Classic Gamer

Secret of Mana was the second installment in Square’s Seiken Densetsu series. Secret of Mana and the other titles in its series (Final Fantasy Adevnture, SD3) revolve around the theme of the mysterious Mana Tree. The Mana Tree holds the world together and keeps all elemental forces balanced. In the Secret of Mana, the Tree is threatened by those who seek to use its power in the pursuit of global domination. Later, the three heroes learn that the enemy is not the emperor or his nation, but rather, the man who has been manipulating the empire from within.

Up until the time Secret of Mana was released, the majority of Square’s RPG used turn-based battle systems. While Secret of Mana represented a new direction for Square, they pulled it off like veterans.

The gameplay in Secret of Mana is classic Zelda style, with a few new elements. The first major change is a weapon meter (later seen in Secret of Evermore). Attacks reach full strength by charging them up. Once you’ve swung your weapon, it has to charge back up to 100%. If you swing before it’s fully charged your hit won’t inflict as much damage. This aspect of the combat system makes the game strategy rely on some degree of reflexes and not just brain power. You can’t just go into this one hacking and slashing either so it provides a nice balance that keep gamers interested. The weapon meter is a great addition, but sometimes it gets very annoying when fighting bosses.

Secret of Mana also uses a innovative (for the time) battle system based around rings. The Ring System allows for players to access commands using the Y and X buttons. The Y button allows the user to bring up the ring for the character he/she was currently controlling. The X button allows the user to select another character’s ring, as long as that character was not being controlled by another player. While the ring was being perused, all other action would stop, allowing for players to look at anything without being attacked.

Overall this is an epic title with a great story, artwork and music. If you like RPGs and SNES, download this game!

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The use of walkthroughs can sometimes be a subject of debate. Doesn’t it make you a cheat if you rely on game cheats? Well, yes but I have a defense for my crimes.

Classic RPG games mercilessly punish you if you miss any detail. A perfect example of this is forgetting to talk to characters and neglecting to have them join you. A similar mistake made my saved game in Breath of Fire II a dud. Start over, chump.

I experienced this pain yet again today. I forgot to venture up the stairs and talk to Arthur in Chapter 2 of Shining Force. I managed to get along without him for a battle but it really bothered me since his fighting would undoubtedly come in handy later and might even make the difference between finishing off a stubborn boss and tasting the soil. The saddest part of this is I was using (an awesome) walkthrough by RPGClassics.com for some of the tough battles. Right when I thought I was owning the game I looked through the text and released I neglected to get a new party member and have no way of going back for him.

EPIC FAIL.

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