Secret of Mana allusions

This is a list of allusions from Secret of Mana.

Final Fantasy Adventure

Numerous concepts are reused from the first Mana entry.

• Some characters take their inspiration from the first game.
  • Randi shares a similar hair style to Sumo's.
  • Jema’s name clearly references Bogard as a Gemma Knight. Both are older & seasoned warriors who mentor the protagonist during the story.
  • Thanatos and Julius are both gifted magicians who use their position as advisers to usurp the leader of an empire for personal gains.
  • Emperor Vandole takes its name and role from the Vandole Empire.
  • Watts makes a comeback and sells weapons just like in the previous installment.
  • The King of Pandora and King Lorimar are both rulers of a kingdom cursed by a monster the player needs to defeat in order to lift the blight.
  • The Cannon Brothers are very similar to The Professor in both looks & mannerism.
  • Dancing merchants dressed in middle-eastern attire appears in both games.

• Several enemies are reprised from Final Fantasy Adventure, often with a new name in the English localization. Some a repurposed as status effects or non-player characters.
  • Fanha’s boss form Hexas is a nod to Kary.
  • The Mega Xorn enemy was retooled as a boss.
  • Walruskers were enemies in the first installment, whereas they became a friendly race hailing from the Ice Country in Secret of Mana.
  • The Snowman status effect in Secret of Mana was also an enemy found in the Frozen Waste.
  • While the Shadow Zero doesn’t reappear as an enemy in the game, it can be summoned by casting a level 8 Evil Gate spell. The little creature can also appear while opening a chest although this is a very rare occurrence.

Moogle Belt in the HD remake

• The Moogles reappear from Final Fantasy Adventure, this time with many derivatives.
  • A race of Moogles hails from the Upper Land.
  • The Moogle status condition can be inflicted on party members by enemies.
  • The Moogle Belt is a key item that transforms the player characters into Moogles and back.
  • The Balloon Sylphid spell can be upgraded to Level 8, from which the usual red balloon will be replaced by a Moogle head.
  • Moogle Claw is a level 3 glove-type weapon typically obtained at the Moogle Village.
  • In the HD remake version, players who pre-ordered the digital game also obtained moogle suits and tiger suits for the party.

• Both Sumo & Randi fall form great heights near a waterfall at the beginning of the game.
• A Veedio in Mandala references the kingdom of Lorimar from the previous game.
• The Mana Tree is destroyed by the villain moments before the final battle.

Final Fantasy series

• Moogles speak by using the signature cry of “Kupo”.

Chrono Trigger

Primm & Marle

According to a translated Hiromichi Tanaka interview, Secret of Mana was originally developed as a Final Fantasy title but ended up diverging so much from the other previous installments that it was initially given the name Chrono Trigger. The three games ended up being released as Final Fantasy IV, Secret of Mana, & Chrono Trigger, but some ideas & concepts originally intended for Secret of Mana ended up in the 1995 game. Despite this, some similarities can be observed in both games.

• The male protagonists from both games have similar features. Both Randi and [Crono] sport spiky hair and wear baggy pants.
• In similar vein, both Primm and [Marle] wear their blonde hair in a ponytail and have harem pants. Both hail from an upper-class family and are in conflict with their upbringing.
• Both games have an ancient fortress (Mana Fortress & Ocean Palace) that were smash by a legendary weapon (Mana Sword & the Masamune).
• Said structures are resurrected late in the game and pose a serious threat to the world.

Street Fighter

• The level 8 glove Charge attack bears a strong resemblance to the Hadouken move from the series.

Real World

Falkor from The Neverending Story

Anime & Manga

• The Scorpion Boss and her minions resemble Doronjo and Boyacky, two of the antagonists from Yatterman.
• The Scorpion Army are similar to Team Rocket from the Pokemon franchise (specifically Jessie, James and Meowth) as they’re more of an incompetent nuisance as opposed to an actual threat.

