Secret of Mana (SNES)

From Video Game Music Preservation Foundation Wiki
Revision as of 19:03, 1 February 2012 by TheAlmightyGuru (talk | contribs)
Jump to: navigation, search
Secret of Mana
Secret of Mana - SNES - USA.jpg
Platform: Super NES
Year: 1993
Developer: Square Co., Ltd.
Buy: Amazon

Secret of Mana (Japanese: 聖剣伝説2, Seiken Densetsu 2) is the second game in the Seiken Densetsu series. The game is a highly acclaimed adventure RPG that is ranked as one of the best ever made. You try to get the three young heroes to stop the terrible prophecy that may very well destroy the entire world. The game allows three players to simultaneously control one of the three characters. Unlike many turn-based RPG's Secret of Mana uses a real-time movement and combat style like that of The Legend of Zelda (NES) to keep the game fast-paced and exciting. That coupled with a very nice story line and exceptional graphics and music for the time allowed Secret of Mana to rise above many other games of the time.


Screenshots


Secret of Mana - SNES - Fear of the Heavens.png

The title screen.

Secret of Mana - SNES - New Character.png

Registering a new character.

Secret of Mana - SNES - Introduction.png

Watching the introduction.

Secret of Mana - SNES - Waterfall.png

An early scene in the game.

Secret of Mana - SNES - Into the Thick of It.png

We're into the thick of it now!

Secret of Mana - SNES - Gaia's Navel.png

Gaia's Navel with the full party.


Music

The game features beautifully colorful graphics, well put-together controls and menus, and also some of the best music for the entire SNES platform. There are magnificent mood inspiring instrumentals throughout the entire game. Because the soundtrack was released in Japan over a year before it was released in America, many different translations can be found for the titles. However, the titles here come from the American release of the soundtrack. The order of the music comes from the normal order you'd hear in the game, excluding boss battles and fanfares.

Secret of Mana's music quality comes from a trick of the SNES audio hardware. The SNES audio chip has 8 channels that must be shared between music and sound effects. Many developers would use divide these and dedicate some channels for music and some for sound, but the developers at Square decided to use all 8 channels for music, and just interrupt the music when a sound effect needed to be played. This allowed for a much greater music quality, and for the most part, the interrupted music is unnoticeable. However, there are a few places in the game where the interruption is obvious. For example, the song What the Forest Taught Me, which plays in Upperland, is noticeably paused when a monster is killed.

