Secret of Mana is a nostalgic classic to many. However, I believe that its great soundtrack has done a lot of the heavy lifting in this department, and that many of its significant flaws are at odds with its pristine legacy and beloved reputation.
Its gameplay is serviceable and gets the job done, but the combat is often a rather tedious waiting game, technically still making you wait your turn more than its "Action RPG" label would imply. Its plot is very generic and its protagonist, as well as the two party members you’re limited to during your quest aren’t particularly interesting. If you’ve played the game and this doesn’t ring true, simply try describing, in your head, what sets the three apart from any other stock, cardboard JRPG characters.
You may already know of the game’s majorly ambitious original concept and the huge amount of cut content that ended up (in some form) as Chrono Trigger . SoM is regularly mentioned as one of the SNES’ best RPGs alongside Chrono Trigger , but I really feel that it’s not even remotely in the same league. SoM is simply unpolished and basic in comparison.
Now, despite what SoM ’s original lofty goals were, when Squaresoft pared down the game considerably and chose to re-purpose what was cut for Chrono Trigger , the game's goals likely changed. SoM , as we got it, may have had some of the development team mourning "what could have been" (and an infamously rushed localization to get it out here in time for Christmas), but ultimately it was the product of that rather major goal change from a five disc-spanning epic to a quaint, minimalist, colorful storybook-like experience, offering players a different atmosphere than their increasingly dark and dystopian Final Fantasy franchise. Its combat, too, regardless of its quality, was admirably different from their endless parade of turn-based games with random encounters. It could even be played with a friend in co-op! Because of all of this, it's definitely unfair to compare SoM to Chrono Trigger. I initially did so only to express that one should not go into SoM expecting a deep ocean, only to be disappointed by a puddle. Instead, if one desires to experience this fondly-remembered game for themselves, expectations should be suitably tempered.
Generic or not, SoM still has a lot of charm. Much of its presentation is indeed, at times, magical. While many might consider it the Mana series’ peak (and for a long time, in North America, at least, it undeniably was) to me it’s really just the world's first true small taste of the series' true potential. FF Adventure was a trifle, but filled with series firsts that were cool to see in such primitive presentation.
Secret of Mana was a rare co-op RPG, helped popularize Action RPGs (even if it only sort of was one), had beautifully timeless music, simple but iconic enemy designs, and just overall warm and pleasant presentation. For these reasons, it definitely deserves some of its extremely respected reputation and praise.
Some, but not all.
The sequel's much better.
Its gameplay is serviceable and gets the job done, but the combat is often a rather tedious waiting game, technically still making you wait your turn more than its "Action RPG" label would imply. Its plot is very generic and its protagonist, as well as the two party members you’re limited to during your quest aren’t particularly interesting. If you’ve played the game and this doesn’t ring true, simply try describing, in your head, what sets the three apart from any other stock, cardboard JRPG characters.
You may already know of the game’s majorly ambitious original concept and the huge amount of cut content that ended up (in some form) as Chrono Trigger . SoM is regularly mentioned as one of the SNES’ best RPGs alongside Chrono Trigger , but I really feel that it’s not even remotely in the same league. SoM is simply unpolished and basic in comparison.
Now, despite what SoM ’s original lofty goals were, when Squaresoft pared down the game considerably and chose to re-purpose what was cut for Chrono Trigger , the game's goals likely changed. SoM , as we got it, may have had some of the development team mourning "what could have been" (and an infamously rushed localization to get it out here in time for Christmas), but ultimately it was the product of that rather major goal change from a five disc-spanning epic to a quaint, minimalist, colorful storybook-like experience, offering players a different atmosphere than their increasingly dark and dystopian Final Fantasy franchise. Its combat, too, regardless of its quality, was admirably different from their endless parade of turn-based games with random encounters. It could even be played with a friend in co-op! Because of all of this, it's definitely unfair to compare SoM to Chrono Trigger. I initially did so only to express that one should not go into SoM expecting a deep ocean, only to be disappointed by a puddle. Instead, if one desires to experience this fondly-remembered game for themselves, expectations should be suitably tempered.
Generic or not, SoM still has a lot of charm. Much of its presentation is indeed, at times, magical. While many might consider it the Mana series’ peak (and for a long time, in North America, at least, it undeniably was) to me it’s really just the world's first true small taste of the series' true potential. FF Adventure was a trifle, but filled with series firsts that were cool to see in such primitive presentation.
Secret of Mana was a rare co-op RPG, helped popularize Action RPGs (even if it only sort of was one), had beautifully timeless music, simple but iconic enemy designs, and just overall warm and pleasant presentation. For these reasons, it definitely deserves some of its extremely respected reputation and praise.
Some, but not all.
The sequel's much better.