When comparing Secret of Mana vs Civilization Revolution 2, the Slant community recommends Civilization Revolution 2 for most people. In the question“What are the best Android games without in-app purchases/paywalls?” Civilization Revolution 2 is ranked 32nd while Secret of Mana is ranked 57th. The most important reason people chose Civilization Revolution 2 is:
Simple game, shiny graphics. (Extremely expensive, would lower the cost to max 2 euro/dollar).
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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 Might be a funny kids game for children under 10
Simple game, shiny graphics. (Extremely expensive, would lower the cost to max 2 euro/dollar).
Pro Randomly generated levels
Each map is the same size but is randomly generated to allow for each new session to play differently from the last.
Pro Enhanced graphics
The graphics of Civilization Revolution 2 have been enhanced from the first iteration of the game.
Pro Offers lots of replay value
Civilization Revolution 2 offers so many maps, leaders and scenarios that the replayability of the game is pretty much endless.
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 Extremely shallow and low replay value
Offering replay value based on many different options and possibilities wont work if the strategy that involves those options are basicly limited by the extreme shallow choices you have to be beating the opponents. Once you know the 4 actions, every games becomes a drag.
Con Civilization Revolution 2 is exspensive
At $14.99 Civilization Revolution 2 is one of the more expensive games on the Android platform.