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Seiken Densetsu II

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

How many ways can I say that this game changed my life as a child? It's almost impossible to say how many ways. Most people fell in love with Squaresoft (now SquareEnix) because of Final Fantasy, but not me, this game was the catalyst for me. Don't get me wrong, I love Final Fantasy games, but Secret of Mana is my most favorite game of all time. The formula was perfect; it starts out kind of like something out of King Arthur. The boy finds a rusty sword that looks to have sat in a stone for years, and then suddenly a spirit appears in front of him. The spirit tells the boy to pull the sword, little does he know that this spirit is actually his father and that by pulling the sword he will start down a path that will change his and many others lives forever.

It was 1993 when this game came onto the American market as Secret of Mana, when in truth it was actually the second game in a series that would grow into a large franchise. The first Seiken Densetsu was on the Gameboy handheld, but in the states it was renamed Final Fantasy Adventure as a way to make it sell better, rather shrewd I'd say. Nowadays, they never would have done something like that, but back then Square was still something of a fledgling company that had to battle the likes of Enix (ironically it's future partner) and even Nintendo itself (due to the sales of Zelda games and the like) for shelf-space.

Unfortunately the franchise that this game created was a hit or miss kind of deal. Some of its sequels were great, like Seiken Densetsu III which to this day is the closest thing to it's predecessors greatness, it was for the Super Famicom (the Japanese SNES) and was never released here due to the fact that stupid decisions like that were the norm back then, they were afraid that it would be too difficult for American gamers...tsk. But there were also many awful Mana's like, Sword of Mana for the Gameboy Advance. It had so many quirky things about its gameplay plus the music was like regular Gameboy music which was vastly beneath the GBA's technological prowess, it was just lame, it could have been a sure winner had it followed the formula better and had a musical score that didn't insult the GBA's technology. People that have never played the older games might like Sword of Mana enough to give it a chance however.

Secret of Mana is a wonderful adventure that has great graphics for its time and an incredible musical score (I'm not kidding, I love it, Hiroki Kikuta is right up there with Motoi Sakuraba and Nobuo Uematsu!!), it can be played by just about anyone that understands RPG's and even by novice players because it starts out simple and builds up from there. The adventure is quite linear however, so some might be turned off by that, but that in no way takes away from its greatness. The gameplay mechanics of the game were amazing at the time with so many weapons to level up and strengthen with orbs, there was something for everyone to enjoy, plus you could charge up for a special attack and eventually you could do an ultimate attack later in the game after much experience is gained. The way the story went was very fairytail-esque with many comical moments and very funny animations to the sprites (no pun intended). You could even get some friends together and they could control the other characters for even more fun adventuring, I had a lot of great memories of playing this way with my Father and my brother, it was a blast!!! It changed the way that RPG's had to be and it did it better than The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (people will hate me for saying that, I know), even though I love that game too.

I just wish they'd either re-release this or Seiken Densetsu III on GBA (or both), either that or remake them for the Wii or PS3. It can be done SquareEnix, you have more than enough money and more than enough influence to round up all the original creators rather than these new guys that make all the new Mana's that apart from Children of Mana (Nintendo DS, great music, great graphics, and a great story), simply pale by comparison.

The Greatest Game of all Time

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: June 23, 2001
Author: Amazon User

my life was predictable dull until by some marvelous chance the most brilliant game of all time. an rpg but with three characters filled with emotion and superb music..this game must have been the inspiration for todays huge rpgs.....as an rpg with multiplayer option it was perhaps the beginnings of the desire from millions to play rpgs online....if you have a snes or an emulator this is the best game ever..if i didnt already have it i would be downloading it right now..please if you like rpgs or just great stories, buy this game it will change the way you look at rpgs...it will make you believe in games again..what ever happened to the great gameplay of rpgs...this was the best example of japanese brilliance in the early rpgs...thank you square

Secret of Mana (Back in Time)

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: October 09, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Well I bought SoM when I was around 6. and my painter stole it so I didn't get to finish the game..

But while I was playing it
I really loved it. It was coolio while I had the chance to play it. The graphics were pretty good but not 100% and the gameplay was awesome. Ok...

Its not the best anymore but back then it was stacks good.