Films & TV Shows

• Flammie was heavily inspired by Falkor from the 1984 movie The Neverending Story.
• Pecard is a reference to Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Mythology & Folklore

• Randi pulling out the sword is a nod to the Arthurian legend in which Arthur pulls a sword.
• The idea of a continent with advanced technology and civilization that was sunk beneath the ocean when the people did something to anger the gods (in this case, the creation of the Mana Fortress) is very similar to the legend of the lost continent of Atlantis.
• The four imperial generals can reference the Buddhist concept of the Four Heavenly Kings.
• The Japanese sprite of the Earth Slide spell is completely different from the North American and PAL regions, depicting a catfish instead of an exploding rock. In Japanese folklore, Namazu is a giant catfish that can create powerful earthquakes.
• Karon’s name & purpose in the game is an obvious reference to Charon from Greek mythology.
• Santa & Rudolph are both stemming from Christmas folklore.
• King Mammon is a reference to King Midas whose hands would turn everything into gold.

Other

• One of the Veedios inside Mandala temple references Abe Lincoln & the Jeopardy! game show. This easter egg is only present in the English localization.
• Players can view two strange faces hidden on the world map while riding Flammie. One is in the Northeast corner in the middle of the ocean and appears as a single black pixel on the full map of the world. The other is nestled in the mountains to the south of Empire Southtown. Some people call these Moai heads, but I think they are more likely to have been based on the "Face on Mars" originally photgraphed by Viking Orbiter 1.
• The Zombie and Ghoul enemies do what seems to be the Moon Walk while casting spells. This is a reference to Michael Jackson.

HD Remake

The HD remake introduced many visual easter eggs from previous installments.

Adventures of Mana

• Various portraits of the game’s main characters can be found in relevant homes.
  • A portrait of Sumo can be found in the basement of Potos Elder's house.
  • A portrait of Fuji can be found in Pamaela's house in Pandora.
  • A portrait of Bogard and Fuji's Mother can be found in the reception room in the castle of Pandora.
  • A portrait of Marcie can be found in the Cannon Man's house in Kippo Village. This is befitting the fact that in the original Final Fantasy Adventure game, Marcie was created by Dr. Bowow which in turn is a direct ispiration for the Cannon Man character.

Trials of Mana

• Vuscav's flag can be found on top of the central hut of Turtle Shell Isle.
• Duran's ultimate weapon for his Paladin class, the Brave Blade can be found hanging on a wall in the King's room in the Republic of Tasnica.

Legend of Mana

• A portrait of Niccolo can be found at Neko's which in fitting since they share the same name in japanese.
• A portrait of the Hero (Toto in japanese) can be found in northeastern house in Tropics BEFORE Salamando's rescue.
• A portrait of the Heroine (Imu in japanese) can be found in northeastern house in Tropics AFTER Salamando's rescue.
• A portrait of Pearl can be found at Gold City shop.
• Li'l Cactus' pot can be found at the inn in Kakkara.
• The Sword of Fate obtained from the Teardrop Crystal quest by choosing Pearl is found hanging on a wall in Watts's forge in Dwarf Village.

Children of Mana

• During one of the Inn Cutscenes, Popoi mentions that they have found a rare plant that the showed to his Grandpa. This is a reference to the Lake Flower item which description reads as follow: A rare flower that blooms in the outer reaches of Star Lake. Believed to grow only in this area, it is highly prized for its medicinal uses.
• Near the end of the game, the Mana Tree mentions that Soon all the Mana beasts in the world will be transformed into one giant creature. The term Mana Beast was translated as Benevodons in some languages, leading to some speculations linking the Malevodons from Children of Mana being the result of such transformation.

Rise of Mana

• Several Character and monster models were reused from the mobile game, including those of Randi, Primm & Popoi.
• A plushie of Charume can be found at the inn in Todo Village.
• A portrait of Rein & Van can be found at the inn in Mandala.
• The Wing Sword (ウィングソード) can be found hanging alongside other pieces of equipment at the shop in Northtown.

References

• FlyingOmelette
• SquarePalace
• Final Fantasy wiki