinions are neither right or wrong. ❤ Also, too bad we don't have a From Software Legacy collection.
this is one of the best and most interesting FromSoftware games ever made.
I know it has a lot of flaws and problems but all FromSoftware games did - I think that this one is one of their most special and unique titles, even to this day.
And I definitely think that the Souls fanboys should probably play this game, along with Echo Nights, Armored Core, and King's Field/Shadow Tower (And Enchanted Arms!!) It'd help them understand the studios output better than anything else.
I 10000% agree, well said!
I played this game when I was like 8 i and had nooooo idea wtf was happening. It was really difficult too. And until I watched this I had no idea it was fromsoftware but now it all makes sense
Never understood this game. So I decided to give a try, I got the game, setup emulator on my pc and started to play. After a very looong gameplay I managed to beat the game. It's a very cool game but still I don't understand what's the game is about
Always held interest in this game
Forever kingdom review, plus the novel.😊
this was one of my very first video games....EVER
You were off to a great start!!
here I am with my fuckin darkcloud discs all happy unknowing Im missing a whole fuckin fromsoft game in the style nearly ffs.
Dark cloud do be top tier tho
I honestly hope they remake this game some day.
I wonder if there’ll ever be a remake of EverGrace…
It's not completely out of the realm of possibility, I'll keep my fingers crossed
Evergrace aka Stand Alone Atlus Plateau
Evergrace truly needs a remake with a better translation. its such an interesting game with beautiful characters, environments and music, it deserves a second chance 😭
@@deathlyfighterr fully agreed!!!
I'm surprised how much this game has in common with ER
Me too, you can definitely see how where they overlap with each other especially in the games environment and some of the nomadic inspired elements. It's funny to see some people joke around calling it Evergrace 3 lol
How would anyone normally get ANY of that from the story???? Like i didnt catch a single tiny bit of that story haha.
Finds incredible video... RUclipsr hasn't made a video in two years 😭. Thanks for this experience. I hope you're well