Prophecy

February 28, 2021

I can’t tell you how many folks have told me that this is their favorite track. It’s the one that plays on the world map after the Mana Fortress is reactivated, and is one of the many examples of Hiroki Kikuta using irregular time signatures—in this case, 5/4. 

According to Kikuta:

I composed this song in 15 minutes and actually did not think about it at all. With the image I had in mind at this point in Secret of Mana, I put this song together. That inspiration became this sound and to me it’s a very calming track. There seems to be a lot of people who really like this particular track. What makes it popular is probably not how I made it but perhaps the number of people who were able to make a connection with the depths of the inspiration I had at that junction in the game.”

Reddit AMA, February 23, 2014

When listening to Prophecy outside the game, we don’t have the benefit of the lightning sound effect to add to the mood, but it still has a windy, open world feel to it, regardless.  The remake’s mix turns up the intensity, burying the original pulse beneath some blaring choices in instrumentation.  This approach works much better here than elsewhere given the game situation.