<s>
Children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
is	O
a	O
2006	O
action	B-Application
role-playing	I-Application
game	I-Application
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
handheld	B-Application
console	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
sixth	O
game	O
of	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
series	I-Application
—	O
following	O
2003	O
's	O
Sword	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
—	O
and	O
the	O
first	O
entry	O
in	O
the	B-Application
World	I-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
subseries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Set	O
in	O
a	O
high	O
fantasy	O
universe	O
,	O
Children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
follows	O
one	O
of	O
four	O
young	O
heroes	O
as	O
they	O
combat	O
an	O
invasion	O
of	O
monsters	O
and	O
learn	O
about	O
the	O
cataclysmic	O
event	O
that	O
killed	O
their	O
families	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
it	O
reprises	O
the	O
action	B-Application
role-playing	I-Application
elements	O
of	O
previous	O
Mana	B-Application
games	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
real-time	O
battle	O
sequences	O
,	O
Children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
features	O
an	O
increased	O
focus	O
on	O
user-friendliness	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
earlier	O
Mana	B-Application
titles	O
,	O
Children	O
is	O
a	O
heavily	O
action-oriented	O
dungeon	O
crawler	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
player	O
progresses	O
by	O
completing	O
randomly	O
generated	O
levels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
the	O
main	O
plot	O
and	O
side-quests	O
require	O
the	O
player	O
to	O
fight	O
through	O
dungeons	O
and	O
defeat	O
boss	O
monsters	O
before	O
returning	O
to	O
the	O
central	O
Mana	B-Application
Village	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
was	O
designed	O
by	O
series	O
creator	O
Koichi	O
Ishii	O
,	O
directed	O
by	O
Yoshiki	O
Ito	O
,	O
and	O
produced	O
by	O
Takashi	O
Orikata	O
and	O
Katsuji	O
Aoyama	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
previous	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
series	I-Application
,	O
Children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
features	O
a	O
top-down	O
perspective	O
in	O
which	O
characters	O
navigate	O
terrain	O
and	O
fight	O
off	O
hostile	O
creatures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
character	O
has	O
ratings	O
:	O
the	O
damage	O
they	O
do	O
with	O
magic	O
,	O
how	O
fast	O
they	O
can	O
attack	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
health	O
and	O
mana	B-Application
they	O
have	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
previous	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
series	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
more	O
typical	O
action	B-Application
role-playing	I-Application
games	I-Application
,	O
Children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
is	O
a	O
dungeon	O
crawler	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
the	O
gameplay	O
takes	O
place	O
in	O
selected	O
locations	O
rather	O
than	O
on	O
an	O
open	O
world	O
map	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
not	O
clearing	O
dungeons	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
stays	O
in	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
Village	O
,	O
which	O
contains	O
shops	O
to	O
purchase	O
equipment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
retains	O
the	O
real-time	O
battle	O
mechanics	O
of	O
previous	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
series	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
can	O
switch	O
between	O
Elementals	O
in	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
Village	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
takes	O
place	O
in	O
the	O
world	O
of	O
Fa'diel	O
,	O
split	O
into	O
the	O
five	O
continents	O
of	O
Jadd	O
,	O
Topple	O
,	O
Wendell	O
,	O
Ishe	O
,	O
and	O
Lorimar	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
island	O
of	O
Illusia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
center	O
of	O
that	O
island	O
,	O
the	O
beginning	O
point	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
stands	O
the	O
Tree	O
of	O
Mana	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
years	O
ago	O
,	O
an	O
event	O
known	O
the	O
"	O
great	O
disaster	O
"	O
took	O
place	O
at	O
the	O
base	O
of	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
Tree	O
and	O
many	O
people	O
died	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
this	O
event	O
,	O
a	O
brave	O
young	O
boy	O
and	O
girl	O
used	O
the	O
Sword	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
to	O
save	O
the	O
world	O
from	O
disaster	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
four	O
main	O
characters	O
of	O
Children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
are	O
Ferrik	O
,	O
Tamber	O
,	O
Poppen	O
,	O
and	O
Wanderer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
all	O
live	O
together	O
in	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
Village	O
,	O
near	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
Tree	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
day	O
,	O
following	O
a	O
flash	O
of	O
light	O
,	O
the	O
