Rebuttal to 'The Obscured Legend Of Mana'

by Derek Ivany

As much as we would all like to see another Secret of Mana, I really doubt that will happen. The key to success is advancement is change, and as much as we admire the games of the past, seeing them done again is not going to happen. When I read Misery Guts' editorial, the first impression that I got from him was that he didn't give Legend of Mana a chance, because he was expecting another Secret of Mana. This is like the argument that FF7 sucks because it is not exactly the same as FF6!

"What wonderous things would we see? I saw a child's story book..geared towards 2 year olds" Sorry, but since when is it that If something is drawn in water colors that it is a children's book?! The hand drawn effect has been used since SoM. Due to the graphical limitations of the SNES, the effect was not fully realized. Now that it has, gamers are complaining that the graphics are to immature to allow a great game.

"Then there's the Landmake System - Square's half-hearted attempt at innovation" Just because you feel that the world in LoM is not vast enough, doesn't make it a bad game. As I think back about SoM, I feel like it was too short (heaven forbid I say something bad about a classic!) The map may have been vast, but there aren't that many area's in it. In my opinion (and in the opinions of many of my gamer friends) The map itself is not that important, it is the adventures and quests contained therein that are important.

"...weapons are only unsheathed when the fight begins." That would be a valid point if the same thing didn't happen in SD3. Stick to points with continuity.

"It's not like the predecessors, where you could be walking down a path and be suddenly attacked by a.....Rabite. It's all carefully controlled for you." If you didn't notice, the enemies you fight in SoM and SD3 are always placed in the same place, like in LoM. In SoM, the enemies are always the same, but they can move around, giving the impression that they are always different. In SD3, each screen has preset enemies, but, the enemies are selected based on 2 or 3 different sets of enemies, giving the impression, once again, that they are always going to be different. LoM stopped using gimmicks like this, and stuck to the game play, which has remained essentially the same in fights.

"I've put five hours into the game and I've yet to find any semblance of a plot either, or any clue as to why all these "events" are tied together." The main idea to this game is that it is NON-LINEAR. And there is plot, you just have to follow a set of events to see it. (eg. The Dragon Quest, the Jumi Quest, the Niccolo quest, the list goes on.) If you just go around randomly, of course they won't tie together! One quest leads to another, and another, until you finish the last of that set.

The main problem that I see with Misery Guts' editorial is that he starting playing this game with a very closed mind. One thing gamers need to realize is that a sequel DOES NOT equal a duplicate. When I first picked it up, I thought about Secret of Mana, and the good times I had playing it. But I realized that Legend of Mana can't be the same. If it was, gamers would be disappointed. Believe it or not, gamers want something that is new, fresh, innovative. Square accomplished this by providing a game that is non-linear (remember people complaining that Final Fantasy 7 and Xenogears are too linear?), graphically beautiful (just because a game has hand drawn backgrounds doesn't make is ugly), but retains past elements to make it a sequel. (The 8 elements, the weapon classes, the enemies(including their placement) and the battle structure)

As I look down my desk at my Chrono Cross Clock, I remember how much fun Chrono Trigger was, but, I know that Chrono Cross will not be the same game, because if it was, i wouldn't buy it, I would dust off my SNES and play Chrono Trigger again.

Feel free to rebut me (if that is the right term :) Just keep in mind that if you don't give a game a chance, and play through it, you don't have the grounds to counter my points. Though, rebutting a rebuttal of a rebuttal is fun at times.....