Seiken Densetsu: Legend of Mana

Description

Seiken Densetsu: Legend of Mana is the fourth main entry in the Mana series and remains one of the most visually striking titles from Square’s high-output era. It departed from the linear progression of its predecessors like Secret of Mana to introduce a modular, sandbox-style narrative that was quite experimental for the late 90s.

The defining mechanic is the Land Make system, which allows players to place artefacts on an empty world map to generate towns, dungeons, and landscapes. The specific placement of these items affects elemental mana levels, which in turn influences enemy strength, item availability, and the triggering of over 60 distinct sub-events. Rather than a single central plot, the narrative is fractured into three major story arcs focusing on the hunted Jumi race, a high-fantasy dragon conflict, and a tragic relationship between a faerie and a demon.

In Japan, the game was a massive critical and commercial success, selling over 700,000 copies in its first week. Critics lauded the hand-drawn, watercolor-style backgrounds and Yoko Shimomura’s legendary soundtrack. However, the North American reception was much more polarised, as many Western critics found the non-linear structure confusing and missed the traditional “hero’s journey” found in earlier entries, although this is maybe more a reflection on the individuals than the game. For PAL territories like Europe and Australia, the game remaining unreleased until a 2021 HD Remaster. The original Japanese version is still highly valued for its 2D sprite work and its iconic opening theme, Song of Mana, which was sung in Swedish to evoke a unique sense of myth and history.

It is worth noting the second disc is unrelated to the game, rather it is ‘Square Preview Vol.5’ featuring playable demos of: Front Mission 3, Dewprism, Chrono Cross, and Vagrant Story. Controls for each of these are briefly documented in the included manual.