Mana series (Seiken Densetsu)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Secret of Mana Solo Primm Attempt Part 1


It's likely that some Realms Beyonders are familiar with Secret of Mana, since it was released in a timely manner in English compared to Trials of Mana which took over 2 decades.  I played Secret of Mana via Wii Virtual Console normally and enjoyed it at the time, but until recently I've had trouble restarting it.  The mechanics at first seemed crude compared to Trials of Mana, though this in part was due to the differences between the pacing and stat systems.


Let's get the major comparisons out of the way first.  I may be mistaken about some mechanics of Secret:


Inventory

-Trials of Mana allows 9 of each item, and up to 99 in a "bag" only available out of battle.

-Secret of Mana only has 4 of each item, and no bag to store extras.


Combat and Pacing

-Trials of Mana slows down player characters into a "battle stance", spells have charge time, melee attacks have a very short cooldown, and stronger physical attacks require filling up a Class Strike bar by hitting enemies.  Evading physical attacks is uncommon due to a glitch.


-Secret of Mana has the same fast movement speed for both combat and exploration.  Melee attacks have a longer cooldown, but spells are instant.  Player characters block physical attacks more often.



Leveling


-Trials of Mana characters pick one stat to gain in addition to HP per level.  DEX and LUCK are of marginal value in most cases because of glitches.  One new spell or upgrade to an existing spell is granted per level, as long as you have unlocked the Mana Spirit corresponding to it.  Many spells and the higher level Class Strikes are based on branching promotions at Levels 18 and 38. Stat improvement seems gradual.  Weapons and spells do not have individual levels, and each character only has the weapon class they start with. (e.g. Riesz uses spears.)


-Secret of Mana characters do not have classes or pick stats when they gain levels.  Only Primm and Popoi know magic, and each get different spells and level them based on the Mana Spirit category.  Stronger physical attacks are used by holding the attack button for a longer time.  Characters can use different weapons, which have to be upgraded.  Some weapons, like the Whip, do not exist in Trials of Mana.  Stat improvement seems dramatic, especially defense, evasion, and time spent staggered when hit by attacks.




The game began when Randi the boy pulled out the Sword of Mana, which cursed the village of Potos.  Monsters such as Rabites now infested the woods, though they provided a good source of experience to Randi.  He grew to Level 3 before falling down a hole in Potos and battling Mantis Ant.


In previous Secret of Mana attempts, I wondered if Mantis Ant was badly designed since Randi kept dying and being auto-revived in this tutorial fight.  Apparently the answer was to be a reasonable level and to buy armor in Potos.  Randi parried many of the "boomerang" arm attacks with his sword, and retaliated with 19 damage per swing.  When Mantis Ant did hit, it only hurt Randi for 6.  Acid Breath was pathetic, though Gem Missile (Diamond Shards in Trials) pierced him for 20.  


Primm the girl saved Randi from being cooked in the Goblins' pot while looking for her boyfriend Dyluck.  Randi went south to her hometown of Pandora, where she joined the party while she was running away from her father's arranged marriage proposal.  Primm bought equipment at the store where the turban merchant wasn't mute, and Randi was promptly stripped of all his armor. 


Randi now took around 20 damage from Mushbooms, and soon "saw the reaper".  Unlike Trials, in Secret you can't neglect to upgrade a character's Strength to make them useless.  Of course, the terrible AI in Secret is a solo run's best friend.  On occasions where he was revived, Randi would often run in an erratic fashion near the enemies and get himself killed again.


Primm mostly used the Spear at this point for its superior range, though the Sword cut bushes when necessary.  Poison from the biting flowers proved to be more dangerous in Secret thanks to the faster "damage tick" rate compared to Trials, and Primm sometimes had to eat Candies.  Restoring HP after leveling was nice.


Kippo Village sold a +17 DEF Kung Fu Dress, while the Elbow Pad gave +2 DEF.  I should note here that in Trials of Mana solos, the +ATK/DEF values were relative to previous equipment.  In this Secret of Mana playthrough, the stats are the total value.  One good thing about trying a Secret of Mana variant is that there are more English online guides for this game compared to Trials of Mana.


