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(Redirected from Elemental spirits (Seiken Densetsu))
The '''Mana''' series, known in Japan as , is a console role-playing game series from Square Enix (formerly known as Square), created by Koichi Ishii. The series is mostly known for its action-based battle system, as opposed to the traditional turn-based style adopted by most console role-playing games.
The series began as a handheld side story to Square's flagship franchise ''Final Fantasy'', although most ''Final Fantasy''-inspired elements were dropped, starting with the second installment, ''Secret of Mana''. The series is known for its musical scores, which have been penned by various composers. The ''Mana'' games are linked with a common mythology centered on a world tree and its associated holy sword. Several character designs and creatures reappear frequently.
In 2003, ''Secret of Mana'' was rated 78th in IGN's yearly "Top 100 Game of All Time", while ''Legend of Mana'' earned enough sales in 2006 to be re-released as an Ultimate Hits. In 2003, the series comprised five games; starting in 2006, it has experienced a revival through the ''World of Mana'' campaign, with five new games released in the span of one year. As of 2007, the ''Mana'' series comprises eight console games and two mobile games, in addition to four manga and one novelization.
Square trademarked the title ''Seiken Densetsu: The Emergence of Excalibur'' in 1987, intending to use it for a game project led by Kazuhiko Aoki for the Famicom Disk System. According to early advertisements, the game would consist of an unprecedented five floppy disks, making it one of the largest titles developed for the Famicom up until that point. Although Square solicited pre-orders for the game, Kaoru Moriyama, a former Square employee, affirms that it never progressed beyond early planning stages before management canceled the ambitious project. In October 1987, people who had placed orders were refunded and sent a letter informing them of the cancellation; the note suggested that they consider placing an order on another upcoming Square role-playing game in a similar vein: ''Final Fantasy''.[1]
In 1991, Square reused the ''Seiken Densetsu'' trademark for an unrelated Game Boy action role-playing game directed by Koichi Ishii. Originally developed under the title ''Gemma Knights'', the game was renamed ''Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden'' (published in North America as ''Final Fantasy Adventure'' and in Europe as ''Mystic Quest'').1 The game subsequently spawned its own series of action role-playing games distinct from ''Final Fantasy'', with four titles released between 1993 and 2003. In 2005, Square Enix announced plans for a new series of titles in the ''Mana'' franchise, called '''World of Mana''', and spanning more video game genres than the original series. As of September 2007, ''World of Mana'' comprises five games and one manga. Koichi Ishii has served as director or producer for all ''Mana'' games.
The ''Mana'' series is the result of Koichi Ishii's desire to create a fictional world. In Ishii's opinion, ''Mana'' is not a series of video games, but rather a world which is illustrated by and can be explored through video games.[2] When working on the series, Koichi Ishii draws inspiration from his childhood, particularly abstract images from his memories, or movies and fantasy books that captivated him. Ishii puts special emphasis on the creation of the game's world, while also being careful in avoiding set conventions. Although his influences are very wide and non-specific, he acknowledges Tove Jansson's ''Moomin'', Lewis Carroll's ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', and J.R.R. Tolkien's ''Lord of the Rings'' as some of his literary influences.[3]
The games of the series generally have no explicit chronological order apart from their release dates. According to Koichi Ishii, the games do not exactly take place in the same world; the connections between each title are more abstract than story-based, and characters or elements who appear in different titles are best considered alternate versions of each other, linked only on the karmic level.3 Nevertheless, some titles of the ''World of Mana'' series do share direct connections with other installments.[4]
''Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden'', known as ''Final Fantasy Adventure'' in North America and ''Mystic Quest'' in Europe, is an action role-playing game released by Square in 1991 for the Game Boy. Drawing many stylistic influences from the ''Final Fantasy'' series, it differed from it in that it presented real-time, action-oriented battles comparable to ''The Legend of Zelda'', rather than traditional turn-based battles.[5]
''Secret of Mana'', known in Japan as ''Seiken Densetsu 2'', was released by Square in 1993 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Originally planned for the SNES CD-ROM add-on in development by Nintendo and Sony, the game ended up being altered to fit on a standard cartridge when the add-on project was dropped by Nintendo.30 The game introduced the Ring Command menu system, which enabled prompt access to features such as items or magic spells.27 In 2003, the game ranked 78th in IGN's yearly "Top 100 Game of All Time".[6]
''Seiken Densetsu 3'' was released by Square for the Super Famicom in 1995. ''Seiken Densetsu 3'' introduced a degree of nonlinearity to the series, allowing players to choose at the beginning of the game a party of three members out of a total of six characters. Distinct encounters and endings can be seen depending on the characters selected.[7] It was never released outside of Japan, although an English language fan translation was released by Neill Corlett in 2000.[8]
