Desperately seeking Seiken Densetsu 3/Secret of Mana 2

[kale]

So, I apologize in advance if this type of post is not allowed.

I'm pretty new to the whole repros scene, though I'm a long time retro gamer. I have been searching far and wide for an English reproduction of Seiken Densetsu 3 (on a cartridge, not a ROM). I know such things exist as I have seen many images or mentions of them, but have yet to find a place where I could actually buy one.

So here's what's going on: my little brother recently enlisted in the military, he's being shipped abroad after Christmas, his favorite in the world growing up was the Mana series. I wanted to get him the game he was never able to play as a kid, since he's taking the SNES with him. Thus far I have managed to find a place to get everything else I wanted, including a totally unexpected copy of Radical Dreamers for my sister (thanks gamereproductions.com!!), but absolutely not Seiken Densetsu 3.

I've tried to PM pootle about it, but his box, unexpectedly, is full.
Any help would be most appreciated and a life saver!!! Thanks. :)

-K

[sgxftwx]

this is the only one I could find, and the cheapest too. Also its japanese(not sure if they made a US version)

http://cgi.ebay.com/SFC-SNES-SEIKEN-DENSETSU-2-SECRET-OF-MANA-SUPER-FAMICOM_W0QQitemZ360207099759QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVi deo_Games_Games?hash=item53de04276f

[gokugohandave]

Secret of Mana is Seiken Densetsu 2 in Japan. Seiken Densetsu 3 is Secret of Mana 2 in Japan, but never came to the states. Sword of Mana is the first one, and never came to the states, until the GBA release.

That auction is for the japanese version of Secret of Mana, not Secret of Mana 2, which never came to the us and is called Seiken Densetsu 3 in Japan. There is a thread in classic gaming called "my recent repro carts", read and enjoy.

[badinsults]

If you go for the SFC cart, keep in mind that Japanese SFC RPGs are like Madden games in the US. They get remade and re-released so often that you can buy the carts for a buck or two now.

[Leo_A]

Why not buy him a SuperNes Powerpak cart? Then you can load the rom and everything else besides a few exceptions (Such as the SuperFX titles), and then he will be able to play this on real hardware and have a lot of other games available without bringing multiple cartridges along.

[Aussie2B]

Sword of Mana is the first one, and never came to the states, until the GBA release.

Yeah it did, as Final Fantasy Adventure on Game Boy.


If you go for the SFC cart, keep in mind that Japanese SFC RPGs are like Madden games in the US. They get remade and re-released so often that you can buy the carts for a buck or two now.

Not so much Seiken Densetsu 3, though, given that it never was remade/ported, never left Japan, and is fairly in-demand by Westerners. I'd imagine it's cheaper in Japan, but Americans trying to buy it online will usually have to pay 20-40 bucks for a complete copy.

[Ze_ro]

I'm pretty sure the OP is looking for an english translated reproduction, NOT a Japanese language SFC cartridge....

--Zero

[gokugohandave]

Aussie forgot about FF Adventure, I even have it. Yeah he is looking for an english repro but I only know of a few people thatll do that one, shadowkn55, pootle, Lios and Kogami? I forget his name.

[badinsults]

Not so much Seiken Densetsu 3, though, given that it never was remade/ported, never left Japan, and is fairly in-demand by Westerners. I'd imagine it's cheaper in Japan, but Americans trying to buy it online will usually have to pay 20-40 bucks for a complete copy.

Although that may be true, you can almost always see Seiken Densetsu 3 in those cheap SFC cart lots that pop up all the time on Ebay. The game was a huge seller, and you should not pay $10 for a cart only copy.

[kale]

Thanks for the replies so far everybody. Hi Ze_ro, yeah, I'm looking for an English reproduction cart. I'm trying to find someone who would other be willing to make it or sell it for me. And of course, I'm willing to pay.

I assume you actually need a Super Famicon to play original SD3 carts in Japanese? We do not yet have one, and while it'd be awesome, it seems to me that an RPG would be a particularly difficult thing to play in Japanese. Will SFC carts play on anything else? Like say, the FC twin?

Thanks!

[kale]

Yeah, Pootle's box is full and I hear that he's generally really hard to get ahold of, and understandibly so given what I've seen of his work.

I haven't yet PMed shadowkn55 or Lios, thanks for giving me their names. Kogami's work I've seen and he's amazing!! But does he do English translations? I guess I'll ask and find out.

[Aussie2B]

I assume you actually need a Super Famicon to play original SD3 carts in Japanese? We do not yet have one, and while it'd be awesome, it seems to me that an RPG would be a particularly difficult thing to play in Japanese. Will SFC carts play on anything else? Like say, the FC twin?

