SNES Classic: The Ultimate Reference Guide To The Secret of Mana

By BlackNES Guy and TBD

Think you know Secret of Mana? Think again!!

This unofficial guide has over 120 full-color pages which give you all the information you will need to discover the quest on your own while feeling confident in your choices.

Find all of the Mana Seed to empower the Mana Sword and save the world! Master your battl

• Language: English
• Publisher: BlackNES Guy Books
• Release date: Jun 22, 2018
• ISBN: 9781989120538

Book preview

History

Although Secret of Mana did not go on to become its own franchise like its contemporaries, Final Fantasy and The Legend of Zelda, it permanently altered the future of role playing games. It was the most talked about game in Japan in 1993, though its success wasn’t quite as large in other countries. Since its release on August 6th of 1993, Secret of Mana has received widespread praise and many awards.

Koichi Ishii, contributor to the Final Fantasy series, designed and directed Secret of Mana. Because of this, the games have many similarities. However, Secret of Mana introduced real time battles with a stamina bar, the ring menu system, and an innovative cooperative multiplayer system. All these features can now be found in many modern games.

It took only 30 days to complete the English translation of the game, Ted Woolsey, the translator, complained that much of the script had to be cut up due to size limitations. It was a difficult task, made worse because the script was given to Wooley out of order. The English version does not name the main characters, while the Japanese version does. Secret of Mana would later be translated into German and French as well.

Although Kenji Ito, the composer for much of Final Fantasy, was originally scheduled to compose the music for Secret of Mana, he was replaced by Hiroki Kikuta when Ito began other projects. Secret of Mana was Kikuta’s first original video game composition. He spent almost 24 hours of the day in the office. This was important because he also recorded all of the instrumental sample that were used. Later, Kikuta would say that he considers the score to Secret of Mana to be his favorite creation. The soundtrack would be released to North American audience in December of 1994, making it the first soundtrack to receive its own localization.

Square, the developers of Secret of Mana, would later port the game to Apple iOS and Android for mobile phones, the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, and PlayStation Vita. The most recent release, a 3D remake, was released on February 15, 2018.

As of February of 2004, long before many of the remakes entered the market, Secret of Mana had sold over 1.8 million copies. Upon its original release, the game sold out within days. While it was the most widely advertised game of the year in Japan, there was hardly any media coverage in the United States. Despite this, it would become the second best selling SNES game that year, behind Mortal Kombat.

Praised for its graphics, music, and innovative combat system, Secret of Mana received high praise. It still consistently ranks among the top list of game in publications such as Nintendo Power, GamePro, and Electronic Gaming Monthly. It has also won several awards. Several critics have compared it to Legend of Zelda games released around the same time. While it would not go on to become a franchise, like many of its contemporaries, Secret of Mana earned its place among the top video games.

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Basic Gameplay

Secret of Mana is a top down roleplaying game. The entire game, aside from the sub screens, occurs on the action screen. Unlike many of the game’s contemporaries, Secret of Mana does not use battle screens. Instead, fights render on the same screen that all of your travel and interaction take place on.

The player controls one of three characters at a time and can switch between them. Each other the three characters, Randi, Primm, and Popoi, have their own strengths. Player can either set their currently uncontrolled character’s artificial intelligence on the Action Grid or up to two real life friends can join the adventure by playing as the other allies.

Characters used Experience points, earned from defeated enemies, to level up. Each Level gained makes the character more powerful and gives them a valuable Stat boost. If areas of the game are too difficult, the player can return to easier sections to gain more Experience Points. Once the character becomes more powerful, difficult sections become