''Legend of Mana'', known in Japan as ''Seiken Densetsu: Legend of Mana'', was released by Square in 2000 for the PlayStation. It features a slightly different gameplay than its predecessors. The locations of the game's world are represented on a map by artifacts placed by the player, with different artifact placements allowing him or her to obtain different items. The game features temporary sidekick characters that the player can recruit, breed or build, as well as a weapon and armor creation and tempering system.[9] It has never been released in Europe. It was re-released in Japan in 2006 as a Square Enix Ultimate Hits.[10]
''Sword of Mana'', known in Japan as ''Shin'yaku Seiken Densetsu'', is a full remake of ''Final Fantasy Adventure'' developed by Brownie Brown and released in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance. The features of the original game have been reworked to be brought more in line with the direction the ''Mana'' series had taken with the later games.[11]
''Children of Mana'', known in Japan as ''Seiken Densetsu DS: Children of Mana'', is a dungeon crawler which was developed by Nex Entertainment and released in 2006-2007 for the Nintendo DS. ''Dawn of Mana'', known in Japan as ''Seiken Densetsu 4'', is a 3D action-adventure game released by Square Enix in 2006-2007 for the PlayStation 2. In the ''Mana'' series in-universe timeline, ''Dawn of Mana'' is set at the very beginning, while ''Children of Mana'' takes place ten years later.[12] ''Heroes of Mana'', known in Japan as ''Seiken Densetsu: Heroes of Mana'', is a tactical role-playing game developed by Brownie Brown and released in 2007 for the Nintendo DS. It is a prequel to ''Seiken Densetsu 3''.42
The ''World of Mana'' series also comprises two Japan-exclusive mobile phone games released in 2006. The first is an enhanced port of ''Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden'', which features an art style closer to the original game than that of ''Sword of Mana''.[13] The second one, ''Seiken Densetsu: Friends of Mana'', is a multiplayer role-playing game released on 18 October, 2006, and is set in a fictional world called Mi'Diel.[14]
The musical score for ''Final Fantasy Adventure'' was composed by Kenji Ito and was his second original score.[15] Ito usually bases his music on the game images and has no particular outside influence.[16]
The scores for ''Secret of Mana'' and ''Seiken Densetsu 3'' were composed by Hiroki Kikuta. Despite difficulties in dealing with the hardware limitations, Kikuta tried with ''Secret of Mana'' to express in music two "contrasting styles", namely himself and the game, to create an original score which would be neither pop music nor standard game music.[17] Kikuta worked on the music of the two games alone, spending almost 24 hours a day in the office, alternating between composing and editing to create an immersive three-dimensional sound.[18] Kikuta considers the score for ''Secret of Mana'' his favorite creation.[19] His compositions for ''Secret of Mana'' and ''Seiken Densetsu 3'' were partly inspired by natural landscapes.[20] In 1995, Kikuta released an experimental album of arranged music from the two installments, titled ''Secret of Mana +'', which features a unique track long of 50 minutes.[21]
The score for ''Legend of Mana'' was composed by Yoko Shimomura and is considered by her as the one which best expresses herself.[22] Kenji Ito returned to the series with ''Sword of Mana''. He also composed roughly one third of the ''Children of Mana'' soundtrack, while the rest was composed by Masaharu Iwata and Takayuki Aihara. Ito was the main composer for ''Dawn of Mana'', assisted by Tsuyoshi Sekito, Masayoshi Soken, and Junya Nakano, as well as main theme composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.15 In North America, purchasers of ''Dawn of Mana'' from participating retailers were offered a sampler disc, titled ''Breath of Mana'', which features a selection of tracks from the game.[23] Yoko Shimomura returned to the series with ''Heroes of Mana''.[24]
A common element of the series is the seamless, real-time battle system developed by Koichi Ishii and improved upon by Hiromichi Tanaka as a desire to create a different system than the one featured in the first ''Final Fantasy'' titles.[25] While action-based, the ''Mana'' battle system is intended to be playable even by people who are not good at action games.[26] The system is coupled with the distinctive hierarchical "Ring Command" menu system, featured prominently in ''Secret of Mana'' and ''Seiken Densetsu 3'', and to a lesser extent in later installments. Each ring is a set of icons with a textual infobox explanation which, upon selection, allow the player to use an item, or cast a spell, look up game statistics, or change game settings. Navigation within a menu is achieved by rotating the ring through the cursor left or right, while switching do a different menu is achieved by pressing the up or down buttons.[27][28] Although not part of the series, the spin-off ''Secret of Evermore'' developed by Square USA was also built upon the Ring Command system.[29]
The ''Mana'' series features several recurring characters and beings, including ''Final Fantasy'' creatures such as Chocobos in ''Final Fantasy Adventure'' and ''Legend of Mana'',[30][31] as well as Moogles in ''Secret of Mana'' and as a status ailment in ''Seiken Densetsu 3'' and ''Sword of Mana''.[31][28][34] Watts is a dwarf blacksmith wearing a horned helmet who upgrades the player's weaponry.[35] Usually, an anthropomorphic peddler allows saving the game outside of towns, and sells their wares at high prices. This role is played by Neko the Cat in ''Secret of Mana'', and Niccolo the Rabbit in ''Legend of Mana'' and ''Sword of Mana''.[31][37][38]
