Legend of Mana

The Legend of Mana is quite an old game now (well old considering the speed of which games are improving and being made and all that) but it remains one of my favorites. There have been numerous other Mana games (including many that are newer then this one) though I find I still like this one the most, even out of the newer games with updated graphics and game play.

There are a number of reasons I find this one better, the first being the artistic graphics. The Legend of Mana's environment makes me feel as if I'm walking around within a painting (graphics are all 2D). Though these areas are not fully explorable, it really doesn't detract much from the game in my opinion as there are multiple paths to take within one area. The newer games are fairly different in this aspect. They have multiple paths but they lost some of this artistic quality going for a more clean cut style.
Another point I love about this game is the multiple story lines which the newer games don't have. In Legend of Mana players can, for the most part, go to any area in any order. Newer games have a set story line that must be followed to advance. There are also main parts to the story line that must be completed in Legend of Mana though there are 3 paths you can choose to get to the end. Players can complete just one or if they want all of them in one game. In addition to this there are many side line stories that can be completed if the player chooses. See, The Legend of Mana is set up as if it were a book, and these quests complete it. Essentially the player writes they're own story.
One finally thing I'd like to speak briefly (there's so much more I could say about this game) about is the beginning of the game. Players choose there character and what weapon they start with (like many other games) but from there they choose an area of a map of which they're story will center. From there different areas are obtained through quests but whats really interesting about this game is you get to place these areas anywhere you want to on your area of the map, creating your own world in a sense.
Player creativity is what is amazing about this game. It pulls the player in and makes them feel like they are a part of the story. It's anything they want it to be, which is something I hope newer games like this one start to do more of.