Secret of Mana

Secret of Mana
Developer(s)	Square
Publisher(s)	Square
Designer(s)	Koichi Ishii (director, chief game design) Hiromichi Tanaka (producer, concept/system design) Hiroki Kikuta (composer) Nasir Gebelli (lead programming)
Series	Mana series
Platform(s)	SNES
Release	JPN August 6, 1993 NA October 3, 1993 EUR November 24, 1994
Genre(s)	Action RPG
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer, cooperative

Secret of Mana, known in Japan as Seiken Densetsu 2 (聖剣伝説2, Seiken Densetsu Tsū, lit. "Legend of the Holy Sword 2"), is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the second installment in the Mana video game series (the first, Final Fantasy Adventure/Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden was for the GameBoy). This is the only Mana game released on the Super Nintendo outside Japan. Most players outside Japan were introduced to the series through this particular game.

Rather than use the traditional turn-based battle system of games like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, Secret of Mana uses real-time battles akin to the Legend of Zelda series' games, but with the statistical-based elements of the RPG genre and a unique "ring menu" system. In addition, with its brightly colored graphics, expansive plot, and soundtrack by Hiroki Kikuta, Secret Of Mana has been called one of the greatest video games ever made.

Gameplay

Generally, Secret of Mana uses a top-down view common with role-playing games of the 16-bit era, with movement governed by the directional pad and the game's other functions by the other buttons (however, the game allows an unusual, if somewhat impractical, upside-down controller configuration). However, unlike its companion turn-based RPGs, Secret of Mana uses a pictorial ring menu system. It is from here that the player can change what weapons the main characters use, cast spells, use items, equip armor, change game settings and control the behavior of the computer-controlled main characters while the action is paused. The ring menu is used again in later Mana games and the spin-off Secret of Evermore.

Weapons and spells

Secret of Mana offers the player eight weapon types to choose from, including Randi's initial sword. These include a spear, bow, axe, whip and a javelin. As a default setting, Purim joins the party using the glove and Popoi with the boomerang. Weapons can be upgraded through the use of orbs, generally obtained after the successful completion of a boss battle or found as treasures in dungeons. In order for the upgrade to be performed, the weapons must be taken to Watts the Dwarven Blacksmith, who is a staple of the series. One major annoyance of this system is the apparent absence of two of the weapon orbs, for the axe and the glove — this can be remedied by searching for orbs randomly dropped by specific enemies, but they are very rare. Collecting eight orbs for each weapon in this way allows the player's weapons to reach a secret ultimate level.

Secret of Mana also introduces the Elementals concept to the Seiken series. The eight Elementals can be found on different locations of the game world, and each has a distinct personality and provides the player with specific spells. The eight Elementals are (in order of appearance) Undine, Gnome, Sylphid, Salamando, Lumina, Shade, Luna and Dryad. Each Elemental has destructive and support powers.

Elemental Overview

Undine	Gnome	Sylphid	Salamando	Lumina	Shade	Luna	Dryad
Elemental of Water	Elemental of Earth	Elemental of Wind	Elemental of Fire	Elemental of Light	Elemental of Shadow	Elemental of Moon	Elemental of Trees

Both weapons and magical powers are given a proficiency scale of nine levels (ranging from 0:00 to 8:99), which are raised according to how much the player makes use of them; higher levels allow for more powerful attacks or stronger spells, but each new level takes longer to achieve than the last. Weapons are granted a new, more powerful attack with each level, but with these comes the downside of an increased cumulative charge-up time — the more powerful the attack the player wishes to unleash, the more time he or she will have to spend charging up for the attack and the more vulnerable to enemy attack they are. Even without starting a special attack, the player has to wait momentarily for the character to recover from each attack they make; failure to wait for the character to recover will make their attacks deal minimal damage until enough time is given (around three seconds). Spell animations change approximately every two levels, and once an element reaches above level 8:00, there is a chance that a super-powered version of any spell of that element will be performed when cast. The closer to level 8:99 the element is, the more often the special version will trigger.

