Seiken Densetsu!

Your general gaming entertainment thread.
From Mario to Sonic, Zelda to Final Fantasy. Talk about it here.
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DaWrestla
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Seiken Densetsu!

Post by DaWrestla »

Ok, everyone here can rant and rave about the seiken densetsu games!

Some things:

1) I'm disapointed that Seiken Densetsu DS has been given the name Children of Mana. Why? Because I feel Children of Mana would have been the perfect name for SD3...if they would ever bring it over to the US.

2)Legend of Mana is not SD4, it's a gaiden. Seriously, go take a look at the Japanese screenshots of SD2, SD3, and LoM.

3)The above is a good thing because it allows for the continuity of the SD universe. Where SD3 is the first game in the timeline (way in the past), SD2 is the second game, and SD is the third. Before SD4 was announced, I assumed LoM was SD4, which screwed up the timeline (or maybe made the series like Final Fantasy). But, LoM is no longer SD4, so all is well!

4)Granted, the connections between SD a.k.a. Sword of Mana and SD2 a.k.a. Secret of Mana are a stretch at best. But, they are there. In Sword of Mana, those three adults keep hinting that they are Randi, Purim, and the Sprite from Secret of Mana. Plus, I do believe that connections are made between the the Empire in Sword of Mana being the remnants of the Empire in Secret of Mana.

5)Consequently, SD3 has to take place WAY before SD2. I only played it on my computer some many years ago, but I do believe it kind of set itself up as being the creation of the world.

6)Secret of Mana is my fave RPG!

Discuss......

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Sonic#
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Post by Sonic# »

Funny that the only game from the series I've beaten is the one you describe as a side-story. It's very different from FF Adventure and Secret of Mana... I would be reluctant to call it a side-story, so much as an alternate world. But I have nothing explicit to back it up.

The only one fresh enough in my mind to discuss is Legend of Mana. :D I liked it a whole bunch, but I can understand why others might not. It's pretty freeform, to the point of having several different story arcs (and even individual missions) that vaguely intersect. Of course, you must complete a certain number of them in order to access the Tree of Mana and fight the final boss, implying the connectedness of the world, or the reunification of it when it was once severed.

As well, the artwork in it was beautiful. I refer even to the sprites and everything like that... I would like to see such detail more often in games.

And the music, too... mmm.
Sonic#

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Shiva Indis
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Post by Shiva Indis »

When I first saw the World of Mana website a few months back, I knew I would be on board with whatever games the project would yield... Watching that flash intro of the Mana Tree was like going back in time 10 years to when I first played Secret of Mana, and I felt like the staff had made it for people like me who remember that game fondly.

Now they've updated the website with a new Isono Hiroo illustration of the Mana Tree, which is equally nostalgic.

BTW, Isono has a website. He's a wonderful landscape/wildlife artist - the level of detail in his works is just nuts. I should track down those artbooks... www9.ocn.ne.jp/~hiroo/
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localflick
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Post by localflick »

the level of detail in his works is just nuts.

No kidding! Isono's work is beautiful! In the upper-left Shining Forest picture, the halo around the mountain makes it look a little bit like Balamb Garden from FF VIII. I'm sure there's even better work in the books.

As for the Mana tree, There was a HUGE tree in front of the house I used to live at. We all called it the Mana tree. Iit was almost as massive (but no where near as beautiful). I think I have a photo of it somewhere... if I find it I'll post it.

Also as far as SD3 goes, there's a fully translated version of it floating around the net. According to my friend at work, it was translated as a school project, but I'm skeptical as to why students would go through the effort of translating and programming an entire RPG for school. Anyway, it's out there.

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Post by DevNall »

localflick wrote:Also as far as SD3 goes, there's a fully translated version of it floating around the net. According to my friend at work, it was translated as a school project, but I'm skeptical as to why students would go through the effort of translating and programming an entire RPG for school. Anyway, it's out there.

http://www.neillcorlett.com/sd3/

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DaWrestla
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Post by DaWrestla »

Funny that the only game from the series I've beaten is the one you describe as a side-story. It's very different from FF Adventure and Secret of Mana... I would be reluctant to call it a side-story, so much as an alternate world. But I have nothing explicit to back it up.


I did like LoM, too. Just, not as much. I was really expecting a sequel, and it's just not. Overall, I liked the three main story arcs, but I LOVED the story arc involving the Jumi. SPOILER:I remember getting really into it. I got pissed every time a Jumi had their heart stolen. And NPCs always foreshadowed the hero crying over them and turning to stone, but I never really thought it would ever happen. So, when the Jumi go extinct and the hero cries and turns to stone, it caught me completely off guard, and I was like WHOA! Yeah, it was awesome.

I seriously suggest you try Sword of Mana for the GBA and Secret of Mana. If you don't have a SNES then you can always play it on your computer via ROM. In fact, you should play SD3 this way too, it's actually better than Secret of Mana! Go to Best Buy and buy yourself a controller so the experience is more familiar to you as a console gamer.

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Post by Alunissage »

I shouldn't even be in this topic, since I've only played/watched the beginning of Sword of Mana (a few hours in) and the very beginning of Secret of Mana (a few minutes in). I will nevertheless share my wisdom and say that when you can rename characters it's not a great idea to name them :) and (: .

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Shiva Indis
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Post by Shiva Indis »

New magazines have information about the party members in Children of Mana. Their names sound like a certain set of breakfast cereal mascots, but they seem very reminicient of the characters in Secret of Mana. If there's no multiplayer, then hell will freeze over. There is no other option. :evil:

http://www.the-magicbox.com/0510/game051012c.shtml

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DaWrestla
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Post by DaWrestla »

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!

Mana games get me SOOOOOOO excited!

EDIT:

Personally, I'm still pissed their calling it "Children of Mana", because I feel that would have been (will be!) the perfect localization name for Seiken Densetsu 3. Oh well.
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localflick
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Post by localflick »

Holy crap! They have a character named "Flick!" That's awesome! Pop is one of the Rice Krispy elves too. Maybe they really were inspired by their breakfast cereal.

Listen to the cereal, "snap! crackle! pop! mana!"

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DaWrestla
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Post by DaWrestla »

In all fairness the characters of SD2 were Randi, Popoi, and Purim...yet they were left blank in the US release.

And I'm really diggin the art style of the series. It's only ever so slightly-slightly (I made that up just now) different from Secret of Mana.

Don't know how I feel about a 3-D Mana game, though.

They're just so perfect in 2D
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Angelalex242
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Post by Angelalex242 »

I remember the good old mantis ant trick. You only wanna use it once, of course...because getting a 10th sword orb would be bad. But once you use it that first time...well, the fully revived mana sword is twice as strong as anything else.
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Kobalt
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Post by Kobalt »

I remember seeing an article about SD4 on RPG Fan.com a while ago.

And my favorite Mana game is SD3 by far.
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Katze
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Post by Katze »

Sadly, the only mana game I've played is Legend of Mana, but I loved it! I don't think I've ever played a game with a more immersive world and atmosphere. I plan on playing the other Seiken Densetsu games too, but I just haven't had the time.

I can't wait for Children of Mana. I hope it's released over here, as well as Seiken Densetsu 4.

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DaWrestla
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Post by DaWrestla »

I only pray that a mana game never comes out for the PSP or Xbox.
Vaporized before my eyes

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