Background

Due to my interests in the evergrace series, I’ve taken an interest in the merchandise. I previously believed that the only pieces of media created for this series were the games and strategy guides. Looking more into this has proven me wrong and has made me quite happy to say.

Evergrace

Evergrace is the most well known piece of media for this game. Released in 2000, it is the first game released in the series. Known for its rocky development; it was originally meant for a Playstation release and instead was made into a Playstation 2 launch title. Though the Playstation build hasn’t made its way online, there are screenshots available. On a similar note, the music for this original version hasn’t resurfaced as well and this, too, was remade.

The game is also known for having an empty feeling due to the rushed development. Here, Sharline was transported to Rheubane roughly 15 years before the game begins and is believed to have been killed. Darius believes he killed Sharline since he was the last person to have seen her before his disappearance. He gets teleported to Rheubane through a large Biliana tree that is shown in the intro cutscene of the game. There are roughly 8 characters shown throughout the game and both scenarios can be beaten in around 3 hours.

*Supposedly the music was repurposed from another game: Kingsfield.

Forever Kingdom

Forever Kingdom, or Evergrace 2 in Japan, is both the sequel and prequel to Evergrace. This game was released in 2001 and there isn’t much known about its development but what is known is that Ruyan’s outfit was changed. Due to developmental issues, Ruyan’s skirt was changed to shorts, something I am not a fan of. This previous design can be seen in the manga adaptation. In promotional art/wallpapers, there are some inconsistencies shown in the designs of all three characters like the detailing of Darius’ scarves changing, Ruyan’s shorts changing, and Faeana’s necklace having some differences.

Forever Kingdom starts off drastically different in comparison to Evergrace. The game takes place a year before the start of Evergrace. Darius, Ruyan, and Faeana are walking when Faeana hears a woman calling for help. Though the other two don’t hear her, they still follow Faeana. They come across two men named Darsul and Drumhort who are holding a woman hostage. Attempting to help the woman causes the three of them to be cursed with a soul binding spell and spends the rest of the story tracking the two of them down in order to get the spell reversed. The game can be finished in roughly 10 hours.

Evergrace Soundtrack CD

This is the most infamous piece of Evergrace media. Released in 2000, it contains different compositions of the music and also has 2 bonus tracks called ‘Grace’ and ‘EG Expression 0’, making it 17 tracks in total. It was only released in Japan and was unpopular upon release. In comparison to other pieces of merch, it is the most expensive and typically pops up for $250-$600.

Below are some pictures of the soundtrack.

Evergrace Comeplete Works Vinyl

This is the most recent piece of merch for the series, releasing in 2018 and had limited amounts pressed. Inside this collection are three vinyls that contain the CD soundtrack of Evergrace and, for the first time, the in-game Forever Kingdom soundtrack. The art for the cover is fully original and is very reminiscent of metal covers. It also contains a short interview with Kota Hoshino from 2001 with the set list being on the other side. Below are the artwork used for the vinyl.

Special Music Disc

Much isn’t known about the special music disc but it’s theorized it may have been a preorder bonus. The disc contains the soundtrack versions of EG Expression 2: Will and EG Expression 5: Omen.

Posters and Digital Wallpapers

Posters for this game were never released on their own. The posters that can be found were promotional posters from stores. The most notable ones are Darius showing The Mark of the Beast on his hand, Sharline sitting against a rock wall looking forlorn, and a poster of the art that is used for Forever Kingdom’s game cover.

The digital wallpapers were sent out for promotional reasons to hype those interested in the game, mostly in the case of Forever Kingdom. There are wallpapers that can be found that were extracted from the game files. Supposedly, there were electronic postcards that had art of the characters as well. Below are some posters and wallpapers.

Prepaid Telephone Card and Gift card

At some point, there was a telephone card that has an illustration of Sharline looking forlorn (the same one used as a poster). The other card is a prepaid gift card that has all three characters from Forever Kingdom against a yellow diamond background. There isn’t much information on both of these cards.

