Monday, October 15, 2007

Children of Mana Nintendo DS review

Although, I did play Secret of Mana for Super Nintendo, it was more than 10 years ago and I don’t remember too much. However, I do remember having fun and was probably the best Action RPG game I played than beside little game called Zelda.

Even I didn’t have chance to play any other Mana games for various reason, when I found the Children of Mana for Nintendo DS on sale, I knew I had to get it.

Playing this game bring me back fond memory of sleepless night. Now I want to track down and play other Mana games for other systems. (Come to think of it, I think I have Sword of Mana for Gameboy Advance somewhere in my collection).

To my surprise, this game was little different from what I expected. Instead of Action RPG, this game was more in par with Diablo, not that there is anything wrong with it. Dungeon crawling game is all fun and good but when it’s not done well, game could get boring and repetitious very fast.

Since you can have up to 4 players with Wi-Fi option, I would figure this game is better play with friend. However, for me that’s not the option. Not because I do not have friend, I don’t have friend who has Nintendo DS.

What I like about the game;

-Graphic is good and game plays well.
-You can go back and play any stage again for more EXP, $$$, and treasures.-Easy to play and get into.
-Gem system, you can find or buy different gems, which give you extra boost, and equip them to give your character extra boost.

Here is what I don’t like about the game;

-There is only limited option to change your equipment and magic during actual game play, you can only change between missions or in town.
-Sometime, game feels repetitious, same dungeons and enemies after one other. It can get tedious after while more of choir to play the game.
-When you swing at enemy with different weapon, such as Hammer, they bounce and crash back to you and it’s very annoying.-Magic is almost worthless.

I am big fan of portable game, it beats reading newspaper or magazine in the restroom, and love Japanese style RPG games. What started as perfect marriage of Mana series, Nintendo DS and Action RPG ended with disappointment. This game ended up being most disappointment game I played this year.

I give this game 5/10 if you are not fan of Mana series than 4/10.

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