Sword of Mana

"Newest of the Mana series... somewhat watered down."

I remember back when SNES reigned as one of the leading consoles and I spent my days and nights racking up hours on some of my favorite RPGs of that time; Final Fantasy III, Legend Of Zelda, and Breath of Fire just to name a few. A superb game that stood out at that time was Secret of Mana, a perfect blend of action and RPG elements.
Recently, I had heard of a SoM sequel that was soon to be on the GBA. I was pretty excited to hear this, being that it would follow up one of my favorite RPGs. A few days after this hit stores, I stopped by my local EB and picked this up. I got home, ripped off the shrink wrap, opened the box and popped this into my GBA.

Graphics- Well, the graphics are pretty nice for a GBA game. The characters look unique and detailed. The backgrounds are quite nice, I think. These graphics look relatively similar to ''Golden Sun'' for GBA, or the SNES ''Secret of Mana'' only with a bit duller colors. To put it short, the graphics are good enough to not hurt the score I give SoM.

Sound- Very nice music, although somewhat repetitive. Some towns have the same music as others, and most dungeons have the same music. Other than that, I would have to rate the music as pretty average.

Gameplay- Pretty much the same feel as the SNES title. Basic RPG elements:
> Fight enemies in real time. Use different weapons infused with different elements to defeat an array of enemies. Also, use different elemental magic to enhance your character or hurt monsters.
> Level up following 6 different paths: Warrior, Monk, Magician, Sage, Thief, or Random. Each path has their own bonuses and weaknesses to certain stats, one being the Warrior, having plus bonuses to sword attack, but lacking in magic attack and power. Each level up, you can chose which path to take. So you could create a powerful Warrior, magic using Magician, or a mix of whatever you like. Also, you advance your skill with weapons the more you use them.
> Upgrade weapons and armor by visiting a forgery and choosing different fruits and vegetables to enhance your sword with different elemental power. Or, use higher quality materials to raise the stats of your weapons and armor. Weapons include a sword, bow and arrow, spear, and more.
> At the beginning, choose as a male or female character, or play through as both, seeing as there are two game save slots. Depending on which character you choose, the story and gameplay will be a bit different from the other.

Also, although this is a great game, one major downfall is the difficulty level. Most creatures and bosses can be killed by a few combo hits or less, and the combat doesn't really require much skill. Unlike this, the old Secret of Mana was challenging to me, and at some times, had me stuck on certain parts. Although a few puzzles may leave you stumped for a bit, Sword of Mana's difficulty is really toned down from Secret of Mana.

Story- The story in Sword of Mana is pretty straight foward, and the story depends on which character you choose at the beginning.

> The Hero's story: The Hero seeks revenge. Ten years ago, the Hero's family was killed by the ruthless Dark Lord. In his story, he searches for the ''Sword Of Mana'', the weapon that will help him take down the evil empire and destroy the man who killed his family.
> The Heroine's story: Right before he mother was killed by Dark Lord, she was told that the woman who raised her was not her birth mother. The Heroine is now hiding from Dark Lord, who is hunting down and killing all Mana Goddess followers, such as herself.

Game Time and Replay Value- This is a pretty short game. I played through the Hero's scenario in a 3-day weekend and played through the Heroine's scenario over the course of the next week. But, although the game is short, there are still many sub-quests to be done before finishing the game. When I played through, I did very few of these mini-quests.

This game has still a bit of replay value, especially if you want to finish up all the sub-quests, although the only thing you get for finishing them all would be a nice feeling. There are no extras or secrets to unlock in Sword of Mana, but you could still enjoy it if you ever get in the mood to replay it.

Rent Or Buy?- Since most people don't have the availability to rent GBA games at their local video store, I would recommend to buy this if you are a fan of the Mana series or if you are looking for a somewhat short and easy RPG to help pass the time.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/20/04