I am downright chuffed to be writing that Square Enix has revealed a new entry in the Mana series! Visions of Mana is the first mainline instalment in over 15 years. It promises to return to the series’ action-RPG roots while taking players on an adventure with a soul guard tasked with protecting his childhood friend. The series’ real-time 3D combat has evolved over the years, though, so expect something a bit new. Visions of Mana is expected to be released for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox in 2024.
The Mana series actually began over 30 years ago as 1991’s Final Fantasy Adventure, a Final Fantasy spin-off, but it kind of took on a life of its own. The series is known for vibrant worlds, breathtaking environments, heartwarming characters, and high fantasy storylines. It spans across many genres and platforms.
“I am delighted to finally be able to reveal Visions of Mana, the first mainline instalment to Mana series in over fifteen years,” said Mana Series Producer Masaru Oyamada in a press release. “The development team have been working hard to ensure that Visions of Mana remains faithful to the series that players know and love while also offering fans and newcomers a fresh new experience with an all-new story, characters, and gameplay mechanics. We cannot wait to share more details about the game with you soon.”
This first trailer gives us a look at the newly-imagined world of Mana. It features some gameplay and showcases a vibrant semi-open world where players will journey, battle, and explore.
Visions of Mana revolves around Val. He is a curious, carefree young man living in the Fire Village of Tianeea. Every four years, the Faerie visits regions to choose alms, or people that are fated to travel to the Tree of Mana that presides over the world’s vital flow of (you guessed it) mana. Val invites his friend to the festival welcoming the visitor but as night falls and the sky lights up with sparkling lights, the Faerie chooses none other than Val’s friend as the alm. Val will accompany her to the Tree of Mana as her soul guard.
Players will be able to explore an expansive semi-open world. Nature and the elemental aspects of mana are captured through detailed environments and colourful graphics. Each area is filled with secrets to discover and enemies to battle. The party-based combat is real-time and fast-paced with a good amount of strategic depth.
The game is being developed by some very talented and experienced people who know the Mana series well. I already mentioned producer Oyamada (he’s worked on Secret of Mana 2018, Trials of Mana 2020, Legend of Mana 2021). Sound is by Hiroki Kikuta (Secret of Mana 1993, Trials of Mana 1995, Trials of Mana 2020), Tsuyoshi Sekito (Secret of Mana 2018, Trials of Mana 2020, Echoes of Mana), and Ryo Yamazaki (Trials of Mana 2020, Echoes of Mana). The character design is by HACCAN (Adventures of Mana, Secret of Mana 2018, Trials of Mana 2020). Monster illustrations are by Airi Yoshioka (Dawn of Mana, Children of Mana, Heroes of Mana), whereas series monster design supervisor is Koichi Ishii.
Developed and published by Square Enix, Visions of Mana will be released for PC via Steam/Windows, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Xbox Series in 2024.
