These are ten questions (suggested by BattleLord in order of annoyingness) that we who know Secret of Mana by heart are getting annoyed with answering. If you have any of these questions, do NOT leave them on my messageboard, as you will not recieve a serious response.
This isn't asked as much as the others, but still is. The answer: if you're THAT stumped, wait until you get to the Mana Fortress and kill a lot of enemies.
9. Why can't I get into Pure Land?
'Cuzza the cloud cover and the fact that you have to beat the Tree Palace first.
8. Where is the Tree Palace (or Mana Palace [not Fortress] or Grand Palace or Underground City; they're all the same thing)?
On a large purple continent in the southeast, although you can't enter until you've finished Sage Joch's quest.
7. How do I get back into Potos?
Who cares? Okay, the easiest way in is by pressing up against the guard while hitting select over and over again, and you can get out by the same way (although it's harder going out) or by calling Flammie. But get real, folks, you can't DO anything there other than spend a night in a 5 GP inn (the Sprite grandpa is cheaper).
6. How do I get to the Wind Palace?
Walk the seasons Spring to Winter (pink [Spring] to green [summer] to fall [brown] to winter [white]), Spring again yadda yadda, a path opens up in Spring, follow it, beat the bird boss, and voila!
5. Where's the best place to raise magic levels?
The Wind Palace: cast the spell that takes the least MP to cast for each character for each elemental, and cast it over and over until the level of the elemental equals your number of Mana Seeds. Anywhere else is WRONG, as WHAT you cast the spells on isn't important, nor even WHICH spell it is, so long as you get free MP restoring (which you do, in the Wind Palace.)
4. Why can't I raise my weapon levels above 8?
Because it's impossible. Really. The weapons CAN become level 9 weapons, but you can NEVER charge them up to level 9 (ditto magic, although you CAN see what I call Level 9 magic by casting level 8 spells sometimes.)
3. Where is the Underground Palace?
BattleLord may think this is third, but I think this is the #1 dumbest and most annoying question asked. No offense if that happens to be your question, but really, folks. The game POINTS OUT to you the location about fifty times! Okay, after beating the witch Elinee and Tonpole and getting Undine's magic, go to Gaia's Navel and cast freeze on the orb in the middle of the Dwarf Village. And if you haven't done any of that, please consort my walkthrough. Just 'cuz the game keeps MENTIONING the Underground Palace does NOT mean you need to go there just yet.
2. How can I get Solar?
Ah, yes, Solar. The ninth elemental - of the sun. Would be a cool addition to your spells, wouldn't it. Would be, except for one thing. There is NO SUCH thing as Solar. It does NOT exist. Leo is dead, Aeris is dead, and Solar was never even born. Tell whoever told you it existed to try and get it. If they say they have, ask them for proof. Thanks to emulators and ROMs, anyone with a computer ought to be able to give proof of a Solar elemental, yet no such proof exists. That, combined with the fact that the person who invented Solar gave about twenty conflicting ways of getting him (most of which were impossible, ie. have all your magic charged up to 8:99 BEFORE you get to the Mana Tree), makes me believe and know that there is NO Solar elemental.
And #1 is... (drumroll please)
What's the Mana Sword trick again?
I gave a detailed method in part three of my walkthrough, so look there. Also, if landing right beside Neko is your problem, look for a small, white, perfectly round island near the Ice Palace. Land there. If it doesn't work, try another. If you can't find the right island, it's because YOU'RE not looking hard enough. I found it. If you want me to give proof of it, I can (although it would take a while, as I do not have a SoM ROM). I know many people who have found it to back me up. And I didn't even get it right on my first try, just be patient and keep at it (and don't land on the same round island over and over again. I ASSURE you it won't work.) Walking to Neko won't work (I've tried it) but this IS real (I test EVERYHING before printing it.)