When comparing Secret of Mana vs Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the Slant community recommends Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for most people. In the question“What are the best Android games without in-app purchases/paywalls?” Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is ranked 19th while Secret of Mana is ranked 57th. The most important reason people chose Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is:
The games story is pretty deep and the text that can be found within that, tells it will take multiple playthroughs to see it all, making for not only a good reason to play many times, but creates the feeling of a very deep universe.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Has stood the test of time
Twenty some odd years later and Secret of Mana is still considered one of the best action role playing game experiences there is.
Pro Unique ring command system allows for easy menu selection
The ring command system used for selecting equipment and other options is still as innovative today as it was back in 1993.
A first at it's time, the ring command system allowed for users to select their weapons and equipment easily without having to leave the main game screen, making for selecting quite easy.
Pro Shift in gameplay for Squaresoft/SquareEnix made RPGs
Secret of Mana features a top down real time battle system akin to other action role playing games such as Legend of Zelda that at the time was a large shift from the turn based fare that Square created. Even today Square Enix does not foray too often into the action role playing genre, making for a unique experience when it comes to Square created titles.
Pro Considered one of the best stories in RPG's young and old
While the outline of the story is the normal RPG fare, where a young boy is tasked with saving the world, the characters and their journey still holds up as one of the best ever written.
Pro Colorful 16bit era graphics
Secret of Mana was created at the height of the 16bit SNES era and utilized some of the most colorful and stylized fantasy role playing game graphics. While it would have been nice to see Square polish them up a bit for HD devices, they still hold up, especially in a market that has many games designed with bit graphics as a current trend.
Pro Longevity through multiple playthroughs thanks to the sheer amount of text and choices to be found in the game
The games story is pretty deep and the text that can be found within that, tells it will take multiple playthroughs to see it all, making for not only a good reason to play many times, but creates the feeling of a very deep universe.
Pro Many mods
You can find many community-created mods that improve the game.
Pro Gameplay holds up well
For what is now an eleven year old game, the classic Bioware RPG game mechanics such as branching dialog and turn based battles similar to a CRPG (where the player must pause the gameplay in order to choose their commands to then un-pause in order to watch their chosen strategy play out) hold up well.
Pro Engaging story thanks to the superb writing
Being a role playing game, KotOR has a pretty long story that the player feels connected to that luckily was written well, making for a good story that is very engaging.
Pro Handles Star Wars license well
Seeing things like Jedi vs Sith and politics in the game that are now staples of the newer movies helps to feel as though the game fits into the cannon quite well. With so many movie license games in the past being quick cash-ins it is great to see the Star Wars license used in a manner that fits with the cannon and of high quality development.
Cons
Con Graphically, almost a direct port
Square Enix has done nothing to polish the graphics in this port which for the price point is a little disheartening. The black borders on both sides of the screen are also disappointing. To see Square do so little to accommodate HD devices and their swath of screen sizes, it makes one wonder how they get away charging the prices they do.
Con Somewhat buggy
Crashes can happen while playing, while not a huge deal they can be annoying.