History VideoGame / SecretOfMana

* EarlyGameHell: Beyond Mantis Ant being an annoying first boss, the early game isn't too bad, but without magic, you're relying on items to heal and the {{Squishy Wizard}}s are just squishy. Then Elinee's castle has a DifficultySpike with Werewolves that take forever to kill, while also landing powerful hits; to say nothing of the battle with Spikey Tiger at the end. It's after Elinee that Undine (and thus, magic) is available to the player, and the game gets a fair bit easier.

%%* EnemyScan: The Analyze(r) spell.

* PowerUpLetDown: Most of the weapons carry a bonus effect at different levels, usually something along the lines of also inflicting a status effect like poison or sleep, being strong against certain enemy types like bugs or undead, adding a small stat bonus, or having a higher critical hit rate. However, at level 8, half of the weapons only have the bonus effect "strong against dragons", which might sound good, except that the ''only'' dragon-type enemies in the entire game are 3 bosses in the Pure Land; no regular enemies have that type. It gets worse at level 9, as ''none'' of the final weapons have ''any'' bonus effect at all. Only the Mana Sword, the level 9 sword, has a significant power boost, being more than double the level 8 sword. For the axe, the level 9 axe's base power is actually ''lower'' than the level 8 axe.

* PowerUpLetDown: Most of the weapons carry a bonus effect at different levels, usually something along the lines of also inflicting a status effect like poison or sleep, being strong against certain enemy types like bugs or undead, adding a small stat bonus, or having a higher critical hit rate. However, at level 8, half of the weapons only have the bonus effect "strong against dragons", which might sound good, except that the ''only'' dragon-type enemies in the entire game are 3 bosses in the Pure Land; no regular enemies have that type. It gets worse at level 9, as ''none'' of the final weapons have ''any'' bonus effect at all.

* HarderThanHard: There is a fan made hack of the game that ramps the difficulty UpToEleven. To put it in perspective, boss fights consist of CurbStompBattle on the receiving end even with reasonably overleveled characters in the normal game.

* RuleOfCool: As mentioned in AwesomeButImpractical, the Level 9 spells. Fireballs turning into Eastern-style dragons, lava pools sprouting screenwide, or [[StuffBlowingUp explosions taken]] UpToEleven? Definitely impressive.

* SequelDisplacement: The game is far more popular than its predecessor ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyAdventure'', and would define the rest of the ''Mana'' series.

* AndManGrewProud: The ancient civilization who gave rise to the Mana Fortress.

* BadassSanta: [[spoiler:Frost Gigas]], literally.

* CityOfGold: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Gold City.]]

* CoolOldGuy: Jema.

* DiscOneFinalDungeon: The Emperor's crib.

* DoomedHometown: Potos has a small vermin problem...

* EarlyBirdBoss: Spikey Tiger is one of the more notorious examples.

* TheEmperor: Emperor Vandole.

* EnemyScan: The Analyze(r) spell.

* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: Charged attacks tend to incorporate gratuitous amounts of whirling in place.

* EvilSorcerer: Thanatos.

* FakeKing: Sheex's scheme to overthrow Tasnica.

* FieryRedhead: Popoi and Fanha.
* FierySalamander: Salamando
* FirstTown: Potos.
* FlyingBooks: which also flip their pages while shooting spells.

* GhibliHills: The Kingdom of Pandora.
* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: Boreal Face.

* GlobalAirship: Flammie serves this purpose.
* GoldfishPoopGang / OddlySmallOrganization: The Scorpion Army. There's [[TerribleTrio three of them]].

* HighCollarOfDoom: The "Boss" of the Scorpion Army.

* InevitableWaterfall: Watch that first step, Randi.

* IntrepidMerchant: Neko/Nikita and Watts.

* ItsUpToYou: Jema's raison d'être.

* TheLostWoods: The Great Forest.

* MonsterTown: Matango.

* MultiMeleeMaster: Anyone, with enough work.

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Thanatos.

* NoobCave: Gaia's Navel.

* OminousFloatingCastle: The Mana Fortress.

* OnlyTheChosenMayWield: The Mana Sword.

* RandomDrop: Some of the monsters have pretty good armour as rare drops. Top tier armour pieces are actually the common drops from monsters in the [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Mana Fortress]], while their rare drops are weapon orbs (or candy if you're already maxed out on that type of orb), and you need seven[[note]]Actually nine, as the Fist and Axe only go up to level 7 on their own so you need two of each of their orbs- inexplicably, the two sub-bosses in the Mana Fortress you'd expect to drop their final orbs don't drop anything.[[/note]] of them to upgrade every weapon except the sword to level 9.

