Secret of Mana (and other RPGs)

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I've been playing Secret of Mana off and on for the past few months now. When I was a kid I remember beating the game within a week or two, so don't laugh at me for taking my time to beat it .

What a great game eh? It brings back a lot of memories for me. I find that the game is great but it's a little on the easy side. When I was 11 years old or so (the last time I played it and beat it) I also found it quite a bit too easy, although it's quite hard at the beginning. Only 1 of my characters have died since after fighting the 3rd or 4th boss (I've fought countless amounts of bosses by now). I think I've just gained too many damn levels! I never avoid any monsters and usually fight them all.

Anyways, what Super Nintendo RPG do you recommend I play next?

Final Fantasy II?
Final Fantasy III?
Chrono Trigger?
Lufia II?

I don't want the next game that I play to have TOO dated of graphics (I know that to today's standards even Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III has extremely dated graphics, but they were considered as being state of the art at the time of their release ). To me it's mainly about the gameplay but I DO like my games to have fairly good graphics.

I'm a HUGE RPG fan and have been one since I was 6 years old. I was also (and still am) a fan of non turn-based RPGs ('Zelda - A Link To The Past' for example, even though it's debated whether or not this is a RPG or not).

Sometime in the future I might start playing another 'hidden gem' called 'Shadowrun'. If you can tolerate playing games with outdated graphics but great gameplay, try this game out! It is definitely STILL worth checking out. It it plainly one of the best games ever made IMO. Unfortunately, not many people have played/heard about it though. It's definitely one of the most unique games you'll ever play.

Here's the box for the game:



It's such a weird game because it's cyberpunk and you can hire elves, dwarfs and troll mercenaries and gangsters to help you kill gangs and stuff. It's a very brutal game but it's tame compared to games like 'Grand Theft Auto'.

Anyways, tell me what you think of Secret of Mana, recommend the next RPG for me to play and try out 'Shadowrun' (Either buy it or play it via your emulator of choice).

Thanks!

All of those are good choices, and I've played the SNES and Sega versions of shadowrun (Sega version is a little more action oriented with less emphasis on any story), but for some reason the game title that springs to mind is Super Mario RPG. It's made by Squaresoft, before it became Square-Enix, and it's got a little bit of everything thrown in: Some 3-D platform action, turn based combat, twitch/reflex combat options, and really good graphics considering how old it is. If you don't mind the cartoonish characters then it could be a worthwhile venture.

I love that game. I've played and beaten it so many times though (since it came out) that I don't really want to play it again (for at least a few years). I haven't played Final Fantasy III or Chrono Trigger much before and I've never beaten them. Those games were always too expensive for me to buy when I was a kid and none of my friends really played RPG's all that much so I couldn't borrow them.

Hehe good times! Me and my best friend still bust out Secret of Mana at least once a year and beat in within a week or two... We used to be able to beat it in a weekend you know... 10 years ago... My how busy life gets. I personally recommend FF III followed by Chrono Trigger. Both are amazing games especially FF III (One of my Top 3 Games of All time) I'd say another must play would be Secret of Evermore if you can get your hands on it. I spent far to many hours of my life on that game when I was a kid... Now I need to go buy FF III for my Gameboy. Enjoy.

Chronotrigger, absolutely.

It's a fantastic game with very high replay value. True, the original art is done by the same guy who did Dragonball Z - which I personally loathe - but all the things I hate about his style are conveniently left out in the transition to a video game. That aside, as the game progresses, the game allows a LOT of freedom. You know that feeling you get once you get Flammie in SoM? That feeling of being able to go someplace random and find an adventure, instead of being straightjacketed into a storyline? Chronotrigger does something similar, if not more faithfully.

And then Final Fantasy VI (FF3 in the States). The graphics are obviously more simple, but the sheer diversity and number of sprite sets over SUCH a long game, well makes up for it. FFVI has its weak points, but those are mostly due to limitations of the SNES cartridge. (The MIDI voices at the opera house are EXCRUCIATING.) The two greatest achievements of the game, IMHO, are the unforgettable characters (Kefka!), and a world so full of secrets and surprises, you always feel like you're missing something. Chronocross is the only game that's ever come close, for me. I recommend playing FFVI second only because it takes a lot more time than Chronotrigger to fully explore.

Those are all good choices. They'll keep you busy.

But if you want something to SOM(action/rpg) there are other great titles on the SNES.
Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma(The Environmentally Conscientious Trilogy as I call them)
SB is kinda bland so it's skippable but the other two are ones that must be checked out.

There's also Secret of Evermore... which is like a clone of Secret of Mana just not as polished. Still a good game though.
There's also Seiken Densetsu III (but you'll have to play a ROM of it though) which is the sequel game to the Mana series on the SNES.

All I use are emulators. I sold my Super Nintendo at a video-game store when I was a kid for a measly $5 and $1 for each of my games. Boy was I stupid...

BTW, can someone let me know if emulators are legal or not? As far as I know they are, it's just that video-games don't really approve of them right? Anyways, if they aren't legal it wouldn't matter much since I live in Canada. Piracy is even legal here! (As long as it's for personal use)

The answer is...
The emulators are legal. It's having the ROMs without the cartridge that is illegal. Pretty much any site that has ROMs on it will have a disclaimer that you are supposed to delete the ROM file after 24 hours.
This all goes back to copyright jargon where it's illegal to copy games without permission.
Only legal exception to the emulator is when it has to use an original hardware BIOS, which is the property of the game console developer. The BIOS files are as illegal as the ROMs are.

(Now Bleem! got in legal trouble, but they were the exception since they were selling a product that would effect sales of the actual console. All other emulators have been ignored because they are freeware and use their own code. Game companies may not like them, but they can't legally do anything about them)

It's kind of stupid that roms aren't legal. It isn't like the video-game companies are losing any money since the games aren't being manufactured anymore. Maybe they get mad about it because of the future ports they might make for hand-held systems?

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars