Visions of Mana

Last updated
Visions of Mana
Visions of Mana.png
Developer(s) Ouka Studios
Publisher(s) Square Enix
Director(s)
  • Ryosuke Yoshida
  • Kenji Ozawa
Producer(s) Masaru Oyamada
Designer(s)
  • Takahide Koizumi
  • Keita Takagi
Artist(s) Haccan
Airi Yoshioka
Koichi Ishii
Writer(s)
  • Chihiro Ochiai
  • Tomoko Taniguchi
  • Kyoko Kitahara
Composer(s) Hiroki Kikuta
Tsuyoshi Sekito
Ryo Yamazaki
Series Mana
Engine Unreal Engine
Platform(s)
ReleaseAugust 29, 2024
Genre(s) Action role-playing
Mode(s) Single-player

Visions of Mana [lower-alpha 1] is a 2024 action role-playing game developed by Ouka Studios and published by Square Enix for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. It is the fifth main title in the Mana series. Following the journey of a group of magical "alms" and their guardian Val on a pilgrimage to rejuvenate the Mana Tree, the gameplay features exploration of open areas and action-based battles, with elemental powers being used in both combat and exploration.

Contents

Development of Visions of Mana began in 2020, being the first mainline entry since Dawn of Mana (2006). The staff included multiple series veterans including producer Masaru Oyamada, artist Haccan, composers Hiroki Kikuta, Tsuyoshi Sekito, and Ryo Yamazaki, and series creator Koichi Ishii overseeing monster redesigns. The gameplay and world design was intended to evoke elements from earlier Mana games.

Gameplay

Visions of Mana is an action role-playing game in which players take on the role of Val, a Soul Guard escorting a group to the Mana Tree; Val and two other party members are playable while navigating different areas of the world. During travel across semi-open maps the player can freely explore between town locations. Players may assume control of any member of a three-person party, each with their own unique skills and weapons. Each character has various combat classes which may be unlocked by acquiring items called Spirit Vessels and may be switched freely, granting them access to new abilities and powerful attacks call Class Strikes. [1] [2]

Synopsis

Setting and characters

Visions of Mana takes place in a fantasy world sustained by the Mana Tree, a magical tree whose energies sustain the world. Every four years, a being dubbed the Faerie travels to villages tied to the elements and chooses one resident as an "alm" who will go on a pilgrimage to restore the flow of the Mana Tree under the guardianship of a Soul Guard soldier. [3]

The main protagonists are Val, a warrior from the Fire Village of Tianeea who becomes Soul Guard to Hiina, a childhood friend chosen to undergo the pilgrimage to the Mana Tree. Their other companions are Morley, a cat-man who seeks to overcome a traumatic event from his past; Careena, a half-human, half-dragon dubbed "The One-Winged Oracle" who travels with Ramcoh, child of the Sacred Beast Flammie; Palamena, queen of Illystana, Capital of the Deep; and the sproutling Julei. [3] [4]

Development

The concept for a new mainline entry in Square Enix's Mana series was pushed for by producer Masaru Oyamada, who became the series producer in 2014 with Rise of Mana . [5] Oyamada knew there was fan demand for a new entry, through division over whether to model it on Secret of Mana (1993) or Trials of Mana (1995). To gauge player interest and feedback, Oyamada led production on a number of remakes and remasters of older titles. [6] Oyamada was hesitant about developing Visions of Mana due to the amount of time since the release of the last mainline title Dawn of Mana (2006), but gained confidence following the positive reception to the Trials of Mana remake. [7] Production of Visions of Mana began in 2020. Production was handled by Ouka Studios, a Japanese-Chinese subdivision of NetEase headed by Tetsuya Akatsuka. Oyamada, who knew Akatsuka, contacted Ouka Studios to develop Visions of Mana. [5] Ouka Studios' Ryosuke Yoshida and Kenji Ozawa were co-directors; Yoshida worked on the gameplay elements, while Ozawa supervised world design and story. [8]

