Dawn of Mana Unlockables, Tips and Tricks (PS2)

Dawn of Mana, known in Japan as Seiken Densetsu 4 is an action-adventure game in the Seiken Densetsu series by Square Enix Co., Ltd.. The game is part of Square Enix's World of Mana compilation that also includes Children of Mana, Heroes of Mana and Friends of Mana. The game was released on December 21, 2006 in Japan and was released in the US on May 22, 2007. Dawn of Mana utilizes the Havok physics engine seen in Half-Life 2 that allows the player to greatly interact with their 3D environment. Game elements seen in Dawn of Mana are much different from Mana games of the past.

While it can be classified as an action RPG, a more appropriate description is action/adventure due to the lack of RPG elements in the game. Dawn plays very similar to Kingdom Hearts in terms of design and style. The main difference lies in the Havok physics engine, which is used for the Mono system.


Unlockables

Hard/Ultimate Mode
Beat the game on Normal and make a clear save file. Hard Mode will be unlocked when starting a new game. For Ultimate Mode, beat the game on Hard and make a clear save file. Ultimate Mode will be unlocked when starting a new game.

Game Tips

How to fully Panic enemies(1):
Most heavy Mono objects tend to cause shockwaves that will cause Panic. What you do is attach-and-release them on, say, a nearby wall with enemies in place so the Panic stacks. Easiest to do with special Mono objects like giant pillars.

How to fully Panic enemies(2):
The Gnome ammo is special as it acts as a magnet to draw enemies close. The real deal is that it strikes multiple times, allowing for the Panic count to really skyrocket. It can also draw in other objects as well, which can unintentionally put enemies in full Panic for you.

How to fully Panic enemies(3):
While this isn't as effective as the above two, it still works as a good source of damage. Simply said, attach onto an enemy and whip fling them along with a mob of enemies (Keldy must be at Level 3 or higher). This will cause the Havok physics to start going wild and hard to control, but this is where another technique comes in handy. Once the attached victim becomes light as paper, use whip rotation (Keldy at Level 2) to control the momentum. Repeat to either kill off enemies or put them to full Panic.

Burn and Freeze are your best status friends:
Of all the status effects that can be inflicted, Burn and Freeze are the most effective. When someone is in Burn, they not only cannot act but take constant damage from the fires. When someone is in Freeze, their defense drops to 0 and they are completely immobilized for a period of time. Also, as Keldy can use Flame and Ice Saber, this only supports the point that these two are the best status anomalies that can be inflicted.

Never underestimate the power of the Pebble:
While the Pebble is easily the weakest ammo for Keldy, don't count it out for its uses yet. By the end of the game, there are so many enemies that resist sword damage. If they are not in Panic, you can sure bet that nothing will scratch these enemies. Pebbles, however, will continue to work in this case. Also, on ULTIMATE mode, Pebbles is the best weapon of choice for a particular boss fight so it's not exactly wasted.

Here's a collection of cutscenes and gameplay footage videos that tell the game's story, all gathered in one single video: