Secret of Mana (2018) - Easy Allies Review
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- Опубликовано: 4 окт 2024
- The Secret of Mana remake manages to keep some of the charm of the SNES version, but fails to improve upon the flaws of the original.
Correction: Secret of Mana was originally released in 1993.
Written by Bradley Ellis
Video Edited by Don Casanova
Reviewed on PlayStation 4
Available on PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita
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The big problem with the re,skew graphics is that it lacks the texture detail that the SNES version has that makes the world feel “rustic” and provincial. The SNES version’s buildings and signs are clearly painted, but the pain has flecked away after years of weathering. It’s part of what sells the fact that this world has been lived in for ages. Even the trails in the SNES version are meant to look worn away by use.
This new version just looks like an uninspired stock “video game”.
There's an interesting gameplay discussion to be had about a change they made to bosses. In the original, most bosses had "hurt" expressions where they were invulnerable to physical attacks but could still be hit by magic, which meant people usually spammed magic since it did more damage anyway without a charge bar and you didn't have to wait for the boss to be vulnerable again. In this version, I didn't notice any boss being invulnerable after a hit, and some bosses that used to float around for a while or hide out of sight for a long time like the snakes and vampires no longer do so (or much less so). This means all 3 characters can beat the crap out of them constantly, making magic less of a "required spam" but also making bosses die much much faster. Some bosses even perpetually go into their "hurt" expressions several times in a row if you keep hitting them, such that they never attack and you don't even need to use magic at all. It's a small change in theory, but it destroyed the challenge of the game for the most part. It was disappointing watching several streamers who loved the original get nervous about facing the infamous gatekeeper that was Spiky Tiger only to kill it in
0:16 _"secret of _*_mono_*_ "_ 🤔
Your reviews are still the best.
I loved the original clay model style marketing and instruction manual art. I wonder how cool it would have been if they had done the game graphics like that. Would have given it a Dark Crystal vibe :)
Though I disagree and loved the remake, you guys still do the best reviews in town.
This game worth the buy was gonna try it ot just by tales of vesperia again ?
@@jasondp3546 Tales!
Ah… Secret of Mana! Everytime someone mentions my beloved classical golden age JRPG, a sprite gets its wings!
This was my first, full-on, complete RPG experience on a gaming console (dragon warrior on NES just had me walkin in a circle). It is also still the best! Back when its was just square soft, I remember it capturing my imagination in that commercial. I rented it, and was blown away by that intro scene with the mana tree…and that magnificent ingame soundtrack! It still brings tears to my eyes to this day. The thumping, heart-pounding beats of the boss battle, encouraging me to face many of the creative evils of this world; from giant snakes to powerhungry sorcerers.
That being said, I have mixed feelings on a remake…especially one that underminds what made the original so great, especially the painstakingly crafted sprite art & backgrounds. I knew when I got into an argument with my friend over how the handcrafted details in SoM was better than FF6 flashy effects, that id be in the minority in this world, when it came to amount of respect I truly have for this game. It truly dragged me into a fantasy world, full of wonders.
I mean… Flammie has to be the best mode of travel created in a square game yet. I immediately thought… FLACOR of “The never Endging Story”…”YAAA!” How do you top that?
I love Brad. He’s easily the coolest videogame personality on youtube. But his fondness for Kingdom Hearts, just really deflates any argument he has against SoM’s story pacing to me. Id gladly take the brevity of SoM’s simple yet potent emotional story telling, over KH’s convoluted mindfks any day of the week. I especially question the critisim of said story passing, in a review of a remake… however, I can also see an argument for revisiting the story beats, if it was somehow streamlined or stretched out by the cut-scenes.
Needless to say… I love this game. And its on my fav system of all time, the SNES. So I guess for me personally it was my magnum opus. So the middleschooler in me, is wheeping for this remake. But the adult in me questions it’s purpose. Did we really need 3D models? Wasn’t the charm in its simple yet powerful 2d animation? Do the voice acting bring anything? It already takes away player choice, by giving your hero a name. I know its simple, but that alone almost killed me inside. My hero was never named.
In the end, I guess its sorta like someone who goes to see a movie that they read in a book. Anyone who playes this for the first time, will undoubtedly have a different experience than I did. Even though I think the score was a bit too harsh, and the criticisms of the pacing of story was a bit off, I overall think that it represents how I feel about this remake. Sentimentality aint gonna carry it far! Even with the most dedicated & rabid of fans like me.