The gameplay was intended to combine the series' established action role-playing elements, and the use of multiple field mechanics present in Dawn of Mana. [5] They wanted to give players a lot of freedom with exploration, something that had been lacking in the Trials of Mana remake. During early testing, where the "vertical" possibilities of combat became clear, the team leaned into the use of elemental spirit powers. [9] The spirit powers used in the final game were chosen based on how much fun they would be for players to use. [10] A multiplayer feature was considered for the game and wished for by Oyamada, but the concept was dropped due to its potential impact on player progression through the world and story. [11]

The characters were designed by Haccan, who had redesigned characters for recent Mana remakes. The monsters were designed by Airi Yoshioka, who had worked on multiple Mana titles including Dawn of Mana. [12] Series creator Koichi Ishii, whose last work on the series was Heroes of Mana (2007), returned to oversee classic monster redesigns. [13] Ishii also created the dog mount Pikul. [6] Describing their approach to the visuals, Oyamada felt they had created an artistic style which captured the multiple identifies found within the Mana series, which had consciously varied its art and gameplay throughout its life. [14] The design of open areas was intended to evoke the artwork created for earlier entries by Hiroo Isono. [6] Multiple visual and stylistic elements were incorporated from other Mana titles, such as species from Legend of Mana being featured in Visions. [9]

Music

The music of Visions of Mana was co-composed by Hiroki Kikuta, Tsuyoshi Sekito, and Ryo Yamazaki, all of whom had composed or arranged music for previous Mana titles. [12] Kikuta was mostly in charge of cutscene tracks, Sekito handled combat themes, and Yamazaki wrote environmental and exploration music. Yamazaki drew inspiration for his work from the concept art given to the composers early in production, and the overarching theme of a journey across the world. Kikuta described his role as creating music symbolising the Mana Tree, a significant presence in the game's world. Musicians included Sekito on electric guitar, Taku Sawamura performed acoustic guitar and bouzouki, Masashi Kuno on lute, and Yoichi Hayashi performing electric bass parts for the battle themes. The music was orchestrated by Sachiko Miyano of Shangri-La Inc., with whom Kikuta had worked on earlier projects. [15] A five-disc album, Seiken Densetsu: Visions of Mana Original Soundtrack, will be released by Square Enix on September 11, 2024. [16]

Release

The development of a new mainline Mana title was confirmed during a 30th anniversary livestream for the series. [17] It was officially unveiled at The Game Awards in December 2023. [18] The game's title, suggested by the localization team, was intended to both incorporate the different Japanese and Western name conventions, and reference the different character viewpoints in the story. It also coincidentally made reference to the number five. [6] [5] An expanded look was featured in the January 2024 Xbox Developer Direct. [14] It is scheduled for release on August 29, 2024 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. The game will come in both standard editions, and special editions with bonuses including in-game costumes and music from earlier Mana games. [4] A game demo covering a section of the game was released on July 30, with players receiving bonus weapons in the final release if they had save data from the demo. [19]

Reception

Notes

  1. ↑ Known in Japan as Seiken Densetsu: Visions of Mana (Japanese: 聖剣伝説: VISIONS OF MANA, lit.The Legend of the Sacred Sword: Visions of Mana)

