Review: Sword of Mana
The Sword of Mana is the Sequel or rater Prequel to the fan favorite Secret of Mana that was a cult hit on the SNES. Can Sword of Mana possibly live up to the fan's expectations?
Story:
The location of the Mana Tree is something that has become a lost legend in the world. Now a man calling himself the Dark Lord is ruthlessly searching for the tree so he and he alone can control the world's Mana. You can play as a young Gladiator out for revenge, or the last living member of the Mana clan to save the world and maybe get some retribution as well.
Graphics:
SquareEnix is known for making great looking games and Sword of Mana is no exception. Each pixel looks beautiful and outstanding. This is one of the most visually stunning games on the GBA; there are very few other titles that can even hold a candle graphically to Sword of Mana.
Music:
The music is good but does not live up to the high standard of music and sound we are accustomed to from SquareEnix, and after a while you will find yourself either tuning the music out our turning the sound down. This is not to say the music is bad by any means but rather is no where nearly as memorable as the RPG opuses we have become accustomed to.
Game Play:
For fans of the series, they will be happy to know that the game play remains almost intact from the SNES. This does post a problem though, because the SNES game play could have used some tweaking, and the shrinking down from 6 buttons to 4 does not help things much. Darn jump button. Fans of the series will be happy that the menu system from the original made it to this game intact and is still as easy to use as always.
Design:
Sword of Mana is another well designed game with unique puzzles and traps that are not featured in any if not most RPG's, partly because this game is in real time not turn based like most SquareEnix RPG's, but also because the designers took the time to look create challenging puzzles and new thins that most gamers are not used to help add a sense of curiosity and further wonder into Sword of Mana.
GBA gamers should at least give this game a try, especially if you like RPG's, or are a fan of the series. Other than that it is a judgment call on your part. I personally bought it because I was a fan of the original, and I liked what I saw. I enjoyed the game, I just felt that if a little more time had been spent with this game it would have been an absolute recommend for everyone.
Sword of Mana:
Pros:
Finally a New Mana game
Gorgeous graphics
2 points of view on the story
Unique puzzles
Cons:
Music is not up to standards
Game play could have been updated a little
Some of the puzzles can be tough