Legend of Mana
Editorial Review
Though it lacks the dramatic intensity of the Final Fantasy series–the crown prince of console role-playing sports meeting–SquareSoft’s Legend of Mana still satisfies with its gorgeous hand-drawn sets and its innovative nonlinear gameplay.
Billed as the sequel to the Super Nintendo’s Secrets of Mana, Legend of Mana’s tale contains more than 60 self-contained miniquests, but generally the goal is to restore the world’s Mana, or life energy. Gamers won’t need to be obsessive about winning all the quests, but there are some challenges that must be completed if you wish to reach the final confrontation. The game starts as players choose either a male or female lead character while a map displays the new lands within the world of Fa’Diel. In each of these lands, players will find items and clues they can use in other lands. The fragmented nature of the game can be disorienting for gamers looking for quick gratification. A diary can be used to keep track of contemporary miniquests, while an encyclopedia neatly organizes the vast amount of tale players uncover. Due to the vast nature of this game’s plot, you’ll likely need these features to stay all ears on your quests.
Anime fans will be wowed by the character design and perfectly illustrated storybook backgrounds. The game includes a Pokémon-stylishness monster-raising element, which is surprising for a teen-rated RPG, but it works well. –gatekeeper Hall
Pros:
- Pokémon-stylishness monster raising adds nice nurturing element to RPG tasks
- Nonlinear quest system makes tale engrossing
- Stunning hand-drawn backgrounds
Cons:
- Music is at times absurdly overdramatic
- Second player controls character only during battle
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I havn’t played it yet, but so far, after all my searching, this one may live up to it’s previous Seiken Densetsu sports meeting, especially 2 + 3. Buy it, Because there are so many cool things to it
Rating: 5 / 5
Despite all that, there is a right way to do them, as well as the incorrect way, which they just did. If you want a plot that works, make every action depending upon your specific reaction have unevenly ten possible outcomes, but then merge them later weave 20 or 30 separate plots depending on what you have done, and that can suddenly shift if you do something really odd, and make the tale alter entirely. Instead Legend of Mana appeared from when I played it to be not anything more than a bunch of loosely strung together garbage- go to a town, solve the puzzle, hear a bunch of drivel that doesn’t add up to anything else in your head, get the item and build a new town. The only thing that was recurring was that the faerie princess kept losing her way from what I played, but what did that have to do with anything.
This is an example of a excellent nonlinear plot:
You are a outcome in a town that gets ruined by an evil overlord. The survivors worship you as the hero and fully expect you to right wrongs and ruin the overlord (base plot). Now as you set out, you’re swinging your sword about like a fool and you kill a cat by accident. You get arrested for animal cruelty, and place in prison. So then in prison you meet a rogue girl who sets you free, and she tell you that the overlord is small potatoes, that the real conundrum is this organization that is supposed to be the law but is imposing too harse penalties on minor offenses, so under her tutelage, you become a career criminal. OR you continue on your way and the overlord send an assassin to poison your drink, but she has a change of heart and drug it instead. You get sent as a slave to be a gladiator, but you fight well and impress the army and instead fight in a war. OR you continue unswayed and finally reach the overlord’s castle only it seems the townspeople were lying, the guy is really a paladin who saw extreme corruption in the town, and place an end to it, and he has proof. So you march right back tothe town and see that he was right.
This is nonlinear plotline, the plot can make any twist imaginable throughout the game, even sacricing the original antagonize or even the hero. Take upon yourself the hero died in the thief tale, the plot might now revolve around the rogue girl, and her adventures.
Rating: 1 / 5
I only have one thing to say….This is the worst example of a sequel, EVER. My least favort game, until now, was Final Fantasy VIII….But this…This “game” is far worse. It’s does not even resemble Secret of Mana.
Bottom line:
DON’T WASTE MONEY OR TIME ON THIS HORRIBLE GAME!
Rating: 1 / 5
I recently rented Legend of Mana from a local Hollywood video. If you loved Secret of Mana or Seiken Densetsu 3, you will be VERY saddened by this ……………….. game. I can only pray that Chrono Cross will live up to the Chrono Trigger standard, as Legend of Mana didn’t stand up to its Secret of Mana standard.
Rating: 1 / 5
The first Mana game, Final Fantasy Adventure, was awesome. So was its remake called Sword of Mana. And Secret of Mana, for the SNES, was an incredible classic beloved by many after all these years. So what happened with Legend of Mana?
First off, this game doesnt have the free flowing world and fighting of the previous sports meeting. There is no linking areas to travel between. Each area/dungeon has its own small space and must be found by doing quests. After you have obtained the new area you can place it anywhere on the world map, for reasons not wholly known or cared for. Its a very weird concept at best.
And the battles. Oh, what a terrible system!
When you penetrate a battle, all of which are preset and cannot be avoided, your character moves in stutter steps. He/she moves somewhat like a fencer, a pace at a time. This makes for awkward movement. And if you want to dodge enemies you have to go up and down. Want to attack? You can only attack the left and right. This two-way dodge/attack system was really uneccessary compared to Sword and Secret of Manas free moving combat.
And the difficulty of the game… or lack there of.
In battle you can hide in a corner and at a snail’s pace replenish life. Have a teamate? Stand close to them and you will regain life about 3x quicker then normal. And sometimes defeated enemies drop sweetie which replenish all or most of your life. Oh, and after every battle you regain ALL of your life.
There are more ways to heal your character in battle than to attack!
All in all this game is a garbled mess. Its a failed attempt of Square to make a ‘unique’ Mana game which strays from the original formula. I cannot believe this game came from the same company as Secret of Mana, the Chrono sports meeting, and the Final Fantasy sports meeting. Avoid at all costs.
Rating: 2 / 5