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Secret of Mana
- This article is about the original Super Nintendo and mobile versions. For the game's HD remake, see Secret of Mana (remake).
Secret of Mana | |||
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Developer | Square | ||
Publisher | Square, Nintendo (Europe) | ||
Platforms | Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Virtual Console (Wii, Wii U), FOMA 903i, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, Super NES Classic Edition | ||
Release date | Super Nintendo:![]() ![]() ![]() Virtual Console (Wii): ![]() ![]() ![]() FOMA 903i: ![]() EZweb: ![]() iOS: Worldwide: December 21, 2010 Virtual Console (Wii U): ![]() Android: Worldwide: October 30, 2014 Super NES Classic Edition: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||
Genre | Action role-playing | ||
Rating(s) |
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Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer | ||
Media | Cartridge, Digital download | ||
Input | Controller |
Secret of Mana is the second installment of the Mana series. It was both developed and published by Square. The game was originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. Ever since its release, the Mana series was formed, specifically to disconnect from the Final Fantasy franchise, which only includes the first Mana title, Final Fantasy Adventure.
Similar to The Legend of Zelda series, Secret of Mana features real-time battles, although like Final Fantasy Adventure, it has an Attack Gauge that, when filled, allows the player's character to inflict the highest damage to their target. Instead of a generic pause interface, the game introduces the Ring Command menu system, which the player can access by pausing the game to make certain decisions, such as use an item or equip a different weapon. For a large duration of the game, the party consists of three characters, who simultaneously fight at once. A second and even a third player, if they connect a third controller via the Super Multitap peripheral, can join in to control the second and third characters respectively.
In 2008, Secret of Mana was ported to the Wii's Virtual Console, and in 2013 it was ported to the Wii U's Virtual Console, although only in Japan. In 2009, Secret of Mana was released for FOMA 903i mobile phones and then for EZweb in 2010. In late 2010, the game was ported to iOS devices and then to Android devices in 2014. The original Super Nintendo version is one of the three titles included in the Collection of Mana compilation and one of the 21 games included on the Super NES Classic Edition. In 2018, an HD remake of the game was released for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Microsoft Windows.
Story
- Title screen
Darkness sweeps the troubled land, as Mana’s power fades… people await a hero who will wield the sword… Excalibur, Herald, Gigas, the blade has had many names, for it has been celebrated in myths and legends throughout time. But all these speak to just one weapon: the Sword of Mana.
- Prologue
Using the power of Mana, a civilization had grown strong… In time, Mana was used to create the ultimate weapon: the Mana Fortress… This angered the gods. The sent their beasts to destroy the Fortress… A violent war rock the world, and Mana seemed to disappear… Before all was lost, a hero with the Mana Sword smashed the Fortress… Though the civilization had been destroyed, the world was peaceful again. But time flows like a river… and history repeats…
Upon hearing a villager mentioning something shiny lurking near the local falls, Elliot, Timothy, and Randi go there to investigate despite knowing all too well the area was off limit. While crossing a large waterfall on a narrow catwalk, Randi slips and falls into the basin far below, leaving his two friends scurrying back to the village. While exploring the lower grounds, the young lad starts hearing a mysterious voice beckoning him. He eventually finds a rusty sword wedged inside a rock. Prompted by the otherworldly echoes, he pulls out the weapon, all the while the voice coalesces into a ghostly knight. The apparition declares he entrusts the sword to Randi and disappears in a blinding light.
With his new cutting tool at hand, the young man disposes of the overgrown weed previously blocking his path and made his way back to his hometown. He finds the populace in disarray, complaining about the light coming from the waterfall and the recent surge of monsters swarming the village’s outskirts. Upon reuniting with his mates and meeting with the elder, he learns that pulling out the Mana Sword from its pedestal has made monsters appears all over the area, dooming the town. Hearing the news, Elliot starts pummeling the poor boy backwards, blaming him from all that happened. A sudden earthquake is felt, creating a hole below the two boys, sending them several feet under the earth. There, Randi is forced to defeat a giant praying mantis while being assisted by a travelling swordsman. After taking care of it, the boys are hoisted back up and the older man introduces himself as Jema and directs him to the Water Palace to seek out the aid of Sage Luka. After him leaving the village, Randi is asked by Timothy to go to the Elder’s house for an emergency meeting. There, the villagers are all gathered to coerce the village chief into banishing Randi from Potos for his crimes. The old man obliges and tells the young lad to leave the village after he finishes his business here. He later confides in the young lad that her mother brought him up to Potos when he was just a baby, and he raised him as his own. After parting with his adoptive father, Randi leaves his hometown for good and makes his way to the Water Palace.
After taking the Cannon Travel center, the boy lands near the Water Palace where a small troop of soldiers from Pandora were stationed in. He learns that their commander Dyluck was sent to eliminate a witch from the Haunted Forest. Moments after, he crosses path again with Jema who waited at the Palace’s entrance to greet him. During his audience with Sage Luka, he learns him pulling out the Mana Sword caused a shift in Mana all over the world, causing monsters to appear. Should he defeat monsters and obtain their orbs he could reforge the holy blade back to full power. The Empire also seeks to revive the Mana Fortress of yore by breaking the seals of each Mana Palace. Luka then entrusts Randi to seek out the eight temples’ Mana Seeds and receive their power. Jema leaves for the town of Pandora to seek an audience with the king while Randi is tasked to head to Gaia’s Navel to gain the Dwarfs’ help. The seeress gives the adventurer a spear as a parting gift.
While heading to his next destination, Randi is ambushed by goblins and put in a boiling stew for their main dish. Shouting for help, he grabs the attention of a female bystander, who quickly lets him out of his gloomy demise. As he is about to thank her, however, she claims she mistook him for someone else, and quickly leave the premises without disclosing her name.