The 'Mana Tree' and the 'Mana Sword' (which is called Excalibur in ''Final Fantasy Adventure''' s English version) are plot devices which have been featured in every game of the series. The mystical Mana Tree is a source of magic which sustains the balance and nature of the series' world.45 When this balance is lost, the typical way to restore it is by using the Mana Sword.[39]
''Final Fantasy Adventure'' explains that if the Mana Tree dies, a member of the Mana Family will become the "seed" of a new Tree. A sprout of the Mana Tree is called a Gemma, while protectors of the Tree, who wield the Mana Sword, are called Gemma Knights.[40][31] In ''Seiken Densetsu 3'', a Goddess is said to have turned into the Mana Tree after creating the world with the Mana Sword.[42][31] The Mana Tree is destroyed near the game ending in ''Final Fantasy Adventure'' and ''Secret of Mana'', but a character becomes the new Mana Tree in the former game.40[31]
'Elemental Spirits', also called Mana Spirits, are beings who govern the magic elements of the series' world, and are at the core of the games' magic system.[45] Eight types of spirits appear in the series since ''Secret of Mana'', and each embodies a different element. Their names are homonyms of mythological beings or phenomena.[46]
The spirits are used as means of reference as to casting magic spells. In ''Secret of Mana'' and ''Seiken Densetsu 3'', usage of their power is enabled upon the main characters' meeting with them.[46][28] In ''Legend of Mana'', the spirits serve as factors in the Land Creation System.[49] In ''Legend of Mana'' and ''Sword of Mana'', multiple spirits of the same elemental type appear.49[34]
In terms of storyline, in ''Seiken Densetsu 3'', the spirits are charged to protect the Mana Stones in which the Mana Goddess sealed eight elemental God Beasts.42[31] In the "World History" encyclopedia featured in ''Legend of Mana'', the spirits are said to have been created by the light of the Mana Goddess' Moon Gods.[31] In ''Dawn of Mana''' s North American version, each spirit speaks with a particular European accent, such as French or Scottish.[53]
'Rabites', known as in the Japanese versions of the games, are fictional, rabbit-like creatures appearing as a common enemy in the series since its beginning. The Rabite has become a sort of mascot for the ''Mana'' series, much the same way as the Chocobo represents ''Final Fantasy'', and is one of its most recognizable icons.[54]
The Rabite resembles a bodiless, one-toothed rabbit with large ears that curve upward and form a point at the tip, and a round, puffy pink tail. Rabites move by hopping along the ground. The most often seen variety of Rabites is the yellow, weakest one. Several other varieties exist, each being different from the others in terms of strength and abilities. A pink variety appears in ''Secret of Mana'' and as the Rabilion in ''Seiken Densetsu 3''.[55][56] The latter game also features a lilac variety called King Rabi, and a green variety called Great Rabi.56 In ''Seiken Densetsu 3'', the Black Rabi is a hidden optional superboss, the most powerful enemy in the game.[57]
''Legend of Mana'' features white Rabites simply called "Rabites", although yellow ones are some of the pets that the player can raise and use as a battle partner.[58] Non-enemy Rabites have also appeared in '', ''Heroes of Mana'', and with the pet Buju in ''Dawn of Mana''.[14][60][61]
Rabites are also mentioned in ''Final Fantasy X-2'' with an accessory comically named "Rabite's Foot", which increases a character's luck statistic.[62] Rabites have appeared prevalently in several pieces of ''Mana'' merchandise, including plush dolls, cushions, lighters, mousepads, straps, telephone cards, and T-shirts.[63]
'Flammie' (sometimes spelled Flammy) is a the name of a fictional species of flying dragons, as well as the proper name of some its members, featured in several games of the series. A Flammie's appearance is a mixture of draconian, mammalian, and reptilian features. Flammies have a body covered in fine fur, with twin pairs of large, feathery wings extending from their upper back, and with a scaly, ribbed underside. They possess a tuft of thick hair at the top of their heads, a pair of long ears, and a beak-like mouth with two large fangs near the back. Their hind legs are larger and thicker than their front, and have four small fleshy pads at the bottom.
Flammie typically serves as a mean of transporting the player's characters on its back to the different locations of the games' world. Once obtained in the storyline, Flammie can be summoned at any time with a particular drum item. In ''Secret of Mana'' and ''Seiken Densetsu 3'', the Super Nintendo's Mode 7 graphic capabilities allows the player to control Flammie from either a "behind the back" third-person or top-down perspective, and fly over the landscape as it scrolls beneath them.[64][28] In ''Children of Mana'', the player selects on a world map a number of destinations he or she wishes to fly to with Flammie.[66]
''Secret of Mana'' suggests that Flammies are related to colored, more aggressive flying creatures called Mana Beasts, or in Japanese; one of these creatures serve as the game's final boss.[31] Eight elemental God Beasts also appear in ''Seiken Densetsu 3'', although their appearances differ from Flammies.
