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Face it people. None of the Mana games are any good.
I think I've reached breaking point.
Mana games have never been good. You go back, you play Zelda: Link to the Past these days and it's not that good. And here's the thing, Link to the Past was better than Secret of Mana in just about every way. And while the Zelda series has gone on to be one of the strongest franchises in gaming. It's constantly pushing the frontiers of game design and remains in the upper echelon of not just it's own genre but video games as a form of interactive art. Mana games on the other hand, originally Zelda with stats, have floundered about like a lost puppy waiting to die, kept alive by meager sales from confused and disillusioned fans, eyes clouded by nostalgia. Even I was suckered into this. I bought Sword of Mana the day it came out. I'll give it a quick review right here: Mindless shit, score: No Fist*. Just face it guys. The series is a joke, it's not getting any better, and these tenuously related games wouldn't sell at all if they didn't have 'Mana' tacked onto their name somewhere. * The Fist scoring system I use is quite simple. Double Fist: Excellent games Fist: Good games No Fist: Poor games Weak: Shit Jam it back in, in the dark. |
I for one played Legend of Mana to the point of creating No Future mode weapons. I had a blast with it, and the winning aspect of Legend of Mana was the rich dialogue, various quests, the soundtrack and it's aesthetic value. It's a game of beauty with a decent amount of flaws that held back it's true power. Battle wasn't too great in Legend of Mana, the AI is just dumb.
I do enjoy SD2 and SD3 for the most part. And I do agree that is a nostalgiac heart attached to the series, for myself and probably for many fans... considering Kikuta's score was so phenomenal, as well as Shimomura's. Although I am a little scared about how these new mana games will fare. Milking this series is just not a smart thing to do... Fist. There's nowhere I can't reach. In your dreams, magical thoughts All things are real, unless you dream they're not
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Or maybe that'sthe thing that is really annoying me. Mana has te ability to be so much more. I'm no fan of game music but I really like the music in all the Mana games I've played. The games characters tend to not be too cliché ridden and the games more often than not have decent storylines.
It's just it fails so hard on the gameplay front. Combat is completly asinine and the inclusion of stats in a real time game is something I've always found ridiculous, especially anything determining skills. Arn't I the one playing? Isn't it my skills on display? But yeah I mean the combat. Strategy consists entirely of moving out of the way if you see the enemy wind up for an attack. And with nothing else determining the difficulty of quests otehr than the number and ferocity of the mindless enemies, it get's old really really fast. This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it. |
Most amazing jew boots |
^
Also the fact that you even bother comparing Zelda games with Secret of Mana means you have absolutely no idea what you're saying. This is something Total! magazine and its ilk did back in the days, when the viewpoint defined game genres and when Zelda was considered an action RPG. To say Link to the Past isn't good today is shooting your whole credibility in the foot, as is saying the same about Secret of Mana. Certainly, someone who bought a PS2 as their first console because Kingdom Hearts looked nice probably won't get that much out of them, but this will apply to any old game they've never seen or heard about. Anyone who knows anything about appreciating good gaming can tell what wonderful pieces of software they are. That later Mana titles have not matched the charm of Seiken Densetsu 2 isn't that surprising. Not because they are not identical to SD2, but because each later title has been an elaboration (or a mutation, if you will), an unnecessary attempt to make something different, usually something simpler. People didn't play Mana just because you got to press a button to swing a sword. You didn't play just because you could use a multitap with it (well, some people did, but they are idiots). There was a lot more to it and the later titles seem to have missed this, but not notice since each title has had its fans. How ya doing, buddy? |
It's funny because a lot of people still consider ALTTP to be the best Zelda game.
What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now? |
Just from your sig and avatar set alone gives me enough reason to just ignore you. You just sound like some retarded fanboy who doesn't like to except the fact that there ARE better action adventure games besides Zelda.
It is REALLY hard to take you seriously. FELIPE NO |
Said the man with the grainy Dragonball av/sig.
Secret of Mana was pretty fuckin boss back in the day. Coming out now and saying that it's an awful game is more retroactive reasoning than anything that can be considered objectively sound. Because the modern mana games are awful doesn't mean that the first games sucked, or even that they're comparable to Zelda in any reasonable fashion. What, you don't want my bikini-clad body? |
Jam it back in, in the dark. |
Look guys the comparison to Zelda was just that, a comparison. Mana could've been Zelda. It could've gone through the stratosphere and become one of the strongest and most influential franchises in gaming. But it didn't it failed. And I don't see where it's fans are pulling the optimision from that future games in the series will be as great in their time as Secret of Mana was.
