To say the Super Nintendo sound chip had depth would be an understatement. Countless titles hitting the 16-bit platform had stunning and atmospheric soundtracks, many of which leaving you questioning what the system could really do. One of the most standout collection of compositions to ever grace the platform arrived through Secret of Mana - a title which has just been upgraded through a new ROM hack bringing CD quality audio to the adventure.

While many of you may suggest that such an iconic soundtrack needs no further work, we’re more than happy to welcome new advancements in the retro gaming community, and different takes on the classics as we know them. Sticking to the original’s roots with charming melodies and relaxing symphonies, this latest MSU-1 upgrade stays true to the source material and provides yet another trip down the curiosity lane surrounding the unreleased SNES-CD hardware.

If the MSU-1 is something you’re not familiar with, Super Nintendo developers as of late devised a custom chip which would allow audiovisuals equivalent to the likes of the Mega CD to be run on Nintendo’s console. Playable either through the SD2SNES flash cartridge of the higan emulator, games such as Road Avenger have been ported to the Super Nintendo, all whilst games like Mega Man X, Legend of Zelda, Super Metroid, and now Secret of Mana have been given soundtrack upgrades using MP3 audio.

Although this ROM hack may not be for everyone, those looking for yet another excuse to tackle Squaresoft’s classic need look no further. The game’s MSU-1 patch can now be downloaded (which includes further instructions on where to source the music from). Similar to the many other fan patches out there, you'll need to get hold of a legally obtained Secret of Mana Super Nintendo ROM file to apply this patch to.

Secret of Mana (MSU-1 CD Quality Soundtrack Patch) Gameplay

Link: Download Secret of Mana (MSU-1 CD Quality Soundtrack Patch)