Later, Randi reaches the town of Pandora, where he is advised by a standing guard to refrain from talking to people. He soon learns the realm is plagued by a curse turning citizens into zombies, wandering aimlessly. While exploring the castle, Randi bumps into the girl from earlier storming out of an arranged marriage meeting. Upon learning he is a swordsman, the lady going by Primm urges him to go to the Haunted Forest to deliver her fiancé Dyluck from the evil witch’s clutches and the two of them decide to team up. However, after deciding to follow his initial plan to explore Gaia’s Navel, Primm leaves to look for her lover by herself, angered at his stubbornness to head to the cave first.
Randi finds the Dwarf Village in the deepest part of the subterranean maze, where he encounters Watts the blacksmith who offers to forge his sword for 100 GP. Upon touching the holy blade, the dwarf’s hammer gains the ability to forge orbs into weapons. Overjoyed, he tells the boy to come later to receive another weapon. Randi decides to explore the village to pass time and comes across a shoddy sideshow run by the Dwarf Elder. He ends up paying a hefty sum of money for falling for the whole charade which involves helping a stray sprite pay back their debt. After discovering their ruse, he gets his money back, but is immediately whisked away by a rumble, sending them right in front of a giant carnivorous plant monster. After getting rid of the threat, the Dwarf Elder reveals that the beast has unearthed the entrance to the Underground Palace. However, it is still sealed by lava and the protagonist must ask Elinee the witch to undo the chant. The young sprite named Popoi is said to have washed up in Gaia’s Navel after a great storm flooded the area, losing their memory in the process. They decide to join Randi after hearing they may regain their memory should they come in contact with the Mana seeds. After receiving a bow from the Dwarf Elder, the team returns to Watts who gives them an axe and makes a shortcut to the surface.
The party ventures into the Haunted Forest only to find a distressed Primm fighting two werewolves. The young lady reunites with Randi and they resume their search for the Witch’s Castle. They found the old crone deep within her lair, about to teleport Dyluck to her master Thanatos at the ruins in Pandora. She claims her magic didn’t work properly on her and that the Mystic Knight from the Empire will invade Pandora once they’ll be no more sane troops to defend the realm. She then release her pet tiger to feast on the adventurers. The trio takes care of the furry beast, breaking the enchantment on Elinee. She reverts back to a regular old woman, telling them the magical herbs she once gathered in the forest withered. She made an oath with Thanatos and exchanged the souls of the villagers to maintain her powers. She adds that the Pandoran commander has already been warped to the ruins, and then advises the party to gain the magic of ice to neutralize the Underground Palace seal. Elinee finally gives the trio a whip as an apology before they head for their next destination. Back outside the castle, they hear Luka speaking to them telepathically, telling them to come to the Water Palace at once.
Returning to the temple, Sage Luka informs the party that Undine, the elemental of water might be in trouble as the barrier around her hideout has disappeared as of late. The adventurers venture into the cave, where they battle an overgrown reptile guarding the entrance to the water spirit room. There, Undine bestow upon Primm and Popoi defensive and offensive magic respectively. Randi asks what about him, but she replies the Mana Sword will once wield magic unrivaled by any other spells. She then gifts a polearm to the party before officially joining the party.
Now infused with ice magic, the party returns to Dwarf Village where the entrance to the Underground Palace lies and break the seal by casting and ice spell. There, they proceed deeper into the vestiges when they meet with an irate magical creature, shouting at them from barging into the altar room. Popoi tries to brawl with them, awakening a fiery giant the party needs to take down. The earth spirit Gnome thanks them afterwards and decides to join the group. Randi then synchronizes the Mana Sword with the seed to gain its power, then Popoi tries to focus their mind into it to regain some of their memories. They claim to hail from the forest in the Upperland, gaining new clue as to where the party might explore next.
Sage Luka, however, is worried about Jema not coming back from his audience with the king in Pandora, and ask the adventurers to look into it. While wandering around Pandora, they find a dazed friend of Primm named Pamaela, who immediately disappears upon talking to her. The team finds her near the ruins’ entrance excited about the idea of being sacrificed. Primm tries to snap her out of it, but Pamaela slaps her in retaliation, and then storms into the ancient structure. The party chases after her all the way to the back of the ruins, where they finally meet with Thanatos, who already drained Primm’s friend & Dyluck of their energy. He then activates a trap under their feet, sending them crashing down into a sacrifice chamber where they must defeat the very source source who drained all the souls of Pandora. They succeed, but are too late to confront the Mystic Knight who eloped along with Dyluck & Pamaela, but not after lifting the curse on the kingdom. They find Jema amidst the victims, who explains that Thanatos is one of the best officers of the Empire. He then entrusts the party to revisit Luka while he’s investigating the Underground Palace.
Back to the Water Palace, they learn to their horror that the Mana Seed has been stolen. According to Luka, however, doesn’t seem to have been perpetrated by the Empire. She has a vision of the water seed in the confines of Gaia’s Navel, where the party decides to investigate. There, they find Jema and the Dwarf Elder overlooking a large hole in the middle of Dwarf Village. Randi’s mentor explains that the thieves are drilling a hole toward the Underground Palace as they are after its Mana Seed. He entrusts the trio to chase after the thieves while he’s defending the palace. The party agrees and sneak into the Thieves’ Ship, where they meet face to face with the robbers calling themselves the Scorpion Army. Their leader, the Scorpion Boss claims they will someday rule the world with the power of the Mana seeds. They jump into their mechanical robot Kilroy to confront the protagonists, but end up overpowering their machine thanks to the energy of the stolen Mana seed. The trio thwarts their plans and the odd gang is forced to retreat. Once back in Dwarf Village, the elder thank them for their hard work, mentioning Jema retreated along with Pandoran soldiers. He gives the party a peculiar mallet as a reward.
