Legend of Mana Remaster Review
More than 20 years after its original PlayStation 1 release, the world of Square Enix’s Legend of Mana has gotten a remaster. Are the quality of life improvements worth it, or does the original reign supreme? Check out our review and find out.
Legend of Mana Remaster Review
When Legend of Mana begins, players choose between a female or male character and then select a weapon. You aren’t locked into the weapon choice, but the character is the one you’ll be for the entire game. The world you inhabit was once home to a great mana tree that spread magic throughout the world. The tree was burned down, and everyone fought for the remaining mana until there was none left. You start playing at a time when the world is empty, and it’s up to you to rebuild it. You then set out from your home on a 25-30 hour adventure.
You begin with your house and a single town to place on the map. The items you place down on the map are called Artifacts. They can be towns, mines, jungles, lakes, and other areas you will explore. Generally, each new Artifact has one quest for you to complete, along with treasure to find. It’s an odd system because there isn’t a main story for you to follow at first; just a number of minor quests to complete. The only downside to this system is if you don’t know where to go for the next quest. There are no waypoints, so often you’ll have to speak with everyone you see until someone gives you a mission.
The combat in this game isn’t turn-based, but instead features a more action RPG-like system. You get into fights, and then the actual fighting is in real-time. It makes for a hit-and-miss combat system that you can sometimes exploit or be exploited by. You can’t swing up or down; just left and right. You have to move your character up and down to get someone above or below you. The hitboxes work the same way; sometimes, you find the mark easy, while other times your weapon goes right through the enemy. That being said, I was able to completely stun lock a couple of bosses by repeatedly doing two-hit combos in the corner. I’m partial to turn-based combat, and this game would have benefited greatly from it.
Legend of Mana also gives players the chance to find monster eggs and hatch them into creatures that travel alongside you. Much like the combat system, the AI leaves much to be desired. Your allies will sometimes be on the opposite side of the screen doing nothing while you are off fighting. Other times, they are taking out three enemies before you can even charge up a special attack. Know what’s cool? Consistency. That’s a really cool thing to have in combat. If you can play with two people, I recommend it, but you’ll also completely dominate the game.
Special attacks are learned from weapons and by crafting instruments to use magic. During combat, you fill up your special bar and press one of the buttons to activate your abilities. These have to do a slight charge up before launching, which often means the enemy will …
