Legend of Mana (PlayStation) Playthrough [1 of 2]

A playthrough of Square's 2000 action-RPG for the Sony PlayStation, Legend of Mana.

This is the first part of a two-part video. You can find part two here:    • Legend of Mana (PlayStation) Playthro...  

I complete all sixty-eight story events over the course of this playthrough, and I unlock the secret stuff that's made available when you have save data from other Square games (Chocobo Racing, Saga Frontier 2, and Final Fantasy VIII) on the memory card.

Legend of Mana was the first spin-off in the Mana (Seiken Densetsu) series. It was also the first Mana game to see a stateside release since 1993 when Secret of Mana (   • Secret of Mana (SNES) Playthrough [1 ...  ) hit the SNES. I remember there being a fair amount of hype surrounding its launch in the summer of 2000 - I was certainly excited for it - but I also remember it drawing a lot of raised eyebrows from the gaming press.

At first glance, Legend of Mana could be mistaken as a traditionally-styled entry in the mainline series. Just like Secret/Trials of Mana, it's a 2D action-RPG with storybook-like visuals, experience-based leveling systems for weapons and magic, and it supports drop-in co-op play.

But once you dig beneath the surface, you're met with something that's far more exotic and experimental in nature. You can build the world however you like with artifacts that you find, and instead an overarching story, the game plays out over a loosely connected, semi-linear series of chapter-like "events." You are free to decide the path you'll take through the game, and the decisions you make dictate which events you'll see in any given playthrough.

The game's underlying mechanics also mark a huge departure from the series' roots. The sheer complexity and depth of some of its systems is absolutely staggering. You could sink dozens of hours into experimenting with equipment crafting, robot building, pet raising, and vegetable planting, only to find that what you've seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg.

My dad bought this for me when it first came out. At first, I loved it, but the more I played, the more I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. I really tried to understand it - I even had the strategy guide - but the game doesn't explain itself well at all. It overwhelmed me, and I eventually gave up. It was years before I went back to it, and once I'd given up on trying to understand everything, I came to like it a lot. Legend of Mana is a game with a lot of meat on the bone, but a lot of it feels like complexity for complexity's sake. You can ignore most of those systems and still enjoy the game just fine.

(Many of the people involved in this game had previously worked on the Saga games, and boy, does it show!)

But the rest of the game is excellent. The writing is good, the combat system flows nicely, the graphics are top notch, and the Yoko Shimomura soundtrack is a masterpiece. (Ever notice how much it sounds like her work from Super Mario RPG? The Domina town theme has always reminded me of SMRPG's forest maze tune, right down to the samples.)

If you're the type who loves (or loves to avoid) obsessing over small the stuff, Legend of Mana could make for a good time.

And for everyone else, there're a few genuinely funny dick jokes peppered throughout. That's something, right?
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

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