Secret of Mana (game): one of the best for SNES - or any other system
So i guess you will need to be around 30 years old or more to appreciate this game but I'm older than that and remember when it was released in 1993 and exactly how epic and ground-breaking it was. This game was produced by SquareSoft (which is now Square-Enix - i think) who as you know probably know, are the creators or such epic franchises as Final Fantasy.
ahh, the good 'ol days, when we purchased games in a box
The story involves a fantasy environment of a fictional land (as expected) where the main character accidentally stumbles upon a rusty sword stuck in stone. A voice calls out to him to remove it and thus the journey begins.
He will very soon encounter two pals who have various skills that complement his own. There are only a total of 3 toons, but that was enough back in "93
As far as I can remember, this was the first RPG involving more than one character that wasn't turned based. I loved turned-based games such as Final Fantasy and Phantasy Star, but it was kind of refreshing to have battle be more fluid. The battles could be "paused" while making decisions in battle, and when this happened it was kind of a return to the game being turn-based but the rest of the action was in real-time. There were also no random encounters which drove us all crazy in Final Fantasy where you are just wandering around and then you are thrust into a battle that you may or may not have preferred to avoid. In Mana, you can see all the enemies in your path and some of them can be avoided if you are bored of fighting.
This game also introduced the revolutionary "ring system." This is where when you do pause the game, the options available to each character appeared in a separate menu as a "ring" around that particular characters avatar.
This might not seem terribly special by today's standards but it was pretty innovative at the time. After very little time familiarizing yourself with the controls this became a very fast process, much more so than a traditional huge menu that covers all aspects of all characters.
Another welcome addition was that in addition to leveling up your characters you could have each character specialize in a particular weapon, and their individual abilities in these particular weapons grew with time as well.
Without question the best aspect of this game was the fact that it was a local 3-player co-op game - on demand. That is, a friend could enter the game and leave it at any time. So if your buddy had to go home the game could still be continued using the (actually pretty good) A.I. that is build into the interface. Also, you could swap from controlling one character to another at any time pretty seamlessly.
The music in the game, despite having the limitations of the SNES was pretty revolutionary for the time and received loads of praise both from professional critics and the general gaming community.
Apparently an updated version of the game exists on the PS4 but is getting kind of ripped apart by fanbois for the tremendous amount of bugs that reached the final product, the changing of the music rather than updating of the music, and how in many players' eyes, that they kind of ruined the legacy by releasing it at all. The fanbase also lambasted the producers for their relatively awful voice acting.
Be that as it may, the PS4 version might be wonderful for people who never played the original. I know that I tend to be extremely critical of any "remake" of something I loved - this can be games, movies, or TV shows.
This trailer doesn't do much to make you want to play but it's the only one i could find from the original.
And the remake
I don't own a PS4 so I can't review the remake but I will review the original from the SNES and happily give it a perfect score as it is definitely on my top 3 of all time games.
Secret of Mana is one of the SNES role-playing masterpieces crafted by the creative minds at Squaresoft in the early '90s. But unlike its 16-bit contemporaries Final Fantasy III and Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana is an active-time RPG -- its battles take place in real time, more like a Legend of Zelda game, as opposed to the turn-based, menu-driven systems seen in those other Square classics. Its unique battle system is one of the factors that made it so memorable -- one of the reasons it's still recognized today as one of the best games ever made. And another is that you don't have to play it alone. The game's appeal hasn't dropped off at all in the past 25 years, and elements like the leveling-up system and ring menus continue to feel unique even after two decades and a half. For the former, your characters gain experience and levels just as in other RPGs, as you'd expect -- but your weapons and magic also gain strength over time, such that the swords, spears and spells you use the most often will become progressively more powerful as you continue through the quest. It's is a cool game and has a special place in the heart of many RPG gamers.
HAhaha - not only do we share the same memories about Secret of Mana - such a great game, but it took me a minute before I realised what was 'wrong' with my avatar photo -> I was looking at yours thinking it was mine lol.
well, doggos are the best things ever!
So true. +1M
In certain angles my little Bobby looks just like yours :)
But that's off topic. Thanks again for sharing and providing a walk down memory lane. I'm pretty sure I wagged a day or 2 of school to stay home and play.
Time is merciless to many games, and what was played 20-25 years ago, it is very difficult to pass today. The reason for this is deliberately overestimated the level of complexity, the lack of control points and other pleasant things. Fortunately there is such a wonderful thing as a remake: it breathes into the old game a new life, making them more beautiful and rich.
Secret of Mana is a perfect remake, taking into account the features of the original source and carefully transferring them into three — dimensional space. All innovations in it are logical and appropriate. However, some problems of the original "Secret of Mana" and remained unresolved, and now, in 2018, they look belated greetings from the 90's.Despite this, we hope that the modernization of Japanese classics will not stop there and in addition to the remake of Final Fantasy VII we are waiting for a lot of rethought JRPG.
Advantages: updated graphics and music; ability to simplify the passage of AutoSave and increased stock of items.
Disadvantages: with all its 3D, the game's graphics are very simple; the story itself is boring; artificial intelligence is weak, and constant loading will lead even the most patient players.
@gooddream hello 👋 sir, Game, I think it will be an adventure game, the more interest in the game to go, the game has become a fun thing that can not be understood today, we all like the game on the internet nowadays, but the secret of Mana Game can be found at the Android mobile play store ???? Can be found on pc ?? Is this paid game @gooddream????
this is a paid game that has recently been revamped and re-released on the PS4. The old-school game can probably be played on an emulator, and is also bundled in with the recently released SNES mini.
@gooddream hello 👋 sir Thank you very much, sir, you have made me very nice analyzed about the game, how much money will it have to buy for? Paid game means that it will be very good games, what do you say sir
I played a lot of games of that kind at that time. But this game I don’t know. I wish I could go back in time.
maybe check out an emulator and give it a go
Hiii... gooddream
Gm
Have a great day.
Yeah Its Really Most Exiting game, who not play this game i think can't understand this game quality!
pretty much exciting game.
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As it's belongs to interest in games. A lot of people love to play games. I am also keen of playing games. As it's a great way to spare your time. When you are free,you love to play games.
It's not only about free time but also depends upon your trust. Almost a survey held in the start of January 2018 in which it was stated that 95 % people in the world love to play games during there free time. I was surprised. It's a big percentage. This figure show love of people with games.