We review Secret of Mana, a classic RPG for iPhoneOriginally released way back in 1993, Secret of Mana (also known as Seiken Densetsu 2 in its native Japan) is considered to be one of the finest role playing games in existence.
Now that statement might sound a bit trite, and the term ‘genre classic’ is thrown about with gay abandon these days, but sometimes these statements simply need to be accepted as fact, and this is most definitely one of those cases.
Secret of Mana is a bold and beautiful video game that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.
You can therefore appreciate why its launch on Apple’s iPhone has caused such a frenzy of expectation; like some kind of glorious, long-awaited homecoming, Secret of Mana has been welcomed onto the App Store with open arms.
The good news is that for the most part, this adulation is wholly justified – this is the same game that SNES fans know, love and have cherished for over fifteen years.
It’s not an entirely faultless port however, and there are some unfortunate shortcomings that do much to sully the experience.
For the uninitiated, Secret of Mana is an action RPG with cute characters and an epic storyline. You’re placed in the colourful clothing of an unlikely hero who unwittingly kick-starts a crusade against the forces of evil when he pulls a mythical sword from a stone.
Joined by a feisty young girl and a dumpy, dwarf-like sprite, you on-screen avatar has to fight his way through a massive game world to restore order and balance.
You’ll spend much of Secret of Mana wandering around the painfully gorgeous 2D world, conversing with friendly characters and unlocking more and more of what proves to be a riveting plot.
You’ll also do your fair share of fighting, both with physical weapons and potent spells. The combat takes place in real time, although your actions incur recharge times which lends the game a turn-based feel.
One of Secret of Mana’s innovations back in 1993 was the ‘ring menu’, a system of selecting items that has never really been bettered, even after all this time.
This interface has been skilfully adapted to take advantage of the iPhone’s touch screen, which requires quick and intuitive menu configurations.
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The transition to Apple’s portable device hasn’t been entirely kind on Secret of Mana, however. For starters, the virtual stick lacks the precision required for the fast and furious battle sequences.
Although fellow iPhone RPG such as Final Fantasy II were less affected by the virtual controls, this was largely due to the fact that the gameplay was much slower and didn’t rely on rapid reactions.
Secret of Mana’s combat is more demanding, and the difference between success and failure can often be down to something as simple as positioning your character in the right place – a task which is rendered unnecessarily difficult by the touch screen controls.
One of Secret of Mana’s most notable features is its music, which has to rank as one of the finest chip-tune soundtracks ever composed.
Rather than emulate the SNES’ powerful sound hardware, Square Enix has decided instead to convert the audio into MP3-like music files, which play on a constant loop. The problem is they don’t loop neatly. It’s a minor issue but it’s sure to annoy purists who worship the original game.
The final problem with this conversion is the lack of multiplayer. The SNES game allowed players to use the Super Multitap accessory so that three people could join the quest – each one controlling a different member of the heroic trio.
That option has been expunged from this edition, which is a crying shame because it would have been perfectly possible via Bluetooth. In fact, we would have liked Square Enix to have gone the extra mile and have factored in online co-op play, but it’s not to be.
Despite these grievances, Secret of Mana remains a truly mesmerising RPG, and easily qualifies as one of the best currently doing the rounds on the App Store.
The mixture of stunning visuals, amazing (albeit poorly looped) music and gripping gameplay make this one of the most magical games you’ll play this year. When you consider how expensive the SNES original is these days, you can’t even argue with the somewhat lofty (by App Store standards, at least) price tag.
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