Score
Gameplay:	5
Graphics:	5
Sound:	6
FunFactor:	4
PlasmaFactor:	6
Overall:	5.2

Children of Mana Review
July 22, 2007 by Michael Gettings

I have fond memories of playing "Secret of Mana," back when I was a youngling. Although I lacked the gamer know-how and common sense that I have since accrued, I still found myself to have a great time despite the challenge. I felt myself drawn into a world unlike ours, one where canons were used to go from place to place and mage-type characters weren’t completely useless for once. Naturally, the first thing my mind jumped to when I saw "Children of Mana," was the nostalgia corner, so it seemed like a safe bet. Well, you know what they say. Safe is boring.

Gameplay of Mana:

 

It starts out interesting enough. You’re given the option of four characters (all around average guy, physically weak magic girl, ranged dude, and rabbit-tank), which opens all kinds of windows.

The first dungeon can be quite exciting. Navigating floor after floor, trying to locate that missing girl. But the second floor is the same as the first, with more monsters. And the third is the same as the fourth, which was just the same as the second. Every floor of the dungeon has you finding an item called a "GleamDrop" and carrying it over your head to a portal in the floor and transporting you to the next floor in the dungeon. It’s a good way to get the player to explore, open every chest, bust open every pot, but after 10 floors, it gets nauseating.

In addition, the monsters in the game, while looking spiffy, have a nasty habit. Every time you hit them, they tend to bounce (into each other, into the walls, into pots, into spikes, into you). And if they do bounce in to you, you tend to bounce back. Sometimes, you’re thrown into another monster. And bounce back towards the progenitor, again and again until all of a sudden you’re dead. What’s a huge bummer is that pretty much every character plays the same.

You’re going to beef up your physical attack, because magic is so cumbersome to use, and 90% of the time is ineffective against anything. A smart addition was varied weapon types. From swords, to hammers, to bows, to flails, you’re always going to be finding different ways to get the job done. Each weapon suits a particular situation, so you’re always going to be trying to find different ways to get the GleamDrop to the portal.

The game isn’t overtly difficult. After the first mission, a side-quest store opens up which allows you, for a small fee, to do alternate stages in the dungeon for a reward. While not necessary to complete the game, they do provide an interesting spice to an otherwise straightforward and flaccid play system.

Finally, there’s the gem grid. The gem grid is an innovation monsters, when slain, will occasionally drop gems. You can use the stylus to arrange these in a box that you’re given at the beginning of the game. Each gem takes up a set amount of space, and while you are able to upgrade the grid later in the game, you’re always going to be on the lookout for smart ways to utilize the gems you have. Each color gem (there are quite a few) affects your stats, primarily raising base stats. There are certain gems that raise many stats, but detract from a base stat (+3 strength and magic, -2 life), which adds another slight wrinkle to the game play.

 

Graphics of Mana:

 

These really take me back to a day where you could look at a sprite, smile, take that sprite into a dungeon and not have to look back. The animation is fluid, and each character has individual animations. The monsters throughout the dungeons are varied and have a high level of detail, and the bosses have to be seen to believe. It’s a shame, though, because dungeon design is completely ruined by repetitive mapping, backgrounds, and overuse of the same texture pallet. I’m not asking for a new texture every floor, or even every 10 floors. But some of these dungeons can be a bit lengthy and it would have been nice to have a change of scenery every now and again. Which is a shame, because at the end of every main quest dungeon awaits a boss. These tend to be 3 things:

Large.

Intimidating.

Graphically superior to anything else in the game.

 

Sound of Mana:

Not bad at all. I would actually consider this the high point. Most of the boss music is urgent, while the dungeons tend to take on a slightly more subdued tone. Swords sound like swords, hammers like hammers, bows like bows, and I’ve never heard a flail actually be used in real life before, but I’m guessing it’s relatively accurate to the sound in game. Most of the vocalizations of the characters (grunts, because there is no voice acting in game) sound very similar, enough to the point where you can’t distinguish them by sound only. While not a huge fault, it would have been nice to have more of a variety when it came to the characters.

Fun of Mana:

 

Not to sell it short Well, it is quite short, actually. The main quest is pretty easy to breeze through, and unless you’re a super-stat monger, you’re not going to bother with many of the generic side quests that you can buy. The game play is repetitive and nothing particularly stands out as overwhelming about the game.

If/when you find a friend who has the same cartridge, the DS to DS is very tight. It’s a good feeling cooperatively taking down a boss, and I’m glad this feature was included. I enjoyed a few hours here and there in my living room with a friend slugging through dungeons.

 

Plasma of Mana:

What I can say for it, though, is though it is a fantasy game for the DS, you never, not once, have to draw a "demon seal" at all. In fact, the stylus is completely optional. You can complete the game only using the d-pad to set your gem grid and equip items, but half the fun is looking like a busybody while you manage your inventory.

 

Insults

 

Here’s the grit if you love dungeon crawlers, you’re going to like this game. The dungeons are large, the items are varied, the weapons are many, and the replay value with the side quest shop is through the roof. If you’re a fan of just hacking and slashing until your thumb falls off, then you’re going to have a blast. Otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s an average game in the middle of a crowded genre.

Children of Mana rips the fun loving exploration of the original series and replaces it with a dungeon filled exploit that at its best is tolerable, and at its worst is just plain boring. I would say the game is likened to "Diablo for kids," but that would be an insult to Diablo. And kids