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References

  1. ↑ Ramsey, Robert (2024-07-31). "Hands On: Visions of Mana Is Far From Revolutionary, But It Should Still Be a Rock Solid Action RPG". Push Square. Archived from the original on 2024-08-03.
  2. ↑ Higham, Michael (March 28, 2024). "Visions Of Mana Preview: Classic Feel And Vivid Visuals Underpin The Return Of The Action-RPG Series". GameSpot . Archived from the original on 2024-04-01. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  3. 1 2 "「聖剣伝説 VISIONS of MANA」，主人公ヴァルとヒナなど登場キャラや，精霊の力を宿した道具「精霊器」などの情報が公開に". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). March 15, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Romano, Sal (2024-06-12). "Visions of Mana launches August 29". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2024-06-26. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  5. 1 2 3 4 ［インタビュー］シリーズ最新作「聖剣伝説 VISIONS of MANA」では何を大事にしたのか。小山田 将プロデューサーが完全新作に込めた思いを語る. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). 2024-03-21. Archived from the original on 2024-03-29. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  6. 1 2 3 4 『聖剣伝説 ヴィジョンズ オブ マナ』小山田Pインタビュー。誰が見ても『聖剣伝説』であると感じられるよう、まずはビジュアル面からアプローチ。開発はネットイース・桜花スタジオとの初タッグ. Famitsu (in Japanese). 2024-03-28. Archived from the original on 2024-03-29. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  7. ↑ Cryer, Hirun (January 19, 2023). "Visions of Mana producer wanted to make the new JRPG for 10 years, but wasn't sure anyone wanted it". Gamesradar. Archived from the original on January 25, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Exclusive: Visions of Mana's directors talk about the high-speed, hands-on game development process that's only possible at a hybrid studio". Automaton Media. 2024-06-14. Archived from the original on 2024-08-01. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  9. 1 2 "Visions of Mana Dual Interviews with Series Producer Masaru Oyamada". RPGFan. 2024-03-28. Archived from the original on 2024-07-31. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  10. ↑ PS5®/PS4®『聖剣伝説 VISIONS of MANA』の制作陣にインタビュー！ 迫力あるバトルはどのように生まれたのか？. PlayStation Blog (in Japanese). 2024-07-29. Archived from the original on 2024-07-31. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  11. ↑ Nightinggale, Ed (2024-04-19). "Visions of Mana won't have co-operative multiplayer, despite series history". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on 2024-08-01. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  12. 1 2 『聖剣伝説 VISIONS of MANA』マナの樹を目指す物語を彩るヴァルやヒナ、精霊器とは？【ヴィジョンズ オブ マナ】. Dengeki Online (in Japanese). 2024-03-07. Archived from the original on 2024-08-06. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  13. ↑ Gerblick, Jordan (December 8, 2023). "After 16 years, Visions of Mana brings back original creator Koichi Ishii for a return to its action RPG roots". Gamesradar. Archived from the original on January 25, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  14. 1 2 Heaney, Duncan (January 18, 2024). "Visions of Mana: The Origins (and Future) of the Legendary RPG Series". Xbox. Archived from the original on January 25, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  15. ↑ Napolitano, Jayson (2024-08-09). "Interview: Visions of Mana Music Team". Scarlet Moon Productions. Archived from the original on 2024-08-31. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  16. ↑ 『聖剣伝説 VISIONS of MANA』サントラが9月11日に発売。CD5枚組で全100曲を収録. Famitsu (in Japanese). 2024-06-25. Archived from the original on 2024-08-12. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  17. ↑ Doolan, Liam (June 27, 2021). "Square Enix Confirms The Next Mana Game For Console Is Now In Development". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on January 25, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  18. ↑ Valentine, Rebekah (2023-12-08). "Square Enix Reveals Visions of Mana, New Game in the Mana Series / Game Awards 2023". IGN . Archived from the original on 2023-12-08. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  19. ↑ Nightingale, Ed (2024-07-30). "Visions of Mana demo now available ahead of August launch". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on 2024-07-31. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  20. ↑ "Visions of Mana reviews for PlayStation 5". Metacritic . Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  21. ↑ "Visions of Mana reviews for PC". Metacritic . Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  22. ↑ Romano, Sal (2024-08-21). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1862". Gematsu. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  23. ↑ Khan, Imran (2024-08-29). "Visions Of Mana Review - Limited Tunnel Vision". GameSpot . Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  24. ↑ Wright, Autumn (2024-08-27). "Visions of Mana review: "A beautifully sculpted 3D world that disappoints in a thousand small ways"". GamesRadar+ . Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  25. ↑ Ransbottom, Nick (2024-08-27). "Visions of Mana Review". IGN . Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  26. ↑ Mauricio, Luis (2024-08-27). "Visions of Mana Review". RPGamer. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  27. ↑ Parsons, Izzy (2024-08-27). "Review: Visions of Mana". RPGFan. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  28. ↑ Black, Cullen (2024-08-27). "Visions of Mana Review". RPG Site. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
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