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Doesn't hold a candle to Secret of Mana

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 9
Date: January 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I'll admit I was expecting a Secret of Mana type game. Instead I got something different. It isn't all that great too. You start off by selecting either a male or female and then sit through a VERY long intro (but good intro) before the game starts.

The elements in Sword of Mana are very similar to Secret but they don't flow as well. The gameplay is a such example. Sword of Mana is fun to play at first. The gameplay elements are awesome with all the weapons and items but then a few things start to stick out. One: Attacking isn't like in Secret of Mana. You have this three hit combo that for some reason is impossible to pull off. The power gauge at the bottom is nice but takes to long to charge (you do it by attacking enemies.) Another thing about the gameplay is simply that as you progress further, it becomes more frustrating. You start to miss enemies a lot and even taking out a simple enemy becomes more than its worth.

Lastly, your AI character is an insult. They stand there, either casting spells like crazy or getting themselves killed. Its a hassle to keep them alive throughout the game.

The ring menu is also different. In Secret of Mana the ring menu was fast, efficient and simple to use. In this...it's...not as easy, fast and efficient. Example: First I open up the Ring menue. Instead of it instantly flashing up like in Secret, it has to take time to open up. This isn't the gripe, let's keep moving. Next, I select the item icon. Again we watch it slowly flash to the next menu. THEN I have to choose a sub-category...ok...once that's done with I have to choose ANOTHER sub category depending on the icon I choose. Then you'll have to choose ANOTHER sub category. So when you open up the menu you'll be in it for a while. Rather than the ring menu they should've had the one similar to Legend of Mana.

The music isn't nearly as good as the other two Mana games. Seeing as how Square took so much time to redevelope the game in revamping the graphics (which shower AMAZING detail) they didn't spend as much time on the music. Some tunes are good but a lot sound VERY 8-bit style. So much to the fact that they're annoying and repetative.

The story and how its told is great though! The one thing that hasn't changed in the Mana series, great storytelling (Legend of Mana STILL had good story-telling with all its subplots). However, the dialogue is very stupid at times and the character developement isn't quite there. Sicne the game is so short we don't get enough time to learn as much about these characters as possible. Mix that in with the fact that whoever you don't choose in the beginning is absent from the story for long periods of time.

Overall I was disappointed. The gameplay is what ruined the game for me. It's frustrating a lot of the time. The menu isn't easy to use anymore and monsters that can dodge anything isn't my idea of fun.

Alright

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: April 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Sword of Mana is a fun game too play for a while. But the background music is annoying. And after your done playing this game you wouldn't want too play it again since there's no replay value.

Follows successful formula of Mana series

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: July 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If you ever played mana series and loved it, this game will not disapoint you. And if you are new to the series, this is good way to start =) Not to mention, having a portable version is plus. Not as in depth as secret of mana, but still was very entertaining.

Remake of a classic

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 8
Date: November 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Final Fantasy Adventure is the first action-rpg I ever played, and it was head and shoulders above most other Game Boy games when it was released. It had terrific action and an easy to follow, yet engaging plot. If you've never played a Squaresoft game on the Game Boy before, you're in for a pleasant surprise.

Feeble Offspring

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 8
Date: December 31, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The only thing that relates this rotten game to "The Secret of Mana" is the name. Everything else is just a rotten imitation of that fine game. The graphics are well drawn, but poorly animated. The music is lame. The story is weak, and worst of all, the play controls are horrendous.

The ring menu system from "The Secret of Mana" was a thing of beauty that let you quickly use items and equip your characters. "Sword of Mana" has ring menus as well, but they're sluggish, and they flash for no apparent reason. Also, it seems like it takes forever for the guy to swing his sword after you have pressed the button. If you play it with the GameCube GameBoy Player, you'll even notice a bit of flicker.

Another minor irritation is that no matter what kind of creature you kill, it leaves behind something that looks like a bull skeleton. I could understand that in 1992, but it's 2003! Surely ROM is cheap enough by now for the cartridge to hold an assortment of remains.

