Secret of Mana (2010)

Release Date: December 21, 2010

RPG, fantasy, 2D, top-down, action RPG, singleplayer

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Mobile port of the iconic action RPG game, released by Square Enix in 1993 on the SNES console. We control a team of daredevils and travel through the magical world, focusing mainly on fighting skill battles with various opponents. Like the original, the Secret of Mana on smartphones and tablets offers 16-bit 2D graphics with bird's eye view.

Plot
Mechanics
Technical aspects

Secret of Mana, released on iOS and AND, is a cult Japanese RPG action game which was originally released in 1993 on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). As in the case of the original, we are dealing here with the work of Square Enix (formerly Square).

Plot

The action of Secret of Mana takes place in a magical fantasy world, the most important element of which is the title Mana - powerful energy that allows you to create and destroy on a large scale. It once went through all lands, but the war that broke out between people and gods after the first constructed the Mana Fortress that almost exhausted the sources of magical energy and ruined human civilization. The adventure begins many years later, when the main character, Randi, a simple boy from a small village, finds the Mana Sword, a legendary artifact that years ago prevented the destruction of the world by the war. The protagonist must fill the weapon with energy in eight temples and prevent the history from repeating itself.

Mechanics

Randi is helped by two companions - the healer Primm and the offensive magician Popoi - as well as the white Flammie dragon, making it easier for the heroes to travel around the world. The gameplay, shown in a top-down view, focuses on traversing various locations and fighting with enemies. Unlike most classic Japanese RPG games, the clashes are played in real-time and have an arcade character. We can switch between the three heroes at any time, taking direct control over them (the rest of the team is controlled by artificial intelligence).

In addition to dangerous locations, we also explore cities and other places of this type, where we obtain helpful items (e.g. healing potions). Heroes can use a variety of weapons, which, in addition, have different upgrades that unlock more attacks. There is also a classic system of character development thanks to which we can improve our characters' stats. The mobile version of Secret of Man of also offers one of the most characteristic elements of the console prototype - the command wheel where we select actions and objects during fights, known as Ring Command.

Technical aspects

The mobile version of Secret of Mana didn't introduce any changes in the graphic design compared to the original version on SNES. The game uses 16-bit 2D graphics.

Unfortunately, the conversion to smartphones and tablets was deprived of the cooperative multiplayer mode known from the original.

Last updated on August 26, 2019

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