Welcome to Together RPG. Our next selection is Secret of Mana, available on:
Super Nintendo/Super Famicom
Wii Virtual Console
Wii U Virtual Console (Japan only)
iOS
Android
FOMA 903i/703i phones (Japan only)
Secret of Mana is a colorful action RPG from Squaresoft directed by Koichi Ishii, produced by Hiromichi Tanaka, with music by Hiroki Kikuta. The game follows a trio of young heroes as they team together to charge the Mana Sword before an evil empire can resurrect the Mana Fortress.
This game is a 1993 release from Squaresoft for the Super Nintendo and is actually the second game in the Seiken Densetsu series. The first was released in the US as the Game Boy title Final Fantasy Adventure. Seiken Densetsu 3 was also released on the Super Famicom in Japan but never saw a release outside of that region, and Secret of Evermore was developed by the US branch of Squaresoft in an attempt to make up for this.
The SoM series is famous for its Ring Command menu system. When the menu is brought up, it appears as a ring over the currently selected player character. These rings can be navigated to select magic, use items, equip weapons and armor, set options, and look up statistics on character development. Also of note is the game's multiplayer aspect, letting additional players drop in and out to control the other characters in real-time combat.
The iOS and Android versions are enhanced ports that feature bug-fixes, a retranslated script, a modified control system to work with a touchscreen, and updated visuals, but in the process the multiplayer aspect was lost.
Please chime in if you plan to play!