You can actually play Japanese games on a US SNES very easily. There's no regional lockout in the hardware or the software, so the only thing stopping you are the plastic tabs inside the cartridge slot since SFC games don't have slots in the back of the carts like SNES games do. You can either use some kind of pass-through device or simply remove the tabs, which are so soft that you can just bend them back and forth with a pair of needle nose pliers and they'll break apart bit by bit.

[stonecutter]

Aussie2B is correct about the tabs, I have done this on a US SNES so I could play SD3 as well. Though I didn't play much, as you say, playing a japanese rpg when you can't speak the language is not great in my books

[Leo_A]

I'm not sure what good telling someone how they can play a Japanese rpg in their American console is. The inexensive nature of that particular import or how to get it to work correctly in a American console hardly matters when the game would be unplayable anyways due to the language barrier.

I'm unsure why I'm bothering since my first message was ignored, but I suggest you look into RetroZone's Super Nintendo Powerpak. It's a reprogrammable Super Nintendo multicart that would allow him to have 99% of the Super Nintendo library on a single cartridge (If you selected for a DSP-1 chip to be installed, there is perhaps ~20 US releases that wouldn't work on it) and play them on real hardware.

For just a little more than would you'd likely pay to get a reproduction made of just 1 game if you actually found someone that would produce it, he'd only have to drag 1 cartridge with him overseas with basically the entire SuperNes/SuperFamicom library at his fingertips. He'd be able to load the translated Secret of Mana 2 rom on it, play the Japanese rom if he wanted to play a rpg where he didn't understand a single word for some odd reason, any other rpg translations, and pretty much anything else he'd want to play.

http://www.retrousb.com/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=84

http://www.retrousb.com/downloads/incompatibilitylist.html

[Aussie2B]

I'm not sure what good telling someone how they can play a Japanese rpg in their American console is. The inexensive nature of that particular import or how to get it to work correctly in a American console hardly matters when the game would be unplayable anyways due to the language barrier.

Well, one, he asked about what can play Super Famicom games, which is knowledge that can be applied to completely textless games in the future as well, and, two, if I and countless other gamers have played Japanese RPGs without knowing the language, then they're hardly unplayable. Not only are there plenty of FAQs out there, but Japanese RPGs are largely pretty predictable. There's rarely much that can't be passed by simply talking to all the NPCs in a town and spending a couple minutes of trial and error to figure out a battle system. Plenty of RPG players are more interested in battling and exploring than the storyline, so there's no reason to not give a Japanese RPG a chance. Especially something like Seiken Densetsu 3 which is action-based, and, honestly, I'd consider it more of an adventure game than an RPG. It's more akin to Zelda than Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest.

In the end, it's up to each individual person to decide how important having a game in English is to them, but there's no harm in presenting all the available options. It doesn't help anyone to act like these options shouldn't even be brought up.

[Arkhan]

Sword of Mana is the first one, and never came to the states, until the GBA release.



See: Final Fantasy Adventure for GBA.

close enough. rofl.



OP : How is that radical dreamers cart? kinda want one!

[kainemaxwell]

If you go for the SFC cart, keep in mind that Japanese SFC RPGs are like Madden games in the US. They get remade and re-released so often that you can buy the carts for a buck or two now.

Still worth collecting for personal reasons then?

[badinsults]

Still worth collecting for personal reasons then?

Oh certainly, if you enjoy collecting SFC games, by all means (I have a bunch myself). But an SFC RPG that is cart only is not worth $10. I mean, SFC cart only games are really cheap (http://cgi.ebay.com/LOT-50-SUPER-FAMICOM-CARTRIDGES-AS-IS-Wholesale_W0QQitemZ330381194986QQcmdZViewItemQQptZ LH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4cec40f6ea), so it might be a great way to accumulate games.

[Aussie2B]

Practically anything cart-only for Super Famicom is significantly cheaper than complete because you'll find games complete more often than not so loose games are fairly undesirable. There's just a different mindset on this matter in Japan. In America, unless you're talking about collectors, most people threw away the cardboard packaging that came with cart-based games, but even the most casual of Japanese players usually keep the packaging around. I mean, in the US you'd usually get the same money for a game loose or complete if you brought it in to a GameStop or what have you, but I think stores generally pay based on condition in Japan so there's incentive right there.

[mobiusclimber]

That might be true of Gamestop, but for cart only classic games that price does shoot up if you have it complete.

