This is a series of posts covering Secret of Mana that were originally posted to Talking Time. I copied them over so they would be better preserved. Without any further ado...
Welp. It is time.
The intro starts out strong; the Star Wars scroll returns, with an immensely pretty backdrop and some gorgeous background music. The scroll just talks of how things have gone to shit, how a hero of the sword needs to rise again, and how the sword has had multiple names through the ages. Huh, that's quite the smart retcon indeed, though tbh I'd have been fine with wielding the Excalibur again.
The game continues expositing after the name entry, talking of an evil empire that misused the power of the Mana tree, and angered the gods, who sent beasts in retaliation. This escalated to a massive, horrific war, where the world itself was on the brink of destruction. But, at the bleakest moment, the hero of the sword destroyed the empire's strongest weapons, causing them to decisively lose. Their civilization was destroyed, and with it, a bunch of their technology. But the world survived, and became peaceful again. Hmm, this all sounds familiar...are we sure they aren't talking about the Vandole empire here? The evil empire Bogard and Cibba had squared off against before the events of Final Fantasy Adventure?
One ominous warning about history repeating itself later, we cut to this trio. Apparently they're sneaking off to visit a haunted waterfall. Well, more accurately, to explore it for loot.
Much like in the first game, the protagonist falls off a sharp distance. And, much like in that game, he inexplicably survives the fall unhurt. Gotta hope he doesn't endure gravity as much as FFA Revi did.
He hears ghostly voices urging him to pull a sword out of a stone. And, since the way back to his home is covered with prickly plants, and he has nothing to cut them, he is forced to pull it out.
The sword turns out to be a pile of rusted metal. Unfortunately, it's the only weapon Revi has, and fortunately, it can cut through the plants just fine. Oh god...please tell me this isn't the Excalibur....
The very next area is full of weak enemies that die in one hit and jump around pointlessly. Ah, we're back to FFA again.
Speaking of FFA similarities, I notice the critical bar from it has returned, and charges a LOT faster now. This makes dealing critical hits a lot easier, and in fact, dealing them seems to be the expected standard for combat, as regular swings are considerably weaker. It's an interesting change for sure, and it seems like a good way to encourage timing swings and discourage mindless attack spam, but I'll have to see how it plays in practice in future scenarios before forming a solid opinion on it.
Revi's town isn't too far off, and he arrives without much fuss. The townsfolk talk about how the elder is looking for him, how the town is surrounded by monsters, and how there's a knight in town. Looks like some big stuff is going down already!
The town also has an inn, which seems to be the only way to save a game now. Boo! I liked being able to save anywhere! Also notice the return of the dancing turbaned man at the far right end of the scene. Yep, he and his innumerable clones are back, and running all the businesses around.
Sure enough, we find the knight at the local pub. He doesn't have any words for Revi, though.
The elder is predictably angry at the trio, and chews them out for trespassing into the haunted waterfall. Then he notices Revi's new sword, and gets a lot more grim. It turns out, there was a whole ass prophecy that their town would be destroyed if the sword were ever pulled out. Whoops.
One of the trio decides to take his anger out on Revi, only for both of them to be tossed into a pit with a mantis crab! Boy is this not Revi's day.
The mantis crab is...actually rather tough. It has a boomerang attack that seems impossible to dodge, and also has a bunch of spells that automatically hit him. Good thing I got a bunch of candy from rabite slaughter!
The candy supply pays off, and secures him a victory over the mantis crab! Revi adorably jumps up and fistbumps the air, while some unseen voice congratulates him over his win.
The knight pulls them out of the pit, and comments on Revi's sword being the Excalibur of legend. Goddamnit. Hilariously, he then talks about the sword probably being damaged and severely weakened, as normally, it can only be pulled out by great knights at a time of need. Revi offers him the sword, but the knight pointedly tells him that he has to go power it back up, and is the only person who can do that, as he pulled it out.
He then directs him to a sage in the Water Palace, and leaves.
Back in town, Revi gets excommunicated, as shit has been going awry lately and they suspect him pulling the sword is the root cause of it all. Ah well, at least he got directions to a bigger quest before losing his home. Before kicking him out, the elder decides to inform him that he has a mysterious mother somewhere, and should try looking for her. Sure thing, he'll get to it once he can find a new living. Which shall happen next time, hopefully!
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