Paul RobertsJuly 26, 2021Maxi Geek Review, Legend of Mana, Square Enix, Switch, PS4, PCComment

Legend of Mana - Review

Paul RobertsJuly 26, 2021Maxi Geek Review, Legend of Mana, Square Enix, Switch, PS4, PCComment

Over the last few years we’ve been spoiled for games from the Mana series, whether it’s remakes, remasters or collections. After the recent remake of Trials of Mana, it is finally time for Legend of Mana to once again see the light of day. Legend of Mana is a remaster of the original PlayStation game. It is notorious in the series for a less traditional approach to the story as well as some stunning art design. Now that it’s available on the Switch it is the perfect opportunity to see if time has made the legend ever more legendary.

Centuries ago the legendary Mana Tree was burnt down as the different races of Fa’Diel warred over whatever mana remained. After there only remained artifacts, items holding lands and towns within. It is up to you, the hero, to gather these artifacts and use them to restore the land.

At the beginning you are given a map to select a smaller region to restore through the artifacts, starting as barren outside of your home. You gain artifacts through completing quests, and these artifacts can then be placed on vacant land on your map to become a new location as part of the Land Make system. Some mechanics involve the ideal placement of artifacts and strategically placing them to determine the difficulty of the location. You have what elements are stronger depending on where the artifact is placed too, although the game never bothered to explain what it all means. You select your part of a larger map and from there it’s up to you to restore the land with artifacts.

As you travel across the newly restored lands of Fa’Diel it plays like the original Mana games, real-time combat with cooldown meters to keep from constantly attacking. You learn and combine extra attacks and evasive moves into even stronger moves as you use them in combat. You can select which button does which move to equip your character in a way that suits you best. As with other Mana games, you aren’t just limited to using a sword. Through your adventures you’ll benefit from using a variety of weapons as the different types help build different stats. The Mana series combat has still got it, although some slight changes from the earlier games feel a little off. It’s hard to put my finger on what it is, but it does feel random with what counts as a hit, depending on if you’re at the exact right spot. You can make short work of some bosses, but they take longer than they should when your big charge attacks miss because you’re a pixel off and you do no damage instead.

While there are some main arcs within The Legend of Mana, overall the game feels disjointed. As with many games of the time, a guide is vital when going back to them. If you go into the game not knowing how to follow the main arcs it might feel directionless, as you accumulate quests to get you towards the final arc. There is too much the game doesn’t explain, leaving a lot of guessing and tedious leg work - or looking up an old guide. Interactions you have with NPCs can impact the quests you get, but the game is never clear when you’re about to make one of those important decisions. Ultimately, it’s all of this withheld information that kept me from enjoying Legend of Mana more. Guides can help ensure you see as much of the game as possible in one run, although multiple playthroughs are encouraged as you won’t be able to play everything in one go just like with Trials of Mana. Players who enjoy those more obtuse older RPGs warts and all will likely dig all the ways this game stood out on its own compared to the rest of the series.

A nice addition is the ability to turn off enemy encounters, especially useful when doing some backtracking through a dungeon and you’re not looking for a fight. Although if you want to keep your character/team levelled up enough you won’t want to overdo it, which is a shame if you were hoping to avoid the grind.

When looking at the original PlayStation screens for Legend of Mana it's easy to see why the visuals were praised, twenty years on and they are just as lovely. Instead of going polygonal 3D like other series at the time, Legend of Mana truly makes the most of its 2D design with beautiful prerendered scenes that look like they’ve just come out of an “Art of Legend of Mana” book. Most notably your character looks more pixely like previous games, which does stand out at times, but never makes the game look any less pretty. Not only does Legend of Mana look great, but sounds great too! As with Trials of Mana, there is a Rearranged soundtrack along with the original. You are able to switch back to the original music, and both sound as good as the music of previous games.

I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about Legend of Mana’s more non-linear disjointed storytelling. The stories within the game work well, whether they’re short or multi-quest arcs. While it might not be one connected story from finish to end, the stories within can be great. Even if it doesn't follow some quests further, that they stand out like that speaks to the quality. If you remade the game you’d lose what makes it a unique game in the series, but leaving it as a remaster means it’s still as obtuse as ever. Long time Mana series fans will no doubt appreciate the game for what it is, but it risks being too much work for newcomers to enjoy.

Originally a Japanese exclusive, Ring Ring Land has been added into this remaster, no longer bound to the Sony PocketStation. You can use it to help train up your monster and gain extra items for playing a bonus little game. It’s essentially rolling dice to move across a board, landing on spaces where you’ll fight a rival monster by trying to roll a higher number. It’s not necessary to play, but still makes for a nice little side distraction with an extra bonus.

Square Enix has been spoiling us with collections, remasters and remakes of the Mana games over the last few years. Legend of Mana being brought to the Switch is a good thing, although it would have benefited from adding some more information to the mechanics underpinning the game. For those who want the game as close to the original with the bonus PocketStation minigame included you’ll be in heaven here. Mana series fans will still have plenty to enjoy, just be prepared to keep your phone nearby and guide loaded up.