It’s been 15 years since the last real game Mana series, and this one wasn’t even good. The Final Fantasy The legacy of the action RPG spin-off has been marked by more lows than highs, but the highs are still so clearly etched in fans’ memories that it’s hard to believe that the franchise will one day fail to live up to its earlier promise. Visions of Mana is presented exactly like this. I hope it doesn’t let us down.
Officially unveiled during The Game Awards ceremony last nightI was wrong at first Visions of Mana For a Dragon Quest Game. The trailer looked very pretty without being too busy, showcasing open environments and real-time combat that struck a nice balance between sparse PS2-era 3D zones and modern arenas full of too much detail. It’s not exactly a big-budget blockbuster or a bold retro HD 2D reimagining, but it appears to be a modest new beginning for the green fantasy franchise.
Mana Series illustrator Airi Yoshioka’s designs featured bright accents that would complement current-generation consoles PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series. The action, meanwhile, focused on the giant mana tree and a handful of fights, featuring familiar Rabites and a Mantis Ant boss.
Visions of Mana will be released sometime in 2024 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series We recently got Star Ocean: The Divine Powere and Valkyrie Elysium, great games that were nice for long-time fans, but didn’t exactly set the world on fire. Will be the return of Mana be different?
The series started as Final Fantasy Adventure on the Game Boy in 1991 before it got its own title and a Breakout hit on SNES Secret of Mana. The top-down action adventure was like The Legend of Zelda with an RPG touch, including leveling system, weapon combinations and a varied magic system. Instead of traveling alone, you were accompanied by two AI companions, etc Final Fantasy There was an overworld map that you could eventually traverse using a flying dragon.
The pixel art was beautiful. The music was beautiful. To date, it boasts some of the best-rated environments of any RPG. And despite a clumsily localized script, the dungeons, objectives and pacing made it an unforgettable journey. The series continued with a Japan-only sequel (Trials of Mana), an experimental PS1 game (Legend of Mana) and a fantastic Game Boy Advance remake of the first game (Sword of Mana). Then things quickly unraveled.
The 2006 DS game Children of Mana was a randomly generated dungeon crawler that felt uninspired and repetitive, and a PS2 game from 2007 Dawn of Mana brought the series into 3D with a clumsy targeting system and character progression that reset after each chapter. A 2007 real-time strategy game for the DS called Heroes of Mana was too easy and boring. Aside from its unique art style, pretty music, and familiar monster designs, the series’ identity fell apart.
To rebuild, Square Enix went back to basics by remastering and porting the original games. In recent years, fans have been blessed with this Adventures of Mana new edition, Collections of Mana Ports, a Secret of Mana New edition, a Trials of Mana Remake and the HD remaster of Legend of Mana. The highlights of the series have been compiled and modernized across all platforms. All that was missing was a new one Mana Game that rivals those from 20 years ago.
“The development team has worked hard to ensure this Visions of Mana “stays true to the series that players know and love, while offering fans and newcomers a fresh new experience with an entirely new story, characters and gameplay mechanics.” Mana Series producer Masaru Oyamada said alongside the game’s announcement. It’s a promising start. But Mana Fans have been burned many times. Please don’t let this be one of them.