Items & equipment

A variety of beneficial items are available for use in Secret of Mana, mainly for use as curatives, restoration or healing. Unlike its sequel, Seiken Densetsu 3, there are no items purely for attacking enemies. The game also provides an additional challenge through only allowing the player to carry a maximum of four of each item at any time. This four-of-a-kind-maximum rule can be seen to encourage the player to kill enemies and loot any treasure chests left behind to replenish their stocks, or to use spells to achieve the same effect. However, using spells compounds the challenge as the Faerie Walnut items, which are the only items that replenish the Mana Points used to cast spells, follow the same rule. Throughout the game, the use of some items, such as the curatives and healing items, becomes less of a necessity as the player receives more elemental powers and their proficiency in them increases, particularly for Purim, who casts most, if not all, of the beneficial spells. For example, Undine's powers include Cure Water, which restores hit points, and Remedy, which removes status modifiers such as poison or petrification, are obtained early in the game; practicing these spells allows the player to stop relying on the curative Candy, Chocolate and Royal Jam items gradually, and the healing Medical Herb. Cups of Wishes, which revive fallen party members, are generally needed until near the end of the game, when the spell Revivifier is obtained, but still provide an alternative to the spell's high Mana Point cost. There are also two one-of-a-kind items that restore the special "midget" and "Moogle" status modifiers, the Midge Mallet and the Moogle Belt; however, their use on an unfettered character will shrink them and prevent the use of their weapons, or turn them into a Moogle respectively.

Unlike some other roleplaying games, weapons cannot be bought or sold; rather, an orb for one of the weapons is awarded or found and brought to Watts the Blacksmith, who will then irrevocably upgrade that weapon to a new, more powerful form. Armor, on the other hand, is either bought and sold through vendors, such as the travelling peddler Neko, or can only be found in chests left behind by defeated enemies. As the game progresses, more powerful armor is available either through chance in the looted treasure chests (the most powerful armor items in the game can only be found this way), or for purchase with the in-game currency of GP, and is then equipped on each character's head, body or arm, depending on the armor type. Some items of equipment, like the Spiked Vest, can be worn by all characters, but others, like the Tiger Bikini and Rabite Cap, are character specific.

Bosses

The bosses in secret of mana theoretically can all be beat by either weapons or spells. In general, bosses are weak against an element opposite of the one they represent. Moon and Trees are counters, but this is the exception to the opposition rule as Moon has no attack spells, and bosses generally do not have Dryad listed as a weakness (with the exception of the last boss, who can be attacked by Mana Magic). Upon beating a boss, a Weapon Orb is dropped, which can be used to upgrade weapons. The graphics for many bosses are actually color-swapped. The following is a list of the bosses (US Translation) in the order they are beaten:

• Mantis Ant
• Tropicallo
• Spiky Tiger
• Tonpole/Biting Lizard
• Fire Gigas
• Kilroy
• Wall Face
• Jabberwocky
• Spring Beak
• Great Viper
• Boreal Face
• Frost Gigas
• Mech Rider
• Minotaur
• Doom's Wall
• Vampire
• Metal Mantis
• Mech Rder (2nd appearance)
• Lime Slime
• Blue Spike
• Gorgon Bull
• Dark Stalker (a mini-boss)
• Doppleganger
• Aegagropilon
• Hydra
• Kettle Kin
• Snap Dragon
• Hexas
• Mech Rider (final appearance)
• Dragon Worm
• Snow Dragon
• Axe Beak
• Red Dragon
• Thunder Gigas
• Blue Dragon
• Buffy
• Dread Slime
• Dark Lich
• Mana Beast

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The English translations of boss names are not only from mythology (as in the case of Hydra and Vampire) but also pop culture. For instance, the following boss names are derived from other sources:

• Jabberwocky from a Lewis Carol short story.
• Aegagropilon is the scientific name for the Marimo, a type of moss ball found in Japan.
• Kilroy from the song Mr. Roboto
• Buffy

Multiplayer

Secret of Mana can be played simultaneously by one, two or three players. In order to support three players, a Super Multitap accessory must be plugged into the second controller port of the gaming console. Otherwise, the game's artificial intelligence will exercise limited control over the one or two supporting characters. The AI is known for having a notoriously weak path-finding system, which quite often results in supporting characters getting stuck, forcing the player to switch control to them to unlodge them, as an invisible barrier prevents the player from becoming too separated from the other two characters. It is possible to adjust the aggression level of each AI-controlled character, but spell-casting must be performed manually.

