Secret of Mana

Tentei, mas não deu pra lidar com o sistema de combate. O visual é incrível, a música super charmosa, mas esse melee pouquíssimo responsivo, combinado com a necessidade de ficar entrando em menus pra usar feitiços, impediu que eu me divertisse um segundo sequer enquanto jogava. Uma pena.

Secret of Mana (a.k.a Seiken Densetsu 2) built upon the debut's Zelda/RPG confluence via wider areas, A.I. controlled allies and brawler mechanics that established a new standard in action-RPGs. The inclusion of knockdowns and pushing - in particular, paint an unusual nuance to combat, adding a sort of methodical, space control-oriented layer of strategy to its otherwise brisk pace. Far from a straightforward mashfest, the crowded fights are where those ideas truly shine, centered on balancing stamina regen with enemy wakeup timing to both optimize damage and inhibit movement, while evading attacks, positioning foes and managing the party in the process. Its battle system is an attraction in itself, one that largely redeems the trivial and sometimes lacking story, characters, setting and dialogue.

On the other hand, the JRPG elements not only feel out of place but often detract from gameplay - both in battle (boss fights, unavoidable spells) and out (world navigation and dungeons), and its innovations (whether co-op or the ring menu system) are mostly technical or cosmetic. But this remains a colorful, accessible, entertaining update to the original Game Boy title.