they dont make games like this anymore. 10/10.
Secret of Mana unlike final fantasy's turn based battle system uses real time battles it has a unique ring menu system brightley coloured graphics, expansive plot and soundtrack by Hiroki Kikuta.
Generally, Secret of Mana uses a top-down view common with role-playing games of the 16-bit era, with movement governed by the directional pad and the game's other functions by the other buttons (however, the game allows an unusual, if somewhat impractical, upside-down controller configuration). However, unlike its companion turn-based RPGs, Secret of Mana uses a pictorial ring menu system. It is from here that the player can change what weapons the main characters use, cast spells, use items, equip armor, change game settings and control the behavior of the computer-controlled main characters. The ring menu is used again in later Seiken Densetsu games and the spin-off Secret of Evermore.
Secret of Mana offers the player eight weapon types to choose from, including Randi's initial sword. These include a spear, bow, axe, whip and a javelin, Purim joins the party using the glove and Popoie with the boomerang. Weapons can be upgraded through the use of orbs, generally obtained after the successful completion of a boss battle or found as treasures in dungeons. In order for the upgrade to be performed, the weapons must be taken to Watts the Dwarven Blacksmith, who is a staple of the series. One major annoyance of this system is the apparent absence of two of the weapon orbs, for the axe and the glove respectively - this can be remedied by searching for orbs randomly dropped by specific enemies, but they are very rare. Collecting eight orbs for each weapon in this way allows the player's weapons to reach a secret ultimate level.
Secret of Mana also introduces the elementals concept to the Seiken series. The eight elementals can be found on different locations of the game world, and each has a distinct personality and provides the player with specific spells. Both weapons and magical powers are given a proficiency scale of nine levels (ranging from 0:00 to 8:99), which are raised according to how much the player makes use of them; higher levels allow for more powerful attacks or stronger spells, but each new level takes longer to achieve than the last. Weapons are granted a new, more powerful attack with each level, but with these comes the downside of an increased cumulative charge-up time - the more powerful the attack the player wishes to unleash, the more time he or she will have to spend charging up for the attack and the more vulnerable to enemy attack they are. Even without starting a special attack, the player has to wait momentarily for the character to recover from each attack they make, otherwise they will strike the enemy with minimal damage. Spell animations change approximately every two levels, and once an element reaches above level 8:00, there is a chance that a super-powered version of any spell of that element will be performed when cast. The closer to 9 the element is, the more often the special version will trigger.
This is one of the greatest games available on the super nintendo and one of the best rpg's ever made. You really should pick up this great title. if you like games you will love secret of mana.