Beginning as a spin off of the Final Fantasy series called Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, the Mana series grew into something far bigger and far more important in 1993 with the release of Secret of Mana. Using the battle system of Mystic Quest, Secret of Mana was a sequel in all but name yet developed into a series of its own with a breathtaking storyline, some utterly inspiring music and mechanics feeling like an early precursor to the exceptional Vagrant Story with a ring that surrounded your character when you wanted to attack. If an enemy entered the ring, you could do the action you wanted... if they weren't, simply get closer. The game turned out to be a surprise success of sorts and held within it one of the major keys for Square to abandon its relationship with Nintendo and jump over to Sony in 1996. Producer Hiromichi Tanaka claims that the game was originally in development for the Nintendo CD add on, which led to the team having to trim the game right back to its bare minimum. Bare minimum or not, Secret of Mana was a gem of a game. One that deserves far more love.
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I am a middle aged Yorkshireman obsessed with Bad Religion, The Simpsons, movies and anything to do with gaming. I love everything to do with Final Fantasy, Metal Gear and will hold a discussion with anyone about anything in games.