Because of this auto-detection mechanism of the controllers, additional players could join or leave the game simply by plugging or unplugging their controller. Removal of the controller simply reverted that character back to AI control.

Plot and setting

Setting

File:Som map.jpg

World Map

The events in the story happen in the Land of Mana. Some unspecified time after the creation of the Mana Fortress, perhaps a few centuries.

Plot

Using the power of mana a civilization had grown strong. In time, Mana was used to create the Ultimate Weapon: the Mana Fortress... This angered the gods. They sent their beasts to destroy the Fortress... A violent war rocked the world, and Mana seemed to disappear... Before all was lost, a hero with the Mana Sword smashed the Fortress... Though civilization was destroyed, the world was peaceful again. But, time flows like a river...and history repeats...

The story follows a boy and his adventures after pulling a sword that was protecting the town of Potos. The boy didn't realize the consequences this action would carry on. Soon after, monsters were all around the city and it didn't take long before they hit the city. After being banished from Potos, a Knight asked him to seek guidance on how to revert what he did. The boy is told he has brought imbalance to the world and he must reestablish it by reviving the Mana Sword, that very same sword he pulled. This is the start of the adventure. In his quest, he meets with the girl and the sprite, who become his companions. Together, they must revive the sword and stop the evil forces from reawakening the Mana Fortress.

Characters

The Heroes

The primary protagonist of Secret of Mana is the knight, who is supported by the spell-casting girl and sprite child. While the three released versions of the game do not have a default name for each of the characters, the Japanese instruction manual refers to the knight, girl and sprite respectively as Randi, Purim and Popoi (or variants thereof). The origin of the heroes' names is somewhat cloudy: they were possibly bestowed by the Japanese Gamest Magazine previewing the game, then followed upon by other magazines and subsequently by Square. Regardless of origin, the gaming community tends to refer to the three protagonists by these names, as does this article.

Randi, a.k.a. The Boy or The Hero or Randy

File:Randi.gif

Randi, with two friends, is searching for a shiny treasure reportedly in the wilderness near Potos, despite the elder's warnings not to go there. He falls off the bridge near the falls, and some bushes block his way home. He takes the sword in the stone, which, unbeknownst to him, is the Mana Sword, and returns to the village after fighting off the monsters. The elder and Elliot are horrified at this discovery, and after Randi defeats the Mantis Ant, which has apparently been drawn to the sword, he is banished.

While Randi has grown up in Potos, it is well-known that he is not a native of the village; Elliot complains that an "outsider" like him has brought doom to the village. His mother brought him to the village when he was a baby, presumably shortly after his father, the hero Serin died near the falls, leaving his sword behind. His mother disappeared soon afterward, possibly to become the Mana Tree as a woman of the Mana Tribe. Randi ultimately learns of his parents' identities and roles during his journey, particularly when, upon reaching the Mana Tree, he has a brief and final reunion with his mother, who tells him what he must do to save the world.

While Randi cannot cast magic, he is the group's main "fighter," and is the only one who can wield the Mana Sword at the end of the game once Popoie and Purim power it up with their Mana Magic. Also, he must power up the sword gauge to the max to unleash his finishing move that will do the maximum amount of damage in the game, The Jumping Cutter.

Purim a.k.a. The Girl

File:Purim.gif

Purim is trying to save her friend Phanna (Pamela パメラ in Japanese) and her love, the soldier Dyluck (ディラック). She meets Randi after saving him from a band of marauding goblins, but does not tell him her name. She then demands that he help her rescue Dyluck; however, the player cannot enter Elinee's castle at this stage in the game, so she will leave him once he reaches Gaia's navel. She rejoins him when he enters the woods, heading to Elinee's castle, and saves her from werewolves. Alternatively the player can decide to not rendezvous with her until after he has joined with the Sprite so the entire Werewolf scene does not take place. She attempts to rescue Dyluck at several points in the game, including Elinee's castle, Pandora Ruins, and the Empire Ruins, but is thwarted every time when Thanatos takes him away, hoping to use him as his new body. Dyluck helps protect her with his love when Thanatos attempts to drain her life in the Empire Ruins. When Purim finds Thanatos, she successfully kills his current body, but he still possesses Dyluck, who sacrifices himself to expel Thanatos.

