http://images.nintendolife.com/games/snes/secret_of_mana/cover_large.jpg
image source

Gday Guys, woohoo just got to 121 followers, I didnt get to do the 100 milestone, you guys were too quick xD thanks alot!

so, Secret Of Mana, is one of those games that still give me goosebumps to think about, it formed a good portion of my life, I replayed the thing countless times, recently actually finally finishing the thing. for some reason I could never kill that final boss

anyways here is a little breakdown of the game design that I made for you guys

Secret of mana

Secret of mana is an action role playing game made for the super Nintendo in 1993 by a Japanese company called Square, now Square-Enix.

Tokens / Player

Secret of mana allows the player to control one of 3 characters, though initially only allowing for the boy character to be used. This will be covered in a little greater detail, later in resources.

Resources

Information – there is a small introduction at the beginning of the game which helps the player to understand the pretense of the world they are entering. Otherwise information is usually given incrementally in a somewhat linear fashion, possibly due to the story driven nature of the game.

Gil

– Secret of mana only has one economy that is used to purchase equipment and items, or to cover the cost of travelling via the “cannon brothers company”
Characters – though the game starts off with a single character, the player is eventually given 3 characters(which they name individually) to set up and control. characters initially have the same capacity until they are eventually given “Spells” which divide the players abilities.
the player reaches game over when all 3 characters are dead.

Key Items

– there are a few key items that are available as the player progresses, these are namely the flamie drum for calling the dragon(a late game transport) and the “midge mallet and moogle belt” , which add a couple novelties to the game, but can also be used strategically.

Health

– Health points are used to apply damage to players and is the only means a player can be killed, this occurs when the players health points reach 0.
Initially the player starts with 50 health points, which can increase permanently by leveling up the player, up to the maximum of 999 health.

Mana

– mana points are used to allow the player to cast Spells, they increase with player “Spell” levels. Characters start with 10 mana and eventually raise to 50.
Stamina¬ – the player can use stamina for 2 reasons, they both work to compound the player action. One use is to start a sprint in a single direction(the direction currently being pressed by the player) or it can also be used to charge a physical attack.

Items

– there are only couple different classes of consumable items, a set of items which increase Health points, or a set which increases mana points. The only exception is the “Barrel” item, which when used, acts as a shield against magic until the player performs an offensive action( e.g, attack or spell cast)
Weapons – the player starts off initially with only 1 weapon, the “Mana Sword”. As they progress through the story they are rewarded with new weapons.
There are 8 weapons in total, including the mana sword. The player is awarded the new weapons as they progress through the story, receiving new weapons as they recruit other players or defeat Bosses.
Spells – spells are a great way the developers added depth and variety to their game. Initially the player can only attack, and all the characters essentially are the same, that is, until you are given spells to cast.
Each player has a different expression with spells, the Boy character isn’t given spells at all, told by the spirits “your Mana sword is more powerful than any spell”, whereas the other 2 characters the Girl, and the Sprite are given the ability to cast different elemental spells. The Girl is limited to Defensive Spells, and the Sprite is given an array of Offensive spells.
Armor – Armor is pretty simple, it only has a single stat, “Defense” which is used to decrease the damage taken from enemy attacks. There is no extra stats for elemental or magic resistances.

Story / Theme

Good Vs Evil & Things are not what they seem

The broader theme seems to be Good vs evil, with the player trying to save the world and its inhabitants from an evil sorcerer who is willing to drain the Mana of the world(essence of life) for greed of power.
Another theme which is heavily used is a theme of things not being what they initially appear to be. The game starts with an orphan boy roaming in territory forbidden to them by their village elders purely for their own safety, after an incident its revealed that the boy is chosen by Mana to save the world.
there are many more expressions of this theme uncovered throughout the story, as you defeat evil magic beings, they revert to their previous friendly states and explain that greed or love of power had turned them evil, but that is not, and was not originally their nature or intention.

Mechanics

Space

The levels are set within boundaries but the player can move in any direction. The enemies are visible as you progress through areas and battles are fought or avoided in real time.

that sweet crit

Battle system

The battle system makes use of the continuous space, some levels are designed as battle arenas but mostly you battle in the same lands you are exploring.
The player has a directional movement in 2 axis and an attack button. The player doesn’t need to fight any battle and can avoid enemies on each map, with the exception of bosses.
the only information really given to the player is the enemies location(by the visibility of the enemy) and the animations of the enemy(as to what the enemy is doing), there is no bars for health or indication of weaknesses to any element, all this is learned through experimentation.

Dialogue system

When the player starts a dialogue, the series of dialogue plays out linearly(consecutively) and may in some cases trigger the advancement of the story (eg, unlock the next area, or trigger the next boss)

The experience

Secret of mana is one of the greatest games ive ever played, a lot of this could be due to the reason it was one of the first real RPG game I came across and was lucky to own. It was sold in a time with no real availability of trailers or any real indication of what we were purchasing, except for a cover and some box art on the back. The aesthetic is a simple pixel art style which is cute and colorful, it has many strange designs which aren’t questioned a bit with the cartoony theme. The palettes and designs are The story is compelling and though the themes and expressions are somewhat simple, the series of events and the unpredictable nature of the outcomes work to constantly leave the player shocked of the outcome and curious to know what happens next. The battle system allows for a lot of control by the player and therefore makes the player feel responsible for any outcome of battle, seldom does the player feel ripped off by a sequence of events or by boundaries when battles are best avoided. The only exception are boss battles which are set in arenas and are a “fight to the death”, in which the player learns to prepare first. All in all, secret of mana is usually on my tongue as a recommended title, it has beautiful aesthetics and employs a great story and sequence to build a great player experience from the new game button all the way until the end credits, working so well to build the anticipation of its audience that you wait for something to shock you even while the credits are rolling. Thanks for reading, sorry about going a little long

if you like what I'm doing

please Upvote, Share or Resteem!

Comments and Upvotes are the fuel that keep me going xD