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Why does this keep landing on best-of-all-time lists when it loses more duels than it wins? You'll tell me the ring menu was revolutionary, sure, but does that…
Game entry
Secret of Mana
1993 · Action RPG, Action-adventure · Super Nintendo, Wii, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android · Square
GameForever voters place Secret of Mana no. 990 in the world ranking, with 1,583 ELO points and 42% of wins across 168 duels settled. Its most contested head-to-head pits it against The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: 1 wins to 4 across 5 duels. Where it fares best, it sits at no. 17 out of 69 (1993).
World rank
no. 990
ELO score
1,583
Wins
42%
Duels played
168
About Secret of Mana
Initially released in Japan in 1993, Secret of Mana took the world by storm with its innovative real-time battle system and gorgeously rendered world. It continues to stand out among other action RPGs for its seamless gameplay that anyone from beginner to veteran can enjoy.
One of the most memorable elements of the Mana series is the Ring Command menu system. With the single press of a button, a ring-shaped menu appears on the screen, where players can use items, change weapons, and do a variety of other actions without needing to switch screens. This Ring Command menu system for which the Mana series is so well known was first introduced in Secret of Mana and has since appeared in most games in the series.
Play as Randi and his two companions, Primm and Popoi, as they adventure all around the world. At the center of our epic story is the mystical power of Mana. Battle the empire in its quest for control of Mana. Befriend the eight elementals who wield the forces of nature itself. Numerous encounters await at every turn.
ELO progression
Score moved from 1,500 to 1,583 ELO points over the last 170 days.
Head-to-head
Direct record on the most played match-ups.
- against The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 20% 5 duels played · 239 points behind
- against The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 0% 5 duels played · 346 points behind
- against The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings 33% 3 duels played · 216 points behind
- against Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin 0% 2 duels played · 96 points behind
- against Dark Souls 50% 2 duels played · 282 points behind
In the same genre
All Action RPG games →
Keep exploring
Best action RPG games
All-time best Nintendo games
Ranking of Mobile games
Best games on Super Nintendo
All-time best Wii games
Best games on Wii U
Best games on Nintendo Switch
All-time best iOS games
Top games on Android
The best 1990s games
The best games of 1993
Every Mana game, ranked
Around this spot
The games Secret of Mana sits between in the world ranking.
More games from Square
The standing
Where Secret of Mana ranks
The world rank mixes every family of games. Here is where Secret of Mana stands in each of the ones it belongs to. Its best standing, all families considered: 17 out of 69 (1993).
| Ranking | Position | Games competing |
|---|---|---|
| World ranking | 990 | 5,035 |
| Action RPG | 113 | 510 |
| 1990s | 159 | 659 |
| 1993 | 17 | 69 |
The community
The debate
36 comments
Rocky_24
Why does this keep landing on best-of-all-time lists when it loses more duels than it wins? You'll tell me the ring menu was revolutionary, sure, but does that alone justify sitting anywhere near these modern RPGs? Genuinely asking.
claire72
I still smile every time I hear that opening theme! The combat feels a bit stiff by today's standards but honestly who cares, it's charming as hell.
TurboSniper80
Ce sourire au thème d'ouverture, je le comprends bien, mais le combat un peu raide, ça m'a quand même sorti du jeu plus d'une fois.
IronPlayer
i get why people love it but the combat really hasn't aged the way people pretend it has, especially the lag when multiple things happen on screen at once, it just wasn't built for how demanding modern rpgs make us as players
Kihn76
I used to play this at my cousin's house every summer, three of us crammed on one couch fighting over whose turn it was next (we had a whole rotation system, very serious business). Seeing it ranked this low after all that just feels off somehow.
Jaime_95
¿Alguien más vota más por el recuerdo que por el juego en sí en estos duelos?
RetroSamurai
Replying to CritPlayer7
no entiendo esta obsesion con comparar todo con mundos abiertos, no jugamos todos buscando lo mismo no?
CritPlayer7
Losing six out of ten duels against modern open-world giants isn't bad luck, it's a pattern. The gap in scope is just too wide to ignore now.
Tromp53
People keep calling this a masterpiece and I just don't buy it anymore. The menu system everyone praises slows down every single fight. It got lucky with timing, not quality.
Coop_Ferrer
A mí me pasa lo mismo, pierde muchísimo frente a los mundos abiertos actuales, ahí no hay discusión posible.