Flammies are absent but mentioned in ''Legend of Mana'' in the game's "World History" feature. The Flammies are described as "beautiful yet powerful beasts" created by the Moon Gods. While the Flammies featured within the games of the series are depicted as off-white or yellow, ''Legend of Mana'' indicates that Fa'Diel was once populated with Flammies of six different colors, a new one being born each time a Moon God went to sleep.[31] After a series of quarrels between the gods' other creatures and the Flammies themselves, the gods divided crystallized portions of energy from the Mana tree and gave it to six Flammies, who scattered their power across the world, becoming a "flying river of Mana" and disappearing altogether.[31]
A 5-volume manga based on ''Legend of Mana'' was drawn by Shiro Amano and published in Japan by Enterbrain between 2000 and 2002.[70] It features a comedic story about the game's main character, here named Toto. A German version was published by Egmont Manga & Anime in 2003.[71] A collection of 4-panel comic strips, drawn by various authors and titled ''Sword of Mana Yonkoma Manga Theatre'', was published in Japan by Square Enix on 16 January, 2004. It included a questionnaire that if sent back could allow participants to win illustrations signed by Koichi Ishii and Shinichi Kameoka, as well as special T-shirts.[72] Enterbrain also published a ''Sword of Mana'' manga adaptation in Japan on 25 February, 2004, drawn by a collaboration of authors led by Shiro Amano.[73] Two days later, Square Enix published a 2-volume novelization of ''Sword of Mana'' in Japan written by Matsui Oohama.72
An original manga, named '''Seiken Densetsu: Princess of Mana''', was drawn by Satsuki Yoshino and published in the Japanese magazine ''Gangan Powered'' on 22 February, 2007.[74][75]
1. Elusions: Final Fantasy IV / Seiken Densetsu Chris Collette
2. Interview Children of Mana Antoine Morcos
3. Children of Mana Interview RPGamer staff
4. Heroes of Mana Preview Jeremy Parish
5. Final Fantasy Adventure Review Dexter Sy
6. IGN's Top 100 Games of All Time IGN staff
7. Reviews: Seiken Densetsu 3
8. Let Me Play: Stories of Gaming and Emulation, Radford Castro, , , Hats Off Books, 2004,
9. Legend of Mana Full Review Andrew Vestal
10. Square Enix Adds 16 to Ultimate Hits Series Chris Winkler
11. Sword of Mana Review Craig Harris
12. Mana a Mana Tom Bramwell
13. Manavolution: the original Seiken Densetsu characters over time Spencer
14. 聖剣伝説 Friends of Mana
15. News CocoeBiz staff
16. Interview with CocoeBiz in December 2004 Kahori Ezaki
17. ''Seiken Densetsu 2 Original Sound Version'' (liner notes), Hiroki Kikuta, , , NTT Publishing, , PSCN-5030
18. Where Angels Fear to Tread: A Conversation with Hiroki Kikuta Jeriaska
19. Interview with Hiroki Kikuta RocketBaby staff
20. Interview with Hiroki Kikuta Daniel Kalabakov
21. RPGFan Soundtracks - Secret of Mana+ Daniel Kalabakov
22. RocketBaby's Interview with Yoko Shimomura RocketBaby staff
23. The Breath of Dawn on a New Hero of Mana Jody Blair
24. Square Enix Unveils Final Fantasy XII Sequel, Three More Games Bryan Boulette
25. Square Enix on Nintendo DS, Wii, Online, Final Fantasy & More (Full Transcript) Adam Riley
26. Hiromichi Tanaka - Final Fantasy III Thomas Nickel
27. Secret of Mana Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Soft, , SNS-K2-USA
28. Seiken Densetsu 3 Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Co., , SHVC-A3DJ-JPN
29. Secret of Evermore Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Soft, , U/SNS-AEOE-USA
30. Classics Column #1: Desperately Seeking Seiken Jeremy Parish
31.
32.
33. Seiken Densetsu 3 Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Co., , SHVC-A3DJ-JPN
34. Sword of Mana Instruction Booklet, , , , Nintendo, , AGB-AVSE-USA
35. Legend of Mana Review IGN staff
36.
37. Legend of Mana Owner's Manual, , , , Square Electronic Arts, , SLUS-01013
38. Sword of Mana - in shops tomorrow Nintendo staff
39. Review - Children of Mana (Nintendo DS) Justin Fassino
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45. A New Era Dawns for Mana Majed Athab
46. Secret of Mana Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Soft, , SNS-K2-USA
47. Secret of Mana Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Soft, , SNS-K2-USA
48. Seiken Densetsu 3 Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Co., , SHVC-A3DJ-JPN
49. Legend of Mana Owner's Manual, , , , Square Electronic Arts, , SLUS-01013
50. Sword of Mana Instruction Booklet, , , , Nintendo, , AGB-AVSE-USA
51.
52.
53. RPGFan Reviews - Dawn of Mana Dennis Rubinshteyn
54. Preview: Dawn of Mana Jeremy Parish
55. Le Guide Officiel Nintendo "Secret of Mana", , , , Nintendo, , SNSP-K2-FRA/SFRA
56.
57. Seiken Densetsu 3 / Secret of Mana 2 Review Adam Riley
58. Legend of Mana Strategy Guide Sean Kepper
59. 聖剣伝説 Friends of Mana
60. Heroes of Mana Preview Justin Leeper
61. Dawn of Mana Review for PlayStation 2 Chris Laramie
62. Final Fantasy X-2 Game Guide Damir Kolar
63. Legend of Mana Products
64. Secret of Mana Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Soft, , SNS-K2-USA
65. Seiken Densetsu 3 Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Co., , SHVC-A3DJ-JPN
66. The World of Mana
67.
68.
69.
70. Search results for Shiro Amano
71. Egmont Ehapa - Newsletter Nr. 22 vom 18.03.2003
72. 新約 聖剣伝説
73. Shinyaku Seiken Densetsu Anthology Comic
74. ガンガンパワード新登場！！
75. SQUARE ENIX - 製品ラインナップ
★ Official ''World of Mana'' website
★ the Seikens: fansite with information on the games, soundtracks, and bestiary
Artwork of the Mana Tree, from ''Children of Mana''.
The '''Mana''' series, known in Japan as , is a console role-playing game series from Square Enix (formerly known as Square), created by Koichi Ishii. The series is mostly known for its action-based battle system, as opposed to the traditional turn-based style adopted by most console role-playing games.
