User Reviews (1 - 11 of 44)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Customizeability!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 45 / 45
Date: June 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I've played this game quite a bit, almost to the finish, and while it does indeed have some shortcomings, its appealing qualities might, depending on your gaming tastes, more than make up for it.

If you like being able to customize your character in an RPG video game, you'll love the way the class system works. there are eight different classes, each offering it's own special bonuses and you place each level's worth of experience into whichever class you like. it takes five levels in any particular category to be considered a member of that class, and there are combinations that unlock hidden classes offering additional bonuses (a blend of Thief, Mage, and Random gets you to Ninja Master, for example).

The weapons system is also the finest i've seen in any handheld RPG, as, rather than merely finding or buying the latest upgrades to suit your level, you have found weapons (mace, knucks, staff, sword, axe, sickle, bow, flail, and spear) that may be reforged with new, different materials to create more powerful weapons. They may also be "tempered," using a combination of the same material the weapon was last forged from and a vegetable (grown from the seeds you find out adventuring) to enhance their stats and imbue them with magical qualities such as Petrify (whee! Fossil Knucks!) or Confusion. Armor works the same way, but is tempered with fruits instead of vegetables.

The magic system is what you'd expect from a Mana title - you summon elemental spirits (yes, plural, as you can have up to two of each type of spirit) to cast an offensive or defensive effect. the offensive spells vary more by what weapon you are using when you cast them than by what spirit you summon, but the defensive spells range from the silly (turning into a moogle so monsters won't attack you) to the really useful (floating over spikes/lava/any-damaging-floor inside a bubble).

The graphics, which some reviewers didn't like, are very good for a handheld game of any kind. you can move your sprites around and see your characters from all angles, the closeups when they talk (in text, of course) look like something from a decent manga. a GBA is essentially a handheld SNES, yet the graphics in Sword of Mana far exceed its SNES predecessor "Secret of Mana."

As for the shortcomings: Most of the sidekicks are nearly useless, as they wind up walking on lava or attacking things they can't hurt and dying a dozen or so times before you ever get to a boss with the exception of the girl you meet early on in the game - she can heal the whole party and cast attack spells that do decent damage more often than not.

Also, the ring menus get annoying in boss fights. You have to go through three menus to get to anything in particular, including healing items and weapons. The only reprieve from this is that most of the things you collect, like seeds, fruits, vegetables, and raw materials, don't need to be selected from the ring-menu because they'll be highlighted on lists when you visit the appropriate helper-character (the dwarf who does the forging/tempering, or the talking tree who turns seeds into fruits/veggies). And the cutscenes, generally text and animation with some sort of melodramatic musical background, tend to run a teensy bit too long when you just want to bop monsters and save the day.

Despite these nuisances, the game passes the most important test: it's lots of fun to play. Outside of most towns, there's a little flower-pot, and you plant a cactus there and it animatedly grows into a sort of cactus-shaped house with a chimney where the dward and talking tree live. you hand out flyers for stores in busy towns and stop pickpockets and get shot out of cannons.

The head villain even insists that people call him Dark Lord - there's enough storyline and adventure to keep you playing, and enough sillyness, strange visuals (why is the world's greatest sage wearing a hawaiian shirt and tiki mask?) and side-quests to keep all that playing fun, so it gets four stars.

Adventure fit for Marines.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 18
Date: June 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

As someone deployed in Iraq in an area where the action has pretty much died down, one seeks a way to pretty much kill the time. That's where the Gameboy comes in. Normally games don't really catch the attention span of a Marine long enough but after beating the game I have to fight to get it back from everyone else.

Now the game. As with the Mana series, it beats the walk around and fight turn based style by far. Yiu actually have to try and time your attacks on the enemies(especially bosses) which adds a good level of challenge. The character building is also a plus as you can put points into eventually changing classes that provide you with better abilities. Best of all in my opinion is the storyline. As you progress, many things unfold which make your character think and even question what he's doing all along. Much better than the standard go here and defeat whomever(a-la Zelda style)

My unit has just 2 complaints.The character building. It is difficult to discern what you'll turn into. The most I've gotten was going Fighter-Knight-Warlord. That I did with some guessing. I suggest going online for a guide if you wish to end up like lets say a Paladin or something.

The other one is the improvement of weapons. The "temper" system where you get a certain fruit or a vegetable and have it added to your weapon. It's benefits weren't real significant, adding only +1 to attack or such. What's the point of just a +1? And fruit? Last time I tried that, I got yelled at by the armorer for trying to add a banana to an M16. Damn game, putting ideas in my head. Anyway, this game is still a great, great must buy.

Remake of "Final Fantasy ADVENTURE"

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 26
Date: October 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game looks to be one of the BEST RPGs to ever hit the GBA in years. "The Sword Of Mana" is actually a remake of "Final Fantasy ADVENTURE" (which was released in 1991 by SQUARESOFT) It is also the first chapter in the 'Mana' series and the graphics in this version (rather than the good ol' 5-8 bit) has been upgraded with graphics similar to that of "Secret Of Mana" on the SNES console. (which is the sequel) The storyline is very well written with unforgettable characters, beautiful music, and an unbelievable variety of weapons & armor and big bad BOSSES!!! I think that this is sure to be an instant classic next to the upcoming "Mario & Luigi" RPG that's due out this month. I've been a long time fan of the series now, and therefore I'm definately getting myself a copy once it comes out! SQUARESOFT IS THE KING CREATOR OF ALL RPG GAMES!!!!