In the next update, Primm will try to make her way through the Haunted Forest and Gaia's Navel. . .

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Secret of Mana Solo Primm Attempt Part 2


The Haunted Forest was simple to navigate at Primm's high level.  Chobin Hoods shot arrows from behind plants which Primm cut with her sword.  Obstacles like these don't exist in Trials of Mana dungeons, which are generic corridors or wide rooms with different backdrops.  Rather like the level design in Kingdom Hearts 2. 


Eye Spy flowers spawned Chobin Hoods, cast Cure Water on one occasionally, and could turn Primm into a Moogle for a few seconds.  Moogle status was less threatening to Primm than to Duran or Charlotte, who had to return to normal with Medical Herbs.  


Primm couldn't proceed without an axe to get past another barrier, so she had to backtrack to Gaea's Navel, a cave behind a waterfall to the south of Haunted Forest.  Watts the dwarven blacksmith lived here, who might have been an ancestor of Trials of Mana's Watts who provided the cannon fuel.  Watts upgraded the Sword of Mana to the Broad Sword for 29 total ATK, making it superior to the 25 Spear and 23 Spiked Knuckle.


(Not sure what the point of the Spiked Knuckle is since Secret doesn't have a combo system.  It has lower attack power and shorter range. . .)


Primm bought a 4 DEF Power Wrist at the shop and battled Tropicallo the plant at Level 8.  Positioning Primm was far more essential than it was for the Trials solos, which turned into "turn-based" slap fights once the combatants were in range.  Primm ran away from the exploding pumpkins, which blew up for 15 if they connected.  Primm's Broad Sword swings whacked the weed for 30 per regular attack, 45 per charged attack, and 60 per critical.  Tropicallo hid behind the stalagmites, so Primm had to be in exactly the right spot to slash with her sword.


(From this point on, assume that "charged attacks" are Level 1 unless otherwise mentioned.  Longer charges are impractical, and this problem is why Square made the Class Strike gauge for Trials and Legend.  At least Level 2 and 3 Class Strikes and Trials can be useful for random enemies. . .)


Overall, this ancestor of Mispolm was an easy battle.  Primm gained her first ranged weapons, another advantage she had over her Trials descendants.  The Boomerang proved more useful than Chobin's Bow and came in handy when Chobin Hoods tried to snipe her.  Watt's Axe opened the way to Elinee's castle, but was used in combat only to increase its weapon proficiency.  When Primm needed to fight in melee, she went with the Heavy Spear that she forged after Tropicallo dropped the Level 2 orb.


Werewolves in Secret must have been trained in Ferolia, but in a different martial arts style.  Instead of splitting the screen with dazzling Class Strikes, these lycanthropes staggered Primm with repeated regular attacks.  Werewolves didn't believe in playing fair and hit her while she was down.


DEATH COUNT:  1


To avoid a similar fate in the future, Primm grew to Level 11 by clear-cutting Haunted Forest, and that's where this update leaves off.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Secret of Mana Solo Primm Attempt Part 3


In this update, Primm stared down a boss that made many Secret of Mana players blink.  A version of Tigger as twisted as a Madlands god.  Spikey Tiger!


Round 1 started at Level 11.  This was a mistake.  Spikey Tiger bounced on Primm for up to 15, and knocked her down enough to make Crimson Wizard proud.  Primm poked at Spikey Tiger like a lion tamer with her Heavy Spear for up to 36, but this was useless when it leaped onto the side platforms and cast Fire Breath both to deal damage and to Engulf Primm. 


Engulf is an ailment unseen in Trials, and functions much like a combination of Poison and Snowman from the sequel.  Primm was immobile and took gradual damage.  Oh, and Spikey Tiger could continue to cast Fire Breath to keep her stunned.  Fiery Bouquet Level 2 decreased Primm's ATK for a brief period and damaged her for 22.  It's a relief in Secret to see enemy debuffs expire, but I'll have to keep in mind that the same applies to my own buffs.  In Trials, stat modifications last until either the encounter ends, or they are removed.  One last bounce crushed Primm in the end.


