Secret of Mana

聖剣伝説2 (Seiken Densetsu Tsū)SNES, Wii, Other, iOS +31993

  1. JP1993
  2. NA1993
  3. EU1994
  4. RU—

Secret of Mana is the Western title of Seiken Densetsu 2 (聖剣伝説2). Today the original SNES version is available in Collection of Mana on Switch, and an enhanced mobile version is sold for iOS.

Secret of Mana is an action role-playing game by Square, released in Japan on 6 August 1993 as Seiken Densetsu 2. North America received it in October 1993, and Europe in November 1994 in separate English, German and French versions. It was originally planned as a launch title for the never-released SNES-CD add-on, and director Koichi Ishii estimated that up to 40 percent of the planned game was cut when it moved to a cartridge.

Up to three players can play at once with the Super Multitap accessory. The music was composed by Hiroki Kikuta, and the game was programmed mainly by Nasir Gebelli. Ted Woolsey translated it into English in only 30 days, and much text was cut to fit the English font. The game sold 1.83 million copies worldwide by 2003.

Later releases include Virtual Console versions, an enhanced mobile version, the Super NES Classic Edition and Collection of Mana for Switch (2019). A 3D remake by Q Studios came out for PS4, Vita and Windows on 15 February 2018.1

Names and releases

RegionTitle on the boxPlatformDatePublisherSrc
NA Secret of Mana SNES October 1993 Square Soft 1
NA Collection of ManaSame day in PAL regions Switch Jun 11, 2019 Square Enix 1
JP 聖剣伝説2Seiken Densetsu 2 SNES Aug 6, 1993 Square 2
EU Secret of ManaSeparate English, German and French versions SNES Nov 25, 1994 Nintendo 1
JP 聖剣伝説2Virtual Console; NA 2008-10-13, PAL 2008-12-26 Wii Sep 9, 2008 Square Enix 1
JP 聖剣伝説2Enhanced mobile-phone version (i-appli) Other Oct 26, 2009 Square Enix 2
WW Secret of ManaEnhanced mobile version iOS Dec 21, 2010 Square Enix 1
JP 聖剣伝説2Virtual Console Wii U Jun 26, 2013 Square Enix 1
WW Secret of ManaEnhanced mobile version Android Oct 30, 2014 Square Enix 1
JP 聖剣伝説コレクションSeiken Densetsu Collection, emulated by M2 Switch Jun 1, 2017 Square Enix 1
WW Secret of ManaBuilt into the Super NES Classic Edition Other Sep 29, 2017 Nintendo 1

Also known as: 聖剣伝説2 JP2Seiken Densetsu 2 JP1Seiken Densetsu Tsū JP2

Box art by region

  • Secret of Mana box art, North America release
    NA Secret of Mana
  • Secret of Mana box art, Europe release
    EU Secret of Mana
  • 聖剣伝説2 box art, Japan release
    JP 聖剣伝説2

Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.

Version differences

  • CensorshipSNES (NA)SNES (EU)

    The international versions changed the warp-portal graphics because of Nintendo of America's rules on religious imagery.3

  • ContentSNES (NA)

    In the North American release the robot boss Kettle Kin lost its chainsaw and became a palette swap of Kilroy with different stats.3

  • TextSNES (NA)SNES (EU)

    Ted Woolsey had about 30 days for the English script, and a lot of text was cut because the English version uses a fixed-width font that fits little text in each window.1

All differences (6)

Translations

  • English Official

    Square Soft (Ted Woolsey)1993SNES · Japanese versionReleased · complete

    Ted Woolsey wrote the English localization in about 30 days, with heavy cuts because of limited text space.1

  • German Official

    Nintendo / Square1994SNES · English versionReleased · complete

    A German version was released in Europe in 1994.1

  • Spanish Official

    Square EnixiOS · enhanced mobile versionReleased · complete

    The iOS version lists Spanish among its languages; the SNES and Collection of Mana versions of Secret of Mana have no Spanish.4

  • French Official

    Nintendo / Square1994SNES · English versionReleased · complete

    A French version was released in Europe in 1994.1

  • Russian Fan

    Шедевр2004SNESReleased

    The group Шедевр released a Russian fan translation in November 2004 after a year of work; its announcement noted that not all bugs had been caught.5

  • Russian Fan

    IfritZSNES · US English versionReleased · complete

    IfritZ made a Russian translation patch, v1.11, for the English SNES release; work started in November 2003 and it is listed as 100% complete.6

    Project page: ifritz.narod.ru

Where to play legally today

  • App Store Purchase

    Secret of Mana

    enhanced mobile version

    Checked: 2026-10-134apps.apple.com

  • Nintendo eShop Purchase

    Collection of Mana

    SNES version (emulated, with Final Fantasy Adventure and Trials of Mana)

    Checked: 2026-10-137nintendo.com

Best version

For the original game, Collection of Mana on Switch (2019) offers the SNES version with up to three players, while the enhanced mobile version (iOS in 2010, Android in 2014) is the portable alternative. The 2018 3D remake for PS4, Vita and Windows is a separate product that received mixed reviews.1

Reception

Secret of Mana sold 1.83 million copies worldwide by 2003 (1.5 million in Japan and 330,000 abroad), and more than 500,000 copies in the US by 1996.1

In lists

Sources

  1. 1en.wikipedia.org
  2. 2ja.wikipedia.org
  3. 3tcrf.net
  4. 4apps.apple.com
  5. 5emu-land.net
  6. 6ifritz.narod.ru
  7. 7nintendo.com
  8. 8ja.wikipedia.org

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

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