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If you were fortunate enough to have your parents purchase Secret of Mana for you as a kid you will know this feeling all too well. I have fond memories grinding for hours to gain experience, reading the manual cover to cover every day for weeks, and dreaming about what I needed to do next when I was stuck in an area or couldn't beat a specific boss. After finishing the game, I always felt that the story wasn't totally satisfying and the ending seemed too simple.

I hadn't heard about this retranslation until version 2.0 but I decided to give it a spin since it has been years since I played the game. This translation transported me back in time. The story is so overly engrossing now that I became obsessed with the game again. I was back to grinding experience, leveling up weapons and spells, and searching every corner of every level again. Every night, I was dreaming the story from the previous day and how it made so much more sense and was more satisfying than I could ever remember.

You can tell the amount of love that went into this work by how polished it is. I am perfectionist and this work blew away any expectations that I had.

If you have never played Secret of Mana, use this patch. If you have played Secret of Mana 100 times, use this patch. If you are like me and haven't played Secret of Mana since you were a kid, use this patch. It is the gold standard of any translation and set a very high bar for any future retranslation projects that I try.

The Reborn translation was incorporated into a build of Secret of Mana Turbo which I played last summer, and found it to be much more polished and immersive.

There were some tie-ins to other titles in the Seiken Densetsu series. For example, the elemental Shade makes references to Mavolia which should ring a familiar bell with those who have played Trials of Mana.

A couple new conversations were also added that really add depth and development to the characters. A lengthy conversation takes place between Randi and Dyluck very early on in the game on your first visit to the Water Palace, and then another in the Wind Palace between the party and another NPC which I definitely appreciated.

Only real con that comes to mind is that they sometimes go a little overboard with the accents given to some of the other elementals. It enhances their character and personality, but can be a bit of a headache to comprehend exactly what they're saying at times. Still, it's not as though the game has the most complicated story to begin with and it provides a fresh experience.

In summary, I would definitely recommend playing through the game with this translation on your next playthrough if anything I mentioned here appeals to you.

To anyone familiar with the history of Secret of Mana, it should come to no surprise that the original translation performed by Ted Woolsey was both rushed, and required quite a bit of content to be removed so the script could fit on a cartridge. While pure speculation on my end, Secret of Mana got a translation more inline to what Breath of Fire received versus Final Fantasy VI (or even Mystic Quest) which is to say...lackluster at times. While not detrimental to the game as a whole, there are some pieces that feel extremely incomplete.

Reborn does an excellent job of not only fixing all the gaps within the story but also finds a perfect balance that restores much of the original content but manages to keep some of the more humorous elements from Woolsey's translation intact. The Script Augmentation Project (SAP) team did a fantastic job of looking through source material to help flesh out a lot of the secondary character's back stories which really helps tie the entire game together. Anyone who has played the original game countless of times likely still finds themselves asking a lot of questions, particularly about the history leading up to the game's primary story; this translation ties everything together with a nice, tidy bow and in my opinion, makes for a much stronger game because there's more to care about then just the primary protagonists.

One of the complaints I've read about this translation is that taking the script in such a different direction destroys a lot of the nostalgic memories players have from when they originally played the game and there's some truth to that. However, after playing through this version, I'd much rather some of those memories be put to rest in lieu of this script because I'm getting a version of the game with how the original authors meant the game to be received and enjoyed which is a huge plus. There's a lot to be said for the small, added elements that help shape some of the game's characters and why they act in the manner in which they do.

I won't address some of the other negative attributes I've read (grammar, use of pronouns) because you're either going to notice the former or you're not (and some of the grammatical elements are more of a personal preference) and the latter stems from source material so it subsequently becomes a complaint that I can't give much merit to but I digress.

Net-net: SoM: Reborn restores so much of what got cut from this game during its original release and unlike other games, the missing elements really crippled the games a whole. Secret of Mana is one of my favorite RPGs of all time between the nearly flawless soundtrack, creative sprite designs, unique mechanics, and now a complete story that answers so many things that were previously missing and overall makes the game feel like a complete, polished project.

This translation is the pinnacle of excellence and I have a extremely hard time ever seeing myself playing Secret of Mana with the US translation.

Very thorough and dedicated translation from the original that restores a ton of background info and characterization. Great work!

I can see that this took a LOT of effort and research. Assuming what the description says is true, it must have been crazy research.

I'll do a pro-con, but before that, some notes: 1. I will not give a negative point for not being compatible with numerous Kethinov and hmsong's hacks - that's because Queue's Turbo solves pretty much all compatibility issues with literally all hacks (google "Secret of Mana Turbo" for more info) - that means this is compatible with all hacks. 2. The spacing of this hack is pretty bad (feels very cramped), but again, Queue's SoM Turbo solves that issue beautifully. So no negative points for that.

Pro:

• Like I said before, this must have taken a ton of research, and it shows. Truly amazing.
• Adds numerous extra scenes (out of thin air), which add the positive flares to many things (Popoi's past, Luka's conversation with Serin, explanation on why Thanatos targeted Dyluck, etc).

