Sword of Mana

"A bright new begining for the Mana series."

Sword of Mana is the remake of an old original Gameboy game known in the States as "The Final Fantasy Adventure". The games dealt with a giant tree filled with Mana(a Spiritual energy). The game starts out with you, the main character, losing your friend to a Monster in the Empire's Arena. Asa prisoner of the Empire, you are forced to fight monsters to please the Dark Lord. After your best friend is killed, you escape and glimpse two evil figures who want to use the Tree of Mana to destroy the world. You escape and your journey begins; you must stop the Empire before it can reach the Tree of Mana.


Sword of Mana also follows this storyline but it chooses to go more in depth character-wise. There are many bosses in the original who just seemed to be their for filler, but in this game they actually have an agenda. Bosses in the original game, like the Vampire or the Medusa are much more than just boss fights, they're actually given more time as characters this time around.. The only bad thing about giving Sword of Mana more plot is the fact that Square-Enix/Brownie Brown decided to add almost useless cameo characters just for the hell of it. Niccolo, the Merchant bunny rabbit, from the Legend of Mana makes an appearance but so do a few characters from Seiken Denetsu 3(A game North America never got..) like the Nefarious "Gourmand", a demon who eats the souls of the dead. Did they have to add these characters? No, in fact most of the characters they did add felt like filler and you're left feeling disappointed since these characters are just shoehorned in, I think taking away of the original game's charm in some respects.


Sword of Mana also allows you to pick from two characters; The Heroine and the Hero. While you may think that the characters will bear the same storyline..you're only half right. Each character have different actions in the story, but by the end of the game they reach the same final conclusion. Also, this gives the game a bit more longevity; instead of beating the game in 9 hours, it'll take you around 18-20 hours to be both story lines.


The game, like all the other Mana games is an action RPG. There are many weapons you receive throughout the game, Swords, Axes,Staves, and even sickles can be used. The cool thing about these weapons is the fact that each type of weapon has a "Deathblow," basically a powerful attack that can be used only once when the bar below your Health is full. If you use your bare hands, you can pull off a Hadou-ken like chi blast and if you use a spear, you throw it at your enemy, dealing a chain of damage. Unlike Final Fantasy Adventure, the bar can only be filled by attacking enemies rather than just waiting till it slowly rises-like it did in the original game.


There is also a a refined Magic system. There are 8 spirits that you get throughout the game and each one holds a certain element. Using certain spirits allows you to raise a certain type of stat(using the Fire spirit raises you attack power while using the earth spirit raises your defense). You can also use a magical spell of that element, but it only truly becomes powerful if you decide to become a Magic Caster. Then again, magic in itself isn't very important in this game and you'll probably end up being a Fighter Class but if you do want a somewhat of a challenge, try out the magic caster.


Whenever you kill monsters, there is a chance that you will receive a Treasure chest, Square-Enix uses a Slot system, much like Unlimited Saga's to see what you'll get in a chest. Sometimes you'll get hit with a smoke-bomb, others will be impaled by large spears but there is a chance you'll be unscathed after opening a chest too.


Another new feature in the game is Night, Afternoon, and Day. You see, every section of an area you explore changes the time from being Morning, to Afternoon and then Night. Certain monsters only appear on certain times of the day and also, parts of your quest will only be available during certain times of the day too. Don't worry, isn't like you need to play at night in order for it to be night, the day changes every two times you enter a new area of the game.


Whenever you level up in the game, you're given a choice on which Stats you'd like to raise; Power, Intelligence, Agility, etc. You may not think this is a big deal, but in fact it's probably Sword of Mana's most interesting traits. You see, when certain stats reach certain points, your character will change his Class. Classes allow your character to be proficient in certain types of Fighting. If you raise only your Power and Defense, you can become a Gladiator but if you raise your Intelligence, you can become a powerful Magic Caster. It's a nice addition to the game. You can also become a thief..but too bad you can't steal; the classes are only really used for gaining certain stats when leveling.


The graphics were done well, and are very bright but the only problem I had was the fact that sometimes in battle, character sprites sometimes flicker. Other than that there are no other problems.


The music is great, most of the tracks are remixes from the original Final Fantasy Adventure, but there are some new songs as well. It woks well with the game, but most music from the Mana series is great.


If you liked Final Fantasy Adventure, you may be disappointed with the changes in the story and the addition of useless cameo characters from the other Mana games, but the game itself is still pretty good. If you haven't played any of the Mana series, this game would be a good start, since it's the remake of the first.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/07/03, Updated 11/09/09

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