Video Games : Dawn of Mana

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from: Square Enix

List Price: $29.99

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Amazon Maximum Age: 20 years
Amazon Minimum Age: 60 months
Binding: Video Game
Brand: Square Enix
EAN: 0662248907024
ESRB Age Rating: Everyone
Label: Square Enix
Manufacturer: Square Enix
Platform: PlayStation2
Publisher: Square Enix
Release Date: May 22, 2007
Sales Rank: 8514
Studio: Square Enix

Features:

Experience the beloved world of Mana in a fully 3D environment for the first time.
Explore sweeping plains and mountains that stretch as far as the eye can see, brought vividly to life by the detailed visuals that fans have come to expect from the Mana series.
Experience an interactive world that encourages players to “touch” the world of Mana.
Realistic facial expressions dynamically convey each character’s mood and emotions.

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Editorial Review:

Amazon.com:
Long ago, when the world was at peace and magic was yet unknown to man, a beautiful isle called Illusia floated in the center of the Inner Sea. Over the island towered the Great Tree, the source of all life. There it had stood since the beginning of the world. But over time, the Tree gradually turned to stone and slept as though death had come at last.

So unfolds the story of how a boy came to wield a sacred sword and how a maiden became a goddess—entwining the fate of spirits, mortals, and the entire world into an engaging and entertaining tale of ultimate hope.

In Dawn of Mana players will finally uncover the origins of the long-running MANA series, which boasts unique and fully interactive 3D environments. Players will be able to interact with their environment like never before, as they explore, destroy and use objects in their fight against fierce—and often funny—enemies. Four difficulty levels, gameplay-altering emblems and a battle arena with collectable pets add customization to the adventure and increase replay value.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Incompetent Controls.
STORY-

Dawn of Mana (henceforth referred to as DoM by me) is an action-RPG platformer hybrid set in the isle of Illusia. A boy named Keldric and his friend Ritzia live peaceful lives in harmony with nature...at least until the tiresomely predictable antagonist shows up and manages to ruin everything in less time than it takes you to say `plot device'. Keldy and his fairy friend, Faye, must rescue Ritzia and save the world from evil. Seriously. That's about as far in depth as I can describe it, because that's mostly all there is to it. Save the girl, defeat the darkness and restore the universe. It's not the worst story I've ever seen, and the presentation is excellent, but I really wish RPGs would stop with these sorts of narratives. You would've thought that they could have come up with something a little more original than `brash teenage boy on a quest to stop evil and save the gentle hearted damsel in distress', but no. Obviously not.

BATTLE SYSTEM-

Square apparently realized that the Kingdom Hearts style of combat was an excellent choice for RPG-adventure-platforming games and it shows in DoM. Keldy can jump around and swing his sword in a simple combo attack, much like Sora's Keyblade. What sets DoM apart from KH, however, is the fact that Keldy can whip out a handy vine to grab objects and fling them around, thus damaging enemies and panicking them. In theory, it sounds like a good system to work with, but there are highly noticeable flaws with it. Number one is the abysmal lock-on system. While it honestly doesn't sound like a very difficult thing to get right in a game, Square has somehow managed to botch the job completely. It frequently locks on to targets in the background and ignores the foreground, even when the opposing force is RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. You can cycle through targets, but there are often so many objects on the screen at one time (rocks, crates, etc.) that by the time you've found the enemy you wanted, it'll have already hacked off your limbs.

Number two is the physics. DoM implements the Havok Engine, which also happens to have been used in Half-Life 2. However, the physics engine seemed more bothersome than innovative for me, especially during combat. If you get hit by an enemy Keldy will be sent flying backwards as though he's in outer space. The only thing you can do when this happens is watch him go up in an arc and then land face down, refusing to move, while the adversary gnaws on his gonads. Frequently, you will have to panic enemies by throwing things at them, but this gimmick quickly becomes repetitive in of itself. What could have been an interesting combat system was broken down to the bare basics of picking up, throwing, and then bashing the enemy with the same combo you'll use throughout the entire game. Fun? Maybe for a little while. Long term? Absolutely not.

GAMEPLAY-

I feel as if any more comparison to Kingdom Hearts will be redundant, but something has to be said for the similarities between the two. Considering that KH is an extremely lucrative franchise, it doesn't surprise me that Square wants to replicate as much of the successful formula as much as it possibly can. Despite their valiant efforts, however, a lot of what made Kingdom Hearts entertaining hasn't been reproduced very well here. DoM uses a chapter-based system to advance the plot meaning the game sets you loose in an expansive environment to explore the level(s) and eventually defeat a boss, thus ending the section and moving on with the story. Keldy can gain experience by panicking enemies with thrown objects and then, once the enemy is defeated, picking up medals that will gradually increase his stats. The ONLY WAY to get these items is to panic the enemies. You're forced to continue picking up, rolling, throwing or breaking objects simply so that you can advance in the game. Using a sophisticated physics engine is one thing, but blatantly pushing it at the consumer is another. The vine ability would have been better utilized as an `extra' - something useful for acquiring greater amounts of medals or simply stunning the enemy. The fact that it feels like such a necessity didn't sit well with me at all.