The series began as a handheld side story to Square's flagship franchise ''Final Fantasy'', although most ''Final Fantasy''-inspired elements were dropped, starting with the second installment, ''Secret of Mana''. The series is known for its musical scores, which have been penned by various composers. The ''Mana'' games are linked with a common mythology centered on a world tree and its associated holy sword. Several character designs and creatures reappear frequently.
In 2003, ''Secret of Mana'' was rated 78th in IGN's yearly "Top 100 Game of All Time", while ''Legend of Mana'' earned enough sales in 2006 to be re-released as an Ultimate Hits. In 2003, the series comprised five games; starting in 2006, it has experienced a revival through the ''World of Mana'' campaign, with five new games released in the span of one year. As of 2007, the ''Mana'' series comprises eight console games and two mobile games, in addition to four manga and one novelization.
| Contents |
| Creation and influences |
| Games |
| Classic series |
| ''World of Mana'' |
| Audio |
| Common elements |
| Mana Tree and Sword |
| Elemental Spirits |
| Rabites |
| Flammie |
| Manga and novels |
| References |
| External links |
Creation and influences
The logo of ''Seiken Densetsu: The Emergence of Excalibur''.
Square trademarked the title ''Seiken Densetsu: The Emergence of Excalibur'' in 1987, intending to use it for a game project led by Kazuhiko Aoki for the Famicom Disk System. According to early advertisements, the game would consist of an unprecedented five floppy disks, making it one of the largest titles developed for the Famicom up until that point. Although Square solicited pre-orders for the game, Kaoru Moriyama, a former Square employee, affirms that it never progressed beyond early planning stages before management canceled the ambitious project. In October 1987, people who had placed orders were refunded and sent a letter informing them of the cancellation; the note suggested that they consider placing an order on another upcoming Square role-playing game in a similar vein: ''Final Fantasy''.[1]
In 1991, Square reused the ''Seiken Densetsu'' trademark for an unrelated Game Boy action role-playing game directed by Koichi Ishii. Originally developed under the title ''Gemma Knights'', the game was renamed ''Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden'' (published in North America as ''Final Fantasy Adventure'' and in Europe as ''Mystic Quest'').1 The game subsequently spawned its own series of action role-playing games distinct from ''Final Fantasy'', with four titles released between 1993 and 2003. In 2005, Square Enix announced plans for a new series of titles in the ''Mana'' franchise, called '''World of Mana''', and spanning more video game genres than the original series. As of September 2007, ''World of Mana'' comprises five games and one manga. Koichi Ishii has served as director or producer for all ''Mana'' games.
The ''Mana'' series is the result of Koichi Ishii's desire to create a fictional world. In Ishii's opinion, ''Mana'' is not a series of video games, but rather a world which is illustrated by and can be explored through video games.[2] When working on the series, Koichi Ishii draws inspiration from his childhood, particularly abstract images from his memories, or movies and fantasy books that captivated him. Ishii puts special emphasis on the creation of the game's world, while also being careful in avoiding set conventions. Although his influences are very wide and non-specific, he acknowledges Tove Jansson's ''Moomin'', Lewis Carroll's ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', and J.R.R. Tolkien's ''Lord of the Rings'' as some of his literary influences.[3]
The games of the series generally have no explicit chronological order apart from their release dates. According to Koichi Ishii, the games do not exactly take place in the same world; the connections between each title are more abstract than story-based, and characters or elements who appear in different titles are best considered alternate versions of each other, linked only on the karmic level.3 Nevertheless, some titles of the ''World of Mana'' series do share direct connections with other installments.[4]
Games
Classic series
The logo of ''Secret of Mana''.
''Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden'', known as ''Final Fantasy Adventure'' in North America and ''Mystic Quest'' in Europe, is an action role-playing game released by Square in 1991 for the Game Boy. Drawing many stylistic influences from the ''Final Fantasy'' series, it differed from it in that it presented real-time, action-oriented battles comparable to ''The Legend of Zelda'', rather than traditional turn-based battles.[5]
''Secret of Mana'', known in Japan as ''Seiken Densetsu 2'', was released by Square in 1993 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Originally planned for the SNES CD-ROM add-on in development by Nintendo and Sony, the game ended up being altered to fit on a standard cartridge when the add-on project was dropped by Nintendo.30 The game introduced the Ring Command menu system, which enabled prompt access to features such as items or magic spells.27 In 2003, the game ranked 78th in IGN's yearly "Top 100 Game of All Time".[6]
''Seiken Densetsu 3'' was released by Square for the Super Famicom in 1995. ''Seiken Densetsu 3'' introduced a degree of nonlinearity to the series, allowing players to choose at the beginning of the game a party of three members out of a total of six characters. Distinct encounters and endings can be seen depending on the characters selected.[7] It was never released outside of Japan, although an English language fan translation was released by Neill Corlett in 2000.[8]
''Legend of Mana'', known in Japan as ''Seiken Densetsu: Legend of Mana'', was released by Square in 2000 for the PlayStation. It features a slightly different gameplay than its predecessors. The locations of the game's world are represented on a map by artifacts placed by the player, with different artifact placements allowing him or her to obtain different items. The game features temporary sidekick characters that the player can recruit, breed or build, as well as a weapon and armor creation and tempering system.[9] It has never been released in Europe. It was re-released in Japan in 2006 as a Square Enix Ultimate Hits.[10]
''Sword of Mana'', known in Japan as ''Shin'yaku Seiken Densetsu'', is a full remake of ''Final Fantasy Adventure'' developed by Brownie Brown and released in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance. The features of the original game have been reworked to be brought more in line with the direction the ''Mana'' series had taken with the later games.[11]
''World of Mana''
The logo of the ''World of Mana'' series.
