Remember The Game? #186 - Secret of Mana

I think one of the hottest debates among retro gamers is "which console had the better RPG library? The SNES or the original PlayStation?" And frankly, I don't think I'm knowledgable enough to offer a serious opinion. (But the SNES is the correct answer.)

 

I don't play a ton of JRPGs these days, but I used to. And I've played a bunch of the SNES's best, such as Earthbound, Final Fantasy II & III, Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG. But one that always seemed to fall off my radar was Secret of Mana. It won our Patreon Poll in January, though. So I finally sat down and gave this bad boy a play-through. And it left me very...conflicted. 

 

I don't know if I've ever liked a game that annoyed me more than this. The menu navigation, collision detection, lack of navigation, subpar story, and stupid inventory system all grinder my gears. But despite all of that, I still had a great time playing it. I say it all the time, but if a game is fun, I can look passed a lot of problem. 

 

My buddy Keegs makes his return to the show this week, and it was a weird episode, because we probably spent more time talking about the stuff we didn't like than the stuff that we did, but at the end of the podcast, came around and slapped a pretty good score on this game. Secret of Mana is a funky title, and if you haven't played it yet, maybe we can convince you to give it a shot (just make sure you look up a walkthrough before you do).

 

And before we talk about Mana secrets, I drop another steaming edition of the 'Remember The Game? Infamous Intro' on ya!

 

This week, we talk about games we're reminded of when we hear retro console load-up chimes. Are indie games proving that a game doesn't have to look like a blockbuster movie to be considered a work of art? And how do you avoid seeing gameplay of an upcoming game when it's embargo lifts a week (or longer) before it's release date??

 

PLUS, we have another round of 'Play One, Remake One, Erase One', featuring three of the SNES's best RPGs: Final Fantasy III, Chrono Trigger, and EarthBound. 

 

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