Adventures of Mana

 PlayStation Vita
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 25 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 25
  3. Negative: 2 out of 25

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  1. rq3
    Jun 29, 2016
    5
    Adventures of Mana is a remake of Mystic Quest (or simply known as Seiken Densetsu) from 1991. It's not the first time Square Enix decided to create a remake of it. Many of bit older gamers probably remember Sword of Mana released on GBA. Some fans might even remember never released in West remake for mobile phones.

    So how does Adventures of Mana compare to original and previous remake?    Adventures of Mana is a remake of Mystic Quest (or simply known as Seiken Densetsu) from 1991. It's not the first time Square Enix decided to create a remake of it. Many of bit older gamers probably remember Sword of Mana released on GBA. Some fans might even remember never released in West remake for mobile phones.

    So how does Adventures of Mana compare to original and previous remake? Frankly speaking, not so well. Nobody can deny that game has lots of potential. Let's say it clearly game is still fun to play! Square Enix did great job at scraping all those weird plot changes from Sword of Mana, and returning to roots of Mystic Quest.

    But than... sadly even on Vita it feels cheap. First of all gorgeous sprites (Square Soft had marvelous sprites) were replaced by not so good 3d models. Sword of Mana was more of eyecandy than Adventures of Mana... It such a shame that Square Enix didn't either stick to 2d style or... paid bit more attention to making game look stunning.

    Secondly... it's 1:1 port of a mobile phone game. Square Enix didn't even bother to make option to let players turn off touch controls or at least switching off those gigantic virtual buttons from mobile version. It's OK as an option, it's more than welcomed AS AN OPTION. But leaving mandatory mobile phone HUD on Vita port? It just doesn't work. Vita version deserved a new HUD created from the scratch.

    One of advantages of Vita over mobile phones are what we in gaming industry call "buttons". And many of those in Adventures of Mana are either useless (select, start) or wasted like Triangle, Square and L/R buttons. Both D-pad and analog stick does the same... that's waste of potential button combinations. In game you will find yourself often going to menu just to switch for few seconds either weapon or items/magic...

    Another thing... AI of teammates and monsters.... or rather lack of it. When you see your ally running around instead of using properly magic to attack enemy which far from him... you begin to wonder why he is even there. Enemies running through obstacles which you can't pass... why?

    The last thing I will mention is... enemies appearing on map right beneath you. That's how you will lose most of your health running around on map. You are switching region, start moving than 1-2 second later.... whoops.... enemies are appearing right beneath you making you lose some of your HP. Why? Why not make enemies appear with map?

    If Square Enix paid bit more attention and made a bit better port game would be much more enjoyable. But sadly Adventures of Mana is just a mobile phone app ported to Vita. Things that are acceptable on mobile phones won't pass on console/PC/handheld.

    Than again. Adventures of Mana is not a bad game.... it's simply not good. Everything good about it comes from the original game.... most of bad comes from another Square Enix's poor quality remake.

    If you are wondering whether to buy it or not. You probably should. Just to show support to the system, as Square Enix is well known from ignoring Vita system (I am Setsuna, Type-0 HD yada yada). Just be aware to not expect to much from it. Again game can be enjoyable! It's worth playing, if you never had chance to try out Mystic Quest.    … Expand
  2. DMcGee2288
    Jul 11, 2016
    7
    It doesn't quite feel like a Mana series game. It doesn't quite come off as a Final Fantasy type game, either. However, Adventures of Mana (AKA Final Fantasy Adventures) is all-in-all a passable PlayStation Vita RPG. For older gamers, it is very nostalgic of years back when we were gaming it down on SNES or Gameboy. Heck, it even was a Gameboy game released originally back in 1991, andIt doesn't quite feel like a Mana series game. It doesn't quite come off as a Final Fantasy type game, either. However, Adventures of Mana (AKA Final Fantasy Adventures) is all-in-all a passable PlayStation Vita RPG. For older gamers, it is very nostalgic of years back when we were gaming it down on SNES or Gameboy. Heck, it even was a Gameboy game released originally back in 1991, and then re-released in 1998 for the United States.

    Being a huge Legend of Mana (easily in my top 3 all-time favorite ps1 games), Sword of Mana, and Secret of Mana fan-- it's good to see where the Mana series all started.

