First off I'm happy to be able to write review the first review for another one of my favorite games! Now lets get started. 

            Evolution 2 Far off promise is another one of those fun little games that didn't get as much of a following the way gems like Jet Grind Radio did. The battle system is like most RPG's but of course it has it's own twists we will get into later. The characters are also memorable once you've played the game, if not for their personalities then definitely for their names cause like DBZ each of their names is a pun but they took it a step further by completing the puns with their last names you have Mag Launcher, Linear Cannon, Chain Gun, Gre Nade, and Pepper Cannon, have you ever heard an assortment of names, and there's still more.

            Before press start the opening cinematic is odd because what happens in it has nothing to do with the game and I believe its is a tactic to show off the graphics of the game you about to play so you can just ignore it. So the game opens with the sound of heart beats and ominous music while showing a mysterious boy in the shadows getting clearer and says the name "Linear". It then opens to a moving train that Mag is chasing after a train with an older gentleman named Gre yelling for Mag to hurry and the shy Linear quietly says his name. Mag makes and unrealistic jump that is common in video games and breathes a sigh of relief as he lands on the back of the train.

            As Mag and company get into the train they are greeted by Nina, a representative of Meuseville, who has hired Mag to explore dungeons and collect artifacts. You are interrupted by the sound of an alarm going off, upon investigation you come across Chain, your rival from the previous game, who is determined to prove they are the best adventurer, all seems well until there is an explosion and the train screeches to a stop and 3 bandits board the train looking for treasure, their leader even has a cannon arm and a battle ensues, what will happen next? Play the game!

Combat

              Like I said the combat is like most RPGs with its own twist on things, firstly most of the characters you use to play have giant weapons known as "Cyframes". Characters can use skills, items, blocking, attacking and something unique called "Talents" that are different for each character, they range from attack/speed/etc boosts to even getting the enemy to run away if you're lucky or they are low on health. Also fun little thing they added was that if you press the action button at a certain time you can hit for more damage and the same goes with blocking.
                 
              Another feature to the game is that it will show the order of who's fighting and sometimes one or more of your characters can be faster than monsters causing the battle line up to change, there's also this golden swirl around your character icon at the bottom of the screen that when a golden shine is around it shows that they have enough points to level up abilities.
              
               And finally a few of my favorite things are, unlike Final Fantasy games, you will see enemies on the field and you can engage them by touching them or running away, however whatever side you engage them on will change the fighting order, if you engage head on the battle order is dependent on your each beings speed, if you touch them while their back is turned then different more cheery battle music plays and you get a surprise round of attack, likewise if you are running away and en enemy touches you from behind darker battle music will play and the enemy will get a surprise attack on you. It also shows the amount of damage you are causing to the enemy so you can decide which attacks are best, and another feature is that when an enemy sees you there will be a little sound you hear and they will try to attack you but if you are a much higher level than them enemies will actually run away and try to avoid combat making surprise attacks for you easier.

         Weapons: Cyframes are a very interesting game mechanic and what's really cool about these cyframes is later in the game you can purchase/find parts that will effect the type of skills you can use with them. For example Mag can equip Hand, Bowling, Sprayer parts, etc. each takes up a certain mount of slots on your cyframe so you'll have to choose what you would like to keep. Each additional cyframe part is allows unique attacks such as the Hand part allowing for Mag's cyframe to attack with a giant fist, or the Bowling part which allows Mag's cyframe to roll a ball at the enemy. But like other games they use up your mana though this game calls them "Training Points", you can earn training points back by using normal attacks and blocking.


Music

            The music in the game is really great too, it doesn't sound very synthesized and its fun to listen to, each character has their own theme, and so does each dungeon, like I said before depending on how you enter combat with a normal monster 1 of 3 different battle themes will play, the bosses in each dungeon all have the same theme but the music is powerful and makes you feel like you are fighting a boss, the final enemy has multiple themes and most cut scenes each have their own accompanying music.

Length and Difficulty

            So the game is actually quite lengthy especially if you are an explorer, each dungeon has multiple levels as well as hidden rooms where you can find needed supplies or even weapon parts, you usually have to use Mag's cyframe to break down walls or into boxes (to be honest I found the secret rooms by running against walls clicking the action button till Mag knocked a wall down) and as far as difficulty the game will seem normal at first like any other, however stage three the Crypt Maze is quite challenging, even if you've leveled up in the previous dungeon this level can be taxing cause the enemies are noticeably stronger here. ALSO OF MAJOR IMPORTANCE since I don't want anyone who plays the game to rage quit and stop playing, like in FF 7 you WILL lose your main healer/buffer so be careful I'm sure you can figure out who they are.

Game Play and Story

            Because I love level grinding and having the strongest equipment before the last boss , finding those secret rooms, and attaining the level that makes the monsters run away from you, you can actually return to previous dungeons if you want, in case you missed something, and there's even a tower you unlock with that has over 100 floors up and 100 floors down for a bit of a challenge. Also you can collect artifact pieces and sell them, though if you wait to sell them you can combine them to make an even more profitable complete artifact so have fun looking for all the secret passages and hunting all those artifacts down.

            The story is fun actually you get introduced to characters with quirky names, and different settings as well as our mysterious person from opening cinematic visiting a certain character from time to time as well as learning the secrets of Evolutia a living cyframe. And the game has a lot of dialog.

Graphics

      They are graphics you'd normally see on a Sega Dreamcast not the greatest, I'd say the worst thing are the characters facial animations, sometimes their mouths don't move right and if, lets say a character is yelling, they will have an angry face that will revert back to happy once they stop yelling.

      Also on a side not they remade this game for the Game Cube calling it "Evolution Worlds" because they combined part one and two on the same disc, the voice acting is in English but they forgot a few features in it like the enemies running away from you.

Pros

      - A fun battle system to experiment with

      - Great music that is fun to listen to

      - Its a long game especially for completionists.

      - Its a part two but you don't really need to know the story of part one to play

Cons

      - Because dungeons have multiple floors you may hear the same dungeon theme for a while

      - All the voice are in Japanese so if you don't like hearing Japanese while reading text you may not like it

      - YOU LOSE YOUR HEALER A LITTLE OVER HALFWAY THOUGH THE GAME