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Topic: The Mana (Seiken Densetsu) Fan Thread

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Tyranexx

I was able to play for about an hour last night. More spoilers incoming! Not using tags this time, so read at your own risk!

So this walled-in town (can't recall the name) I found is apparently ran by some magically-inclined jerk named Davias who likes randomly turning people into animals. Turns out Amanda went to the Cave of Medusa to secure a Medusa Tear to turn her brother, Lester, back into a person after he was turned into a parrot by Davias. I admittedly had to look up how to get to the cave; the hint was cryptic as heck, and it turns out I was trying random things in the wrong oasis area. I had to go to an area I hadn't even been to. XD

I found the dungeon and Amanda, who admitted to stealing the pendant to exchange it for her brother's freedom from Davias. We worked our way through the cave, picked up a new bit of magic on the way (Ice) and fought the Medusa. No tears from her!

Just as the Hero and Amanda were discussing returning to the town, Amanda discovered she was bitten by the Medusa. In this universe, this means she would eventually become one herself. Her tears were the perfect substitution. She pleased with the Hero to kill her before she turned into a monster, and the very reluctant hero finally obliged....

Dang, right in the feels there.

@BruceCM Awesome! I've definitely been reading some great feedback on the Trials of Mana remake. I still feel like I owe some attention to the original though. XD

Currently playing: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch)

"Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:31

BruceCM

Well, if you plan to play original, it'd be best to do that before remake, I imagine, @Tyranexx Didn't bother with collection myself, as already played Secret & Adventure of Mana on Android, then got SoM Remake on Vita....

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Steam: Bruce_CM

Tyranexx

@BruceCM Yep, I intend to play the original ToM first. I think I'll appreciate the remake more that way.

I've read that SoM Remake isn't that great, but that could just be a very vocal minority online lol.

Currently playing: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch)

"Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:31

BruceCM

Well, most of those issues were when it released & they did update it to improve things, so they weren't totally baseless, @Tyranexx .... ToM is better, so they've evidently learned from that, as well Maybe check what more recent reviews are saying, if you're concerned? & wait for a sale? I liked it but I'm often weird about games

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Steam: Bruce_CM

Tyranexx

@BruceCM I might try the SoM remake someday, but I'm not sure when or even if I'll get to it. Like with ToM, I think I'll give it a try in its original 16-bit format first. Partially because I'm a sucker for that pixel art anyway. XD

Currently playing: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch)

"Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:31

BruceCM

OK, keep us posted about your progress in them, @Tyranexx ....

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Steam: Bruce_CM

Tyranexx

I played for a little while last night - gotta do longer sessions sometime. It was late, so I only played for about 45 minutes or so.

I didn't get very far, but I did manage to raid Davias's castle and beat up the bad guy himself; no idea why he turned into a squid monster, but the Hero and Lester made calamari out of him! Then Lester played his harp, clearing the poisonous miasma to the northeast of town. Then the Hero came across a cave and beat the stuffing out of a giant crab. After creating another seafood delicacy, the Hero ran across a store with much-needed armor upgrades and explored for a good while. Eventually, he wound up in another cave, where his adventure had to wait for another evening....

...Also, I seem to have lost track of my Chocobo outside of one of the caves. Any way to get him back? :thinking_face:

Currently playing: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch)

"Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:31

BruceCM

Oh, no idea, I never bothered riding it, @Tyranexx ,,,,, Sorry! You're about halfway through, though

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Steam: Bruce_CM

Krull

@Tyranexx You will get the chocobo back later, when you really need it. After that, you’ll probably have to remember where you left it. It’s essential to reach certain parts of the map. But you’ll get it back before that.

Switch ID: 5948-6652-1589
3DS ID: 2492-5142-7789

Tyranexx

@BruceCM Good to know! I know the running time for the game isn't too long, so I figured I was close to the halfway mark.

@Krull That's a relief to read. I was getting attached to the feathery guy. Thanks!

Currently playing: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch)

"Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:31

Tyranexx

I've crammed in two sessions over the last couple of days. Spoilers after the line.


Session 1
The cave The Hero found himself in was interesting; there were not one, but TWO monsters hidden in its depths! One happened to be a Minotaur with a wicked Morning Star attachment; the Hero made fairly quick work of him and redeemed said morning star from the chest left behind. It's honestly my favorite weapon up to this point. XD From there, the Hero made short work of the other monster in the cave, the Golem. This earned him a new spell (Lit, assuming this has something to do with lightning). Then he headed out of the cave and across the bridge, which promptly collapsed. Who needs that rickety old bridge anyway?

