The New Classics #67: Legend of Mana

 

The Backstory: Way back in 1999, Legend of Mana marked the series’ move to the PSX — and to Sony’s pastures — after three back-to-back entries released on Nintendo systems in a mere five years. LoM also marked the series’ first incursion into spinoff territory — ironic, knowing that the original Seiken Densetsu game was marketed as a Final Fantasy spinoff — and thus into new, uncharted gameplay. I would never have played that game if not for the 2021 Switch remake — now, is that a good or a bad thing?

 

 

The Game: LoM is not as, well, legendary as Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3. This is not due to a loss of the Mana graphical style or atmosphere — which was at its strongest in that first PSX entry — but rather to the disconcerting new gameplay. Many critics at the time panned the gameplay’s lack of focus, and the absence of a ‘red thread’ that made the whole experience cohesive and fulfilling.

 

 

 

You’d have thought that Squeenix would fix that lack of direction in the remake — all the more so as it seems to have been the original’s only real flaw. But if what I’ve played is any indication, Squeenix didn’t fix jack sh*t. Worse, they didn’t even try to alleviate the gameplay’s looseness by, say, squeezing in a handy tutorial that could allow unsuspecting players to grasp the game’s logic. So, you can tell the player to use the left stick to move in FFXII, but you cannot guide them through the first uber-nebulous stages of LoM? Gimme a darn break, Squeenix. 

 

Mind you, I tried to play the thing. I ran around in the first town, talked to people, and apparently nailed a quest and an ally; then I wanted to go fulfil said quest, and couldn’t figure out where to go. Look, game: I’m really trying, but you have to do your part — like, let me play you. 

 

 

The Verdict: If there is one thing I despise more than a game bristling with handholdy tutorials, it’s definitely a game that plays all coy and hard-to-get and expects me to move heaven and earth to penetrate its arcane gameplay. Look, b*tch: I literally have hundreds of games at my fingertips, and I’m not gonna lose precious hours of my life with a game that so obviously doesn’t want to be played.