Heading back to the Water Palace, they find the whole area infested with monsters, with Sage Luke being held hostage by the Empire. The commanding officer of the operation introduces himself as Geshtar of the Vandole Empire. He threatens the party to hand over the Water Seed lest they want Luka to suffer a dire fate, but the protagonists are either way forced to yield to the general. Geshtar breaks the Mana seed’s seal, then pits the party against his personal pet Jabberwocky. The trio defeats the two-headed dragon, then seal the Water Seed back as instructed by Luka. Jema, who came into the scene a moment ago, explains that the imperial forces have drawn back from the region as he was busy fighting them in Pandora. He adds he’ll be returning to his home country of Tasnica to see what he can do to stop the Empire and urges the protagonists to continue their mission by heading to the Upperland with the help of the nearby Cannon Travel center. Sage Luka adds to seek out the wisdom of Sage Joch living atop the Lofty Mountains.
Following Jema’s advice, the party made their way to the Upperland by taking a cannon and landed right in middle of the Forest of Seasons, hitting Popoi’s head in the process. This caused them to lose some its memory they had retrieved prior in the Underground Palace, forcing the party to further explore the premises. They met with a strange flock of bear-like creature called Moogles who claimed, according to the sprite, that they village has been invaded by Pebblers. The party decides to investigate the area, soon finding the aforementioned place swarming with the spiky moles. They quickly get rid of them, allowing the Moogles to take back their turf. Talking to one of them triggers a headache to Popoi, who suddenly remembers everything again. The creature reveals the secret to finding the hidden Sprite Village.
The party follows the instructions only to find the settlement to be deserted. A piercing cry echoes from afar, leading up to an overgrown fowl rampaging in the area. The giant bird is easily defeated and the party find a small temple behind the village. There, they find Popoi’s Grandpa who explains the recent attack from the Empire decimated the village’s population and made him lose his sight. The fact he laid low in the palace made him the sole survivor. He adds the sprites like him and Popoi are dependent of the Mana flow and should the imperial forces release the seals on each Mana seed, the ancient beast will be released once again. If that happens, sprites wille disappear from the face of the world. Popoi swears to protect the seals and take the wind elemental along with them not before his elder advises the party to seek the aid of the white dragon in a cave not too far from here.
Using a wind spell on a nearby orb in the Great Forest allow the adventurers to make their way into uncharted territory, where they stumble on a mushboom village called Matango. There, they meet with King Truffle inside Fung Castle who immediately recognizes Randi as the legendary hero. According to a legend, a mighty hero would wield the hold blade riding a white dragon and save the world. He then adds one of his folk saw a white dragon fighting a huge snake inside the cave up north. The king promises to share the next palace location should the party bring the dragon unscathed here in the castle. On that note, the protagonists make their way up to the northern cave to find the elusive creature. They find the lone dragon after killing off a viper who probably defeated its parents. The party asks Truffle for help carrying it all the way to the castle. There, the king thanks the heroes for rescuing the creature and decides to call it “Flammie”. The young dragon shall stay at his side while the adventurers are directed to Kakkara Desert where the next palace is said to be.
The trio takes the nearest Cannon travel center who blasts them in the middle of the desert. They find a Sandship after some wandering, but are immediately taken for imperial spies and are separated from each other. As each of them is forced to repay their debt for being rescued, they are dispatched around the ship to do manual work. Randi is taken down the engine room and meets with a fellow worker named Sergo, claiming he’s a pirate. He offers to make a diversion to distract the guards while the boy tries to reunites with his friends. The operation is successful, leading Randi to explore the vessel. He then finds Popoi rummaging the kitchen. An old man complains they ate all food in the hold. Randi and Popoi teams up to find Primm in the captain’s quarters, with Commander Morie ordering her to massage his back. She refuses, exchanging some banter with him, but Admiral Meria storms in and starts scolding his grandson for his rude behavior. The older general tries to capture the adventurers, but are interrupted by a surprise imperial assault led by Geshtar. The imperial knight hops on his mechanical hover bike and engage the party into a fight. He is forced to retreat in the end, leading the whole sandship crew to be stranded in the desert. Meria apologizes for his actions upon learning the party’s conection with Jema, and a soldier help them find their way to the town of Kakkara.
There, they learn from the ruler that the local oasis has run dry because of the disappearance of the fire seed from the nearby palace. The town’s minister also adds that the elemental spirit Salamando has also been kidnapped. The party finds a Cannon travel center next to the settlement and head to the frozen wasteland of the north to investigate. They land in Todo Village where a local Walrusker talks about a [[Tropics|tropical paradise hidden deep within the Crystal Forest. While searching the frozen woods, they stumble upon a lone shack with a talking reindeer pleading the party to get his master back from the Ice Palace. After further exploring, they find a warm settlement devoid of snow and ice in the middle of the frigid plains. In the middle of this peculiar place lies a large heater, holding none other than the fire mana spirit inside. They free the creature, which immediately joins the team, making the whole area freeze. Turns out the Scorpion Army was behind all this and stole the elemental to attract rich tourists. One of the lackeys blurts out that they saw an old man grabbing the seed while they nabbed Salamando back at the Fire Palace. This gives the party the incentive to explore the Ice Palace lurking at the end of the forest. Inside, they are greeted by an ice giant who is revealed to be none other than Santa Claus. He fell for the Mana Seed’s power once he sought to make children believe in him again, and transformed into this hideous gigas instead. He gives the Mana Seed back to the protagonists who return to the desert to put it on the fire altar.
This feat did not bring water back to Kakkara, however, and the protagonists press on toward their next destination by taking the cannon aiming to another continent. They arrive in enemy’s territory in a place called Southtown, where they meet an old tasnican undercover agent who gives the party the secret password to the sewer connecting Southtown to Northtown. There, they encounter the Resistance a group of young spies trained to defeat the Empire. Their leader is the young lady called Krissie]] who claims a man named Dyluck has recently stationed himself in the eastern ruins to steal people’s energy. They decide to investigate here, and find Pamaela speaking about marrying Dyluck, deeply upsetting Primm, who knocks her out. Krissie brings her to the local doctor while the party enters the old ruins. The party encounters Dyluck in the deepest part of the ruins, and he tricks Primm by stealing her energy. This betrayal angers Randi, who hits the soldier with his weapon. This momentarily snaps the possessed man out, telling Randi & Popoi to save her beloved friend located in the back room. The lady is found unconscious next to Thanatos who immediately paralyzes the two adventurers upon sight. His plans are thwarted, however, when Dyluck decides to transfer some of his life force the party, resurrecting Primm and freeing Randi and Popoi. The mystic knight retreats, leaving his underling Vampire to deal with them. The party defeats the creature, but do not make it in time enough to save Dyluck.
