Game 2 of 7 of the Mana series, the famous…
(Seiken Densetsu 2 for the SNES)

Time to name my character! The background scrolls too, which is a nice touch.
Just pull this sword out and then cut through the plants? Sure, I can do that.
For your hometown, you realize that people aren’t quite that nice to you. And this guy is the nicest, which is not a good sign!
Oh NOW you want to treat me like your friend, after being mean to me the whole time.
Fine then, I’ll go off to where I’m wanted and loved!
Nekos! Neko loves my company. But I realized why. He charges double for everything! Makes a fair save point though when you’re out in the dungeons.
She’s fairly casual, though she does get serious later in the conversation. I guess if you’ve played Legend of Mana before this one, you’ll feel that this is far more normal than the types of characters you meet there!

Stats: (At the beginning of the game –> Where I ended)
HP: 50 –> 79
PWR: 15 –> 17
DEF: 13 –> 16
WIS: 5 –> 8
AGI: 15 –> 17
Gold: ~400
Ending Level: 4

Spells learned:
None

Party:
The main character only

Equipment gained:
Bandanna, Wristband, Spear

Went through these areas:
Poto Area, Grasslands, Water Palace, Gaias Navel, Halfway through Cave to Dwarves

Last goal before time ran out:
Seek Watts in the Dwarfs cave

Bosses:
Mantis Ant

Story learned so far:
An Empire fought for the power of Mana, and made a Fortress, but was destroyed by the Mana Beast and then the world temporarily returned to peace. You are in a small village, out treasure hunting. You fall down and discover the Rusted Mana Sword. That released the monsters to attack the village. Jema learns of your fight and that you found the mana sword, and so instructs you to visit Luka the sage for more info. You are banished from the village and have to go find Luka. She tells you that it is the Mana Sword, but it is rusted and you need to get Sword orbs to power it up and visit the temples seeds. This Sword is the only hope.

Notes:
Unlike FFA and some of the later Mana games, you need to wait before you can attack. You can’t mindlessly attack enemies or they’ll go damaging you. There is a text intro, which goes over the Mana Fortress and all. But after that, you can go exploring and fighting, doesn’t take too long to get to that point. The longest scenes after that are when you’re banished, and the water temple, from what I got to play.