Sword of Mana

I liked the Legend so much that I wanted to experience the Sword.


Legend of Mana was a shockingly well reviewed experienced, so I kinda wanted to play something similar. I haven't enjoyed the middle two games of the franchise, but maybe I'll see where it all started! Then I saw it began on the Gameboy (as a Final Fantasy side game) and knew that would be a terrible idea. My eyes and ears can't appreciate the presentation on that anymore. And I'm a failure, so I can't play the remaster, Adventure of Mana. Fortunately, that was the second remaster. There was a remake that came out in 2003 for the Gameboy Advanced. It Ys IVs it by slightly retelling the story and adding a new character to play as. It also removes the Final Fantasy references and makes it more like the sequels, so it's more Manay. I have mixed feelings about that, but I'm gonna ride the hype I made for myself! Let's do something weird and go into spoilers about the plot.


You can pick one of two characters. They generally follow the same path, but there are a number of dungeons and experiences that are unique to themselves. I only played the girl (who I named Lulu), so I don't know anything about the boy's path. Other than that, Lulu can never equip the sword, and the boy can never wield the staff. They also begin with different magics. Lu can heal!


They meet up quite often, so both are vital to the game. But Lulu's story begins as a child, talking to her mother. It's the eve of a big journey that every woman of the Mana Tribe goes through. They're waiting for a knight to arrive to guide Lu. We see some of our friends, and they say their farewells, but it's short lived. A gaudy blue dude shows up and raises the hidden village. He's mad Mana didn't save someone close to him. Lu and her mom get away, but the guy gives chase. He catches up, but the warrior arrives. Mom gives Lu to Bogard and teleports the two away, buying time to get more distance.


Bogard and Lulu arrive in a town, and Bogard leads them to a friend of his, Grantz. They try to spend the night, but ol' Bluey has followed them. Bogard tries to fight him off, but he tells Lulu and Grantz' son, Z, to flee. They end up getting separated in the forest. Bogard ends up finding Lulu, and they live together in the village of Topple. Some years pass, and it's time for another journey. Bogard has his squire do some busy work, but it's just to let him slip out to let her journey on her own. While doing the busy work, she meets a strange boy she ends up beating up, thinking he's here to hunt her. It's apparent to us, but Lu doesn't see this is Z and vice versa.


After meeting a traveling catman merchant, the two set out to find Bogard. He left Topple, saying he went to the capital, Wendel, but the passage there is sealed, so they'll need to speak to Count Lee. A ghost scares Lulu, but a pretty lady sets the fear at ease. Count Lee is a vampire, and that's how he gets around. Both Lee and Isabella, the pretty lady, are Mavoles, sorta demon creatures who aren't necessarily evil. They plan to speak to Lee, but it's bedtime now. Lu wakes up from her recurring nightmare and wants to talk to Isabelle, but she's gone. Lu saw the weird butler being creepy, talking about marriage and wants to investigate. She lets Z sleep. Lulu battles through the bats and slimes, ignoring the zombies I couldn't figure out how to kill until she sees a dozen Mana tribe women in coffins. She beats up one of the butlers when he mentions a forced marriage.


Lu keeps descending the basement until she walks into a conversation with Isabelle and Count Lee. Something happens, and Lulu beats up an aristocratic vampire. He tells her he put the women to sleep to protect them. Dark Lord, the guy in charge of destroying Lulu's village, wants to wipe out the Tribe. Doing this should keep them safe, and he wants to do the same with Lu. But after getting beaten up, and Isabelle telling him Lu is strong enough to fight, he's rethought this "marriage." Z joined them by now, and Lee will break the seal to Wendel. We'll, we have to, but he gives us the key. And then we're attacked by Dark Lord. The two kids flee and recall they did this before, making them wonder if this is the other person they tried to escape with all those years ago.


By now, Lulu has collected a few weapons and spirits. These work as they did in other Mana games and let the players have access to an assortment of play styles. Wanna go full mage? Sure...maybe. Want to get close and personal or stay away? Use an axe or a bow while Z tanks? Spirits are magic, and whoever you have equipped deals a corresponding magic attack (or buff). Sadly, this gets really annoying. You have to swap weapons and spirits a lot. Many mobs can only be damaged by a specific weapon type or element, and this becomes far too common late game. And there's no easy way to check if you have the correct types equipped. We have to enter the awful circle menu too often.


