Sword of Mana

"This sword is blunt"

Secret of Mana for the SNES was heralded as one of the greatest and most underrated games in its generation. Unfortunately, Sword of Mana for the Game Boy Advance could not live up to its pedigree.

One would describe Sword of Mana as an action/adventure RPG, however its limited game play elements confine it to a repetitive Hack and Slash.

Graphics: For the GBA the graphics of Secret of Mana is decent. It features nicely drawn characters and the environment show a very talented artist. But, acknowledging the fact that this is a mid-generation GBA title, the actual graphical animations are way below average for a system claiming 32-bit graphics. In fact I would claim that its predecessor, which came out a decade ago had better spell casting animations than this title. 7/10

Audio: Music is originally composed which works well in the different game settings. However the music they chose seem somewhat puerile and at times a bit grating to the ears. The generic sound effects are highly repetitive and annoying. In some case SFX do not even engage even if there is a battle sequence. 6/10

Now to the most important part, the Game play: One of the most important components of any RPG is its depth. Initially I was wowed by the number of classes (eight total) one could select when leveling up. You could also select to be a female character! As the game progressed I realized that none of the classes really made that much of a difference. You always get the same three weapons and the same three spells. The central component of the game is the random encounters, which literally are quite random and quite frankly annoying. There is no sequence before each fight like a Final Fantasy, they just appear out of thin air, and oh yeah, so does your sword. Weapons only appear in battles. It is a strange system that results in the same "A" jamming exercise over and over again. 5/10

Story: There is no story, you just kill creatures, level up, and then cry at the time you will never get back. 4/10

Sword of Mana is a nice attempt at creating a hand held RPG. But because its game play mechanics are so repetitive and confusing, it really results in an average game experience. It is not unplayable, but you do not want to buy or even borrow a game that only holds your attention for fifteen minutes.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/07/07

Game Release: Sword of Mana (US, 12/01/03)