Secret of Mana Redux

Ice Country

Locations

Ice Country

February 28, 2021

World Map Legend

As its name implies, the Ice Country is a…country of ice.  Todo Village is the only inhabited town on the map, not counting the recently built Scorpion Village that gets abandoned soon after Randi visits.  The Ice “Crystal” Palace is the only one in the game that has neither a Mana Seed nor a Mana Spirit. The village exteriors are unique to this part of the world—plain brick architecture with stained glass windows. In-game maps come from Fantasy Anime, and are used with permission.

Development

The developers may have had tall intentions for the Ice Country. A complex wilderness is present on World Map I, similar to the first part of the game:

A prerelease shot of the Ice Country
Square Power Book (Dengeki: April 9, 1993)

But that was pared down for phase II:

Scoop Guide (Family Computer Magazine: April 30, 1993)

The original idea may have inspired the Ice Country in Secret of Mana 2:

The Ice Country in Trials of Mana (SNES)

For III, more detail was added to the Scorpion village, locations were moved around, and some cosmetic elements were added:

The Ice Country as it appears in Secret of Mana

For what it’s worth, the wilderness in the final game is one of the least developed areas, with some maps almost identical:

Ice Country
Ice Country

Flying Omelette mentioned a stairway to nowhere on the eastern end of Todo village. Above it is a strange white rectangle that’s the result of bad map editing. There’s actually a passageway past this rectangle. Sometimes, the developers would program scenery on one end of a map that would wrap around to the other end i.e. extending a pathway where there’d otherwise be no room. But this doesn’t line up with the exit on the left, so who knows.

A hidden exit to Todo

Early shots of the village, with different decorative elements:

An early version of Todo Village in Secret of Mana
Scoop Guide (Family Computer Magazine: January 8, 1993)
A prerelease shot of Todo Village
Hippon Super! (May 3, 1993)
A prerelease shot of Todo Village
Family Computer Magazine (February 5, 1993)
The Super Famicom
(May 5, 1993)
Dengeki Super Famicom (June 11, 1993)

Translated by Sevon

How would you survive the arctic?

A frigid continent completely covered in ice——Better bring warm clothes. The reason this continent is blanketed in snow remains a mystery, but maybe it used to have a normal climate? The mountain near the center seems like it would have something inside. The small (very small) building in the north looks like it might be of interest, too.
Dengeki Super Famicom (June 25, 1993)

Localization Notes

  • Randi is greeted in Todo with ここはトド村っス。”This is Todo, the icy sea lion village!” Literally 海馬, it’s a reference to the steller sea lion.

Leave a Reply