    Why it's a 7?
    Well, lets not kid ourselves. We are half way through the year in 2016. This game is over 25 years old from its initial release date. A LOT has changed since then. Yes, it has good gameplay and yes, it's got a nice soundtrack and a decent story line. The characters are alright. The price is good. But nothing stands out as excellent to be completely honest. It's one of those games you pick it up and you play it for a couple days or so... A week at most give or take... Then, you're done with it. There's like virtually little to no replay-ability. Unless you are a trophy hunter, and you missed a piece of inventory/equipment from your collection, I don't really see the draw to go back and play this game again. Truth be told, there are better games out there for any given specific current gen mobile platform (even cell phones and the sorts). There are even better RPGs. However, if you loved Mana like me or many others, and you are an old gamer, and you love old school RPGs, then this is absolutely a must-have treasure that you can point back at and say proudly-- "Yeah, I played that. I beat it."    … Expand
  3. acoolguy
    Mar 27, 2020
    8
    It may look like a cheap mobile game from screenshots, but this is actually a solid remake of Final Fantasy Adventure. The music and gameplay are modernized while remaining faithful to the original, the menus are improved, and the graphics look pretty nice on Vita thanks to the game running at native res and 60fps.
    It's a basic game, but still enjoyable if you played it growing up or want    It may look like a cheap mobile game from screenshots, but this is actually a solid remake of Final Fantasy Adventure. The music and gameplay are modernized while remaining faithful to the original, the menus are improved, and the graphics look pretty nice on Vita thanks to the game running at native res and 60fps.
    It's a basic game, but still enjoyable if you played it growing up or want something similar to the original Legend of Zelda with some Final Fantasy flair.    … Expand
  4. Clarkr13
    Jul 17, 2018
    9
    Having played the Both the original Final Fantasy Adventures back in the day and Secret of Mana on the NES I can tell you this definitely has the feel of a mana game and is worth the purchase. Like the Secret of Mana reboot for the PS4 this is not nearly as hard as the original. In fact if it suffers from anything it is being too easy. I cleared the game in about 13 hours with no grindingHaving played the Both the original Final Fantasy Adventures back in the day and Secret of Mana on the NES I can tell you this definitely has the feel of a mana game and is worth the purchase. Like the Secret of Mana reboot for the PS4 this is not nearly as hard as the original. In fact if it suffers from anything it is being too easy. I cleared the game in about 13 hours with no grinding (something one expects from a JRPG) and while I am not dissatisfied I do thing there could have been a bit more strategy involved in the fighting mechanics especially the boss fights. I more or less cleared every boss (including the final boss) by just equipping the appropriate weapon and then going to town while spamming cure.

    The ease of the game aside I loved the game. The story is very familiar if you have ever played a final fantasy / mana game but it holds up well and as a Vita moible game Im very satisfied with the final product. I have heard some people criticize this game because it is a remake of Final Fantasy Adventures (Gameboy) and not Sword of Mana, which was a remake of Final Fantasy Adventures for the PS1 that had many story updates, new characters, and allowed for the player to choose two different gendered characters to play as. While Sword of Mana would have been a good game to remake I am not going to hold that against Adventures of Mana. This is a good remake of a specific game and I love it as it is not as I wish it could be.

    In conclusion: 9/10 Must buy    … Expand
  5. DanielcoXZ
    Jul 22, 2020
    8
    Its a good game if you like this geder. In special the music its a very good experience. If you want a old school RPG this game its a good option. The game have many passage secret, this can difficult the progress if you are not used to solving puzzles
  6. LastResource
    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.

Awards & Rankings

17
#17 Best PS Vita Game of 2016
7
#7 Most Discussed PS Vita Game of 2016
17
#17 Most Shared PS Vita Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
66

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. RPGamer
    Jun 21, 2017
    50
    I played some of the original Final Fantasy Adventure but never completed it. Now that I've played Adventures of Mana, I don't think playing the original again will ever be necessary. Square Enix originally made this version for mobile phones, which perhaps explains why not much was changed. It's still a minimally-altered rendition of something I wasn't enthralled with in the first place. Many others have much more affection for the original than I do, and will doubtless be overjoyed that Square Enix allows them to play it on a modern platform without rendering any memories of how to progress inaccurate through alterations. Those hoping for something more akin to certain acclaimed later installments of the series, or a title that plays in a fashion better taking advantage of the Vita's capabilities, will be disappointed.
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  2. Eurogamer Italy
    Sep 9, 2016
    80
    Quotation forthcoming.
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  3. Gaming Age
    Aug 24, 2016
    75
    To be sure, I never fully understood the end goal of what I was doing in Adventures of Mana. But, for whatever reason, that didn't bother me all that much. I can't say that the game has given me any insight whatsoever into why Final Fantasy — or even the Mana franchise — has endured for so long, but I can definitely say that if I'm looking for an easy-to-pickup RPG to play on the go, this is a game that's right near the top of my list.
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