Secret of Mana HD Reviews
This Secret of Mana remake feels like a missed opportunity. It could have been a chance to tweak a few systems, strip away any outdated elements, and add in a few basic improvements. Overall the game is good but only because the original Secret of Mana was good; this remaster doesn't add as much as it could and, if anything, removes some of the magic of the original.
While there's plenty to love about the original Secret of Mana, this remake manages to kill off most the game's charm while failing to modernize the parts of the game that actually need updating. Awkward animations, impenetrable menus, slow combat, and repeated random crashes add up to a game that, with 25 years of technological improvements under its belt, may actually be worse than the original.
Unfortunately, everything is wrong with this remake of the classic SNES game. From shoddy voice work and pedestrian graphics to janky combat, the experience is nearly ruined, and a classic game's reputation is forever soiled.
This remake of Secret of Mana allows us to enjoy one of the classic RPGs from the SNES once again. But at the end, it feels like a missed opportunity of what could have been the definitive version of the game.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Secret of Mana is an entirely skippable remake of a game that was the progenitor for a number of JRPG conventions. That's a shame. The greater failing, however, is what happens when fans will inevitably pick this title up in the hopes of recapturing some of the feelings of grandeur the original game contained so much of. They, like me, might end up realizing that a game they had placed on a pedestal for decades is actually rather ordinary by today's standards, and any magic that made it a lasting impression on those who played it has long since been left behind by the cruel, inexorable march of time.
By chosing to apply a 3D mask taken from any random mobile game on the 1993 original, Secret of Mana delivers a remake that will satisfy no one. None of the bugs has been fixed, even though this translation finally gives us a closer glimpse of the scenario. But with such a price, its lazy artistic direction and wrong remixes will crush your childhood memories for good.
Review in French | Read full review
It honestly pains me to say this as someone who continues to be a big fan of the original. The problem with Secret of Mana HD doesn’t lie in what the developers changed as some might believe. It’s what they did not change. I almost hate myself for saying this but one of the key parts of Secret of Mana — its combat — just don’t hold up as well today. I’m still a big fan of the game. But my view of it is now a more tempered one as opposed to the blind devotion I had for it before I replayed the original game and played its new HD version as well. It’s still a solid game but also feels a bit more flawed.
The developers kept the physics, systems, and gameplay almost identical to the original Secret of Mana and I'm overjoyed that they did. With Secret of Mana being grouped up by so many gamers as their favorite game of all time, it was important for Square Enix to deliver as close to that same experience for a new generation, and they did that just that. Some features might not have aged well or should have been added in for good measure, but this release of Secret of Mana is the same adventure that I remember, and I couldn't have asked for more.
I hate to be a downer on a classic RPG, especially when Secret of Mana can be so charming and it's still clear why it was such a well-loved game. Yet this remaster doesn't work.
Although the technique is functional and some elements have been made worse, the remake of the remake still looks like the original.
Review in German | Read full review
Secret of Mana's remake is fun because Secret of Mana was fun. However, Square could have done a lot better, especially with a beloved classic such as this.
Secret of Mana is a monumental JRPG that deserves your respect—just not your time.
If you can get your hands on a Super NES Classic, you may be better off playing the original instead.
All in all, this Secret of Mana HD remake is a mixed offering.
This time Square failed in making a remake - we've got castrated mechanics, many serious bugs, ugly graphics and terrible remixes. If the original NES version wasn't so hard to get, I'd recommend ignoring Secret of Mana on PS4 altogether.
Review in Polish | Read full review
This transition from 2D to 3D feels clunky and uninspired, but it still has a few bright spots.
Nostalgia purists wanting to play Secret of Mana in 2018 are recommended to pick up a SNES Mini and enjoy the original in glorious HD. There’s not enough in the way of improvements in this remake to warrant the attention of the old guard.
Curiously lean on the magic that made Secret of Mana a seminal classic, this remake is serviceable in a pinch, but revisiting the original is probably a better use of time.
There is a lot wrong with this remake and a lot of missed opportunities in terms of updating a game for the modern age, but at its core, it is still Secret of Mana and that is a game that everyone should play at least once.
A bewildering assortment of bad updates and very few good ones makes this an unnecessary and disappointing remake of a beloved SNES classic