DEATH COUNT:  2


Primm trained some more in Haunted Forest and its castle until she reached Level 14, then tried again.  Instead of the Heavy Spear, Primm relied on the Boomerang, which could reach the side platforms.  Secret does NOT seem to factor height into ranged attacks.  Each toss dealt up to around 28.  Primm barely survived one salvo of spells with 1 HP (!).  None of that "I have 1 HP!  Time to cast Healing Light!  *Drops dead immediately*" false hope like in Trials.


With 4 Candies and 3 Chocolates, Primm survived Spikey Tiger, causing Elinee the to beg for forgiveness.  Her wergild was a Whip and. . .50 GP.  Not even enough to buy a Chocolate.  You'd think Thanatos would pay better, but this was all she had.


After that, it was time to save the game.  Here are Primm's Level 14 stats, if anyone cares.


HP:  142
MP:  12
STRENGTH:  25
AGILITY:  20
CONSTITUTION:  19
INTELLIGENCE:  16
WISDOM:  26
ATTACK:  27
HIT %:  80
DEFENSE:  43
EVADE %:  80
MAGIC DEF:  46 


(One forum post on GameFAQs recommends power leveling to 16 to get past Spikey Tiger with a full party, but here my solo Primm limps past the boss.  Sullla isn't kidding when he talks about how players are obsessed with grinding in his Final Fantasy and Octopath Traveler posts. . .)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Secret of Mana Solo Primm Attempt Part 4


In this update, Primm fought a boss whose descendants were regular enemies in Trials.  The harmless Tonpole became Lizardon after a few pokes with the Heavy Spear.  Primm had to become accustomed to stabbing her way out of Lizardon's stomach when it swallowed her for 21 damage each.


Primm returned the favor with 38 power regular attacks and up to 76 criticals.  Sometimes she even spun her spear around, then thrust with a 2 charge special attack.  Being swallowed didn't drain her charge meter, and she could attack from inside the boss's body.  When Lizardon was low on HP, it sometimes cast Cure Water to restore over 180.  Three Candies were needed to survive, but Primm's healing outlasted Lizardon's.


Primm received an orb for the Glove and the Pole Dart javelin, but what she truly valued was Undine's spells.  Unlike Trials where Water is one of the later elements, in Secret Undine provides the first magic.  Primm learned Cure Water, Remedy, and Ice Saber.  It was suggested in the dialogue that Saber spells would only work on Randi, but is this true?  Sabers are for everyone in Trials, whether by spell or item.


On the way out, Primm encountered an invasive species of fish from the Dwarf Fortress planets, and forced her to re-do the battle.  This happened more than once.


DEATH COUNT:  4



In the middle of the two fish fatalities, Lizardon caught Primm in a stun-swallow loop that lasted until she was digested.


DEATH COUNT:  5


By the time Primm had managed to return to the Water Palace and save, she had defeated Lizardon again with 2 Candies consumed.  Now she's going into the dungeon under the Dwarf Village at Level 15.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

This isn't long enough to be a formal "part", but Primm fell to repeated Goblin boomerangs in the Underground Palace below Dwarf Village.  Endless enemy combos are the real danger in Secret.  As opposed to Trials where normal enemy attacks tickle you until they go for the jugular with a Class Strike/spell.


DEATH COUNT:  6


Primm's now at Level 16, and her Undine experience has gone up a bit.  Turns out that elemental Sabers work on her in spite of what the dialogue during the Undine conversation would have you believe.  This may be essential for certain boss fights since Primm has few attack spells.