I doubt that the original Mana team even worked on this thing. In the opening, it mentions Brown & Browne, which makes me suspect that Square is just a publisher for this game, not a developer. They pulled the same dirty trick with "Breath of Fire" which was an okay game developed by Capcom, but it was not as good as a Square game.

If they couldn't be bothered to do it right, they shouldn't have done it at all.

The prequel of Mana is great fun!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I recall one summer when a friend brought over a game I hadn't heard of to play on the SNES that I was borrowing. Essentially it was the game that made me aware that there was more to Square than Final Fantasy and made me a fan of all their work. That game was Secret of Mana. What I didn't know then was that it was actually the sequel to a GameBoy title Final Fantasy Adventure. The name change from Sword of Mana to Final Fantasy Adventure seemed to be solely to ensure strong sales. I never played the original but loved Secret of Mana so much that when Square announced that Sword of Mana would be remade with an unchanged title I was excited. Mainly because Secret of Mana was something of an amazing game, a perfect ten in every way for its era, and the follow-up, Legend of Mana... well... let's pretend we never suffered through that disaster. I had high hopes for Sword of Mana. Game play wise it plays a lot like Secret of Mana, thankfully, and it has an intriguing (albeit somewhat childish) storyline. I love the story behind the game, though it's disappointing that Square-Enix opted to rename the Shadow Knight "Dark Lord". Its kind of hard to identify with the villain when they delve into his history and why he's doing what he's doing when he has such a sill name that screams "bad guy"... Even Dark Knight would have been a better name. This game also does what Legend of Mana didn't in that you can see where it ties to its sequel Secret of Mana. It's a blast to play.
This game contains some of the best graphics I've seen for the GBA as well, although there are times where the frames rate seems to stutter a bit, but it doesn't hinder game play. The music isn't as memorable as other square efforts but it's not bad either. All in all this game makes me yearn for a remake of Secret of Mana for GBA... and lets also hope that we'll see the never domestically released Mana 3 for the system as well. With Square Enix fully supporting the GBA this system is set to rock the handheld market (which is already dominated by Nintendo anyway). But it is so nice to have Square back.

INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 18
Date: December 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Wow!Ive been waiting for this a long time and it came.I was so impressed with the graphics, gameplay and cool sound.First off theres nothing bad about the graphics their the best seen on GBA so far!The gameplay rocks!No turned based battling YEAAAAAH!!!!! The music is actually really cool and crisp sounding.Im a fan of RPG'S so thats natural.If tou love RPG'S THIS IS YOUR GAME!!!!!Buy this its better than boktai or any thing like that.Buy this game...now!!!!!!

played for 3 days and then got bored!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 15
Date: June 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

If i had to put this game into a few words then i would say: truley horrible.
where do i start. well, the graphics are a little less then supbar. and the gameplay is just downright boring. This is mainly because the bad guys are stupid little blobs and bats. The whole game is one bad cliche after another. you can either be a gladiator (sword fighting is extremely frustrating because of air units and land units) or a girl that uses magic (magic particularly sucks because you have to summon a spell and then cast it and it seems to be not even worth the while because it does little damage and wastes huge magic points) I got bored after 2 days and would hugely not recommend it.
graphics: 1
fun factor: 0.5
frustration: 5!!!!!!!!!!!!
plot:0!!!!!!!!
good for killing time (yes or no): heck no!!!!!
cliche factor: 4
worth your money? absolutely not

The best game ever!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: July 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Okay, to first start out, I had never played the Secret of Mana, but the Sword of Mana is an excellent game! It may have long waits in between, but the story is great! It is a must have. It is one of the best RPG's I have played ever, coming up a little far from The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. It is a great RPG and people just like those stupid games that take only 3 hours to beat. This one is long, so be ready to keep yourself occupied. Be ready for an awesome game!

Mana rocks

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: November 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Sword of Mana is going to be a hit for all ages. The incredible story and real time rpg battles will keep you hooked.

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