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Do they have any further details of the cut content? Like images of cut content, what plot was removed, etc.? I've seen numerous applications mention the cut

Do they have any further details of the cut content? Like images of cut content, what plot was removed, etc.? I've seen numerous applications mention the cut content but the descriptions are always very high level, like in this article.

AdmiralAsshat 7y ago
In my experience, Squaresoft is pretty secretive about their development process. Their staff will talk on the record about the process and drop tidbits, like the interview above, about stuff that might have been cut, but it's pretty rare that they'll go into any great detail or provide "beta" screenshots. That stuff rarely happens unless we happen to find it dummied out in the game code somewhere.[0] For the rest, we sorta have to look at what came later and work backwards from there to try to envision what the features might have looked like. For example: > One of the most significant changes was the removal of the option to take multiple routes through the game that led to several possible endings, in contrast to the linear journey in the final product. [1] Since this system eventually showed up in the game's sequel, Seiken Densetsu 3 (Now called "Trials of Mana" after its Switch port localization), we can probably assume that it would have worked something like that. It's also probably safe to assume that some of the other unused concepts from Secret of Mana eventually found their way into SD3. But I'm always hesitant to get too specific, since game developers change their mind all the time during development. One of the best examples I can think of for this would be the Soul Reaver series, where the original title had a huge amount of content cut in order to deliver the game on time[2], instead ending on a cliffhanger and with the intention that Soul Reaver 2 would finish it up. We have a pretty good idea of what was supposed to happen in the original conception of the story, because we found a ton of leftover assets, voiceovers from unproduced cutscenes, and design documents. There's even a sequence of the main character "gazing into the future" with pieces of sequences that never occur (presumably they would have if the game had been finished as originally designed). By the time the sequels Soul Reaver 2 and Legacy of Kain: Defiance were produced, however, the story veered off into a much different direction. Some of the boss fights that were planned for Soul Reaver 1 ended up eventually happening in SR2 or LoK:D under very different circumstances, or were scrapped altogether. [0]https://tcrf.net/Final_Fantasy_VII#The_Red_Man https://tcrf.net/Final_Fantasy_VII#The_Red_Man [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_of_Mana#Development https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_of_Mana#Development [2]http://thelostworlds.net/ http://thelostworlds.net/
- bsanr2 7y ago
  If you're into this, I would suggest looking into the still-developing story of the defunct Fabula Nova Crystallis project (as well as FFXIV). What can be gathered heretofore is wild.
- Cpoll 7y ago
  Square is no stranger to cutting huge swaths of content, with Xenogears being an early, infamous example. Final Fantasy XV suffers from the same.
Psyladine 7y ago
Secret of Mana has a special place in history as part of its development was cribbed from the Square-Enix work on Chrono Trigger, or rather a different evolutionary path sprung from the same root.
jordigh 7y ago
I think the cut content is pretty obvious. It's almost all the second half of the game. You spend something like 15 hours getting the first four magical macguffins in the game and then suddenly the last four arrive within 45 minutes. I remember the "dungeons" where you get the last two are just empty towers with a room or two and no enemies. I don't know why I seem to be the only one who notices how the second half of the game is obviously missing.
- SkyBelow 7y ago
  I always took the odd pacing as a way to mix up pacing. Break the mold that every magical macguffin required a dungeon with guardian like in many other RPGs of the time. The weapon orbs seem to be mostly well spaced out. I remember the last magical spirit seemed to have been given way too late to really notice the missing magical spell that ended up mattering in the final fight. I wonder how much of it is just bad memory since it has been like 15 years since I last played the second half of the game (I've replayed it a few times but always stop around the mushroom kingdom).

AdmiralAsshat 7y ago

In my experience, Squaresoft is pretty secretive about their development process. Their staff will talk on the record about the process and drop tidbits, like the interview above, about stuff that might have been cut, but it's pretty rare that they'll go into any great detail or provide "beta" screenshots. That stuff rarely happens unless we happen to find it dummied out in the game code somewhere.[0] For the rest, we sorta have to look at what came later and work backwards from there to try to envision what the features might have looked like. For example: > One of the most significant changes was the removal of the option to take multiple routes through the game that led to several possible endings, in contrast to the linear journey in the final product. [1] Since this system eventually showed up in the game's sequel, Seiken Densetsu 3 (Now called "Trials of Mana" after its Switch port localization), we can probably assume that it would have worked something like that. It's also probably safe to assume that some of the other unused concepts from Secret of Mana eventually found their way into SD3. But I'm always hesitant to get too specific, since game developers change their mind all the time during development. One of the best examples I can think of for this would be the Soul Reaver series, where the original title had a huge amount of content cut in order to deliver the game on time[2], instead ending on a cliffhanger and with the intention that Soul Reaver 2 would finish it up. We have a pretty good idea of what was supposed to happen in the original conception of the story, because we found a ton of leftover assets, voiceovers from unproduced cutscenes, and design documents. There's even a sequence of the main character "gazing into the future" with pieces of sequences that never occur (presumably they would have if the game had been finished as originally designed). By the time the sequels Soul Reaver 2 and Legacy of Kain: Defiance were produced, however, the story veered off into a much different direction. Some of the boss fights that were planned for Soul Reaver 1 ended up eventually happening in SR2 or LoK:D under very different circumstances, or were scrapped altogether. [0]https://tcrf.net/Final_Fantasy_VII#The_Red_Man https://tcrf.net/Final_Fantasy_VII#The_Red_Man [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_of_Mana#Development https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_of_Mana#Development [2]http://thelostworlds.net/ http://thelostworlds.net/

bsanr2 7y ago
If you're into this, I would suggest looking into the still-developing story of the defunct Fabula Nova Crystallis project (as well as FFXIV). What can be gathered heretofore is wild.
Cpoll 7y ago
Square is no stranger to cutting huge swaths of content, with Xenogears being an early, infamous example. Final Fantasy XV suffers from the same.

Psyladine 7y ago

Secret of Mana has a special place in history as part of its development was cribbed from the Square-Enix work on Chrono Trigger, or rather a different evolutionary path sprung from the same root.

jordigh 7y ago

I think the cut content is pretty obvious. It's almost all the second half of the game. You spend something like 15 hours getting the first four magical macguffins in the game and then suddenly the last four arrive within 45 minutes. I remember the "dungeons" where you get the last two are just empty towers with a room or two and no enemies. I don't know why I seem to be the only one who notices how the second half of the game is obviously missing.

SkyBelow 7y ago
I always took the odd pacing as a way to mix up pacing. Break the mold that every magical macguffin required a dungeon with guardian like in many other RPGs of the time. The weapon orbs seem to be mostly well spaced out. I remember the last magical spirit seemed to have been given way too late to really notice the missing magical spell that ended up mattering in the final fight. I wonder how much of it is just bad memory since it has been like 15 years since I last played the second half of the game (I've replayed it a few times but always stop around the mushroom kingdom).