However, my favorite part about the graphics, and the one that I was most impressed by, has got to be the animation of the “big guys”, and no, not the bosses. However, the special attacks have some nice visuals while keeping it simple. Magic spells are nothing incredible, but I hear that some of the later, more powerful spells are more impressive. Attacks and movement are all very detailed and never look choppy. And they all animate very nicely, especially your character. You’re speaking to Rachel, Matilda, or Niccolo, and it helps you to bond with the characters. Aside from the Sproutlings, Students, and a few others, each character is an original: you never get the feeling that you’re conversing with Random Villager #54. Rarely will you get a sense of malevolence from any of the artwork, but even when you do, it’s pretty cute, leaving the dialogue and music to set the tone.Īnother impressive thing about the graphics is that, though there are a lot of sprite characters, all of them seem to have their own unique look to them. Everything from houses to towers to snowfields are all drop dead gorgeous and feel as if they came out of one of those old storybooks, such as the Goldenbooks editions of Cinderella or Snow White. This is Disney-quality stuff, and you’ll be reminded of Disney quite often as all the graphics have a very storybook, cutesy cartoony feel to them. All the characters and backgrounds are hand drawn sprites, and are the most detailed and beautiful I have ever seen in any video game ever. This factor, more than anything else in the game, drew me in and kept me playing. One of the two areas where Legend of Mana really shines, however, is graphics. So you can watch the individual characters and their antics throughout the game, and let me say right now that there are some very STRANGE characters in the game (example: your housemate is a talking cactus). However, even within those small missions, you get a sense of connection, for, unlike in SaGa Frontier, you play the same character and interact with the same characters throughout the entire game. Some of the missions are humorous, some are touching, and others are just plain strange. The missions can be done in almost any order, so long as you have met the prerequisites, and some missions are related (for example the dragon slaying missions) and form a larger story. In fact, there are a more than 60 missions in all that you can complete, ranging from enemy mashing to recovering a lost broom. What there is of plot is very well done, however, and comes in the forms of mini missions… LOTS of mini missions. Instead, think of it more as a virtual world, sort of like Sim City, but with the play mechanics of an action/RPG and many side stories to keep you occupied. If the plot sounds a bit confusing, it’s because it is, as long as you think of the game as an RPG. Through the power of your imagination, you will be able to release the memories inside the artifacts and use them to revive the different lands within Fa’Diel, eventually reviving the Mana Tree itself. For a long time, now, the Mana Tree has laid dormant, and the land divided, enchanted, and its memories imbued within magical artifacts. When the war was finally over, the sages started to lose interest in Mana, believing it the source of all their troubles. Eventually, the faeries were corrupted and started a war against the humans, and the world was thrown into chaos. Afterwards, sages and magicians fought each other seeking the scarce leftover power of Mana for themselves. However, 900 years ago the tree burned down, depleting the world of Mana. A land with a long history of wars and magic, Fa’Diel has gone through cycles of events, usually centered around the Mana Tree, provider of life and magic. Legend of Mana takes place in the exceptionally detailed and colorful world known as Fa’Diel. Fortunately, Square managed to produced an excellent quality game in spite of its non-linearity, and what a way to start off the summer! Since I didn’t much enjoy SaGa Frontier, I was very worried that Legend of Mana would be a repeat of Square’s earlier non-linear plot effort. But I also had a sense of trepidation, as I heard that the game was a lot like SaGa Frontier as far as being comprised of mini-stories instead of one main plot. Being an avid fan of the Seiken Densetsu series (Secret of Mana in the States) I was looking forward to Square’s latest installation of the classic action/RPG series. As Square’s “Summer of Adventure” approached, three titles loomed large on the horizon: Legend of Mana, Chrono Cross, and Threads of Fate.
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