Good but can't rekindle the magic of Secret of Mana

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: December 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

With the GBA receiving lots of SNES remakes, this one is actually a remake of a classic GB game, Final Fantasy Adventure. This game shines brightly but a few minor things bring it down a notch at times. While Swrrd of Mana is a great game to play, it can't capture the magic f what was "Secret of Mana" on the SNES.

The graphics on Sword of Mana are visually striking! Very colorful and vividly smooth make it feel like a nice Super Nintendo game. However, a problem with the graphics is that we're sometimes faced with slow down, and sometimes even graphical glitches. So while visually stunning, this part of the graphics can sometimes get annoying.

Gameplay wise, this game is pretty fun overall. Several different weapons to choose from that make the experience even better. It isn't much different from Secret of Mana really. The battle engine is the same real time based. What stands out is the different sort of attacks you can pull off. A slash, jab or bash, and so it's pretty fun. The problem with it however is that you have a three combo attack that is sometimes hard to pull off. Even expert players will sometimes find this hard at times. You've got enemies that even when the attack connects they take no damage. A lot of the time the enemies will actually dodge your attacks. After a while this becomes a little annoying.

The other part about the gameplay, you control one of two characters out to stop the Dark Lord from destroying those in tune with the power of Mana. As a member of the Mana tribe and a warrior you must stop the Dark Lord. You can control one of the two characters at a time. You can switch between the two from time to time and the game incorporates the AI for the character you're not using. The problem with this is that unlike Secret of Mana you're AI characters do much stupider things. Many a time the character being controlled by AI will cast spells like crazy or get themselves killed somehow. They fight senseless and its a hassle to get them to move on in an area. For what it's worth though you can use them to take a lot of the damage for you, and you can adjust their actions that they do much like in Secret of Mana.

From time to time your weapons will level up, but battling is actually different from Secret of Mana in some ways. While weapons level up just fine, Secret of Mana had a power gauge at the bottom that when it said 100% you struck the enemy for maximum damage. In this that gauge is gone. Now you attack and kill enemies to fill up the guage at the bottom to increase the amount of damage done. With this battling doesn't go quite as slowly as in Secret of Mana did at times.

As far as music goes it's pretty bland at times. Some points there are memorable tunes but a lot of the time they're a little bland. The sound effects aren't anything special either since they don't sound in character with the action at times.

For what it's worth Sword of Mana is actually a pretty good game. Visually striking and quite fun with a nice storyline, "Sword of Mana" is a pretty good game. The graphics are a few steps above "Secret of Mana" but the gameplay isn't quite as good. Still, I'd recomend this game to any RPGer.

Beautiful, Fun to Play

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: July 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Those of you who played Legend of Mana on the original PlayStation may experience some deja vu here and there as you go through Sword of Mana. The ring configuration of the menus is pretty much the same, and after some practice you can zip right through those. The manner of fighting is also similar, with your partner following you around and able to fight independently. The storyline is interesting and I'm continually amazed by the quality of the graphics on the GameBoy SP. This game will definitely help you pass the time, but there are frequent save points if you can't play for hours at a time. Buy this game, I don't think you'll be disappointed!

If you loved the SNES...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: December 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If you played the games of the 'golden age' of the Super Nintendo era and enjoyed games such as Secret of Mana, you will really smile when you play this. It just really transports you back to that time when games were FUN and didn't have to be movies like so many games today try to be. BEAUTIFUL graphics, an engaging story, and tried and true gameplay should put this gem at the top of your list.

A good game to play from a friend but not to buy.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: March 31, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Everyone wants to compare this to the far superior "Secret of Mana". "Sword of Mana" should not have to be compared to "Secret of Mana" because "Sword of Mana" IS NOT "Secret of Mana." Sword is an exceptionally good game but a lot of frustrating gameplay elements will more than likely bring this down.

Sword of Mana certainly is a pretty game. The graphics are astonishingly good. Vivid and colorful graphics that while they look cartoony, the character artwork is incredibly artistic. Easily Sword of Mana has eye-candy that will distract you from some of the cons until they submerge.

I wish I could say the same about the music that I did about the graphics. Some tunes are memorable (such as the opening theme) but other tunes for whatever reason don't bring out the true essence of the game. A lot of tunes sound 8-bit, like something you'd hear on your original NES or Gameboy. The sound effects also sound 8-bit style. I'm not quite sure if this is to bring back memories of Final Fantasy Adventure or not but for the GBA the sound could've been better.

The Gameplay of the game is actually where the game's problem is. The music I can deal with even if it is 8-bit, it isn't bad. But the gameplay showers frustration. For one thing, as so many others have said, your AI partner is not so smart. A lot of the time you'll rush into battle and your AI partner won't even ATTACK the enemy. They'll stand there walking into a wall or pathetiaclly getting the crap kicked out of them.

