Secret of Mana wtf?

[Lanzo]

I'm trying to enjoy this game for the first time ever but for the love of god how do you kill those fucking wolves in the haunted forest? They keep healing each other and the sprite is dead with 2 hits. And then the bastards corner you and and you cant do anything but die. Any advice, am I missing something here?

[Haoie]

More grinding I suppose. SoM, for an action RPG, is even more grindy than SoE.

I hated SoM myself, but that's probably cause I did SD3 first [which, come on, is superior in every way].

[old_skoolin_jim]

Ditto on the leveling-up. If he keeps getting killed, go kill easier enemies until he can take some damage. I know it sucks to have to do that, but it'll be worth it after he gains a couple levels.

[BiggerBoo]

I'm glad to have found a thread about this. I always thought I was alone in wondering why the hell I can't finish that game.

[ScourDX]

Old school level grinding is fun. Make sure you level up your weapon as well.

[Baloo]

Old school level grinding is fun. Make sure you level up your weapon as well.

Really, it depends on the game. Old school level-grinding might be fun in Secret of Mana because it's an action RPG. But when it comes to level grinding in menu battles like Pokemon, it becomes old and boring REALLY quick.

[BiggerBoo]

Really, it depends on the game. Old school level-grinding might be fun in Secret of Mana because it's an action RPG. But when it comes to level grinding in menu battles like Pokemon, it becomes old and boring REALLY quick.

And on that same note, WTF @ having to battle 2 pokemon at a time nowadays.

[Smashed Brother]

Having recently acquired the game myself, I was honestly wondering what makes this game so good. I thought that it would be more like Zelda, where your every hit connects, but this game has some sort of weird real active time-based thing going on. It only gets more difficult with some of the later bosses.

Like the other posts say, grinding is very important for both your characters and your weapons. The game definitely gets better as you learn its strange battle system and gain the magic spells. I really find myself enjoying it now. Play with a friend (or two); the strategies that you can employ make this feel like a much different game (and you don't have to deal with the stupid AI getting stuck on rocks and trees)!

[Lanzo]

I going to have to do that. My main guy is level 7 and the sprite is level 4. I just sucks when Im doing good and make one little mistake and get trapped between the two. I find it frustrating that when I use candy I have to stay still but the wolves can get around me. That's retro gaming I guess. They didn't babysit back then.

[pseudonym]

Learn to use the Sprite. Spamming it's spells and using the girl's healing/protective spells can crush most of anything in the game. The boy isn't too useful by himself except for the parts where you need to use him.

What the other people said too. Grinding and playing with other people makes it easier.

[Voliko]

Grinding is the solution for so many problems in RPGs...

I for one ask wtf is wrong with the dialouge in this game?

[badinsults]

The Sprite is pretty useless until it learns spells. Make sure you give it a ranged weapon and set its tactics to stay away from enemies. Of course, this game was designed for multiplayer, so if you can find another person, it makes this part a hell of a lot easier.

[Mathius]

I have never finished the game because my Sprit dies CONSTANTLY, and I don't fully understand the weapon leveling system.

[kupomogli]

If you play multiplayer you don't need to grind at all.

You also want to go to the cheapest Inn you can and just have the girl use all her MP to level up her magic, then stay at the Inn and then repeat to get her spells to high levels quickly(as soon as you get the cure water spell you can level it up to pretty much heal everyone to full hp in one casting.) Cheap and easy magic grinding that consumes very little time.

Smashed Brother is the only one who said what I dislike about Secret of Mana and enjoy Secret of Evermore more. On SoM it's sometimes almost worthless playing with three characters(except you're forced to) due to the fact that if you hit an enemy with a regular attack, the enemy has atleast a second or more of invincibility frames. You have to wait until its sprite changes back to the regular frame of movement before you attack again or you're not going to take any damage off.

This pretty much nulls any reason to charge up unless you're playing with friends, because you charge up to level 8, it takes nine minutes before your character stops flipping around and finally swings the damn weapon and just before the swing connects your retarded computer ally throws a 100% attack and the enemy is invincible when your hit connects.

Secret of Evermore is way better than Secret of Mana in my opinion and for years I've been saying SoM is overrated. Nice to see a thread where it seems I'm not the only one.

[Ed Oscuro]

Grinding is the solution for so many problems in RPGs...
Kind of makes you wonder why bother implementing the stuff at all...oh wait, they just want you to feel you aren't being conned by the developers for spending 20x as long in boring areas that you would chuck out from any action game.

I can't agree with anyone who says "grinding is fun." You like them burgers chock-full o' sawdust filler? /ot

Oh yeah, Secret of Evermore is pretty decent. Buggy, but pretty fun. The weapons are very grindy (for no real reason) and too slow however.

[skaar]

This game is all about the grinding. That and casting a spell like mad. When you cast and the damage registers you can cast again immediately. This can let you do a MASSIVE pile of damage in a very short time.

If you're really a lazy bastard I'm sure there are some game genie codes you can use to boost experience/etc.... I admit I've done that on a few games when I want to play through them again but don't want to spend the time levelling.

