Review NaN of 2
Price Paid:
$7.00
from Toys R Us Summary:
Sometimes the gaming gods really do smile upon us gamers. I had just finished Riviera, and was wondering about which handheld RPG path I was going to go down next. One reason I loved Riviera was that it was devoid of random battles, and though it had strategy elements to it, it wasn't the deep strategy type like FF Tactics or Advance Wars. I still wanted to avoid yet another random battle game, and the deep strategy titles that I've not played yet, like Advance Wars 2, didn't really appeal to me either. I wanted something different.
Some time ago, I picked up Sword of Mana for a trifling $7.00 in the bargain bin at Toys R Us. It sat in it's box and collected dust for many weeks while I wailed away at Meteos, scribbled with Kirby: Canvas Curse, and played my full size consoles.
So after beating the final boss in Riviera, I opened the $7.00 game and plugged it into my DS.
Wow. The term 'blown away' is an understatement. Although Sword of Mana is nearly two years old, it has to be one of the best conceived, most polished, intelligent, and deep games available not only on the GBA, but on any platform. Square Enix did it right.
At it's most basic level, Sword of Mana is a dungeon crawler, with similarities to games like the Diablo series. And although it is blessedly devoid of random battles, it does have a fantastic battle-optional system as well as an innovative and intuitive interface. And having an awesome interface is very important with a game as deep as Sword of Mana. But that also means there is a bit of a learning hump with this game. And, once you get the battle/magic/character and inventory management down, you will still get stymied by some of the situations and puzzles you'll encounter. Because of this, this is one of those rare games that I would recommend getting the game guide from Nintendo for, or at least downloading a walkthrough from the web.
This title is very non-linear, and is beautiful to look at, to listen to, and to play.
The game cart is packed full. The game world is vast, with many hidden areas and side quests, and the graphics are incredibly detailed. In fact, I would say that the imagery could in some ways be considered a flaw. This is because on a GBA-SP screen, the graphics look drab, blurry and washed out. But on a DS, they shine wonderfully. The difference is due to the fact that this is the most graphically detailed game on the GBA I've ever seen. And a backlit screen is needed to make out everything there is to see.
In Sword of Mana, you control not one but two characters. You have a main character that you select and name at the beginning of the game. You choose between a male and female protagonist. During gameplay, both characters make up your party, but the storyline and cutscenes vary according to which one you have as your main character. During battle and in the field, you can instantly switch control between the two characters via the Select button. There is an AI screen for your other character to determine their behavior during battles.
If you like RPGs and don't mind a bit of hacking, slashing and button mashing, then you should get this game by all means. I haven't seen anything like this since Record of Lodoss War on the Dreamcast. It is a blast.
One more thing. This game is trippy. It is one of the trippiest I've ever seen. Just so you know. Report this review >>
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