Secret of Mana

The Secret of Mana remake is mostly the same game you know and love, for better and for worse.

A flimsy remake of a flawed 16-bit favourite that exacerbates all the original's problems while failing to recapture its strengths.

It's no secret: This remake disappoints

Secret of Mana's retelling is full of highs and lows. The colorful world and boss battles still hold their allure, but the overall execution feels average (at best)

You may as well just play the SNES version, even if it's the first time you're ever picking up a Mana game: the original spritework is able to pick up the slack of a few of its inherent shortcomings, which are only exasperated by the swap to 3D.

If someone expressed an interest in playing Secret of Mana, I'd first encourage them to buy a SNES Classic.

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 It could have been a chance to tweak a few systems, strip away any outdated elements, and add in a few basic improvements.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.

This transition from 2D to 3D feels clunky and uninspired, but it still has a few bright spots.

Secret of Mana is a monumental JRPG that deserves your respect—just not your time.

The original Secret of Mana was a charming, imaginative adventure that made a considerable impact on a lot of gamers' lives. Any attempt to reinvent that experience implies two things: that the original game had room for improvement, and that modern technology and design can bring about such improvements. Sadly, while the original Secret of Mana was by no means a flawless experience, the remake's attempt to improve upon the formula has resulted in a game that's markedly inferior by comparison.