Visual Preview Disc Evergrace 2

A physical retail trailer disc that is very hard to come by. There isn’t much documentation of it online but it does pop up rarely. Luckily the video can be found very easily due to it being ripped online. Here is a link to a sold auction showing what the disc and CD cover looked like.

Playstation Memory Card Stickers

Free memory card stickers that were available through gaming magazines. Currently, there are 7 different designs that can be found online.

Fromsoftware First Previews

This is a promotional disc that contains the Eternal Ring trailer, Armored Core 2 trailer, and Evergrace demo. It also contains screenshots from all three launch titles. This pops up regularly and can be found online via the internet archive.

Forever Kingdom and Kingsfield 4 Keychains

In 2001, promotional keychains were released. There isn’t much information about these keychains but it can be deduced that they may have been given out to those who preordered the game. These don’t pop up much but are typically cheap when they do.

Mysterious Evergrace Bookmark

This bookmark was found on a King’s Field fan site under their Fromsoftware collection page. The bookmark is still in its packaging and it’s very hard to make out what the design is meant to be. I personally believe it’s the same pic that is used for the inside of the CD soundtrack, more specifically the drawing of Sharline.

Books

Evergrace Official Prima Strategy Guide

The only strategy guide released in English for Evergrace. It goes into the history of the game, summarizes the story, gives small accounts of what happened to Sharline and Darius before appearing in Rheubane, and gives a glossary of terms needed to understand the game. Everything in this strategy guide is in balcak and white and has a short description of what to do and where to go. Though it doesn't show pictures, there is a section dedicated to every piece of armor and weapons one can find throughout the game with stats along with the enemies in the game as well.

My personal favorite facts about this strategy guide is that at the very end of the guide is a black and white advertisement of the game which looks strikingly similar to the back of the English box art. Also, whenever there is a tip on the page, it shows a screenshot of Sharline dripped the fuck out. This also applies to the caution boxes having Darius dripped the fuck out.

Dengeki's Official Evergrace Strategy Guide

Dengeki's strategy guide is in Japanese and is very different from the Prima guide. Unlike the last one, this strategy guide is in full color and utilizes official character art as well. It uses in-game screenshots with short descriptions of what to do and where to go. It also has diagrams and small maps to show where to go. In the beginning, it has a synopsis of the story and has short descriptions of who the characters are. Towards the back of the book are the in-game renders for armor, weapons with some attack pictures, enemies, bosses, and characters. These also have stats for everything as well. Even cooler: there's concept art of the characters shown.

Sometimes I open this one to look at the concept art and look through the renders of armor and weapons. Because of the level of detail in this book, I use it as a reference when I draw the characters!

Kodansha Books Perfect Strategy Guide for Evergrace 2

The Kodansha strategy guide, like the previous entry, is in color and uses official art. There are some interesting differences: there isn't a complete bestiary in here though it shows renders and there is a character relationship guide which helps clear up any misconceptions that can occur. The book is absolutely loaded to the brim with information. In fact, the weapons, armors, and Palmira Armaments show which character can equip it with the price. There is a section showing the map number where enemies typically appear in with one of the most blurry screenshots of an enemy I've ever seen.

I wish this strategy guide had some concept art like the Dengeki strategy guide. I originally believed it would be there since this is being marketed as the perfect strategy guide but that's alright. Like the last strategy guide, I also use this for reference when I draw the characters.

As a bonus for checking this out, here's my current collection :)

My sources for literally everything

The Evergrace fandom wiki - Contains some of the pictures used on this page

Taptroupe - No words needed

Mobygames - used the evergrace and the Forever Kingdom pages for additional pictures

Glowroot Grotto - This is where the memory card stickers came from. I definitely did not snatch the Sharline one.

in_eARTh - Fansite where I found the bookmark and additional pieces of Evergrace merch