Scottish movie star James McAvoy, arguably best known for his role as Charles Xavier in the X-Men movies, is currently doing the press rounds for his new psychological horror thriller 'Speak No Evil' and during a recent promo event was asked to name his favourite game.
Appearing on an episode of 'Hot Ones' Versus with Mackenzie Davis, McAvoy cited Square's legendary 1993/94 RPG Super Nintendo release Secret of Mana as his favourite game of all time. He labelled it a "cool" but "niche" game and unfortunately his co-star wasn't able to guess what it was - instead name-dropping titles like Wolfenstein 3D, Donkey Kong Country, Mortal Kombat and Zelda.
This exchange ended up getting shared on the official Mana series account on social media:
If you haven't ever had the chance to experience this game before, it's well worth a look. Although it's not available on Switch Online's Super Nintendo service, you can still access it on the Switch via the Collection of Mana series, which also contains a few other games. We gave this package an "excellent" 9 out of 10 stars:
"There's no denying the fact that Secret of Mana is one of the finest console RPGs of all time, and even though it's readily available elsewhere, playing it on Switch is like wrapping yourself up in a warm and familiar blanket; it's just right somehow"
Have you played this game yourself? Would you consider it one of your favourite games of all time, or the best one you've ever played? Let us know in the comments.
[source youtu.be]
Comments 24
Good taste in games. Secret of Mana is one of the best Adventure games of all time. Loved McAvoy in Split.
Secret of Mana is great for nostalgia, and the graphics and music hold up. But the gameplay is just not up to modern standards in too many ways for me to recommend it.
Not entirely sure what I'm meant to do with this information...
Secret of Mana is genuinely great, but getting used to it can be quite the uphill battle at times... I beat it once on Wii in a rather long struggle. Gotta finish it in the collection in a decidedly less difficult struggle. I stopped because, out of all the reasons, the music. I loved the music too much to progress beyond a certain point.
Class actor. Classy choice. Mine too, James. Mine too.
I only know this guy from when I tried to get into Shameless UK, and now he's telling me about Secret of Mana. The internet is a golden place
Love him. Grew up in a council house the other end of town, gone to the highest heights. Celtic fan too which helps. A genuine inspiration, with great taste in games too! I remember his story about burning Oblivion on his stove to stop him playing it so much, must have been around when he was starting to really break through after Shameless and Narnia.
Someone whose favorite game is one of the Mana games, is sure to be a lovely person. 😇
@GrailUK you're not supposed to do anything with it. You can see the content clearly from the title before clicking on the article. If it doesn't interest you then scroll on by.
Good Sir, this is a very good choice.
Rather discerning, I would say. Been playing SoM turbo lately myself
@GrailUK I have two options to consider:
1) The news remind you of Secret of Mana and then opens a place to remind the good (or bad) of that game in particular.
2) You are reminded of the actor and it opens a discussion on the person roles in other movies and maybe other hollywood actors that have mentioned their fav games.
I can't speak about Secret of Mana, but Re:Trials of Mana on the Switch was quite the charming action RPG. Felt like RPG comfort food, kinda like Dragon Quest.
Good taste. Playing this game back in Jan 95 after getting it for that Xmas was an eye opener. The music and story made me realise games can be more than just platformers or shooters. The story hasn’t really held up over time (it’s too simplistic) but for an 11 year old back in the day it really was great. And it still has some of the best music for a videogame ever.
Good taste, looking forward to eventually playing Secret of Mana (and the other games in the series available on Switch) myself - finally have it thanks to the collection on Switch, just have to find the time for it although I've at least watched others playing it!
Despite being quite a tough game, I really enjoyed my first time....almost completing this game. I'd borrowed the game from a friend at the time, and made it to the penultimate boss which i eventually beat, only to be completely flummoxed by the final battle. Eventually i did get my own copy a few years ago and have since completed the game.
Like some have said about Secret of Mana, I did experience this game with all original hardware including CRT, but I liked my more recent experience using an Analogue SuperNT, HD clarity, and Optical audio. Oh wow what an experience.
As well as Secret of Evermore, Mystic Quest Legend and Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana is also one of my fave RPGs too. All of you who like these games, very good taste.
Love this, and JM is an absolute talent. Whilst not the best movie ever, his work in Split and playing all the multiple personalities (and flipping between them) was amazing
Mana is one of my childhood faves, delighted that JM is giving it a platform!
Removed - unconstructive
This brings a smile to my face… and reminds me I need to replay it sometime soon. 🥹❤️
Speak No Evil was pretty decent.
Related trivia: two of the lead actors (the American couple) were also leads in Halt and Catch Fire. That series accurately captured the spirit of the 80s and 90s computer industry. I'm old enough to recall. Anyone with an interest in the dawn of the personal computing era, or just excellent drama, should watch it.
Always nice to see someone share my love for Secret of Mana and just the Mana series in general.
Loved this game on SNES. I purchased the remake on PS4 a while back on sale, and it is sitting in my backlog. This reminded me that I need to play that.
Well, it's a classic, so can't go wrong there.
One of my great joys from my 16-bit days. I had played Secret of Evermore first then this and it didn't dull the experience at all. I played it and beat it several times back then; It served as good gaming soul food.
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