''Children of Mana'', known in Japan as ''Seiken Densetsu DS: Children of Mana'', is a dungeon crawler which was developed by Nex Entertainment and released in 2006-2007 for the Nintendo DS. ''Dawn of Mana'', known in Japan as ''Seiken Densetsu 4'', is a 3D action-adventure game released by Square Enix in 2006-2007 for the PlayStation 2. In the ''Mana'' series in-universe timeline, ''Dawn of Mana'' is set at the very beginning, while ''Children of Mana'' takes place ten years later.[12] ''Heroes of Mana'', known in Japan as ''Seiken Densetsu: Heroes of Mana'', is a tactical role-playing game developed by Brownie Brown and released in 2007 for the Nintendo DS. It is a prequel to ''Seiken Densetsu 3''.42
The ''World of Mana'' series also comprises two Japan-exclusive mobile phone games released in 2006. The first is an enhanced port of ''Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden'', which features an art style closer to the original game than that of ''Sword of Mana''.[13] The second one, ''Seiken Densetsu: Friends of Mana'', is a multiplayer role-playing game released on 18 October, 2006, and is set in a fictional world called Mi'Diel.[14]
Audio
The musical score for ''Final Fantasy Adventure'' was composed by Kenji Ito and was his second original score.[15] Ito usually bases his music on the game images and has no particular outside influence.[16]
The scores for ''Secret of Mana'' and ''Seiken Densetsu 3'' were composed by Hiroki Kikuta. Despite difficulties in dealing with the hardware limitations, Kikuta tried with ''Secret of Mana'' to express in music two "contrasting styles", namely himself and the game, to create an original score which would be neither pop music nor standard game music.[17] Kikuta worked on the music of the two games alone, spending almost 24 hours a day in the office, alternating between composing and editing to create an immersive three-dimensional sound.[18] Kikuta considers the score for ''Secret of Mana'' his favorite creation.[19] His compositions for ''Secret of Mana'' and ''Seiken Densetsu 3'' were partly inspired by natural landscapes.[20] In 1995, Kikuta released an experimental album of arranged music from the two installments, titled ''Secret of Mana +'', which features a unique track long of 50 minutes.[21]
The score for ''Legend of Mana'' was composed by Yoko Shimomura and is considered by her as the one which best expresses herself.[22] Kenji Ito returned to the series with ''Sword of Mana''. He also composed roughly one third of the ''Children of Mana'' soundtrack, while the rest was composed by Masaharu Iwata and Takayuki Aihara. Ito was the main composer for ''Dawn of Mana'', assisted by Tsuyoshi Sekito, Masayoshi Soken, and Junya Nakano, as well as main theme composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.15 In North America, purchasers of ''Dawn of Mana'' from participating retailers were offered a sampler disc, titled ''Breath of Mana'', which features a selection of tracks from the game.[23] Yoko Shimomura returned to the series with ''Heroes of Mana''.[24]
Common elements
The ''Mana'' series' Ring Command menu (from ''Seiken Densetsu 3'').
A common element of the series is the seamless, real-time battle system developed by Koichi Ishii and improved upon by Hiromichi Tanaka as a desire to create a different system than the one featured in the first ''Final Fantasy'' titles.[25] While action-based, the ''Mana'' battle system is intended to be playable even by people who are not good at action games.[26] The system is coupled with the distinctive hierarchical "Ring Command" menu system, featured prominently in ''Secret of Mana'' and ''Seiken Densetsu 3'', and to a lesser extent in later installments. Each ring is a set of icons with a textual infobox explanation which, upon selection, allow the player to use an item, or cast a spell, look up game statistics, or change game settings. Navigation within a menu is achieved by rotating the ring through the cursor left or right, while switching do a different menu is achieved by pressing the up or down buttons.[27][28] Although not part of the series, the spin-off ''Secret of Evermore'' developed by Square USA was also built upon the Ring Command system.[29]
The ''Mana'' series features several recurring characters and beings, including ''Final Fantasy'' creatures such as Chocobos in ''Final Fantasy Adventure'' and ''Legend of Mana'',[30][31] as well as Moogles in ''Secret of Mana'' and as a status ailment in ''Seiken Densetsu 3'' and ''Sword of Mana''.[31][28][34] Watts is a dwarf blacksmith wearing a horned helmet who upgrades the player's weaponry.[35] Usually, an anthropomorphic peddler allows saving the game outside of towns, and sells their wares at high prices. This role is played by Neko the Cat in ''Secret of Mana'', and Niccolo the Rabbit in ''Legend of Mana'' and ''Sword of Mana''.[31][37][38]
Mana Tree and Sword
The 'Mana Tree' and the 'Mana Sword' (which is called Excalibur in ''Final Fantasy Adventure''
''Final Fantasy Adventure'' explains that if the Mana Tree dies, a member of the Mana Family will become the "seed" of a new Tree. A sprout of the Mana Tree is called a Gemma, while protectors of the Tree, who wield the Mana Sword, are called Gemma Knights.[40][31] In ''Seiken Densetsu 3'', a Goddess is said to have turned into the Mana Tree after creating the world with the Mana Sword.[42][31] The Mana Tree is destroyed near the game ending in ''Final Fantasy Adventure'' and ''Secret of Mana'', but a character becomes the new Mana Tree in the former game.40[31]
Elemental Spirits
The Faerie of ''Seiken Densetsu 3'' surrounded by spirits of the eight types.
