Square Enix’s most chaotic RPG series deserves a return

It’s been 15 years since the last proper game in Mana series, this wasn’t even any good. the Final fantasy Episodic action RPG legacy It’s been marked by more downs than ups, but the highs still burn so brightly in fans’ memories that it’s hard to believe the franchise won’t one day fulfill its former promise. Mana visions It is posed exactly that way. I hope he doesn’t let us down.

It was officially revealed during The Game Awards ceremony last nightI made a mistake at first Mana visions to Dragon Adventure Game. The trailer looked very nice without being overly crowded, and showed off open environments and real-time battles that found a good balance between the barren 3D areas of the PS2 era and modern arenas packed with plenty of detail. Neither a big-budget blockbuster nor a bold reimagining for HD-2D, it seems to chart a modest new beginning for the green fantasy franchise.

Mana Series artist Airi Yoshioka’s designs sported a flare worthy of the current PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series Meanwhile, the action focused on the massive mana tree and a few fights booked by the familiar Rabites and the Mantis Ant boss.

Mana visions It’s coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series We have recently Star Ocean: Divine Powerhe Valkyrie Elysium, great games that were great for their long-time fans but didn’t quite set the world on fire. Are you back? Mana be different?

The series started as Final Fantasy Adventure On the Game Boy in 1991 before getting its own title and The hack hit on the SNES is called Secret of Mana. It was a top-down action adventure Legend of Zelda With the development of an RPG, including a leveling system, weapon sets, and a diverse magic system. Instead of traveling alone, you were accompanied by two AI companions and such Final fantasy There was an overworld map that you could eventually traverse via a flying dragon.

The pixel art was great. The music was beautiful. To this day, it has some of the best recorded environments in any RPG. Despite the clumsily translated text, the dungeons, destinations, and pacing made it an unforgettable journey. The series continued with a sequel for Japan only (Trials of Mana), PS1 demo game (Legend of Mana), and a fantastic Game Boy Advance remake of the first game (Mana sword). Then things quickly unfolded.

Screenshot: Square Enix

2006 DS game Sons of Mana It was a randomly generated dungeon crawler that felt unimaginative and repetitive, a 2007 PS2 game Mana dawn It took the series into 3D with a clumsy targeting system and character progression that resets after each chapter. A 2007 real-time strategy game for the DS called Heroes of Mana It was overly simplistic and bland. The series’ identity collapsed outside of its unique art style, beautiful music, and familiar brutalist designs.

To rebuild, Square Enix went back to basics by remastering and porting the original games. In recent years, fans have been blessed with Mana Adventures remake, Mana pools Ports, A Secret of Mana New edition, A Trials of Mana New edition, HD remaster version of Legend of Mana. Series highlights are compiled and updated on each platform. The only thing missing is new Mana A game to rival the ones that were around 20 years ago.

“The development team has worked hard to ensure this Visions Mana It stays true to the series players know and love, while also offering fans and newcomers a completely new experience with an all-new story, characters, and gameplay mechanics. Mana Series producer Masaru Aoyamada He said next to the game announcement. It’s a promising start. but Mana Fans have been burned many times before. Please don’t let this be one of them.

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