It's also incorrect to say that loose SFC carts are never worth more than $10. Tell that to people who own Rendering Ranger or Fire Emblem 777 Thracia or Umihara Kawase or whatever. There are plenty of SFC games that are more expensive than $10 for the cart only. Just because there's a ton of games that AREN'T worth that much doesn't mean there aren't many that ARE. I hate to use the example but take a look at the NES. Tons of games for the system that are only $1 or $2, but you wouldn't say "you can get any cart only NES game for $2 or less" would you?

If TC is really hard up for this game and doesn't want the PowerPak, there's someone selling a repro of this game on the marketplace forum here for $100.

[Aussie2B]

That might be true of Gamestop, but for cart only classic games that price does shoot up if you have it complete.

Well, yes, of course, on the collector's used market, but when we're talking casual gamers that bought the games back when they were new and sold them off long ago, that's irrelevant. Back then, most didn't have the option or didn't don't how to go about selling off their games through any other means than their local pawn shop or game store, and if they know they can get just as much for a loose cart or scratched disc as they would for a complete game, then they really have no incentive to bother to save the packaging and keep it mint. If you have similar gamers in Japan that know they can get extra money for a complete, mint game, then they'd be more inclined to tuck the box away for a few months or however long they decide to hold on to the game, regardless of if they personally have any interest in having the packaging.

[Valkrazhor]

Practically anything cart-only for Super Famicom is significantly cheaper than complete because you'll find games complete more often than not so loose games are fairly undesirable. There's just a different mindset on this matter in Japan. In America, unless you're talking about collectors, most people threw away the cardboard packaging that came with cart-based games, but even the most casual of Japanese players usually keep the packaging around. I mean, in the US you'd usually get the same money for a game loose or complete if you brought it in to a GameStop or what have you, but I think stores generally pay based on condition in Japan so there's incentive right there.

I have to disagree here. Loose Super Famicom games are not cheap due to their complete counterparts being common and they certainly aren't undesirable. It's actually more the opposite. Walk into any Japanese game shop and the ratio of loose carts to complete ones will be at least 5 to 1. Most games that originally came packaged in cardboard, Super Famicom or otherwise, are rare to find in complete and good condition because cardboard is poor packaging and a nuisance to deal with if you play your games often so most people tossed it in the dumps, Japanese or not. It's HARD to find most cart based games complete and in good condition, and with some games near impossible. I do admit though that Japanese are more inclined to keep the packaging but it certainly isn't the mainstream thing to do. Even if they do keep the packaging, it is usually beat to hell due to age. Ebay and other internet sites are usually not a good judge of the market because they target internet gamers. The reason ebay is filled with complete Super Famicom carts and hardly any loose ones is because the sellers know they can price jack complete ones much more. This is because people on the internet are generally much more picky about condition because people pick up things from one another. This includes condition OCD's! I started getting picky about the condition of my games when I started collecting Neo-Geo AES carts and joined an online community for it because in that scene condition is everything since you have to pay $200+ for nearly every game. Glad I got over that.

I'm still one of the biggest sticklers in regards to the condition of my stuff though but I made a rule a while ago that any game which originally came packaged in cardboard I will not bother buying complete.

It's great being able to walk into a random game shop here in Tokyo and find any game I want instantly due to me not having to track down a boxed one, let alone a boxed one in good condition which is a whole new battle in itself. I still have an OCD about the condition of my carts though. No yellowing or deep scratches allowed. I wish I could not care about those either. I envy my friends who can enjoy playing and collecting piss yellow carts with ripped stickers. Must be fun to just purely enjoy your games and not have to track stuff down for hours on end and pay out the kazoo. Like how it used to be as a kid when our moms wrote our names on our carts and we could care less. LOL

I just picked up a minty loose Rendering Ranger for 11,000 YEN($110) and a Majyuuo for 3,600 YEN($36) at a local game shop here in Tokyo. I also have about 50 quality Famicom carts and 20 Super Famicom carts sitting on my shelf after only a few months after starting my collection. This was made possible only due to the glory of the loose cart!

To each his own though. I can understand the disease since I still have it to some extent, only not half as bad as I once did. It's totally refreshing to be able to buy what I want when I want for a reasonable price and not having to worry about keeping their boxes nice since they don't exist. I find myself playing my games a ton more now.

Megadrive games are a different story though. Those clam shells are amazing and look beautiful on the shelf. In the case of the Megadrive, it is actually harder to find loose carts because everyone wanted to keep the packaging. Complete carts are definitely the way to go for that system.

