This game is smooth and quick paced as we expect from our Mana games, however something is missing.
(NOTE: Only for those who purchased the Import at release)
Children of Mana is not your typical Mana game. It is more or less a Dungeon Crawler; which means no "Journey" from one place to another. Flammie (The series signature flying dragon) will fly your character from place to place. This game's story is fairly non-linear, where the player can purchase random quests from the local shopkeeper.
Gameplay:
This game is simply your typical hack and slash Zelda like game.
To start, this game has four characters from which you can choose from. The typical swordsman, archer, mage, and merchant. Each character has 4 different color variations from which you can choose from. Each character has his or her own statistics, however thats where the customization of each character stops. All the characters will eventually wield the same weapons, skills, and abilities. Players however can adjust their charcters stats by equiping gems that will alter the characters stats.
My biggest complaints: There are no class specific items, and no job classes. There are only 4 weapons in this game, and you can only carry 1 spirit with you at any time. You can only save the game in Town, and rarely save in certain parts of the dungeons. Not very good for the gamer on the go. Lack of customization; merely adjusting the stats is not enough.
This game will become repetitive. All you do is run around killing monsters, and finding "EGG's" that will transport your character from room to room. There is no backtracking, no returning to rooms previously visited. The bosses can be engaging at first, but most players will make short work of them rather quickly. The quests are also repetitive. Most of them are either find this monster and kill him, or find some trinket and bring it home.
EXPECT A LOT OF REPEATING THE SAME DUNGEONS.
Graphics:
The animated cut-scenes are very gorgeous. The character and enemy sprites are well animated, however it gets choppy when there are too many things going on in the screen at once.
Sound:
As expected from any Mana game, this game has a good soundtrack. Players who have played the original Secret of Mana will like the new tunes.
Multiplayer:
This game has Wi-Fi capability for up to 4 players in it, however, it does not have any single cart multiplay or Online play.
Import Friendly?
Most definitely not. This game is extremely text heavy, as expected of any RPG game.
Overall:
I think this game is well made, however it does not have the flair like some of the other Mana games. If you like games where you run around and kill monsters all day, this is your game. If you are a Mana fan, this is one title that you should at least check out., I just warn you, don't expect too much.