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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. CREATION AND INFLUENCES Square trademarked the title ''Seiken Densetsu: The Emergence of Excalibur'' in ''.1 In as '' Final Fantasy Adventure '' and in Europe as ''Mystic Quest''). 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 Genre s 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. Nevertheless, some titles of the ''World of Mana'' series do share direct connections with other installments.4 GAMES Classic series ''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. The game introduced the Ring Command menu system, which enabled prompt access to features such as items or Magic Spells . 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 ''. 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'' '' developed by Brownie Brown and released in 2007 for the Nintendo DS . It is a prequel to ''Seiken Densetsu 3''. The ''World of Mana'' series also comprises two Japan-exclusive 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 . 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 '').]] 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.2728 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 Chocobo s in '' Final Fantasy Adventure '' and '' Legend Of Mana '',3031 as well as Moogle s in ''Secret of Mana'' and as a status ailment in ''Seiken Densetsu 3'' and '' Sword Of Mana ''.323334 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''.363738 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.4041 In '' Seiken Densetsu 3 '', a Goddess is said to have turned into the Mana Tree after creating the world with the Mana Sword.4243 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.44 Elemental Spirits '' 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.4748 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.50 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.51 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.52 In '' Dawn Of Mana '' Rabites '').]] 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 |
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