[Yukima]

I have to disagree here. Loose Super Famicom games are not cheap due to their complete counterparts being common and they certainly aren't undesirable. It's actually more the opposite. Walk into any Japanese game shop and the ratio of loose carts to complete ones will be at least 5 to 1. Most games that originally came packaged in cardboard, Super Famicom or otherwise, are rare to find in complete and good condition because cardboard is poor packaging and a nuisance to deal with if you play your games often so most people tossed it in the dumps, Japanese or not. It's HARD to find most cart based games complete and in good condition, and with some games near impossible. I do admit though that Japanese are more inclined to keep the packaging but it certainly isn't the mainstream thing to do. Even if they do keep the packaging, it is usually beat to hell due to age. Ebay and other internet sites are usually not a good judge of the market because they target internet gamers. The reason ebay is filled with complete Super Famicom carts and hardly any loose ones is because the sellers know they can price jack complete ones much more. This is because people on the internet are generally much more picky about condition because people pick up things from one another. This includes condition OCD's! I started getting picky about the condition of my games when I started collecting Neo-Geo AES carts and joined an online community for it because in that scene condition is everything since you have to pay $200+ for nearly every game. Glad I got over that.

I'm still one of the biggest sticklers in regards to the condition of my stuff though but I made a rule a while ago that any game which originally came packaged in cardboard I will not bother buying complete.

It's great being able to walk into a random game shop here in Tokyo and find any game I want instantly due to me not having to track down a boxed one, let alone a boxed one in good condition which is a whole new battle in itself. I still have an OCD about the condition of my carts though. No yellowing or deep scratches allowed. I wish I could not care about those either. I envy my friends who can enjoy playing and collecting piss yellow carts with ripped stickers. Must be fun to just purely enjoy your games and not have to track stuff down for hours on end and pay out the kazoo. Like how it used to be as a kid when our moms wrote our names on our carts and we could care less. LOL

I just picked up a minty loose Rendering Ranger for 11,000 YEN($110) and a Majyuuo for 3,600 YEN($36) at a local game shop here in Tokyo. I also have about 50 quality Famicom carts and 20 Super Famicom carts sitting on my shelf after only a few months after starting my collection. This was made possible only due to the glory of the loose cart!

I agree! I actually prefer my cart-based games loose, because they're much easier to store - just throw them all in a storage box (not literally, but you know what I mean) and not worry about squashing flimsy cardboard packaging! As long as the carts themselves look good (minimal to no yellowing, no torn labels, etc.) I'm fine with just getting them without the box. Most of my collection is SFC carts, which are pretty cheap loose, even when getting them through Yahoo and SMJ. I would LOVE to find a loose Rendering Ranger, though I know I'll be paying through the nose for it (so to speak).

With me, if the packaging is flimsy and never meant to last, I don't want it. On the other hand, if the packaging is designed to last (CD jewel cases, DVD amaray cases, Nintendo DS cases) then I WANT the games complete.

[TxFxL]

never used the site but it says its available at www.snesrepros.com

[Valkrazhor]

I agree! I actually prefer my cart-based games loose, because they're much easier to store - just throw them all in a storage box (not literally, but you know what I mean) and not worry about squashing flimsy cardboard packaging! As long as the carts themselves look good (minimal to no yellowing, no torn labels, etc.) I'm fine with just getting them without the box. Most of my collection is SFC carts, which are pretty cheap loose, even when getting them through Yahoo and SMJ. I would LOVE to find a loose Rendering Ranger, though I know I'll be paying through the nose for it (so to speak).

With me, if the packaging is flimsy and never meant to last, I don't want it. On the other hand, if the packaging is designed to last (CD jewel cases, DVD amaray cases, Nintendo DS cases) then I WANT the games complete.

I go to game shops in Tokyo nearly once a week. It is a bit hard to find a loose copy of Rendering Ranger even here though. I can find a boxed one any day of the week, I even spotted a new one at one shop. They wanted over 55,000 YEN($550+) for it though, and with todays exchange rate this equates to about $650+. Rendering Ranger is a rare case of a game in the sense that it is actually harder to find loose. I think this is because from day one the only people who bought the game were collectors or hardcore fans, and it likely quickly became known as a hard to find game. Who knows though.

Anyway, if I spot a loose copy again I will contact you. One is bound to pop up at some point. If you want me to of course.

[mobiusclimber]

I can't understand collecting loose Sufami carts unless you have no interest in playing them. They don't even have spine labels, so telling one from ther other is impossible without pulling each one out individually. I can at least understand NES & SNES. Thankfully most of my Sufami wants are fairly cheap even CIB so I just get em complete. Considering I mainly collect RPGs the only really expensive games I've had to get were like Chrono Trigger and Panzer Dragoon Saga. Earthbound is probably going to kill me when I finally decide I want a full set but since I hate the game, I'm not in any hurry to get it CIB.