stone	O
at	O
the	O
base	O
of	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
Tree	O
cracks	O
,	O
distorting	O
time	O
and	O
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
hero	O
recalls	O
that	O
their	O
friend	O
Tess	O
,	O
who	O
is	O
a	O
priestess	O
,	O
went	O
to	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
Tower	O
to	O
pray	O
,	O
and	O
goes	O
to	O
find	O
her	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
barrier	O
appears	O
to	O
prevent	O
them	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
take	O
what	O
turns	O
out	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
fabled	O
Sword	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
returning	O
from	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
Tower	O
,	O
the	O
hero	O
discovers	O
that	O
three	O
mysterious	O
pillars	O
of	O
light	O
have	O
struck	O
in	O
the	O
lands	O
of	O
Topple	O
,	O
Jadd	O
,	O
and	O
Lorimar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
these	O
three	O
tasks	O
are	O
completed	O
,	O
the	O
mysterious	O
man	O
appears	O
once	O
again	O
,	O
identifying	O
himself	O
as	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
Lord	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
steals	O
the	O
Sword	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
and	O
causes	O
a	O
large	O
storm	O
in	O
the	O
land	O
of	O
Wendel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
hero	O
journeys	O
there	O
to	O
stop	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
Storm	O
by	O
confronting	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
Lord	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
Lord	O
is	O
about	O
to	O
kill	O
the	O
hero	O
,	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
gems	O
appear	O
around	O
the	O
hero	O
to	O
prevent	O
his	O
attack	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Mana	B-Application
Lord	O
then	O
decides	O
to	O
kidnap	O
Tess	O
and	O
vanishes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
returning	O
to	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
Village	O
,	O
the	O
hero	O
heads	O
for	O
the	O
Path	O
of	O
Life	O
under	O
the	O
roots	O
of	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
Tree	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
Path	O
,	O
the	O
hero	O
finds	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
Lord	O
waiting	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
two	O
fight	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
his	O
defeat	O
,	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
Lord	O
reveals	O
that	O
he	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
two	O
children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
who	O
had	O
saved	O
the	O
world	O
during	O
the	O
great	O
disaster	O
,	O
and	O
rather	O
than	O
trying	O
to	O
hurt	O
anyone	O
,	O
he	O
was	O
simply	O
trying	O
to	O
fulfill	O
the	O
reason	O
he	O
was	O
created	O
:	O
"	O
to	O
fill	O
the	O
world	O
with	O
the	O
power	O
of	O
Mana	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
tells	O
the	O
hero	O
the	O
other	O
child	O
of	O
Mana	B-Application
is	O
spreading	O
disaster	O
through	O
the	O
world	O
and	O
must	O
be	O
stopped	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
proceeds	O
to	O
give	O
the	O
Sword	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
to	O
the	O
hero	O
,	O
then	O
commits	O
suicide	O
by	O
throwing	O
himself	O
off	O
a	O
cliff	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
shift	O
in	O
power	O
causes	O
a	O
rift	O
to	O
open	O
in	O
the	O
sky	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
second	O
child	O
of	O
Mana	B-Application
is	O
waiting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
hero	O
destroys	O
this	O
second	O
child	O
,	O
the	O
Scion	O
of	O
Mana	B-Application
,	O
restoring	O
the	O
world	O
to	O
peace	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
of	O
these	O
was	O
the	O
Compilation	B-Application
of	I-Application
Final	I-Application
Fantasy	I-Application
VII	I-Application
,	O
and	O
Square	O
Enix	O
intended	O
to	O
have	O
campaigns	O
for	O
other	O
series	O
whereby	O
multiple	O
games	O
in	O
different	O
genres	O
would	O
be	O
developed	O
simultaneously	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
no	O
such	O
project	O
for	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
series	I-Application
had	O
been	O
announced	O
by	O
this	O
point	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
in	O
late	O
2004	O
that	O
an	O
unnamed	O
Mana	B-Application
game	O
was	O
in	O
development	O
for	O
the	O
upcoming	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
2005	O
,	O
Square	O
Enix	O
announced	O
a	O
"	O
World	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
"	O
project	O
,	O
the	O
application	O
of	O
this	O
"	O
polymorphic	O
content	O
"	O
idea	O
to	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
franchise	O
,	O
which	O
would	O
include	O
several	O
games	O
across	O
different	O
genres	O
and	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
release	O
in	O
this	O
project	O
and	O
the	O
sixth	O
release	O
in	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
series	I-Application
was	O
announced	O
in	O
September	O
2005	O
as	O
Children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
for	O
the	O
DS	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Nex	O