There's a Trials remake for modern platforms, if anyone doesn't know this already.  Watched some of a Spanish Let's Play of the demo, and it looks like a modern action RPG than the freakish semi-turn based system that we all love from the original.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Secret of Mana Solo Primm Cancellation


Primm fell two more times to endless Goblin physical combos in Underground Palace.  There was some hope at Level 17 when Primm managed to dash past most of the monsters and enter Fire Gigas's lair. . .only to be vaporized with an Exploder which drained more than her max HP.  And reaching Level 17 made the "climb to 47" in Trials solos feel mild.


DEATH COUNT:  9


Some people criticize Trials for being slower than Secret, but the opposite is true.  Sure, Secret characters can move faster in battle, but they have to wait longer between physical attacks.  You'll also spend far less time prone on the ground in Trials, as opposed to Secret where every other enemy can stun you as long as they please.  Leveling in Trials is slower than I'd like, though it's still quicker than Secret, where you also have to increase each spell element individually.


Is it possible to beat Secret of Mana with a solo character?  Yes.  Is it worth the effort?  Not by my standards, unless you're using a cheating device to level or have some emulator speed up feature.  Trials is much better for variants because of its superior pacing and variety of character classes and storylines.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Riesz Part 1


Riesz's "origin" was the only one I hadn't seen yet.  Her brother Elliot appeared much younger than he did in the ending, so it made much more sense for him to be tricked by Bil and Ben into disabling Laurent's protective wind magic.  They told him it would allow them to bring his mother back, and the winds would interfere with her spirit or something.


Riesz battled Level 1 Assassins before being forced to retreat to the usual starting areas.  She bought a +5 ATK Long Spear in Astoria.  It may have been more seemly for her enemies to lie mangled by her starting Bronze Spear.  Riesz purchased a +6 DEF Cuir Bouilli in Wendel, after recruiting her useless allies Angela and Charlotte.


Fullmetal Hugger drew near when Riesz was at Level 5.  Its Bubbleblast popped for 50, its Holy Bolt descended from heaven for 31, its Eye Beam flashed for 20, and finally its Dive Bomb crushed Riesz for 64.  As tough as Riesz was compared to her companions, she still needed to eat 8 of her Candies to endure the first boss fight.  Riesz's regular swipes and thrusts dealt about 20 damage, while her Class Strike pierced Fullmetal Hugger for around 39. 


(Riesz has my favorite Class Strikes in the game, even if they don't have the power of Kevin's.  Ephraim from Fire Emblem:  The Sacred Stones would be proud of Riesz's spear-twirling skills!)


It was Duran who broke the party out of Jadd Stronghold's dungeon this time, not Hawkeye.  What mechanic determines who releases you from jail?  Sometimes it's the 3rd character of your party, but if you have Charlotte as your 3rd, you can get one who didn't get past auditions.


Maia sold a Winged Bow for +3 DEF and +2 MGC DEF.  That's a hair bow.  Nothing to do with the art of archery that had been lost since Secret of Mana.  Riesz battled Altena's Machine Golems at Level 6, hurting them for 21-23 melee and 42-43 with her spinning Class Strike.  They mostly fought back with regular attacks and made Riesz eat 2 Candies to survive.


Dwarf Village offered a +11 ATK Framea and a +5 DEF Feather Vest, which came in handy for Jewel Eater the mole.  This fight was difficult for earlier solos, and Riesz was no exception.  No character could avoid the DEF drop from one of Jewel Eater's normal moves.  Diamond Shards poked Riesz for 37, but the real threats were a 69 Hard Hit dash or a 74 Ground Slam cave-in.  Riesz's sugar rush required 9 Candies and 1 Chocolate from a random drop.  Trials of Mana's instant item effects saved Riesz just before one Ground Slam would have started the DEATH COUNT.  


Riesz's regular attacks scratched Jewel Eater for 22, while Class Strikes went up to 50.  These numbers were reduced to around 19 and 46 respectively when the mole cast Protection in an effort to save itself.  It was a relief whenever Impediment appeared since evasion/accuracy modifications are useless in Trials of Mana.