Surprise, surprise! We're back at the Dark Lord's castle from the beginning of the game! Using the trusty old Battle Axe picked up earlier in the adventure, the Hero hacked down some trees and entered the locked castle through a less direct way. After some dungeoneering and a Chimera encounter, he found and rescued the Girl from where she was being held prisoner. Those free heals from her were definitely appreciated.

After more exploring, they found themselves at the top of the castle where the Dark Lord waited. The Girl went to safety, and the Hero fought and subdued the Dark Lord! He triumphantly tore the stolen pendant from the fiend's body and...Wait a minute, it's fake! Where's the real one?! Once again, The Hero had been tricked!

On his way out of the castle, he spotted the Girl heading towards the waterfall from earlier in the game. She wouldn't respond to The Hero at all (Mind Control for $100, Alex). The Girl reaches the edge of the water, and Julius appears with the real pendant! Under his control, the Girl reverses the flow of the waterfall, granting both her and Julius access to the power of Mana. Julius, ever the nice guy, zapped the Hero and sent him down the waterfall again. Sodden and unconscious downstream, our Chocobo friend from earlier picks up the Hero and delivers him to the town of Ish...(Who names these?)

Session 2
The Hero was brought to the house of a girl named Sarah, who is looking after both him and an injured Bogard. Quite frankly, the poor Hero is sick of everything and doesn't understand why the destiny of the Gemma Knight has been thrust upon him. He has a verbal disagreement with Bogard, who yells at him to leave. We learn after the fact that Bogard was thrown from the airship earlier in the game and has injured his back. Sarah tells the Hero that she believes in him and thinks he is their only hope, and how Bogard spoke highly of him (guilt trip, anyone?). After hitting up a couple of area shops, the Hero visited some mechanical genius in the town who repaired the Chocobo's injured legs. Our feathered friend is now known as the Chocobot, and he can run on water! Heading back to Bogard, the Hero learns that Julius already has the power of Mana, and that only the legendary sword Excalibur can stop him. He is then told to go back to the town of Wendel to see Cibba.

It seems like the entire map opens up at this point (thanks for the earlier info @Krull). No complaints there, but I decided to more closely follow a guide to help keep me on track.

After some exploration and item acquisition, the Hero found himself back in the town of Wendel. Cibba went off to another town, Lorim, to help with a monster problem; Julius is apparently fond of unleashing powerful monsters on an unsuspecting world. Upon reaching Lorim, we learn that a monster named Kary broke in and froze nearly everyone (including Cibba) in place!

As it turns out, Kary is hiding in - you guessed it - another cave. Evil likes caves, for some reason. After a lot of slipping, sliding, and flame chain pwnage, the Hero finds and defeats Kary. She drops an Ice Sword. Hmm...I have a feeling that'll become useful later. Heading back to Lorim to see Cibba, he gives the Hero a bone key and tells him a little about the legendary blade and the cave it's found in. Gotta love these cryptic old guys.

At this point, the guide I was following took me on a plot detour to get the last spell of the game, Nuke. This didn't involve much of a cave system, thankfully, but that Lich you have to fight for the spell isn't anything to sneeze at. Much spamming of Cure and the Morning Star (I really do love that thing!) ensued before the Hero could claim the spell.

Until next time! That legendary sword awaits!

Currently playing: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch)

"Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:31

BruceCM

Doing well then, @Tyranexx ..... That morning star also means you don't need mattocks but obviously keep stocks of the other items that you still need for similar purposes

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Tyranexx

@BruceCM So I've noticed; I've been keeping a healthy supply of Mattocks and Keys for the game's dungeons, so it'll be nice to offload the former. If there's one thing that drives me a bit nuts about earlier games, it's that item storage is limited, though understandably so in some cases. XD

Currently playing: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch)

"Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:31

BruceCM

Yeah, although there's usually skeletons that drop keys around, @Tyranexx .... Best to always have one set at least in your inventory, though!

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Steam: Bruce_CM

Tyranexx

I accomplished quite a bit during last night's FFA session. I'm pretty much following a guide at this point. That spell detour I mentioned earlier? It turns out that it is needed for the plot; the guide I'm following at this point just had me get that sooner than I needed to. XD

As usual, spoilers aplenty after the line.


After securing the Nuke spell, the Hero set off to find the fabled Excalibur. He spent a little time exploring and secured a wonderfully powerful Thunder Spear! Finally, he discovered a doorway where the Bone Key given to him by Cibba would fit. This led to another one of those...erm...what do you call 'em...cave thingies. The Morning Star sure came in handy here!

