Children of Mana, a by-the-numbers role-playing game for the Nintendo DS tells the epic story of a group of orphaned kids who must band together to save the sacred Mana Tree and the fictional world of Illusia from a looming threat.
Unlike other Final Fantasy games, the story doesn't have the same epic quality that keep players coming back for more, and the nonsensical dialogue remains largely to blame. The characters seem to have nothing important to say, probably because most of it has all been said before in previous installments from the long-running series. We also could have done without the characters breaking the boundaries between reality and the video game with lines of dialogue like, "If I press the A button, I'll attack!" So much for the whole "immersion" thing that Final Fantasy usually does so well.
The move from turn-based combat to real-time sword fighting sounds like a good idea on the surface, but strange quirks in the game keep it from being fun. For instance, the characters spend a good majority of the time exploring dungeons and picking up items that can't be equipped until exiting the level - a head-scratching decision and giant flaw in the overall game experience. It's like finding a plasma rifle in Doom 3, but being unable to use it until the level ends.
On a more positive note, a diverse weapons cache keeps the mindless hack-and-slashing somewhat entertaining, and the impressive boss fights (many of which have been pulled from the 16-bit generation) offer plenty of challenge and a ripe sense of nostalgia. If anything, the entire game feels like a retro retread, looking for an old-school Final Fantasy gamer to connect with.
Children of Mana includes a cool cooperative multiplayer mode that lets up to four people band together to beat the game. That being said, the probability of finding four people within range of each other, who actually own Children of Mana seems next to nothing.
Even with these few shining qualities, the game still largely rests on the garbled back story. Sure, the world is in danger and the Mana Tree's probably going to be destroyed, but the storytelling doesn't make us give a damn. Children of Mana should have been a landmark adventure for the DS, but instead, Square Enix dialed in a role-playing game that would've been better suited for Super Nintendo.
Related Links
Reader Comments (0)