Play Secret of Mana Online

Summary

Secret of Mana still feels fresh thanks to its iconic Ring Command. With a single press, a circular menu hovers over your character, letting you swap weapons, use items or cast spells without leaving the battlefield.

Combat happens in real time, and a power‑bar at the bottom gauges the strength of each attack. Sixteen weapon types—sword, spear, bow, axe, boomerang, glove, whip, and javelin—can be upgraded eight times each, and the more you use a weapon the higher its skill level, unlocking special moves.

The game’s cooperative system is a revelation; any of the three characters can be controlled by a friend plugging a Super Multitap into the SNES, and players may drop in or out at will, keeping the action seamless.

Travel isn’t a grind either—Cannon Travel Centers launch you across the map for a fee, and later you earn Flammie, a tiny dragon that flies over the overworld using the SNES’s Mode 7 tricks for a pseudo‑3D view.

Hiroki Kikuta’s score makes every area memorable, weaving bell‑heavy motifs, solemn piano passages and upbeat tracks that push the console’s limited samples to their limit.

Storyline

Secret of Mana opens with three boys from the village of Potos disobeying the Elder and pulling a rusty sword from a waterfall. The blade is the legendary Mana Sword, and its awakening releases monsters that force the village to banish the boy who drew it.

The traveling knight Jema convinces the hero, Randi, to re‑energize the sword by finding the eight Mana Temples, while a girl named Primm and a mysterious sprite child, Popoi, join him on the quest. The Empire, seeking the eight Mana Seeds to rebuild the ancient flying warship Mana Fortress, pursues the trio, but the empire is being puppeted by the dying sorcerer Thanatos, who plans to possess a suitable host. Thanatos eventually seizes the Fortress, positions it over the world‑life Mana Tree and destroys the tree, summoning the Mana Beast.

After a fierce battle, Randi uses the fully powered Mana Sword to slay the Beast, ending the threat. The sprite vanishes, Primm returns home, and Randi is welcomed back in Potos, the sword once again sealed beneath the waterfall.