a decently fun game that i felt like was worth playing, but i might have set my expectations a little too high for. the combat is pretty basic but i liked it, i just wish some things like leveling magic and weapons didnt take so long or the hit detection was a little better, it felt like shit to charge up an attack for so long just for it to whiff so many times. the game does give you some options with how you wanna play it with the ability for any character to use any weapon, the charge attacks that you get with each weapon level up, and the sheer number of spells two of your party members can use, so even though it is a pretty basic feeling game there's a lot you can experiment with. the story was pretty light in this game, honestly a lot lighter than i was hoping it would be, but it was still ok, nothing spectacular but still a safe, decent story. also i dont really know how to categorize this but something i would notice every time before like most boss fights was the fade to black then them putting you in a boss arena, this shit bugged me so bad because the transition was so terrible, rarely would there ever be any dialogue or anything before these moments it just transports you in and you gotta get in there and start fighting. this might just be a weird nitpick but it just looked so bad every time and it felt like they just didn't know how to introduce some of this game's bosses which made some of them feel like they just kinda exist and dont really have much purpose until you find out why they're there after the battle.

two of the things the game does really well though are the world and the music. i remember when i first started playing it really did feel like i was going on a grand adventure with so many questions about what was in store. i do think some of the game's settings do get a little bit stale when most of the palaces look very similar or the same with palette swaps, but overall i still liked the vibes this game's world gave me while moving through the story. the music was also fantastic and definitely elevated the game's world and the vibes of this game, during my playthrough when i wasnt playing i would be thinking about some of these songs and theyd get stuck in my head, and honestly im probably still gonna be thinking about some of these tracks.

overall even though i do have some issues with the story and combat of the game this did get me interested in the mana series and i really would like to come back and play more of these games because i think there is something here with this game's formula, it just didn't feel quite fully realized here and i bet future games that i've heard get a lot of praise fulfill what this game couldn't

super cool party game with a lot of character. all of the playable characters have unique little death animations that i really like, and there's unlockable costumes and characters that encourage playing more. the game plays super well and is simple but can really let you do some crazy stuff with it's power ups and little nuances to the combat. it's super neat that you can make builds with the power ups the game gives you and that they carry over between rounds, and they're definitely one of the big parts that make the fun of the game. at the same time a couple of the powerups can sometimes be a little overtuned. it wouldn't be an issue if the game made everyone else as overpowered in the game when you're playing, but sometimes you'll pick up 4 powerups in a row and it'll be the shitty powerdown that makes your controls reversed for a few seconds and you'll have no powerups for the whole game. that's really my only issue though, it's a great time if you can get a group together and it's especially good if you can take advantage of the fact this game allows for 6 player coop. the game is truly most chaotic st this level but in general it's easy enough to pick up and play that anyone can jump in and have fun

super solid platformer with a lot of unique levels that make it feel like a good portion of the levels are their own fleshed out concepts. i feel like that cant really be said for every level though, some just end up feeling a little bland and dont feel like they add a whole lot to the game which makes it feel like it overstays its welcome at times. the boss battles could also be a lot more difficult. while the platforming side of things feels like it can have a really fun level of challenge to it, i cant think of a single boss that really gave me any trouble and instead it feels a little bit like they trade difficulty for spectacle with the bosses. the spectacle side of things can come to this game's aid though because of how stylistic it is with stuff like the artstyle and the music and even the use of the super fx chip, theres just a lot to love about this game's presentation. overall, loved it, can fall flat and doesnt stand out at a select few moments, but it ultimately captured me and im glad after picking this game and putting it down at level 1 multiple times i managed to sit through it and beat it

i remember when this game first was announced i didnt care about it at all but i realized i owned like 3 games on switch and this was the next big release so i got it and actually found it to be pretty fun, and i will say the game's overall style and character designs are pretty solid overall. then i played this games ranked mode and stopped having fun. this isnt on some scrubquotes shit but at a point you pretty much had to play on stick or else you were just throwing. the cool gimmick of playing with two joycons was essentially a debuff. i think from the point onward playing the game with stick, the level of fun just depreciated and i stopped liking the game because the arms shit got too serious and it was never meant to be played that way and it just made the game boring. not even the content updates with new chatacters could bring me back. also i remember single player content just being arcade mode stories for each character and after that was done all you had was playing online. i cant remember if there was actually more to it than that but thats just how i remember it since i ended up trading this game with a friend for his copy of wonderful 101 in like 2018. i still havent even played wonderful 101 yet but i feel like i made a good trade