Selected by: Rontro
November’s game of the month is a title that managed to succeed despite facing tremendous setbacks during development. Secret of Mana started life as a launch title for the SNES CD add-on that never came to fruition. When the add-on was canceled, Square decided to release the nearly complete Secret of Mana. Sadly, a fair amount of content was cut to fit the game into a cartridge.
Even with shortened dungeons and a condensed story, Secret of Mana still manages to distinguish itself as an excellent 16-Bit Action RPG. A wide assortment of weapons, 3 player co-op, an imaginative game world, and a great sound track set this game apart from many of its contemporaries. It also has some of the best animations I’ve seen on the SNES. All in all, Secret of Mana more than earned its place in gaming history considering the difficulties its developers faced.
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