Entertainment	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
previously	O
created	O
dungeon	O
crawl	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
Shining	O
series	O
,	O
in	O
collaboration	O
with	O
Square	O
Enix	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
planned	O
from	O
the	O
start	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
fun-for-all	O
action	O
type	O
game	O
"	O
taking	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
DS	B-Device
's	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ishii	O
was	O
especially	O
focused	O
on	O
creating	O
a	O
truly	O
cooperative	O
multiplayer	O
game	O
,	O
which	O
he	O
had	O
wanted	O
to	O
create	O
since	O
Secret	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
(	O
1993	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
second	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
this	O
,	O
he	O
chose	O
not	O
to	O
utilize	O
the	O
DS	B-Device
's	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Wi-Fi	I-Application
functionality	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
effect	O
an	O
experience	O
in	O
which	O
players	O
would	O
interact	O
with	O
people	O
in	O
the	O
near	O
vicinity	O
rather	O
than	O
remotely	O
,	O
in	O
congruence	O
with	O
the	O
local	O
multiplayer	O
found	O
in	O
Secret	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Ishii	O
has	O
said	O
the	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
series	O
are	O
only	O
thematically	O
connected	O
,	O
he	O
has	O
also	O
asserted	O
in	O
an	O
interview	O
that	O
Children	O
is	O
set	O
ten	O
years	O
after	O
the	O
2007	O
game	O
Dawn	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
,	O
which	O
depicts	O
the	O
events	O
of	O
the	O
cataclysm	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
score	O
for	O
Children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
was	O
composed	O
by	O
Kenji	O
Ito	O
,	O
Masaharu	O
Iwata	O
,	O
and	O
Takayuki	O
Aihara	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ito	O
had	O
previously	O
composed	O
the	O
music	O
for	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
series	I-Application
,	O
Final	B-Application
Fantasy	I-Application
Adventure	I-Application
(	O
1991	O
)	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
its	O
2003	O
remake	O
Sword	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
the	O
most	O
recent	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
series	O
prior	O
to	O
Children	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
soundtrack	O
in	O
the	O
Mana	B-Application
series	I-Application
to	O
feature	O
work	O
by	O
Iwata	O
and	O
Aihara	O
,	O
though	O
Iwata	O
had	O
previously	O
worked	O
for	O
Square	O
Enix	O
on	O
many	O
other	O
titles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
music	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
covers	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
styles	O
,	O
including	O
rock	O
,	O
jazz	B-Device
,	O
and	O
classical	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
limitations	O
of	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
hardware	O
,	O
Chris	O
Greening	O
of	O
Square	O
Enix	O
Music	O
Online	O
said	O
not	O
all	O
the	O
synthesized	O
instruments	O
are	O
"	O
especially	O
aesthetic	O
or	O
realistic	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
album	O
Seiken	B-Application
Densetsu	I-Application
DS	I-Application
:	I-Application
Children	I-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
Original	O
Soundtrack	O
collects	O
33	O
tracks	O
from	O
Children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
on	O
two	O
discs	O
and	O
is	O
nearly	O
an	O
hour	O
and	O
a	O
half	O
in	O
length	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
sold	O
almost	O
103,000	O
units	O
in	O
its	O
first	O
three	O
days	O
in	O
Japan	O
—	O
between	O
March2	O
and	O
March5	O
—	O
which	O
was	O
considered	O
below	O
expectations	O
and	O
partially	O
blamed	O
on	O
product	O
shortages	O
of	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Enterbrain	O
,	O
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
2006	O
Children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
had	O
sold	O
just	O
over	O
281,000	O
copies	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
presentation	O
was	O
praised	O
,	O
especially	O
its	O
graphics	O
;	O
Greg	O
Mueller	O
of	O
GameSpot	O
said	O
"	O
the	O
saving	O
grace	O
of	O
Children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
is	O
the	O
appealing	O
visual	O
style	O
of	O
the	O
game.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
GamePro	O
concluded	O
that	O
"	O
the	O
downfall	O
of	O
Children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
is	O
its	O
repetitiveness	O
,	O
"	O
and	O
Chandran	O
felt	O
most	O
players	O
would	O
be	O
sick	O
of	O
the	O
gameplay	O
before	O
finishing	O
half	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chandran	O
added	O
that	O
magic	O
spells	B-Application
were	O
too	O
slow	O
to	O
be	O
useful	O
in	O
combat	O
,	O
further	O
reducing	O
the	O
complexity	O
of	O
the	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Padilla	O
concluded	O
that	O
while	O
the	O
game	O
had	O
several	O
good	O
elements	O
,	O
it	O
ultimately	O
failed	O
to	O
live	O
up	O
to	O
its	O
potential	O
as	O
a	O
Mana	B-Application
game	O
.	O
</s>
