One of my favorite Squaresoft games ever. (Legend of Mana, The (PS))

Member Name: randomreviews

Product:	Legend of Mana, The (PS)
Date:	26/09/09 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: creative, fun

Disadvantages: no real direction in what to do next

In Legend of Mana, you embark on a quest in the enchanted world of Fa'Diel. Its an action-RPG, but unlike typical games, this doesn't follow a specific storyline. In fact, events in the game are triggered by various interactions you make or entering certain areas at a specific time. The game's art and scenery seems like something you'd see in a fairy tale.

The Wikipedia entry for Legend of Mana explains the circumstances where the game begins, "The Mana Tree, the giver of mana and life for the world, burned down nine centuries prior to the events of the game. A war erupted between faeries, human, and others seeking the scarce power of mana that was left. When the war concluded, the drained Mana Tree slept and the many lands of the world were stored in ancient artifacts. A hero, controlled by the player, is self-charged with restoring the world, and its mana, to its former self. The Lands of Fa'Diel are populated with a large number of different creatures, including humans, faeries, demons, the jewel-hearted Jumi race, plant-like Sproutlings and Flowerlings, miner bears called Dudbears, and shadowy beings of the Underworld known as Shadoles. Fa'Diel is also the home of a host of anthropomorphic animals and objects, as well as monsters from other Mana titles such as Rabites, Chobin Hoods, and Goblins."

The world map starts out virtually non-existant outside of your home. Your objective is to go around and explore - chatting with people and trying to see if any events begin. For instance, perhaps someone's friend has gone missing and they request your assistance to enter a dungeon to rescue that person - you'd go, destroy the boss, and may be rewarded with a magical artifact which you then use on the world map to place wherever you choose and create a new area for you to explore. As soon as an event ends, you return home and your partner departs. You're left not knowing the next move because the game doesn't follow a specific storyline. Everything is random - and without using a guide, you'll have a difficult time trying to follow the plot. You're introduced to many characters and are pulled into the drama that unfolds in their lives through various quests. Consider quests like mini-chapters in a big story. You only uncover small bits of details revealed during each event. Some events won't start up until others have been completed. You meet all kinds of interesting characters and races in the game and while it can be frustrating at times, the further you get into it, the more exciting the plot becomes. There are 3 major storyline routes in the game which can lead you to the end. You deal with all kinds of situations - from comical adventures to more serious cases of prejudice and corruption.

You're given a lot of diversity and customization in this game.

[ Combat System ]

Its real time combat where you face off against opponents in a party of up to 3 characters. Your character can use various weapons like a staff, knife, axe, sword, bow and arrow and more. As you deal damage to opponents, a meter begins to fill which allows you to use a special attack - similar to the limit break attacks in the Final Fantasy series. There are also a number of abilities you can unlock which also contribute to you learning more powerful special techniques. For instance you can choose to be able to perform a flip-kick, taunt the enemy, slide, double-jump and so on in battle in addition to just using a weapon or magic spells. Also by mastering and changing your "plunge attacks" you can unleash large amounts of damage with wicked chains of powerful combos.

[ Other Features ]

By collecting gems, talismans and rare metals and other materials you can forge mighty weapons and armor for your characters or refine instruments to use to serenade spirits or to unleash powerful magic spells against enemies. You can also build golems to join your party as well as discover eggs in certain areas of the game which you take home to incubate and hatch into various monsters who you can also include in your team. Based on the specific diet you have for the monster, its parameters will raise slightly or significantly at each level up. A second player can control your partner character if you have one or you can invite their Legend of Mana character into your game to fight alongside you. You can also even challenge each other later on in the game.

If you have various save files on your memory card from other Squaresoft games like Final Fantasy VIII or Saga Frontier, you can get special bonus unlockables like a powerful sword or a Chocobo as a pet.

There's also a special mini-game you can play which is basically whack-a-mole except you use the world map and bop towns to try to beat your previous score.

Summary: Legend of Mana is a satisfying game once you get the hang of it.