Supported Languages: Japanese, French, German, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, English
Supported Players: 2 (Yes, there is co-op!)
Release Date: June 24th, 2021
I would like to begin with giving some special thanks to Dice for the amazing Photoshop work on the headers. Amazing job!
Legend of Mana is the fourth major game in the Seiken Densetsu (Legend of the Holy Sword) series, localized as Something of Mana in the west. The distinction is important, as each previous Densetsu game was numbered, meaning Seiken Densetsu (Final Fantasy Adventure), Seiken Densetsu 2 (Secret of Mana), and Seiken Densetsu 3 (Trials of Mana) were all mainline entries. Legend of Mana had the same name in both territories, effectively making it a spinoff. The gameplay and overall vibe are clearly that of a Densetsu game, but... what's different?
Perhaps the most "spinoff-y" thing about this game is the world design. Rather than have a linear structure, or even an open world, the game gives you items called "artifacts" that you can place anywhere on the world map. These artifacts bloom into caves, towns, beaches, Hell analogues, ancient towers and more. The further away you place them from your home, the stronger the enemies end up being. Other than that, it doesn't matter where you place the artifacts, as the areas will always be the same regardless of their positions on the map.
The storytelling in this game is largely episodic, meaning that rather than one main story you follow from beginning to end, there are several smaller chapters you can experience in just about any order you want. There's three different plots, and you don't have to finish one before starting the other. This means you can juggle storylines if you wish. In addition to the main plots, there's several sidequests to do, which are structured the same way as the main story - enter an area, complete the "episode," and then leave. The three major stories are...
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The Jumi are a dying race of people who have external jewel hearts which are considered valuable. The Jumi have long been a persecuted people, and many magic characters in this game refer to them as "dirt" as a pejorative on their jewel cores. This branch focuses on Elazul, a taciturn, standoffish, yet fiercely loyal knight, and Pearl, who Elazul is sworn to protect. These two are among the few survivors of the Jumi. Each Jumi's jewel core corresponds to a real life gem, with Elazul's being the Lapis Lazuli, Pearl's being, well, pretty obvious, and the rest - well, you'll have to figure out who the rest of the surviving Jumi are yourself. The jewel thief Sandra is a constant threat to these people, and serves as a major antagonist in this arc. Especially so since stealing a Jumi's jewel core results in their death.
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This story arc focuses on Larc and Sierra—brother and sister dragoons who serve different dragon masters and fight on opposite sides of the same war for power. Larc serves the dragon Drakonis, who wants to kill the other three dragons so that he can rule the world. Sierra, a dragoon for Vadise the White Dragon, wants to stop Drakonis without hurting her brother Larc. The player is swept up into the dragoon's war and ends up helping both Larc and Sierra at various points in this story. Who wins the war? Who are the other dragons? You'll have to play to find out.
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The third arc is the complicated love story of four childhood friends: Matilda, Irwin, Daena and Escad. Irwin is a half-demon who is angry that society prevents him from a relationship with the holy leader Matilda, and seeks to destroy the world in retribution. Escad seeks to destroy Irwin, while Daena tries to act as a mediator between all parties - and keep Matilda away from Irwin. The conflict eventually escalates into a war between humans and faeries. The player's actions determine the fate of several of these characters. As an aside, Escad is pretty clearly used as a base for Sword of Mana's lead character.
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I can't be the only one who sees that... right?
The remaster introduces us to a reorchestrated soundtrack, and completely redone HD backgrounds. Marvel at one of the best OSTs ever created, and enjoy higher resolution versions of what was already one of the most gorgeous worlds in video games. Also, see the Mario watermark in that image? That means it's coming to Switch, and you can play it in bed now. I wasn't lazy and didn't want to remove the watermark, what are you talking about
Here's some of the (original, not reorchestrated) music, which, to this day, remains some of my favorite music in games. The whimsy, wanderlust, and vigor in these tracks has stuck with me since I first played it as a wee lad.
Earth Painting
The Wind Sings of a Journey
Pain the Universe
I hope players old and new alike enjoy experiencing this fantastic game in 2021!
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