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Rating: 
-
...in the end, "Dawn of Mana" (hereby dubbed "DoM") is a dud. I liked "Secret of Mana", and I LOVED "Legend of Mana" (an incredibly underrated game, IMHO), so naturally, when I read the reviews of those with only fond memories for the former game, I scoffed at the obvious misplaced nostalgia.
And now I'm out $50.
Let's start with the good. "DoM" has some excellent ideas in theory. Rather than the boring level grind that so often produces unbalanced RPG's, the game favors a much different approach. While a player can level in each chapter, these levels reset at the start of a new chapter, requiring the player to continue fighting with skill, rather than overpowering the opposition (in theory, at least). Moreover, each level has ratings based on the ability and the style in which a player disposes of the taks before him - these ratings climb from "E" to "S" in ascending order, and high ratings have rewards associated to them. I've always loved reward systems in games - it's nice to see a supposed RPG incorporating them.
The graphics are nice, attempting to mingle the water-colored gorgeousness of "LoM" with a 3-dimensional feel. They're not quite as asthetically pleasing in the end, but they hardly offend, and often amaze.
The story is so-so, although I could do without the origin nonsense. These games have never felt like prequel/sequel (even in the case of "SoM" and its immediate sequel, "The Final Fantasy Adventure" for the GameBoy). Still, I enjoy it for nostalgia's sake.
Now for the bad. Everything that I said in the opening paragraph of "good" doesn't work at ALL in practice. While the level reset system sounds nice in theory, the game's development of it leaves much to be desired. Basically, you throw stuff at enemies. Over and over (and over and over) again. There is very little skill involved - you pick up a rock, throw it, and smack around the befuddled enemies. Sometimes, you roll a rock, and smack around befuddled enemies. And sometimes...well, you get the picture. The combat gets old QUICKLY. It might as well have been turn-based battle (actually, turn-based battle would have been better, because...)
CONTROL ISSUES ABOUND!!!I have rarely played such a poorly controlled game. Between the horrible camera that resists all logic, to the gummy and awkward movement of the character, it is nearly impossible to enjoy combat. I thought "Rogue Galaxy" was bad? This takes the cake. The lock-on mechanism is worse than useless - it is actually DETRIMENTAL to your success! There is no rhyme or reason to the locking (i.e. you can't see what enemy you will lock on until it happens), and as another reviewer mentioned, you will shockingly lock onto a completely innocuous foe most of the time, in lieu of the immediate danger right in front of you. I would love to know the algorithm programmed for this; I'm pretty sure that if they simply did the OPPOSITE, it would be better.
The control problems manifest themselves even more in the platform elements discussed by other reviewers. A simple jump over a river becomes a test in patience (heck, merely crossing a BRIDGE can be an arduous affair). It can be daunting, to say the LEAST, to finish this game (which I haven't - I can only take it in small doses).
That's about it for the bad - i.e. the gameplay is horrible. This game isn't even moderately fun, with the LONE exception of attempting to beat this horrible system to get some of the rewards for style. There is a lot of collecting to do, but it really isn't fun. Mark this one in "dud" category...
Addendum: WOW, is this a bad game! I'm sad that I gave it two stars in the "Fun" category!
Rating: 
-
Let's just get something out of the way up front: Dawn of Mana is NOT an action RPG. In fact, it isn't any kind of RPG. Nor does it have anything that could be conceived of (logically) as "RPG elements". Mana fans might find this disconcerting, given that the previous games in the series were light RPGs mashed into an action/adventure core, but what we have here is something that aims to be a different experience entirely. Anyone who tells you the game is an RPG in which your level resets at the end of each stage is a very sad individual. Just because a game has "levels" of something doesn't mean it's an RPG or meant to be taken as one in any way. Plenty of shooters and other game types have had levels of one thing or another, and that in no way indicates that the game had RPG elements.
So...
Much ado has been made of the gamut of problems that Dawn of Mana suffers from, and while most of these accusations are on at least some level true, your mileage will definitely vary. There are gamers who apparently loathe this game as if it had its way with their wives and daughters, and there are some, like myself, who feel it is unjustly criticized and can actually be quite a positive experience for many. Part of the problem is the original release in Japan was far too difficult and often frustrating due to some design issues, but these have almost entirely been resolved in the North American release. Don't let the general negativity fool you - this is by no means a terrible game.
