Battles outside of bosses are optional rather than compulsory time-consumers. Anticipation for Dew Prism pales in comparison to Chrono Cross or Legend of Mana, mainly due to the lack of name recognition. It may get buried under the bigger-name titles, but appears to be a quality game nonetheless. The most striking aspect of Legend of Mana, the sequel to Secret of Mana, is the vivid colors. Backgrounds that appear paint-brushed onto the television screen create an ambiance of a storybook fairy tale.
More details are sure to come as the game comes closer to a U.S. release.
Blame it on its American predecessor, one of Square's biggest U.S. flops. Square is hoping to regain at least some of the audience with the detailed hand-drawn backgrounds similar to the ones in Legend of Mana. Once again, Square presents a non-linear story. Those who have played the Japanese version say that it's not nearly as guideless as the original. Hopefully Square found the balance between non-linearity and aimless wandering.