There’s possibly no RPG made that understands it’s not about the singular adventure, rather, a sum of its many parts than Legend of Mana. Originally launched in 1999, Legend of Mana inspired players to get a bit lost in their adventure where other releases like Final Fantasy VIII embraced a more rugged, dark tone with a grand focus, in a year loaded with quality releases.
Legend of Mana stood out to me then as an RPG that breaks the mould with static events that only occur if the main character is present, and a culmination of storylines that tell a compelling series of stories instead of one grand one. Legend of Mana hit differently with its striking originality in 1999, and it has not missed a beat in the 25 years since.
Legend of Mana starts off with a world map, a mailbox, and beautiful sprite work that is hungry for the players eyes. This Square Enix title is just as gorgeous as in 1999, with a new coat of paint for newcomers. The developers at M2 specialize in restoring and porting older titles and they performed stupendously here. With a resume of the entire SEGA Ages catalogue on PS2, to the reimagining of one of the worst-received titles in the Castlevania Series with Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, making it a cult classic. M2 was the perfect choice for a restoration well done.
After placing the Mailbox on the world map, you have a home! This is a part of what Square called then the ‘Land Make’ system, where the player can place every single major location on the world map manually.
“Legend of Mana hit differently with its striking originality in 1999, and it has not missed a beat in the 25 years since.”
This is an old-school way of assuring replayability, making it seem that no two runs through Legend of Mana feel the same, and it was a cool idea to let word of mouth direct how fans spoke about the game to one another. In my former playthroughs, I always did the Lost Princess quest first, but friends of mine always contended with the Rabbit Merchant Niccolo and his antics with ‘business unusual’ and the sequel quests.
That’s the beauty of Mana, sharing experiences is a part of the magic that makes the land of Fa’Diel your own to share with others. This is made truer when fans discover the option to play same-screen co-op, which is brought back in this port. A great way to experience Mana with friends. If the main player doesn’t have a companion with them, player two can bring their main character complete with their special abilities and equipment into the title.
Each location in Legend of Mana is brimming with personality. The first town named Domina has its own cast of characters like the Niccolo mentioned above, and events play out like you’re a very insignificant small part of a greater whole. In this one introductory town, you’re introduced to many of the main players in the world.
First off, you’re introduced to the Jumi, a race of people held together literally by a stone (referred to as a core) around their neck, there’s a priest that lets you know the law of the land, and even a halfling called Daena contends with personal issues on acceptance. There are many adventures to sink your hooks into in just the first town, and it becomes apparent each storyline is stuffed with character and personality.
Niccolo is what would be referred to as a current day Entrepreneur in Fa’Diel. He always seems to be up to some kind of hustle, and his first quest asks you to help him rid the highway of bandits. He has a very fun back-and-forth with another character effectively named Teapo (a literal talking teapot), which sees your character on the positive end of a business deal. Niccolo gives you an artifact for free right then and there, while he was asking a friend for a ransom of the world’s currency in exchange for the unsuspecting ‘Wheel’.
The Wheel leads to Luon Highway, where the loitering bandits lie in wait. Combat in Legend of Mana is surprisingly diverse, with a myriad of starting weapons to utilize. There are also abilities the main character can deploy, such as crouching, jumping, and combinations that let you do advanced maneuvers. When deploying two abilities like the lunge and backstep, you can trigger them together to create a whole new ability. In this case, it’s called ‘Evade’ but it makes the main character burst into three and scatter to evade enemy strikes.
There abilities (once unlocked) help the main character learn Special Techniques, which are the Legend of Mana equivalent to Limit Breaks from the Final Fantasy series. That series is known for being mostly turn-based, but Mana’s battle system plays closer to Star Ocean and it’s a solid choice. Combat positioning is everything in Legend of Mana, and will be the key to victory or your demise.
After grabbing the Whirl ability, I learned the very powerful Skullsplitter ST, which turns an unsuspecting opponent around and sees your character jump into the air and slam the two-handed weapon on the enemy’s head. This ST can be deployed with the two-handed axe or sword, and deals ‘Major’ damage.
The halfling Daena mentioned before makes a small cameo in this quest and is seen walking the highway. When speaking to her with Niccolo, the rabbit says “What cute ears! We were made for each other!” to which Daena responds dejectedly “I wasn’t talking to you.” Each main character in Mana get along, or don’t and it’s all a part of the charm.
“Combat in Legend of Mana is surprisingly diverse, with a myriad of starting weapons to utilize.”
Legend of Mana brought over its incredible score from the PS1, and it still rocks to this day. I contend it is one of the best-sounding games on the PS1, and even one of the best soundtracks in gaming today. The whimsical fantasy tunes that permeate the atmosphere make everything feel just a touch more magical. The happy town music of Domina, the carnival theme played by a juggling monkey, and even the dangerous theme of the Mekiv Caverns all hit in a way that make it feel a grand quest is unfolding. Composer Yoko Shimomura hit a grand slam with what I consider one of the best soundtracks in gaming.
Legend of Mana isn’t without faults though. If you don’t place artifacts on the world map correctly, the game locks you out of certain questlines and events. This issue was present on PS1 and has made the transition to Xbox. Playing Legend of Mana for the first time without a guide will almost assuredly lock you out of 100% completion, and it suffers for it. This is a bummer that could’ve been solved, especially considering M2 fixed the poorly received Castlevania: The Adventure on Game Boy, which was a herculean task in comparison.
Legend of Mana hits me right in the nostalgia. A whimsical adventure filled with character interactions that are genuinely joyous, and not knowing who or what lies around the next corner is a great time. Hearing the many different lore beats including the tales of the Jumi race, the underworld inhabitants and the mishaps of a long-eared merchant asks the player to keep going. The underlying big messages like Daena being unable to cope with their friend wanting to give up and die, and greed driving a thief to murder Jumi for their cores demand the player to see the adventure through.