Eventually, the Hero stumbled across a Kraken under a bridge and beat, battered, and fried him into oblivion. Continuing on, the Hero found himself on an island which contained yet another dungeon: the Undersea Volcano. (I shamelessly used a guide here as I've heard rumblings of this place online and how archaic/frustrating it can be)

The Undersea Volcano is no joke. Powerful monsters crawl throughout the place, and there are some sections where you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO walk across lava. It takes off a ton of HP a tick, so Cure was definitely spammed. Thank goodness the Hero had a few X-Ethers on him. Before long, he stumbled across the Zeus Axe. More difficult cave shenanigans ensued. Attempting to freeze enemies for some puzzles in this game is frustrating as heck; some won't freeze, and the placements have to be just right. Heaven forbid if you accidentally kill everything in the room. T_T

Eventually, the Hero ran across this dungeon's boss, who happened to be a huge monster (Iflyte; who NAMES these?!) who rolled up into a boulder-like ball. This fight wasn't too tough with ye olde Morning Star equipped! After that baddie went down, the Hero opened the item chest to find...a Rusty Sword?! Where was this legendary sword Cibba and Bogard were harping about? Will this rusty old thing still work?!

Back to Cibba via the trusty robotic chicken. He tells the Hero to find the key to Dime Tower, a former stronghold of the now-defunct (so they say) Vandole Empire. He says that he can't tell the Hero anything more, and to talk to Dr. Bowow in Ish. Heading back to Ish, Bowow claims to have explored the desert and its surroundings quite well! He tells the Hero to use the Nuke spell to blow up a certain crystal to find the key to the tower. The Hero located the correct crystal and dove headfirst into the Cave of Ruins.

Ahhhh....Nothing like the smell of ancient secrets in the morning! There wasn't really much to the ruins, though a nice Dragon Sword and a Dragon Shield were both secured. No complaints about free armor! The Hero stumbles across the Mantis Ant and makes short work of this pushover monster. A door to an adjoining chamber opens that leads to a room full of water, some crystal balls (or whatever those decorations are in this game) and one of those special tiles. The Hero equips the Rusty Sword and steps on the tile. The hidden power of the sword is released, and the Dime Tower is activated somewhere in the desert.

Dime Tower wasn't easy to find at first, and the Hero soon understood why; the activated tower rose out of the sands of the desert as he approached it! Upon entering the tower, the Hero finds a wandering robot dubbed Marcie. Apparently Dr. Bowow built it and left it there to explore and find artifacts...50 years ago. That's...a bit long. Poor robot. Marcie decides to accompany the Hero and is a wonderful companion, recovering the Hero's MP when asked. The two explored the tower, finding these interesting tablets on occasion that alluded to the fall of the Vandole Empire. Apparently, they left their "last hope" in a cave of waterfalls....Julian was found as a baby by the Dark Lord of the Glaive Empire in a similar cave....Interesting hints there. Dragon Armor was also procured to help finish off the illustrious dragon set.

After braving more of the tower and dealing with a few interesting puzzles involving enemies, the Hero and Marcie stumble across and make short work of the Garuda monster. Such a nice mutant bird. Throwing feathers and all.

Upon trying to leave the Dime Tower, part of the tower begins to collapse. Part of the pathway to the far cliff the duo were heading towards caves in. Marcie claims that they can throw the Hero across and make the jump on their own, then proceeds to unceremoniously throw the Hero over the gap after The Hero agrees. The Hero turns back around, and then finds out that...Marcie lied. Marcie can't make that jump. Marcie is programmed to stay in the tower and has worked there its full existence. The Hero watches as the rest of the tower, with Marcie, collapses....

After that sad spectacle, the Hero finds himself, again, back at the Dark Lord's former residence. He returns to the area of the waterfall up to the Mana Tree, which promptly reverses its course for him. Entering it, he's taken up, up, up towards his destiny. He wandered around before coming to the Tower of Gemma, where our journey leaves off until next time....


@BruceCM Haha, the skeletons drop keys. Skeleton keys! Hahahahah...heh....Yes, I'm easily amused. My humor is weird. :zany_face:

Currently playing: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch)

"Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:31

BruceCM

Yeah, that'd be the humour of whoever was responsible for that decision, as well, @Tyranexx .... So, you've nearly finished, then!

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Tyranexx

@BruceCM It appears so! Not sure if I'll get around to playing much of anything this evening, but we'll see.

Currently playing: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch)

"Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:31

BruceCM

So, what's next, when you have finished it, @Tyranexx .... ?

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Steam: Bruce_CM

Tyranexx

@BruceCM I think I'll take a break from Mana Collection for a little while; I'm half tempted to start Secret of Mana, but there's no way I'll finish it in time before XC:DE releases. I do plan to play the other two before TOO long. XD

Currently playing: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch)

"Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:31

BruceCM

Hmm, XC:DE will probably last you a month, @Tyranexx .... Any little games to play between?

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Steam: Bruce_CM

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