The Underground Palace (also referred to as the Earth Palace) is a dungeon in Secret of Mana. One of the world"s eight Mana Palaces, it lies hidden beneath Dwarf Village. Home to the Mana Seed of Earth and the earth elemental Gnome, the Underground Palace is the second to be visited by Randi and his party.
Story[]
The search for Major Dyluck had only begun when Elinee had squared off with the party and her pet was defeated. The witch, however, cannot break the seal she had cast on the palace. Instead, the trio takes a shortcut through the Haunted Forest and heads back to the Water Palace on Sage Luka's orders. There, they learn of Undine's distress and must go to her cave behind the palace falls to save her. As thanks for their aid, the water spirit lends Primm and Popoi her powers.
Breaking the crystal seal in an underground cavern, Randi's troupe makes its way into the palace amid an infestation of monsters. They reach Gnome on the fourth floor, but he runs off thinking the Empire is after him. In the room behind them, Randi and co. face a Fire Gigas, Undine at their side, and defeat it.
As they approach the altar where the Seed of Earth rests, Gnome greets the party and lends them his powers as well.
Walkthrough[]
Entrance to the Underground Palace
Go inside and have sprite use Undine (Freeze) on the Crystal Orb; this freezes the lava, making it now possible to go through the Underground Palace.
Kill the Goblins near the door, and then open that door. The stairs straight ahead are blocked by a pot of fire; to get rid of this, take both the left and right path and step on the switch that is at the end.
On your way are two Chess Knights; though they are not as aggressive as the Goblins, they have high speed/evade, so avoiding them is best for now. Go up the stairs and step on any of the two switches to activate the bridge. Continue north, follow the trail, and equip the Whip.
Map of the Underground Palace
In the next room is a duo of stakes. Whip yourself to the other side, but watch out for the Green Drop that awaits you on the other side-you might want to take care of it before by firing a long-range weapon. Go all the way north from there.
In the next room, go north again, and keep the Sprite alive. Move on, and you will eventually reach the stage room. Gnome is here, but is a little unfriendly, and cowardly runs off once he notices something coming. You will enter a boss battle with Fire Gigas.
Underground Palace Boss Battle
After defeating this boss, head north. Here is, besides Gnome, a seed just like in the Water Palace. Talk to Gnome, who in return for getting rid of Fire Gigas bestows his magical abilities upon the girl and the sprite. When you are finished, go to the Earth Seed and gain its powers. Sprite will regain his memory by doing that, and indicates that the Upper Land is his home.
To exit the Underground Palace, you can go by foot or use the Magic Rope to immediately return to the entrance.
Speculation[]
- Since Secret of Mana used the original maps of Chrono Trigger(which were discarded for new maps usable for turn-based games when the Super Nintendo CD Add-On was canceled) and the World Map shows a Palace at the location of Sage Jock distinct from the Palace representing the Palace of Darkness(which like the Underground Palace is in a Cave) it is possible that Chrono Trigger intended the Underground Palace to be a Light Palace to contrast the Palace of Darkness.
- Conversely the Underground Palace and the Palace of Darkness could be the Sun and Moon Palaces(or even Sun Palace and Sun Keep) in the Middle Ages after the Moon Palace(which was visibly floating in the heavens) had crashed into either the top of the mountain containing the Sun Palace or into the mountain's base sometime following the fall of Zeal in Antiquity.