Dawn of Mana - Not the Beebee's Knees?
There's no ally AI to speak of, really, since you don't really have allies in the game. The Pet AI isn't anything to write home about in the Battle Arena, but that isn't really the point of it. They're just there to run around and hit things while you do the same. The enemy AI is pretty decent, though. It doesn't have to do anything particularly amazing, but occasionally it'll do something that surprises you.
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lilribbongirl
- Rabite
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 12:17 pm
- Location: Singapore
I had mixed sensations....
At fisrt i was quite surprised. I was expecting a pure garbage of game, but it felt lots of fun, with the lovely graphics and exciting action. But it gets old really quickly... They had a good idea but screwed... definetly.
You can sit, relax, pretend it´s not a Mana game and have funs for some hours. But it was definetly a waste of work for square... they still cant deliver a proper Mana game. pityfull.
It´s cute, it has mana name, tree, sword, rabites... and its ordinary...
only for mana fans
At fisrt i was quite surprised. I was expecting a pure garbage of game, but it felt lots of fun, with the lovely graphics and exciting action. But it gets old really quickly... They had a good idea but screwed... definetly.
You can sit, relax, pretend it´s not a Mana game and have funs for some hours. But it was definetly a waste of work for square... they still cant deliver a proper Mana game. pityfull.
It´s cute, it has mana name, tree, sword, rabites... and its ordinary...
only for mana fans
The game is really good it's just that it doesn't really have a lot of replay value when you ante the difficulty. It will make the game play more fun but boss fights get mediocre however the arena is fun though I wish the prices for emblems you can buy at the store in the arena menu weren't so high, you have to spend maybe the entire day playing Easy or Normal mode just to be able to buy one emblem.
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Dr. Sheexy
- Site Admin
- Posts: 3870
- Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 9:49 pm
- Location: Texas
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The J Person
- Grave Bat
- Posts: 446
- Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2006 7:23 pm
- Location: Under my hat!
That was my problem when I got mine...
HEY I HAVE A PS2, I SHOULD GET DoM!
Er... well, maybe when I have an income... again. Heh.
*anticipates getting shot in the face for still not having money to buy a new Mana game... does this ever change?*
HEY I HAVE A PS2, I SHOULD GET DoM!
Er... well, maybe when I have an income... again. Heh.
*anticipates getting shot in the face for still not having money to buy a new Mana game... does this ever change?*
Last edited by The J Person on Fri Aug 24, 2007 11:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Sorry about rebirthing this, but I only got to play it now.
Basically, camera kills the game, but that's about it. At first I thought this did not feel like a mana game, like many people do, because I had this idea a mana game should be like an even improved lom, which isn't quite right. Fanboy spirit aside, you can see that a lot of effort was put into it; the art is absolutely gorgeous, menus are like handcrafted; soundtrack, like many say, is a fine piece, it certainly made playing the game "less annoying". Cutscenes and CGs got your attention and showed a lot of the plot, and that was a little problematic, because at times, history felt displaced; mainly because so little happened when you were playing the stage, and a lot seemed to happen in between, when the spirits were telling the tale.
The havoc system can be repetitive, but it made the game less hack and slash, especially when some mobs become immune to your sword. Boss fights were surprisingly fun; chasing the masked guru in a huge 5 level tower was annoying but worth it. I was a little disapointed at magic because it was limited, and the spell arsenal wasn't that big (plus the fact that some elementals felt pretty useless depending on the difficult mode). But hey, full 3d rendered elementals, I droooolled at the them.
I enjoyed every moment playing the game. It managed to explore to ps2 engine well, had what I was expecting, and more importantly, it was about the origins of the mana series. The amount of references to other mana games is really big as well.
A tip for people that want to play it, or got disapointed with it: play a chapter a day and drop the utopic-expectations-of-how-a-mana-game-should-be-like. You will notice that the game isn't pure garbage like some reviews lead to think, and you will certainly enjoy the experience.
