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A genuine Super NES classic, Secret of Mana holds a special place in the hearts of those that played it back in the day. Its blend of role-playing action, gorgeous visual design and evocative music remains a treat even today. The series has persisted across multiple generations since, but the original is still best. Or is it? Last week, Square-Enix released a 3D remake for PS4, PS4 Pro, PC and even PS Vita - and we've played them all.But what makes this game special? Secret of Mana holds up today and was considered good enough to make the top 21 line-up for SNES mini, and this is perhaps surprising bearing in mind its troubled development. Originally designed for the Super NES's CD-ROM attachment, a collaboration with Sony, the game was originally lined up as a launch title for the Super Disc format - a vast adventure that would take full advantage of the extra disc space rather than simply slapping a few Redbook audio tracks on the disc like many other titles. When the CD project was killed off, Square management pushed the team to complete the game on cartridge instead. The team was forced to cut content and dialogue, reducing the game to the form we know today but despite obvious shortcomings resulting from this process, the game still went on to become a classic.
The action driven combat stands out as its most unique feature - up to three players can join-in for cooperative action, quite unlike anything else on the system at the time. While exploring the world in search of the eight Mana temples, players are treated to remarkable 16-bit pixel art. Beyond the expressive characters, beautiful rivers ripple through the numerous valleys, animated grass tiles blow gently in the wind and colour math is used to create some great effects.
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