* TinTyrant: Vandole.

* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: [[spoiler:The Mana Fortress.]]

** Tomato Men will continue to try to cast spells even after they run out of MP, and become completely bewildered when nothing happens. Their [[UndergroundMonkey stronger cousins]] the Eggplant Men will sometimes summon Rabites by mistake instead of Needlions, wearing the same bewildered look when it happens.

* RapunzelHair:
** In later depictions, the 3D remake and its associated artwork, Primm's hair becomes this. In the original game, it wasn't as much, as while it ''could'' be long, she wears it in a high, noble ponytail that barely touches her shoulders. Beginning with ''Rise of Mana'', though, and continuing on to the remake, the ponytail was lengthened to go down to her ''knees''. If she let her hair down entirely, it'd unquestionably touch her ankles. Furthermore, while it was pretty compact in the SNES version (except when viewed from behind, due to perspective and silhouette design) the "ponytail" now fans out in a near-curtain behind her.
** Meanwhile, Popoi's had this from the word go. It might not be as long in ''absolute'' terms if measured conventionally, but compared to Popoi's own height, the hair practically touches the floor. Moreover, Popoi's hairdo is more a ''mane'' than anything; it's not just long, it practically frames Popoi's body. All this was true even back in the SNES days.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: All of the [[spoiler:not exactly human]] characters have brightly coloured hair -- Popoi's is pink, Luka's is blue, Geshtar's green, Sheex's purple, Fanha's lurid orange, and Thanatos's is -- mauve...? Anyway, Primm's blue-haired friend Phanna/Pamela is the only named person to have this outside the spoiler.

* AntidoteEffect: The strict inventory caps (only four of each type of item) lead to a dependence on healing magic.

* NotCompletelyUseless: The Midge Mallet and Moogle Belt normally apply the pygmy and mooglization [[StandardStatusEffects debuffs]] to the targets, and you can only target your own party members with them. Why are they useful? [[spoiler:Because if either of them is used on someone who already has the corresponding debuff, the debuff will be removed instead.]]

* StandardStatusEffects: They're all here: Burning, Sleep, Poison, and all their familiar friends. However, in keeping with the game's "[[SugarBowl cute]]" graphics, they are done with an impish twist: when Frozen (called "frostied" in game), characters turn into snowmen, Petrifaction renders you a cherubic statue, in lieu of Stop ("spaced out") you get a balloon tied to your head, etc.

** [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mana/images/b/b1/Luka.png Luka, originally]], was a conservatively-dressed priestess through and through. [[https://www.secretofmanagame.com/img/character_rusalka4.png Her redesign]] emphasizes her cuteness and the lightness of the upper portion of her dress... but they also decided to have her ShowSomeLeg by removing most of the front of her dress (it was a floor-length gown from all sides in the SNES version).
** Originally, it seems that Fanha was intended to be a bit of [[TheVamp a vamp]], as [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mana/images/b/b8/Fanha_Artwork.jpg her outfit in the SNES version]] appears to be a very typical "[=90s=] anime mage" ensemble of a long dress with a right-side slit for [[ShowSomeLeg showing some leg]] in her walk animation if you pay attention (and, because of certain spriting decisions[[note]]specifically, from the front and back her design is asymmetrical, but her side sprite is mirrored to depict what would be her left side with the heavier shawl when she's facing both right ''and'' left, leaving out the side with the un-draped armored pauldron entirely[[/note]], in-game her outfit comes across as heavier and less revealing than it does in the concept work). [[https://www.secretofmanagame.com/img/character_fanha5.png Her redesign]], however, radically alters her into a younger-looking woman with a skimpier outfit.

** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in the Enhanced FanTranslation, where an NPC laments that their island's economy is now ruined by [[RealityEnsues massive inflation]].

* UnwinnableByMistake:
** It is possible for the player to attack enemies (and bosses!) in such a way they could '''never''' recover. The only problem is it's possible for ''the player'' to get caught by enemies this way through bad luck or plain old carelessness. Cue RageQuit, especially if one hasn't saved in a while.
** As stated in the entry above, it's possible to screw yourself in a boss battle by running out of MP. An even more cruel example is right at the game's end: [[spoiler:the easiest way to defeat Dark Lich is by spamming Lucent Beam which has a hefty MP cost and you ''can'' run out of MP, especially if you forgot to train Dryad's magic and/or to restock Magic Walnuts. In order to kill the final boss - without glitches - you ''must'' use one of the girl's spells, Mana Magic, to restore the Mana Sword and kill the final boss.]] Oops. Mind you, you'd have to be ''particularly'' sloppy to end up in this position as [[spoiler:Mana Magic only costs 1 MP per cast]].

