Head over to Secret of Mana:Redux to read an article I wrote about the search and rescue process for a rare promotional video cassette I just happened to buy in 2014.

Click here to read it!

It’s a return to form of the kind of things I used to write on this site way back in the day, in fact it links to an older write-up I did about a very different videocassette.

Here is how I feel about the whole thing:

You can watch the full recording here:

Check out the trailer below to see a bit more of Echoes of Mana. You’ll notice some familiar faces abound, like Eggatrices, Mantis Ant, and Fullmetal Haggar. They show off some villain characters along with all the heroes at the end, which might be kind of interesting if they’re “playable”.

What are your thoughts about the game? It’s going to be mobile, and most likely gacha… it’s got me worried for sure.

Also, kind of sad to see so many games represented, but Sword of Mana gets no love. We need Willy! Even though I still believe he should have died.

Was the lesson Watts gave you about forging, tempering, and altering your gear not enough for you? Still don’t understand materials, energy, tainting with elementals, and elemental consumption? Well then Malchar has got you covered!

Take 30 minutes of your time, and become a tempering expert through his video. He managed to create a weapon with 999 attack within around three hours of starting a new game, so with his guidance you can at least make something that makes you the nightmare of Nightmare Mode, and probably instill some fear into No Future as well.

Check the links in the description of his video for the tables and a forging simulator. As a bit of useful information, consider the following:

Visit Gato Grottoes and speak to the student walking around the shop area to get your fix on Fire, Earth, Wind, and Water Stones.
Check out the shop before Monique’s lamp shop in Lumina to stock up on Sun, Moon, Glow, and Chaos crystals.
A student at the Bone Fortress has some seeds and produce for sale. Gold Clovers can be quite useful for their high energy level, and Mush-In-A-Box are useful for Shade essence, though you’ll probably grow plenty of your own.

For some of the more important tempering materials, such as Ash and Mirror Pieces, you may need to stock up on them during a New Game (they’re limited to a few chests!) or try your luck at Ring Ring Land.

Up for preorder on the Square-Enix store, you can find three Mana Music Boxes for sale. They’re pretty expensive, and the shipping is pretty high as well, but it’s pretty cool these came to the North American Square-Enix store.

Trials of Mana – Meridian Child

Legend of Mana – Hometown of Domina

Legend of Mana – Bejeweled City in Ruins

Here you can check out some short videos I took of each of them. The Domina one is by far my favorite.

You can also find some other cool Mana stuff there, if you look around. I’d recommend the Li’l Cactus Plushie, but you can also find some very expensive but very cool things.

Square Enix has announced a live stream for June 27th that goes over the history of the Mana series as well as information about the future of the series.

You can find a link to the livestream (and its countdown) here.

StrafeFox over on YouTube does a very nice job of producing game reviews and retrospectives on his channel, and he has brought his most recent one to our attention on the forum. Very slick visuals and narration, even bringing to the table a little fact I wasn’t aware of (Nasir’s Visa woes).

Go check it out and subscribe to his channel for more retrospectives.

I’m afraid I’ve fallen behind again in posting these due to a really busy month and absent-mindedness. Here’s a catch up!

Hey actually posting this one on time and all!