After Riesz killed the various wizards and chess pieces to get to Valsena's throne room, the town rewarded her with a +2 DEF, +1 MGC DEF Vambrace for sale.  No solo character would have missed the opportunity to stock up on Beiser Night Market items like Drake Scales, Bulette Scales, Sahagin Chips, and a couple of "elemental claws" before continuing.  Laurent's coastal town Palo Port offered a +8 ATK Corseque, a +1 DEF Leather Helm, and a +9 DEF Stud Leathers.


Heavensway's first trip was simple as there were no bosses or Copper Knight catastrophes.  Riesz picked up the Minor Mallet from Domperi, returned to Palo Port, then saved the game and quit the session. 


So far Riesz is "Duran lite".  Her STR and STA are a little lower, but she compensates with better INT and SPRT for magic defense.  After class change, Riesz will be substantially different from Duran.  She can never heal with magic no matter what "alignment" she is.  But she gets something that's better on the Dark path. . .

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Riesz Part 2


Riesz challenged Harcypete at Level 10, and saved a Bearclaw for the occasion.  Her regular thrusts dealt 73, while her twirling spear Class Strike inflicted 133.  Harcypete's Cyclone whirlwind blew for 22 and Supersonic screeched for 77.  One brush with the DEATH COUNT occurred when Harcypete grabbed Riesz with its talons and dropped her on the ground asleep, putting her in range for a Supersonic KO.  Fortunately the boss was too stupid to try that.  About 2 or 3 Candies were needed to win.


While Riesz was taking back her home of Citadel Laurent at Level 11, Zehnoa the demon door stood in the way of the throne room.  A Poseidon Claw increased her damage output to 77 per regular strike and 137 per Class Strike.  Applying the Drake Scale and the "elemental claw" before the Bulette Scale and Sahagin Chip stalled out the vexing "buff delay" from earlier solos. 


Zehnoa dropped Trap 2 rocks on Riesz more frequently, for 49 power each.  Dissolving Wave charred her for 39, and Trap 1 spikes pierced her for 29.  Riesz ate about 2 Candies, but Zehnoa and its summoned minions were not much trouble.


Riesz was still at Level 11 when she avenged Elliot's kidnapping by beating up Bil and Ben.  This was more personal for her than it was for Duran, Angela, or Charlotte.  I think Bil and Ben were friends of Hawkeye who were brainwashed, though.  With no elemental weakness, Riesz had to settle for 34 power thrusts and 67 strength Class Strikes.


Bil and Ben struck back by giving Riesz a 56 Water Diversion shower, throwing a 29 Shuriken at her, or stabbing her explosively with a 76 Shadow Menace.  The "allies" were useful for a change when either Bil or Ben got stuck running in place next to Angela's corpse.  About 3 Candies gave Riesz enough empty calories to survive.


EDIT:  Water Diversion lowers STR, but I didn't know that at the time.  See what I mean about the "blink and you'll miss it" battle text speed?  Hawkeye can learn Water Diversion along with Bil and Ben's other techniques if he promotes to his Dark class at Level 18.  Solo Hawkeye was Light/Light.


By the time Riesz finished poking the undead on the Ghost Ship, she was at Level 12.  No Light element for Gova, but she had purchased a +10 ATK Partisan and a +10 DEF Chain Mail once Palo Port was free from Nevarl occupation.  Her normal strikes dealt 54, while Class Strikes went up to 106.


Gova floated out of range and cast Evil Gate for 23, played a Ghostleader tune for 61, and drenched Riesz with Dark Rain for 41.  (Yes, it is called "Dark Rain" in the official English version, not "Black Rain".  Most of the documentation for Trials is for "Seiken Densetsu 3".  And the battle text speed is so fast in this game!)


Candies were starting to lose their efficacy by this time because of Riesz's higher HP, so she ate 7 before exorcising Gova.  She was unfortunate enough to land on Beuca Island just before its volcano would erupt.  Tomatomen were as trivial for Riesz as they were for Duran.  They died too fast to restore their HP with Healing Light, unlike solo Charlotte's misdaventures.  Friendlier Tomatomen in Tomato Town sold a +10 ATK Steel Lance and a +11 DEF Padded Mail.