With nowhere else to go, the protagonists return to the Resistance headquarters and tell Krissie what has happened. She then informs the Emperor claims he wants a truce and disbands the imperial army, but the Resistance is highly skeptical of his true motives. They still agree to come to Vandole’s meeting in the Imperial Palace, but it is quickly revealed to be a trap. The party is put to jail along with the entire Resistance, and a destined to be mauled by powerful mechanical bioweapons. The adventurers fortunately escape and try to settle their argument with the Emperor. As they storm the throne room, they are greeted with Vandole surrounded by three of his four imperial generals: Geshtar, Sheex, and Fanha. Geshtar pleads the Emperor for a rematch, and fights the trio atop the palace while the others escape. He is killed off by them, but not before the mechanical genius burns the whole place to the ground. The party is saved in the nick of time by King Truffle riding a fully grown Flammie. He gives its favorite toy drum to the party, saying they can call him anytime, then escape the palace by flying toward Matango. Truffle directs them to the Lofty Mountains, where Sage Joch awaits.
The protagonists head there and climb the tallest peak to where the wizened old man is said to live. Inside a cave, they only find a strange humanoid bird telling them His Sageness went to the Palace of Darkness. The adventurers headed into the temple, synchronized the Mana Sword with its Mana seed, and befriended its elemental Shade. Upon heading back to the hermit’s cave, they learn Sage Joch went to Gold Isle. The party has no other choice but to comply and head for the aforementioned place. There, they learn about the ruler of the isle King Mammon has used the Wisp light elemental’s power to turn its city into gold, and locked it inside Gold Tower. The key to the tower was stolen by a Tasnican spy. It turns out the spy was Mara’s late husband and she’s been keeping it safe inside a box as a memento. She gives the key to the party and they return to the Light Tower to investigate. They rescue Lumina at the top of the structure and fuse the Mana Seed with the Holy Blade. Upon returning to Sage Joch, his pupil claims he is gone yet again, this time exploring the Moon Palace near Kakkara Desert. After flying to the aforementioned location, they meet with a friendly Robin Foot monster named Karon who let them cross the Sea of Wonder with his ferry. There, they go inside the palace with Luna the Moon elemental awaiting them. Randi draws out his blade once again before the Mana Seed before heading back to the Lofty Mountains. To no one’s surprise, Jehk discloses yet another location his master has gone to and the trio has no other choice but to go there as well.
They arrive as the Lemlian Castle of the Tasnican republic following Jehk’s instructions, where they learn form Jema about an imperial spy hiding amidst the castle. He is out for the chancellor according to the old knight, pleading the protagonists to stay alert. After searching the castle through and through, they finally enter the audience room to meet with the chancellor. To their utter shock, he frames them as imperial spies and tries to arrest them on the spot. Jema erupts into the scene, claiming the chancellor is a fake since he doesn’t cast any shadow, foiling the usurper’s plans. He reveals himself to be Sheex in disguise and attack the party, but they are no match for him and he is forced to retreat. The true chancellor thanks the adventurers for saving the republic and Jema instructs them to go learn true courage from Sage Joch before the Empire becomes unstoppable.
Back atop the Lofty Mountains, the party finally meet the old sage, who shall declare them worthy should they succeed in overcoming his Passage of Trials. The party accepts the challenge and the way opens next to them. They defeat the monsters on their way to the end one by one, until they come face to face with their final task: defeating their doppelgangers. They manage to do so, and return to the cave’s entrance with Sage Joch nowhere to be found. The mischievous bird is revealed to be the true Joch, as the old man was merely an illusion, stating he has been waiting for them to find their inner strength before unveiling the truth. He then directs them to the Sunken Continent where the last palace is said to be as well as the last remnants of the Mana Fortress.
The trio calls Flammie and fly to the deserted island, but is cornered by Emperor Vandole and his crew as they enter the temple. He declares the last seal to remain here, having visited all previous palaces to undo them behind the heroes’ back. He flees to the last altar with Fanha, leaving Sheex to transform into his mavolian form to take care of them. The general is eventually defeated, but the seal is broken before they could do anything. The party nabs the last elemental and escape the raising continent by calling the white dragon. Fearing the worst, they go back to Water Palace only to find Luka behind bars. She claims the imperials army unsealed the Water Seed and put her in jail. The then adds that the seal cannot be restored with the Mana Sword anymore and her last resort is now to pray for a miracle.
Back on the emerged continent, the party finds the areas swarming with monsters, with the Tasnican forces amidst the brawl. Jema is among them, telling the heroes that troops around the world are fighting to stop the Empire from resurrecting the fortress. He tells them to go underground and make their way to the palace there. The party accepts and ventures into the bowels of the earth to chase after Emperor Vandole. They are stalled on the way by the Scorpion Army, now seeking to grab the Mana Sword by force. They activate their new & improved robot, but are defeated once again. After a never-ending trek around the Underground City, they finally reach the altar room where they find a dead Vandole to their bewilderment. They quickly learn that it was Fanha who betrayed the Emperor, gloating about controlling the Mana Fortress and soon the world itself together with Thanatos. The mystic knight discloses that Dyluck’s body is needed for his transfer ritual, and escape to the fortress while Fanha transforms into her serpentine alter ego to confront the party. She perishes along with Geshtar, who was revived by Thanatos to stall the heroes even further.
