So I'm playing Dawn of Mana for about 20 hours - and the screen comes up "Final Chapter...". WTFITAA?!?!? It is the shortest, most unsatisfying "Action-Adventure" game (don't EVEN call it an RPG, it's more like Ratchet & Clank on government assistance... without Clank) I have ever played! I played about half of the Final Chapter and got bored to tears from the monotony, frustrating enemies, and goofy movement. I have to do that part over again, and I just don't know if I want to. I made the mistake of buying it without researching it, and now I am sorry.
Is Keldy blind? You target an enemy, and he doesn't "stick" to it during an attack. I guess targeting is only for throwing pebbles, because he just swings wildly and I have to constantly correct his position as he goes swinging in any direction EXCEPT where he is targeted. I guess he has amnesia too, because every chapter starts you off at level 1 with your items. I like games that allow you to progress and level up as you go along; starting from scratch is just stupid and boring to me. It's actually the same as the "enemies level up as you level up" feature in final Fantasy 8 - except it's inverted, where you "level down" and have to grind your way back in each chapter. Lots of fun, Square-Enix, lots of fun... And Keldy must be lame too - because he just can't stand still - especially upon landing from a jump. The only thing that saved it in that respect is that I couldn't find a place that he would die from falling - maybe they were aware of his "restless leg syndrome" and opted not to include death falls. Whenever I tried to do a solid landing, Keldy would take one more mini-hop. There's nothing cute about it, because it becomes frustrating to have to do it over and over. You just want to get through it!
Despite all that, I persevered and tried to go ahead and finish it - not because it was that good, but rather because I just haven't finished a game in a long time... but when I saw the early "Final Chapter" I just lost all interest. The game is way too short, even with its shortcomings - that was just the booger on the already nasty birthday cake. Not to mention the fact that the whole Mana game series was scrapped for this POS. I like the geoforming, terraforming or whatever of the old games. I like the ability to create items from found and acquired objects. I liked the "open" story that allowed you to choose to go here and there, or go back if you prefer. This game threw all of that away for some hokey action-adventure with a substandard storyline and engine. Very sad.
It makes me wonder if this is a disappointing preview of what's to come in Final Fantasy XIII... yuck.