Located below the player's hit points is a percentage gauge that determines the amount of damage done to an enemy, as well as how far the player can run.

Options including changing equipment or casting alchemy spells checking status can be performed quickly by rotating through the game's Action Ring system. Upon collecting enough experience points in battle, either character can increase in level with improved stats such as strength and evasion. Both characters can find refuge in caves or a town, where they can regain their hit points or purchase restorative items and equipment. The player may choose to control either the boy or the dog, with the other being controlled by the game's artificial intelligence. The game consists mostly of an aerial view setting, where the boy and his dog negotiate the terrain and fend off hostile creatures. Secret of Evermore takes many of its interface and gameplay aspects from Secret of Mana. The game's North American development, Mana-like game mechanics, and ambient music have since helped it to develop a cult following. The game received positive reviews upon its release for its graphics and gameplay but was criticized for not being up to the expectations many reviewers had based upon the developer's previous Japanese role-playing games. Secret of Evermore is unique in that it is the only game developed by Square designers in North America. Despite similar game mechanics and a similar title, it is not an entry in the Mana series. The gameplay shares many similarities with Secret of Mana, such as real-time battles, a ring-shaped menu system, and the ability to switch control between the two characters. The player guides both the boy and his shapeshifting dog through Evermore, a world composed of separate realms, each resembling a different period of real-world history: 'Prehistoria' ( prehistory), 'Antiqua' ( classical antiquity), 'Gothica' (the Middle Ages), and 'Omnitopia' (an imaginative future world). The story of Secret of Evermore follows a boy and his pet dog as they are inadvertently transported to the fantasy world of Evermore. A Japanese release was planned to follow the North American release by a few months but was ultimately cancelled. It was released in North America on October 1, 1995, and in Europe and Australia in February 1996.

Secret of Evermore is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

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