As a loyal fan of the
Mana series, I can still remember the joy of playing the original Super NES
2D action-role-playing game that was both unique and addictively fun. Secret
of Mana certainly was worthy of a sequel and found one in the original
PlayStation (Legend of Mana) and a few handheld games as well (remember
Sword of Mana for the GBA or the recent Children of Mana for the
Nintendo DS?) Now the PlayStation 2 gets a prequel with Dawn of Mana, a
game that just doesn’t quite capture the magic of the classic original.
Dawn of Mana
takes place before the events seen in
Secret of Mana and the story is told by one of the many spirits that
witnessed the grand adventure that links these events with the opening of
Secret. It is here that we meet Keldric and his friend since childhood named
Ritzia who just so happens to be a maiden of the Great Tree the Tree People
guard and cherish. One day, while out in the forest, both Keldy (as Ritzia calls
him) and Ritzia watch as a great golem army invades their home village in search
of the Great Tree’s secret. Fighting their way back to the village, Ritzia is
captured and Keldy is the only one left to rescue her and the Tree People that
took him in as their own. Yet Keldy isn’t alone on his quest, a spirit joins him
on his quest and somehow he manages to harvest the power of the earth as a vine
that wraps around his arm becomes his most powerful weapon. And so off he goes
on his quest to rescue his friend and stop Stroud, the evil king and leader of
the golem army.
As I mentioned above, the
game continues its action-RPG format but also adds some platform gaming elements
as well. While this format suited the original Super NES version perfectly,
Dawn of Mana just fails to make these elements work. Part of the reason the
action and platforming elements feel flawed are the controls that work against
the game’s interesting new features. Keldy’s new weapon isn’t just the ability
to swing his arm/sword at enemies but it also serves as a whip that can not only
wrap around enemies to drag them in closer or to swing them into walls but it
can also be used to grab objects to toss at enemies. For example, you can whip a
small boulder to send it rolling down into an enemy or whip a chunk of a broken
pillar and smash an enemy over the head with it. The problem is that the
controls feel awkward when using the whip to the point that you will often drag
objects like tree trunks and send it smashing into you instead!
The camera is not your
friend either. This is most evident when you’re attempting to platform jump to
some higher areas to grab a hard to reach collectible. Worst yet, the camera
will play a role in getting you injured during combat because it doesn’t often
give you a good view of where the enemy is during a fight. You’ll basically have
to rely on the map screen that highlights the enemy as red dots. Speaking of
combat, the real-time battles might not be everyone’s cup of tea since Keldy
basically has just a few moves. Sure you can level up but the level up
progression adds very little to combat since the RPG elements in the game aren’t
as deep as, say, Dragon Quest VIII or even Kingdom Hearts. Just
about the best part of combat is the ability to get your enemy in a frenzied
panicked state that gives you the upper hand in combat. Early in the game you
meet Faye, a spirit that accompanies you on your quest. Faye casts spells that
do help you in combat by adding ammo for when your arm weapon becomes a
slingshot as well as add power ups to your sword and she can even heal you as
well.
What does work well is the
game’s story and situations that Keldy experiences throughout the game. Told
through a series of chapters, the game might not be as lengthy as most
role-playing games but you’ll be doing much on your quest to save your friend.
There are a few puzzles – if you can call them that – scattered throughout the
game but they’re mostly of the door opening variety. There’s also very little to
explore in this game and you’ll be constantly reminded of where you have to go
thanks to directional arrows. You’ll feel like that game is rushing you on to
move the story along. Thankfully, the story is at least interesting.
The game’s graphics are
actually very pretty and the visual effects are decent enough to light up the
screen especially when your spirit companion Faye casts a spell. The character
models are, by far, the most beautifully detailed and just as nicely detailed as
the ones seen in Kingdom Hearts. Even the backgrounds are colorful and
various areas won’t fail to impress with the level of detail. Of course, there
are some weak spots in the visuals such as the few clipping issues that have
Keldy nearly phasing through enemies or walls. Then there are areas in the game
that lack detail but these are forgivable seeing as the rest of the game looks
really good. Too bad the camera obscures much of the environments as well.
Once again, Square Enix
shows us that when it comes to soundtracks, they manage to inject some of the
most beautifully composed scores into their game. The game’s score is both
sweeping, dramatic and emotional and it makes the cut scenes and action come to
life nicely throughout the game. The voice acting is not bad either, although
the enemy sounds could have used more variety as well as some other sound
effects throughout the game.
As a loyal fan of the
Mana series, Dawn of Mana is a hard game to recommend to anyone who
has had a soft spot for the franchise or loves a good action/RPG. If anything,
Dawn of Mana will disappoint in virtually all aspects of the game and
will, sadly enough, not be remembered fondly. There are some good ideas that
could have made this an interesting game but the platform gaming is weak and the
controls are horrible. Sorry, Square Enix, but this is Mana game is not
fit for our PlayStation 2 consoles.
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Gameplay: 6.5
Whipping enemies around and then
slashing them with your trusty arm sword is fun but the camera will not fail to
frustrate or get you close to death’s door. There’s not much to explore in this
game and the platform gaming isn’t deep or as highly enjoyable as it could have
been considering you can jump and use a whip. Combat is both hit and miss as
well.
Graphics: 7.5
The graphics are right up there with
the Kingdom Hearts games character-wise and various locales really stand
out in all their colorful glory. There are some pretty decent visual effects in
the game and while there are some clipping problems it never gets too bad.
Sound: 8.0
As far as the voice acting is
concerned it’s pretty good and the characters don’t sound too cutesy either.
There are also some decent sound effects throughout the game but what really
steals the show is the gorgeous score that plays throughout the game.
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
There are plenty of beasties to
fight and some huge bosses but rarely was there an enemy that really made me
sweat or one that provided a major challenge like the game’s final boss. The
puzzles aren’t hard to figure out either.
Concept: 6.5
Swinging boulders into enemies is a
neat idea that just doesn’t work well in the game. The story is pretty good as
are the characters put the platforming action just doesn’t suit the series. At
least your spirit companion levels up better than Keldy does.
Overall: 6.7
Dawn of Mana
tries to bring something fresh and interesting
but fails to recapture the magic of the classic that lit up our old Super NES
consoles. The action-platform gaming injected into this game is just way too
flawed to be good fun and the camera will only succeed in giving you a headache.
If you’re a true fan, you might just want to rent this one rather than consider
a purchase.
