First of all, I want to admit upfront that while this is the sort of review that could potentially cause upset feelings from die-hard fans, it is my sincere opinion that because of the epic greatness of this game and also because of its strong nostalgia-factor, some of its flaws are swept under the carpet, and it is those flaws I want to draw some attention to.  It's time we take Secret of Mana off its pedestal, examine it a bit more critically, and admit there are some areas where it missed the mark.  

But first, let me acknowledge the game's strengths:  Possibly the best soundtrack in videogame history, the best cooperative action-RPG for the Super Nintendo, a great story, a great world to explore, great touches of humor, and a deep combat system including helper characters controlled by decent AI, a deep magic system, and gorgeous graphics.  

So what are my gripes?  First and foremost, the game-play baits and switches on the player, it promises a cooperative RPG experience, but often boss fights incentivize the player to repeatedly pause the game, choose which magic spell to unleash, select the target of the magic spell, and unpause the game only long enough to watch the magic spell be unleashed.  When the magic animation is over, the player pauses the game again and the cycle repeats.  If you have two players at controllers while this unfolds, one player will probably be stabbing at the boss only to have his experience be repeatedly and annoyingly interrupted by the magic-user.  What was promised to be an action RPG feels more like a turn-based series of magic spells.  This cycle would be eventually ended if not for the ability to refill one's magic meter, allowing the boredom to continue.  

My second complaint is admittedly even more minor, and it has to do with the hit detection and the special technique system.  First of all, there is a percentage-based combat system which makes performing a combo on an enemy impossible, after each hit the player is forced to engage in a hit-and-run pattern, waiting for his strength to refill to 100%.  If the player wants to add even more time-wasting to this already slow system, he may charge his special technique gauge.  Special techniques often consist of multiple attacks strung together.  The only problem is that these attacks do not chain themselves together into a combo reliably, and the most one can hope for is to lump more damage into a single attack.  Where is the temptation to do so if in order to use this attack, one needs to run from the enemy even longer than normal?  You would probably beat the enemy quicker if you just attacked at 100%, rather than wasting time charging and reducing your walk speed.  

Thirdly, the hit detection often seems wonky, and enemies may be struck with an extremely unrealistic delayed reaction, when the player swings his sword and a few seconds later, when the enemy is ready to react, it bounces backwards and damage is displayed.  This is yet another absurd occurrence that yanks the player out of the otherwise immersive experience yet is ignored by gushing fans who rate the game a 10/10 when in fact it falls somewhat short of that lofty rating.  

If you haven't played the game, by all means do so and you will probably love it, but be warned it may not be as perfect in every way as you have been led to believe by the two other reviews I read on this site.   

I actually disagree with the hit and run pattern and hit detection. The hit and run thing can be countered by immediately switching to a new character when you hit with another while the other character recovers. As for the hit detection, it only does this if you hit an enemy (particularly boss fights) when they are either in the middle of an attack or using some kind of retreating movement. Finding the moments where the hits seem delayed are often important to find, as they allow you to develop a strategy that can keep you from getting hit. Simply time it right, and you can hit, move somewhere to avoid being hit, and start charging when he gets the 'delayed' blow. Both things were actually intentionally put there to be manipulated strategically.