Secret of Mana

[Solo]

This was one of the first RPGs I ever played, and was instrumental in the development of my creativity.

This is such a special game. The most obvious reason is the multiplayer, but the world itself has so many memorable locations. The Water Palace. Gaia's Navel. The Upper Land forest. Matango. The Ice Country. The Kakkara Desert. The Gold Isle. The Lofty Mountains. And the music, my word! That's some magical stuff.

I remember playing the game with a childhood friend and two of my nephews back in the day (not all at once, unfortunately). It was a sheer delight. For the longest time, we were stuck on the Spiky Tiger, so we spent forever gaining levels around Gaia's Navel. More recently, a friend and I tackled a large portion of the game, starting with the Ice Country/Kakkara Desert and going all the way to the Underground City. This glitch happened after we beat the Lime Slime (which was an incredibly glitchy battle), and we lost our progress through the Palace of Darkness; that sucked. We gave up at the Underground City, when two of those ninjas/dark stalkers rushed us and completely annihilated us, causing us to lose a lot of progress. Then I remember how brutal the Pure Land was... but the game is still great!

I even played the game with my father a bit. One of my favorite parts of the game is the Underground Palace (especially the music). The Goblins there have the ability to lock you and place as they barrage you with attacks; it's so brutal. But here's the epic part. I always remembered the Fire Gigas was a tough boss. Well, this one time, everyone but the girl (whom I was playing) had died, and I had no items left. I had a fully-charged attack with the sword, and unleashed it in desperation just as the boss reappeared... and won the battle. That was amazing. Yes, I'm aware of the trick where you can pelt enemies with magic endlessly, but when playing with others I prefer to rely on our raw skills, rather than resorting to it.

There are so many places in the game that have absolutely haunting music; the Ice Country is one of them. It almost draws you in, it's so magical. And the music when you meet some of the Elementals (like Undine)... wow. Did I mention the Ice Palace? Oh, and the Lofty Mountains. I'm repeating myself at this point...

The game was given to me by a family member when I was very young, and it made a profound impression on me.

So, does anyone else have some special memories to share regarding Secret of Mana?

 

[ShinGamix]

This game defines the start of an era for Square....to bad they arent this good anymore.

 

[DarthVollis]

It has a few Sequels that are somewhat good in places. Try them. They are named differently.

 

[Probotector 200X]

Secret of Mana is a really great game.

Ever hear the thing about Nintendo was gonna work with Sony to make CDs a thing for video games? It was to be some upgrade to the SNES (attachable or something, like some stuff Sega did? Not too sure), the SNES-CD. One of the launch titles for the SNES-CD was to be Secret of Mana...but Nintendo and Sony went separate ways...Sony made the Playstation, and Nintendo had to cut-back on Secret of Mana. Many say this is why several portions of the game later on seem...rushed?

But despite all that, it still manages to be an amazing game. (reminds me of another rushed Square RPG I adore, SaGa Frontier)

So many things to love about this game. One of my favorite features was the multi-player. Never played an RPG with 3 players before!

I first played it by renting it, multiple times. One 3-day rental was cut short by a power outage (not just our house)...One time we rented it, it was actually Ys 3: Wanderers from Ys! Someone must have like, switched the labels of their copy of Ys3 and the rented Secret of Mana?? Later, I saw it at Blockbuster or Hollywood Video, it's like, FINALLY, I can own a copy of Secret of Mana! But it had it's label switched, and was actually Ys 3: Wanderers from Ys. They didn't have any other copies of Secret of Mana. I've had a grudge against the whole Ys series since. I wonder if it was the same cartridge?? But still, after returning not-Secret of Mana, I bought Super Metroid, so, hey, that's a major plus. Eventually, some Christmas later, I got several old games, including Secret of Mana! That was good fun, finally owning a copy of one of my favorite games!

 

[ShinGamix]

The playstation was the snes cd but nintendo bailed on sony and sony went on end of story.

Seiken Densetsu 2 btw was mana 1 also secret of evermore rocks too

Secret of Mana, Mario RPG, and Chrono all still cost about 70 to 100 bucks

 

[Solo]

It has a few Sequels that are somewhat good in places. Try them. They are named differently.

Yeah, Seiken Densetsu 3 (was to be Secret of Mana 2 in the US) is another of my favorites. But even though just about every aspect of the sequel is improved, Secret of Mana is still great in its own special way.

 

[Seacliff]

No Final Fantasy Adventures? *Gasps*

Okay, really, I like Secret of Mana, but some of the bosses can be a bit cheap... (Still stuck on fire troll )

 

[Solo]

No Final Fantasy Adventures? *Gasps*

Okay, really, I like Secret of Mana, but some of the bosses can be a bit cheap... (Still stuck on fire troll )

Yep, that's the Fire Gigas I was talking about. If you can't beat him any other way, the "rapid magic" trick is a viable option. I don't know if you're familiar with it, but just in case, I'll explain: Cast a spell (Freeze in this case) with the sprite, and just as soon as he summons Undine and she disappears, open his menu again, and cast the spell again. Repeat. The boss will be locked in place as the spell animation repeats over and over again, and not be able to move an inch. So long as you have a healthy supply of Faerie Walnuts, he won't stand a chance.

I really only prefer this as a last resort, though, because it takes all the challenge out of the game. BUT, I would not judge anyone for using it against a fiend so heinous as the Fire Gigas. It was nothing more than pure luck when I beat him that time.

 

[sabao]

This game defines the start of an era for Square....to bad they arent this good anymore.

Square bashing is so eight years ago. In the last two years, they've released stuff like Sleeping Dogs, Deus Ex, and made Tomb Raider again. Hell even FFIV seems to be doing well.


I love the Mana series. It was visually amazing for its time and its art still stands as unique designs I've seen on a JRPG. Starting with Legend of Mana, the setting was building up tonnes of potential as well. It's really too bad they couldn't keep the momentum up. Dawn of Mana was a gorgeous looking example of how the series could have been on a next gen console. Too bad it played horribly.