When comparing Secret of Mana vs Space Marshals, the Slant community recommends Space Marshals for most people. In the question“What are the best Android games without in-app purchases/paywalls?” Space Marshals is ranked 47th while Secret of Mana is ranked 57th. The most important reason people chose Space Marshals is:
Space Marshals has a loot reward system where in after the player completes a level, depending on how high their rank is for completion allows for a loot reward of corresponding level.
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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 Loot reward system
Space Marshals has a loot reward system where in after the player completes a level, depending on how high their rank is for completion allows for a loot reward of corresponding level.
Pro Stealth-centric
Space marshals gameplay is built around stealth gameplay where the play sneaks around pre rendered stages trying to complete set mission requirements. There are rocks that can be used for distracting enemies as well as plenty of weapons including grenades.
Pro Controller support
Space Marshals has built in HID and Nvidia Shield controller support.
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 Touch controls not as accurate as they need to be
Twin stick shooter style game do not often control great with touch screens due to the lack of tactile feedback, while Pixelbite tries to mitigate this issue as much as possible, it is still a problem in some places.