Secret of Mana - The Greatest Action RPG Ever? 

What was the most memorable part of Secret of Mana to you? Please consider supporting me at www.patreon.com/xygorgaming OR through RU-vid membership by clicking the JOIN button above!

Here's my most memorable moment. I heard about how awesome this game was back when it came out. I never saw it in any stores for sale back then. No online buying in those days, haha. I called squaresoft directly on how I could purchase it. The kind person told me on the phone that he wouldn't be able to help me. But he took my address down at the time so he would be able to send me promotional things they had made for a fee of $15. I received the original soundtrack, an artbook, and a guide for the game with the most amazing details for all the weapons, characters, and enemies. About a month later after that squaresoft sent me a copy of secret of mana for free. It came with a letter stating that they never expected someone to call them directly for the game. And that they felt obligated. I'll never forget the kindness that the original squaresoft company showed me. To this day I still have that poster proudly displayed in a frame.

I played this game back in 1995. I just finished it again on PS4 with my 8 years old son. A classic for the ages.

I played this with my dad for 36 hours non-stop over Christmas one year. As much as I love this game, I haven't been able to play it since my dad passed in 2017. It's just not the same without him For reference, I bought this back in '93 after months of saving money from mowing lawns all over my neighborhood, and probably put several hundreds of hours into it. I've played through to Thanatos in the remake, but just can't bring myself to keep playing anymore, since my dad's passing

The most memorable part of SOM for me was the melancholic feeling it inspires. The music throughout is magical and memorable, but also sad, even when it has the chance to not be. It gives the whole game a rather somber feel, which is actually quite endearing and beautiful. Even the ending is bittersweet and sad. I love that part of it. High fantasy and magical/fairy/brightly colored/chibi fantasy themed games are usually far too bright in their feeling. It was nice to play a game that was all those things, but had a sincere heart that felt pain, too.

I remember playing for hours with two of my friends growing up. We had to beg our way into a multitap and then had to borrow a third controller, but we had so many hours of level grinding three-player style to get a perfect game file. it was one of our favorite games, back in the day.

The music was outstanding, the way you charged up the weapons was great, and I did like the menus. The game is the one that got me hooked on rpg’s. I still love it to this day!

I loved that you can find a secret last orb for each weapon via random drops

Such a beautiful game that completely captured my imagination. I remember crying when the kid got banished… it was that music! Thank you for this breakdown.

The most memorable aspect of SoM was everything. One thing that is absolutely VITAL to this games greatness but is almost always overlooked is that it felt like a real world. While Chrono Trigger and FF6 had kore detailed and complex stories and characters they still felt like games. SoM didnt. The whole mana series has a unique quality to it that makes it feel alive in a way that is completely unparallelled on the 16 bit format. Ita been 25 years and I still remeber every screen. If you randomly dropped me into this world I would never need a map. The closest feeling to this Ive ever had came *27 later* in the form of Genshin Impact... It has that same "this is a fantasy world but its fakking REAL" feeling.

Very nostalgic channel. Damn I miss those days when I play jrpgs back in the day and ditching school. Lol

I was hookup with this game in October of 93 for my birthday! Almost 3 decades and I still love IT! 🤩

My friend who has passed away loved this game. I never played it myself, but spent many hours with him watching him play it. Miss you, Mike

My first play through of this game took over a year. My friend owned the game and a multitap and we only played it with the 2 of us and a sometimes rotating 3rd player on weekend sleepovers. Truly my favorite and most transformative, influential gaming experience of my life. We were all 12/13 and it opened my eyes to game design and just how captivating gaming could ultimately be. This friend I shared this experience with recently passed and because of his passing it makes this memory even more special and nostalgic. Thank you for your coverage of this incredible game.

I was a patient and thorough gamer in the 90s and finished games like Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, and Final Fantasy. But for whatever reason I couldn’t finish Secret Of Mana. I’d get stuck at random places not sure what to do next for long periods of time and it was too cumbersome to proceed. But holy smokes you’re so right about the soundtrack

Still one of my favorite games of all time. The fact that you can level magic and weapons was one of my favorite aspects.

My favorite memory was when I used to stay up all night when I was a kid, and my best friend and I would play Secret of Mana. Every time we had a sleepover, it was kind of an unspoken rule that we would wait for the parents to go to sleep then we would fire up the SNES and see how far we could get before sunrise.