Even worse than that, however, is the fact that Keldy's level resets to 1 every time you begin a new Chapter. This means that you'll go through the process of gaining and then losing stats eight agonizing times during the course of the game. What do people want to get out of RPGs? Well, a feeling of accomplishment, of course. By nullifying the stat bonuses at the conclusion of each Chapter, DoM effectively kills any feeling of productivity and progress. I felt like I was starting at the beginning of the game each time by health was reduced and my attacks became drastically weaker once more.

All that said and done, the environments are all unique in their own ways and each has a distinct `feel' to it. However, a lot of the time, I felt simply lost and without a clue where to go. There's a small radar in the top right hand corner of the screen, but it's about as useful as an umbrella during a hurricane. It provides your destination, but it fails to account for whatever obstacles may be in your way while trying to get there. Frequently, I felt as though I was being forced to blaze my own trail: something I don't particularly enjoy in a video game such as this (it was fine in Shadow of the Colossus). DoM is tight-lipped with hints and mission objectives, which is a problem considering how large some of the levels are. My overall feelings were those of confusion and frustration. It's far too easy to get lost, and when you do, there isn't really a way to find out where you are or how to get where you're going to.

But I'm not quite done yet. Since DoM is a platformer, I would've expected that the controls be at least decent. Unfortunately, much like every other aspect of the gameplay, they failed to impress and frequently irritated. Keldy's movements often seem to lack fluidity; he runs as though he's on the moon and his jumping somehow manages to be even worse. Couple this with the game's ragdoll physics and you can bet that you'll be falling off most of the platforms you're supposed to be jumping on. The camera is just as obtuse as everything else. It's difficult to control and tough to position behind Keldy, making for an all-around mediocre experience.

VISUALS, CHARACTERS and AUDIO-

If there's any praise I can squeeze out for DoM, it's most likely for the appearance of the game itself. Although the core gameplay mechanics are a mess, the graphics themselves are beautiful and detailed. The animation during cutscenes is usually quite good: it's full of eye-candy. I'm a sucker for video games with sharp-looking design, but we all know that it can't carry the entire thing. There aren't really all that many characters, and the ones you do meet are never very well characterized. Keldy doesn't differ in the slightest from the many other teenage RPG heroes, or if he does, the distinction was too subtle for me to notice. To be fair, the voice-acting for Keldy and co. is above average and generally believable (if not a bit hokey at times). One other area in which DoM excels was the sound. The musical score is fantastic, and there were several tracks that I actually enjoyed listening to. In these respects only, DoM is one of the better RPGs I've seen in the last year or so.

OVERALL-

I genuinely wanted to enjoy Dawn of Mana, but there were noticeable blemishes on the gameplay that marred the experience for me. It's a bit of a love-hate relationship: I couldn't help but be drawn in by the art and music, but was ultimately deterred by the horrendously broken controls and unsatisfying level-reset system. It didn't help that the story was only average and the characters were the same archetypes you see in every RPG these days. I'm glad I rented it first, and anyone else thinking of buying should probably do the same if they don't want to be disappointed.

Rating:

- A Decent Game
Dawn of Mana

I read other reviews that said the game was not as good as previous games in the mana series. While I agree with this I also think that aside from comparing it to other mana games it is a great game. I have a feeling the reviewers before me had an idea in their head of what this game "should" have been according to their expectations and when they found out it was not what they thought it would be they instantly hated the game.

Yeah the radar map is bad like people often say but chances are you will never need it for anything anyhow. I can't remember the last time I needed it while playing.

Yeah the camera can also be a pain in some situations but not as bad as people made it out to be.

Combat is only frustrating until you actually get the hang of it. By the end of the second chapter combat should feel very smooth and easy to handle.

The voice acting and delivery of the story is top notch seriously they couldn't have done any better in this area if they had tried.

So overall it is a decent game. Not what you would be expecting from a game in the mana series but that doesn't ruin it any.

Rating:

- Dawn of Mana, the heartwrenching mana game
Like most of the games I get, I usually don't worry much about the graphics, though DOM had impressive graphics. The gameplay was interesting as well. It seems most games are conforming to free roaming. Not that it's a problem, LOM games have always had a free roaming thing going. :D You basically run around weilding a swords smashing the bad guys and powering up with combo's and such. Despite what other reviews stated I enjoyed the game play very well. I thought it added a sence of uniqueness to the game.