Recording

#

Title

Composer

Arranger

Length

Size

Listen

01.1 Fear of the Heavens Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:33 1.3 MB
01.2 Fear of the Heavens (With Whales) Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:42 1.4 MB
02 Menu Screen Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 0:27 314 KB
03 In the Dead of the Night Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:09 798 KB
04.1 Together Always Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:00 1.7 MB
04.2 Together Always (No Waterfall) Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:00 1.7 MB
05.1 Into the Thick of It Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 3:27 3.5 MB
05.2 Into the Thick of It (Echo) Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 3:27 3.5 MB
06 The Color of the Summer Sky Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:22 2.0 MB
07 I Won't Forget Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:31 1.1 MB
08 Spirit of the Night Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:45 2.1 MB
09.1 Whisper and Mantra Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:49 1.5 MB
09.2 Whisper and Mantra (Echo) Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:49 1.5 MB
10.1 Dancing Animals Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:22 2.1 MB
10.2 Dancing Animals (Echo) Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:22 2.2 MB
11 Phantom... and... a Rose Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:28 2.0 MB
12 Distant Thunder Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 3:20 2.8 MB
13 It Happened Late One Evening Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:03 948 KB
14 Did You See the Ocean? Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 3:55 3.7 MB
15 Fond Memories Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:45 1.8 MB
16 Eternal Recurrence Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 3:02 2.5 MB
17 Mystic Invasion Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:11 1.1 MB
18 Ceremony Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:44 1.4 MB
19 A Curious Happening Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:54 1.6 MB
20 What the Forest Taught Me Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:54 1.5 MB
21 Secret of the Arid Sands Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:01 1.8 MB
22 Monarch On the Shore Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:25 2.0 MB
23.1 A Wish... Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:47 1.3 MB
23.2 A Wish... (No Pop) Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:47 1.3 MB
24 The Little Sprite Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:30 1.4 MB
25 A Bell Is Tolling Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:49 2.5 MB
26 A Curious Tale Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:30 2.4 MB
27 Steel and Snare Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 3:09 2.7 MB
28 Flight Into the Unknown Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:43 2.4 MB
29 The Wind Never Ceases Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:08 2.0 MB
30 The Legend Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:45 2.5 MB
31.1 The Dark Star Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:19 2.0 MB
31.2 The Dark Star (No Echo) Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:19 2.0 MB
32 Prophecy Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:14 986 KB
33 Still of the Night Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 5:06 4.5 MB
34 A Conclusion Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:09 677 KB
35 Leave Time For Love Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:11 2.0 MB
36 Danger Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 4:13 4.0 MB
37 Calm Before the Storm Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 3:48 3.3 MB
38 The Curse Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:10 1.3 MB
39 The Oracle Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 3:02 2.5 MB
40 Morning Is Here Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:48 1.6 MB
41 One of Them Is Hope Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 1:46 1.4 MB
42 Meridian Dance Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 3:38 3.3 MB
43 Now Flightless Wings Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 2:11 1.6 MB
44 The Second Truth From the Left Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 4:39 4.0 MB
45 I Closed My Eyes Hiroki Kikuta Minoru Akao 0:26 315 KB
46 Boss Defeated Yasunori Mitsuda, Kenji Ito Minoru Akao 0:10 164 KB
47 Victory Theme Yasunori Mitsuda, Kenji Ito Minoru Akao 0:03 58 KB
48 Orb Chime Yasunori Mitsuda, Kenji Ito Minoru Akao 0:01 22 KB
49 Partner Joined Yasunori Mitsuda, Kenji Ito Minoru Akao 0:05 74 KB
50 Got Weapon Yasunori Mitsuda, Kenji Ito Minoru Akao 0:01 27 KB
51 Got Magic Yasunori Mitsuda, Kenji Ito Minoru Akao 0:02 34 KB
52 Flammie Yasunori Mitsuda, Kenji Ito Minoru Akao 0:05 78 KB
53 Got Item Yasunori Mitsuda, Kenji Ito Minoru Akao 0:02 41 KB
54 Got Key Yasunori Mitsuda, Kenji Ito Minoru Akao 0:01 27 KB


Credits

(Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4)


Albums

Template:Table Albums


Game Rip

Format

Download

Size

SPC.png

Download 162 KB

The SPC logs were recorded during actual game play. The titles come from the US soundtrack. Most of the songs are ordered based on their appearance in the game, but some common music is placed near the end with. Numerous sound effects have been included in the rip as well, but a few other could be added like the health filled chime, the sealed seed chime, and the level up chime.


Releases

  Japan.svg   Japan
Secret of Mana - SFC - Japan.jpg
Title: 聖剣伝説2
Platform: Super Famicom
Released: 1993/08/06
Publisher: Square Co., Ltd.
  USA.svg   USA
Secret of Mana - SNES - USA.jpg
Title: Secret of Mana
Platform: Super NES
Released: 1993/10/03
Publisher: Square Co., Ltd.
  EU.svg   EU
Secret of Mana - SNES - EU.jpg
Title: Secret of Mana
Platform: Super NES
Released: 1994/11/24
Publisher: Square Co., Ltd.
  Australia.svg   Australia
Secret of Mana - SNES - Australia.jpg
Title: Secret of Mana
Platform: Super NES
Released: 1994/??/??
Publisher: Square Co., Ltd.


Links