Secret of Mana

 PC
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 41 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 41
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 41
  3. Negative: 8 out of 41

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  1. Adreankael
    Apr 12, 2018
    5
    Pros: It's Secret of Mana with a fresh coat of paint.
    Cons: It's Secret of Mana with a fresh coat of paint and nothing else.
    Some things need more then a fresh coat of paint yet that's all this game got. The original game was great, for both the platform it was on and the time it was released, but they could have done so much to improve this. Suggested improvements would be increase    Pros: It's Secret of Mana with a fresh coat of paint.
    Cons: It's Secret of Mana with a fresh coat of paint and nothing else.

    Some things need more then a fresh coat of paint yet that's all this game got. The original game was great, for both the platform it was on and the time it was released, but they could have done so much to improve this. Suggested improvements would be increase the area rendered to eliminate alot of the loading screens, remove the invincibility monsters get after knocking them to the ground.

    What's completely baffling is how they actually made the game worse by making the menu ring open in the center of the screen instead of over the character's head, making it all the more difficult to use. The Voice acting is sub par at best and the character's mouths do not move when they're talking. This is unsettling and given that their mouths can and do move for expressions, it's all the more confusing they didn't include this feature.

    All in all it is secret of mana but this game's low rating is a case of not enough tough love. Yes, the original was awesome and we loved it but that doesn't mean there was no room for improvement. Keeping a game this close to the original and just slapping a new coat of paint on it was not the best way to go here.    … Expand
  2. kuehnau
    Feb 17, 2018
    7
    Secret of Mana (2018) is a remake of a SNES classic from the 90's era of video game. It boasts updated graphics, new audio and even voice acting.

    For everything the remake of Secret of Mana is, there is a lot it isn't as well. While the game's graphics may have been updated to match a more modern look, the game still largely relies on outdated mechanics from a game that was released 25    Secret of Mana (2018) is a remake of a SNES classic from the 90's era of video game. It boasts updated graphics, new audio and even voice acting.

    For everything the remake of Secret of Mana is, there is a lot it isn't as well. While the game's graphics may have been updated to match a more modern look, the game still largely relies on outdated mechanics from a game that was released 25 years ago.

    The combat is clunky as ever. There will be spells and attacks that are completely unavoidable, giving some enemies an unfair advantage. When it comes to boss fights, the area you are given to move around is often times far too small, making it a huge pain in the arse.

    The player AI for your companions is just as terrible as they were when the game first launched. Nine out of ten times they are completely worthless and not worth reviving. As the game progresses, they'll unlock useful spells that can help in combat, but considering how clunky the companion mechanics are, it's almost worthless.

    The game itself has issues on the development side. I have a fairly powerful rig I built just this year to play most modern releases on ultra settings, I spent a pretty dime on the whole thing. Given the specs of my system and the quality of the game remake, you'd think it'd run perfectly, but that is far from the truth. From animations freezing up, to frame rates all over the place, the game lacks a lot of polish you'd expect from a game costing $40.00USD.

    It's not a bad game and I am enjoying it, but I really feel like they should have worked on updating some of the poor mechanics the original game had, worked on better companion AI and streamlined some of the otherwise cumbersome aspects of the game. And there's no excuse for the lack of polish on the development side as far as game performance goes.    … Expand
  3. night4
    Jan 26, 2019
    5
    I'm extremely conflicted by it, but here are some pros and cons:

    Pros: -When you're not looking at a cutscene, the graphics are actually pretty nice. Many enemies (like say, demon heads) look really badass. The elemental spirits look great too. -You can hotkey 2 spells/weapons/items to the L and R buttons. Extremely useful to me for Magic Absorb and spamming on boss fights.    I'm extremely conflicted by it, but here are some pros and cons:

    Pros:

    -When you're not looking at a cutscene, the graphics are actually pretty nice. Many enemies (like say, demon heads) look really badass. The elemental spirits look great too.

    -You can hotkey 2 spells/weapons/items to the L and R buttons. Extremely useful to me for Magic Absorb and spamming on boss fights.

    -Autosave!

    -You get all your MP back when leveling up. This is a freaking game changer. You can now blow all your spells in a dungeon, level up in the dungeon, then go fight the boss. No more hoarding every last MP for the boss.

