Legend of Mana:
Where you create the world....and explore it.

Legend of Mana is a very different type of game. It is much different than its predecessor Secret of Mana. You either love it or are very discouraged by it. When I started to play the game it was a little confusing, and I was a bit skeptical about the whole idea of the game. It turns out, after you progress on through the game, you learn more about it and I found it to be a very good game. It is a slow game without a strong story line to pull you through the game. Instead you basically create your game and do what you want. There is of course a storyline but just a very small one so you can start and finish the game. What it has though is a bunch of quests and side-quests for you to explore. When you get tired of one you can go to another. If you don't like one of them you don't have to do it, but it may change the outcome of the game later on. It also has an immense world to explore and visit. The world is beautifully drawn so you can't get tired of seeing one place too many times. So with those note lets get going on to the real review.

STORY

Nine years ago the mana tree burned to ashes. Parts of its power were stored away in instruments, stones, swords, and different items. Sages fought for the items and there power. Then over a hundered years of war the power of mana began to wane and those who saught it became scarce. So the world was in peace again.
Then the player(you) comes along. Other than that small intro there really is no underlining story and you are just able to do as you wish. You start off at your home and you get your first artifact which is one of the parts of mana power that was stored. You go along through your journey and get more artifacts unlocking different parts of the world. Basically what you are doing is unlocking the power of mana and letting the Mana tree grow back so the world will flow with mana once more. The thing is, the game doesn't tell you this. You just have to put it together in your own head.
On the other hand though, this is what makes the game so original and enjoyable. I love how the story is left wide open because you are creating the world and your own little storyline yourself. But, I am going to have to rate it for what the topic is. The topic is story line and it doesn't really have any story line.

Score: 3/10

SOUND/MUSIC/VOICE OVER

What is dissapointing is that there is no speech. You have to read the text, but this isn't very differnet from the usual square game(Final Fantasy). The sound affects go as far as a loud "thud!" and "kaboom!", but most RPG games are like that today. The music is excellent. It's one of the strong points in the game. Although, the songs are very well composed it does get tiresome because some scores are used repeatedly. So be prepared to hear the same song more than once in a different area.

Score: 7/10

GRAPHICS

The graphics in Legend of Mana are its strongest points. The world itself is beautifly drawn with plenty of different colors to catch the human eye, and it is also very detailed. The characters are drawn with a funny, cartoony anime style. They look great and are well detailed. Many people prefer games that are 3D, but some games work better with 2D animation. The whole game would have looked much different if it was 3D. The 2D animation allows for a very different look from other games. I am sure it could have looked good as a 3D game, but I love the way it is now.

Score: 9/10

GAMEPLAY

The gameplay is very fun because you can create your world the way you want. You can also choose what quests you want to do as well. There is also many characters to meet and quests to do. I had my quest book overfilled with quests to do to keep me busy. One of the great parts in the game is that you have your own house. Some people may say "Whats so great about that?" My answer is that most houses come with yards and in this game you get a big yard filled with things. In your yard you have a big workshop, but it's filled with nothing. As you progress through the game you can get three parts of the workshop. The parts are golem making, instrument making, and forgeing or tempering your weapons and armors; each will help you later in the game. You can create three golems and make them look the way you want and attack the way you want. You may take them into battle and have them tag along. The instrument making is for using spells. To use a spell you must have a instrument of a certian mana creature, but instead of buying them you can make your own by meeting the creature and getting their elemental coin to build your own instrument. And last but not least you can forge your own weapons and armor and then temper them to make them stronger. Or you can just temper the stuff you already have. It might sound a little confusing, but it works out well, and the idea is very fresh and exciting.
In another part of the yard you have your very own Monster Coral. You can explore for monster eggs and then have them hatch and raise them as your own. They can join battle with you. But kids, having a pet is a big responsiblity. If you want them to level up you can have them graze. You also have to feed them and it is good for them to have a personality. (HINT: try petting them and feeding them the right stuff)
Now, where are you going to get all this food for your pets? You can get it in your very own orchard. Here there is a giant tree that you can talk to and give seeds to. Giving him seeds will allow him to grow fruits on his branches. By giving him different types of seeds you get different fruits. Apart from your normal quests, you'll find yourself spending a lot of time at you house. These side areas are both entertaining and prove to be a help with the game.
Other goodies include an accesible two player mode. A friend to take over for one of your NPCs. Or if a friend has the game as well, they can load their character into the game to help you. Also, if you choose, you can battle it out with your friend to see who's character is truly the strongest.
Although this sounds very fun the game does have two major weak spots when it comes to gameplay. One is the battle engine. Its the same old same old. Walk from screen to screen slashing up enemies. Some may like this game style, but some may not, either way it still provides core action gameplay. The second thing is that first time around it is extremely easy. This was very disappointing and some people may just want to stop because of its easy difficulty level(but's that's doubtful considering the vast options you'll enjoy exploring), but if you do come through and beat it you get a very good reward. I'll explain this reward next.

Score:8/10

REPLAY

As far as the replay goes it is great! After you beat the game once, Legend of Mana allows you to save your character and start over again. Leaving you with just your house once again. Everyone that is a RPG fan will play it again for three very good reasons. One is that it is a great game and that you just have to play it again. Two is that there is many different things you can do in the game because you build the world. The first time I beat it I must have missed a thousand different quests I could have done and four more places I could have visited. Finally, the big reward is that you get to set the difficulty. The difficulties you get to set are normal (which is the easy mode you play the first time), nightmare (which is pretty hard), and then no future mode (which is nearly impossible). I recommend you don't play this mode until your third time playing the game because that's when your character will most likely be able to handle it.

Score:10/10

This game is a great game to play and is put together wonderfully. I think it will be labeled as a classic RPG and it is definitely one of the greatest games in the Mana series. I hope everyone will have as much fun as I did with it.

Final Score:9/10