Info about Legend of Mana:

Official game description:
The HD Remaster of Legend of Mana is coming to Steam!  
Set off on a journey to find the mystical Mana Tree seen in a dream, before discovering... the world map is empty! During your travels, you’ll acquire special artifacts; place these wherever you’d like on the map to bring towns and dungeons to life and advance the story.  
Meet a colorful cast of characters, square off against fearsome monsters, and explore the vast world of Fa’Diel. Not only has the music has been rearranged for this remaster, you can also alternate between the new and original soundtrack. Other features have also been added, including the ability to turn off enemy encounters, and the never-before released mini-game "Ring Ring Land".
KEY FEATURES
------------
**THE CLASSIC, REMASTERED** - All the magic of the original Legend of Mana, coming to Steam with remastered graphics and new features.  
**SHAPE YOUR ENVIRONMENT** - Featuring the unique "Land Make" System in which you can build your own World Map.  
**COMPELLING NARRATIVE** - Complete quests and storylines  
**REAL-TIME COMBAT** - Equip a variety of weapons, armors and accessories in exciting battles.  
**MINI-GAME** - Includes "Ring Ring Land", a mini game previously unreleased in the West

Release date: Jun 24, 2021

Categories: Action RPG, Exploration, Crafting, Monster Collecting, Mini-game Collection, Non-linear Progression, Character Customization, World-Building

Feature scans:
- Wiki: score 50; verdict: High Dependency on External Data; summary: 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.
- Proton/Linux: score 75; verdict: Barely Playable; summary: 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.
- Steam Deck: score 90; verdict: Broken; summary: 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.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $10.00 - $20.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence indicates that users find the game enjoyable and worth purchasing, but not at its full price. Many reviews suggest that the game is best bought at a discount, implying that the current base price is considered too high for the value offered, especially given that it is a remaster with little new content.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 20.0h
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: 6.5h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides several direct and indirect references to playtime. One user mentions having played the game to completion multiple times, indicating a significant investment of time. Another user states they have finished the game almost 10 times since the early '00s, suggesting a high level of replayability and a substantial total playtime. Additionally, a user mentions streaming the game for 6.5 hours in one session, which gives an indication of session length. However, specific metrics like story completion time and endgame hours are not explicitly mentioned, leading to those fields being marked as null.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: 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.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: Familiarity with game mechanics and exploration
  - Time to anchor: 2h 0m
  - Friction: Underexplained mechanics; Co-op limitations
  - Unlock drivers: Experimenting with different equipment combinations; Exploring the world thoroughly
  - Conditions: Co-op gaming; Interesting characters and quests; Beautiful graphics and music
- Player Archetypes:
  - System Master (sale)
    - Motivation: Mastering complex game systems
    - Playstyle: Enjoys deep system interactions and flexibility in playstyle
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: Veteran gamer; System master
    - Reference games: Deck-building games; SaGa series
  - Co-op Enthusiast (sale)
    - Motivation: Social gaming experiences
    - Playstyle: Enjoys playing through games with others
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: Co-op gamer; Social gamer
    - Reference games: Secret of Mana; Trials of Mana
  - Nostalgia Seeker (buy)
    - Motivation: Reliving past gaming experiences
    - Playstyle: Enjoys revisiting familiar games and mechanics
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Retro gamer; Nostalgic player
    - Reference games: Classic JRPGs; PS1 era games
  - Newcomer Explorer (deep sale)
    - Motivation: Exploring new gaming experiences
    - Playstyle: Enjoys discovering and learning new game mechanics
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: deep sale
    - Labels: New gamer; Explorer
    - Reference games: Modern JRPGs; Open-world games


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Captivating and evocative soundtrack (weight 0.34): 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 (weight 0.33): 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 (weight 0.24): 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 (weight 0.22): 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 (weight 0.2): 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.
- Positive overall experience (weight 0.19): Players express a pure and sincere love for the game, describing it as great and enjoyable. The overall experience is seen as positive and fulfilling.
- Well-done remaster with updated features (weight 0.17): The remaster is praised for its well-done graphics and soundtrack updates. It includes remastered backgrounds and illustrations, enhancing the visual and auditory experience.
- Nostalgic and classic atmosphere (weight 0.13): The game evokes a sense of nostalgia and is appreciated for its classic atmosphere. It is seen as a great classic game that brings back fond memories.
- Rich and detailed content (weight 0.13): The game offers rich exploration, detailed characters, and a richly detailed world. This depth in content enhances the overall gaming experience.
- Faithful to the original game (weight 0.1): The remaster is faithful to the original game, maintaining the essence and quality of the PS1 classic. This faithfulness is appreciated by fans of the original.
- Local co-op support (weight 0.1): The game features local co-op support, allowing for local multiplayer experiences. This adds a social dimension to the gameplay.
- Love for the game and its remaster (weight 0.1): Players express excitement and love for both the original game and its remaster. This emotional connection enhances the overall appeal of the game.

