SummaryThe Mana Tree Needs Defenders! The location of the Mana Tree -- Wellspring of all life -- has long been lost to legend. Many centuries have passed, and the Granz Realm's Dark Lord is searching for the secrets of the ancient tree so that he can control the source of Mana. Now, a young hero and heroine must come together to defeat the evil that t... Read More
Rated Efor Everyone
Developer:Brownie Brown
Sword of Mana
Game Boy Advance
Released On:
Dec 1, 2003
Metascore
Mixed or Average
72
User score
Generally Favorable
8.4
My Score
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Where to Buy
All Platforms
Metascore
Mixed or Average
72
52% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
48% Mixed
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
98
Stakes its claim as one of the best free-roaming action adventures of the year...Deep and compelling. It lives up to its legacy. [Jan 2004, p.157]
83
A beautiful, fast-paced, fun game that can be recommended to all fans of role-playing games. It may not be the best RPG on Game Boy Advance, but it is certainly in the upper echelon of the genre.
User score
Generally Favorable
8.4
63% Positive
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
37% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Jan 14, 2023
10
worth it and glad to play this game again. so much memories and nostalgia within this spin off game in the series.
Sep 15, 2019
10
The fact that critics think this game is inferior to the remake on Vita that tries barely anything new or interesting as a remake is concerning. This game took a ton of liberties to make it more akin to the Mana series without changing too much of the plot, and they call said plot too basic? Even though it, again, is technically the same plot as the original aside from SOME changes? It's just surprising, as even the gameplay is pretty great. Instead of the meter rising or being required to max out, each attack builds up a meter, allowing you to do a sort of charge attack once the meter is full, and it allows you to choose when to do the charge attack, too, so you don't HAVE to use it right away. Not to mention, you can play as the heroine in this one, and it adds SO much to her character and helps us care more about her. Not to mention that Willy has a somewhat bigger role in this remake, outside of "generic death to fuel the hero's determination." Heck, the story shows some extra stuff in the beginning to have us know what Dark Lord did, giving us more reason to care about the hero's desire to beat him, aside from "Mana is in trouble." Like, seriously, who says it like that, and how is that enough of a motivational incentive? I repeat. The fact that critics think Adventure of Mana is the better remake(while it also has a lower Metacritic score than this one so how the fu-) is just concerning. Let's hope they'll rerelease this version someday, cause I doubt a 3rd remake will do it proper justice.
78
Fans of Secret will be sorely disappointed with this - but as we said, for all its failings, the 20 or so hours it takes to finish it are still enjoyable. It's just that the quality isn't as high as we expected. [NGC]
75
Has a surprising amount of depth for a GBA action RPG. The leveling system is pretty unique and engaging and the forging system is very deep. However, the controls are clumsy and frustrating and the teammate AI is very lousy.
65
If you were expecting Sword of Mana to be the classic RPG that "FF Adventure" was, though, you may want to lower your expectations slightly. If you don't, you may be surprised -- in both good and bad ways.
60
Running around thwacking enemies feels fun enough, but poor A.I. renders your other party member nearly useless - you'll often have to switch between them just to keep them from getting killed. [Feb 2004, p.128]
50
Maybe it's the rather lacklustre music, the numerous side-quests that feel more bolted on than they should, or the forehead-slappingly stupid AI of the enemies and your companion, but the whole experience feels decidedly flat at times; not a good sign for a game that's supposed to absorb you into its world. [Jan 2004, p.117]
Aug 6, 2024
8
Good game but I have two major gripes with it : First, there are a lot of secrets to find, for instance you can get I think 5 different copies of the same spirit, making magic extremely strong. Or material with combinations of fruits and vegetables to forge incredibly strong weapons... But the strongest thing in the game is the final boss and as a child with very bad weapons and magic, it was still a walk in the park. Also, it's nice that they at least warn about it, but it's a shame there is a point of no return at a certain point in the game, that is otherwise free roaming. I loved the sidequests though.
May 6, 2023
7
Pretty but very wordy arcade RPG. As ever, it's good but not as good as Zelda or Final Fantasy.
Aug 30, 2022
7
Gráficamente es una gozada, y la música es genial. La historia no está mal, aunque tampoco es increíble. El problema principal es que el gameplay es bastante aburrido. Según vas avanzando en la historia consigues diversas armas como espada, lanza, mazo, arco, etc, pero es probable que acabes usando la espada más que ninguna otra cosa, e irás dando estocadas y alejándote, una y otra vez, contra el 99% de enemigos. Los espíritus te proporcionan la habilidad de usar magias pero no son demasiado útiles. Un juego entretenido sin más, merece la pena por la música y el apartado gráfico, pero poco más.
Nov 22, 2013
7
It feels like a Legend of Zelda RPG; which is in no way a bad thing if a little clunkier when it comes to lining up attacks. It's simplicity helps with it being a gba game when it comes to navigation and combat and the story reaches the levels of a final fantasy game.
