Secret of Mana

Here's a blast from the past. I never personally owned nor played Secret of Mana, but I knew of a few people who raved about it. It was a game I definitely missed while growing up, but now that I've finally tried it I don't think my younger self would have fully appreciated it. For a SNES game it has some great depth, and the game proceeds at a good pace. The mechanics are simple yet deep for the time. It's an excellent real-time RPG.

The mysterious game I had always only heard about...

The battle takes place pretty much in real time. Players can attack with a variety of upgradeable weapons like a whip, sword, axe, boomerang, and more. These attacks can also be charged up for dealing extra damage. During battle players can enter the menu system to quickly select and cast a variety of magic and use items. While in the menu the game is paused which allows you to select what you need without worrying about being hit by an enemy at the same time.

The three main characters, a couple fluffy enemies, and a merchant cat!

Unfortunately, the game glitched on me and my girlfriend during the final boss and we haven't felt like going to the trouble to beat it again. For some reason the weapon we need to defeat the boss with disappears when we cast the appropriate magic on it. Oh well. It may have been a one time thing, but I can't say for sure. Otherwise, the game has been great! Very ahead of it's time, challenging, and fun!

Flying around on your dragon is a great way to get around.