While by no means game breaking, these mechanics could have been tweaked, or gotten rid of entirely, to truly bring Legend of Mana into the current generation of gaming.Īnother criticism, which is admittedly more down to my own personal preferences, regards the game’s apparent fascination with showing off the underwear of its female characters. It isn’t necessary, and only serves to slow down the player’s progression from one mini-area to another. Similarly wrong-headed, and more poorly executed, is the clumsy map system that is used to show players an overview of each area. While at the time of release the ability to decide the layout of the world map may have been a novel concept, it doesn’t really achieve anything from a gameplay perspective other than causing players to worry about horribly irreversible decisions that will haunt them for the rest of their playthrough. More dated, perhaps, are some of the gameplay mechanics. Within the first hour of playing Legend of Mana and hitting early quests such as The Lost Princess, you will know that your senses are in for an absolute treat.
Much has already been said about the stunning soundtrack and gorgeous artwork, and I can’t really add anything to that discussion. Especially in terms of the breadth of its gameplay. Revisiting the game after all these years, it’s immediately apparent how ahead of its time it was.
If you want to make friends with the colourful cast of characters, it’s up to you. If you want to fight countless battles and become a powerful warrior, it’s but a sword swing away. If you want to collect monster pets, then you can. In many ways Legend of Mana is a natural precursor to the modern trend of casual games like Stardew Valley – an open world for you to interact with as you see fit. In hindsight, I wasn’t ready for the answer Legend of Mana was trying to suggest: whatever you feel like. I spent hours running around in circles without the faintest idea of what I was supposed to be doing.
#LEGEND OF MANA FULL#
I was thrown into an alien world jammed full of talking plants, mystical trees, and confusing gameplay mechanics that were unlike anything I’d ever come across. What followed was a singularly frustrating experience, in many ways akin to learning physics in a foreign language. I had asked my parents for Final Fantasy VII for my birthday, and instead received Legend of Mana apparently the shop clerk told my mother it was virtually the same.
I remember my first encounter with the game, back in the year 2000 when I was around 10 years old. Image: Legend of Mana / Square Enix A trip down memory lane
0 kommentar(er)