    -The remastered music is less obnoxious (Dwarf Village anyone?) but can be changed to the original if you prefer.

    -The Javelin is better now, every attack is a line AoE attack.

    -Attacking with the Glove can pick up enemies and slam them behind you (without stunning, though, so it can actually be bad as it moves the enemy closer to your casters. In fact, I think this is the only physical attack in the game that doesn't stun, very odd).

    -You can now change direction while running, but the charge meter very slowly drains.

    -You can now attack in any direction, not just 8 directions. This can be bad at first, as you may miss more until you get used to it.

    -On Flammie, the game tells you what you're hovering over, like "Potos Village Cannon Travel" or whatever. Pretty nice feature.

    -Boss death animation is much better.

    Cons:

    -The price is inexcusably high. I'd say $15-20 would be more fair.

    -The menu doesn't remember what you last selected. This is painful when repeatedly casting a spell you don't want to hotkey.

    -Every enemy always takes at several seconds for a physical hit to register and die. Multiple hits means you're waiting a long time. At least in the original, enemies had a chance of just dying instantly without lying on the ground for a while.

    -Combat feels less satisfying because no enemy will ever just blow up instantly, even if you crit the hell out of them.

    -Sometimes, enemies just can't be hit or die. No, they don't have Lucid Barrier up, this can happen with level 1's.

    -Crashes sometimes (for me, once every few hours).

    -Default keybindings are really bad. I used a gamepad which apparently, you can't change any binding for. It worked well for me though.

    -Very difficult to exit the game. You have to go into "Settings". And you can't exit from the title screen. WTF?

    -AI is horrible. It won't ever attack at all unless the character you're controlling does. There is no grid anymore.

    -Pathing is improved in certain areas, made worse in others.

    -English voice acting is horrible. They should have just scrapped it and focused resources elsewhere.

    -You can't "stack" certain spells anymore, like Dark Force. -Weird, lengthy "talk" scenes between the 3 main characters added every time you sleep at an Inn. -Cutscenes are ugly, as none of the characters look good up close. -No cannon travel animation! You can still see the world on Flammie, so why not here too? To sum up, you may want to just emulate it. You might be really mad if you paid full price for it. Waiting several seconds for every single enemy to die is probably a deal breaker to many people... that's my single greatest complaint.    … Expand
  4. philzlz
    Dec 19, 2018
    5
    A 3D remaster of the 1993 released SNES action role playing game. Follows the story of Randi who finds the ancient Mana sword and has to save the world from the Empire, trying to reconstruct a flying warship called the Mana fortress.

    Unfortunately the transition to a modern look does not work and Seiken Densetsu 2 loses a lot of charm by introducing an orchestral soundtrack and a new    A 3D remaster of the 1993 released SNES action role playing game. Follows the story of Randi who finds the ancient Mana sword and has to save the world from the Empire, trying to reconstruct a flying warship called the Mana fortress.

    Unfortunately the transition to a modern look does not work and Seiken Densetsu 2 loses a lot of charm by introducing an orchestral soundtrack and a new graphics engine.

    Story and combat mechanics that still allow insta-spamming magic spells to defeat bosses do not hold up 25 years later. A full remake would have been the better idea.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
57

Mixed or average reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 6
  3. Negative: 2 out of 6
  1. CD-Action
    Jun 5, 2018
    40
    The remake not only highlights all flaws of the original, making me wonder why I loved the 1993’s Secret of Mana in the first place, but also introduces some new problems. [05/2018, p.68]
  2. 4P.de
    Feb 23, 2018
    57
    Sorry, but no! The re-imagination of one of the most beloved JRPGs is mediocre in almost every aspect. Bugs, crashes and on top of that the visual renovation is lackluster. If you really wanna play Secret of Mana, you should think about investing in the Nintendo Classic Mini SNES.
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  3. The Overpowered Noobs
    Feb 22, 2018
    60
    Secret of Mana (2018) makes for a nice jog down memory lane, even if there were some long-forgotten design flaws that years of nostalgic memories had blocked out over time. If you remember enjoying the SNES game, Secret of Mana holds onto many of what you liked about it back then. But if you’re looking for a polished, modernized version of the game, then you will be disappointed. For better or worse, not much has changed in Secret of Mana since its initial release in 1994.
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