Secret of Mana remake coming to PS4 & Steam w/ new visuals and multiplayer [Video]

Back in the early 90’s a little Japanese role playing game franchise saw its very first release, followed by what many (including myself) would consider to be one of the best JRPGs ever made: Secret of Mana. The game, and the entire series to some degree, is one of the earliest action-based role playing games and has carried a strong following ever since. After Square Enix unveiled plans to release the Seiken Densetsu Collection (that is what the Mana series is called in Japan) that included all three games from the series, the company has now announced the official Secret of Mana remake for PS4, Vita and Steam…

The very first game in the series released in 1991 with what might be the most confusing name in video game history: Final Fantasy Adventure. While that game has almost nothing to do with the Final Fantasy series we know and love today, it was the very first game in the Mana series and spawned the release of Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3 (or Secret of Mana 3). While the third game in the franchise never actually saw the light of day in North America, it is certainly a fantastic experience I highly recommend getting your hands on (the english localization is available these days).

Fast forward to today, Square Enix is planning to release a remake of Secret of Mana (arguably the most known and popular of the three) on modern day platforms. While the Seiken Densetsu Collection was a little bit bitter sweet considering it was a Japan-only release, the guarantee of an enhanced version of Secret of Mana coming to North American PlayStation and PC gamers is very exciting news indeed.

Much like the recently announced Final Fantasy VX Pocket Edition, Square is completely redoing the visuals here. We are doing away with the classic 16-bit look of the original release in favor of Square’s adorable cartoon graphics.

Outside of that, we will be seeing a fully voiced script (the original was entirely text-based), new music in some way shape or form and what sounds like online multiplayer. I mean playing through Secret of Mana in co-op with real players controlling each member of your party sounds amazing, but let’s just hope Square fixes the ever-present spell casting spam trick the game has always been plagued by.

The game will be released in North America on February 15th, 2018 for $40. Now that sounds outrageously expensive for a remake of a game from over 20 years ago, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t buying this the second it hits PSN. It is already up for pre-order on Steam and the PlayStation Store.