New Child of Mana DS details

[Cain Highwind]

Courtesy of 1up

In the latest issue of Famitsu, Children of Mana, the newest entry in the Mana series for DS, got full blow-out coverage. So here's a summary of what they were talking about:

The story of Children of Mana takes place on the island of Elujar. Long ago there was a major disaster and a boy, a girl, a holy sword, and the great tree of the island played the main role in saving the world. Now many years later, the boy and girl are gone, but the tree and sword, which have now taken up the titles of Mana Tree and Mana Sword, still remain. Beneath the tree lies a small village, a gathering of people who love the Mana Tree and want to rebuild the world along with its powers. This tale is a story of three children living beneath that tree and their encounters with a Mana Goddess and the Mana Sword.

Frick is the first of these children. A young swordsman of the village, he was saved by a nameless knight when he was little and has decided to train in sword skills and be like the one who helped him long ago. Pop is a very young-looking fighter who weilds a flail. He hates being called 'young' and is headstrong, moving along at his own pace, while being scared of nothing. Lastly, Tumble is a female archer who loves to sing and dance.

Now as for the gameplay, each character will be able to do unique actions with his or her weapon. As Frick, you'll be able to block incoming attacks with a special guard ability and also be able to cut grass Zelda-style in order to get items. Pop's flail, though slow, has a large attack range and can swing out like a boomerang to grab long distance items. The flail is also useful for destroying walls to open up new paths. As Tumble, you'll be able to stun enemies from a long range with her arrows. New to the series is a Fever Gauge that builds up as you attack enemies. When it's full you can unleash a super attack that's unique for each weapon.

The development team promises a title with 25-30 hours of gameplay plus side-quests to keep you playing longer. Similarly to the recent DS Castlevania title, Children of Mana will also feature a high budget anime opening sequence by acclaimed studio Production IG. All in all, it seems like one of Square Enix's biggest DS titles should also be one of its best.

Jeux France has the Famitsu scans:
http://www.jeux-france.com/news12858...d-la-pose.html