The digital delights of Sony’s scrumptious PlayStation Network service know no bounds. Aside from letting punters compete in online gaming, stream films, browse the Internet and more, its premier attraction rests in the copious supply of downloadable games ripe for the picking. From PSN exclusives to PSOne Classics, minis and plain old add-on content, Sony’s online space is chock full of goodies battling it out for your hard-earned digital dollars.
Welcome back to another installment of Inside PlayStation Network, where every Monday – Friday we’ll pluck a PSN release—be it new or old—and put it in the spotlight for a thorough dissection. Fancy getting a new PSN game but don’t know what one to plump for? Perhaps this feature will help. Didn’t realize that a game was available in your region until now? We’ve got you covered. Or, perhaps you were musing over what those lucky Japanese folk were tucking into over in the Land of the Rising Sun? You can be sure our coverage will extend to those rare regional exclusives as much as those firmly embedded on the public consciousness.
Today, we shine the spotlight on the PSOne Classic RPG, Legend of Mana.
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Developer: Square Soft (now Square Enix)
Region(s) available: North America, Japan
Players: 1
A critical darling upon its release in its native Japan, Legend of Mana established itself as a force to be reckoned with, flogging a whopping 400,000 units in its first week on sale. The game’s success didn’t stop there, either. The celebrated RPG immediately resonated with punters in the U.S. following its western release in mid-2000, becoming the best-selling PSOne game in the region during its debut week. A quintessentially Japanese effort, Legend of Mana gives players a barebones starting ground, with gamers picking from a male or female protagonist, a bog-standard weapon and plonking you into the sprawling world of Fa’Diel.
From here on out, the game’s Land Creation system quickly becomes the nucleus of your adventures. This feature essentially has you crafting the world around you as you see fit by placing artifacts on the ground, which then magically construct everything from bustling towns and dreary dungeons to lush forests. From here you can obtain fresh quests, which in turn ultimately cough up new artifacts. Quests themselves are fairly rudimentary by RPG standard, packing in the usual amount of exploration, scrapping with foes and going toe-to-toe with the big bad boss.
Deviating from past entries, Legend of Mana restricts you to two characters (and a pet creature) at any one time, with your partner popping in and out of the action throughout. While there’s no extensive multiplayer mode on offer, a mate can hop on board for the ride and control the second character. Meanwhile, each hero/heroine can be equipped with two unique abilities (such as dashing, guarding and jumping among others) and four skills or spells (weapon-based manoeuvres and various spells that can be obtained from musical instruments). Characters can acquire beefier techniques by repeated use of low-level attacks. Battles themselves unfold in a 2.5D side-scrolling environment, somewhat reminiscent of the Final Fight franchise.
As expected, Legend of Mana brings a heap of other distractions to the table outside of the miniquest marathon. For one, gamers can raise fruits in a garden, nab monsters in the wild to raise as pets, cobble together your own weapons, flesh out your character’s skills and abilities and stacks more. Plus, the SNES-esque visual template is a joy to behold, and will no doubt satisfy those of you who prefer a more retro-flavoured RPG outing to today’s swanky HD onslaught of mammoth set-pieces and ostentatious cut scenes.
Join us again tomorrow for another look Inside PlayStation Network.