Secret of Mana 20th Anniversary Thread

I've never played it although I have it for a long time now. I think I'm gonna play it after finishing Super Mario World.
 
I thought SoM was the start of A Japanese-made brand of Diablo-like gaming back in the day. I would have figured I'd play many games like it going forward, and that the option of co-op RPGs would have thrived...

... yet, with Seiken Densetsu 3 never making it over to the US, options seemed to become severely limited. I don't think anything gave me the feel of Mana until maybe... PSO? Legends of Mana's stiff 2P really soured me on it, but it was a very great experience on it's own, and I really grew to like it!

I'll be replaying SoM again once it appears on US WiiU VC, but man... such a game, such a series. It's so weird how long such great ideas and gameplay can sit and be forgotten, while others get iterated and cloned multiple times a month, let alone a year.
 
Secret of Mana is one of my all time favorite games. Seiken Densetsu 3 is right up there with it. I really wish they'd make a proper sequel to SD3, one with the same fun formula of RPG adventuring. Legend of Mana was quite different in format and SD4 was complete garbage (I wish I could forget it even exists).
 
Every time I listen to the soundtrack for this game the waves of nostalgia take over my body like no other, especially "Into the Thick of It". What a fantastic freaking game made by the former RPG gods known as Squaresoft. The fact that a game of this caliber, with this type of winning concept and mechanics has barely been revisited, especially by its creator (although it can be argued that its "creators" are no longer even at the company) is a travesty and one of the true sad stories of gaming.

I could go on and on about so many things this game did right. It is just so good. I do not believe this is a case of looking back on it with rose tinted glasses.

I remember my younger self being in awe of the environments, especially the winter map with everything iced over. So good.

The feels man, the feels.
 
This was my favorite game for my first console, so it is an important game to me. I spent ages grinding, which was a huge boon for me at the time as I only ever acquired 5 SNES games(these were among the best on the system though, mostly due to luck). The visuals and soundtrack are beyond reproach, but I doubt I'd love the actual game anymore. Perhaps it would be best left as a fond memory, but I might still replay it some day. Never got around to SD3 either... Square should have given it the CT DS treatment.

Rollo Tomasi said:
I remember my younger self being in awe of the environments, especially the winter map with everything iced over. So good.
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a_wish_by_orioto-d5nuakl.jpg
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by Orioto
 
My cousin and I were pretty obsessed with this game when it came out, I played it over and over again. I always wanted to max out my magic levels but it got so boring after a while. I remember asking for it for my birthday but $70 (now $113) was too much so I my mother made me pay for half of it. Worth it.
 
This one was probably my favorite SNES RPG. tons of fun to play- great music, great art, and the world just felt so expansive.

It's a shame S/E was totally incapable of making anything like it ever again. and yes, I played SD3.
 
Dat music. It still sounds amazing.

Might be the first Squaresoft game I loved... I had previously rented Final Fantasy II (IV), but it baffled me as a child. This one first delivered the music/proto-anime appeal that I found so appealing about the developer.
 
My god I am old... I wish the quality of SNES JRPG should come back but the only good remaining companies that really respect the genre are Monolith and Atlus... Square-Enix can go burn for all I care, they will never release another Mana game on home console with proper budget.

But enough with SquareEnix bash this thread is an awesome tribute to this game, the soundtrack to this day is EPIC, bring tears to my eyes whenever I listen to it, it takes me back on sweet nostalgia when I was a little boy, take my SNES controller and dive to a fantastical world with my trusty friends adventuring and discovering mysteries. Saving the world was the part when the journey climaxed to an unbelievable experience. That was the secret of mana for me.

I now play Seiken Densetsu 3 and the game is excellent to this day, timeless gameplay, a true classic.

Nintendo tried to revive the franchise but the DS entries were truly lacking... Children of Mana was a dungeon crawler and Heroes of Mana a waste opportunity. After that Kōichi Ishii, the maker of the Mana series left SquareEnix and opened Grezzo which made the Ocarina of Time remake on the 3DS and a Japan only Wiiware title Line attack heroes. Lets hope Nintendo let him do a spiritual successor to the Mana series!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGnL_cTqD60

Watch the 20th anniversary music tribute of Seiken Densetsu on the above link.
 
We'll never see a game like this again, right? :(
SNES era was really the golden age of video games. This game had awesome gameplay, incredible music, good art-style.
 
First Mana game I've played!

Really enjoyed it.

Although I love its sequel on the SNES more.

Gotta play it again - its been so long.
 
Excellent OP!
Bravo to the original poster =)

No one can play SoM without being touched, such a classic, I think it holds a special place in every gamer's heart who've ever experienced it. Call me overly sensitive but each time the opening begins a tear comes to my eye.
 
BocoDragon said:
It is.

And I believe that version lets you play 3 players with 3 Wiimotes? Few among us have SNES multitaps.
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Yes you can play with 3 wiimote, 3 gamecube controllers(I prefer those), 3 classic controllers. Find 2 good pals and enjoy this game together it is an awesome experience.
 
terrisus said:
But time flows like a river... and history repeats...
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That gold city music brought a tear of nostalgia to my eye. Sent me back to those halcyon days of the early 90s.

