Teeb147
Smash Legend
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2007
- Messages
- 10,624
The Heroes and Legends of Mana
Randi, Primm, & more
The mana series is a very renowned Action-RPG franchise. The most popular game in these is Secret of Mana (first released on the Super Nintendo), which was a big hit and carved out many aspects for Action-RPG adventures. (It was also playable with more than one player, which brought friends together throughout the whole thing) It stood out as one of the best games of its kind for a very long time. It was the adventure of a boy (Randi) through a mystical adventure, meeting his other teammates along the way, Primm and Poppoi.
Secret of mana is actually the second game in the series (of Seiken Densetsu). The first one on the gameboy, was named Final Fantasy Adventure for english crowds. The third game wasn't released in english, but was considered an incredibly good game as well. Many people may also know of Legend of Mana, released on the PlayStation, which was a very good title as well, but not exactly like Secret of Mana. Sword of Mana was also a pretty decent game, and was on the Gameboy Advance.
Secret of Mana was recently remade in 3D, as an HD remake. This makes the series still relevant. (though the original is still considered better by many)
Lore
Recurring in the mana series is the story of the World Tree, as a source of magic within the world. Our heroes end up fighting against forces that would take advantage of this power, on their adventures, and there is also a holy sword with great power that's in the mix. It's said that the Goddess turned into the Mana Tree after having created the world with the Mana Sword. Our warriors help restore balance within this realm.
In this world, mana spirits govern magic and each represent an element of magic that can be used for spells & more.
Mana Elements:
For Smash:
The Mana series would be a great addition to Smash! Randi and the others have tons of potential, including for moves, with tons of weapons, magic and other stuff to choose from. For the purpose of better development, this thread starts to focuses on Randi and Primm(as a skin, or echo) as the main candidates first, but can cover more than them in the event that more than one character (or echoes/clones) could be made. I'm also going to include ideas for multiple weapon options, as well as other ideas for having multiple characters, such as what A Astraltar had for a tag-team party character.
Randi can be the primary character, while Primm (and other characters in the series that aren't short) could be skins or echos. While Randi is not really a magic user, and so the default moveset ideas I'll talk about are options without needing magic (except for possibly elemental attributes on certain skills), I'm including options for magic that could be for echos or in the event that the main character (Randi & other characters as skins) would be a mixed fighter to represent the series as a whole over just himself. This could be a bit similar ot how Ness has magic spells that was originally Paula's.
Primm and the heroes in the other games like Legend of Mana can use all weapons just as well, so there is no issue with them having the same weapon attacks. I will talk about the option for another character model for Poppoi and other small characters later. (it's just an option if there'd be enough time in development)
Ideas for moveset style:
1) One of the 4 melee weapons for regular attacks (A button), and an assortment of long-range weapon skills (& possibly magic) for special attacks (B button)
2) Equippable weapons, changing the moveset for melee attacks, fully or partially (some moves would be universal regardless of weapon [like kicks]).
3) A mixture of the 4 melee weapons for regular attacks within the same moveset. (Diverse moveset, but Incompatible with option #1 and 2)
4) A different weapon &/or moveset per character.
The purpose of choosing option #1 (at first) is for simplicity as well as keeping the opportunity to have multiple weapons, each possibly having a few(or more) changes to a moveset. A mana character could be able to change equipment in order to have more than one mode of attack, or it could be the change for another character. These changes could be minor (like changes in speed, range, and power of weapon attacks), or major (as in entirely different attacks). Equipping could be done at the character select screen, or (possibly) in battle (with down-b or holding b for a while. This would bring up a menu ring much like in the original games, to select another weapon, and perhaps other items as part of an inventory).
Here's to list the various weapons and magic that could be put on a character (there may come more detailed movesets in the future):
Melee Attacks (A button): Spear, Sword, Axe, & Gauntlets. (as well as possibly whip)
Special attacks (B button): Bow, Boomerang, Whip, & Javelin. +Elemental Magic
Ideas for Character & Party Involvement:
1) Only one character, but with skins for Primm & other characters of similar height
2) Randi as well as some other characters (can be on skins) &/or an echo character for more characters (with some variance in movesets, like maybe more magic for some).
3) Multiple characters in one battle (like a team):
A Astraltar 's idea for switching (tag-team) with other party members:
(one character at a time)
My idea for a Duo character (to play as a party):
Another character (skin, echo or clone) would accompany the character you select, much like the Ice Climbers, but would not copy your moves, it would still mostly follow you around, but only act with a low level of AI, much like a lvl 1 to 3 cpu.
This is to simulate having a party member be by your side much like in the original games, without it being overpowered.
Idea for Duo character + Switching (tag-team): Thiis is a combination of both party ideas, where you can switch between the two party members that are on the field. You would be able to control one character at a time, but could switch between them. This could have a small delay so as not to be too big of an advantage, and would mostly be beneficial for positioning and to switch movesets in the case that there's differences between characters (or they have a different weapon equipped)
This is to simulate having a party member be by your side much like in the original games, without it being overpowered.
Idea for Duo character + Switching (tag-team): Thiis is a combination of both party ideas, where you can switch between the two party members that are on the field. You would be able to control one character at a time, but could switch between them. This could have a small delay so as not to be too big of an advantage, and would mostly be beneficial for positioning and to switch movesets in the case that there's differences between characters (or they have a different weapon equipped)
~
Moveset Ideas:
Basic idea and a couple animated gifs:
A: 2 to 3 hit combo (gif from Sword of Mana)
(Can work with different weapons)
Forward Tilt: A big swing forward
(Can work with different weapons)
Forward Tilt: A big swing forward
~
Possible Character inclusions (as skins, echos, or clones):
Hero and Heroine (from Legend of Mana)
Question and Concerns:
Q1) With other SquareEnix characters being demanded, why would Randi and the others be supported for smash?
What about Geno?
Answer: SquareEnix has many great franchises and characters, I think we should all give them a chance and support those we like. We don't know what's possible for the relationship between Nintendo and them, so we could have multiple characters. I do agree that priority for a first character should go to Geno, and I think there's no need to be concerned about that. Support these characters if you like them, and if you'd like to see more great characters from SE make it into smash.
Q2) Could there really be multiple weapons for a character?
Answer: Having different weapons in a moveset isn't unheard of, and there could be many, or there could be Equipping different weapons to change some attacks (for the A button), and the changes don't have to be extensive, as even in Sword of Mana weapons don't have enormous differences between them when attacking normally. The range speed and power could be tweeked to make them a bit different between them, plus some moves like a few aerials and even down tilt could be kicks that remain the same regardless of the weapon equipped. Though If they'd want, they could make them more different than this, and allow for more variety between the weapons (or characters).
Q3) In what case would there be magic or long-range weapons on a character?
Answer: If they decide to make the character (including Randi) more of a representent of the series, they could mix and match both magic and long-ranged weapons in the special moves. And if they would make an echo character for characters that use more magic, then those could have more magic in their moveset while Randi (and possibly others) would have less, and easily take moves from other characters, such as boomerangs and bows. This could be the default character, with possibly only 1 magical move (such as an elementally imbued recovery attack, like Roy)
Thank you for checking out this support page for these amazing characters from the mana series.
Randi, Primm and the Heroes of Mana for Smash!
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