The world depends on Mana, a force that provides the world with life. But evil villians are trying to break the 8 seals on the Mana seeds and if they succeed in doing this, Mana will be transformed into an evil force which will destroy our world. Only the Mana knight with the Mana sword can save the world from disaster, and you happen to become that knight by yanking a rusty sword out of a stone, just to cut through some bushes...
It's a really neat game, especially for its time. Fights are in real-time, and commands can be given through a system of ring menus. The story is good, but, like any RPG, too short. It gives a good feeling once you've finished your quest though...
Grade: B
Seiken Densetsu 3
Seiken Densetsu 3 was never released outside Japan, but someone on ICQ, named Romhacker99 (lost his number), gave me a translation of this game in English. Using an emulator, I got pretty far in this game, but I haven't finished it yet. Graphics are better compared to SD2, but since an emulator doesn't sound like a real SNES, I can't say whether sound is better or worse than in SD2, but the music is very good. In this game there are 6 characters, of which 3 can be chosen, each with his/her own reason to participate. The story is quite similiar: this time there are 8 Mana stones which must be sealed, because if they aren't sealed, the God-beasts in the stones will be released. That's all I can tell about the story, perhaps I'll know more once I've finished it.
Again a good game, but the menus are somewhat more complicated than those of SD2, rings are only used for items and magic. When a character gains enough experience, he/she can get to a higher class, which will give him/her new powers. You can choose between two classes, each with its merits and flaws. This is a nice feature.
Grade: B+