17.1.2007

In truth, there really hasn't been a great Mana game since Secret of Mana back in 1993. Every Mana game since has been met with astonishing mixed feelings, and Children of Mana is no different. Why did I buy it knowing this? For the same reason many Mana fans continue to invest in Mana games. There's always hope that the next installment will give us the same joy that Secret of Mana did. Unfortunately, Children of Mana does not do this. It doesn't rekindle the magic Secret of Mana gave us, but that shouldn't suggest it falls short of it either.The world is in peril when a mana imbalance threatens to send the world back into the dark ages.It is up to a hero or heroine to stop this from happening and thus you'll set out to save the Mana Tree and the world itself. Children of Mana by no means has a great storyline going for it. At least where it falls short in story it more than makes up for in gameplay.No matter how you look at it, Children of Mana is a dungeon crawler. It is an RPG, but it falls into the dungeon crawling category. When you enter dungeons they're just swarming with monsters, and you'll be surrounded before you know it. So you'll have to make your way through a dungeon battling everything in sight until you reach the boss, take him on, and then you're done. Rinse and repeat. The process does, at times become annoying, but Children of Mana offers some variety and interesting aspects to the gameplay to make up for it.The first tidbit of interest is how combat works. It's actually pretty fun to go through dungeons killing things. It's surprisingly addictive for the first couple of hours. You've got three hit combos you can perform on enemies. You can knock enemies into other enemies. There's quite a bit of intersting things you can do. However, what also sets it apart from a lot of dungeon crawlers is that you can't ahead of yourself too fast. First and foremost, you can't equip and use everything you find right off the bat. The game will actually restrict you from using overly powerful weapons until you have access to certain dungeons or until you meet certain expectations. This keeps the game from being too simple too fast.You'll also have access to magic, of course. Each time you go into a dungeon you can take a spirit with you and use the magic that spirit provides for you. It's interesting to play around with as well. In dungeons you can also dual wield weapons, although not in the way you'd think. When I say duel wield I specifically mean you can equip two weapons but only use one each time. So you can't go about swinging both of them at the same time, which probably would've added more variety to the gameplay otherwise.Along the lines of giving your character a different assortment of weapons, you can also give them gems that can improve their stats or combat abilities. It's interesting, but not really all that deep. You'll mostly find or purchase these gems.Another interesting aspect is that the game is completely linear should you decide to not to dwell into the many sidequests the game has to offer. Children of Mana is not shy about offering you side missions to go on, and they're actually pretty well worth it. However, should you decide not to do any sidequests, the game becomes extremely linear.The problem with the gameplay, however is that this rinse and repeat formula becomes very tiring very fast. The objective in just about every dungeon is to find what's called a "Gleam Drop" and then bring it back to the "Gleam Well." It's annoying mostly because each dungeon plays out in the same way. Fight through a horde of enemies, retrieve the Gleam Drop, fight a boss and leave. Over time it becomes increasingly repetitive. Thankfully, Children of Mana has a great remedy for that too. It's multiplayer. Up to four players can play at a time, and the game is so much more fun that way. You and your friends can make your way through dungeons together, and sometimes it's just a blast to do. There are moments of slowdown when playing in multiplayer mode, but it's nothing to get too frustrated with, because it doesn't happen too often. The multiplayer alone adds a lot of variety and complexity to the gameplay.As far as graphics go the game doesn't look too bad. The sprites look like they're ripped straight ouf of Sword of Mana... and the game is completely 2D. However, the Mana games have not been about taking graphics to the limit, they've been about its unique art style, which in Children of Mana is absolutely gorgeous. Its artwork is just beautiful to look at. Each environment is given extremely good detail. The only problem, as I mentioned, are that the sprites are not nearly as detailed. Musically, Children of Mana sounds fantastic. It's one of the best sounding DS games out to date. Very few of the current games hold a candle up to its fantastic soundtrack.The bottom line is simple: Children of Mana is a very fun game to play with a very mediocre storyline. There's just enough variety and interest in the gameplay to keep one going for the adventure, even if the storyline is just not all that great to begin with. However, keep in mind that Children of Mana really is just a dungeon crawl, and it's uncrealistic to expect an RPG that's all about dungeon crawling to have a fantastic storyline that will blow you away. Also, even with its vast amount of variety in the gameplay, the whole rinse and repeat is so repetitive that some gamers may not even find the game worth going through at all.

