The Ongaku

Children of Mana for Nintendo DS turns 20, today

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Children of Mana for Nintendo DS turns 20, today
Developed by Nex Entertainment with oversight by Square Enix, action role-playing game Children of Mana launched exclusively for the Nintendo DS console twenty years ago, today.

The portable spin-off title directed by Koichi Ishii was part of the World of Mana series revival unveiled at the pre-E3 press conference in 2005. The game launched prior to the PlayStation 2 action role-playing game Dawn of Mana, the fourth numbered mainline series installment.

Based on a story outline by Masato Kato of Chrono Cross, the plot centers on four orphans residing in Mana Village on Illusia Isle, nestled at the roots of the Mana Tree, who survived a great cataclysm ten years prior.


Players select from the four playable characters, each a unique take on familiar archetypes of the Mana series. As with the Super Nintendo predecessor, Children of Mana's gameplay allows for optional cooperative multiplayer, supporting up to four-player local play, with top-down action-oriented gameplay reminiscent of Game Boy Advance predecessor Sword of Mana.

Ferrik is a sword-wielding young knight from the Holy Kingdom of Wendel, possessing chivalrous traits reminiscent of Trials of Mana's Duran. Poppen, a mage hailing from the desert continent of Jadd, excels in powerful offensive spells and wields a flail for mid-range attacks.

Tamber, a dancer from the water country of Topple, wields a bow and arrow for ranged attacks. Wanderer (originally, Nikita in Japanese) is a hammer-wielding member of the Niccolo tribe—the traveling merchants encountered in Legend of Mana.


Children of Mana Original Soundtrack is comprised of 33 music tracks by Kenji Ito, Masaharu Iwata, and Takayuki Aihara. Iwata's compositional style was featured in Final Fantasy Tactics for Sony PlayStation, while Aihara served as the co-composer on Drakengard for PlayStation 2.

Ito's self-arrangement of "Rising Sun," originating in Final Fantasy Adventure for Game Boy, plays over the title screen. The iconic motif figures in the coda of the composer's ending theme "A New Tale Begins," providing a poignant thematic bookend to the soundtrack.

Children of Mana (Original Soundtrack) - Apple Music / YouTube Music