Now that Riesz is on Beuca Island, it's likely that she'll promote in the next update.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Riesz Part 3


Beuca Island had no bosses because the programmers didn't have enough time to prevent a squid from freezing the game.  So Riesz merely had to butcher many Tonpoles/Lizardons, Tezlas, and those annoying Potos that kept healing other enemies.


(Apparently there were other cut features as well.  Some Class Strikes were supposed to have elemental properties, status ailments, or debuffs attached to them.)


Vuscav the turtle took Riesz to Alrant when she played the Ferry Flute.  There she purchased a +13 ATK Glaive and a +12 DEF Scale Mail before setting off for Frostbite Fields and murdering the local Wizards, Sahagins, and Potos until reaching Level 18. 


The "boss" for this area was 3 Machine Golems, who opened the battle with a 76 power gunshot.  Riesz's spear point didn't break upon hitting the robots.  Instead, regular attacks hit for 61, and Class Strikes thrust for 131.  Since they were Altenish robots, the Machine Golems also cast mid-tier spells like Spike Freeze, Thunderbolt, and Explode for around 46 damage.  Lightning struck twice late in the fight and forced Riesz to eat a Chocolate to persevere.  One Candy healed lesser wounds.


Riesz promoted to her Dark job Rune Maiden at the Labyrinth of Ice Mana Stone, gaining the following "class minimum":


HP:  295
MP:  35


STR:  11
DEX:  11
STA:  10
INT:  10
SPRT:  10
LUCK:  9


Notice how balanced those stats are compared to other characters.  That's because Riesz is meant to support the party with stat modifications, and occasionally use summon attacks in the endgame.  Rune Maiden was chosen because it teaches Riesz debuffs instead of buffs that can be replicated with Night Market items. 


Unfortunately, the 1st one she learned upon gaining Level 19 was Impediment, in a game where accuracy and evasion are glitched.  And the stuff that kills you in Trials of Mana doesn't check for accuracy anyway, like spells and Class Strikes.  Oh well, Riesz will get the better spells like Defenseless soon. . .

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Riesz Part 4


Riesz fought Bil and Ben at Level 19, and made the mistake of trying to jump onto them like Kain.  The consequence for not paying attention to the AI script was being mutilated by 2 Shadow Menaces of 161 damage each.


DEATH COUNT:  1


One problem with the Class Strike gauge is that you have to use the strongest one your meter allows, and it can fill up quickly when you're hitting two opponents at once.


Other ninja magic seen on the 1st attempt was more modest, such as a 51 Shuriken, and 74 power Water Diversion and Thunder Technique.  Take 2 of the battle included the Fire equivalent whose name I couldn't see in time.  Riesz's normal thrusts dealt 75, while her spear twirling inflicted 152.  About 3 Chocolates were necessary to survive the final encounter with Elliot's abductors.


Fiery Gorge had no boss, so let's advance to Mintas.  That town sold a Sprite Spear for +16 ATK, and a Mani Plate for +13 DEF.  Once Riesz killed more werewolves than the Volturi did, she was ready at Level 20 to fight Ludgar.  By this time, she learned Defenseless and cast it on Ferolia's beast guard.  Riesz's normal attacks increased from 75 to 91 after the debuff took effect.  Class Strikes pierced Ludgar for 180.


Ludgar must have wanted to kill Riesz more than previous solo characters, as he used not one but two screen splitting specials:  Seiryuu Strike for 170, and Suzaku Aerial for 170.  Abyssal Slice uppercuts knocked Riesz into the air for 102.  Riesz ate 1 Candy and 2 Chocolates that would have been poisonous to Ludgar the werewolf.


Dior the elf town sold a +13 ATK Treant Spear, a +2 DEF and +1 MGC DEF Viking Helm, and a +13 DEF and +36 MGC DEF Elfin Plate.  It seems every character gets a noticeable MGC DEF increase at this point.