Secret of Mana Title Theme Animatic (1993, Square)
5I cropped the top and bottom of the video as it was just black letterboxing anyway. Fortunately this also brings it to a nice 16:9 ratio when we take the typical anamorphism that even the SNES did back in the day to hide its lower resolution (slightly stretched sideways).
Secret of Mana, originally released in Japan as Seiken Densetsu 2 (聖剣伝説2, lit. "Legend of the Sacred Sword 2"), is a 1993 action role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the sequel to the 1991 game Seiken Densetsu, released in North America as Final Fantasy Adventure and in Europe as Mystic Quest, and it was the first Seiken Densetsu title to be marketed as part of the Mana series rather than the Final Fantasy series. Set in a high fantasy universe, the game follows three heroes as they attempt to prevent an empire from conquering the world with the power of an ancient flying warship.
Rather than using a turn-based battle system like contemporaneous role-playing games, Secret of Mana features real-time battles. The game has a unique Ring Command menu system, which pauses the action and allows the player to make decisions in the middle of battle. An innovative cooperative multiplayer system allows a second or third player to drop in and out of the game at any time. Secret of Mana was directed and designed by Koichi Ishii, programmed primarily by Nasir Gebelli, and produced by veteran Square designer Hiromichi Tanaka.
The game received considerable acclaim for its brightly colored graphics, expansive plot, Ring Command menu system, and innovative real-time battle system. Critics also praised the soundtrack by Hiroki Kikuta and the customizable artificial intelligence (AI) settings for computer-controlled allies. The original version was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console in 2008, an additional release for mobile phones in Japan was produced in 2009, and an enhanced port of the game was released for iOS in 2010 and Android in 2014.
The game begins as three boys from the small Potos village disobey their Elder's instructions and trespass into a local waterfall, where a treasure is said to be kept. One of the boys stumbles and falls into the lake, where he finds a rusty sword embedded in a stone. Guided by a disembodied voice, he pulls the sword free, inadvertently unleashing monsters in the surrounding countryside of the village. The villagers interpret the sword's removal as a bad omen and banish the boy from Potos forever. A traveling knight named Jema recognizes the blade as the legendary Mana Sword and encourages the hero to re-energize it by visiting the eight Mana Temples.
During his journey, the hero is joined by the girl and the sprite. Throughout their travels, the trio is pursued by the empire. The Emperor and his subordinates are being manipulated by Thanatos, an ancient sorcerer who hopes to create a "new, peaceful world"... by destroying it.
Please feel free to help yourself to some awesome things by shopping at Amazon, which in turn helps me release new and better content.. Some stuff may only be purchasable in its specific region, for some reason Amazon separates stores by region.
US Store Link:
http://astore.amazon.com/khalgame0a-20
Canadian Store Link:
http://astore.amazon.ca/khalgame-20