They escape the structure right as the Mana Fortress is about to lift off. As they land on the resubmerged island, they speak with Jema, who is deeply distraught at the idea of not having prevented the resurrection of the fortress. He then recalls of a distant land hosting the Mana Tree. The thick fog surrounding it has recently subsided due to the fortress consuming Mana at an alarming rate. Should Randi synchronizes the Mana Sword with the Sacred Tree, he should be able to bring the blade back to its full power. The party looks around the island before departing and finds Primm’s best friend Pamaela inside the palace. She deeply regrets behaving the way she did prior, but Primm comforts her, saying she was under the Thanatos’s spell. Pamaela reveals that she was jealous of Dyluck and her being an item and that was how the evil sorcerer was able to manipulate her so easily. The two friends make amends and the party heads to the hallowed sanctuary.
Upon landing there, they hear a mysterious voice telling them to come hither. The heroes hack through the thick greenery and destroy many fearsome beasts to finally pinpoint the Mana Tree in the distance. Their rejoice is short-lived, however, as they see the Mana Fortress firing a missile at the Tree. The party awakes before the destroyed Mana Tree, telling Randi she has been awaiting his arrival. She tells them that the resurrection of the fortress has used up most of the world’s Mana, meaning that soon all the Mana beasts of this land will coalesce into one humongous creature, bringing Mana back to the planet. However, the recent decrease in Mana will cause the Mana Beast to enter an unbridled frenzy, destroying the world. The only way to prevent this is to defeat the beast with the Mana Sword. Randi is the last surviving member of the Mana Clan able to do this as the Mana Tree reveals she and the legendary tasnican knight Serin are his parents. He once challenged the Empire fifteen years ago, but was left badly wounded. With the last of its strength, he journeyed to Potos to retrieve the Mana Sword but never made it in time. She transformed into the Mana Tree afterwards to protect the world from evil. The Mana Tree bids her son farewell, then reseals the eight Mana Seeds of the world into the Holy blade before dying. Primm & Popoi are supportive of his loss, telling Randi not to give up as they got him covered.
After making last-moment preparations, they fly toward the ominous fortress for the final battle. They traverse the mechanical maze laid out in front of them, leading all the way to some familiar faces. The evil sorcerer reveals that his own body has reached its limit and needs another worthy vessel to house his spirit. As he couldn't take a normal human because his earthly envelope would tear apart, he went on a search for a human born in the shadow of darkness every few decades. It happens that Dyluck's body is one of them and is capable of augmenting his powers beyond comprehension. While the young soldier's powers were sealed as a child, he is no more than a puppet to Thanatos now and will be housing his evil soul and using the Mana Fortress to rule the world. The magic knight is suddently growing weaker by the minute and must now inhabit his new vessel before collapsing. Primm then lunges towards Dyluck as a way to prevent his possession going further attacking the evildoer in the process. The latter's body vanishes almost instantly but unfortunately, Thanatos's soul has become one with the major's body. Gloating about his newfound vessel, the possessed Dyluck tries to further his modus operandi, but suddently finds himself unable to do anything. An otherworldly but familiar voice resonates across the room, telling Primm to listen to it as it is Dyluck's spirit. His echo says that he cannot speak for too long since Thanatos's energy is too strong, but he knows a way to defeat the sorcerer. He reveals to the party that Thanatos was once an ancient sorcerer who sold his soul to Maviola in exchange for eternal life. While his spirit became eternal, his body slowly decayed and he must periodically find a new suitable host to possess. With each new body, his spirit grows ever darker as it feeds on hatred and destruction. Dyluck's spirit then apologizes to Primm, as he cannot join her in the mortal realm anymore and entrust Randi to take care of her. As he finishes his speech, Dyluck uses his last bit of strength to destroy his body, leaving Thanatos without a host and revealing his true face. Desperate to find a new host, the dark entity heads for the heroes in vain as he is eventually defeated.
His death triggers the emergence of the Mana Beast, forcing the heroes to head at the top of the fortress to confront it. Randi is afraid, however, that Popoi would disappear along with Mana should they slay the creature. The sprite retaliates by stating that the world of sprites and elementals are separate from the human world, meaning that they will just not see Randi and Primm again. According to them, the fate of the world is much more pressing than sprites, so they better take care of the Mana Beast quickly since Randi promised his mother to do so. The three of them advance toward the towering being, with Popoi and Primm casting Mana Magic to fill the Holy Blade with power. A grueling and arduous battler ensues, eventually making the party victorious as the Mana Beast vanishes into snow.
With Mana disappearing, Popoi is no more, leaving Randi & Primm to mourn over they sprite friend. They swear before each other to never forget them, and return to previous locations to visit their acquaintances form all over the world. Randi leaves Primm to her father in Pandora before departing to his hometown of Potos, where he is seen putting the Mana Sword back into its original resting place. Popoi’s spirit is seen visiting the Sprite Village, before glancing at the moonlit sky atop a tree.
Gameplay
Controls
Overworld
Action | Function | SNES |
---|---|---|
Move | Move in the four cardinal directions. Pressing two directions close to each other at once will make the player character move in diagonals. | ![]() |
Dash | Dash in a straight line, depletes your Power Meter. | ![]() (Hold) |
Attack/Interact | Strike with your weapon in areas with enemies. Also makes your character interact with an NPC or a sign if in range. | ![]() |
Charge | Charges up your Power Meter to execute a Power Attack, making the character move slower. | ![]() (Hold) |
Activate/deactivate character | If a second or third controller (Multi-Player Adapter required on SNES) is recognized by the system, pressing start on the respective controller with allow the second or third player to control a character. | ![]() |
Switch character | Switch between playable characters. | ![]() |
Strafing | Make your character face the same direction as an enemy while charging its weapon. | ![]() ![]() ![]() (Hold) |
Menus
Action | Function | SNES |
---|---|---|
Open/close controlled character ring command | Make the currently controlled character Ring Command open or close. Switches to the currently controlled character Ring Command if on an ally's. | ![]() |
Open/close ally character ring command | Make an ally character Ring Command open or close. Switches to an ally character Ring Command if on the main controlled character's. | ![]() |
Move | Move left or right in the currently viewed Ring Command. | ![]() (left or right) |
Switch ring commands | Move up and down to switch to another Ring Command. | ![]() (up or down) |
Select item command | Press once in item Ring Command to select which character to consume the item with the hand cursor. Press twice to confirm. | ![]() |
Select weapon command | Press once in weapon Ring Command to make selected weapon flicker. Press twice on same weapon to equip, or on another weapon to swap. | ![]() |
Select magic command | Press once in magic Ring Command to enter selected elemental spirit sub-menu. Press twice to select magic spell with hand cursor and a third time to confirm. | ![]() |
Merchant Rings
Ring Commands
Secret of Mana introduces the Ring Commands to the series as various menu functions throughout the game. There four main ring commands tied to each playable characters.
