Legend of Mana: The One that Dared to be Different

by Josh Davis 

Why is it that everyone hates the game so much? We often hear ourselves complaining about too much linearity, but when a company dares to listen, what do we do, we rant and rave that the game didn't have enough structure, or enough backbone to grasp our wavering attention spans! Let me tell you early on that this editorial is being written to show how legend of Mana deserves far more praise than it gets, that is, in the categories where this title dared to be different!

Let's begin with the game's plot structure. It is your decision as the player which events you do and which you don't. These events build in to story arcs that give you the opportunity to keep tabs on your favorite NPC's. You won't find yourself saying, "what happened to such and such?" Over the course of the games numerous quests the characters that you rescue, go on searches for and rescue change and you get you watch their lives unfold as if they were all on stage. The role of the player in Legend of Mana is more that of an omniscient 3rd party. Think, what more magical of a moment can there be than watching Gilbert and Monique end their relationship under a see of sky? Or listening to Elle the antisocial siren that is afraid of the insane world around her? What about Niccolo, the enterprising long ears with a heart of gold, who invites you along on his mundane trips to find rare wares? I think that the idea behind the game being set up the way it is, is so that when you reach the end of your journey and find that everything that has happened has lead up to another clich­ ending, you still feel impassioned because you are thinking of Elazul and the Jumi, of David's unborn child and of Bud and Lisa who are waiting for you at home. It makes you feel as though you're saving someone rather than something. That turns legend of Mana into an experience. Which is exactly what has always set RPG's apart from other genres, am I right?

Next I will talk about the graphics. I will not deny that Legend of Mana has a very storybook like feel to it, but why is that a curse? It makes the game feel less gritty, more lighthearted and warm. Furthermore, it truly animates the characters, in my mind, makes them much more believable than they would have been had Legend of Mana gotten the hell bent Armageddon drab look that lots of RPG's get. My point is that the game's graphics create the perfect visual ambience, both in mode and tone. Now that I have addressed the two areas about which I hear the most complaints, I feel satisfied that my opinion may be read by others who think too harshly of this game simply because of the bashing of the masses. Let me conclude with a final statement that is most crucial to my argument; yes, it is true that Legend of Mana is somewhat of a betrayal to the Seiken Densetsu series. However, it is still a good game with many solid good points that make it worth checking out on its own, rather than as a continuation of the saga we all know in love that started on US shores as Secret of Mana.