Battling itself can be a joy. You run around and swing your weapon at the enemy. You've got about 8 different weapons to choose from and each has its own potential and "trait". Either a Slash, Jab or Bash. Some enemies are weak to one trait more than another. To me this was creative and best of all, makes it so that you can put a strategy to your gameplay rather than just try to stay alive.

But even the combat has its problems. There's a three hit combo you can do but for some odd reason it can't be pulled off whenever. You may pull it off sometimes but it is incredibly difficult (you'll more than likely do this three hit combo by accident). Not only that but it gets more frustrating to battle as you progress. You start to miss enemies all the time and battling suddenly becomes a hassle.

The Ring menu. Simple and easy to use. Not as fast as it could be though. VERY easy to use but you spend A LOT of time in it. BUT for what its worth the Ring Menu has short cuts to the two things you'll access the most! Weapons and Magic. However, as one reviewer pointed out, the amount of time spent in the menu is torture at times. I select one category and depnding on what it is I'll go off into another catagory, a sub catagory. I may or may not go into ANOTHER sub-category. That and the menu doesn't switch to the next sub category fast enough. Still, the ring menu is fast and efficient.

My last problem with this game is a small one. The lack of actually playing the game sometimes. There are several points where the dialogue carries on and on and on. There's nothing wrong with a good storyline but when I can't interact with it enough there's a problem. It's a GAME. It's supposed to be fun WHILE intriguing and entertaining. You can't speed up the dialogue either and the character developement only helps to make it worse.

Overall, Sword of Mana isn't such a bad game. It just suffers from a lot of cons that stand out, especially in the gameplay. If you ARE a fan of the Mana Series then yes, grab this. Pick it up. If you aren't familiar with the series it's a love/hate relationship all the way.

Don't think of it as "Secret of Mana 2"

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: March 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is actually a remake of "Final Fantasy Adventure" from the original GameBoy, and a damned good one too! It was marketed over hear as a Final Fantasy game so it would sell better (it was the reason I purchased it at the time...). They greatly modified the graphics and play control using the "Secret of Mana" engine, so this game has the same feel in combat only as it's SNES "prequal." Actually, I like the combat a little better here than "Secret of Mana," you spend less time dodging waiting for your guage to fill and more time smacking monsters around. Over all, I find that the story flows very nicely and the character interactions are done pretty well. If you like RPG's with a more realtime feel, I highly recommend this game.

Decent adventure title for the GBA or DS.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 12
Date: April 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I remember how great Final Fantasy Adventure was, which was really part 1 of the mana saga, and how wonderful the Secret of Mana was for the Super Nintendo.

Now comes Sword of Mana, which is the 4th in the series, and its magic doesnt hold up to the older games.

The gameplay of sword play and magic is standard fare and does nothing to dazzle you. Same goes for the story which is a rehash of Final Fantasy Adventure. The game is fun but nothing memorable which is a departure from Square games which usually leave a dramatic lasting effect.

The main problem with this game is that a strategy guide is almost mandatory for all the items, spells, seeds, fruits, vegetables, etc. The crafting, forging, level up classes, and stats are all way too complicated for what they are.
It seems that Square thought we were all stat obsessed and item hunters/gatherers with this game.

All in all its a fun and short adventure but nothing that will go down as a classic like Secret of Mana or the Legend of Zelda games.

Not bad

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: January 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

While in no ways the best RPG there ever was, I certainly did find this game enjoyable--to the point that I played it 6 hours straight the first night I had it.

I'm not familiar with any previous games in the series before, but I was overall pleased with this game. It's suprisingly addictive and has it's own strong appeal and charm. The real time combat was a nice change from all the traditional turn based that seems to dominate most RPGs, and the I love the idea of the game being played twice--once from the female character's perspective, and once from the male's. Particularly since they don't go all the same places together; at many points, each go through different dungeons, which are only accessible through that character's side of the story.

Unfortunately, the game is not without it's flaws. The graphics aren't always necessarily the best--the characters seem to have a hard time moving their legs when they walks sideways, at times. I grew frustrated with only being able to save my game at the Goddess statues, and even more so by the fact that when my character dies, the game ends. And with how easy it was for characters to be killed in the fun but flawed combat, I found myself tired of doing the same dungeons over and over again. Also, while having two people participating in the real time combat is a good idea, it, overall, proves to be a waste. The second person (whomever happens to be following your character at the time) is worthless, and usually wanders around, attacking only monsters that you attack, and being killed far too quickly and easily. And the only way to control that character is to relinquish control of the first character.
With the weapons, it is an interesting change to have the hot house where you can use seeds collected from the game and have the blacksmith there temper your weapons, but I prefer the more straight forward weapon progression; where you simply buy or find a weapon or piece of armor that is simply stronger than anything previous. The same can be said for the spirits; cool, but mostly useless, except for a few key points during the game. The only one I ever really used was the one that healed.

Overall, I think it's a very fun, appealing sort of game. It only took three weeks to beat, so it's nothing for the hard-core gamer. But it's a fun jaunt, nonetheless.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 Next 

Actions