Not only the greatest RPG, but the greatest Game of all time
Feb 20 '01
The Bottom Line Give Secret of Mana a shot, I promise you if you love RPG's in any way, shape, or form, you'll love this one.
It was a day I would not soon forget. My 18th birthday, April 5, 1994. About 75 degrees and sunny. And I was wandering through the local Toys 'R' Us with my Dad. The Secret of Mana had been the latest goal on my list of games to get for the Super Nintendo, and after a few months of skipping lunch and keeping my lunch money, I finally had what I needed. So here we were, in the video game section. I picked up a "Secret of Mana" slip and we headed to the counter.
I had relatively low expectations for this game, to tell you the truth. I had seen a few screenshots in some of my old Nintendo Power magazines, and by the look of it, this seemed to be mostly a "thrown together" kind of game. But alas, don't judge a game by its graphics. Especially in this day and age.
So anyway, we were there at the counter with the game, in all its cellophane-wrapped glory, unscathed by the touch of any human hand. The cashier rung up the total and pronounced my damage. "$63.99". No problem. So as I was flipping through my collection of ones and fives, suddenly I look up and there's Dad slapping a hundred dollar bill on the counter. Jesus Christ, I thought to myself, but I wasn't about to complain! I just put my money back in my pocket, I figured hey, if he wants to do that I have no problem with that. Of course, he reminded me that it was a birthday present. Graphics or no graphics, the thought of having a new RPG to add to my collection was more than enough to make me forget what day it was, or even what planet I was on for that matter.
Well, I finally got home and hid the game away so that Christopher wouldn't see it. He and I often played video games together and eventually, the two of us would experience the enthralling two-player mode of Mana together, but my first few moments with this game had to be my own. I don't do threesomes the first time :)
Finally the night came when I was all alone, and I popped the game in and watched the introduction. Now, despite all the great musical effects made capable by modern-day video game systems, no amount of effects can compete with a great musical score. The Secret of Mana has, without a doubt, the finest music ever written for a video game. Drums are a prominent feature in the music, something I don't think I've seen in any other game. But then, I haven't played that many games. In this game, a lot of the music such as the music played in most of the villages, has a very upbeat feel to it. The drums are so loud, to the point they almost seem exaggerated, that you almost can't help but pause the game, stand up and bang your head to it! Yes, I did do that a few times. I was 18, what do you expect? Not that I'm any different now; I did the same thing last week when I decided to take a ride down nostalgia lane with this game one more time. I was inspired by a great review of this game by Y2JMcDohl, whose review is ten times better than I could ever hope to make this one.
A few minutes into the introduction to The Secret of Mana, the screen went black and I was greeted with the words "But time flows like a river, and history repeats itself." Suddenly, a soft, haunting choir (yes, it's definitely a choir, it even sounds like one!) broke out and, like a horse, I saw the carrot dangling in front of my face as the stunning view of the world panned across the screen. To this day, that is still one of the most beautiful shots I've seen. Even if it is Mode 7 flat world-map graphics, it still amazes me.
Then we meet the characters. Despite choppy animation and disproportionate features, these characters still develop a life of their own. A few minutes into the storyline, I already had my sword and I was ready for some smashing. First moment I saw that Rabite, I took my sword to it. Flying back, suddenly I saw some red fly up out of him and land beside him. Was it blood? I couldn't quite tell, so I did it again. BAM! The Rabite disappeared in a cute explosion of tears it looked like. And this time, I saw what the red was, it was a NUMBER. And it was 18! How cool is that?
That's when I knew for sure that this game was going to be a scream. Taking the standard RPG numbered damage system, and incorporating it into action gameplay. I know I said in my previous RPG review, something to the effect of "Why should you have to get better? The heroes are the ones doing the work, let them get better." While this was basically a pot shot at most action games, it would be hypocritical to act as though I've never played a game like Contra in my life. Actually, Contra is one of my favorite action games, and the heroes show no signs of growth whatsoever in that series. But the point is, that Secret of Mana is the best of both worlds! You get direct control of all your actions, but at the same time, you get to watch as your heroes get stronger, and the numbers get bigger! If anyone can tell me of any other games besides this, Secret of Evermore and Illusion of Gaia that play this way I'd sure love to know about 'em.
Aside from the unique way of playing the game, there are a lot of other things I like about this game. Such as, how fast the character walks. You can scroll through an entire screenful of world in about 1 1/2 seconds, whereas most RPG's, you might eventually feel like you're leaning on the right side of the control pad, trying to get across to that town. Then you're randomly attacked. D'oh! None of that here. (Although the Sprint Shoes in FF3 were VERY nice.)
One other thing I REALLY like and I wish they did in more RPG's was making the numbers increase in size as the damage increases. I know this seems like a really small silly thing that is not really that important, but it's not exactly something that takes up a lot of memory! When your damage is under 50, you get a couple of regular old 8 by 6 numbers. If your damage is 50 or greater, the numbers are much bigger, thicker, easier to read, and they just plain kick more a$$. If you get lucky enough later in the game to get a critical hit, or you're using a leveled-up spell against a boss that is weak to it, you may go over 200, at which the numbers are even bigger, most of the time bigger than the monster itself! It just makes it look like you really did a lot more damage that way, and it's more fulfilling.