Still… I love Secret of Mana and think it was just a brilliant piece of majestic beauty. A clear case of artistry & beauty over raw horse power. Id have loved the outro to say…”Get a SNES and play this classic like you should.” Somethings were good enough the first time. Nuff said.
Martenas nice to read your post man :)
I remember having such a good time with this game over at a friends house back on the SNES. I think it was such a mindblowing experience that you could both CO-OP AND fight in real time (vs. screen breaks and turn based battles) that we were use to in Final Fantasy. It was an amazing couch game. I think it paved the way, but a remake is not going to be great since most games have built and improved on these systems since then. Thanks again for the great review :)
Good to see that you reviewed the game objectively rather than being soaked in nostalgia.
Rephrase-then-Erase there’s no such thing as nostalgia. This new game is just entirely inferior.
Rephrase-then-Erase
Nobody was blinded by nostalgia with this remake. It is widely panned.
It was a lazy remake, waste of money
There's no such thing as an objective review, you know.
I'm currently playing the game. It has some little things that they need to patch up but overall I'm liking it. Very good game. Loving my experience with it.
I'll finally get to check out this game... on the SNES Mini!
It’s funny that the remake is getting basically average reviews and the original is considered one of the best action rpg’s ever. The story is the same, the combat is pretty much the same... is it just the lack luster graphical upgrade people don’t like?
going to cop this for my daughter
Just a note about the shortcuts for magic and items. It doesn't seem to work in multiplayer. Probably, because it would be annoying if a friend forced your character to use a spell and so on.
I will pick this up on a sale. I really like the look of this game.
Another great review by Brandon Jones.
Honestly the rest of the allies need to step up. Brandon is single-handedly churning out review after review.
1:10 - Maybe it's just me, but this rendition of A Curious Tale sounds more like it's trying to channel Mario 64's water stage than it is concerned with being a faithful adaptation. Maybe it's nostalgia-blindness, but some tracks just sound better to me with their lower-quality samples. Good on them for including the option to use the original soundtrack.
No way this way designed with Vita in mind, the frame rate is always fluctuating between 30-60 fps. The low poly model is just the result of a cheaper remake
yodagamer1
I'm pretty sure that this was designed with smartphones in mind, considering that Adventures of Mana had similar graphics and came out in smartphones first.
Not to mention that the Vita has stuff like Ys 8: Lacrimosa of Dana, Tales of Hearts R, and Tales of Innocence R to show what kind of detailed 3D models it can handle, in combat several times more hectic than Secret of Mana's.
It sounded like you said “Secret of Mono” at first, which is would admittedly be a very, very different game.
I would like it more if it had anime graphics
Thanks! Strangely, I wasn't planning on playing this version (I've played the original at least 10 times since my childhood), but just the idea of those cutscenes when you're resting at inns is enough to make me want to try it. I'm now planning on buying it and giving it a try.
General Pepper: Good LUCK!
Don’t buy it
Why not? I already own the original. I'm curious to try this remake and I really want to see those cutscene between the characters!
it really adds nothing to the story, you'll be disappointed and pissed you wasted your money
watch some videos on youtube first before you decide to purchase
The new scoring system is so much better. Great review, as always.
Man, what a disappointment. Square rarely seems to get remakes right.
Still, at least it’s not the Chrono Trigger PC port...
Does not bode well for FFVII.........
Joe Kidd well, that at least looks like a lot more effort is going into it. And I don’t think Square can afford to screw it up. The only real issue is when the damn thing is actually gonna come out.
Dalton McBleh I wouldnt put anything past modern day square, FF XIII and XV.
Joe Kidd We’ll just have to wait and see. Just as long as it doesn’t have a director change and not too many changes in assets and course of development, it should come out at least good. Nomura has so far proved that, if he sticks to one game as its director, that game can be great. KH III is shaping up to be great indeed. Like I said, let’s wait and see. The main problem IMO, though, is that no significant news have come out from Square for the Remake in a while. They have to show something big sooner or later or people are gonna forget about it. I understand Square is focusing on KH III at the moment, but they need to understand that more people are looking forward to FFVII Remake rather than KH III.
Hasan Al-Taie I honestly dont think Nomura can direct truly great game, that's subjective of course but i dont feel as if either of the KH games are better than average.
5:00, WTF? Did he just say the 1995 original?!
Calvin Matthews yes - obviously mistaken as 1993 is the correct year
Secret of Mana came out in '93.
