Secret of Mana (SNES)

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Secret of Mana
Secret of Mana - SNES - USA.jpg
Platform: SNES
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 action-adventure RPG that is ranked as one of the best released on the SNES. 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: A Link to the Past (SNES) 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

VGMPF Album Art       Icon-Help.png

Secret of Mana - SNES - Album Art.jpg

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

Credits

(Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4)

Albums

Secret of Mana +

Secret of Mana +.jpg

1993-10-29

Game Rip

Format

Download

SPC.png

Download

(Info)


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 (Legend of the Sacred Sword 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: SNES
Released: 1993-10-03
Publisher: Square Soft, Inc.
  EU.svg   EU
Secret of Mana - SNES - EU.jpg
Title: Secret of Mana
Platform: SNES
Released: 1994-11-24
Publisher: Square Co., Ltd.
  Australia.svg   Australia
Secret of Mana - SNES - Australia.jpg
Title: Secret of Mana
Platform: SNES
Released: 1994-??-??
Publisher: Square Co., Ltd.

Links