As an aside, I could never understand why A Link to the Past was consistently ranked higher than Secret of Mana in gaming magazines, top 100 lists, etc. Secret of Mana seemed vastly superior in almost every way.
My 6 year old son just played through it on our Wii and I was reminded how awesome Secret of Mana is. I started a new game myself and was sucked in instantly.
(1) the combat was unsophisticated, for the most part you kind of button mashed;
(2) the magic spells mostly all did the same thing;
(3) the world didn't have a lot of topography, and mostly you used the cannons to jump from one area to another;
(4) there were not a lot of puzzles in the dungeons, and those that existed were not as sophisticated as in Zelda.
I admired SOM for its lush visuals, dazzling soundtrack, expansive world, and compelling story. But to me it did not have the feeling of getting the small details right. Zelda, in contrast, was pitch-perfect on the small scale (IMHO).