- Item Rings allow the player to view and use currently owned items.
- Weapon Rings allow the player to view and equip currently owned weapons.
- Edit Rings display information about weapons & armor, character status, window edit, etc.
- Magic Rings are exclusive to Primm and Popoi. They are used to cast magic spells.
Item Ring Command
This Ring Command display all currently hold items. There is a maximum of 10 item varieties, each consumable items can hold up to four units.
Weapon Ring Command
All eight weapons found throughout the aventure are displayed here. Currently equipped weapons are marked with a miniature icon of each player character. An upper window informs about the currently selected weapon's name and attack power (right) compared to the character ring's equipped weapon (left). Players can switch equipped weapons to another by selecting one with the cursor and pressing .
Edit Ring Command
This Ring Command has seven sub-menus to explore. Here the player can get information about various game components and even costumize certain gameplay elements.
- Window Edit: This sub-menu allows players to customize message windows in three ways: background color, frame style, and background pattern. Players can use the
button in any direction to change window frames and background patterns. They can also either press
,
, or
to customize the background color.
- Targeting: When selecting the Targeting icon, the cursor will appear next to an enemy, displaying its name. Players can select their target to make the AI characters attack it with
. This tactic can be useful if they wish for the party to attack different enemies while the lead character focuses on another foe.
- Controller Edit: In this sub-menu, players can edit the button mapping to their liking. They can even set the commands to a reverse position, allowing flipped controller play.
- Status: This menu will display the currently controlled character's stats. Players can switch characters by pressing
. There are four windows in this sub-menu:
- Experience & Level: Shows the character's name, level, hit points (HP), total experience, and experience required for the next level.
- Abilities: Shows the various parameters influencing the character's attack & defense power, agility, evasion, & luck.
- Mana Power: Shows the elemental powers gained by synchronizing with a Mana Seed during the adventure.
- Money: Shows the currently held Gold Pieces by the party.
- Weapon/Magic Level: This sub-menu displays the current level of each weapons & elemental magic. Weapons' level caps can only be upgraded by collecting Orbs. Players can toggle between the Weapon and Magic skill menus by pressing
.
- Weapon Skills: Shows the party's currently held weapons. Pressing
on a weapon will display its type, level, and abilities.
- Magic Skills: Shows the party's collected Mana spirits. Pressing
on a spirit will display its magic spells & effects.
- Weapon Skills: Shows the party's currently held weapons. Pressing
- Action Grid: Selecting this menu will display the currently controlled character's action grid. They are two windows shown in this sub-menu:
- Attack Chart: This chart offers 16 different attack patterns represented by tiles the character will follow when controlled by AI. The Y or vertical axis determines whether the character will come near (upper side of the grid) or stay away (lower side of the grid) from the enemies. The X or horizontal axis will command the character to attack (left side of the grid) or guard (right side of the grid) more against their foes. The default option is set on the lower right corner, adopting a defensive and avoidant stance. For a more aggressive style, players should move their character to the upper left corner of the chart.
- Weapon Level: After selecting their battle behavior with the attack chart and pressing
, players can set their maximum weapon attack charge when controlled by AI. The higher the level, the better potential for damage. However, a high weapon level means longer charging time waiting for the character to strike.
- Equip Armor: Choosing this icon will prompt the armor sub-menu. There, players can chose which currently held gear to equip for each character. Pressing
on an unequipped character will make the icon flash. Pressing
again will make the currently controlled character equip said gear, shown by its face next to it. Players can also switch equipment between two players if they can equip them. To do so, just make the icon flash on the seleted gear and move to the other equipped gear, then tap
again. To discard an equipment, make it flash, then select the trash can icon, then tap
. Finally, pressing up or down on the
will switch character rings.
Battle System
Weapon Attacks
- Main article: Secret of Mana weapons
The party can use up to eight different weapon types. Returning from Final Fantasy Adventure has some of them possessing unique utilitary field uses.
The Sword can be used to cut grass & shrubs and trigger some wall switches. The Rusty Sword is found wedged in a rock at the base of Potos Falls at the beginning of the game.
The Spear can trigger wall switches. The weapon is given by Luka in Water Palace.
The Knuckles have no overworld use. The Spiked Knuckle is Primm's starting weapon.
The Boomerang has no overworld use. The Boomerang is Popoi's starting weapon.
The Bow has no overworld use. The Chobin's Bow is given by the Dwarf Elder in Dwarf Village.
The Axe can be used to destroy rocks and other sturdy obstacles. Watts's Axe is given by Watts in Dwarf Village.
The Whip can be used to latch onto poles and cross gaps. The Whip is found in a treasure chest after defeating Spikey Tiger in the Witch's Castle.
The Javelin has no overworld use. The Pole Dart is given by Undine in Undine's Cave.
Weapons types all start at level 0 which can be raised by defeating a certain amount of enemies. However, the weapon skill level cap is tied to the amount of orbs the player has collected for a specific weapon. Players can permanently increase their weapon level by letting Watts the blacksmith forge them. The current weapon skill level can be viewed in the Weapon/Magic Level sub-menu, the maximum level being 8:99 after collecting all the corresponding orbs.
