The idea behind the TouchArcade Game of the Week is that every Friday afternoon we post the one game that came out this week that we think is worth giving a special nod to. Now, before anyone goes over-thinking this, it doesn’t necessarily mean our Game of the Week pick is the highest scoring game in a review, the game with the best graphics, or really any other quantifiable “best" thing. Instead, it’s more just us picking out the single game out of the week’s releases that we think is the most noteworthy, surprising, interesting, or really any other hard to describe quality that makes it worth having if you were just going to pick up one.
These picks might be controversial, and that’s OK. If you disagree with what we’ve chosen, let’s try to use the comments of these articles to have conversations about what game is your game of the week and why.
Without further ado…
Adventures of Mana
I’m not a huge RPG person, but occasionally I’ll come across one that really sinks its teeth into me and I end up enjoying and playing obsessively through to the end. I wasn’t among those who played any of the Final Fantasy games back in the day, but I have enjoyed them later in my life as most of them have been rereleased on iOS, usually in enhanced versions. I’ve especially loved the 3D remakes of Final Fantasy 3 and 4. Anyway, all this is to say that the impending release of Adventures of Mana ($13.99), a modern remake of the 1991 Game Boy title Final Fantasy Adventure, wasn’t something I was all that excited about. Well, consider the teeth of Adventures of Mana good and sunk into my skin as much to my surprise and delight I’ve been loving every bit of this one since its release.
First thing to note: This is a remake of a 25-year old game, and it shows. Don’t expect any tutorials or much guidance, and chances are pretty good you’ll get your rear end handed to you in the blink of an eye and can even get into situations where you’re screwed and can’t continue on. You can (and should) save anywhere as often as you like, though, which is a much-needed addition over the Game Boy original. However, if you’re more used to modern RPGs this one might prove frustrating at times. Thankfully this FAQ of the original Game Boy game still holds true with the remake, so bookmark that sucker and use it only if you’re TRULY stuck. (Things are always more satisfying when you figure them out on your own, you know?)
With that out of the way, the updated visuals in Adventures of Mana are fantastic. If you aren’t a fan of Square Enix’s 3D graphics, well, you probably won’t enjoy them as much as I am. I’m the type that typically prefers pixel art and sprites over 3D polygons, but for whatever reason I really like the 3D in Square Enix’s games. It’s sharp, colorful, and full of character. The monsters especially have really interesting looks and personalities. The animation also seems especially smooth compared to previous 3D Final Fantasy games.
The other big thing I love in Adventures of Mana is its real-time combat. I’ve never really loved turn-based combat, and always preferred just smashing away at a button to handle bad guys without any lengthy transitions or messy menus to deal with. Despite the Final Fantasy label on the original Game Boy game, this was actually the first game in the Mana series, which most people know from the beloved classic Secret of Mana on the SNES, which is the second game in the series. Because of that it “feels" more like Secret of Mana or even early Zelda titles rather than a Final Fantasy game, though there’s plenty of recognizable stuff here from the Final Fantasy universe.
Finally, it’s worth noting that Final Fantasy Adventure has had quite a confusing time over the past couple of decades. The original Game Boy version was named Seiken Densetsu in Japan, in Europe it was called Mystic Quest, and in North America it went by Final Fantasy Adventure. In 2003, a remake was released for the Game Boy Advance called Sword of Mana. However, that version featured many changes to the core gameplay, the storyline, and the characters of the original, and overall isn’t highly regarded by fans. This game Adventures of Mana is NOT based on Sword of Mana, it is more or less a reskinned version of the original Game Boy game, and according to our resident RPG expert Shaun, that’s a good thing as this is a much more streamlined experience.
As long as you know what you’re in for, Adventures of Mana is a truly wonderful remake of a classic RPG. You’ll get lost often, you’ll die a lot, you’ll run out of items you need. This game is unforgiving, but so were most games back then and part of the fun is figuring out what to do, whether that’s by trial and error or by consulting a guide or asking a friend. I’m very excited this game has come to iOS as otherwise I probably never would have played it, and in another solid week of releases I have no hesitation giving Adventures of Mana our nod for Game of the Week.
I haven't even finished FFVI, when will I finish FFVII and FFIX? D:
I'm such a collector who doesn't play his games... u.u
Well... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Same
Same here, chaps! I just gotta buy em day one, but I never have time to play em! Oh well, at least they're there for a rainy day ;0)
Join the club. Except I haven't even started FFVI yet... It's next on the list, once I've wrapped up Crashlands. Or FF Tactics...
Sums it up nicely.
I love those icons on my device's screen.
Oh snap Jared, this game is awesome. Thanks for the heads up. It literally feels like exactly a mashup of those games.
This game looks a lot like Forget-Me-Not by nyarlu. Spot on call with the Last Rocket mechanic. Tomb of the Mask is p great!!!
Ah Forget-Me-Not. Best iOS game ever period!
Was thinking the exact same thing!
Very cool
wow, such zx-spektrum, deep retro feelings - I like it just from looking at the screenshots. Instadownload. I will watch adds till I drop, in order to support you :P The visual style is a remedy for my inner gaming kid, I grew up with zx-spektrum and it's still magic for me.
Played the game a bit more, it could be a masterpiece, but unfortunately the experience is partially ruined by this Crossy Road-esque free to play model, the main issue is that starting from the beginning every time feels very tedious very soon, although levels are procedurally generated, the difficulty curve and content starts from the beginning - this fact totally ruins the feel of progression, which is one of the biggest drivers in games. I would rather buy a premium game with this feature or you guys can add a reasonably priced IAP which allows you to continue, where you left off. Some games just don't work well with f2p design patterns.
Yup the fast difficulty ruins it for me. Would rather it be a premium paid product with save points.
yeah, the game should have been a level based progression game, where you have this gotcha experience - yesss, I finally beat this level
Well I can't stop playing this so that's a great sign! I have to respectfully disagree with some of the above comments, there is a sense of progression as the FTP model is very fair with achieving upgrades and masks. Also doesn't Downwell start you at the beginning every time, what's the difference? I love the gameplay in this, fast and frantic and you can get some great runs in with the intuitive control, it's fun and free, give the devs a break!
I don't have anything against F2P, on the contrary I think that F2P is the only way to go for mobile games, if you want to achieve financial success. And I really enjoy this game - it should be F2P, but without this shallow Crossy Road f2p model.
If this game would be with the level based progression, it would perform way better and would be way more fun and interesting, nothing can compare wit the hand crafted level mixed with some randomness, I would say randomness to design ratio should be 50/50. It's basically what King did to bejeweled, creating Candy Crush saga, they just added level based progression and some small twists.
Also this "continue" thing does not work in this game, because it does not matter if you continue or not, anyways you will start from the beginning after failing again... and you have to go through same randomized stuff again. Level based progression will solve this and continue functionality will make more sense.
I would also make this game turn based and more puzzly, currently it's all about fast thinking, which is fun, but with turn based approach the game will get more accessible.
Double tap to activate shield is not a good idea, usually while playing you don't have time to think about double taps, which makes shield pretty much useless. It should be pre-equipped and activated automatically.