First Impressions:
Children of Mana is a pleasant and absorbing game for the Nintendo DS. It has a beautiful fantasy story and manga style art. In Children of Mana you select from one of four different characters. Each one is a different class. Three of them are male and one is female. One is a swordsman, one is a kind of genie and the third one is a dwarf. There are several nature spirits based on the elements and the seasons that you can choose from to summon as a helper. There was a very long subtitled story at the beginning which you had to go through and could not skip. Later you can make the dialog screens go faster by holding down the "A" button.
Graphics:
The graphics are pretty and the fantasy scenery is wispy and bright. It is colorful and good use is made of the graphic resources of the Nintendo DS. The characters are all based on beautiful artwork and the icons are very small. It is a shame because the detail is too hard to see. The menus are a bit dull with brown scrolls and there are too many load screens and subtitles. The graphics were designed to be ornate with immersive finishing touches. It all conveys that a deep level of attention was paid to every aspect of the game.
Sound/Music:
The music in this game is a bit over the top. The orchestration is elaborate and sounds grand for the game. It was generally louder than it needed to be.
Gameplay:
The game play is based on fighting with at least two weapons armed. You can use magic by summoning your guardian spirit such as Air, Fire Earth, Moon or Water. Or you can cast spells if you picked the Poppen. You use the holy sword, cross bow and flail through a series of dungeons and towers. You bring havoc to all the inhabiting monsters. You also collect gems which boost your abilities. They are kept in a "gem frame" which is just a way to select which ones you want to use by filling the slots. You collect loot which is gold, chocochomp bars, gumdrops, magic walnuts, weapons and armor to enhance your character.
The crossbow has an auto target and you can use the flail in a circular motion to kill a range of enemies. OR by holding down the "B" button you can extend the flail chain to pick things up. The holy sword emits a protective shielding light that you can use to send back missiles from ranged attacks like bubbles and arrows.
Moveable items such as barrels and poisonous pink flowers can be thwapped with the flail to propel them into enemies or to break objects that are blocking the way to treasure. When you find a golden item called a "gleam drop" it is a key that you use at a "gleam well" to advance to the next level. The main problem with the game was that if you got killed at any level in one dungeon, you would be sent back to the beginning. In all games, especially handheld games the gamer can't predict how long they will be able to play. You should have the option to Save and End at any time that you need to on a Nintendo DS game.
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