Common complaints:
- Clunky and simplistic combat (weight 0.43): The combat system is frequently described as clunky, stiff, and overly simplistic, leading to frustration among players.
- Performance issues (weight 0.41): The game suffers from various performance issues, including frame rate drops, lag, and general performance problems that affect gameplay.
- Pixelated and inconsistent sprites (weight 0.28): 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 (weight 0.27): 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 (weight 0.2): Players often need to rely on guides to fully enjoy the game, understand mechanics, and complete quests or events.
- Overpriced and too easy (weight 0.16): Many players feel that the game is overpriced and not worth the cost, additionally, some find the game too easy, reducing its value.
- Movement and control issues (weight 0.16): Players report sluggish controls, clunky movement, and slow walking speed, which negatively impact the gameplay experience.
- Outdated and archaic elements (weight 0.14): The game contains antiquated and unconventional elements that can feel old and archaic, which may not appeal to all players.
- Complex crafting system (weight 0.12): The crafting system is often described as complex and difficult to understand, which can be overwhelming for players.
- Denuvo causing problems (weight 0.09): The use of Denuvo anti-tamper technology is reported to cause performance issues and make the game unplayable for some users.
- Lack of language support (weight 0.09): The game lacks support for certain languages, such as Portuguese and Russian, which limits accessibility for some players.
- Lack of story depth (weight 0.07): The game's stories are criticized for being short and lacking depth, making the narrative less rich and engaging.
- Events can be missed easily (weight 0.07): Some events in the game can be easily missed or may fail or disappear, leading to frustration among players.
- Useless magic system (weight 0.06): The magic system in the game is often criticized as being useless, providing little benefit to players.

Gameplay feedback:
- Unique and open-ended gameplay (weight 0.23): The game offers a unique gameplay experience with open-ended mechanics and non-linear RPG elements, providing high replayability.
- Rich RPG elements (weight 0.22): The game includes various RPG elements such as quest and story systems, action RPG gameplay, and character development.
- Multiple non-linear storylines (weight 0.18): The game features multiple intertwined storylines with non-linear narrative structures, enhancing the storytelling experience.
- Weapon and armor crafting (weight 0.15): Players can craft, forge, and improve weapons and armor, providing a deep crafting system.
- Monster ranching and companions (weight 0.14): The game includes a monster-raising feature with hidden personality traits, allowing players to ranch and level up monster companions.
- Mini-games and events (weight 0.14): The game features various mini-games and events, including the Ring Ring Land mini-game, adding variety to the gameplay.
- Simple yet strategic combat (weight 0.13): Combat is simple to learn but requires strategy and planning, offering a mix of simplicity and depth.
- Complex upgrading systems (weight 0.1): The game features complex systems for upgrading weapons, armor, and equipment, adding depth to the gameplay.
- Pet raising and management (weight 0.1): Players can raise, feed, and manage pets, adding a unique layer to the gameplay experience.
- Customizable maps and abilities (weight 0.1): The game offers customizable maps with different layouts and customizable abilities, enhancing player agency.
- Dynamic world-building (weight 0.08): The game features dynamic world-building and open-world exploration, allowing players to shape the game world.
- Complex game mechanics (weight 0.08): The game includes dozens of different mechanical systems, providing a complex and engaging experience.
- Various cultivation mechanics (weight 0.08): The game includes many activities like forging, equipment enchanting, pet cultivation, and golem making, adding depth to the gameplay.
- Unique 'Land Make' system (weight 0.07): The game features a unique 'Land Make' system for world-building, setting it apart from other action RPGs.
- Pet and golem customization (weight 0.07): Players can customize pets and golems, adding a unique layer to the gameplay experience.
- Event triggers and mission mechanics (weight 0.07): Events are triggered by NPC dialogues or player actions, adding a dynamic element to the gameplay.
- Item crafting and modification (weight 0.07): The game features a system for crafting and modifying items, as well as collecting them.
- Difficulty settings (weight 0.07): The game offers various difficulty settings, including harder difficulties for more challenging gameplay.
- Poor enemy AI (weight 0.06): The game has been criticized for its poor enemy AI, which can be toggled.