* DifficultySpike: Pure Land. If you decided to go straight here after completing the Grand Palace, the enemies and the first boss will kill you quickly. So back to Sunken Continent, find Neko, and buy the very expensive armors. That will make your life easier.

* DeathMountain: The Lofty Mountains.

* TragicMonster: [[spoiler:The Mana Beast,]] if the common assumption is correct and [[spoiler:it really is Flammie]].

* TheUriahGambit: Before the story begins, Primm has rejected the ArrangedMarriage put together by her father, having fallen in love with a career military man named Dyluck. Conveniently, Dyluck is sent away by the King on a risky mission to Elinee's Castle. Then Primm finds out her father was the one who advised the King to send the mission. [[{{Understatement}} She is NOT happy about this.]]

* StoryToGameplayRatio: The first rough half of the temples (Up until the Fire Temple) are a good half of the game and span 3 continents. The next 3 temples (plus foiling a political assassination and going to the MOON.) are good for about an hour's worth of gameplay all the while you're trying to talk to Sage Joch who's pulling a SecretTestOfCharacter on you. This was due [[DummiedOut to the fact this game was developed]] [[WhatCouldHaveBeen SNES-CD in mind]].

* LostForever: A few pieces of armour can be missed permanently if you don't farm them off [[RandomDrop the enemies that drop them]] in the Pure Land, as you can't return to that level (at least not the part with the enemies in it) after you complete it. This includes Randi's best helmet, the Griffin Helm, as well as a couple of unique accesories. This will prevent you from getting the [[AchievementSystem achievements]] for acquiring all armours in one game if you miss them.

* MagicallyIneptFighter: While Primm and Popoi learn new spells each time you meet one of the mana spirits, Randi never learns any magic. When he asks Undine, the first spirit, why she can't grant him spells, [[HandWave she replies that his sword will eventually become more powerful than any spell the spirits could teach him.]] Never mind the fact that you can actually equip the sword on Primm or Popoi instead...
** The remake actually goes into it even more- Undine implies that if Randi ''did'' attempt to use magic while being the wielder of the Mana Sword, the results could be unpleasant (again, never mind the fact that either of the two magic-users can wield it again) and Randi gets really rather downcast about it in a party conversation at the inn.

* MeaningfulName: The GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere Boreal Face. Boreal is another name for subarctic climate. Guess where you fight it?

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Well, 'old guy', really -- remember Dyluck's ill-fated hike to Elinee's castle? Well, [[spoiler:Primm's father sent him out there because [[ParentalMarriageVeto he didn't approve of his daughter wanting to marry a soldier.]] Elinee then sends Dyluck to the Pandoran ruins, thus involving him in the GrandTheftMe energy-thieving antics and plot machinations of hidden BigBad Thanatos. Way to go, Elman.]] Randi also gets this reaction from the townsfolk in Potos Village because they believe that Randi's "foolish" act of drawing the Mana Sword broke the seal preventing monsters from attacking Potos. While this is technically true, it turns out it was entirely necessary for Randi to draw the sword - the Empire was already actively seeking to restore the Mana Fortress and the world had need of a hero (Randi) to draw the sword and save the world.
** Arguably, Jekt sending you off to do various dungeons in search for Sage Joch [[spoiler: when it was really just a SecretTestOfCharacter as he was Joch all along]] falls under this too. In the time you spend dealing with this, the Empire gets more than enough free time to proceed in their plans off-screen. While the heroes do unlock the power of more Mana Seeds in the process, these dungeons aren't even plot-important and even have some PaletteSwap bosses (or no bosses, in the case of the Moon Temple), making almost the whole thing feel like {{Filler}}. [[spoiler: And the Mana Seeds are temporarily deactivated shortly thereafter anyway.]]

* PaletteSwap: A pretty heavy offender; with the exception of Aegropilion, Hexas and the last two bosses, ''every'' enemy and boss has a palette-swapped version.
** [[spoiler:And Sage Joch's SecretTestOfCharacter has the gang fight against pallete swaps ''of themselves.'']]

** A big world and a long storyline can easily make players feel lost on where they need to go and what they need to do next.

* MookMaker: Tomato/Eggplant Men, Kimono Birds and [[GoshDangItToHeck Heck]] {{H|ellhound}}ounds are a few examples who summon a single type of mook (Heck Hounds and Eggplant Men occasionally summon a second type). Shape Shifters can summon a wide variety of mooks for you fight.