Secret of Evermore

Secret of Evermore is an action RPG developed by Square's American branch, and is along the same lines as Secret of Mana in terms of gameplay (but is otherwise unrelated). Rather divisive among gamers, in general.

Unused Alchemy Formula


Hidden with the game's other alchemy formulas is Laser, one that didn't quite make the cut. It can be used through hacking, but is very obviously unfinished. First, its icon is the same as the one used by Levitate. Second, its animation is the same as Acid Rain; not at all laser-like. And finally, despite its description stating it halves enemies' HP, it doesn't. It's just a very weak single/multiple enemy attack spell.

Plain Text in ROM
There are lots of plain text found in the ROM. Although a good part of it seems actually used by the game (it is even translated for the different versions), some interesting stuff can be found.

Debug: Show thud balls on path Debug: Turn off both backgrounds Debug: Show background 1 only Debug: Show background 2 only Debug: Show both backgrounds Debug: Create a monster Debug: Select map Debug: Mode 7 Flight Debug: Heel Magic: Thud Ball Missile Magic: Orb2Missile Magic: Orb3Missile Magic: Shak'em to DEATH! Magic: Beam me up Scotty Magic: Thud Vortex Magic: High Voltage

Some traces of debug functions and possibly debug spells. It is unknown if they can still be accessed.

ROM Creation Date Pixel Units V-Blank Interrupts

Some diverse tidbits...

ftemp1 = i; //		slant = ((max_tilt-ftemp1)-ftemp1)/(max_tilt-1); if(i<15) {			slant=(15.0-ftemp1)/15.0; mp1)/(max_tilt-1);		if(i<15)		{			slant=(15.0-ftemp1)/15.0;		}		else if(i>15)		{			slant=(ftemp1-16.0)/-16.0;		}		else

This seems to be some fragments of code.

I can only talk about one life at a time!

It is not clear what is referred by this string, but the fact it was left untranslated indicates it was unused...

error: null life ptr used in script cmd No spells in library Error: too many monster generators!

Finally, some error messages.

In addition, there is a list of locations in the game including a "M.Brian's Test Ground", what might be some placeholder for a bazooka description("No special abilities, yet.") and a list of spells names and descriptions, including laser and a few more unused. They are "Haul" (described as "Lift and move objects", sounds similar to Levitate), "Mud Ball" (described as "Target gets splatted", possibly related to Hard ball or Crush), "Spell Wall" (described as "Protects hero from spells"), and "Split" (described as "Target fights its double", that would have been nice). Unfortunately, these spells cannot be put in the game the same way as laser.

Brian's Test Ground
A normally inaccessible map exists in the game's map list; it is still possible to view the map, but if objects ever existed on it, they do not seem to be able to be loaded.