Though Square Enix’s storied Mana series hasn’t exactly been dormant, it’s been quite a while since the the developer’s last original console game in the franchise. Visions of Mana, set to drop on August 29th, 2024, is the first main franchise title since 2006’s Dawn of Mana. Visions of Mana also marks the return of series designer and director Koichi Ishii. To get players hyped for the upcoming release, Square Enix dropped a new trailer, showcasing the game’s signature aesthetic, flashy gameplay, and a story that has a noticeably more mature tone than some of its franchise brethren.
Visions of Mana Puts The Narrative First
Hinna, the newly appointed Alm of Fire, narrates the trailer, which premiered on July 16th, 2024. In it, players learn that each Alm is a sacrificial character who must offer their soul to the Mana Tree in order to preserve the world and replenish its mana. The Alm, accompanied by their Soul Guard, embarks on a pilgrimage to reach the tree. Immediately, the trailer gives us insight into the central conflict: Hinna realizes that she wants to keep living her life and doesn’t want to play the role of a willing sacrifice. Will Val, her Soul Guard and Visions‘ protagonist, be able to save his closest companion from an all-but-certain fate?
The story presented in the trailer promises a slightly darker, more mature take on the Mana franchise. Earlier titles in the franchise, though perhaps more whimsical and absurd at times, often followed formulaic storytelling patterns, something that even the Trials of Mana remake failed to remedy. Instead of splitting the cast up into five unique stories like Trials did, Visions of Mana appears to tell a more cohesive tale that seeks to avoid some of the narrative pitfalls from past games.
Visions of Mana Introduces A Compelling Cast
Though Visions sticks true to the series’ action RPG roots, Square Enix gave players a closer look at Visions of Mana‘s combat, including a swappable cast of five playable characters, each with their unique quirks and playstyles. For instance, where Val uses classic sword-based combat with fire-elemental skills, the Woodland Custodian Julei uses nature to bombard enemies with floral and plant-based attacks, while Oracle of Wind Careena employs sharp gusts of wind and helper creatures to keep monsters at bay. The other playable characters shown in the trailer include Morley, the Radiant Sword, and Palamena, the Queen of the Deep.
Crisp Graphics And Colorful Gameplay
Aesthetically, Visions of Mana looks like a big improvement on the modernized style introduced in the Trials of Mana remake. The crisp, anime-inspired visuals hearken back to the series’ pixel roots while offering an enhanced graphical experience. The gameplay also looks faster-paced than its predecessors, with snappy combos, flashy animations, and quick-switching between party members. Compared to other titles in the series, Visions adds more depth via elemental attacks, class strikes, a semi-open world, and companion pets and mounts.
On top of that, where Trials of Mana limited each playthrough to your chosen three protagonists, Visions of Mana appears to include the entire playable cast more evenly, allowing you to adjust your party as you see fit. This, combined with the new class system showcased in the trailer, promise some much-needed improvements that will incorporate more combat freedom and player choice in how you build your party and deploy different character combinations. Players will have to wait until the end of August to see if Square Enix can breathe life into one of its longest-lasting franchises, or if it’ll be another few years before players see another Mana title in development.
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