E.V.O. - Search for Eden [SNES]

survival of the fittest bitch

I think that the platformer RPGs are most suitable games for SNES experience, gems of 16-bit era without doubt for me. EVO is one of those gems, developed by Givro or so called Almanic studios which are long dead since '97 and published by old Enix. It stands out from other releases like Evolution and Creatures for PC by not it's theme but genre of gameplay; it surely is not a sim or strategy game for educational purposes, all you have to do is eat everything that comes across and build yourself up as an evolved dangerous abomination. 

sun & earth: best friends forever

After a brief poetic description of creation of the universe, Gaia the Earth speaks and lets player to roam through the underseas as a little fish. Playing with the fish, I had to gain evo points for further evolution which means upgrade of stats and damage. Horns, tail, dorsal fin and jaws are some of those parts that can be evolved but the game also lets removing of fin and horns or decreasing body size with the same system that allows change by needed amount of evo points. This means you can evolve or devolve countless times if you keep grinding for points. With that relief in mind, I changed my plans of being a Pan-like goatboy to a relentless killer dinosaur and that just took an extra hour.

"do not evolve"

It's a shame to say that I played it with sound muted because of short loops of synth pop and new age bullshit music, nevertheless the conversations with planets and other creatures who could only creep in mud were satisfying and funny in some occasions. Interacting with other species is carrying the plot, crazy things can happen if you behave cool and set your priority to survive. For instance, dinosaurs asked me to join their army and rule the world with them but I've choosen the endless space and evolved to a galactic dragon. I admit that was the most reasonable choice of my entire life.

well they're doing a big mistake

Casual platforming, RPG grinding, vary char customization and psychedelic story of yourself as a struggling creature summarizes the EVO. Replayability is high stakes and it deserves an attention only for that. Fuck Spore, if you really into this concept and trying not to overthink about it, this must be the ultimate choice and soon you'll be floating in space with solitude.

see you space cowboy