Basically, camera kills the game, but that's about it. At first I thought this did not feel like a mana game, like many people do, because I had this idea a mana game should be like an even improved lom, which isn't quite right. Fanboy spirit aside, you can see that a lot of effort was put into it; the art is absolutely gorgeous, menus are like handcrafted; soundtrack, like many say, is a fine piece, it certainly made playing the game "less annoying". Cutscenes and CGs got your attention and showed a lot of the plot, and that was a little problematic, because at times, history felt displaced; mainly because so little happened when you were playing the stage, and a lot seemed to happen in between, when the spirits were telling the tale.
The havoc system can be repetitive, but it made the game less hack and slash, especially when some mobs become immune to your sword. Boss fights were surprisingly fun; chasing the masked guru in a huge 5 level tower was annoying but worth it. I was a little disapointed at magic because it was limited, and the spell arsenal wasn't that big (plus the fact that some elementals felt pretty useless depending on the difficult mode). But hey, full 3d rendered elementals, I droooolled at the them.
I enjoyed every moment playing the game. It managed to explore to ps2 engine well, had what I was expecting, and more importantly, it was about the origins of the mana series. The amount of references to other mana games is really big as well.
A tip for people that want to play it, or got disapointed with it: play a chapter a day and drop the utopic-expectations-of-how-a-mana-game-should-be-like. You will notice that the game isn't pure garbage like some reviews lead to think, and you will certainly enjoy the experience.
I bought a PS2 only to play this game. I'm a crazy Mana fan.
I actually loved it. I've played it beginning to end three times now.
That being said, there are definately some things about it I don't like and would have changed.
1) I would have liked to control Flammie. To be able to fly to whichever continent I wanted to like in SD2 or SD3
2) I would have liked to have been able to visit a variety of towns and (like Mana Village, Chobin Town, that desert town, and such) after clearing the enemies from them or whatever
3) I would have liked to be albe to buy new armor/clothes upgrades in those towns instead of the Emblem shop.
4) I hated the idiotic system where you "level" up your weapon techniques . . . and then totally forget them and have to start over in the next chapter. They should have had scrolls or gemstones or emblems or something that you can buy in towns or something and just keep learning new stuff as you go along.
5) Instead of buying those medalions or whatever they were in the Bouts section, they should have had shops in the towns so you can buy that stuff in-game.
But . . . I still really love the music and the gameplay style and the story.
I actually loved it. I've played it beginning to end three times now.
That being said, there are definately some things about it I don't like and would have changed.
1) I would have liked to control Flammie. To be able to fly to whichever continent I wanted to like in SD2 or SD3
2) I would have liked to have been able to visit a variety of towns and (like Mana Village, Chobin Town, that desert town, and such) after clearing the enemies from them or whatever
3) I would have liked to be albe to buy new armor/clothes upgrades in those towns instead of the Emblem shop.
4) I hated the idiotic system where you "level" up your weapon techniques . . . and then totally forget them and have to start over in the next chapter. They should have had scrolls or gemstones or emblems or something that you can buy in towns or something and just keep learning new stuff as you go along.
5) Instead of buying those medalions or whatever they were in the Bouts section, they should have had shops in the towns so you can buy that stuff in-game.
But . . . I still really love the music and the gameplay style and the story.
Last edited by bastian on Thu Jan 24, 2008 8:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Most of the stuff you said are the defining elements of a mana game.bastian wrote:I bought a PS2 only to play this game. I'm a crazy Mana fan.
I actually loved it. I've played it beginning to end three times now.
That being said, there are definately some things about it I don't like and would have changed.
1) I would have liked to control Flammie. To be able to fly to whichever continent I wanted to like in SD2 or SD3
2) I would have liked to have been able to visit a variety of towns and (like Mana Village, Chobin Town, that desert town, and such) after clearing the enemies from them or whatever
3) I would have liked to be albe to buy new armor/clothes upgrades in those towns instead of the Emblem shop.
4) I hated the idiotic system where you "level" up your weapon techniques . . . and then totally forget them and have to start over in the next chapter. They should have had scrolls or gemstones or emblems or something that you can buy in towns or something and just keep learning new stuff as you go along.
5) Instead of buying those medalions or whatever they were in the Bouts section, they should have had shops in the towns so you can buy that stuff in-game.
But . . . I still really love the music and the gameplay style and the story.
Sorry if I sound a little harsh on it but, I paid good money for a game that I thought would be good when it turned out to be a major let down.
I was cut deep man
