Pros:
+ Faithful remake of the original Seiken Densetsu/Final Fantasy Adventure on the Game Boy
+ Vibrant, colorful character/monster designs and graphics
+ Fun 60fps (mostly) action gameplay
+ Easy to follow storyline
+ Fantastic soundtrack with the option to use the original game's tunes
+ Satisfying ending
Cons:
- Cutesy graphics may turn off some
- Hit …
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Pros:
+ Faithful remake of the original Seiken Densetsu/Final Fantasy Adventure on the Game Boy
+ Vibrant, colorful character/monster designs and graphics
+ Fun 60fps (mostly) action gameplay
+ Easy to follow storyline
+ Fantastic soundtrack with the option to use the original game's tunes
+ Satisfying ending
Cons:
- Cutesy graphics may turn off some
- Hit detection can be spotty
- A bit too easy, with almost nothing offering a real challenge
- Level 99 trophy was unnecessary and felt like a waste of time
- Why the fuck won't they update Secret of Mana?! They actually did!
Final Thoughts:
I was fortunate enough to play Final Fantasy Adventure on the Game Boy way back in the early 90's and loved it, as I had owned Secret of Mana on the SNES but couldn't make the connection at the time that FFA was the prequel! Playing Adventures of Mana was a great nostalgia trip and hearing the music again alone made the entire experience worthwhile for me. However, the game felt far too easy. Unless you make it a point to not level up, monsters and bosses are complete pushovers. The partner system still felt mostly useless but they don't really detract from the gameplay.
I enjoyed obtaining most of the game's trophies but felt that forcing the player to hit level 99 for one of them was just a way to artificially make the game longer than it needed to be. It was a mindless grind, with no way to obtain it naturally otherwise. However, it's entirely optional but I try to achieve everything in a game before I'm done with it. Well, unless the game sucks.
Although I gave it a 3 star review here on grouvee, I believe it's a solid 3.5. There's not much here that you haven't seen before but it successfully captured the feel of a classic action rpg. It also gave me flashbacks of Ys: Ark of Napishtim at times, which was another game I really enjoyed. I hope this game did well enough for Squenix to consider updating more of their classic 90's titles. That would be totally lit, as the kids say these days.
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