Secret of Mana

Secret of Mana is a RPG video game published by SquareSoft released on October 3, 1993 for the Super Nintendo.

Secret of Mana is one of the finest co-op multiplayer games available even to this day. As a kid, whenever I needed a game to play with a friend, Secret of Mana would be there.

You’ll find few titles on 16-bit systems that are as colorful as Secret. Even its sequel–Seiken Densetsu 3, doesn’t have quite the vibrancy of its predecessor, despite having more detailed visuals. Secret of Mana’s lush outdoor environments and inner sanctums provide for a unique feeling that is nearly unrivaled on 16-bit systems, and this is in part due to its amazing use of color.

In Secret of Mana, you won’t find your stereotypical assortment of RPG fiends. Instead, you’ll fight agile mushrooms, cute rabbit-like creatures called rabites, and mobile flowers. But, you’ll also fight fearsome dark knights and assassins, so not everything you kill is cute and cuddly.

What’s even more impressive than Secret of Mana’s creative enemies are its massive bosses. You’ll do battle with an enormous Mantis Ant sporting deadly pincers; you’ll fight a knight riding a hover bike, and you’ll do battle with Death himself.