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Secret of Mana

aka: Seiken Densetsu 2

Description official descriptions

Long ago, people lived in harmony with the natural world and used the power of Mana to help their nations grow. But when evil forces took control of the Mana Fortress, seeking to use it to conquer the world, a terrible war began which destroyed much of civilization but brought peace to the world once more. Over the long years, the events of the past became but legends to the new generations of humans. But history repeats itself...

One day while exploring a forbidden valley near his village, a young boy finds a rusty sword stuck in a stone. He does not realize that this is the Mana sword of legend, used in the great war of the past. By drawing the sword, the boy unwittingly summons hordes of monsters, and is expelled from his village for breaking the ancient taboo. A mysterious knight Jema who is passing through the area recognizes the sword and gives him instructions for the future. First, he must repair the sword, and then, with its help, take control of the Mana seeds which can be found hidden around the world to prevent them from falling into evil hands.

Secret of Mana is an action RPG, featuring real-time hack-and-slash style combat, in which up to two computer-controlled companions can accompany you. The protagonist has a stamina gauge: the more stamina he has, the more powerful his strike is. The player also has access to a growing arsenal of spells with various effects. It is possible to upgrade weapons, armor, and magic to higher levels.

Spellings

  • 聖剣伝説2 - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (SNES version)

60 People · View all

Executive Producers
Producer, Concept / System Design, Scenario Message Data
Director, Chief Game Design, Animation / Monster Design
Battle System Design, Monster Logistics
Map System Design / Data
Map Data
Lead Programming
Monster Control Programming
Boss Monster Programming
Message Programming
"Ring" Menu Programming
Calculation Programming
Sound Programming
Demo Programming
Chief Map Graphic Design
Map Graphic Design
World Map Graphic Design
Map Design
Player Character Design
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Discussion

Subject User Date
So what else has changed? CrankyStorming (2916) 2011-11-06 16:44:22

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The SNES version of Secret of Mana appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Development

One of the first games announced for the then-announced CD-ROM addon for the SNES. Nintendo eventually gave up trying to get the peripheral off the ground after the deal with Phillips to make the drive fell flat. Square eventually released a tooled-down version, which pushed the SNES hardware constantly (hence the slowdown and lack of multiple enemies onscreen), and overall left Square bitter for having to go through the process of downgrading its game. This probably was one of the reasons Square decided to bail on Nintendo (and its then-upcoming N64 console) and take its multimillion seller, Final Fantasy VII, with it (which was first announced for the N64).

Ironically, Square signed the deal to bring the game to the PlayStation with Sony, which was the original partner for the SNES CD drive, but was publicly stabbed in the back by Nintendo with the Phillips deal. The CD drive technology that Sony had been working on for the SNES, was then used to create the PlayStation itself.

Enemies

Due to technical limitations, only three enemies can ever be on the screen at one time. Sneaky players can use this to their advantage and keep 'easy' enemies alive to block the spawning of more powerful ones. The merchant cat Neko, is also affected by this and may not always appear during busy combat.

Killroy

In the original Japanese version, Killroy has a chainsaw when fighting him the second time. In all Western versions, he is just a re-coloured version of the first encounter.

Multiplayer

Secret of Mana is quite possibly the first RPG game to support 3 Players. It is certainly the only one on SNES that does (along with it's sequel, which was never officially translated). A multitap is required for the third player.

Slime

The Slime bosses are the trickiest enemies in the game, not because they're difficult, but because they're so buggy. When fighting one of these bosses it's possible to slow the framerate to a crawl, freeze the game or in extreme cases, wipe the contents from your saved battery backup.

Awards

  • Electronic Gaming Monthly
    • December 1993 (Issue 53) - Game of the Month* FLUX Magazine
    • Issue #4 - #40 in the "Top 100 Video Games of All-Time" list
  • Game Informer
    • August 2001 (Issue #100) - #77 in the "Top 100 Games of All Time" poll
  • GamePro
    • Vol. 6, Issue 2 - Role-Playing Game of the Year 1993
  • Retro Gamer
    • September 2004 (Issue #8) – #74 Best Game Of All Time (Readers' Vote)

Information also contributed by Big John WV, CaptainCanuck, PCGamer77 and WildKart

Related Games

Secret of Mana
Released 2018 on Windows, PS Vita, PlayStation 4
Dawn of Mana
Released 2006 on PlayStation 2
Collection of Mana
Released 2017 on Nintendo Switch
Sword of Mana
Released 2003 on Game Boy Advance
Legend of Mana
Released 1999 on PlayStation, 2010 on PSP, PlayStation 3
Adventures of Mana
Released 2016 on iPhone, Android, PS Vita
Trials of Mana
Released 2020 on Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch...
Children of Mana
Released 2006 on Nintendo DS
Final Fantasy Adventure
Released 1991 on Game Boy

Related Sites +

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 6645

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Unicorn Lynx.

Wii U added by Michael Cassidy. iPad added by Rik Hideto. iPhone, Android added by Sciere. BREW, DoJa added by Kabushi. Wii added by gamewarrior.

Additional contributors: Satoshi Kunsai, Apogee IV, MaiZure, Alaka, Patrick Bregger, Thomas Thompson, CrankyStorming, FatherJack.

Game added June 7th, 2002. Last modified April 25th, 2023.