The main three characters are a fine little squatty team of kids, just wandering around kicking a$$ and taking names. The boy, whom I usually call "Tim" (after me), doesn't learn any magic, but his physical prowess and superior HP do more than make up for that. First time through, I named the girl "Jamie", after the girl whom I had a crush on in high school at that time. I continued calling her that for years afterward, so no matter what I call her now, she will always be "Jamie" to me. Jamie uses the defensive magic, cure spells, and a few offensive spells here and there. I couldn't think of a name for the sprite character, and just wound up calling him/her/it "Sprite". Sprite is the wizard of offensive magic, and it's imperative that you keep his magic levels AHAP if you want to beat the bosses before they beat you.
Anyway, this is only scratching the surface. When it comes to battle, there are eight different weapons you can use, each with its own defining characteristic and use. The sword, for example, is just your everyday slice and dice weapon, very quick and efficient and it chops down bushes with ease. The spear, on the other hand, is slightly slower (although Sprite seems to handle it well), doesn't cut down bushes, but it is more powerful than the sword. The Axe is even slower than the spear, but it has the spear's power AND the ability to cut down bushes, as well as harder obstacles such as boulders.
Then you have the whip, a much weaker weapon with longer range, and it can be used to cross chasms with posts on either side. Don't worry, it's not as hard as it sounds. Just stand, snap, and the characters hop across automatically. The gloves are a bit more powerful, depending on the level you've upgraded them to, and they make a nice little miniature version of Street Fighter if you like the punching and kicking. You can learn some awesome moves with these when you upgrade them. The remaining three, the Bow, Javelin and Boomerang, are designed as long range weapons. I don't usually use them as they are not as powerful, and with the Bow and Javelin, when throwing at a group of enemies, your shot only hits one of them. With a weapon like the Sword or Axe, you cut through all three of them at once, delivering damage to all three.
So what's all this about upgrading? Glad you asked, even though I know you really didn't. Every time you defeat a boss character, you receive an orb for a certain weapon. Sometimes the orbs are found in treasure chests or given to you by certain characters. You can take these orbs to Watts, a wacky dwarf fellow you meet in Gaia's Navel, which actually looks more like Gaia's belly button. Watts upgrades your weapons depending on how many orbs you have collected for them. Once your weapons are upgraded, you can then learn new moves with them. Each character has to learn the moves for himself or herself by killing a shytload of monsters using that particular weapon, which is why I usually don't take the time to build them all up. If you want to have enough experience to get through without getting your a$$ whooped, though, you might want to spend time building them up anyway. This game is harder than I remember it being!
To use the new moves, you just charge up your energy while in battle. Normally, when you strike, your strike meter resets to zero percent and you have to wait for it to charge back up to 100% again. This starts out taking around 2 1/2 seconds, and by the time you reach level 99 it takes about 1 1/4 seconds. So like other RPG's, you do have to wait your "turn" to attack. To use a special move, you hold the attack button down and for every "turn" you wait, your focus charges up one level. When you get up to the desired level, just let go and your character unleashes a monstrous attack. I usually don't use the big moves that much, though, because oftentimes the move backfires when you wind up having to (automatically done by the computer) dodge an attack in between the time you let go of the button and the time you reach the enemy and deliver the attack. On the other hand, go ahead and get the sword and spear up to level 6, as the Lv. 6 move covers a lot of area and deals massive damage, both physical and psychological.
Then there's the spells. With each new Mana seed you seal off using your sword, you will gain what they call "Mana Power". Usually, the seeds are accompanied by a new Elemental that joins your party under the Magic Menu, and can be summoned to deliver an attack anytime you want. You must use these spells on a regular basis, or you can do like me and stand in one spot, using them over and over again until they reach their maximum level for the time being. It is a pretty good idea once you seal a new Mana seed and gain an extra point on your Mana Power, to go ahead and get those spells up to that next level right away. It makes a serious difference, it really does.
Gaining Mana Power is not an easy thing. Even for a pro like myself, it took about two days to get the first four Mana Seeds. At that point, you get to go straight to the Empire, and you pick up Flammie, the flying dragon. And finally the horse gets to eat that carrot! Flying the friendly skies of this vast and lovely overworld is one of the more fun and carefree ways to travel. Once you get Flammie, though, if you know what you're doing, you can get Seeds 5-7 in under a half hour. Then you can just build all the spells up from Level 4 to 7 at once, rather than doing it in between Seeds, as you will also be gaining three Elementals in the process. Luna accompanies the Seventh Seed and has an MP-stealing spell for Sprite, which can save you from having to buy Faerie Walnuts to restore his magic. As for Jamie, usually I only build her Cure Water, Fire and Light magic. Normally I don't use any of her other magic, except maybe Luna for the Moon Energy (which increases critical hits for a while) or Dryad for the Revivifier (bringing a character back to life with full health, if the level is high enough).
Even though the graphics are not anything like what you see nowadays, there's just something intriguing about leaving the game in its simple form, the way it is, and letting your imagination do the rest of the "seeing". As I climb up the mountaintops to visit Sage Joch, I'm right there with them, swinging that whip and traversing the chasms. This is not to say that I wouldn't be there if it were a 3D environment, but to tell you the truth, if they made a 3D DUPLICATE of this game, as in all the trees, palaces and so on and so forth were in the same exact place as the original, I'd be more than willing to shell out 80 bucks for it. It's a world I'm more than happy to escape to, wander around in, become a part of.
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Epinions.com ID:
flamepillar
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Member: Timothy Bishop
Location: Neenah, WI
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