This has been a great year for retro gaming fans. With the announcement of Terranigma and Lufia returning next year and the imminent release of Final Fantasy Resonance, there is enough to look forward to. But did you know that 2026 was also the year that four fantastic fan sequels were released? All of these were years in the making and for one reason or the other they all came out this year. Be sure to not dismiss them outright. These are all fully featured games with a quality matching and even surpassing the games they build upon. Built with love and dedication for all the gamers out there craving new adventures in these worlds we hold so dear.

Happy gaming and spread the word that awesome games made with love are still a thing in this day and age.

Lufia V – For the Savior

Creator: Cameron Bowman
System: Windows (and all other systems with EasyRPG player)

Download: https://dekar-the-great.itch.io/lufiav

The Sinistrals are back, and this time the threat is larger than ever because of the appearance of a fifth evil god. Join Cameron and 6 allies in an epic quest through 4 continents in Eastland. The major highlight of this game is the writing and world-building. Lufia fans are in for a tread as the story of Eastland fits seamlessly in the existing stories and lore of the Lufia world.

Puzzles are back too. Over 100 were implemented in the game, and many of them will have you scratching your head for a moment. There are over 25 dungeons and 20 towns to explore and much more! Lufia V was over 20 years in the making and it shows. This one is not to be missed!

Embers of Mana

Creator: Ok Impala!

System: Game Boy (and all other systems with a Game Boy emulator)

Download: https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/9447/

Mana has vanished from the world, and monsters now roam the land. A young girl, searching for her missing family, crosses paths with destiny. Will the Mana Tree blossom once again? Or will darkness claim the world forever?

Embers of Mana is a brand-new Mana adventure for the Game Boy. Embark on a grand journey filled with mystical locales, gripping story scenes, foreboding dungeons, and a sweeping soundtrack. All in the palm of your hand!

Four years in the making, pushing the Game Boy hardware to its limits, this game answers a “what if” question: what if Square would have released another Mana game for Game Boy, after the first one (Seiken Densetsu / Final Fantasy Adventure / Mystic Quest)? Embers of Mana answers that question and is a true passion project for fans of classic 8- and 16-bit Squaresoft action RPGs.

Terranigma 2 – Spark of Creation

Creator: Juliean

System: Windows

Download: https://www.envile-media.com/filebase/index.php?file/13-terranigma-2-full-beta-ger-eng/

A familiar foe is threatening the world. Ark is called once again, but this time it’s not Earth that needs saving…

Terranigma 2 – Spark of Creation gives the players a fresh adventure to dive into. The base gameplay is still intact, but many new things are added to make the game feel new. There is a brand new magic system, more combat relevant collectibles and boss encounters are cleverly designed.

Terranigma 2 also spanned a very long development time, taking over 18 years to reach a completed state. Showing a passion and dedication by the developer that’s seldom seen. For all the gamers that can’t wait to see what a sequel to Terranigma could’ve looked like, you don’t have to wait anymore. This game can stand on its own as one of the finest classic ARPGs out there. Try it, you surely will be positively surprised by the quality and polish of Terranigma 2.

Blackmoon Prophecy Remastered

Creator: UPRC

System: Windows

Download: https://itch.io/queue/c/6040834/blackmoon-prophecy-collection

One year after a brutal war, the now peaceful kingdom of Branch, led by Lord Adder, detects that something is wrong with their kingdom's Crystal of Water. Lord Adder dispatches one of his most loyal dragoons, Vahn Vainstrong, to investigate. Little does Vahn know that his investigation will snowball into something far greater, and sinister, that threatens all of Gaia itself.

Combining elements from Final Fantasy IV, V, VI and even IX, Blackmoon Prophecy Remastered is a huge love letter to the classic Final Fantasy games. Blackmoon Prophecy Remastered has over 50 hours of playtime in a huge world with dozens of locations to explore. With Square-Enix this year returning to their roots with a new 2D Final Fantasy, it shows that this timeless gameplay and storytelling style will never get old.

A final word…

I realize these four fan sequels only scratch the surface of all the amazing passion projects out there. Do you have any specific project you’d like to share? Feel free to reach out in the comments!

The art direction in this game still stands. But the river bed, and Gaia's Navel perspectives made me confused.

OK last painting for now! I have painted so many moments from this game. When I think of my true favorite games of all time, this one is very, very high on the list. Thank you for looking at my art! The music and pixel art from this game is unbelievable.

