Secret of Evermore Secret of Evermore is an RPG released on the Super NES . Uniquely , it is the only game developed wholly by Squaresoft ' s North American branch , and was never released in Japan . Story . A boy and his dog ( names chosen by the player ) leave a movie theater in the small town of Podunk when the dog chases a cat into an abandoned mansion . In the mansion the boy finds a strange machine that teleports him to an unknown location , seemingly a space station . The boy is herded onto an escape craft that crashes on the planet , where he finds a large jungle full of dinosaurs and man - eating plants . The boy explores the jungle and finds a group of humans led by a young girl named Elizabeth . Elizabeth agrees to help the boy if he rescues the village alchemist , Strong Heart , from a swamp called Bugmuck . The boy does so , and Elizabeth reveals she is from Podunk as well . The mansion the boy entered belonged to her grandfather , Professor Ruffleberg , and he had built a machine that could transport people to worlds of their imagination . This region , Prehistoria , is based on her fascination with cave people and dinosaurs . Elizabeth can still sense outside influences , though , and believes someone is active in the nearby volcano . In the volcano the boy finds an evil copy of Elizabeth has taken control of the dinosaurs in the area and is planning to shut down the volcano , causing an ice age . The boy defeats her monster , Magmar , and the girl overloads the volcano to make it erupt . The eruption lands the boy in a new region , Antiqua , based on ancient Greek , Roman , and Egyptian civilization , and when he awakens his dog has gone missing . The boy crosses the desert to Nobilia , where his dog has become revered as a sacred animal and " chooses " him to fight in the coliseum . When the boy is victorious , the ruler of Nobilia ' s aide orders him to retrieve two ancient jewels , the Diamond Eyes , from the ruins across the river , and their ruler will send the boy home if he does . Across the river the boy meets an archaeologist , Horace Highwater , who was a friend of Ruffleberg . This area , Antiqua , is a product of his imagination . Horace says that the ruler of Nobilia cannot be trusted , and has only recently taken over the city but has never been seen in public . Horace aids the boy in exploring the nearby Hall of Collosia and Pyramid to retrieve the Diamond Eyes , and on returning to Horace ' s camp finds he is gone . On the way to Nobilia Horace intercepts the boy and takes the Diamond Eyes , but the boy notices he was acting odd . In Nobilia , " Horace " uses the Diamond Eyes to revive the town statue as a giant monster , Aegis . When Aegis is destroyed , the real Horace arrives and explains that the ruler of Nobilia was an evil , robotic copy of him . Aegis ' power core is about to explore , so the town strongman , Tiny , hurls it away . The explosion opens up an underground tunnel that leads to a new area , Ivor Tower , a medieval kingdom . In Ivor Tower the boy wins an audience with the ruler , Queen Bluegarden . The Queen is another member of Ruffleberg ' s experiment , and asks for the boy ' s help in clearing out the neighboring kingdom of Ebon Keep of a few stragglers that refuse to move to Ivor Tower . In Ebon Keep the boy finds a woman identical to Queen Bluegarden . She reveals the Bluegarden that rules Ivor Tower is a robotic imposter that imprisoned her and moved the kingdom across the land to rule them in her place . The boy returns to Ivor Tower and destroys the fake Queen ' s minion , Mungola , and the Queen destroys herself when she crashes through the floor and is destroyed . The townsfolk return to Ebon Keep , and Bluegarden ' s inventor , Tinker , says he can help the boy return to the space station . The boy uses Tinker ' s flying machine to gather the needed parts from Prehistoria and Antiqua to build a rocket , and is launched to the space station , Omnitopia . At the station the boy meets with Professor Ruffleberg . Ruffleberg explains that he conducted his experiment 30 years ago , but they have all been trapped in the simulation , called Evermore , by the machinations of Ruffleberg ' s robotic butler , Carltron . Carltron sabotaged the experiment to strand them in Evermore , and has recently attempted to use robot duplicates of Ruffleberg ' s friends to take control of Evermore for himself . The boy returns to Gothica to retrieve Aegis ' dormant power core and uses it to activate a teleporter to Carltron ' s lair . The boy destroys Carltron ' s strongest robots , and Ruffleberg finally deactivates him . With Carltron deactivated , Evermore begins to de - stabilize as his influence on the world has been lost , and cataclysms break out across the planet . The boy quickly returns to the surface to gather Elizabeth , Horace , and Bluegarden , and return to Omnitopia . Ruffleberg returns all of them to the real world , and the boy awakens outside the movie theater , where a movie " Secret of Evermore " is showing . The boy wonders if his adventure was all a dream brought on by a movie . At the mansion , Ruffleberg and his friends contemplate what will happen to Evermore without them , and how they will adapt to the new world after being gone for so long . Gameplay . " Secret of Evermore " is an action - RPG where the player fights enemies in the field and moves around freely . The player controls the boy and his dog , able to switch control between them . The boy can equip numerous different types of weapons , each with different attack properties and special attacks . Alchemy serves as the game ' s equivalent of a magic system , combining two ingredients together to create various effects . Repeated usage of alchemy and weapons levels them up , increasing their power . The different weapon types are also needed to solve some puzzles ; for instance , axe weapons can be used to crush barricades and break down some weak walls . Connections to the " Final Fantasy " series . Cecil Harvey cameos in Ebon Keep as an innkeeper . He makes explicit references to the events of " Final Fantasy IV " , asking the boy if he has heard of him ( if the player answers that they have heard of him at some point during his questions , Cecil offers a discount to the boy ) . After Zeromus ' s defeat , Cecil retired to Ebon Keep with Rosa to live out a quiet life . Numerous " Final Fantasy VI " cast members appear in the Nobilia coliseum : Terra , Locke , Mog , Strago , and Relm appear , along with Umaro . The Chocobo Egg can be acquired as an item in the game . Trivia . The game was originally planned to be released under its core development name " Evermore " , but because Squaresoft was afraid a newly named IP would not catch on so easily , " Secret of " was added onto it . This is because the battles and gameplay bear more than a striking resemblance to " Secret of Mana " , which was released in the U . S . previously to impressive sales numbers and of which the North American - based development team borrowed various elements from . It was largely believed via rumors in gaming magazines that " Secret of Evermore " was the reason the U . S . never localized " Seiken Densetsu 3 " , the only console " Mana " title that has never been officially released outside of Japan ; of course this rumor has since been proven ultimately false .