Legend of Mana is a great, classic Japanese RPG - but it’s also unabashedly of its time, a game arguably released before the developer desire to streamline, simplify and declutter the genre really took hold. Those who are in it for an as-they-remember-it experience have the option of flicking back to the original PS1 versions of tracks if they wish, however. The original soundtrack from Street Fighter and Kingdom Hearts composer Yoko Shimomura has been lovingly remastered - and the arrangements, well, slap. It works, and it looks pretty damn nice.īetter than the visual splendor is the audio, which has also seen a significant upgrade. The painterly background undoubtedly look better on modern displays than the original PS1 versions would’ve in their original presentation, while the sprites ‘pop’ against those backgrounds thanks to their pixelated nature. The two styles don’t clash and while initially it might feel a little strange, pretty quickly the two intertwine and cease to feel like two separate art styles - they complement each other. It’s a combination that I wouldn’t necessarily have thought was a good one on paper - but in practice, it works remarkably well. Crucially, the part of the game you’ll be most focused on retains its original appearance. That sounds like the sort of description that sets alarm bells ringing - we see a lot of terrible vaseline filters over classic games - but these elements look good, with little to no detail lost. Meanwhile, more static elements such as backgrounds have been given a high definition makeover where everything just looks a little… smoother. Legend of Mana takes a different approach - keeping the original spite-based visuals to retain an exacting recreation of it as fans remember it - or at least, partially.Ĭharacters, monsters and other more ‘active’ elements of the game world are lovely sprites, unfiltered and unashamed of their pixelated nature.
LEGEND OF MANA REVIEW SERIES
Legend of Mana was always the next obvious Mana series do-over, as its direct predecessors, Secret of Mana and Trials of Mana, have both been remade as 3D games. But a contender for the best style of remastering, for the most eager stroking of nostalgia may very well be that on show in the new HD Remaster of PS1 classic Legend of Mana.
LEGEND OF MANA REVIEW PS2
We’ve seen bare-bones ports of the PS2 Kingdom Hearts games, previously unlocalized Japanese versions like Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age, and of course lore-bending, earth-shattering remakes as with Final Fantasy 7. Of all the companies with a lavish back catalogue of classics to use and abuse, Square Enix seems to be one of those most confidently diving into its old work.
To see this content please enable targeting cookies. AI-controlled characters can fight alongside the protagonist in some of the scenarios.Square Enix's methodology for remastering Legend of Mana is an admirable one, retaining much of what made the original game special - even where it won't hold up great in 2021. Like in the previous games in the series, combat is action-based, but in this installment it takes place on separate side-scrolling screens. There is, however, no continuous world to explore, and each scenario is confined to a particular area. The game is non-linear in terms of gameplay, allowing the player to visit areas in any order and play through 67 related scenarios. It is also possible raise pet monsters and create powerful golems, forge mighty weapons or refine musical instruments. As the game advances, the player will receive more artifacts and find out more about the land. Those ancient artifacts are repositories of the land's long-forgotten memories and the many events that once took place there. The game features a land creation system, allowing the player to create new locations and story elements by placing mysterious artifacts. In Legend of Mana the player controls a hero or heroine traveling over the land of Fa'Diel. She made Fa'Diel, a great land, but so far an empty one. The Mana Goddess acquired consciousness by gazing into the light of that sun. DescriptionA twinkling consciousness became a star that sparkled in the night and banished the darkness.
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