Something that is making a bit of a comeback in the industry today is outsourcing; Ubisoft are the kings of it at the moment as evidenced by the amount of teams who work on an Assassins Creed game each year. But it was Square who dabbed their hands in it first. Secret of Evermore was released in 1995 and was the very first game developed in the US by Square themselves. It featured a distinctive Western tone setting the game in fictional Podunk, USA and featured many associations with 80s B-movies in accordance with aiming at the American market. It featured a more tactile combat system that allowed the main character to move around in battle, letting you see the enemies before deciding on fighting them, and spawned a typically decent soundtrack to boot. It's debatable if this game was up to the standards of other Square RPGs of the time, but one thing is for sure; it captured a real cult following - one of which has endured for nearly twenty years. With this game you can see the beginnings of Square looking to conquer the American market and it is something that many Japanese developers have attempted to do since. Most recently Dead Rising 2 and 3 being outsourced to Blue Castle Games. No doubt about it, this game might not have been the roaring success of Final Fantasy, but stateside there is no doubt this was a big hit for the Japanese giant.
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I am a middle aged Yorkshireman obsessed with Bad Religion, The Simpsons, movies and anything to do with gaming. I love everything to do with Final Fantasy, Metal Gear and will hold a discussion with anyone about anything in games.