This was hands down my favorite game that I ever played I remember when I first got it I believe I used my first paycheck from my very first paper route to buy this game never having rented it or played it ever before just buying it cuz I thought the cover looked cool and being obsessed with it couldn't wait to get home from school to play it some more I remember being quite a bit younger and like being captivated by like the storyline and even caught up emotionally sometimes to it LOL

Tje music was and ia still great.

I think you're really talented and I hope to see your channel blow up some day...

Most memorable was farming the last area and finding an upgrade orb to level up a weapon to level 9, which blew me away since I didn’t think it was possible

Nice video Xygor! I still play this game from time to time. My favorite aspect of the game was flying with flammie. I hadn't seen anything like that before when I first played it and it blew me away.

I too played this one back in the day. Great soundtrack. Interesting to hear the history behind it! Thanks!maybe the remake should have included that 40% of story the original couldn't have?

Great Vid! Definately my fave game of all time! I remember having the multitap at my buddies house that we played w/ this lil bro. My most memorable aspect was basically stunlocking some of the bosses with the pause menu casting; especially when I was playing single player. The absolute Tops was FINALLY beating Flamie, but while trying to sober up at a party when I was just 16, after everyone else passed out.

The music was amazing the vastness of the world after obtaining flammie was revolutionary and the levelling up of the weapons and the story was perfect what a experience it was

This is fantastic! Love your hard work! You deserve at least a million subs! 👍🏻🍀

Still the best music I've heard in 40 years of gaming. All around a lovely gem of a game. The colours just make me happy :]

The real question is... Which do people like more: Secret of Mana or Chrono Trigger?

Another great video!! Thanks for allowing me to Reminisce !

Secret of Mana! So many good memories of this game! Most memorable part of the game? The music. As you said, there's not much character development in there and the translation had issues, but it always felt like the music helped fill in what they couldn't do for the story and characters at the time. The music matches all the events of the game and conveys all the emotions of the moment in such a way that I couldn't help but think that's all the characters felt at the time which made me want to see the characters get through the adventure to the end. It was like it was doing story telling in addition to the visuals and on screen dialog and there really aren't that many games that have music that can do that. Many games have great music, but Secret of Mana's music will always be special for what it did. As for the 3D remake, yeah it gets a lot of criticism, but IMO it's still a decent game. They cleaned up the dialog and added character interactions to it to flesh out the world a lot better, but strangely enough it all fits into what I had imagined from listening to the music on the SNES so that was pretty neat. The remixed music in the remake is also pretty good and I can find myself liking some of the tracks more than the SNES version, but context is needed for why that is. In the SNES version, the music conveyed what they could not on screen. In the remake, they no longer have those limitations and now the music doesn't have to step in and tell the story as much so it has a different feel to it. When I say I prefer some of the new tracks over the original, that's if I were to listen to them out of context in a playlist without the game up in front of me.

I enjoy you're narration man very cool awesome vid

When I was a kid my, my bus driver for school gave me secret of mana, mystic quest, and Zelda for snes. She was the coolest.. That’s 20 years past now and I just picked up secret of mana and mystic quest from the local game shop. Needless to say I’ve got some childhood boss redemption ahead! 🤘🏽

I remember going through secret of mana with my cousin and brother. Can’t believe it was more then 25 years ago

Great video once again! I’m definitely wanting to play it

Leveling up the spells to the secret level that complete changes the animation!

This was the first rpg I ever played as a small child. I didn't know what rpgs were, but the music and the emotion attached to it made me feel a sense of destiny tied to nature and beauty. One of my favorite games ever and I'm 35 now.

I never have really been much of a gamer, but I loved this game. The music, level ups, gameplay is just great. I was 11 years old when I played it for the first time and I finally ended up beating it when I was 14. Man this brings back memories. Thanks for sharing this.

Personally, I would advocate for Seiken Densetsu 3 (Trials of Mana) on the Super Famicom, but if we’re looking at the SFC and the Super Nintendo as separate consoles, I would say Secret of Mana. You always have great content. I look forward to watching this later tonight!

I remember getting this for my birthday, and not knowing what the heck it was. Over 20 years later, it's one of my all time favorites.

