Indeed, the 1993 game’s composer Hiroki Kikuta is involved here, as part of a team that also includes Streets of Rage maestro Yuzo Koshiro. It’s a fully fleshed orchestral piece now, rather than the synthesised original, but there’s no mistaking this theme for any other game. A black title screen is split horizontally to reveal three diminutive heroes stood before a colossal tree, a flock of tropical birds flying by overhead as the music rises and swells, building the sweetest anticipation for the journey ahead.
Secret of Mana 2018 begins much as it did 25 years ago. With an official version of Square’s adventure hard to come by on modern hardware, prior to its inclusion on last year’s plug-in-and-play SNES Classic Mini, it made sense for the company now known as Square Enix to revisit one of the jewels of its catalogue, for the benefit of old-timers and newcomers alike. Having debuted for the Super Nintendo way back in the summer of 1993, becoming an instant favourite of RPG fans around the world, Secret of Mana has long been a contender for the remake treatment.
