Legend of Mana

Though it lacks the dramatic intensity of the Final Fantasy series--the crown prince of console role-playing games--SquareSoft's Legend of Mana still satisfies with its beautiful hand-drawn sets and its innovative nonlinear gameplay.

Billed as the sequel to the Super Nintendo's Secrets of Mana, Legend of Mana's story 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 showdown. The game begins 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 current miniquests, while an encyclopedia neatly organizes the vast amount of story players uncover. Due to the vast nature of this game's plot, you'll likely need these features to stay focused on your quests.

Anime fans will be wowed by the character design and beautifully illustrated storybook backgrounds. The game includes a Pokémon-style monster-raising element, which is surprising for a teen-rated RPG, but it works well. --Porter Hall

Pros:

• Pokémon-style monster raising adds nice nurturing element to RPG tasks
• Nonlinear quest system makes story engrossing
• Stunning hand-drawn backgrounds

Cons:

• Music is at times absurdly overdramatic
• Second player controls character only during battle

Average Customer Review: ( 130 customer reviews )
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First of all, it's a very non-linear game. "Scenarios" are triggered by doing certain events or randomly. There are 69 scenarios in all. You start with either a male or female character, a choice of an initial weapon, and where on the map you want to play. A really original aspect of the game is the Landmake system. During the game you will find artifacts, and they can be used on your world map to make places to go such as cities or jungles or dungeons. A whole array of characters can be found during the game, and they can assist you in battle. The battle system is a new sort of action battle, where you run around the screen and either use a quick attack, a slow powerful attack, or a special move. A second player can join in by being an NPC (non-playable character) or they can import their own Legend of Mana character to play.

Another great addition to the game is the fact that you can make your own weapons and items and such. You can create golems to assist you in battle, or raise little monsters to help you from time to time.

In conclusion, Legend of Mana is a highly reccommended game. The watercolor backgrounds and lush graphics, even though they are 2D, are amazing. The music is phenominal and so is the sound. This is a great game.

21 of 22 found the following review helpful:

Weird story, but superb gameplayMar 03, 2002
By Rabbi Yonassan Gershom
To begin with, the mythology in this game is rather strange -- it's an odd mix of Buddhist, neo-pagan, and New Age theology that doesn't always hang together for me. Maybe that's because the game originated in Japan, and I'm just not as familiar with their folklore. Having said that, I will also say that this is one of the most complex, intuitive games I have ever played. You can program the controller buttons for skills that you choose, decide who to take with you on various quests, make your own customized armor and weapons, etc. Our family has logged many hours in three separate games, and we still have not solved all the scenarios. Definitely a challenge!

One of the neatest features is the "pets" you can grow, which are really monsters that fight as your allies. At various points in the game, you find "monster eggs" that you capture and put into your Monster Corral. You then feed them with foods that you win in the game. The various foods have different effects on the monsters' agressiveness, magic, etc. as the monster grows. You can keep up to five pets in the corral, and you get to choose which one to take with you on each quest. The pets level up in battles just like the RP characters, and some monsters are more powerful than others. As the game progesses, you have the option to sell ones you don't like to make room for new eggs. Part of the fun is seeing what they hatch into!

There are also magical trees where you grow the various seeds that you win in certain battles. The fruits that appear are hilarious -- Apricats, Cabadillos, FishyFruits, Rhinolopes, etc. These can be used as foods for your pets, or as ingredients to temper the weapons, musical instruments, or golems that you make in the workshops. You can sell extra items in the various shops to get money for materials to make more powerful weapons, too. So, it pays to harvest and re-plant your orchards regularly.

The storyline, as other reviewers have already pointed out, is flexible and non-linear -- a lot depends on how you solve the subplots. We found that, when family members each play their own versions, things occur in very different orders. How you answer the questions will also determine whether or not you get certain scenarios at all. The best strategy, I found, is to visit the different lands often, and talk to everyone you see there. When their conversations change or a new character appears, that usually signals the beginning of a new quest. (Hint: to find a couple subplots on the pirate ship, keep asking the helmsman to go in different directions in different orders.)

The overall goal is to heal the Mana Tree, which is like the Tree of Life. As you solve the various subplots, you will be given "artifacts" that you place on the World Map. The artifacts morph into new lands where you find more scenarios to solve. At some point you will receive the Sword of Mana, which grows into the Mana Tree. If you choose to climb the Tree and solve that scenario, you will beat the game. The first time through, I did that right away -- and the graphics for the finale are absolutely beautiful!