The big issues? Firstly, the camera. We can all agree that the camera is terrible. You've played games with terrible cameras before, and this one is just like those were. Secondly, the control. Some say it's completely broken, some say it's fine. I say it's in the middle. It's perfectly functional, it's just quite stiff, leading to some occasional frustration before you've gotten used to its nuances. Thirdly, there are some minor inconsistencies when it comes to the game's radar and its objectives, but many players may bypass those problems altogether simply because they may not happen to get lost. Where some did, I didn't. Where others didn't, I did. Those elements could certainly have been improved, but they don't destroy the game by any stretch of the imagination.
As I see it, those are the game's major problems. If you feel you can get beyond those, give it a try. Renting is a good option if you have doubts.
So we know the bad, what's good? Firstly, the art. Everything is well designed, well animated, very colorful and full of heart, and oozes Mana from every pore. Secondly, the gameplay. While I initially felt that swatting enemies around with environmental objects was going to feel gimmicky and boring, I was proven wrong. Most levels are just big sandboxes in which enemies and objects coexist together, waiting for you to come along and introduce the latter to the former with a few good swings of your whip-sword or the kinetic energy from a good punch. Thirdly, the sound and music. The soundtrack is a beautiful thing well worth listening to, and the voice actors in the English dub do a surprisingly solid job.
Do you have any hope of liking Dawn of Mana? You certainly do. The best advice anyone can give you is to try it. Despite what seems like an overwhelming wall of negativity from those who don't like it, there are many of us who find it to be an enjoyable experience worth the price of entry. There's no guarantee you'll be able to get past the flaws, but these are minor compared to what you're hearing on the whole, and there's a perfectly good chance that you will enjoy the game as evidenced by the number of people out there playing and enjoying it right now.
Take a chance. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Rating: -
The Mana series goes back a ways, which helped Dawn of Mana achieve a certain amount of hype prior to it's release. Sadly though, Dawn of Mana is a very disappointing platformer/RPG hybrid that doesn't do much of anything right in any department. The story of Dawn of Mana is pretty interesting and longtime fans will get enjoyment out of it to be pure, but that's about it. The game is more an action/platformer than an RPG, as you fling monsters around and into each other. While this is entertaining for a while, it becomes boring quickly, and the sloppy and sluggish controls don't help matters much when it comes to targeting. The sloppy controls also supremely hurt the platforming elements peppered throughout Dawn of Mana, and the game's schizoid camera doesn't help matters much either in this department. The only real pluses of Dawn of Mana are the game's nicely rendered graphics and a decent list of spells to work with, but other than that, this game is a dud. All in all, Dawn of Mana is a very disappointing game that could have been so much better than what we get here. If you want to check out a good action/RPG game, check out Odin Sphere instead.
Rating: -
After reading several great reviews on this game, I forked out the money and sat down to play. I'll admit beforehand, I did not get very far. What I want to comment on is the growing trend in games that in order to celebrate the detail in the graphics, the behind the player camera angle is so close it takes about 15 minutes of play before vertigo sets in and your checking to see if a barf bag is handy. The new Dawn of Mana game is one of the worst offenders of this. The Mana series of games have been some of the best, but I am putting this one up on Ebay and selling it. It is just unbearable.
I suspect the over zealous game reviews on games like this are nothing more than the efforts of pre-game launch hype. I am dissapointed that Square Enix did not deliver. As I remember the first in the series "Secret on Mana", a very hard to find game I might add, I wonder why they struck out so bad on this one.
Rating: -
It's hard to write a review for a Mana game and not talk about Secret of Mana. A game hailed as not only one of the greatest SNES RPGs out there, but also as one of the greatest RPGs of all time. Over the years, however, the Mana series has gotten progressively worse while other franchises from Square-Enix continue to be strong. Dawn of Mana is no exception as it is without a doubt one of the worst Mana games ever. It seems there will never be another Mana game to hold a candle up to the legacy set by Secret. It's really sad because Dawn of Mana, like the other Mana games to drop the ball, had a lot of potential to be good. The developers just didn't do things right.
Dawn of Mana centers on a guy named Keldric who is out to save someone named Ritzia from an evil King who has kidnapped Ritzia so that he can call forth the power of the Mana tree and plunge the world into Darkness. It's a pretty basic story. The good news is that the story is presented really well. The voice acting is top notch and the cutscenes are absolutely gorgeous to look at. Unfortunately that's about where the compliments to the game end. The gameplay, for as simple as it is, is rather frustrating.
