A Time When Mana Beasts Owned

Rummaging through the collection I happened upon a past gem. I decided that enough time had passed and it was time to revisit the old classic.

Now anyone who knows me knows that I have serious commitment issues when it comes to replaying my favorite games. What seems like a great idea in the beginning becomes dull and arduous later on, picking up old titles only to drop them hours later when my ever growing sense of impatience takes hold.

But this time that didn't happen.



Everything from the art style and character design to the gameplay and music fit together to give players something simple but still engrossing. With balanced combat, magic spells can save lives and change the course of a boss fight but a powered up sword combo still packs a punch. And what the game lacks in character and inventory depth it makes up for with its intuitive and natural fighting mechanic. Even the "lost in translation" quality of the story ends up adding a bit of mystery and the sense of a vast explorable world outside of the linear plot line.

In other words: clear up some time on the calender, turn away from the tsunami of subpar JPRGs for a second, and get back in touch with your roots.