Secret of Mana, easily one of the best RPGs ever created, was just released for iOS devices late last night. Employing a real-time combat system akin to the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, but the story, but with an RPG-like spell system and storyline, Secret of Mana is unique and exciting in way that only an SNES RPG could be. The iOS port will run you a sharp $8.99, relatively high for any app, but when you consider just how rare and excellent Secret of Mana is, the price quickly becomes quite conservative.To better rekindle those feelings of nostalgia, Square Enix released this charming launch trailer:
In a time when Square Enix isn’t doing so well, dropping profit expectations by 90% for fiscal year 2011, perhaps ports of their classic RPGs is the the intelligent decision to make. The Final Fantasy: Tactics game for iOS devices has been delayed into 2011, but confirms the idea that Square agrees with this thought. iOS may not be the preferred location for these ports, as PSN or Xbox Live would be ideal, but it’s certainly better than nothing.
Square probably opted to put out Secret of Mana since the game had already been ported to mobile phones a few years back. Adding touch controls and shipping it out would easily have been a profitable endeavor. Hopefully Square will put out news on future mobile RPG releases sometime soon. Or of course, if they would like to announce ports for Xbox Live or PSN, that would be great too.
If anything, rereleasing classic RPGs might help Square realize how much they’ve changed, often for the worse. The stellar reception of Final Fantasy 7 led to the less popular Final Fantasy 8, but at that point Square took a step back and decided to return to their roots. Final Fantasy 9, with its fantasy setting, may not have been as popular as FF7, but it helped Square regain their classic RPG sensibilities. Perhaps that’s what Square Enix needs coming off of Final Fantasy 13.
Interested in picking up Secret of Mana for your iOS device, Ranters? What other RPGs would you like to see go mobile, or at least see rerelease?
Secret of Mana is now available for iOS Devices for $8.99, and on SNES where a the rare cartridge is likely much more expensive.