An absolutely fantastic game! The music was / is so good! I've bought the re-makes of it, but haven't had a chance to play through it, but the hours poured into this game. It's definitely up there for me as a top game for sure 👍

I still have to play and finish Secret of Mana, but I did a shadowbox our of that amazing japanese covert art. A second one was updated with golden frame, LED light and completr soundtrack embedded in the frame, with controls and all.

30 years later. What a ride.

Great into song dude it's my favorite track. Also SoM was my first action rpg. I fell in love immediately at 13. GREAT video thanks

I have this courtesy of the snes mini, and have been trying to get into it. I’m a huge RPG fan, so I’m looking forward to spending some time with it.

When i played this as a kid i remember how amazing it was to arrive in the Pure Lands the first time. I am still planning on playing the remake myself even tho critics didnt like it.

I grew up in the golden Era of rpgs. And this game is still #3 in my best all time. BoF3 is #2 and FF6 is #1.

I think this is my favourite snes rpg and it’s my favourite video game intro music for sure

played it back then and play it still today. the snes was a impressive thing for rpgs.

Absolutely adore this game. Squaresoft just killed it with this game. Sublime soundtrack. Such a shame the sequel didn't reach our shores at the time

I love this game so much, one of my favorite SNES games. That being said, I don't think I'll go back to this version after the remake - I really feel it's the definitive version despite a few odd choices for song remasters, especially due to the added conversation scenes at the inns. Totally agree about Seiken Densetus 3. I'm glad I played it before the remake so I got to enjoy both versions - but again Trials of Mana is the definitive version and they nailed the music remasters this time taking less creative liberties. I also love Secret of Evermore. Great video as always!

For those who liked SoM, you may want to check out the indy game Secret of Grindea. Somewhat inspered by SoM, the combat system is really enjoyable and got rid of the "pause to cast a spell" system. Although, I'm not a huge fan of the arts in it, it plays great and is pretty cheap.

I'm not usually a big music guy, but this game makes me rethink that stance

This makes me hope you take a look at the Ys series. I beat Ys 9 when i released last month and im currently playing Ys 8

Extraordinarily memorable audio and graphics. For gameplay a gripe I have was that 8 levels of weapon charging was way too much.

Great video!

I remember dying in the mana forest a lot before finding the hidding Neko selling better armor behind the temple. Also, the glitches. On one playthrough I completely lost the healer girl from the game. Was able to save too and she never came back. Chests sometimes doubled, you would open it and then it would stay there and you could open it twice.

Secret of Mana is in my top 5 favorite SNES game of all time. I remember playing with the adaptor with 2 friends and being mind blown at the time that all 3 of us could play at once. I was always Sprite and preferred the ax or whip. Such a classic. They don’t make ‘em like they used to. Number 3 was incredible I agree, I played it on a localized emulator version and it was just as incredible.

An absolute classic! I bought Trials of Mana for $20 on sale a while back, but haven't touched it yet. Someone sell me on if it should be my next game.

Music of the snow ice level area

I honestly don't really like action RPGs, yet this is one of my fav games A few years ago, when the SNES mini came out, a girl I work with came in and said she'd gotten one for her son and it had this weird game she'd never heard of called Secret of Mana. I was like "OMG PLAY IT, IT'S AN AWESOME GAME, YOU'LL LOVE IT!" She came in a few days later like "OMG YOU WERE SO RIGHT THAT SECRET OF MANA GAME IS SO GOOD AND IT'S GREAT WE CAN PLAY TOGETHER! THANK YOU, HE LOVES IT TOO!"

Don't know why i haven't played this yet but just decided to try it out today in the snes mini

I didn’t get to try SoM until I was about 17-18 but it was still fun. I am more of a Ff guy generally but it was a nice change of pace to see an ARPG before it got too complicated.

The OST is very good. Nice video

The lich theme in this game is otherworldly. So unique, especially for the time.