[badinsults]

Guys, the part in question, the sprite doesn't have the ability to cast spells. Just accept the fact that the sprite will die, don't worry about trying to keep it alive if you don't want to grind.

[Lanzo]

I tried again today and got past the wolves. My sprite actually managed to kill one of them, but after that I believe I was "moogled" to death and died before I got to save. *sigh*

[Nonplus]

Have you tried screwing around with his action grid? It's in the option menu, if my memory serves me correctly. Just force him to stay away from the enemies, and he should be alright. Alternatively, you can switch characters with the select button.

If you play multiplayer you don't need to grind at all.

You also want to go to the cheapest Inn you can and just have the girl use all her MP to level up her magic, then stay at the Inn and then repeat to get her spells to high levels quickly(as soon as you get the cure water spell you can level it up to pretty much heal everyone to full hp in one casting.) Cheap and easy magic grinding that consumes very little time.


While it works great at first, eventually it just makes more sense to use your magic in battle. For one thing, as long as their are enemies around, the magic experience doubles. Also, at higher levels, it can take hours of just casting the same spell over and over again, which gets extremely repetitive.

[Arkhan]

Kind of makes you wonder why bother implementing the stuff at all...oh wait, they just want you to feel you aren't being conned by the developers for spending 20x as long in boring areas that you would chuck out from any action game.

I can't agree with anyone who says "grinding is fun." You like them burgers chock-full o' sawdust filler? /ot

Oh yeah, Secret of Evermore is pretty decent. Buggy, but pretty fun. The weapons are very grindy (for no real reason) and too slow however.

building your characters up is part of a role playing game. Role playing games that speed you along usually feel empty. Even if you omit the grinding of most RPGs, you still get far more playtime than action games. Contra 3 on SNES can be blown through in <2 hours. Final Fantasy IV for example, takes at least 8-9 usually. Depends how long you dick around.

Secret of Mana, if you omit the grinding, is still a longer game too.

So, saying the developers are conning people is a bit off.

also, the grinding in SoM isn't exactly bad, I mean you could wing it most of the time and grind right at the very end ON the fortress.

the problem is, like alot of games where you can avoid enemy confrontation, people just run by shit to get from point A to point B. Then they are under powered because of it.

[Shawn Carr2o]

I remember playing Secret of Mana for the SNES as a teenager back in 1993 or 1994 and not really understanding or getting very far in the game and never finishing it. So back in 2004 I found Secret of Mana complete used for like $55 and I decided to purchase it to playthrough again and I finally finished the entire game as an adult. I really enjoyed this awesome game. :)

[jonebone]

I just played and beat this game for the first time ever last month. The game is really easy and straightforward, just spend a few extra minutes getting your sprite up a level and you should be fine. Or just let him die anyway and do all the fighting with your main character. The main character is capable of beating most of the early areas of the game alone if you lure enemies out one at a time and don't rush into rooms.

[Eyedunno]

I remember playing Secret of Mana for the SNES as a teenager back in 1993 or 1994 and not really understanding or getting very far in the game and never finishing it. So back in 2004 I found Secret of Mana complete used for like $55 and I decided to purchase it to playthrough again and I finally finished the entire game as an adult. I really enjoyed this awesome game. :)
I beat it as a teenager in 1993, then my friend made fun of me at school because I was level 60-ish when I beat it, and he did it in the 40s. :P Now I feel better about that. :P

Nowadays, I kinda don't care though, as I'm a level grinder by nature, and like to make everyone as strong as possible in any RPG or adventure game.

[Voliko]

I hated how the only way to level up magic was to use it. It makes sense, but I am always so conservative when it comes to ammo/mp in video games. By the time I got a decent way through the game, my magic levels were pityful and, naturally, I was forced to do some grinding...

[Eyedunno]

I hated how the only way to level up magic was to use it. It makes sense, but I am always so conservative when it comes to ammo/mp in video games. By the time I got a decent way through the game, my magic levels were pityful and, naturally, I was forced to do some grinding...
I actually love that. It works less well in Secret of Evermore, IIRC.

[Arkhan]

I hated how the only way to level up magic was to use it. It makes sense, but I am always so conservative when it comes to ammo/mp in video games. By the time I got a decent way through the game, my magic levels were pityful and, naturally, I was forced to do some grinding...

oh man, I abused the shit out of spells in SoM, beacuse the animations and noises were awesome.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I actually love that. It works less well in Secret of Evermore, IIRC.

You recall correctly. The items required to do alchemic stuff were either rare as hell or available only in certain areas, at certain points during your playthrough (like that market scene). That really ticked me off.

[XYXZYZ]

I loved Secret of Mana. After finishing a couple of times, I actually used a game genie code to erase characters; you need them all up until just after the sandship stage, and after that I erased the boy and the sprite, finishing the game using only the girl.

I forget, aren't experience points divided by 3 in that game?

[Arkhan]

dunno. I just enjoyed punching stuff with the chick. right in the face.


Secret of Mana is still one of the greatest settings for an RPG.

all of the ambient music, the lush settings. Its a very awesome game. I prefer it over SD3 any day