A port of a Java game isn’t exactly the most enticing premise for an Android game. If you’ve ever tried gaming on an old Java based device, I’m sure it’s left a bad taste in your mouth. However over in China, Java games became significantly more advanced than in the west; Mana Chronicles is one of those games.
You take control of Leon as the only man who can save the world from the Inferno troops, I use the word man loosely as early into the game you gain the power to transform into one of a pair of cute female demons with the pretense of wanting to use their powers to aid in your fight. The game’s story, however, is really just a trivial diversion for a fast paced sideways scrolling hack ‘n’ slash. There’s no real depth to any of the levels, or extra paths to find and you’ll be spending the nine or so levels mostly holding right and hitting the attack button to build up large combos until all the creatures on the screen are dead. There’s little depth to the combat; besides the pair of demons you can become, there’s also a unique magical power for each of the swords. Using any of these abilities requires mana, which is regained by killing more creatures. Along with collecting swords, there’s also armor and accessories that can be equipped which boost your various stats. These stats are raised by leveling up, which is achieved once again by killing creatures. For a game that focuses solely on the combat, it is a shame that there’s not more depth to it. Entire screens can be wiped out simply by lining up your foes and then hitting attack until they’re defeated; bosses can provide more of a challenge, but their AI often seems to completely fail and they’ll just stand there while you slowly pound down their health.
Visually things look great but there have obviously been issues with porting from Java. These issues are most noticeable whenever there’s text on the screen. Besides the aliasing issues with the fonts, the graphics look like a well made Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis game. Areas are bright and colorful, foes look noticeably different from each other, and the animation as you go through your combos looks terrific. There are only three different area styles to see, but as the game is so short, it’s over before this starts to become an issue. The music suffers from the same issue, each area has it’s own great musical score, but it doesn’t even last a whole minute before it loops. Fortunately you’ll rarely be in a level for more than three minutes.
OH MY GOD! WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT MOON?!Â
Mana Chronicles does a lot of things right, even the onscreen directional pad is more than forgiving but with such a great core experience it’d be nice to see a little more depth to the combat. The game can be played all the way through in under an hour but without more variety, it could easily become repetitive beyond that, although you can go back through old levels and try to improve your rank or complete missions for more items. Anyone looking for a short and easy arcade style hack and slash to-go will find something to enjoy here, but if you’re looking for more of a challenge, then you’d be better off looking elsewhere.
When you’re ready, head over to the Android Market and download this game by clicking or scanning the QR Code below.
Summary and Downloads:
Game: Mana Chronicles
Developer: Spearhead Entertainment
Cost: Â $2.24
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Developer: ngmoco
Cost: $0.99
