When comparing Secret of Mana vs Out There: Ω Edition, the Slant community recommends Out There: Ω Edition for most people. In the question“What are the best Android games without in-app purchases/paywalls?” Out There: Ω Edition is ranked 29th while Secret of Mana is ranked 57th. The most important reason people chose Out There: Ω Edition is:
Out There procedurally generates the game by generating random modular elements on each playthrough, making for a unique experience on every play through.
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 Each playthrough is unique thanks to the procedurally generated levels
Out There procedurally generates the game by generating random modular elements on each playthrough, making for a unique experience on every play through.
Pro Fun turn-based resource management where you are always juggling items on the fly, which requires a lot of quick thinking
Out There features a great mix of turn based strategy with complex resource management. The resource management works by only allowing you so many slots to store needed materials. These materials are collected on and around planets, and vary depending on where you are. So it makes for a situation where you need to carefully manage your inventory in order to have the necessary materials on hand to survive, which is no an easy task.
Pro Beautiful art that shows off tons of polish, making for a gorgeous looking game
The game has beautiful hand drawn graphics as well as a great score with lonely overtones, which creates a fantastic and original feeling atmosphere. This sort of polish in a mobile game is not always the norm, which is why Out There tends to stand out above many other options.
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 Uninspiring gameplay
There is an extremely limited number of actions to undertake. Playing it sometimes feels like a grind.
Con The graphics are a power-hog
While the graphics are beautiful, the 3D graphics are a hog and if you're going to be playing this on the go you should probably grab a powerbank if you want to play it for any extended periods of time.
Con Each replay feels very similar
There is a multitude of ways to die in Out There, and being that the game is a roguelike, there will be a lot of restarts. Each and every death brings the player back to the beginning, to do everything over again. This can be frustrating, and a cause for lulls in play at each beginning.