Last year the owners of the West switch were able to get their hands on a rare RPG treasure for the first time when Square Enix released the official launch of the Super Famicom classic Seiken Densetsu 3 since 1995, the Mana experiment was renamed and part of the best Collection of Mana. That game included the first Game Boy Seiken Densetsu (The Last Fun Race in North America or The Search for the Secret in Europe) and Seiken DensZanu 2, better known in the West as Confidentiality in the Super NES.
If that wasn't enough, a full 3D release of Seiken Densetsu 3 is launched on April 24th. We recently had the opportunity to interview remake creator Shinichi Tatsuke and the creator of mana series Masaru Oyamada in today's issue The temptations of Mana, how will it differ from The distinguishing secret of the Make remake on PS4, and their future plans for the series.
Nintendo Life: We know that there are changes to the war plans (which we've talked about before) and the demo gave us a glimpse of the impending downturn. Can you tell us about some new things in addition to the battle system, such as new episodes and classes?
Shinichi Tatsuke, Manufacturer: For one thing, the grain growth process has changed dramatically. We've introduced the new Ability program, allowing you to upgrade your characters the way you want to increase your characters and unlock unique abilities, and there's also a "Chain Ability" added to other characters, which makes party selection important here as well.
After finishing the game, there are six new non-original episodes, each one of the main characters. In these stories, each character will go to places that have a connection to his past, and look for things that allow them to find the fourth entirely new category that is missing from the original game. Once they find out there is yet another new challenge awaiting our heroes, but you'll have to play the game to find out what!
You mentioned earlier that switching to 3D cutscenes in this remake means you will have to add elements to make them work unless it & # 39; s unfortunately & # 39 ;. Can you tell us more about the challenges you faced?
Tatsuke: The scene of the first game was compressing the 2D graphics technology we had at the time, but when we came to 3D using modern technology, we had to use our imagination to create some of the facial expressions and motives that were difficult to define at the time. Doing so was very tight, and in some cases, we had to add in new lines of dialogue or to extend the performance of the characters. You might notice some things in comparison to the actual game.
Tell us a little about the voice work in this new game and the process of including it in this updated version of the story. How difficult has it been to find the right names of actors who have known and loved them for 25 years?
Masaru Oyamada, Series Builder: In the Japanese voice, we actually had requests for collaborations from various game titles before we started working on the Trials of Mana so we had decided on some voice actors.
We started out trying to get close to the right pictures of their characters through trial and error, without having a game to work on. However, getting them to work more often in this way led to a strange situation where the characters were almost completely working and ready to go when we started development. One of the male voice actors had played the first game and apparently, he was able to better understand his character's image.
The original game was made at the Western Collections of Manna last year, though returns were already there. Obviously, the method of those two versions is different, but how closely are they related to infisation?
Oyamada: The Trials of Mana version in Mana compilation had some limitations in the design of the UI and there were some changes we were forced to make due to this, so I think this new version of Trials of Mana is a better version. I think the main part of the first story will be pretty similar, but there is a lot of new writing in this version of Trials of Mana too, so it should present that story in detail.
While most gamers will be very familiar with the characters, there will probably be new audiences of the game (especially in the West) who are not familiar with the story and will be meeting for the first time these characters. How difficult is it to balance making a game to please veterans and appealing to new players?
Tatsuke: First, we took as much care as possible so as not to damage the image that the actual actors had in the characters. On the other hand, we have also made sure that the first people coming to the Trials of Mana will not feel like you are losing out on today's game. We put a lot of effort into 3D character models and really tried to get into the depth of their characters through voice and group discussions.
You've gone the perfect 3D route to this remake there The Secret To Remembering So Much on other platforms it was over 2,5D. What was behind the decision to make Trials of Mana fully 3D?
Tatsuke: We have tried to look down at the beginning of development. However, it didn't look like a modern game and the immersion in the world was pretty weak, so we decided to switch to a third-party perspective during development. In doing so we think it allows players to experience the adventure on a much deeper level.
We have tried to look down at the beginning of development. However, it didn't look like a modern game and the immersion in the world was weak
What would you say is the biggest challenge you faced during development?
Oyamada: For me personally it was all about the extra interaction between the main characters we added. It was a real challenge to get the character of the characters right, and to see that nothing went wrong in chronological order of the game.
Tatsuke: It was a daunting task to create an action in battle. We started growing up exactly like the first game, but when we considered Trials of Mana as a 3D action game, we felt we wanted to give the player more freedom and make big changes all the way. We've added in jump attacks, appearances and combos to bring it closer to modern game style.
Are there any other examples of recent re-enactments of classic games that you like or look for inspiration when it comes to the 21st-century Seiken Densetsu update?
Tatsuke: Not that many of the other 2D sprite games are based on third-party 3D games, so we didn't have a few important issues to improve on this topic.
Are there any DLC plans or additional post-release content for the game?
Tatsuke: Since this is a recap of the old title that didn't include any DLC, we made it so you could experience it all without being added. Therefore, we have no current plans.
What are your hopes for the Mana series after the Trials of Mana? Is it possible we will see a new entry in the series?
Oyamada: It doesn't mean I would like to make a sequel, but at the same time I also like to do it so that people can continue to play a series of past titles such as The myth of Mana.
Many thanks to Mr. Tatsuke and Mr. Oyamada, and Daniela at Square Enix Europe. Mana Trial is released on April 24 and you can download the demo at Switch Shop now (and read on impressions).
Be sure to keep an eye out for our Trials of Mana review soon, and let us know if you enjoyed this comment in the comments below.