Performance notes:
- Performance issues on PC (weight 0.33): 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 (weight 0.22): Several players have encountered game crashes and game-breaking bugs. These issues severely affect the playability and stability of the game.
- Input lag problems (weight 0.15): There are noticeable input lag issues reported by players, which affect the responsiveness and control during gameplay.
- Low frame rate (weight 0.11): 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 (weight 0.1): The game has compatibility issues with Linux and Proton, including crashes and audio problems, which limit the game's accessibility on these platforms.
- Graphical and animation issues (weight 0.1): Players have noted poor graphics, animations, and various graphical glitches. These issues detract from the visual quality of the game.
- Slow loading speeds (weight 0.08): Players experience constant and slow loading times, which disrupts the flow of the game and causes frustration.
- Minor positive feedback (weight 0.07): A small number of players report no performance issues and good overall performance, indicating that the game runs well on certain systems.
- Audio and video desync (weight 0.04): There are reports of audio and video desynchronization during specific in-game actions, which affects the overall immersion.
- Limited performance settings (weight 0.04): Players are frustrated by the lack of options to change the refresh rate and other performance settings, limiting their ability to optimize the game.
- Specific hardware requirements (weight 0.04): The game crashes on systems without a dedicated GPU, highlighting specific hardware requirements for stable performance.

Recommendations:
- Recommend on sale only (weight 0.22): 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 (weight 0.21): The game is highly recommended for fans of old-school action RPGs and those who enjoyed the original game.
- Worthy remaster with minor issues (weight 0.2): 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 (weight 0.15): Players recommend using a guide to achieve all accomplishments and for a more structured playthrough.
- Loosely structured action RPG (weight 0.1): 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.
- Wait for sale or play original (weight 0.09): Some players suggest waiting for a sale or playing the original version of the game instead.
- Mixed recommendations on purchase (weight 0.09): There are mixed recommendations regarding the purchase of the game, with some advising to read reviews carefully before buying.
- Specific preferences and advice (weight 0.08): Some players recommend getting a chocobo as a pet and suggest buying the game if you are a fan of the Seiken Densetsu series.
- Not for new players (weight 0.07): The game is not recommended for new players due to its archaic mechanics and niche appeal.
- External factors influencing purchase (weight 0.05): Some players are excited for the anime adaptation, while others advise waiting until Denuvo is removed before purchasing.

Other player notes:
- IME input settings needed (weight 0.05): 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.

Emotions:
- Nostalgia (weight 0.33): Players experience nostalgia due to childhood memories associated with the original PS1 game. The remastered edition brings back memories through updated graphics and music, while retaining the classic RPG elements and unique character stories that made the original beloved.
- Frustration (weight 0.22): Frustration stems from various technical issues such as game crashes, performance problems, and unresolved bugs. Additionally, players find the combat mechanics clunky and outdated, with unclear gameplay mechanics and the need for external guides to progress.
- Disappointment (weight 0.19): Disappointment arises from the perceived lack of significant improvements in the remaster, including performance issues, frame rate drops, and lack of updated sprites. Players also express dissatisfaction with the game's high price and certain changes in the remaster that do not meet their expectations.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.12): Satisfaction comes from the quality of life improvements and the overall enjoyable gameplay experience. Players appreciate the remaster's aesthetic graphics, beautiful backgrounds, and the resolution of bugs, leading to a good experience overall.
- Joy (weight 0.09): Joy is derived from the game's unique and charming elements, including the mix of new and old art, enjoyable music, and overall charming experience. The improved graphics and soundtrack, along with the fun combat and excellent characters, contribute to this positive emotion.
- Appreciation (weight 0.08): Players appreciate the game's good storytelling, unique gameplay mechanics, and enhanced visuals and audio. The inclusion of mini-games, events, and the game's depth and themes also contribute to this feeling of appreciation.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.06): Enjoyment is driven by the game's incredible soundtrack, addictive nature, and engaging gameplay mechanics. The beautiful graphics, new music, and interesting quests add to the overall enjoyable experience.
- Excitement (weight 0.05): Excitement comes from the variety of features and mechanics in the game, as well as the anticipation for new features and the faithful remaster. Discovering hidden secrets and unique mechanics also adds to this excitement.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Players admire the game for capturing the essence of RPGs and being a visual masterpiece with rich exploration. The game's ability to evoke a sense of adventure and its detailed world contribute to this admiration.}