Dawn of Mana
I got my copy of Dawn of Mana. It was a little better than I had expected. So I'll break it down for you.
Basic Gist
The buttons are a little hard to get use to unless you've played God of War. The camera controls are horrible but I guess that's what you get for the first 3D game in the series. The graphics are pretty great for it being on the PS2. The sound is completely amazing and probably the games major pro. My copy came with the "Breath of Mana" soundtrack that's equipped with 5 really good songs. The story is pretty in depth and it sticks to some of it's mana roots.
Story
You start out as a guy named Keldy looking for a Rabite named Buju. You're accompanied by Keldy's childhood friend named Ritzia who is a Maiden of The Great Tree(My guess the Mana Tree). When you find soldiers from Lorimar taking over Illusia which is lead by Stroud(not sure if there is any relation to Dark Lord on FFA/SwOM). This is where I stopped playing but it's building up and it should have a good storyline.
Gameplay
It put me in the mind of a 3D Children of Mana rather than my expectations of SD4. There's no overlying map which really stinks. You play from chapter to chapter. The chapters last from 20 minutes to an hour. Your weapon is a pretty kick tail sword. You can do normal hack and slash with it. You can shoot magic sling shots(varies depending on spirit). Or you can use the sword as a whip and grab items or enemies with it and sling them around. You also have magic in this one. But this time it's useful! So far I've only seen 2 ways to use it. One way is by healing yourself and the other is an elemental attack. With it being 3D there is a targeting system in it. It's a little shabby but it gets the job done. There are two targeting buttons. One targets enemies and the other targets objects(objects WTF?). Enemies have what is called panic(and the game relies a lot on it.) Pretty much the enemy gets scared and you are able to do more damage to them. You can get more emblems, which raise stats, by killing a monster while it's panicking. To make a monster panic you must knock an object on or near it. Some objects have health in them.
My Score
Graphics: 8/10
They're really good for PS2 but not spectacular.
Sound: 10/10
As I said before. The sound is the best part of this game.
Gameplay: 7/10
I'm being a little generous on this one. The gameplay is good but it could really have been better.
Originality: 7/10
There were a few things that I've never seen in a game before. The stroy is one of a kind.
Story: 8/10
My opinion on this can easily change as I have not completed the game. But from what I have played it seems to bee really great. I think that I may change this part after I finish playing. I believe that this number will go up.
FINAL SCORE: 7.8
The game is good but it could really use some fine tuning. I think if the World of Mana project keeps working on it we may have a ground breaking game.
Comparison to other Mana Games it's not so great. Here's my list:
Seiken Densetsu 3
Secret of Mana
Sword of Mana
Legend of Mana
Dawn of Mana
Final Fantasy Adventure
Children of Mana
Posted At 2007-05-23 23:00:23 by DeadWolf
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