While we're here, I'll also talk about the class system. It's more of an Easter egg to Mana 3, but you do get bonuses by unlocking classes. And you reach stronger classes by gaining levels in particular jobs, which focuses stat gains. Warrior level five gets you the title of Fighter and a bonus of five extra sword damage. But a combo of warrior, monk, and thief makes you an Amazon, giving a buff to spear attacks. I ended up as a Dragon Master. I don't know if there's a guide in the manual, so I worry it's possible to screw this up? You can achieve your final class at level thirty six. You gain exp via the typical Mana hack and slashing. It plays like the best parts of the SNES Mana games and Legend. So it's Secret without the cooldown. I dug it! It's nice and fast while still being smooth!


Back to the story, we walk on the beach to Wendel and meet a pleasant Bard who foreshadows future stuff. There's also a blonde guy named Devious. I wonder if he's evil? He likes birds, so probably not. In Wendel, we met the sage, Chibba. Bogard is also here because they're friends. The two of them, alongside Grantz, defeated the evil Vendole Empire ten years ago. It was a nice peace until Dark Lord showed up. Speaking of whom... Dark Lord and the gaudy blue guy, Julius, finally found Lulu and Z. Taking Wendel as hostages, Dark Lord kidnaps Lulu and takes her to his airship.


Dark Lord is surprisingly cordial, but his number two, Julius, is vindictive and tortures Lulu. The friends she's met end up saving her, as well as a new ally, Marley. They find a new spirit and crash the airship. Bogard and Lulu find their way to Jadd, home of the bard, Lester, and the blond guy, Devious. We find Devious' grand castle, and it's filled with birds. The real owner is the wife of Lord Grantz, and she's gone mad in the desert. We end up exploring a quicksand maze and kill Medusa, the wife of Grantz and the mother of Devious and Dark Lord... Devious gets mad, so we kill him. This makes both Lu and Z realize they have a lot in common with their enemy. They've both killed each other's parents. From here, we set out to the realm of Dark Lord: Grantz Castle.


We finally get the lance here, so I can make use of my class bonus. At the top of the keep, we beat up Dark Lord. It is at this point where Julius becomes the star. He and his allies, who include Ms. Isabelle, become the primary antagonists. Cannon travel opens up, and both protagonists meet a mutual friend, Willy. From there, they try to overcome the fact they've failed at every turn. They've saved no one and now have to protect the world from something worse than before: the destruction of Mana. Julius seeks to burn the Mana tree and control all magics. The power of friendship guides them, and one of Julius' allies betrays him. Gourmand gets no comeuppance and disappears from the plot. Love randomly appears after Lul learns she's a Mana Goddess and becomes the Mana Tree. Minus the plot holes and dropped points, it was pretty good.

---

Plot: holy. The basis of it is really good. Save the world after a hint of vengeance, but our characters can't quite get it right. What happened to the women in Lee's coffins or the Gourmand? Did the Moon Mirror have any purpose? Fortunately, both sides of the characters are really fun! 7/10


Gameplay: the important parts. I had so much fun fighting and treasure hunting. The gameplay variety was a little bland, and SoM didn't really reinvent the wheel. 8/10


Sound: Gameplay Advanced... The GBA served a purpose at the time, and it was much stronger than its predecessor. But I struggle to handle it. The sound is awful, and it's an ugly SNES game. But it works well enough. 6/10


Art: See above. All the good bits are taken care of, but the console can only do so much. At least that magic missile can change color. 8/10


Charm: it's a Mana game. The NPCs are great, and I like the world. And all the small details work. My biggest issues are the plot holes make me feel like I've missed something, and the circle menu gets tedious too fast. It kills the GOAT vibes. 9/10


The only negatives are the cumbersome circle menu with all the necessities of ad hoc weapon switching. The translation also comes off as lazy and budget a few times. How did they give us the wrong direction?! I wonder how it should be. -3


I enjoyed Sword of Mana. I certainly like it more than Secret and Trails. So I'm a bit shocked that both games have a better score. Sword of Mana gets a 35/50.


Sword of Mana is a solid remake that came out before remakes were all the rage. It's worth a playthrough, and I feel it's better than the more well known entries in the franchise. I'm curious about the newer games, but I don't see myself playing them anytime soon. Maybe one day...