Breaking Dawn
Dawn of Mana is an interesting experiment into a physics-based adventure game, but suffers from bigger issues than the combat.
Published: June 11, 2007
Beyond the wonky camera and piss-poor "guide" arrows is the fact that the levels are absolutely massive. On the one hand, this means plenty of exploration, but when it comes time to figure out where to go or what to do, the sheer size of things can make just completing simple objectives a complete head-scratcher. I loved that the levels were so huge, but constantly respawning enemies and sections of the world that sometimes went nowhere just sort of gang up on you to increase the feeling that every time you fall (and oh how you will; the game's platforming sections are absolutely merciless), you're forced to run all the way back and try it again. The fact that exploration is rarely rewarded outside of perhaps a couple more elemental stones for your slingshot just makes it all seem even more pointless and sloppily linear.
The biggest frustration, though, just comes from seeing that there was obviously a lot of effort and love that went into trying to update things. The transition of older enemies like Rabites and Mushbooms into 3D -- indeed the whole game in 3D -- is done with such aplomb from textures to animation to overall presentation that it's impossible to deny that this was something of a labor of love for at least parts of the development team. Tack on some nicely directed cutscenes, Square's trademark drool-worthy CG (though here it's definitely designed to look like the rest of the game rather than being ultra-detailed) and a look and feel that recalls Kingdom Hearts (in a good way), both in terms of character models and animation (and, yes, in camera) all add up to something that's flawed, yes, but still undeniably pretty.
Then again, that should hardly come as a surprise. If there's one developer that knows the PlayStation 2 hardware, it's Square Enix, and that goes for the audio as well. Though the game is THX pm3 Certified (meaning the studio where the sound was designed passed THX's certification requirements), the audio as a whole is obviously just pumped out as Pro Logic II. While you're get some mild back channel luvin', it's obviously not going to be as strong as a discrete setup. Fortunately, with Square's ample sound libraries in place, the same almost breathy clicks and punches and explosions, all with an aural sheen that's hard to describe is here.
The voice acting, too, not surprisingly is solid. Again, Faye can be a little much at times, but the myriad accents in the elemental spirits and the various characters throughout the storyline keep things entertaining, even if the dialogue itself isn't going to blow anyone away. Depending on how much of a Kenji Ito fan you are, though, you might be quite giddy at the new arrangements for some of his classic Mana tracks, and the addition of Brave Fencer Musashi composer Tsuyoshi Sekito certainly doesn't hurt things.
Overall, Dawn of Mana doesn't really skimp on presentation, it's a general lack of polish in the gameplay and especially in helping guide the player to where he's supposed to be that really trips things up here. It's not all horrible, as some of the core physics-based ideas are actually rather sound and work nicely, but the decision to make the story cannon yet strip out the very things that won people over in the first place wasn't a smart one. Had the camera been more manageable, the level design a little more clear and the aides that helped still-lost players out more helpful, people may have forgiven the fact it isn't a "true" action RPG. As it stands now, though, the fact that it's a Mana game in name only is the least of the reasons to bag on it.
