 While critics generally praised the graphics, they were dismissive of the plot, mixed on the actual gameplay and sharply negative on what they saw as poor artificial intelligence and pathfinding inhibiting actual play.Like previous games in the "Mana" series, "Heroes of Mana" features a top-down perspective, in which the player characters navigate the terrain and fight off hostile creatures and enemies.Unlike prior games in the series, which are typically action role-playing games, "Heroes" is a real-time strategy game (RTS), in which the player controls up to 25 units in battles on fixed maps.