'Elemental Spirits', also called Mana Spirits, are beings who govern the magic elements of the series' world, and are at the core of the games' magic system.[45] Eight types of spirits appear in the series since ''Secret of Mana'', and each embodies a different element. Their names are homonyms of mythological beings or phenomena.[46]
The spirits are used as means of reference as to casting magic spells. In ''Secret of Mana'' and ''Seiken Densetsu 3'', usage of their power is enabled upon the main characters' meeting with them.[46][28] In ''Legend of Mana'', the spirits serve as factors in the Land Creation System.[49] In ''Legend of Mana'' and ''Sword of Mana'', multiple spirits of the same elemental type appear.49[34]
In terms of storyline, in ''Seiken Densetsu 3'', the spirits are charged to protect the Mana Stones in which the Mana Goddess sealed eight elemental God Beasts.42[31] In the "World History" encyclopedia featured in ''Legend of Mana'', the spirits are said to have been created by the light of the Mana Goddess' Moon Gods.[31] In ''Dawn of Mana''
Rabites
A typical Rabite (from ''Children of Mana'').
'Rabites', known as in the Japanese versions of the games, are fictional, rabbit-like creatures appearing as a common enemy in the series since its beginning. The Rabite has become a sort of mascot for the ''Mana'' series, much the same way as the Chocobo represents ''Final Fantasy'', and is one of its most recognizable icons.[54]
The Rabite resembles a bodiless, one-toothed rabbit with large ears that curve upward and form a point at the tip, and a round, puffy pink tail. Rabites move by hopping along the ground. The most often seen variety of Rabites is the yellow, weakest one. Several other varieties exist, each being different from the others in terms of strength and abilities. A pink variety appears in ''Secret of Mana'' and as the Rabilion in ''Seiken Densetsu 3''.[55][56] The latter game also features a lilac variety called King Rabi, and a green variety called Great Rabi.56 In ''Seiken Densetsu 3'', the Black Rabi is a hidden optional superboss, the most powerful enemy in the game.[57]
''Legend of Mana'' features white Rabites simply called "Rabites", although yellow ones are some of the pets that the player can raise and use as a battle partner.[58] Non-enemy Rabites have also appeared in '', ''Heroes of Mana'', and with the pet Buju in ''Dawn of Mana''.[14][60][61]
Rabites are also mentioned in ''Final Fantasy X-2'' with an accessory comically named "Rabite's Foot", which increases a character's luck statistic.[62] Rabites have appeared prevalently in several pieces of ''Mana'' merchandise, including plush dolls, cushions, lighters, mousepads, straps, telephone cards, and T-shirts.[63]
Flammie
Characters riding atop Flammie (from ''Seiken Densetsu 3'').
'Flammie' (sometimes spelled Flammy) is a the name of a fictional species of flying dragons, as well as the proper name of some its members, featured in several games of the series. A Flammie's appearance is a mixture of draconian, mammalian, and reptilian features. Flammies have a body covered in fine fur, with twin pairs of large, feathery wings extending from their upper back, and with a scaly, ribbed underside. They possess a tuft of thick hair at the top of their heads, a pair of long ears, and a beak-like mouth with two large fangs near the back. Their hind legs are larger and thicker than their front, and have four small fleshy pads at the bottom.
Flammie typically serves as a mean of transporting the player's characters on its back to the different locations of the games' world. Once obtained in the storyline, Flammie can be summoned at any time with a particular drum item. In ''Secret of Mana'' and ''Seiken Densetsu 3'', the Super Nintendo's Mode 7 graphic capabilities allows the player to control Flammie from either a "behind the back" third-person or top-down perspective, and fly over the landscape as it scrolls beneath them.[64][28] In ''Children of Mana'', the player selects on a world map a number of destinations he or she wishes to fly to with Flammie.[66]
''Secret of Mana'' suggests that Flammies are related to colored, more aggressive flying creatures called Mana Beasts, or in Japanese; one of these creatures serve as the game's final boss.[31] Eight elemental God Beasts also appear in ''Seiken Densetsu 3'', although their appearances differ from Flammies.