Repetition KILLS!!!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 10
Date: January 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

My first impression of Secret of Mana was that it was a intriguing game. It was fun to switch between the three characters on the battle field to attack different enemies. I also found the idea of leveling up your weapon and magic skills a great way to spend my time. The game had a wide variety of bad guys with different kinds of short and long range attacks. I was very excited about what was going to run into next. And of course, the music was great even to the end.

Unfortunately, I kept running into the same things. The same enemies and bosses were used over and over again, but they were just a different color. The little bad guys had some extra moves which made it okay. The bosses, though, lacked any extra moves, but just had a higher defense and evade rate. I have to make a list of how many times I've seen major dungeon bosses be used over again:

bug boss - 2
manator boss - 3
two-headed dragon - 2
Amphibious boss - 3
Bike Rider boss - 3
Robot Boss - 2
Snake Boss - 3
Troll Boss - 3
Dragon Boss -3

These are the ones I can remember off the top of my head, but there are probably more.

Another problem with the game is leveling up your elemental magic does not give you any new spells. The power-up moves you get when leveling up your weapon skill become worthless as enemies become ridiculously evasive. The last third of the game, I was spending most of my time hacking away at a single little bad guys for minutes because they somehow avoided my attacks by standing still. To me, the game became irritating.

Do not let the first half of this game fool you. It is one of those type of games that you wouldn't want to play again since there are no new spells, bosses, hidden items or moves I haven't seen already.

But I'll end on a good note. The sequel to this game, which is called Seiken Densetsu III is one of my favorite games. It has great graphics, a good plot, and several problems from the prequel have been fixed. Power-up moves can be used anytime once the specialty bar is full. Your allies are actually intelligent this time around and can be left alone in a fight unless you need a special spell. Fighting is smoother since you don't have to wait for your weapon to charge up. The best thing about the game, though, is its replay value. There are a total of five different character stories you can play. I have played through them all over and over again. I highly suggest this game to everyone since I think it is better than the Legend of Zelda.

Great game, ok gameplay.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: June 23, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I never realy liked the gameplay, because you always have to wait to charge your sword to attack in a legitiment manner. But, suprisingly, the game is sick! Amazing! The fact that the CPU helps a little deeper in the game advances it much.. If you got a SNES, and no good games, get Secret of Mana!

A Classic underated game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: March 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Secret of Mana is one of the best RPG's on any system. The story might be your typical cliched RPG tale. But it takes so many twists you can't wait to get through the game and see the ending. The music really stands out too,( only Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI are better) as it's the best music ever on a cartidge game. The three player option was a blast too. It's too bad the sequel never came to the U.S. The PSX Legend of Mana just [wasn't good]. Forget that game and play this one.

Hint to Square: Please release a compilation of all the Mana games. Please, please, please. I don't care what system you put it on. Well don't put it on XBox.

Classic

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: July 05, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is one of the best RPG's ever made!! My personal favorite game of all tme.

(Second) Best SNES game ever.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 22, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The mana series is one of square's best for the super nintendo. SOM has some of the best, if not the best graphics for SNES, the gameplay is very easy to pick up and go, yet very detailed and interesting. The spells are some of the most memorable of any game with the very cool eight elemental spirits. The story is a basic government trying to take over the world that has been done about one million times by now, but back then the story was fresh. The game is so breathtaking that you will want to play this through several times and the whole multiplayer add tons of replayability. The only game better than this for SNES, or ever is the released only in Japan sequel, Secret of Mana 2, or as it is really known, Seiken Densetsu 3.

This game can't be out ranked!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 02, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Okay people I can't say much else other than has got to be the best game of all time!! You gotta play it yourself before you judge it though. Granted its doesn't have the best graphics of all time (That award goes to Metal Gear Solid 2 I believe) but the plot is unbeatable. It starts out near a small village and you pull out a sword then things go totally out of wack and you gotta fight boss after boss they're almost constant (But I recommend not rushing through the game, master the weapon skills and deffinately master your magic skills, trust me its worth it and your gonna need it) Secret of Mana has to be the best game of all time even if it IS on one of the oldest systems.

There are many games that are good, but few are great...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 29, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Secret of Mana is one of those games. I remember when I played Secret of Mana for the first time my freshman year in high school. Very few RPG games involve you so much int the story that when the action finally slows at a late point of reflection in the game you realize how far your characters have come and how much stronger they are now than when you first began. Secret of Mana is an old game but few games have caused me to keep a system connected long after it's development years are over. This is one of the greats, if you haven't experienced the Secret of Mana, you should try it.

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