There's nowhere I can't reach. |
Good Chocobo |
SD2 still holds up to this day with fantastic gameplay and great music. I love it every time I play it. SD3 isn't quite as good but it's still enjoyable. The other games (aside from nostalgic value for SD1) do absolutely nothing for me.
This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it. |
I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body? |
Because then the people saying Metroid Prime is a terrible game because they are judging it as an FPS are somehow right. In fact, Metroid Prime is much closer to generic FPS games due to its viewpoint and foreground presence of a weapon, than Mana is to Zelda, but we all know Prime isn't an FPS, nor should be judged as one. I was speaking idiomatically. |
1 - Zelda is an action/adventure series. Mana games are action RPGs. They are not in the same genre.
2 - A Link to the Past is a good game. 3 - Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3 are excellent games. Legend of Mana is fun, and a work of art. 4 - The only similarity between the two is the perspective. Comparing them is like comparing Super Contra to Super Mario World - "hey, they're both side scrollers with a jump button and an attack button." How ya doing, buddy? |
I feel that having a gauge that fills to 100% before you can execute a focused
attack was the main reason Secret of Mana was so good. All the other Mana titles after this were basically Hack and Slash with no pause or time to think. Also, filling the gauge to perform a LV 8 attack with your favorite weapon ALWAYS felt good ^_^ FELIPE NO |
Does anyone really take RABicle seriously in terms of his video game perspectives? Burn a copy of SoM and make a stupid video of it or leave forever.
What, you don't want my bikini-clad body? John Mayer just asked me, personally, through an assistant, to sing backup on his new CD. |
Jam it back in, in the dark. |
What a complete coincidence. I just played Sword of Mana last month. I came to find out what garbage it was and what the series is. Never goin back to that series again, I'll tell ya.
There's nowhere I can't reach. |
Your taste in games is worse than Elixir's, Rab. You should be ashamed of yourself.
This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it. |
Has anyone witnesed Denicalis ever add anything to a conversation other than baseless potshots?
Finally, Mucknugle. Did you read any of my subsequent posts? I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body? |
Both games are completely terrible excuses for virtual reality entertainment system electronic games. All you do is like, swing your sword in both Secret of Mana and Zelda Link to the Past. That gets old after four seconds. Hell, witnessing the title screen of each is enough sword swinging. It's no surprise that they're bad, what, sixty years later. You want sword swinging, go back to Secret Quest.
Watch out. Main hero's even got a tail and some sorta rash spread across his entire squished head. Its quality sword swinging gameplay never gets old, and will forever be remembered by everyone as it is written in the Bible. Look, he's swung it so much it's not even in his hands anymore. Maybe because his hands are scary. Spoiler:
I was speaking idiomatically. |
In regards to the topic, I think comparing Mana's series to Zelda's series is inaccurate. That's like comparing Final Fantasy to Azure Dreams, or Lemmings to Snatcher. It just doesn't make any sense at all. I've never played Legend of Mana, but I enjoyed Children of Mana. If you don't like dungeon crawlers you won't enjoy it at all, though. It's just a game to tie you over until Dawn of Mana is released in March 07. Shut up until then. How ya doing, buddy? |
I really loved Secret of Mana and Legend of Mana. The former for the weapon charging system which would understandably annoy others, and the latter for the simply magical atmosphere of watercolours, story arcs, and dungeons. You also didn't have to confine yourself to one hero in SoM, and you could almost always bring a friend or some assistance (NPC, Pet, Golem) to help you at most points of the game.
I'm not liking the recent progression of the series so far. Playing a couple of minutes of Sword of Mana turned me off, and Children of Mana being more of a dungeon crawler doesn't even peak my interest. Seiken Densetsu 3 falls in between since it looks like a beautiful game, and there's so much different class combinations to have to decide sticking with, but it's fairly long, and I still haven't finished it. The removal of the charge system for full screen attacks was a mixed bag for me, and having to wait until the endgame for cool spells like Ancient is much different than having cool spells throughout the whole game (via instruments/elementals with different spells). FELIPE NO |
What, you don't want my bikini-clad body? |
Jam it back in, in the dark. In your dreams, magical thoughts All things are real, unless you dream they're not
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