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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.
Heroes of Mana
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 32 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 1 vote
Read user comments
Rate this game >
Game Info
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Brownie Brown
Genre(s): Real-Time Strategy
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older)
Release Date: August 14, 2007
Summary
Breathing new life into the vaunted Mana franchise, Heroes of Mana takes the series into an entirely new dimension. Generals plan, plot and strategize their way to victory on the battlefield. Command an army of heroes, creatures and beloved rabites with the use of the Nintendo DS Touch Screen, and experience an all-new perspective on the ever-evolving battle for the Mana Tree. Skilled players can see how they rank among other players around the world through the Nintendo Wi-Fi ranking system. [Square Enix]
Cheat Codes & Hints: GameFAQs
Also On The Web: Official Website
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Play Magazine
Heroes will go down as the game that got me into real-time strategy. [Aug 2007, p.72]
GameBrink
A fun new experience in the Mana series but sadly, bad AI and path finding really drags down the gameplay. [JPN Import]
Read Full Review >IGN
The presentation is great, the fully-animated sequences are simply beautiful, the music is captivating (not as much as something like Final Fantasy, but still pretty impressive), and for the most part the gameplay is intuitive and downright fun.
Read Full Review >Games Master UK
A great effort, only let down by some confusing battles and some clunky controls. [Oct 2007, p.70]
My Gamer
Only try it if you are a hardcore fan, or if you are willing to master an inefficient and frustrating control system.
Read Full Review >NGamer UK
A frustratingly slow pace and the sad realisation that a humdinger of a plot is zooming over our heads are the only problems here. Otherwise one of the best RTS games on DS. [JPN Import; June 2007, p.54]
1UP
Hardcore RTS fans probably won't enjoy Heroes of Mana's simplified design. And fans of more traditional RPGs probably won't appreciate its chaotic, large-scale engagements, either. Taken for what it is, though, Heroes is an enjoyable little excursion.
Read Full Review >GameShark
A surprisingly deep RTS experience in a portable format, with easy to learn controls and lovely visuals. I can’t help wishing it had been turned-based, though.
Read Full Review >NintendoWorldReport
To have this style of game on a handheld like the DS is unexplored territory and is quite remarkable. However, those looking for an RPG are left out in the dark.
Read Full Review >Cheat Code Central
The game has an excellent storyline, spanning a lengthy quest set in the Mana realm, and up to 40 bonus maps can be unlocked.
Read Full Review >GameZone
Heroes of Mana shows that it is possible to have an RTS game work on the Nintendo DS and remain fun. The main problem with this game is the dumb AI and very slow-paced gameplay.
Read Full Review >GameTap
Heroes of Mana could conceivably have the best RTS controls yet on a non-PC RTS game.
Read Full Review >Official Nintendo Magazine UK
Too convoluted and generally annoying to be any real fun - it's a competent effort, but there are genuinely better attempts at the genre on the way if you can wait. [Nov 2007, p.89]
Gaming Nexus
There are a lot of good things to like here, for instance the story, and the overall design behind battle, but there are some nagging issues like the character pathing and balance that keep this from being a winning title.
Read Full Review >GamerNode
If you’re a hardcore Mana fan, desperate for an SRPG on the DS, or want to try something new, Heroes of Mana is a fun game. If you aren’t one of those, you won’t like this.
Read Full Review >Nintendo Power
Shimomura, and a lengthy story campaign make Heroes seem like a home run, and it would be if not for one flaw: Shoddy AI. [Sep 2007, p.87]
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Geez, how many disappointing "Mana" titles will we have to suffer though before Square Enix puts this once-proud franchise out of its misery? [Sept 2007, p.100]
Games Radar (in-house)
Another title that's pretty much what we expect from Mana these days - an average game (irrespective of the genre change) that's nothing compared to series' heyday.
Read Full Review >GamePro
Overall, Heroes of Mana is a nice enough diversion, but it's hard to see what Square Enix was trying to do with this title. [Sep 2007, p.84]
Read Full Review >GameSpy
As is common with games from Square Enix, the story of Heroes of Mana (while maybe not terribly original) is surprisingly deep and emotionally engaging. While that doesn't completely make up for the tragic pacing of the game or the substandard AI, it at least provides something to motivate the long-suffering Mana fan.
Read Full Review >Pocket Gamer UK
Simultaneously brilliant yet deeply flawed, Heroes of Mana brings novelty to DS strategy gaming. If only the path-finding was up to the standard of the rest of the game, this would be essential.
Read Full Review >Edge Magazine
Watching your carefully directed army walk into each other and painfully slowly correct themselves by walking one square left, two squares up, one square right, while an army approaches is frustrating to say the least. [Oct 2007, p.97]
Jolt Online Gaming UK
Heroes of Mana does have its moments, but they are few are far between.
Read Full Review >GameSpot
Heroes of Mana is an ambitious and sloppy game that will both entertain and infuriate you.
Read Full Review >GameDaily
A very average game. Square Enix should take the quality interface and build off that to produce a much more enjoyable experience.
Read Full Review >Deeko
In the end, Heroes of Mana does a fair amount of things right, but the core elements that would make the game playable are simply sloppily issued and broken.
Read Full Review >Game Informer
Even if you consider yourself a fan of the series, don’t waste your time here. There was a time when the Mana name meant something, but this is a disappointing entry that drags the franchise through the mud.
Read Full Review >Eurogamer
Despite all of the positives, the game underneath, for all its features and ideas, remains a broken one, thus continuing the Mana series legacy of being a series that tries its hand at new things to get noticed but fails to match up to the brilliance of its forefather.
Read Full Review >RPG Fan
Let this game serve as a warning to Square Enix: we don't want an RTS for the Mana series. And even if we did, we would only want it if the game wasn't broken from start to finish.
Read Full Review >G4 TV
As mentioned before, the grid-based battlefield is a big part of the problem.
Read Full Review >Digital Entertainment News
The quality of this game’s interface proves that RTS gameplay can be every bit as compelling on the DS as it is on the PC. Unfortunately, the severe lack of quality in the gameplay itself makes this completely broken RTS a waste of your time and money.
Read Full Review >GameCritics
Heroes of Mana feels like Dawn of Mana, take two. It's gorgeous and somewhat interesting, but undermined by basic flaws in its ability to let players see what's going on. Here's hoping there's no take three in the works.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Drew F. gave it a7:
Not sure why this game is getting so trashed. It's actually a pretty good attempt at an RTS on the DS. Yes there is a minor pathfinding issue (two units cannot occupy the same space at the same time, so sometimes this forces the odd unit to take a RIDICULOUS path to get from one point to the other, and more often then not results in that unit dying), but once you adjust to it it's not that troublesome. If you're an RTS fan, you may want to bump this rating up to an 8. I've been having alot of fun with the game, and it takes ALOT for me to stick with a game all the way thru to the end, lately.
