Checking In With zhaDe On The Remake
Checking In With zhaDe On The Remake
October 15, 2024
This was originally published on the Secret of Mana: Redux blog on February 22, 2018.
There is no one in the world (outside of the original designers) who knows how Secret of Mana works more than my friend, zhaDe. He has ripped the game apart and put it back together so many times that he’s been able to write programs that effectively troll it any way he wants. His name has popped up a lot in this blog and today, we’re going to get his perspective on the remaster.
Gameplay: Gameplay wise, they stayed very true to the original it seems. The CPUs get stuck at the same exact spots. Seriously, this is unforgivable. They kind of changed what people liked (the sense of wonder at the beautiful colorful environments and the music). I understand that had to change or it wouldn’t be a remake, but the same style in cartoony 3D would have been great. I feel the atmosphere is not the same with those graphics.
The gameplay would have been a good place to make it stand out from the original instead. This could be better AI (its better than on the SNES, but still way too inept), something more to the combat system, and something about magic too.
At least the way it is possible to hit in all 360 degrees is something new. The bow is is more fun to use that way. The AI probably has less of a problem with this since they don’t have to move to be in line with the enemy, or run in walls trying.
Content: They did re-translate the text it seems. At least the few bits that I knew were missing for a fact: the witch talking about the herbs being the source of her power and Undine explaining how Randi can’t use magic because he is bound to the Mana Sword from a powerful spell that would cause catastrophic results.
There is a new scene at the inn each time you complete a new bit of the story. I really like some of the scenes. The characters talk about stuff related to what is happening in the story or just kid around. It really makes their personality stand out. Often, it is kind of childish, but I don’t know. Popoie saying to Purim that it’s a good thing she doesn’t have attack spells because using those repeatedly will make her skin go as bad as old Elinee and Purim replies with something like, “Oh you think you are so funny, eh? I won’t use my healing on you then!”
I don’t know; it just made me smile.
I think it’s actually a very good idea since normally, the story is kind of serious. Yes, there is the scene where Popoie is fighting and then arguing with Gnome that has some character interactions where their personality comes out but after that, the story is more focused on other characters having something to do with one of the party members. The party doesn’t interact with each other very often. This new element just adds a little more detail on the world and the characters’ motivation, etc. Like Purim going on about Dyluck. We don’t end up knowing more about him in the original. Now, he is still the “damsel in distress” but it’s kind of clearly said by the others like, “What’s so special about Dyluck anyway?” Which is kind of the feeling I get in the original. I don’t care; let’s go save the world from the Empire and all…but Purim is always, “Oh Dyluck! We have to save Dyluck.”
I don’t know if he is supposed to be like that just so Purim’s attitude is funnier. That whole reviving the Mana Sword can wait a bit, our friend needs our help right now!
Instead, it’s something like, “I don’t have time for that dude right now, I need to go in the cave for world-saving matters”, and Purim is like, “Then you are on your own, I need to go find Dyluck!” And the first few times we see him, he is just there with his mind absent and doesn’t do anything to make you feel like rescuing him is important. He is just used for Thanatos to show how evil he is and that something should be done to stop him.
Anyway, I think my opinion of him might be biased since when I first placed the game with a friend as a kid, we didn’t read the story since we didn’t speak English and actually, the first time we didn’t even know how to read at all, I guess since we were still not in the first grade. So, the animations were the only thing that we had to make you understand a bit of the story and we just couldn’t figure out what Dyluck was doing there doing nothing. We were finding it funny each time he showed up anticipating how he would not be of any help and seeing him just stand there and disappear or something. We found it so funny to see him on the Fortress at the end of the game.
So I guess what I’m saying is: the new conversations at the inn add an element that I always thought was needed.
Music and Sound: The instruments don’t sound as exotic. There are really better fan-made interpretations of these songs that kept the original atmosphere.
I personally don’t hate the voice acting that much. Sure, it does look very odd like it is not really the character speaking because of how it’s not in sync and the mouths don’t move. And the acting seems to be of the same quality of a YouTuber playing the original and voice-acting the dialogues on the fly.
One Final Thought: I find it interesting that the “carousel” thing on the world map is absent from the remake. As much as I don’t really like what they did with the remake as a game. I still find it interesting because it adds some story bits and there are many places that I was curious about what they were going to do.