I still love the mode 7 graphics in this game. The one of flammie flying down in the op. and flying on flammie was also awesome.

I think the gameplay had ages really well. The magic is fun to use too.

The game is gorgeous and made a real impression when it came out. Always loved those mana seed podiums with the water flowing down. And that music in the background.

And the seasons with cherry blossom area. Man that was impressive.
 
Loved this game! Found it pretty hard as a kid, but still loved exploring the world and listening to that awesome soundtrack.

And Potos village can suck it! Screw you guys!
 
I will love this game forever. My brother and I rented it and were instantly hooked. I remember thinking how much it reminded me of another favorite game of mine: Final Fantasy Adventure. (I don't know if their relation was common knowledge in the US at the time.)

First SNES game I blew my allowance on (was 14, no job) because I couldn't wait for my birthday or Christmas to ask for it. I remember one day in the summer we were so enthralled with it, that before going to work, my mother reminded us of some stuff she wanted us to take care of that day, like mowing the lawn, etc. (typical summer chores). Anyhow, it felt like only 15 minutes or something and she was back yelling at us. In reality, it was all day long. We were so into the game that we barely budged from it and she had already gone to work and came back home to find us still sitting there. Man we were in deep shit.

Those days...those damned SNES days and all the great games. This was back when I would, by any means, acquire any game with the Square/Squaresoft logo on it.


.
 
My favourite game of all time. Even though I never managed to finish it, it truly holds a special place in my heart. A friend actually gave this game to me back when I was around 12 years old. Even though the SNES' generation had long come and gone, I frequently played SNES games. I loved the multiplayer of this game and just exploring the world with a friend by my side was tons of fun. Secret of Mana's world managed to give me the chills every time I discovered a new area. Every place had its own vibe, own atmosphere, own music and own story. The world, with all its elements, from art style to music to characters to game play, really managed to surprise me with its diversity and beauty. And I loved it. And I still do.

Here are some links I would like to share with you:
The Angriest: Secret of Mana
Chiptuned: 1UP's Game Music Blog: A Conversation With Secret of Mana's Composer
Secret Of Mana / Seiken Densetsu 2 [SNES - Beta / Unused Stuff / Debug] | Unseen 64
 
Never liked the game. Filled with bugs, in game art was ugly (to me), gameplay was iffy at best and story (in english) was all over the place. Lots of nostalgia glasses for this. That being said, the music was awesome, concept art was fantastic. I preferred Evermore, despite having its own set of problems.
 
Regarding the last boss:
I always thought there was something beautiful and tragic - almost nonsensical regarding the plot - about the fact you had to kill flammie.

Of course, I now realize it was not flammie. I still prefer the version where it is in fact your best friend you brutally murder.
 
This is the game that originally got me into JRPGs and veered me away from my then buying pattern of just picking up whatever licensed crap I saw (I was a dumb kid). I first saw it at a friends house and then had to pick it up for myself. I'm pretty sure this cost me C$80 used. Yikes...

I really want to go back and play it. I played a bit with a friend coop a little while ago but we stopped upon getting the dragon.
 
up to this day i play it on a yearly Basis. Squaresoft at his best. The soundtrack alone brings up a lot of good memories! i always feel bad when he gets banned out of the village :( but then "into the thick of it" starts and you realize a big journey is ahead of you. 20 years, i still cant believe it has been that long since i first put my hands on the cartridge and playing it with my older brother! Happy Birtday Secret of Mana and thank you for all the fond memories you gave me
 
We need more good co-op action-RPGs like Secret of Mana. It is still a fun 2-player game, and is almost unique in how it can instantly switch from single-player to local multiplayer just by pressing a button.
 
This was the first rpg I ever played and I love it. Thus I consider it the best rpg ever made. So sad that Square couldn't handle this franchise properly.
 
Just played through this for the first time earlier this year. So fucking awesome. It's shortcomings are kind of annoying, as I'm still convinced that there is some obvious content missing with the Joch errand running section of the game. But, still so much fun and such awesome music.
 
I really miss this game. I haven't played it in quite a long time, but I'll pick it up when the Wii U VC version is released in US territories.

It's sad how this series trailed off later on. Legend was fun but had it's flaws, but I didn't see the need for them to experiment so much with the series afterwards.
 
Great thread. One of my all time favourite games. Beautiful art and incredible music. I own the whole series and still sometimes play thru em.
 
Kouriozan said:
We'll never see a game like this again, right? :(
SNES era was really the golden age of video games. This game had awesome gameplay, incredible music, good art-style.
Click to expand...

I doubt it. The golden age has past. We're all about microtransactioned freemium stuff these days.

I miss the Super Nintendo. SoM was my favourite game on the console.
 
Can't express how much I loved this game. One of my earliest gaming memories had me playing through the entire game co-op'd with my older brother. 'Course, being the younger brother, I was always stuck as the girl...and as a result, I now gravitate towards healers in just about any MMO I play.
 
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