Purim's role in the game is the "white mage," due to her focus on healing and support magic, although she also has some destructive spells.

Popoi a.k.a. The Sprite

File:Popoie.gif

The Heroes meet The Sprite at the Dwarf Village. The Sprite makes a living scamming people into giving him money. He doesn't remember anything about his past, so he joins the team to try to recover his memories. The Sprite comes from a village in the Upper Land. He was washed away by a flood to Gaia's Navel. There, the Dwarf Elder found him and raised him. The flood caused The Sprite to suffer from amnesia and he can't remember anything about his past. The Sprite may seem childish at times but he has the courage of equal to the other two heroes making the ultimate sacrifice to save the world. Popoi is specialized in offensive magic. He carries the most powerful set of offensive magic.

Major Non-Player Characters

• Dyluck: Purim's lover, who was captured by Elinee and given to Thanatos on a mission against Elinee. Thanatos seeks to possess his body, and controls Dyluck on several occasions. Dyluck, however, fights his control, helping to save Purim from being drained of life in the Empire Ruins, and sacrifices himself to prevent Thanatos from controlling him in the Mana Fortress.

• Elinee: A witch who kidnaps Dyluck and sends him to Thanatos, supposedly in exchange for magical herbs. After the party defeats her, she promises to reform herself and lead a more benign life.

• Elman: Purim's father, apparently a former knight or other noble. He raised her alone, and believes that she has become selfish as a result of not having a female influence in her upbringing. She refuses his arranged marriage to a young nobleman, despite his claims that it will make her happy, and is attracted to Dyluck instead. It is implied that he had a hand in sending Dyluck against Elinee, as Purim accuses the King and him of doing so. Elman may have been motivated to send Dyluck against Elinee in the hope that the mission would result in his death, leaving Purim with no reason to oppose the arranged marriage. Purim is very bitter about what she perceives as attempts to control her, but as she returns to her father in the credits, she may have forgiven him to some degree.

• Flammie: A white dragon that the party saves from the giant serpent that killed his parents. After the party escapes the Imperial Castle with his help, he becomes the primary mode of aerial transportation, and the only way except for Cannon Travel to travel between continents. It is suggested that he is somehow related to the Mana Beast, given that they look somewhat similar.

• Geshtar: Also known as the "Mech Rider," and one of the Empire's lieutenants. He attacks the party at three different locations; the Kakkara Desert, the Emperor's Castle and the Grand Palace. At the Grand Palace, he has been imbued with Thanatos' magic, being turned into a "living, fighting machine," and appears unresponsive. He is then defeated and killed.

• Fanha: The Emperor's only female lieutenant. She helps Thanatos betray Emperor Vandole, and attacks the party as Hexas, a creature resembling a Lamia. The party defeats and kills her, however.

• Sheex: Also known as the Dark Stalker, he is another of the Empire's lieutenants. He infiltrates Tasnica and attempts to disguise himself as their king, but is detected and defeated by the heroes. He then attacks the heroes at the Tree Palace as Aegagropilon, a plant-like demon, but is defeated and killed.

• Jema: A Tasnican knight who commanded the King's troops and was best friends with Serin (Randi's ghostly father). He quit the army after Serin's death, but fights the empire wherever he can. However, Randi relies on his advice less often as the game goes on.

• Joch/Jehk: A sage who sends the party on certain errands while pretending to be his own apprentice. He deceives the party to help them prepare for the trial against themselves.

• Luka: A 200-year-old guardian of the Water Seal who tells Randi much of the story of the Mana Sword and Fortress. She is taken hostage by Geshtar in an attempt to obtain the Water Seed. Toward the end of the game, when the Empire breaks the seals that the party had fought hard to protect during their absence, if the player returns to the Water Palace, one will find Luka imprisoned in a basement cell beneath the Water Temple, and she tells the party of the Empire's arrival.

