Neko

For other characters with the same or similar names, see Nikita.

"Special deals for busy travelers. Do mew need anything?"

—Neko

Neko (ニキータ Nikīta) is a non-player character in Secret of Mana.

Profile

Appearance

Neko is a large anthropoid cat covered in lavender and beige fur. Being a traveling merchant, he can easily be identified by the large bundle bag he carries behind him.

Personality

Neko is a shrewd salesman, often found selling sundries for double versus other shops. Nonetheless, he is as much a cat as a salesman, getting himself stuck in perilous situations by his curious nature. He frequently injects various cat vocalizations into his spoken dialogue; and in the 3D remake, Neko will replace certain words with the same cat sounds (e.g. "mew" replacing "you"). This also makes him prone to using various cat puns ("I'm taking advantage of this purrfect weather myself!").

Functions

Traveling salescat: Neko can be found purr-veying a variety of goods in many locations outside of towns, including gear appropriate for the area in which he is found. He even sells the Faerie Walnut from the start of the game, making Neko the only merchant to do so for roughly half of the adventure. As the party progresses, he can be found in the following areas:

• Gaia's Navel
• Haunted Forest
• Witch's Castle
• Forest of Seasons: Spring
• Moogle Village
• Crystal Forest
• Lofty Mountains
• Mana Palace

Innkeeper: Neko's base shop is located a short distance from Potos Village where he also offers an inn.

Recorder: Whether or not he provides a place to rest, Neko is also capable of saving the player's progress. This can be useful during long treks through complicated areas where an inn may be leagues away and/or a boss battle is upcoming.

Etymology

Neko (猫) means "cat" in Japanese.