Sure you start at lv. 1 in every chapter, but this game is more of an action-adventure game than an rpg I think, so I had no problems with it. It proves a good challenged to a solid gamer. ^^

The characrers in this game are loveable and rememberable. Keldric stands out mostly to me, mainly because what he goes through. I won't say anything to spoil any details or plots in the game, so I won't say anything lol xD

Overall the game was really fun, I enjoyed it. The ending was really sad though, that is the only thing I didn't like about the game. ^^; but all in all check it out if you're a die-hard fan!

Rating:

- Infuriating, frustrating, perplexing
I'm astounded that Square created this product. They must've given it to the newbies on the dev team. From the vomit-inducing auto-camera to the ridiculous level-reset at the beginning of every chapter, this is a title to avoid. The targeting system seems to locate the opposite of what you want every single time (interesting since I had to reverse all of the controls from the factory setting just to make the game playable...perhaps they should have provided a 'targeting algorithm reverse' option as well). The physics system is interesting I guess, but it has some ludicrous extremes to it. There was one part of the game where I had to cross a bridge made from a log...forget for a moment that the wacky character controls translates to 'baby-stepping' across anything resembling a bridge or else you fall (platformers...ugh! does anybody like these kinds of games?)

Back to the log: so I had to cross this log, but lo-and-behold, as I was trying to kill all the off-camera enemies swirling around me, I accidentally *destroyed* the log I was to walk across! WTF?

Your character also suffers from some serious gravity aversion, as well. During the first boss fight, you'll end up throwing your controller across the room as Kheldy (you) gets knocked into the air, bounces off a wall, then bounces off a pillar which then hits a combustible acorn (don't ask) which blows you sky-high again. Your character gets tossed about again and again while you're furiously mashing the buttons and screaming 'get up you useless twit!' at the screen. All the while the camera swirls about, dizzying and disorienting you, forcing you to struggle to place the camera just in time to have the boss ram you and fling you into the skies once more.

Rent it if your curious or if your masochistic...or both.

Rating:

- It's not Secret of Mana, but don't trash it just yet...
Ok, I'll cut straight to the chase here. I won't waste your time doing in-depth reviews the many aspects of this game, good or bad. You've read those; good acting/presentation/graphics/idea, bad execution (Camera/lock-on). If you wanna review these aspects, go visit Gamespot or whatever where it's their job to do stuff like that.

This is one of those games that you will either like, or you will hate. I happen to be one of them who liked it, and here's my stand on getting this game.

I won't deny that the camera and lock-on systems in this game are subpar, and I won't deny that some of the problems created by these problems make parts of the game aggravating. After the first couple hours I became real annoyed trying to figure out how to advance through a stage while being assaulted with a wacky camera and hard to grab enemies. Did that stop me? No. I wanted to beat the game, not let the game beat me.

So ask yourself: "How much do I really care about a crappy camera angle or a bad lock on?" Quite personally, I got over it. After a while, you get quite used to it, and you can figure out how to have a good time without crabbing about it. Sure, it may still be buggy, but once you're used to it, you can compensate rather effectively.

It bothers me a bit when people don't like something in a video game , and they go off on a tirade about its level of epic failure before they work with it some and give it another chance (Not pointing to anyone in specific; everyone is entitled to their views). Yes, first impressions can leave a lasting mark, and yes, some games are doomed to failure, but if you never give the game a chance after you've had some level of disgust, how can you be positive?

I've had a lot of fun destroying environments and chucking them willy-nilly at unsuspecting enemies, and then taking said unsuspecting enemies and chucking them at each other. Repetitive? Maybe. A reason to cast a thousand curses upon a game? Probably not. The large levels and interactive environments help make some of the possibly repetitious battles more unique, and if anything, its fun just to look at all the colorful details and beautiful scenery.

To be more specific: Get this game if you like chucking large objects around, enjoy a beautifully rendered world, a decent story with pretty good voice acting, and don't mind a few improperly executed details that can be overcome (I mean really, no game is perfect, and not every game can be SoM or FF7) if you just take the time to not be discouraged. If you're patient, you can do it.

Don't this game if you like absolutely flawless systems or can't stand bad camera angles. Don't get it if you don't like chucking things around for hours on end, or if you like to keep your powerups between levels (So, I guess if you don't like old platformers!).

If you're not sure: Rent it, but don't return it right away. If you're patient enough, you might end up liking it. If not, no biggie. I'm a stubborn person with a lot of patience, so I could withstand a lot more than some people can when it comes to games, and my advice may not apply to you.

As far as the stars...5 for fun, because some of the mass mayhem I got to cause was pretty exciting, but some of the aggravation going into getting over the camera and locking pulled it down a little.

(Ok, so I slipped a little bit of a review in with my advice, big whoop)


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