Secret of Mana is worth a look, but I have several disclaimers. The first several hours are VERY rough. The enemies and bosses are not balanced very well and you can only save at inns or the cat merchant, which are located outside of the game’s dungeons. The final dungeon is also very long and doesn’t give you a chance to save unless you backtrack all the way out. The save states on the collection help, but it doesn’t excuse the terrible design. The hit detection is also wonky and you get stunned for a few seconds every time you’re hit, which is frustrating against groups of enemies that attack in unsynchronized patterns. Weapon proficiency and especially magic also require a ton of grinding to keep at a reasonable level.

If you can get past all of that, pretty much everything else is great. While the story won’t blow your socks off, it gives a good excuse to travel through some stunning landscapes. The sprite work is gorgeous and the sound quality is really advanced for a 16-bit game. The music is no different. It’s one of the best soundtracks on the SNES. When the combat works, it’s quite satisfying and there are multiple different weapons you can use. Once the game hit its stride, I had a hard time putting it down.