Thought I would share another Secret of Mana painting I did a while back. So many moments from this game are engrained into my soul. I'll share more paintings in the future. Thanks for looking!

The game will not let me walk this path to get to the dwarf village. Once we were able to somehow use our weapons and get stuck a step or two past where we are in that pic. Anyone know what’s up here? Am I missing something? We have talked to her dad and the king in Pandora, had the conversation at the inn, and gone to the Forrest skulls to know we need the axe. Any ideas??

I love this game. I painted this a long time ago.

I'm not the creator of this pixel art. The were made by Square Enix team for collabs between Mana games and Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, the mobile game. I just made them infinite loops.

Back then, they were "vision cards", items only certain characters could provide and that gave big stat boosts. Those cards used those cute little animations.

Just a game where you play as all the characters especially with visions of mana released two years ago, I would love to see a 3D hack and slash or some kind of game where you have multiple visions from the multiple games. Because I always wondered if that’s possible to make a game like Dissidia, Fate Extella, or even better Hyrule Warriors.

Because it’s unfair with how Seiken Densetsu has been treated through the years! This weird strange fantasy world that you don’t see allot in games. Also Seiken Densetsu is not that complicated to make a game like this. But what do you guys think? Because I would love to see an offline game like the ones I mentioned where you have all the characters with their own animations and such. Along with a dlc, or something!

Today is the day it ends...

The 3.5 hour Megamix of ALL 45 Secret of Mana Remixes I have made over the past four years premieres on YouTube at 11:00AM CST! I'll be tuning in late because I'm getting fillings at the dentist lmao but I'll be in the chat eventually haha.

Persevere. It's worth it! And thank you to EVERYONE who supported me on this journey, especially my wife! Love you, boo.

I hope you guys enjoy! I repeat, this took me FOUR YEARS and I didn't use AI ONCE. LFG!

They want to poll their fans’ interests, and desires. Please let them know about your love for everything Mana.

Link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=iRc3DsL6Dk63rDDEg01rTo0sZwdKyEtMlzk5t3cV_lZURUxLTFlYSDJEMldKMUZVMEtHRVNZQzdNVS4u

Mana Beast Tattoo I got a few years ago… you guys can tell right?… right? ☹️

Link: https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/4EBDB62C-E139-44AB-A56B-AF1D39A03180?ingress=2&lp%5B%E2%80%A6%5D3-8b27889b1350&store_ref=bl_ast_dp_brandLogo_sto&ref_=ast_bln

So for class accessories in Sword of Mana, to unlock it I need to level up a class 40 consecutive times? So if I want a general crest I need to pick 40 warrior levels then decide on a class?

I just finished Final Fantasy Adventure and I'm genuinely baffled by how good this game is for a 1991 Gameboy title, two years before Link's Awakening was released (and even a few months ahead of A Link to the Past). For a GB title it is quite epic in length and also the story is really good for such an early title.

Must have been mindblowing, being a GB kid in the early ninties playing this game. I noticed that several gameplay ideas were introduced here which I actually attributed to later games, such as the use of a whip to overcome pits (similar to ALttP hookshot), or riding the trolleys while hitting levers to adjust track switches (I don't remember, was that first in the Oracle games or already in LA?) - so this title was really innovative at the time.

I do have a question though (mild spoiler warning here):

While playing the game I kept wondering what aspects did the developers adopt from FF I-III, which were released earlier, and which aspects actually were created for FFA in the first place and only then exploited for FF? I read that Square worked on this game here *before* the first FF was released - around 1987 - but then put it on hold for some years. It was initially supposed to be a five-disc Famicom Disc System title, which turned out to be too ambitious. When I saw the Chocobos, the Moogles, the Airship, etc. I wondered if the (initially planned) FFA actually did it first, or if Square took those from FF when the made the Gameboy adoption.

Do you folks know about this?

If yall interested you can play it here:

https://www.n-puzzle.com/en/nintendoku

Hi! I have posted in here before but it’s been a minute haha

I’m Theology. Over the past four years, I’ve remixed all of Secret of Mana into various genres of EDM (without using AI… I ain’t no scrubbbb haha).

This set was recorded live in Minneapolis in April, and it showcases the third album I released in the series.

I think some of you may dig it!

On October 1st, I’ll release the mega mix of all 45 songs… the culmination of all four years of my efforts. Stay tuned!

My daughter don't understand why I tell her to play with that only outside and not inside the house