The Mana series is one Square Enix hasn't revisited in a while. With the last entry coming out on the SNES, it never saw a revolution in gameplay or graphics. With Dawn of Mana, the company sought to remedy this.

They shouldn't have bothered.

In this late-generation PS2 title, players are set onto the island of Illusia, where a young man named Keldy is inevitably responsible for saving the world from something, presumably involving the Dark World and a big tree. Oh, but this isn't a normal kid. He has a piece of the big tree growing in his arm that conveniently forms the shape of a big sword when he needs it. And, to top it all off, he finds a little fairy named Faye that just loves saying her name, and gets her to follow around and cast spells.

The game's levels have Keldy hitting enemies and shooting them with magical slingshot pellets. The goal is not only to kill the enemies, but to make them "panic" first, causing them to start to create powerups for Keldy of various types. This is important, because there is no permanent boosting or leveling up in the game. In each area, players can gain enough powerups to attain level 4, but all progress is reset at the beginning of the next level. This is frustrating, as the sense of accomplishment is gone and it's hard to avoid just rushing through each level with minimal effort.

The gameplay and controls are just not up to Square Enix's high standards. The camera is just horrible. It is way too close to show enough, and players will find themselves having to control it manually. The jumping and climbing required just seems unnecessary, and the auto-aiming with the slingshot often chooses random, not-so-ideal targets. Aiming manually is possible, but it takes just a second or two longer than it should. That may not seem like much, but in most situations it's the difference between getting a shot off and getting hit first.

However, Mana isn't all bad. The art style, while childish to be sure, has that Square sheen to it. For a PS2 title, the game is gorgeous and appealing. The soundtrack, though mediocre for Square, manages to do the job well, and the use of the Havok engine makes the game's physics amusing for a few hours.

The main appeal of the original game was the multiplayer, so it's surprising how little there is in Dawn. The second player can cast Faye's spells and help choose items for Keldy to use, but it feels like an afterthought. The style of play in this game would have benefited from some cooperative two-player, and the absence is noticeable.

Dawn of Mana would be some fun for younger children, but it still clocks in with a T rating, so it's hard to say who should buy this. It's fun for a few hours, but doesn't have the addictive nature of its predecessors. Still, rent it and look at the pretty colors.

Jun 5, 2007 | 0 comments
Graham Russell