Flammies are absent but mentioned in ''Legend of Mana'' in the game's "World History" feature. The Flammies are described as "beautiful yet powerful beasts" created by the Moon Gods. While the Flammies featured within the games of the series are depicted as off-white or yellow, ''Legend of Mana'' indicates that Fa'Diel was once populated with Flammies of six different colors, a new one being born each time a Moon God went to sleep.[31] After a series of quarrels between the gods' other creatures and the Flammies themselves, the gods divided crystallized portions of energy from the Mana tree and gave it to six Flammies, who scattered their power across the world, becoming a "flying river of Mana" and disappearing altogether.[31]
Manga and novels
The ''Princess of Mana'' front page, depicting the male protagonist
A 5-volume manga based on ''Legend of Mana'' was drawn by Shiro Amano and published in Japan by Enterbrain between 2000 and 2002.[70] It features a comedic story about the game's main character, here named Toto. A German version was published by Egmont Manga & Anime in 2003.[71] A collection of 4-panel comic strips, drawn by various authors and titled ''Sword of Mana Yonkoma Manga Theatre'', was published in Japan by Square Enix on 16 January, 2004. It included a questionnaire that if sent back could allow participants to win illustrations signed by Koichi Ishii and Shinichi Kameoka, as well as special T-shirts.[72] Enterbrain also published a ''Sword of Mana'' manga adaptation in Japan on 25 February, 2004, drawn by a collaboration of authors led by Shiro Amano.[73] Two days later, Square Enix published a 2-volume novelization of ''Sword of Mana'' in Japan written by Matsui Oohama.72
An original manga, named '''Seiken Densetsu: Princess of Mana''', was drawn by Satsuki Yoshino and published in the Japanese magazine ''Gangan Powered'' on 22 February, 2007.[74][75]
References
1. Elusions: Final Fantasy IV / Seiken Densetsu Chris Collette
2. Interview Children of Mana Antoine Morcos
3. Children of Mana Interview RPGamer staff
4. Heroes of Mana Preview Jeremy Parish
5. Final Fantasy Adventure Review Dexter Sy
6. IGN's Top 100 Games of All Time IGN staff
7. Reviews: Seiken Densetsu 3
8. Let Me Play: Stories of Gaming and Emulation, Radford Castro, , , Hats Off Books, 2004,
9. Legend of Mana Full Review Andrew Vestal
10. Square Enix Adds 16 to Ultimate Hits Series Chris Winkler
11. Sword of Mana Review Craig Harris
12. Mana a Mana Tom Bramwell
13. Manavolution: the original Seiken Densetsu characters over time Spencer
14. 聖剣伝説 Friends of Mana
15. News CocoeBiz staff
16. Interview with CocoeBiz in December 2004 Kahori Ezaki
17. ''Seiken Densetsu 2 Original Sound Version'' (liner notes), Hiroki Kikuta, , , NTT Publishing, , PSCN-5030
18. Where Angels Fear to Tread: A Conversation with Hiroki Kikuta Jeriaska
19. Interview with Hiroki Kikuta RocketBaby staff
20. Interview with Hiroki Kikuta Daniel Kalabakov
21. RPGFan Soundtracks - Secret of Mana+ Daniel Kalabakov
22. RocketBaby's Interview with Yoko Shimomura RocketBaby staff
23. The Breath of Dawn on a New Hero of Mana Jody Blair
24. Square Enix Unveils Final Fantasy XII Sequel, Three More Games Bryan Boulette
25. Square Enix on Nintendo DS, Wii, Online, Final Fantasy & More (Full Transcript) Adam Riley
26. Hiromichi Tanaka - Final Fantasy III Thomas Nickel
27. Secret of Mana Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Soft, , SNS-K2-USA
28. Seiken Densetsu 3 Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Co., , SHVC-A3DJ-JPN
29. Secret of Evermore Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Soft, , U/SNS-AEOE-USA
30. Classics Column #1: Desperately Seeking Seiken Jeremy Parish
31.
32.
33. Seiken Densetsu 3 Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Co., , SHVC-A3DJ-JPN
34. Sword of Mana Instruction Booklet, , , , Nintendo, , AGB-AVSE-USA
35. Legend of Mana Review IGN staff
36.
37. Legend of Mana Owner's Manual, , , , Square Electronic Arts, , SLUS-01013
38. Sword of Mana - in shops tomorrow Nintendo staff
39. Review - Children of Mana (Nintendo DS) Justin Fassino
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45. A New Era Dawns for Mana Majed Athab
46. Secret of Mana Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Soft, , SNS-K2-USA
47. Secret of Mana Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Soft, , SNS-K2-USA
48. Seiken Densetsu 3 Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Co., , SHVC-A3DJ-JPN
49. Legend of Mana Owner's Manual, , , , Square Electronic Arts, , SLUS-01013
50. Sword of Mana Instruction Booklet, , , , Nintendo, , AGB-AVSE-USA
51.
52.
53. RPGFan Reviews - Dawn of Mana Dennis Rubinshteyn
54. Preview: Dawn of Mana Jeremy Parish
55. Le Guide Officiel Nintendo "Secret of Mana", , , , Nintendo, , SNSP-K2-FRA/SFRA
56.
57. Seiken Densetsu 3 / Secret of Mana 2 Review Adam Riley
58. Legend of Mana Strategy Guide Sean Kepper
59. 聖剣伝説 Friends of Mana
60. Heroes of Mana Preview Justin Leeper
61. Dawn of Mana Review for PlayStation 2 Chris Laramie
62. Final Fantasy X-2 Game Guide Damir Kolar
63. Legend of Mana Products
64. Secret of Mana Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Soft, , SNS-K2-USA
65. Seiken Densetsu 3 Instruction Booklet, , , , Square Co., , SHVC-A3DJ-JPN
66. The World of Mana
67.
68.
69.
70. Search results for Shiro Amano
71. Egmont Ehapa - Newsletter Nr. 22 vom 18.03.2003
72. 新約 聖剣伝説
73. Shinyaku Seiken Densetsu Anthology Comic
74. ガンガンパワード新登場！！
75. SQUARE ENIX - 製品ラインナップ
External links
★ Official ''World of Mana'' website
★ the Seikens: fansite with information on the games, soundtracks, and bestiary
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