Secret of Mana - Wii VC

manasecret · 10-13-2008, 03:57 PM

The Secret of Mana has just released for the Wii VC.

This of course is the game of my namesake. I love this game. I can't wait to grab it, and for only $8, everyone should. SoM is one of the classic and most popular SNES RPGs to come out of those Japanese dream makers called Square from back in the day.

World of Goo also looks amazing, and only $15. With these two games, and after Mega Man 9, which I'm still playing, this is the most fun playing video games I have had in such a long while.

Jason1 · 10-13-2008, 04:19 PM

I have to pick up world of goo. It looks amazing.

Yoda9864 · 10-13-2008, 08:24 PM

Never did play this game. Did this game support Multi tap?

manasecret · 10-13-2008, 09:48 PM

Hell yeah it did, it originally came packaged with one. One of the reasons it was so much fun was because it was an up to 3 player RPG back in the day when that never happened.

Dyne · 10-14-2008, 01:56 PM

Hell yes! I play this with my girlfriend on my SNES but it's so much hassle to hook it up every time. Maybe I'll buy this.

Angrist · 10-15-2008, 03:34 PM

I played the demo of World of Goo (for PC). Awesome stuff. So much fun. I really envy you guys.

Edit: I could of course get the PC version, but I really think it feels better on Wii. I'm still hoping they'll release a WW version here some time...

manasecret · 10-15-2008, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyne

Hell yes! I play this with my girlfriend on my SNES but it's so much hassle to hook it up every time. Maybe I'll buy this.

Dude, your girlfriend plays SoM with you on the SNES?? Like, she and you played it recently?

I just started the game again last night, and oh those warm fuzzy memories... recognizing all the music and characters and plot points I had forgotten about but I instantly remember when playing again.

My girlfriend sat and watched me play for awhile, which is like the first time ever she showed remote interest in a video game. She comforted me when I was banished from my hometown, and she liked the cat salesman Neko.

Dyne · 10-15-2008, 06:44 PM

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.

manasecret · 10-16-2008, 10:13 AM

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.

mickydaniels · 12-16-2008, 07:58 PM

I just have 1 question, as I'm playing on vc. Did the original version have lag in the towns unlocked by the drum? or is it just this version?

manasecret · 12-17-2008, 10:19 AM

Yeah, the bigger towns had lag in the original. I don't how that works, but you'd think with all the extra horsepower that the lag would be all gone. I guess the code would have to be finely altered to get that kind of upgrade.

Good to see someone else playing it! How do you like? If you've got the drum, then you're pretty far.

Something that came with the original game is a big poster-size map of the SoM world. After playing through it again (and still loving it), I realize that having the map for some of the later quests would help a lot. Here's a link to the original map --

http://secretofmana.planets.gamespy....ges/mapbig.jpg

I actually found some other much more detailed user-created maps through Google, but as they are more walkthrough type maps I won't post them here.

mickydaniels · 12-17-2008, 04:55 PM

Pretty good so far. But playing this reminds me of controlling sonic & tails in sonic 2, with the computer controlling tails, especially in the special stages.
Another thing - I feel the combat system is turn-based and cleverly disguised because of the fact that if you don't wait for 100, your attack is diluted.

OH - and I hate that cat, overcharging bastard.

manasecret · 12-17-2008, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickydaniels

Pretty good so far. But playing this reminds me of controlling sonic & tails in sonic 2, with the computer controlling tails, especially in the special stages.
Another thing - I feel the combat system is turn-based and cleverly disguised because of the fact that if you don't wait for 100, your attack is diluted.

OH - and I hate that cat, overcharging bastard.

I don't remember much about controlling Sonic & Tails, but if you're talking about the crappy path-finding AI for the computer-controlled characters, then yeah it's horrible. Fortunately it never caused any deaths, it was usually only an annoyance.

Yeah I'd have to agree and disagree on the combat system. I would call it a real-time combat system, with some turn-based elements. You still have to be constantly thinking about defending yourself while you're waiting or deciding your next attack. But for me the combat got too easy near the end, with the notable exception of the volcano/forest area which is near the end. Maybe it's because I spent too much time upgrading my magic and characters, but bosses became a cinch by the end, which makes things boring.

Neko is a bitch. But he does have some items that no one else has, like the barrel. Though I never used it.