Full Story (Spoilers)

     The overall essence of the game’s storyline has more in common with Zelda-like games than the usual storylines found in Final Fantasy. The storyline in FFA is not your usual melodramatic storyline; instead it seems to be more similar to the typical adventure-like storyline found in the Zelda games. In the game itself, you take on the role of a young gladiator who escapes from his captors and roams the land in search of his identity and overall destiny, in the end. The game is merely set up like one big adventure, learning from past mistakes and there are a lot of puzzles to get through as the adventure wears on. The tree of Mana, sits on top of the clouds at Mount Illusia and a legend foretells that this tree is to give great power to whoever touches it. Some time ago, the evil Vandole tried to harness this power for his evil intentions but unfortunately for him, the guardians of the Mana tree, the Gemma knights were able to abolish Vandole and his evil forces. Now, a new empire is intent on getting the power that the Mana tree possesses and seeks to rule the world with it. Thus, it is up to the hero of the story to set out on a quest to protect the Mana tree and protect the world, as well as vanquishing the evil that seeks to destroy the world. Along the way, he’ll meet up with some unique allies and loyal friends as well as new enemies.

Analysis/Ratings
 -Graphics
 -Gameplay
 -Storyline
 -Sound
 -Fun Factor
 -Overall
 -Ratings

Graphics

Gameplay

     Like what I had said before, the gameplay is much different from what you would expect from any other RPG game. The elements seem to have more in common with Zelda rather than Final Fantasy. It still retains various FF elements so it’s not all like Zelda. The equipment class is far more complex than what you would find in any Zelda game in which players can upgrade their helmets, shields and body armor from bronze to silver and vice versa. There is a large total amount of weapons found in the game as well as useable items. Some weapons have practical uses in the game, aside from defeating monsters and the like, such as using axes to chop down trees that obstruct your path and whips can carry your character across pits and other places. Unfortunately, the game really was an experimental game as it tried to be a hybrid of both the traditional RPG games as well as the action-RPG genre, in which there are some obvious flaws. The game does not have a very smooth flow between the two elements and that perhaps is the biggest problem with the game. Using the menu to equip a different item or weapon interrupts the game needlessly and it is very excessive and tiresome. Just too awkward and too much repeated button-pressing for the system to be extremely effective. The concept is nice, though only if done correctly. There are very few save points in between, so the game could be frustrating for some, especially if you die.

Storyline

     A fairly simple storyline, yet with enough twists and turns going on to keep you interested. But the storyline is not the game’s strongest point, nevertheless, it gets the job done right and it is engaging enough for the casual gamer, let alone the Zelda or RPG buff. The development may lack but this is an old Game Boy title so you can’t expect that much from it. It has its adventurous roots but at the same time, the main character has to fight his way to stop the evil from spreading across the world and stop the evil within. The formula has been done before, but FFA adds a nice twist to it as the game itself plays more like an action-RPG and traditional RPG hybrid.

Sound

     Pretty climatic and atmospheric score. There isn’t that much wrong with it in general. Even with the limitations of the speakers, the music is very well done and impressive. While not really the usual RPG fare as this game concentrates more on music tracks that conveys feelings of emotion, such as whether it is the feeling of relaxation, grandness or fear, the music itself is a nice change from other games and the feeling is very Mana-like. There are some similar references in the tracks from this game in comparison to the Secret of Mana, which is a nice thing to have, especially for fans of the SOM games.

Fun Factor

     Quite fun to play, much to one’s surprise. If you can get by the tedious process of getting used to the equipping system and such, then the game can be extremely enjoyable. If you loved action-RPGs like Zelda, yet you also want your usual fix of some of the traditional RPG essentials, then this game is a nice game to have if you own a Game Boy. With very nice graphics and a lot of variety within the weapons and items themselves, you can’t ask for too much more to add in this game.

 

Overall

     Probably one of Square’s best Game Boy efforts to date. From the awesome graphics to the interesting formula of having the best of both the action-RPG genre and the traditional RPG elements found in this game, it seems that Square has put together a very fun and solid title. There is always the thrill of an adventure at almost every turn in the game and indeed, there are some great puzzles to be found in this title and the musical score is pretty nice. While the storyline may not be deep enough to satisfy most of the hardcore RPG fans, action/RPGs do translate very well on handheld consoles and the game itself is a nice change of pace either way. A fun and lighthearted game which is actually a pretty decent action-RPG and regular RPG hybrid to say the least. This title kind of exceeded my expectations as I wasn’t expecting that much to begin with.

Ratings (Compare w/ other games)

GRAPHICS:	9.5/10	9.5	With very nice shading and impressive backgrounds to boot, FFA happens to be one of the best-looking GB games of it’s time. Easy on the eyes and the details in the backgrounds and dungeons are pretty nice. There isn’t much more you could want, considering this is a Game Boy game.
GAMEPLAY:	15/20	7.5	While the menu to equip different weapons and such seems to disrupt the flow of the overall game, if you can get by and bear with it, then the gameplay is indeed a real blessing. Especially if you love action-RPG games, yet this game gives us the best of both traditional RPGs and action-RPG games in terms of gameplay.
STORYLINE:	15/20	7.5	It is simple, yet efficient. This game is actually more of an adventure in terms of storyline than your usual traditional RPG game. While there could be more depth behind it, the game is fun and good enough not to warrant a very deep storyline. Though, it would be a great bonus if they did add more development behind the characters and stuff like that.
SOUND:	9/10	9	Different from your usual RPG game, the game itself has some tracks that really give a good sense of general emotion. Yet, even with the hardware limitations in terms of sound quality and such, the game is one of the better sounding GB titles to date. Fans of the SOM games will really like the score in FFA, as the tracks are very familiar sounding and are influenced by those games.
FUN FACTOR:	8.5/10	8.5	If you like action-RPG games, you will definitely want to pick this game up. The overall game is lighthearted and pretty damn fun to say the least. It may surprise a few people, especially those who have come in with low expectations from such a simple GB title. Nice variety of weapons and items to use within the quest itself. But even still, try the game out; it’s still quite a bit of fun, to say the least.
OVERALL:	57/70	8.1	Minus the lack of a deep storyline, the game is nearly perfect in every way. From the great graphics to the very atmospheric and nice musical score, the game only really suffers from the fact that it was an experimental game to showcase a hybrid between action-RPG and traditional RPGs. Other than the tedious switching between equipping stuff, the overall game is very nice.

Cell Phone Remake

     (not released yet)