20.1.2007

Mana? The world needs it otherwise crazy stuff starts happening, and that is exactly how the game opens. Granted you pick from one of four characters and one of eight mana sprites (mana you can later change, but the character you cannot, but don't worry, the stories are exactly the same, I know because my girlfriend completed it with the rabbit!) Basically, the bad guy turns up, nicks the mana sword, threatens to destroy the world and it's up to you to stop him.Now there isn't an emphasis on story, and this mainly takes a backseat to the action. The game is action based and you'll be able to control two weapons at once, a sword, a bow and arrow, a hammer and a chain,

16.1.2007

The World of Mana is now in full flow over in Japan, but Europe is about to get its first dose of the action with Children of Mana, the début title in what Square Enix is hoping will be the full-on resurrection of a franchise that was unfairly left lying around, with just two recent updates in the form of the PSone's Legend of Mana and the remake of Seiken Densetsu, Sword of Mana (which was developed by an outside company - Nintendo's very own Brownie Brown). What people are eager to know, though, is whether this is a strong enough entry to jump-start the series once more...Graphics: 9/10Whilst it may not have 3D visuals, the artistic 2D style is simply stunning and mixed with batches animated cut-scenes,

27.1.2007

If your getting this becouse you played the origanal secret of mana for the snes you will find some slight disapointment form this game. but nevermind it will pass!The game itself you controle ONE person ( no party members ) unless you have a frend with a DS AND a seccond cartrage .. and then you can unlock multiplayer misions apparantly.The spell syestem lets this game down form it's roots in Secret of mana .. you can only take ONE elament with you ant that elemrnt has two spells .. a offencive and a benifical .. fans of the masivly distructive spells will be let down here. It still would be possable to play the game as a pure mage but wouldn't be recomended to try :)The gameplay is almost a series of small misions set from people tou talk to in your start town,

9.12.2006

There is much fun to be had in this game. Unlike Sword of Mana, you have a choice of what character you play as. They have gem fields to customize with certain abilities - some give stat bonus and immunities to ailments. They get 2 different weapon types depending on your character and are able to switch weapons on the fly and as with all Mana games, your weapons, armor and accessories are all upgradeable. You can find some nice equipment by killing enemies.There are side quests with random dungeons, plenty of enemies to slay, and a multi-player option! The learning curve is small - you can easily just pop in the game and start slashing away at everything in your path. The dungeons are also pretty straightforward,

21.1.2007

This is the fourth mana game I have played and I found this one a good contender allow not as deep or as long as Secret of Mana. The game style does involve hack and slash like previous Mana games. The graphics are very cute and the anime cut scenes are beautiful. While the game follows a very similar style it can get a bit repeative, especially if you keep dying. On the whole I found it an entertaing and most importantly fun to play and if you are a Mana and/or RPG fan this is worth buying.

16.1.2007

The reviews for this game seemed low in the publications I had read. I would liken this game to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, in that you play the same stages with different goals. Leveling up is a bit tedious. The story is cute, and light. I enjoyed playing the game very much for the first 10 hours, and couldn't put it down. After that it got a little stale.

20.12.2011

I just recently found out about the offshoots of the Secret of Mana SNES game and have been playing the other games. This one is pretty good, although you have to use a DS and cannot have it on a big screen its fun none the less. You can choose from one of 4 characters and endure many challenges as well as being able to use some of the normal Mana magic.

17.11.2008

Years ago, I played the Mana series and really loved it. I'm glad that Nintendo has brought it back from the past. It may not have all the bells, whistles, and graphics of modern games but it has the same game play from the past that we loved. It's just one of those, not too hard and not too easy games that you can sit down with and enjoy.

12.1.2007

It's a great game. The graphics are beautiful, so you wont be let down there. Though it is, essentially, a dungeon crawler. Be wary of this before you buy it, because its lots of hack and slash around various dungeons over and over again.

8.2.2014

I like this game. but it gets boring. I like the older RPG's where you go out of town & walk around all over the map. The game is fun, but gets too boring sometimes. A game I put down & then play when I think about it.

11.9.2013

This is an excellent game at a very reasonable price too. I have many a happy hour & days battling monsters. I borrowed a copy a few years ago & now I have my own!

18.3.2015

Everything came as described, well packaged, quick delivery. Game plays great! Great buy for any fan of the mana series.

28.2.2016

Good entertaining game. Has good graphics, sound, gameplay, storyline, character development, and presentation.

28.5.2019

An ok on the go game

Children of Mana (DS) - Reviews

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