Most memorable aspect for me was the first time Flammie came down to save you with King Truffle from the collapsing Empire structure. Then immediately being able to fly anywhere on the back of a cool white dragon. The first time I heard flammie's flight theme I was about 5 years old, my grandma was the one who introduced me to video games in the early 90s. So it was a very special thing for ME to be the one to experience the first flight as opposed to when I used to go to sleep watching my grandma play. Also, I did play secret of evermore, that game had some frustrating moments, namely the airvent section when yer dog gets turned into a poodle was a particularly annoying part for me as a kid. Other than that, I greatly enjoyed the game, my dad even got into it even though he's not a fan of RPGs.

Yes

Awesome video have you covered secret of evermore yet

In the comments thread of another video I asked if you had ever done a review of this video. I decided to take a look at your library of videos and found it. I have the steam version with updated graphics and it is absolutely gorgeous. If you don't have a super Nintendo and this game, get it on steam. It plays a little bit smoother but the same as I did on the super Nintendo.

This game was amazing. It was like Legend of Zelda mixed with a RPG

I remember how terrifying it was to be shot out of the cannons! Also getting lost. I'd never remember where I was supposed to be going T^T

RPGfan just reviewed this and gave it a 65/100... lmao. Just wow. I love this game.

and now legend of mana is coming out

Why didn't you mention that the original SNES version of Trials of Mana was officially translated and released in the US in the Collection of Man compilation?

Best game i ever played from the snes

Xygor, when playing SOM single player, you need to 1) set the AI appropriately in the menu and 2) press "select" on a snes pad to select another player to work around "dumb" AI issues to attack, etc. The game is totally fucking rad when you play this way! Give it another go!

Yes!

"Secret Of Mana" sits comfortably alongside ALtTP and Chrono Trigger as the top three of all time. Can't say I prefer one of these games over the other, either, as each game possess their own unique features

Man watching this review makes me want to play all over again. Sigh* nostalgia

There is actually 9 levels for each weapon. Or at least for the Sword, Spear and Boomerang. Those are the only ones Ive ever found but there is no reason to believe there are lvl9 for those and not for the rest.

I feel that SD3/Trials was a huge improvement in everyway to SD2/Secret... except the soundtrack. Secret of Mana has an epic soundtrack on the level of Chrono and ff6. Also, the Trials remake is amazing, but I would like to add that Collection of Mana has an offically translated Super Famicom version of SD3.

great video

Collection of mana on the switch has all three games. The original one from game boy and snes. Playing SoM now

I just beat the game today and I loved the last boss. At first, I didn’t know what to do except just bashing, dying 3 times in a row. Such a great game!

I preferrred 1 over 2. The general plot in 2 was not so good because of the character choices qnd the three villains which made all of them quite pale in comparison to Thanatos, who is a demon and not just a sorcerer. I would have loved a 2D remake with all the left out story content that would have made it darker. The German translation had completely different names than the English ones.

with secret of Evermore teh final weapon the rocket launcher was OP since its ammo capacity was infinite and would never run out no matter what

you should have more followers and views

Although the story wasn’t as good as some other Jrpg’s, the gameplay was just awesome. The Ps4 rerelease is graphically stunning compared the original I think. And while some people complained about the crappy voiceovers and the updated soundtrack, you can turn off the voiceovers and you can choose between the original soundtrack and the new one

This was a great game! It's a shame we didn't get seiken densetsu 3 or trials of mana in the states until a few years ago because imo trials of mana is the superior title. Secret of Mana is still superb

TBH I like Terranigma a little more, but Sectret of Mana is still a decent game :)

Loved that game! I so rent it many time at the blockbuster that i surely payed twice the price to own it!🙄

Didn't know there was a FF4 snes,Loved FF3 on snes. Always thought FF3 in north america was FF6 in Japan.

👍

replace the "?" with a "!" - plus add "together with Terranigma"

Played this for the first time recently. Loved the visuals and music, but there are so many flaws. It could have been great.

It is one of the best action rpgs ever secret of evermore was fun too

I had so many late fees from the multiple times i rented game at my local rental store, i coulda bought it.... My parents weren't happy lol

I played this game for hours when it was released. Jut spent £80 on a snes boxed version with manual and map - I don't even have a snes to play it ha

Star ocean next!

The line about the composer making his own samples rather than creating them with sound engineering is confusing to me. Are you saying he crafted his own sounds using synthesizers and sampled them, rather than sampling real-world instruments?

Playing this over netplay with friend. The hit boxes are absolutely garbage. Bought this game the day it came out.