Additionally, some weapons will gain special effects after forging. Some will deal extra damage to certain types of monsters while others will raise some of the wielder's stats. The effects can be viewed in the Weapon/Magic Level sub-menu.
Power Attack
Each level is linked with a weapon charge attack that can be used by holding the while the power meter is at 100%. After meeting those conditions, the playable character will start slowing down and charging up their attack with a power bar filling their status window. Once the bar fills all the window, the player can release
to unleash a Power Attack. Power Attacks are typically more elaborate and more devastating to enemies the higher the weapon skill level, though the time to wait for the bar to fill all the way to its maximum power can be a major drawback.
Magic Attacks
- Main article: Secret of Mana magic
Making their first appearance in the series, the eight Mana spirits can be befriended to bestow elemental powers to Popoi and Primm. The sprite has access to the offensive magic while Primm can cast support & recovery magic. Each elementals grant three spells to Popoi and Primm respectively. Some items can emulate spells, such as a Candy for Cure Water, but most spells have unique effects which cannot be replicated by other means.
Undine, the Mana spirit of water, is strong against fire-based and desert-dwelling foes. She is found in her cave near the Water Palace.
Gnome, the Mana spirit of earth, is effective against flying enemies. He can be recruited inside the Underground Palace.
Sylphid, the Mana spirit of wind, deals harsh damage against underground-dwelling opponents. He is befriended in the Wind Palace.
Salamando, the Mana spirit of fire, is strong against aquatic monsters and those from colder regions. He is rescued deep within the Crystal Forest.
Shade, the Mana spirit of darkness, is effective against enemies harnessing light and holy magic. He can be found in the Palace of Darkness.
Lumina, the Mana spirit of light, deals massive damage to monster imbued with dark magic. She can be discovered in the Light Tower.
Luna, the Mana spirit of the Moon, possesses peculiar powers with untold effects. She can be recruited at the Moon Palace.
Dryad, the Mana spirit of wood, has magic closely tied with Mana. She is befriended in the Mana Palace.
Magic skills all start at level 0 but can be raised by regularly casting spells of the same elemental. However the magic skill level cap can only be raised by synchronizing the Mana Sword with the eight Mana seeds residing in the world's palaces. In other terms, the maximum magic skill level equals the amount of Mana seeds obtained. The current magic skill level can be viewed in the Weapon/Magic Level sub-menu, the maximum level being 8:99 after collecting all the seeds.
Status Abnormalities
Player characters can be inflicted with status abnormalities by enemy attacks, simply by colliding into them, or even by opening Trap chests. The party can also inflict status effects to enemies by casting magic or by hitting them with their weapons. When an ally or an enemy is hit with a status, a text bubble saying [Target]'s [Status abnormality]! will be displayed (For example, Primm's poisoned!). Some effects are permanent until removed by an item or a spell while others fade after a while. Moreover, some accessories can protect against certain conditions once worn.
Name | Effect | Healing Method |
---|---|---|
Ghost | When an ally's HP falls to 0, turn it into a ghost & is unable to act. | Revivify spell Cup of Wishes Stay at Inn |
FrostiedSeoM FrostSeoM HD |
All is unable to move or act. | Remedy spell Medical Herb |
EngulfedSeoM BlazeSeoM HD |
Ally is unable to act while fire depletes their HP. | Remedy spell Medical Herb |
PoisonedSeoM PoisonSeoM HD |
Ally quicky loses HP. | Remedy spell Medical Herb |
ConfusedSeoM ConfuseSeoM HD |
Movement controls are reversed & ally cannot use magic spells. | Remedy spell Medical Herb |
Spaced OutSeoM BalloonSeoM HD |
Ally is unable to move or act. | Remedy spell Medical Herb |
MoogledSeoM MoogleSeoM HD |
Ally is unable to act beside moving. Attack and defense stat greatly reduced. | Remedy spell Medical Herb Moogle Belt |
TangledSeoM TangleSeoM HD |
Slow ally's movement, decreasing agility. | Remedy spell Medical Herb |
PygmizedSeoM PygmizeSeoM HD |
Ally is unable to act beside moving. Attack and defense stat greatly reduced. | Remedy spell Medical Herb Midge Mallet |
PetrifiedSeoM PetrifySeoM HD |
Ally is unable to move or act and HP is reduced by half. Impervious to attacks. | Remedy spell Medical Herb |
Barrel | Ally avoids all attacks while unable to attack & greatly reducing movement. | Remedy spell Medical Herb |
Interactable Objects & Services
Topography of the Fields
Underbrush: Tall grass can easily be walked over and be cut by swords.
Shrubs: These cabbage-like plants block paths, but can easily be cut down with the sword or an axe.
Flowers: These pink flowers act just like shrubs and can be dealt with the same manner. Some Lullabuds can mimic them and hit players with a surprise attack.
Dungeons
Floor Switches: Step on them to activate something.
Skull Switches: Cranium-shaped switches that trigger an event when striken with a weapon.
Teleporters: Stand on this pad to get warped to a different place. They are mostly found in dungeons.
Rocks: Rubble that can only be ridden off by swinging an axe to it.
Stalagtite: Rock formation that can be chopped down with an axe. Both rocks and stalagtites act as obstacles in caves.
Poles: Usually coming in pairs, they can be lached onto with the whip to cross gaps.
Statues: Intricatly sculpted stone statues. Only the axe can chop them down.
Coral: Unique rock formation from the Underground City. The sword and axe can cut it down.
Crystals: Peculiar glowing crystals found deep in the Underground City and the Mana Fortress. The sword and axe can cut them down.
High Steppers: These cute yellow sentient springs will make your characters leap through gaps and reach higher ledges.
Crystal orbs: Strange magical artifacts that are the key to open important paths. Using the corresponding magic will destroy them.
Towns
Inns: The party can rest at inns for a small fee to restore HP and MP, saving the game, even reviving ghost allies.
Shops: The party can stock on items and buy weapons in various sundries scattered inside towns.