When I played a second time, I chose not to climb the Tree until I had found the scenarios that I missed the first time. BTW, when you play again, you can import your HP level and certain other attributes from the first game. I also discovered that I could import another player's character from their game, complete with his or her weapons, etc. (Before you do this, though, be sure each of you has a backup copy, in case you accidentally overwrite somebody's data.) In 2P mode, the second player can control their character in my game and join me on the quests. This can be very useful for defeating a powerful monster! But watch out -- some scenarios will send the second player home. When that happens, he or she will be prompted to save whatever points s/he has earned in your game.

49 of 57 found the following review helpful:

Square's latest Gem proves to be vastly entertaining.Jul 07, 2000

First of all, I'd like to say something to all those people who say "This isn't a sequel to Secret of Mana--it stinks." Of course it isn't a sequel! There is a game between Secret of Mana and Legend of Mana, it just didn't come out in America, it's called Seiken Denjetsu 3, Secret of Mana was 2, and Legend of Mana is 4--just to clear that up.

Second, I'm goin to have to say that this game has the most beautiful 2D graphics I've ever seen. They're hand-drawn, and they look something like those of Saga Frontier 2, but more detailed. For those of you who don't like 2D things, this game may very well change your mind.

The Storyline in this game is.... well, relatively non-existent. There are 69 sub-quests in this game which help determine the overall story which is buried deep inside somewhere. The game doesn't focus on any one concept, or any one villain. It is just made up of a lot of sub-quests. Depending on which Sub-quests you do, you'll meet new characters, find new artifacts, etc...

Legend of Mana uses the most innovative 'world creation' system i've seen yet. In the game, you find magical artifacts which when triggered, construct a city, dungeon, or new area... you decide where you put the new area, and you basically create everything in the game. Depending on where you use the artifact, the story will change. You also make your own weapons, and armor, which is unique.

The Battle System in Legend of Mana is kind of cool... There are no menus, and it is fought in real-time. You go to another screen for battle, but you can move your characters freely around the battlefield. Instead of menus, you assign different abilities to buttons. eg: strong attack, weak attack, special ability. I found this battle system needed a little getting used-to, but proved to be very successful and fun in the end.

The only flaw i see in this game is the fact that there is no main storyline, and this may disappoint some gamers--and it shares few similarities with Secret of Mana, which may also disappoint many gamers. But other than those flaws, I'd say that this is an excellent game with tons of replay value, because there are so many things you can do.

24 of 26 found the following review helpful:

One of the Best game I ever playedMay 13, 2000

I have played the Japanese version of this game and it is one of the best game I've ever played. The game play is awesome, just like the previous Seiken Densetsu series. The special moves is a cool addition to the game. However, unlike the previous Seiken Densetsus, there really isn't any room for 2 player since all the NPC come and go with regard to the event you are on. All the other features also increases the fun of the game. Catching eggs and breeding monsters to be in your party, making your own weapon and armors, as well as forging it with special abilities. You can also make your own golems by filling a 6x6 box with pieces made from your weapons and armors. Linking the pieces can result in the golem having special combos and attacks. Magic is now in the form of instruments and each one have a different magic depending on what you made the instrument with and which element of magic you forged it with. Overall, I think this game is one of my favorite and would recommand it to all the RPG/Seiken Densetsu lovers.

11 of 11 found the following review helpful:

Infinite FunJun 22, 2000

This has to be the best game, much less, RPG I have ever played. Sure, some games are great, but then they get too hard or too boring. This is not that type of game. It has a scattered plot and many things about the game revolve around your choices. Many mysteries lie in this adventure.

Quests range from being as powerful as discontinuing a war waged by 2 powerful races to being as odd as helping a lovestruck centaur win the heart of a siren. Worried you might have missed getting a quest artifact? You can always get it later, usually. There are roughly 70 quests.

The world map takes place where you select your "Play Area" at the beginning of your game. Then you place your mailbox. This creates your home, you keep getting more items called Artifacts and placing them on the map, customizing your world as you please. And for areas where you fight monsters and things, the farther from your home you place things, the harder and more experience-giving the enemies will be.

The battles are not turn-based. You move freely using techniques to help you evade and defend, and even attack. Striking many ways and with many combos with your weapon, enabling special Synchro effects, and casting spells and special abilities.

There are beautiful spells of many elements, special moves depending on what weapon you specialize in, and techniques, like somersault, back-roll, and lunge. there are 15 moves for each weapon, and 26 techniques. I don't know how many spells, i can't count.

You can choose what gender, weapon (10 choices), and area at the beginning.

While the graphics aren't all 3D, they have gorgeous areas and some of the most impressive spells i've seen.

Side with dragoons, take young wizards as your apprentices, join a jumi knight, catch pets, build golems, and even bring a friend along from his or her on game! This is the best game I have seen, buy it!

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