• Neko: A cat who sells the party items and allows them to save, appearing in many places, including the wilderness and some dungeons. He also has a shop near the Water Palace that also features an inn. His items are significantly more expensive than those sold by other merchants, but the party can buy every inventory item from him no matter where they find him. Toward the end of the game, Neko sells some of the strongest armor near what is left of the Grand Palace.

• Phanna: One of Purim's friends, who was jealous of her relationship with Dyluck. That jealousy allows Thanatos to control her easily, but she regains control and apologizes for her actions by the end of the game.

• The Scorpion Army: A Boss and two underlings. They typically scheme to make money, first by stealing the Water Seed, then by creating a resort in the middle of Ice Country, and finally by attempting to steal and sell the Mana Sword itself, and are usually quite incompetent in carrying out their schemes. They unleash robots against the party.

• Thanatos: An ancient Lich unrelated to the Empire. He is the main villain, and seeks Dyluck's body and the power of the Fortress. He is an ancient sorcerer who sold his heart to the underworld. His true form is the Dark Lich.

• King Truffle: The king of the Fungi Kingdom. A more minor character, his role is to take care of Flammie until he is able to fly and save the party from the burning Imperial castle.

• Emperor Vandole: The head of the Empire, he seeks to control the world with the power of the Mana Fortress. However, he is betrayed and killed by his subordinates.

• Watts: The Dwarven blacksmith who helps upgrade weapons with orbs. He appears in every town.

Development

SNES Disc Drive

Secret of Mana was originally going to be a launch title for the SNES CD add-on. After the project was dropped, the game had to be altered to fit onto a standard game cartridge.

English localization

The English translation for Secret of Mana was completed in only 30 days, mere weeks after the Japanese release. This was presumably so that the game could be released in North America for the 1993 holiday season. According to translator Ted Woolsey, a large portion of the game's script was cut out in the English localization due to space limitations and a lack of sequential text. The English translation of Secret of Mana uses a fixed-width font to display text on the main gameplay screen. However, the choice of this font limits the amount of space available to display text, and as a result conversations are trimmed to their bare essentials, leaving a good portion of the game lost in translation.

Graphics

Flammie flying — demonstrating Mode 7

The first Mana game to be in color (as compared to the previous Game Boy-based game), Secret of Mana uses a rich and vibrant palette in which the characters are seen to be part of the environment, rather than just riding on top. Also notable is that, through its information and settings screens, Secret of Mana uses a 512x224 pixel high resolution mode (one of a handful of Super Nintendo games to do so) so that a smaller text font could be used. However, the smaller size of the text and the lack of contrast between the white text and the moving light green background can make the information hard to read — likewise the lack of clear distinction between the characters and the background (as compared with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past) can be troublesome for some players. This is actually problematic for those using an emulator to run the game instead of the console, as these settings must be manually adjusted for.

Another clever use of graphics comes while flying Flammie, the game's main means of transportation. Secret of Mana makes use of the Super Nintendo's Mode 7 capability to create a largely scaled and rotatable background, giving the illusion that the ground below Flammie is rendered in three dimensions. However, this is only viewable after Flammie ascends to a certain height (the automatic default), and not if the player decides to fly with a top-down view.

Also, while on Flammie, the player can access the "rotated map", which presents the world as a globe. While viewing this map, the player can then switch to the "world map", a two-dimensional view of the world.

Original Soundtrack

Untitled

Secret of Mana Original Soundtrack (聖剣伝説２ オリジナル・サウンド・ヴァージョン) is the soundtrack to Secret of Mana. Originally released in 1993 Japan under the name Seiken Densetsu 2 Original Sound Version, it was released in the US due to the game's massive success, under the name Secret of Mana Original Soundtrack. The US release is exactly the same as the Japanese one, except for the packaging and new English song titles (not necessarily accurate translations), released in mid 1994.

The game's soundtrack was composed by Hiroki Kikuta, and is perhaps his most famous work. It is known for its variety of tunes which tend to focus on the use of percussion and woodwind instruments, ranging from a lighthearted dwarves' polka to a somber, wistful snow melody to a tribal-like dance.