It's weird b/c I actually don't need my disc-based games to be complete. I guess this is because I can slap a label on the side of a jewel case (or print off some inserts) and it'll work just as well, whereas with cart games I can't do that.

The other thing is that even tho I really do have to have my carts boxed at least, I'm not that big on condition of box. I mean, I don't want a really beat up box if I can help it, but mostly if it's just a few creases or whatever I don't care too much.

[Valkrazhor]

I can't understand collecting loose Sufami carts unless you have no interest in playing them. They don't even have spine labels, so telling one from ther other is impossible without pulling each one out individually. I can at least understand NES & SNES. Thankfully most of my Sufami wants are fairly cheap even CIB so I just get em complete. Considering I mainly collect RPGs the only really expensive games I've had to get were like Chrono Trigger and Panzer Dragoon Saga. Earthbound is probably going to kill me when I finally decide I want a full set but since I hate the game, I'm not in any hurry to get it CIB.

It's weird b/c I actually don't need my disc-based games to be complete. I guess this is because I can slap a label on the side of a jewel case (or print off some inserts) and it'll work just as well, whereas with cart games I can't do that.

The other thing is that even tho I really do have to have my carts boxed at least, I'm not that big on condition of box. I mean, I don't want a really beat up box if I can help it, but mostly if it's just a few creases or whatever I don't care too much.

It takes me much less time to sort through my carts and find the game I want to play than it does for me to take the game out of the box and plastic tray. I usually know right where my currently played games are anyway since I pop them in my system often. I play my games more if they are loose because it isn't as much of a hassle to change games quickly. I also don't have to worry about messing up the box if I pull it out. Besides, if I do get a boxed game the box has to be in really nice condition for me to keep it, otherwise I see it as more of an eyesore than anything. Despite all this I do agree though that the whole "no end label" thing sucks. The carts are also a bit curved so they don't stack without falling. At least with Famicom the cart colors are different.

If you are buying from Ebay, getting complete games isn't such a big deal, as they are more common than loose carts there. Here in Tokyo though it's a different story. Loose carts are readily available in shops all over and are a ton cheaper than their boxed counterparts. I think I stated it earlier but Rendering Ranger for example is around $120 loose and $600 complete. If I were collecting complete games, I wouldn't even own that game right now. The price for complete Super Famicom games and Famicom games is much higher than the price of complete Megadrive games, Playstation games, Saturn games, etc. because finding them with boxes is a much more difficult endeavor. Even if you have the money though, you also need a lot of patience because often times the game you want you will only be able to find loose. That's one of the main reasons I just said "forget it" in regards to boxes for my Famicom and Super Famicom games.

Anyway, to each his own dude. We all have our different collecting perks. As long as we enjoy what we are doing it's all good.

[mobiusclimber]

Just out of curiosity, do you know of any Japanese-exclusive Sufami game that would be really expensive to find boxed? I'm eventually going to get serious about my collection, so if there are any road bumps I'd be interested in hearing them. As I said, I know of a few titles that I'll have a hard time with as far as NES and SNES are concerned (Earthbound, EVO, and so far Might & Magic for the NES), but don't know anything about the Japanese side of things (so far, most of the Sufami RPGs have been around $10 or less shipped for CIB, with the most I've paid so far being $25 for Seiken Densetsu 3).

[Gameboy415]

Just out of curiosity, do you know of any Japanese-exclusive Sufami game that would be really expensive to find boxed? I'm eventually going to get serious about my collection, so if there are any road bumps I'd be interested in hearing them. As I said, I know of a few titles that I'll have a hard time with as far as NES and SNES are concerned (Earthbound, EVO, and so far Might & Magic for the NES), but don't know anything about the Japanese side of things (so far, most of the Sufami RPGs have been around $10 or less shipped for CIB, with the most I've paid so far being $25 for Seiken Densetsu 3).

MajyuuOu is definitely one of the pricier CIB games.

It's one of the last Super Famicom games I want to pick up, but the only boxed copy I've ever seen here in Japan has been sitting in a display case for the last 3 months at 15,000円　(over $150). :shameful:

The Japanese version of EVO is quite pricey too, usually around 4-5000円.

The most I've paid for boxed games is about 3-3500円, and that was just for hard-to-find stuff like Umihara Kawase and Sutte Hakkun. I was able to find most other games for 100-2000円 CIB by searching around used game/book stores here in Japan.

[mobiusclimber]

Ugh, I'm sorry, I meant to write "Sufami RPG games." XD I know there's plenty of expensive or semi-expensive boxed/CIB Sufami games, but I haven't heard of too many expensive RPGs.