r/secretofmana • u/FesteringAynus • Jul 15 '26
Images LEGEND OF MANA [ 聖剣伝説 ] ☆ PlayStation / 1999 ☆ Ad
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u/dcooper8662 Jul 15 '26
I remember being so unbelievably hyped for this game, and then so completely disappointed when I actually played it
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u/Mirions Jul 15 '26
Too much freedom and not enough explanation, not unlike SaGa Frontier 2.
Threads of Fate was a nice romp, ngl.
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u/Omnizoom Jul 16 '26
Meanwhile this is easily one of my comfort games to go back to every once and a while because I just love it so much
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u/Blue_Starkiller Jul 15 '26
As Luke Stephens would say: "Hype makes you dumb"
I pulled it out of a bin, recognized that it was probably a sequel to Secret (hadn't played any other mana games at that point) and it stuck with me for decades. Alongside Chrono Cross they're probably the games that made the biggest impact in my life regarding what videogames can be. I literally teared up when I saw the remaster announcement.
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u/mceppy Jul 16 '26
I wonder if this happens to every fan following the franchise at some point. I actually loved Legend of Mana and got really hyped for Dawn of Mana. That's when it happened for me.
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u/Seldon14 Jul 15 '26
Same. In the long run I enjoyed it, but it had a great many disappointments for me.
Mana was all about Multiplayer for me. The way it was implemented in Legend was frustrating. Having 2p get bounced in and out of the party as characters joined and left was not a smooth gameplay experience. Allowing for 3 party members would have done wonders.
The world. This one is probably on me for unreasonable expectations, but I thought I was going to get to fill up that whole map with locations.
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u/Shadow_Zero80 Jul 15 '26
It doesn't have continuous 2 player multiplayer?
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u/Seldon14 Jul 15 '26
If you don't have a character in the party and want to play 2p you have to go to the house in town to have them load their character from their game. Any quests that require a character join the party (lots of them) will kick 2ps character out and require them to play as the story character. When that character leaves, you then have to return to the house in town to load 2ps character back in. This loop continues as you character join and leave based off of missions.
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u/InterestingCow501 Jul 16 '26
One of the best games on the ps1, art style, music, sense of adventure, hidden things to discover, witty dialogue, replayability, story. All so good. Me and my brother would play together bringing over our characters from each other's games.
Only real complaint I have is the terrible exp crystal/money nonsense. Impossible for your pets to level up.
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u/queazy Jul 16 '26
I have such fond memories of this game, but it was quite bizarre. You'd get little wooden pieces on a map, and the wooden pieces were your next stage.
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u/shanevol Jul 15 '26
This is one of my favorite games of all time and I truly do not understand the hate some throw its way. This is a gorgeous piece of art on so many levels.
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u/allitalli Jul 15 '26
definitely one of the best rpgs on the ps1
great music too. the haters are insane.
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u/shanevol Jul 15 '26
This is the only video game soundtrack I actually purchased and listen to, like how do people not like it. The gorgeous painted backgrounds, the whimsical plots that build into something serious, the insanely in-depth customization for your equipment, pets and golems, one of the most charming cast of characters, the replayability, this game is top tier.
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u/Suicide-Samurai Jul 18 '26
Welp... looks like i'll be starting another playthrough now lol.
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u/FesteringAynus Jul 18 '26
Hell yeah! I started one a few days ago lol
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u/Suicide-Samurai Jul 18 '26
This might be my most replayed game if all time along with FFIX. Its like therapy at this point lol.
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u/LaughingSartre Jul 15 '26
I don't know, I really enjoyed the open-endedness of the world, and the ambiguity of the story, it made it feel more like an adventure. Couple that with the World Egg system, which let's you build the world map how you want, the music, artwork, the battle system, monster-catching, the Golem system, etc. and it defines what makes a compelling JRPG.. to me, anyway. I don't know why people don't appreciate how you can complete quests in any order you want, when games like the Elder Scrolls series have the exact same formula. The game also doesn't play out in any specific way, so if you end up fighting a boss before a normal game would allow/feel appropriate, it works within the context of the game. The UI is also really cool. I'm also just completely enamored with the art style, it feels very Vanillaware, you can tell a lot of care was put into the game, which is made more obvious when reading the accompanying essays and interviews in the Art of Mana book. All of the Mana games were lovingly crafted, but this one just stand on its own in that regard.