Review by SaintAjora

"And thus the SaGa has started"

Ah Maniac World Tower Man SaGa the game that started my favorite Square series. The SaGa series. My second favorite being the Seiken Densetsu series. However Maniac World Tower Man like the other 2 game boy SaGas was given an FF name. In the case of Maniac World Tower Man it was called Final Fantasy Legend in the Us. Through I don't like the name as much as the original... I will just call it Final Fantasy Legend. Well once again it time for a break down.

Graphics 7: The graphics get the job done, but really are nothing special. Then again considering this is an old gameboy game.. I'd say they are not that bad. I can live with them, but I am not impressed. In other words the graphics are not great, but good enough for my tastes.

Music 8: The music in this game is pretty nice, but the problem is there are not enough tunes in the game. It would have been nicer to have at least a few more tunes. Plus some of the tunes can get annoying. The battle tune is okay, but nothing special. Over all the music is nice, but in the end it seems as if it is lacking something in the end. As it is the tunes often fit well with the time they are used in the game so the music is good enough, but not outstanding. Through the final area tune is pretty good.

Story 8: The story is nice. It has a lot more to it than it seems. The story gets an idea across in a simple yet effective matter. Much happens in the game and the final conversation before the last battle really brings the whole story together. The problem comes from the fact that the game ends too soon. There never seems to be enough worlds. As it is the story is pretty good and considering the major bosses at least some of them are based of a chinese legend from what I have heard anyway may be the reason for the lack of world. Then again it could be the limited space Square worked with. Still it was pretty good story that needed a little more in the end.

Gameplay 8: Final Fantasy Legend 2 started the species system of the SaGa series seen in many of the games. In this game there 3 species. Humans can equip up to 8 items, but only 1 Helmet, 1 Armor, 1 pair of boots, a pair of gloves or in place of all that a full body suit. In order to increase their stats you must purchase items that increase the stat you want to increase. What is good about humans is you can know what you are getting, but the bad part is through you get their Strength, HP and Agility very high in the end the time you spend buying these could be used for buying items instead or going through the game again. Monsters change to a new form when ever you eat a meat randomly dropped by an enemy or the meat will restore them. The good about Monster is you can restore their uses. The bad is finding decent forms and they can't equip items. Mutants will eventually only be able to equip to 4 items in the end, but more or less their equipment set up is the same as humans. The other 4 slots are reserved for skills which are randomly learned and replaced. Mutants stats go up naturally. The bad is you may lose a skill you like, but the good is you don't have to buy items to increase stats at all, they can use magic items and the best part it they are like a balance between Human and Monsters. Over all the game play has its rough edges, but in the end it can be fun. Oh yes many items have limited uses. Takes awhile to get used to through, but it is not as bad as you may think.

Over All- 8: Despite the rough edges Final Fantasy Legend gets the SaGa series off to a decent start if you don't nit pick the game every 5 seconds it can be an enjoyable experience. Just please never call it an FF again. SaGa is too good of a series to be called an FF in my opinion.

To Rent or Buy: Well I'd say buy it. I doubt you can rent. It has its rough edges, but is still a nice game to play.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10 | Originally Posted: 01/20/01, Updated 01/20/01

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