Children of Mana

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Children of Mana

Developer(s)	Nex Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Square Enix Nintendo
Release date(s)	^JPN March 2, 2006 ^NA October 30, 2006 ^AUS November 30, 2006 ^EUR Q1 2007
Genre(s)	Role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	CERO: All Ages ESRB: E10+ OFLC: PG
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Media	cartridge

Children of Mana (聖剣伝説DS チルドレン　オブ　マナ, Seiken Densetsu DS chirudoren obu mana^?) is the latest entry in the Seiken Densetsu series as part of the World of Mana compilation launched by Square Enix. Children of Mana is the first game of the World of Mana compilation, and was developed for the Nintendo DS handheld by Nex Entertainment under the supervision of Koichi Ishii. It was released on March 2, 2006 in Japan and was released on October 30 in North America.

1 Gameplay
- 1.1 Battle system
- 1.2 Multi-player
2 Plot and setting
- 2.1 Story
- 2.2 Characters
3 Reception
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Gameplay

Fighting a boss

Unlike previous games in the series, this is a dungeon crawler, and the majority of the gameplay takes place in selected locations. These areas are reached by selecting them on the map using Flammie. The objective in each location is to find a Mana Drop and place it in a pillar of light. Once you do this, you are transported to the next floor, and continue this process on each floor until you reach the last floor containing the Boss. Dungeons can later be returned to by accepting missions from townsfolk, in which the dungeon itself can be slightly altered; your starting position may be different, the number of floors can increase, and the monsters contained inside may change.

[edit] Battle system

Battling in a dungeon

The game retains the real-time battle mechanics of previous games in the Seiken Densetsu series. The environments also retain interactivity with weapons and items seen in certain Seiken Densetsu titles. New to the series is the Dual-Weapon system, which gives the player the ability to wield two weapons at once on the X and A buttons. The game sports several weapons with their own unique purposes, abilities and effects on the environment. Each weapon will have the standard normal attacks, special attacks, and fury attacks. The fury attacks are the strongest and require a full Fever Gauge to use, which is filled by striking enemies with standard attacks and taking damage from enemies. Unlike Seiken Densetsu 3, the weapons in Children of Mana can be wielded by any character. Unlike previous games in the series, there are only four available in Children of Mana.The four weapons are: Sword, Bow & Arrow, Flail, and Hammer.

Sword: A short ranged weapon, with the ability to cut tall grasses and plants that may block your path. The sword's normal strikes can be strung into a 3-hit combo. A gem may allow it to shoot a wide range shockwave after it's third hit. The sword's special attack erects a spherical barrier around the character, which nullifies attacks and deflects projectiles back at its attackers. The Sword's fury attack impales multiple enemies with a powerful, mobile thrust. The Sword is the first weapon you obtain in the game.

Bow & Arrow: A long range weapon, with a targeting reticule that turns red when an enemy is in range, for easy aiming. The bow's attacks are not hindered by terrain and, unlike previous Seiken Densetsu games, can be used in a rapid succession. The bow's special attack inflicts status abnormalities upon enemies by producing a musical note that will linger for a few moments. Any enemy that comes in contact with the note will be affected. The bow's fury attack unleashes several arrows in a sweeping arc. The Bow is the third weapon you obtain in the game.

Flail: A weapon that can cover both ranges, the flail has the ability to pull its user over to surfaces it is embedded into, or to pull items and enemies to the user. It can be swung in a short range circular pattern as its normal attack and can be extended like a grappling hook for long range as its special attack. The flail's fury attack is a wide 360 degree attack. The Flail is the second weapon you obtain in the game.

Hammer: This large, powerful short ranged weapon can break vases and other fragile objects on the field. Its normal attack can bat enemies and objects away like projectiles, inflicting damage upon other enemies or objects that they may collide into. Its special attack is a radial ground pound attack which can raise submerged stones for passage over rivers. Its fury attack is a spinning attack, where the player can control which direction they will move in as they spin and damage anything they touch. The Hammer is the last weapon you obtain in the game.

All eight elementals from the previous games (including Luna, not Aura) in the series return once again to provide the characters with magical spells. Magic serves offensive purposes by unleashing elemental-themed attacks upon enemies, as well as supportive purposes by imbuing the character's attacks with that magical element, and inflicting anything on the receiving end with properties related to that element (i.e. Undine and SnowMan effect). Only one elemental can be equipped on the character at a time, and only when the player is in a town. In combat, the elemental can be summoned by holding and releasing the B button and will respond according to the players reaction. Waiting a few seconds will cause the elemental to use a powerful magic attack, while walking up to and touching the elemental will bestow benefits upon the player, such as regained HP or having their weapon take on characteristics of that elemental's affinity. An elemental's level can be raised to 2 or 3 by equipping Gems.

[edit] Multi-player

Children of Mana takes advantage of the DS's multiplayer capabilities, supporting up to 4 players at once. The game only uses local wireless, and does not support Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection online services. Multiplayer is broken down into Cooperative and Competitive modes.

[edit] Plot and setting

[edit] Story

In the middle of the island of Illusia stands the famous Tree of Mana. Several years ago, a great disaster took place at the base of the tree and many lives were lost, leaving the main characters as orphans. A brave young boy and girl used the Sword of Mana to save the world from disaster. Now, years later, the main characters set out to investigate the details of the event that took so many loved ones away from them. The four major characters of Children of Mana are Ferrik, Tamber, Poppen, and Wanderer. They all live together in the Mana Village, near the Mana Tree.^[1]

[edit] Characters

Ferrik in action

Ferrik is a fifteen-year-old boy who is said to be brave, bright and cheerful. He lost his parents and brother in the great disaster. After having his life saved by a knight, he has been honing his skills with the sword. Ferrik's choice of weapon is the sword. He has an average build stat-wise, but he does excel at weapon combat.

Tamber is a sixteen-year-old girl, with a sense of truth and justice, and an air of maturity about her. She lost her parents and little brother due to the great disaster. Tamber's weapon of choice is the bow. She excels with agility, and has higher than average capabilities with magic.

Poppen is a nine-year-old boy, that is stubborn and fears nothing. He lost his mother at birth and his father in the great disaster. Poppen's weapon of choice is the flail. His physical stats are poor but his magical abilities are superior to all the other characters.

Wanderer is a traveling merchant, a tradition kept throughout the series. He is a member of the Niccolo tribe of rabbit/cat people. Wanderer's weapon of choice is the hammer. He is a brute, with the highest ratings for physical stats such as attack and defense, but does poorly with magic.

[edit] Reception

Seiken Densetsu DS: Children of Mana sold near 103,000 units on its first 3 days on sale in Japan (between March 2 and March 5).,^[2].

In Japan, Children of Mana received an impressive score of 36/40 (individual reviews: 10/10/8/8) from Famitsu, a notably tough gaming journal.^[3]

As for the reviews in the United States, Children of Mana has been met with relatively mediocre responce. Some reviewers thought that the game was a boring hack-and-slash, such as Nintendo Power (which gave it a 6.5), while others have given it higher praise, such as an 8.0 from IGN.