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Secret of Mana
- This article is about the original Super Nintendo and mobile versions. For the game's 3D remake, see Secret of Mana (remake).
| Secret of Mana | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Developer | Square | ||
| Publisher | Square | ||
| Platforms | Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Virtual Console (Wii, Wii U), FOMA 903i, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, Super NES Classic Edition | ||
| Release date | Super Nintendo: August 6, 1993  October 1993  1994 Virtual Console (Wii): September 9, 2008 October 13, 2008 December 26, 2008 FOMA 903i: October 26, 2009 EZweb: June 24, 2010 iOS: Worldwide: December 21, 2010 Virtual Console (Wii U): June 26, 2013 Android: Worldwide: October 30, 2014 Super NES Classic Edition: September 29, 2017 September 29, 2017  September 30, 2017 October 5, 2017 | ||
| Genre | Action role-playing | ||
| Rating(s) |
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| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer | ||
| Media | Cartridge, Digital download | ||
| Input | Controller | ||
- Everyone 10+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, a 3D remake of the game was released for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Microsoft Windows.
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.
Gallery
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Secret of Mana.
Japan box art
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 聖剣伝説2 Seiken Densetsu 2 |
The Legend of the Sacred Sword 2 |
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 |
