Dawn of Mana

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. 

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.