And the winner of Breath of Fire II on the Wii Virtual Console is…Dead_Prophet! Thanks to everyone for their fantastic comments, there are some great ones in there, so if you haven’t read through them yet, I strongly recommend that you do. Dead_Prophet’s comment can be found after the break, and is chock full of Secret of Mana love!

My favorite RPG on the SNES was also my first. Secret of Mana. My mother, in some sort of twisted delight, purchased an SNES as a “Family” Christmas present in November of 1994. Of course we couldn’t play it until Christmas, but I knew it was there just waiting for me. In my mind I was thinking of Super Mario World, Link to the Past, Mega Man X, or the (shortlived) promise of Dragon Warrior 5, continuations of my favorite NES series. When the (far too long) wait was finally over I tore into the present with such ferocity that I practically tore the box itself to shreds. And there it was, our brand new (used) SNES, along with Link to the Past and… Secret of Mana? Apparently my mother had played the game previously and enjoyed it, so she bought her own copy. Whatever, I was fine so long as I had Zelda.

Unfortunately (at the time), my mother boggarted the system in order to play *her* game leaving me to stare at the object of my desire with great longing (incidentally, there was already a saved game present implying that she had been playing with the system before Christmas… damn her). I sat watching the game, intent on disliking it fiercely, but given my elation over the fact that we now had an SNES at all, I warmed up to it quickly. Besides, I was already used to my mother and sister hogging the NES, why should this be any different? Anyway, it wasn’t long before my mother asked my sister if she wanted to play as well. After my shriek of outrage (as well as their cackling) I was surprised when my sister took up the other controller and started playing (a little too well, I may add. Was I the only one who didn’t get to play with the system before Christmas?). A two-player RPG? Weird. Despite my earlier distaste, I have to admit I was intrigued by this game. It seemed to play like a mix of Dragon Warrior and Zelda (I was unfamiliar with Final Fantasy at that point being as there was only the one title on the NES in the states). The graphics were amazing, the music catchy, the bosses large and cool looking, and there was ample violence (not to mention the coolness of candy as a healing item). I demanded my turn. Then I was hooked.

We played for months, even going out and buying a multi-tap so we could all play at once. It became sort of a family activity. We could all play the game at once progressing through the game as a group rather than one person and two-spectators. In fact, to this day it’s my best “family” memory, the time we spent on the game. It’s a feeling I really do miss, as there hasn’t been much afterwards that really captures the feeling of Secret of Mana. Sure the story is nearly non-existent, and the combat isn’t as tight as more modern action-RPGs. But still, how many games are as FUN as Secret of Mana (certainly none of the sequels past Seiken Densetsu 3)? I’m not saying it was the best RPG on the SNES. I think Chronotrigger, Final Fantasy 6, Earthbound, or Dragon Warrior 5 could take that title, but to me nothing will ever beat the feeling of extreme elation after my mother, sister and I finally took down the Mana Beast.

Thanks again Dead_Prophet, and everyone else who participated! We hope to have more Virtual Console contests in the future. Stay tuned!