If you've been following the Mana series ever since Secret of Mana came to the SNES in the early '90s, you might want to prepare yourself for a wonderfully nostalgic trip down memory lane.
YouTube user Benoit Tranchet has created a lovely 2D animation based on the classic RPG, releasing it on the platform just as the series' most recent release - the Trials of Mana remake - arrives on Switch. The aim was to create an old-school 2D cinematic just like the ones you'd find alongside real games of that time, and boy does it deliver.
Tranchet says, "My goal was to create a depiction of the confrontation with the Mana Beast. Since I first played that game in the mid-'90s, I've been a huge fan of everything about it, from the first step you take until that epic conclusion."
Incidentally, if you're feeling in the mood for some Mana gameplay after watching this, we'd certainly recommend picking up the new game on Switch. Here's a snippet of our full review:
Trials of Mana proves itself to be a successful revival of a lost classic, smartly infusing new design and content where necessary while still maintaining the spirit of the original. Multi-threaded storylines, an enjoyable combat system and flexible character progression combine to make this one a fantastic experience from start to finish, even if occasional performance problems hinder the experience somewhat.
[source youtube.com, via gonintendo.com]
Comments (18)
Ahhh Secret Of Mana... I miss the '90s. Simpler, better times.
Very nice! But the two girls turned out a little... manly! The princess looks like Link and the elf like a grandma ! Beside that, awesome, more please!
This would have been a much better aesthetic for the remake than the 3D. If they’d gone for a 90s anime style with drawn sprites, it would have had a lot more character.
I have to be perfectly honest, the faces on these characters are grotesque. They have these weird bubble noises, and the proportions of their eyes and mouths and how they stretch is really unappealing.
I mean the animation is nice and fluent and it's well directed, going for a 70s-80s western animation style, but the shots that focus on the faces I find really off-putting.
@mazzel no offence.. you have a Secret of Mana profile picture but you don't know Popoi is genderless? ;p
I really love this clip! The faces look a bit weird at times but the animation, music and art direction really capture the feeling I had (and still have) when playing/finishing this game. I'd love to see more but I'm sure it took ages to make this short video.
@Omedru non taken you know, for a 7 year old boy (first time I played the game) the concept of genderless is a little tricky. So since I first played the game, it was always a girl, I decided together with my big brother. Somehow the behavior fits as well to a "she", at least in the German translation
The animation is good but the artwork of the characters just looks hideous.
Pretty fantastic animation there, definitely a level above most fan animations!
i don't know the game so I don't know how the characters are meant to look, but regardless of whether or not you like the art style, you have to admit it's very well done!
@mazzel and you loved butch. lol
I liked it, but the faces are off, and the mana beast is a bit off. Still cool work otherwise from my small gripes.
@Alucard83 who is butch?
@mazzel ah I see, I don't know the differences in the German version. I'm from the Netherlands (hi neighbour!) but we had the English version. I was around 12 years old when I first finished the game. I remember being stuck all the time in Emperor Vandoles castle. I didn't see the hidden switch on a wall to disable the teleporters for months (I think it was months.. might have been years).
Once I finally discovered how to continue (instead of starting a new game all together) the world opened up since you get to use Flammie a few minutes after that. I was so ****ing happy then! There was no turning back after that and I was pretty sad when I finished the game in the encounter being depicted in this awesome clip.
@Omedru damn, I know that problem with the hidden switches. Luckily, a friend had the version with a game guide included, so after a few days I "found" the solution in the game guide
Awesome game, especially with 2-3 players. So much fun!
@Omedru By the way, I just checked the game again, and in the German Translation "Popoi" is called "Koboldmädchen" which would translate to elf girl... I knew it was somehow obvious for me as a little boy And Primm is just called "Mädchen" (Girl) if you don´t rename her... So we have "Junge" (Boy), "Mädchen" (Girl) and "Koboldmädchen" (Elf Girl) in the German Version. Ver creative
@mazzel that's funny! In the English version there were no default names, so we were 'forced'to pick names ourselves. That resulted in some serious names but also quite some profanity we thought to be funny at the time ;p
@Omedru You could also change the names in the German version, but it was more like Final Fantasy that they had pre determined names and you could change them if you like
Loved this clip - great game and great memories. Am currently playing through on my Snes mini so perfect timing!
That's very beautiful.
Tap here to load 18 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...