However, two new added features that notably affect the game’s experience are the quick save feature and the ability to turn off enemy encounters. It’s also worth noting that the story and quests get much better near the end when more characters are introduced.Īs for the new changes, the remastered version notably comes with many new features, such as the newly upgraded UI, a gallery mode for viewing high-resolution illustrations and reading lore documents, added languages, and a music mode to listen to the game’s newly rearranged soundtracks. You’ll often meet a character multiple times in the game and go on numerous quests together, and each encounter progresses their plotline.

However, the game does include plotlines akin to Dark Souls’ narrative structure (and no, I’m not claiming Legend of Mana is the Dark Souls of retro JRPGs). This leaves a lot to be desired story-wise as it sometimes feels like there is no cohesive or overarching narrative to the game. There’s always some snappy dialogue to provide a reason to play the quest and a short dialogue upon completion. With 67 quests available in the game, this means players can go wherever they want and play whichever quest they’d like to as long as they’ve unlocked the artifacts needed for it.Īs for the game’s narrative structure, some quests in Legend of Mana are short and straightforward, while others will see the player go through a whole dungeon and a boss fight to complete. I feel this system is an excellent way to provide the player the liberty to choose which location or dungeon to conquer at their own pace, which cements it as their own specially created world. However, after playing through the game I don’t think that’s completely true. I’ve seen criticism for this system via claims that it’s too fragmented or that it creates a sense of dissolution between the player and the game’s world. This is done by placing one of the game’s many artifacts on an empty part of the map that’ll then turn into a fully formed environment or location. Instead of the usual exposition and brief introduction I was accustomed to in most JRPGs, Legend of Mana introduces players to the game by letting them build their own world. The game then prompts the player to select a section of the map of the game’s world, Fa’Diel, where the player will call their home. Legend of Mana begins in a weird but unique way as players start their journey to find the legendary tree of mana by choosing between a male or female protagonist along with a weapon.

Legend of mana ps4 release date