Special
Chests: Treasure chests may be opened to reveal items of all sorts. Some of them, however, are booby-trapped. Most chests are dropped by enemies but a significant portion of them are found lying around towns and dungeons.
Neko: This savvy cat can help players in dungeons by offering various items and weapons for sale, even saving the game. Beware of his pricing, however, as he sells his ware double their actual worth.
Watts: This blacksmith is first encountered in Dwarf Village and will follow the party in hopes of tempering their weapons for a fee.
Cannon brothers: These look-alikes will use their cannon to blast the party across large distances for a small fee. They don't accept ghosts to use their services, however.
Items
- Main article: Secret of Mana items
Item in Secret of Mana can be divided between two categories: consumable and key items. Consumable items can be bought and sold in shops as well as being found in chests dropped by enemies. They all provide positive effects to an ally. Key items, however, are either obtained during the story or found in chests. Some are mandatory while some are optional to complete the game.
There are six consumable items:
Candies restore 100 HP to a party member.
Chocolates restore 300 HP to a party member.
Royal Jams restore full HP to a party member.
Medical Herbs remove all status ailments to a party member, aside from Ghost.
Cups of Wishes revives a Ghost party member.
Barrels Ally becomes invulnerable to physical and magical attacks but cannot run nor attack.
Here are the five key items:
Magic Rope sends the party back to a dungeon's entrance. Found in a chest in Gaia's Navel.
Midge Mallet transforms into and removes the pygmized status ailment from allies. Given by the Dwarf Elder after retrieving the water seed from the Thieves's Ship.
Flammie Drum calls Flammie. Given by King Truffle after escaping from the Imperial Palace.
- Sea Hare's Tail used to restore the oasis in Kakkara. Given by a merchant in Turtle Shell Isle.
Moogle Belt transforms into and removes the moogled status ailment from allies. Given by King Amar III after restoring the oasis in Kakkara.
Armor
- Main article: Secret of Mana armor
There are three types of protective gear: head gear, torso gear, and accessories. Head gear equally raises physical and magical defense, while torso gear favor physical protection and accessories boosts magical defense. Most accessories and some head gear grant extra protection against status effects or boost the wearer's stats. The majority of equipment can be purchased in stores, but some can be found in chests dropped by enemies.
Enemies
Bosses
Locations
Development
Secret of Mana began development for the SNES CD-ROM, and was planned to be a launch title for the peripheral.[1] When the SNES CD-ROM was canceled, Square shifted Secret of Mana's development to the Super Nintendo. Similarly, Final Fantasy Adventure started development in 1987 as a Famicom Disk System title, Seiken Densetsu: The Emergence of Excalibur, before ultimately becoming a Game Boy game. When Secret of Mana shifted development to the Super Nintendo itself, the team had to remove a lot of content to fit it on a 16 megabit Super Nintendo cartridge, which is significantly smaller than a CD-ROM. One of the most significant removals was the ability to take multiple different routes, opening the possibility for several different endings.[2] Some of Secret of Mana's unused features found their way into Chrono Trigger, such as the numerous different endings.
Like several other Square-developed games for the Super Nintendo, Secret of Mana utilizes Mode 7, particularly when the party travels on Flammie high above the world map, as during this, the largely scaled and rotatable background gives the illusion that the ground below is three-dimensional.
The English translation for Secret of Mana was worked on by Ted Woolsey, and was completed within 30 days, a month after the Japanese version was released. Within this short time frame, Ted Woolsey had little time to complete the game's translation, and portions of the game's script had to be removed due to space limitations.[3] In North America, prior to its release, Secret of Mana was titled Final Fantasy Adventure II,[4][5] indicating that it would be marketed as a Final Fantasy spinoff in a similar vein to how the first three SaGa games were released in North America as The Final Fantasy Legend, Final Fantasy Legend II, and Final Fantasy Legend III respectively. The idea was that the Final Fantasy Adventure series would focus more on action gameplay than the traditional RPG style of the main Final Fantasy series and the Final Fantasy Legend series. When Secret of Mana was chosen as the game's title, Mana became a entirely separate series from Final Fantasy not just in Japan but also in other regions.
Secret of Mana went on to be developed and ported across many more platforms as the SNES was eventually discontinued. The original game (with an updated translation and touch-focused player experience) first appeared in Japan circa 2009, and in the West from 2010. Available on both iOS/iPadOS and Android, this version has been updated frequently as mobile technology continues to evolve. However, the port became unusable on iOS for a period of six months in 2019 due to a rendering bug that presented in version 13 of the operating system. The bug was eventually patched out in the spring of 2020.
Gallery
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Secret of Mana.
Names in other languages
Language | Name | Meaning |
---|---|---|
Japanese | Seiken Densetsu 2 |
The Legend of the Sacred Sword 2 |
External Links
- Secret of Mana Official Japanese Guide
- Secret of Mana Official Game Secrets
- Secret of Mana In-Depth: Magic Leveling Up FAQS by Xi
- Secret of Mana: An Armor and Weapons Data Table with a Brief Disscusion of Stats by Axen
References
- ^ "Classics Column #1: Desperately Seeking Seiken". 1UP.com (archive.is).
- ^ Retro Gamer issue 85, page 26.
- ^ Super Play issue 23, page 15.
- ^ Nintendo Power issue 51, page 67 .
- ^ Electronic Gaming Monthly issue 45 (April 1993), page 90 .
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Randi --"Whoa! What's a Rabite doing in a place like this?" |
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[Edit] Games in the Mana series
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---|---|
Main series | Final Fantasy Adventure • Secret of Mana • Trials of Mana • Dawn of Mana • Visions of Mana |
Spinoffs | Legend of Mana • Children of Mana • Heroes of Mana • Friends of Mana • Circle of Mana • Rise of Mana • Echoes of Mana |
Re-releases and compilations | Sword of Mana • Adventures of Mana • Secret of Mana • Collection of Mana • Trials of Mana |
Related titles | Secret of Evermore |