Con:

• Numerous bad grammar. Well, maybe not specifically "grammar", but poor choices of words - most notably calling Popoi in plural (them, they, etc). I'm aware that Popoi's gender is not revealed, but calling him "they" was a very poor choice. "He" can be neutral gender in the right context.
• Script errors - Sometimes, the dialog box speech and the active characters don't match (such as in the ending, Boy reminisces about Dyluck, even though it's clearly Girl who's speaking).
• I feel that there were reasons why some things were left out the the original SoM dev. For example, there was no need to make Shade (the dark element) to be evil (he specifically said that he intentionally caused chaos in the world with fear with his underworld powers). Shade is supposed to be a neutral elemental spirit, not some evil being. I don't know why SAP did that (even if the source material intended on doing that, it doesn't match with what is "canon" in the Mana world, so there was no need to do this). There was also no need to spoil that Boy (Randy) was Serin's son so early.
• The timing of the music is off (such as the beautiful Mana Tree scene). And the music gets cut off in the middle.

Like I said before, this had a ton of research behind it, and I truly appreciate it. However, putting a lot of effort doesn't necessarily result in good product. I'm sad to say that Relocalized is the better choice at the moment. Having said that, this is definitely worthy of trying.

I find the retranslation to be COMEPLETEY perfect. However, it feels unfinished because some sprites are left censored. This is also true for the title screen. Unfortunately, there is no pure seiken densetsu 2 yet. Not unless the creators try to fix this stuff.

I can somewhat see where the other reviewers are coming from. The childish charm of the original translation is mostly gone. However, in its place is a solid script with a lot of life present. It's no dry, literal script, like some other fan retranslations opted for. Extra passages have been added to flesh out the (originally a mess of a) story.

I haven't played much, but so far, it seems quite good and expans upon the original while abandoning the tone of the official translation.

OK I am editing my review of this game translation. At first I thought it was great, and yes it adds more dialogue in some instances, etc.

But the problem with this translation, after playing much more time, is the inconsistence and its strange and odd additions.

I won't dwell into the details, but some translation liberties have been made, which reflect some present world problems. Only some people would see this, but it is truly annoying once you link things together.

The translation is not faithfull to the spirit of the game as I once thought, the intro and the starting script is good though. But that is why it is inconsistent, in some parts is very good, and in others, dialogue is down right lacking in taste.

I guess this is because there were too many people in the project.

I say stick to Secret of Mana "Relocalized", it is truly a beautiful project, consistent all around and keeps the spirit of the game alive while adding a better translation.

This version? No thanks.

Nashismo

Back then Ted Woolsey had to translate Seiken Densetsu 2 in a few weeks, in a total mad rush. Then he had to butcher it 40% of the length to fit in the cartridge.

This resulted in mistranslations, very hard cuts, nuances and meanings lots everywhere, simplified speech patterns and other countless issues (not to forget some annoying Nintendo policies back then).

These guys took months and months of going LINE by LINE of the Japanese script and tried to get as close as possible in meaning, nuances, consistencies.

Sometimes the script reads a bit off the line? It's because the original script is. Some parts of the story are less simple and more convoluted? Those that made the game choose so.

Some users sees to prefer an old version were LOTS of parts were created out of NOWHERE. Or Woolsey's self admitted inaccurate and rushed translation. If you want an experience really faithful to what the Japanese game was, this is the way to go.

If you want a simplified script, that retains Woolsey's mistakes and old lines... Play the official translation!

Oh I almost forgot to mention that the translation team acquired a lot of official guides and book from Japan to expand and integrate the script and even went on to add some parts added in the PS4 remake in it...

Absolutely suggested, a massive improved world and gaming experience, that in the next revision patches will even improve.

It's true that a lot was cut out from the original localization of Secret of Mana. Despite limitations, Ted Woolsey was still able to deliver a script that reads well, and the player becomes drawn to the cast because of how relatable the interactions are among the characters. This is just my opinion, but it seems like there are a number of changes to the dialogue that, while respecting both the original Japanese and Woolsey's interpretations, come off rather unnatural-sounding and wordier rather than conversational. Just from the game's opening moments, you're treated to some pretty stilted dialogue from a conversation that involves kid characters-but they don't sound like kids. I don't think it reads very well, and I think the script they ended up with could have benefited from some editing, no matter how faithful it is to the Japanese. Of course, how you'll feel about these changes is entirely up to you-thankfully The SAP Team has been incredibly thorough in their documentation, and you can see for yourself what changes they've made in their PDF. Furthermore, the patch doesn't build upon pre-established quality-of-life hacks. This patch uses the original font rather than the widely-used VWF implemented by FuSoYa some years back (though apparently they're working on it). They didn't hack in the title screen art that was changed in the original US release, either.

It's hard to recommend this as you'll have to just try it for yourself to see if you like it. A lot of the original text is iconic (to me, anyway), and my bias and nostalgia may be clouding my judgment. However, it's very clear to see that The SAP Team is motivated by a deep love for the game, and any fan of Secret of Mana should at least check out their hard work. It's also worth noting that they did consult community members, and a lot of the choices they made (including references to Popoi/Popoie's gender) were with respect. They also doubled the size of the original script's memory, so yes-you are getting more. However, I'm not sure I agree with the team's own thoughts that this is a "remaster"-yet.