Firstly, the game is fairly action/adventure oriented and has a dungeon crawl like feel to it. Keldric has what's called a "Vine Sword" that he can use to take on his enemies. He can use it to swing enemies into other enemies as well, but the real treat with this weapon is using his Panic attack which causes enemies to drop items. This is really the only way to get items from enemies. They don't just drop them normally. Keldric is also not alone. He's got an ally named Faye there to help him out and she's there to cast some supportive magic on him. Unfortunately unlike other Mana games, Dawn of Mana has no multi-player. It's all really simple stuff until you throw in the games other mechanics.
The targeting system in and of itself is incredibly flawed. When battling enemies you can lock on to them. However, for some odd reason, the game always locks on to an enemy in the distance... never the obvious threat that's taking you on. You can also lock on to other objects, but again, it's never the one you want or one that's close by. And if there are multiple enemies or objects the game has to cycle through them, and again it becomes tedious to wait for the game to get to the enemy or object you want. You're better off going at it on your own and not wasting any time with the flawed targeting system.
Another major flaw to the design of the game is the level up system. At the start it seems all fine and dandy to level up and get your abilities, but the moment you complete a chapter you lose it all! That means after you've gone through Chapter 1, leveled up Keldric and Faye to take on enemies, gotten them some pretty useful abilities and the like, you'll lose it all once you begin Chapter 2 and have to get them all over again. All your work will pretty much go to waste. The game tries to compensate by giving you Emblems which have abilities on them.
Getting Emblems is a task in and of itself. As you go through the chapters the game will rank you. An S ranking is the highest you can get. If you get a good ranking you'll be rewarded with an Emblem. There's an Emblem rewarded for each difficulty level as well. Completing Chapter 1 on Normal and getting the best rank will yield you a different Emblem than if you were to complete Chapter 1 on Hard mode with the best rank. Your rank is determined by things like how fast yo complete the chapter, how many enemies you killed etc. Yet even the Emblem system has its own flaws. You can only select to equip them before the chapter starts. You cannot change up Emblems in the middle of a chapter. Instead you'll have to complete it. A little more freedom would've been nice. Also, getting Emblems is just all out difficult. It's almost not even worth it to try.
As you go through the game, there's also a radar in the upper corner to help you out. It doesn't really provide that much help, though. There's a yellow box which represents your goal and then there are blue and red boxes for your enemies. Blue just simply means that the enemy has an item. Although, for some reason, you'll run into enemies on the map that are marked red on your radar that will drop items while some of the blue monsters give you nothing. Chances are yo won't really need the radar, but one has to wonder how Square-Enix managed to screw up something as simple as a radar system. Especially since they've done these sorts of things in plenty of other games flawlessly. The radar isn't scaled properly anyway. There are moments when it'll appear an enemy should be right next to you, and you discover they're actually a little ways away. Again, it's not too big, but it's such a simple concept that the fact that it wasn't done right is rather questionable.
The last major flaw in the gameplay department: The camera. It's a pain to mess around with. Especially when in battle and it swivels on you while you're taking on an enemy. It's controlled via the right analog stick, which makes things a little easier, but it's the fact that you'll spend a lot of time fighting with it to readjust because it positioned itself behind an object so you can't see yourself, or because the angle just isn't good. You'll spend quite some time fighting with the camera, and it's just annoying. The fact that there's no button to fix the camera right behind you is also sad.
To the game's credit, though, it looks and sounds really good. If anything, we can say that. Square-Enix is known for making some gorgeous games and despite Dawn of Mana's flawed gameplay it's true here. The look and feel of the game is absolutely fantastic. The voice acting is also pretty good. But the best part of Dawn of Mana is its soundtrack. The music in the game is nothing short of brilliant. On a technical level, Dawn of Mana is fantastic. But pretty graphics don't make a game fun, and that's also true of Dawn of Mana.
Dawn of Mana isn't a horrible game, it's just a very flawed one. The part of the game that matters most--gameplay--suffers from things that a game in this day and age shouldn't suffer from. It's especially disappointing considering what's flawed in this game are aspects that Square-Enix knows how to do well and have demonstrated they know how to do them well time and time again. It'll be hard for Mana fans to look past the flaws in this one. Another Mana game takes a dive.
Pros:
+Good graphics
+Good Soundtrack
+Well done voice acting
Cons:
-Horrible targeting system
-Bad Camera
-You start each new chapter at level 1, losing all the work you did in the last chapter
-Getting Emblems is a pain, and you can't change them in the middle of a chapter, they can only be equipped at the beginning of one
-The radar is virtually useless
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