Legend of Mana Review Summary

Captivating and evocative soundtrack: The game features a captivating soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere. The music is described as incredible, perfect, and engaging, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.

Stunning visuals and art style: The game is praised for its beautiful visuals, high-definition scenery, and exceptional graphics. The art style is unique and contributes to the game's aesthetic appeal.

Quality of life improvements: The game includes several quality of life improvements such as the ability to save almost anywhere, toggle monster encounters, and auto-saving features. These enhancements make the gameplay experience more convenient and enjoyable.

Interwoven and evolving storylines: The game presents interwoven and evolving storylines that are open-ended and non-linear. This approach to storytelling adds depth and complexity to the narrative.

Unique and engaging gameplay: The game offers a unique ARPG experience with distinctive combat mechanics and freedom in gameplay. It includes exclusive mini-games and provides a sense of depth that sets it apart from other games.

Clunky and simplistic combat: The combat system is frequently described as clunky, stiff, and overly simplistic, leading to frustration among players.

Performance issues: The game suffers from various performance issues, including frame rate drops, lag, and general performance problems that affect gameplay.

Pixelated and inconsistent sprites: The game's sprites are often criticized for being blocky, pixelated, and inconsistent with the high-resolution background, detracting from the visual experience.

Poorly explained mechanics: Game mechanics are often unclear and poorly explained, making it difficult for players to understand and enjoy the game fully.

Guides required for full enjoyment: Players often need to rely on guides to fully enjoy the game, understand mechanics, and complete quests or events.

Unique and open-ended gameplay: The game offers a unique gameplay experience with open-ended mechanics and non-linear RPG elements, providing high replayability.

Rich RPG elements: The game includes various RPG elements such as quest and story systems, action RPG gameplay, and character development.

Multiple non-linear storylines: The game features multiple intertwined storylines with non-linear narrative structures, enhancing the storytelling experience.

Weapon and armor crafting: Players can craft, forge, and improve weapons and armor, providing a deep crafting system.

Monster ranching and companions: The game includes a monster-raising feature with hidden personality traits, allowing players to ranch and level up monster companions.

Performance issues on PC: Many players report stuttering, lag, and frame rate issues on PC. These problems are widespread and affect the overall gameplay experience.

Game crashes and bugs: Several players have encountered game crashes and game-breaking bugs. These issues severely affect the playability and stability of the game.

Input lag problems: There are noticeable input lag issues reported by players, which affect the responsiveness and control during gameplay.

Low frame rate: The game runs at a low refresh rate of 30 Hz, which is considered poor by many players. This issue is frequently mentioned and impacts the smoothness of gameplay.

Compatibility issues with Linux: The game has compatibility issues with Linux and Proton, including crashes and audio problems, which limit the game's accessibility on these platforms.

Recommend on sale only: Many players suggest buying the game only when it is discounted due to its high price and lack of significant improvements.

Fans of old-school RPGs: The game is highly recommended for fans of old-school action RPGs and those who enjoyed the original game.

Worthy remaster with minor issues: The game is recommended as a great remaster despite some slight problems, making it a worthy purchase for fans.

Use a guide for better gameplay: Players recommend using a guide to achieve all accomplishments and for a more structured playthrough.

Loosely structured action RPG: The game is recommended for players who enjoy a loosely structured action RPG with great artwork and music, but not for those seeking deeper combat or a more structured plot.

Community fair range: $10.00 - $20.00.

Game completion: 20.0h.

Session length: 6.5h.

The game offers a rich and engaging experience with beautiful graphics and co-op gameplay, but initial fun is hindered by underexplained mechanics and co-op limitations. The enjoyment grows over time as players delve deeper into the game.

Reported time to anchor: 2h.

Friction: Underexplained mechanics; Co-op limitations.

Unlock drivers: Experimenting with different equipment combinations; Exploring the world thoroughly.

System Master: Enjoys deep system interactions and flexibility in playstyle. Motivation: Mastering complex game systems. Stance: sale.

Co-op Enthusiast: Enjoys playing through games with others. Motivation: Social gaming experiences. Stance: sale.

Nostalgia Seeker: Enjoys revisiting familiar games and mechanics. Motivation: Reliving past gaming experiences. Stance: buy.

Steam Deck: The game suffers from significant stability, compatibility, and performance issues. Users have reported frequent crashes, frame rate problems, and difficulties running the game on Proton and Linux. Additionally, the use of Denuvo anti-tamper software has been cited as a major cause of lag and performance issues.

Linux and Proton: The game experiences significant compatibility issues on Linux and Proton, requiring complex fixes and workarounds to run. Despite these efforts, users report frequent crashes and poor performance, indicating a high level of friction for Linux users.

External guides: The primary user complaints revolve around the necessity of using external guides and walkthroughs to fully understand and complete the game. This includes complex mechanics, missable content, and insufficient in-game explanations, particularly for non-English speakers. The reliance on external data sources significantly impacts the user experience, making it difficult to enjoy the game without constant reference to external materials.

IME input settings needed: Players have requested the ability to use IME input settings for entering Japanese text. This feature is important for non-English speaking players to communicate effectively in the game.