"Finally in the states, and an excellent improvement on the series."

Legend of Mana finally makes it to the shores of the US. Hallelujia and praise be to whatever big-wig at Square had the foresight to release this excellent game here in the states. A revolutionary RPG that introduces all sorts of new ideas, and ressurects a few older ones that were thought dead here in the US since the last evolution of this series.

Before I rave on about it, allow me to first say that this game isn't for everyone. If you're looking for the same sort of play that came with the originals, you'll be sorely dissapointed. This game is a step away from the action-fest that the previous incarnations of this series have been, and gone for a more ''true'' roleplaying feel. So for those looking for that multi-player experiance from Secret of Mana (Or 3rd in the series that never made it here to the states), you will be in for a rude awakening. This is a 1 player experiance now, with the primary focus on the free roaming ''missions''. The second players, sidekicks, even when the computer controlls them, are only really good for distractions anymore. To get some monsters focusing on beating them up instead of you while you pick away at them.

But let's break it down...

Graphics:
Best visuals I've seen from a game in YEARS. This is proof, just like Castlevania:SOTN was, that the art of 2d is NOT dead. And boy is this game an attestment to it. Simply awesome. Jaw dropping visuals everywhere, from the colorful backrounds to the hand-drawn character portraits, to even the little animations of when the cities/dungeons get placed. All tremendous effort and pains-taking detail. Square gets ALOT of points for showing the world that this form of animation can still compete, and make an excellent game, in a world that seems to be steadily moving towards CG visuals...

And wait until you see the ship, rolling lightly in the waves while you're standing on the top deck...

Music/Sound:
Oh boy does this game shine here. My only complaint is that ALL the music sounds way too ''happy'' for the settings. But as brightly colored as the game is, I suppose that is only to be expected.

As for the sound effects, they are great. From the rolling of the waves, to the kids clamoring in the school, to the cries of the seagulls... in each town, the backround sounds and music are meticulously entered. The only time that diminishes is in battle, and then the sounds aren't really your primary focus anyway...



Control:
Simple, uncomplicated, and yet still allowing you a full range of moves and abilities, from Magic, to ''special moves'' you learn over time. It all gets put in and flows rather well. Nothing special or incredible about it, just simple, straightforward, and easy to use.


Gameplay:
This part is where it takes some getting used to at first. It's like NOTHING you've played before, end of story. More like a mixture of pieces from other games pulled together seamlessly, added with a huge dose of unique flavor, and blended thuroughly to make a very enjoyable concoction.

First thing anyone will notice when they start the game is having it ask you to chose a male or female character, your starting weapon, and where you want to put your home. Now this in itself is unusual, but for those who have gotten used to these ''by the rails'' RPGs, that'll be a rather big suprise... then again, not having a pre-generated name for the character is a big suprise for alot of people.

The next big suprise is the moment you walk out into the world. A little tutorial explains to you how to place lands, and you go to work. In short, you can't go anywhere you're not ready for, because you haven't earned the item to BUILD that land. A wholley unique system to any other RPG, and suprisingly a welcome one. I thought I would hate this system when I first started playing with it, but instead it gives the game a sense of freedom most other RPGs don't have. Total free mobility... but only among the lands you've placed.

Unfortunatly that's where my only down comment on this game comes in. As you get up there, and get a wide variety of lands out in the world, you have so MANY options, that any quests you missed before become even harder now because you're not sure where to look. And the one ''hint'' person in the game (A fortune teller in the first city you make) is only helpful on specific quests, NOT all of them. This is the only dent in this games near perfect score from me. Lord knows, I've been looking for ''Lil Cactus'' for almost 6 hours now, and STILL haven't found the second location he went to...

But I'm getting off topic.

Fun Factor:
Now here is another spot this game shines, again taking only the dent away from the lack of any in-game assistance for when you get stuck on certain puzzles/missions. But the rest is alot of fun. Running around in insanely colorful lands, listening to wonderful music, and beating up on an insanely colorful group of bad-guys. It's pure wonderful mayhem. While it's still real-time battles, this game will appeal to the hard-core RPGers out there... Unfortunatly this will likely turn off the older fans of the series. For me, it's a VERY welcome change (No offense guys, but I never liked Secret of Mana, or the 3rd on in Japan. Only other good one was the 1st one on the gameboy). But for those of you out there who are the hard-core RPG fans, this is the game for you. So long as you have the coordination for the real-time battles, this game is one of the best out there, and makes Squares previous attempts (FF7 and 8) pale by comparison.


And there you have it. My opinion on this particual game. It's not for everyone, especially if what you want is basically a game that's identical to it's predecessors. But if you're looking for a solid RPG, and can stomach the pastel-colored world, this game is for you.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/11/00, Updated 06/11/00