The plot is forgettable and the characters are forgettable? Then why the hell is this game so well remembered??? Something is off about this review. I’m going to have to find another one.
It could just be the original wasn't all that great to begin with or just another case of "good for its time."
I would love to see this on the switch
Looks like a free mobile game.
This review is spot on!
It looks like a HD upscale of 3DS and Vita games
Ah, I was wondering where the review of this game has been.
The remake is ugly, trash, and strictly inferior to the original. What a wasted opportunity.
the incredibly laggy combat looks like a dumpster fire.
i could never stomach how the game 'pauses' the combat anytime a player wants to swap weapons / items / spells.
but "breaks the flow of combat" apparently wasn't on the radar of whoever made this overhyped classic.
The same thing happened with Adventures of Mana, not great.
When did they change to number scores?
Subscribers were notified 1 month ago about the change in the way they scored games/other media:
ruclips.net/video/f-kOfnr-rDQ/видео.html
It deserves better.
The complaints sound like the staples of most JRPGs to me.
Tom Franco
It is a remake
And?
I see you edited your comment, now my comment makes no sense.
lol
Shotana Studios the meaning didn't change, just tried making it clearer for you. :)
best reviews in net
I loved it. But i think Most of it is Nostalgia :D
Playing the game in japanese voices? Does the game even have the option to play them in english or are the english voices that bad?
Arno Wisp they probably think the English VAs are bad I would guess.
hush sorry about that
BOX PEEK, BOX PEEK!!!
WOOHOO YEAH BABY! :D
(box peek)
That new music is soooooo bad.
😭.....guess I will play the snes mini version.
INGSOC
Dont cry, thats a good thing.
Shotana Studios playing it with updated graphics, voice over and cutscenes would have been good, but the animation, especially the facial expressions are awful in this... Why can't all remasters be like shadow of the colossus???
Just overall bad choices on the development team.
Or it could just be a game that was perfect for its time.
1.5 Stars :)
Why the Japanese??? Doesn't this game have English audio? I didn't hear anything about the quality of the dub.
Doesn't mention of the voice acting is bad but instead weebs out.
right on time...
Meh.
So it starts on the snes, nintendo got over bloated with its ideas of finance and unwittingly creates the PlayStation instead of play-Station and then secret of mana then gets remade on PlayStation 4 . Couldn't make it up 🤪🤪🤪🤪
The style of art they used for the 3D models and environments is rather unappealing and bland.
ShiroiKage009 I remember you from the gametrailers website. It's the avatar.
Well, I wasn't expecting this :P
ive been watching Rikk and co. play through this garbage game on robot co-op ...
I never understood how people who don't understand Japanese prefer the Japanese dub - sorry that doesn't make sense.
You can't say for sure that it's better than the English dub unless you are fluent in the Japanese language - it sounds different (heavily stereotyped) but that doesn't mean it's superior.
I would rather listen to the game in the language I can understand rather than pretend otherwise.
Yes?
Look I know how racist this is going to sound but why does every single Japanese voice actor sound exactly like every other Japanese voice actor? I mean when it's a female, it's the high pitched ten year old girl voice. When it's a man, it's the gruff "I've smoked too many cigarettes" tough as nails voice. It's like there's only two voice actors in Japan, a man and a woman.
Scott Douglas It's not racist; it's perfectly normal to think that. Hearing people speak in your own native language, it's easier to pick out the differences in pitch, accent, delivery etc. But when we hear a foreign language, stuff like that tends to go over our head and it all sounds similar.
The more you learn a foreign language though, the better you will be able to find such differences.
Because you don't speak Japanese fluently and likely don't hear it very often, so you don't notice the differences as much in their voices or dialects.
DrakoVongola11
I'm sure that's probably most of why it seems like this to me. I'm Australian and it wouldn't surprise me to learn people think we all sound alike, which of course isn't true.
Scott Douglas i recommend the Yakuza series if you want varied japanese voices. :)
Scott Douglas You just aren't used to it. I've been watching subbed anime for years now, and I can tell you that japanese dubbers run circles over american ones.
It just takes some time to gain the ear to it.
didn't this crappy game come out over a month ago?
Did they seriously not dub this wow companies are getting so lazy just get the game out huh guys pathetic
A quick search will tell you that the game does indeed have English voices.
Why does every review by Brad read like a shitty high school book report?
Perfect on the Switch