Kikuta also incorporated elements of Balinese music into the score. For instance in 32-Ceremony, we have a typical performance of a gamelan orchestra (metallic, pitched percussion). The most notable section of Balinese style music is heard while fighting the Dark Lich, in 37-TheOracle. In this track, Kikuta uses the kecak balinese "instrument": a percussive, extremely fast vocal technique. He particularly well respected the traditions, while starting the kecak sequence by 3 "tchak" (at 0'38"), and then ending the sequence (at 0'54") with "to tchak pow".

Secret of Mana's title theme, Angels' Fear is well known by video game music aficionados for its haunting, echoing piano melody, and was featured in the third Orchestral Game Concert as well as serving as the base for many remixes. Parts of the game's soundtrack were incorporated into the Seiken Densetsu 2 Secret of Mana/Secret of Mana+ compilation arrangement CD.

Track listing

# Japanese title English title Length 1. 天使の怖れ Fear of the Heavens 1:42 2. 不思議なお話しを A Curious Tale 1:30 3. 薔薇と精霊 Phantom and ...A Rose... 1:28 4. いつもいっしょ Together Always 1:10 5. やさしい思い出 Fond Memories 1:52 6. 少年は荒野をめざす Into the Thick of It 1:56 7. 夏の空色 The Color of the Summer Sky 1:25 8. 踊るけものたち Dancing Animals 1:19 9. 遠雷 Distant Thunder 1:49 10. 妖精族のこども The Little Sprite 0:52 11. 月夜の出来事 It Happened Late One Evening 0:47 12. 闇の奥 In the Dead of Night 1:04 13. 聖なる侵入 Mystic Invasion 0:59 14. 熱砂の秘密 Secret of the Arid Sands 1:11 15. 森が教えてくれたこと What the Forest Taught Me 1:04 16. ねがい A Wish... 1:04 17. 夜の魂 Spirit of the Night 1:47 18. 君は海を見たか Did You See the Ocean? 2:10 19. 危機 Danger 2:12 20. 嵐の孤児 Calm Before the Storm 2:04 21. 風の焉わるところ The Wind Never Ceases 1:14 22. 未知への飛行 Flight Into the Unknown 1:30 23. 永劫回帰 Eternal Recurrence 2:12 24. 伝説 The Legend 1:44 25. 八点鐘 A Bell is Tolling 1:33 26. 奇妙な事件 A Curious Happening 1:07 27. 海辺の王様 Monarch on the Shore 1:38 28. 暗黒星 The Dark Star 1:33 29. 予感 Prophesy 1:13 30. 鋼鉄と罠 Steel and Snare 1:43 31. 祈りと囁き Whisper and Mantra 1:10 32. 儀式 Ceremony 1:28 33. 明日に届く Morning is Here 1:06 34. 愛に時間を Leave Time For Love 1:26 35. 浄夜 Still of the Night 2:50 36. たたり The Curse 1:21 37. 呪術師 The Oracle 1:48 38. ある結末 A Conclusion 1:08 39. 君を忘れない I Won't Forget 1:11 40. そのひとつは希望 One of Them is Hope 1:08 41. 子午線の祀り Meridian Dance 2:20 42. 翼はもうはばたかない Now Flightless Wings 2:02 43. 最後から二番目の真実 The Second Truth From the Left 2:48 44. ひとみを閉じて I Closed My Eyes 0:32

Reception and sequels

Secret of Mana was listed at number 42 on Nintendo Power magazine's Top 200 Nintendo Games Of All Time. It was also rated number 48 on the "IGN's Top 100 Games" in 2005 and number 49 in 2006. Also in 2006, Secret of Mana was voted the 97th best game of all time by the readers of the well-known Japanese magazine Famitsu. It was also ranked the 86th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Powers Top 200 Games list.

Secret of Mana developed a large fanbase, so much so that since its release, Square Enix has decided to launch several new games in the series on multiple platforms, along with the possibility of novelizations, films, and manga products being created.

External links

• Template:StrategyWiki
• Secret of Mana at MobyGames
• Secret of Mana at the Seikens.com
• GameFAQS - Secret of Mana Info
• Secret of Mana SNES review from Mean Machines Archive
• SECRETS REVEALED AND NEW DIMENSIONS FOUND IN SQUARE ENIX’S DAWN OF MANA