Damn I forgot how tough and intricate Secret of Mana can be! I've already died a couple times, and almost died at the first mini-boss where you have three characters to fight with.
I remember when I first got SoM as a kid, when I must have been 9 or 10, how I couldn't ever even get past the first boss. That was because I didn't understand the weapon charge thing, where you can't just keep swinging your sword, you have to wait until it charges to 100%. The very first bit of intricacy in the game, but definitely not the last.
But then I got a strategy guide, the basics were explained and I fell in love with the game.
You have to constantly be on your toes in this game. In many other games, you gather items that you end up never using and so they feel completely pointless. Not in SoM. Even the most basic item, the health-restoring Candy you can find anywhere, is vital for the major fights -- and in some cases even the first boss. And then moreso for the second and third. (Well, not so much the second, who is a simple fight.)
Plus, you can only carry four of each item at one time, including the basic candy. That means the tough boss fights and mini-boss fights (such as those karate-kicking, fast-as-hell fox brothers from hell that kidnap the girl into the Haunted Forest) keep you on your toes, because you have to constantly be thinking about your health while also thinking about charging your weapon while also avoiding their attacks, all in real-time. And then times that by THREE, when you get the two other party members. Taking care of three characters while attacking and defending all in real-time makes every major fight exhilarating.
On a progress note, I just got the beginning ice magic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dyne
Hahah, yeah, I bought a cart off of SomethingAwful mart for $20, and we've been playing it on and off, but haven't played in the past couple of months, because we've been too absorbed in TV shows. |
For only $20? That's a steal for an SoM cart. While SoM was a smash hit in Japan, sold in the upwards of a million or more I believe, in the U.S. it was a much smaller success, a couple hundred thousand or so I think. So although SoM is a classic (rated top 100 games of all time several times), for the U.S. it is a
cult classic, with little supply to go around after people got wind of it's greatness.