Wikipedia

Visions of Mana

Visions of Mana[a] 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. The fifth main title in the Mana series, the story follows the young swordsman Val as he escorts a group of Alms, sacrifices chosen to renew the flow of Mana in the world, on a pilgrimage to the Mana Tree. Gameplay features exploration of open areas and action-based battles, with elemental powers being used in both in the action-based combat and exploration.

Visions of Mana
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
SeriesMana
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)
ReleaseAugust 29, 2024
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

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. Upon release journalists gave general praise to the characters, combat system and world design, though there were mixed reactions to the story and several highlighted graphical and technical problems.

Gameplay

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A combat encounter in Visions of Mana

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; up to three party members are playable while navigating different areas of the world. During travel across semi-open areas the player can freely explore between town locations, and dungeon areas.[1][2] Save points activated during exploration can be used for fast travel.[3] Outdoor environments have collectables and chests that can be opened, with some chests hidden behind platforming puzzles unlocked upon acquiring the power of the game's eight Elementals.[3] Alongside marked main quests, the player can complete side quests given by non-playable characters which involve either finding an item or person, or fighting a designated enemy. Field areas can be travelled on foot or using animal mounts, with ocean exploration allowed using a giant turtle and navigation of the overworld by air on a dragon.[2]

Combat is action-based, triggered upon encountering enemies during exploration or in scripted boss encounters.[4] Players may assume control of any member of a three-person party, each with their own unique skills and weapons, with the non-controlled characters behaving according to pre-set behaviour patterns.[4][5] Standard combat involves light and heavy attacks, and items and abilities accessible through a ring menu. The controlled party member can also dodge and air dash. Character abilities in combat are unlocked using Element Points earned in combat within the Elemental Plot, which unlocks new moves and element-specific character classes. These classes are unlocked over the course of the game as Elementals ally with the party, with the class being different depending on which character the Elemental is assigned to.[1][2][4][5] Some enemies have weaknesses that can be exploited through using items or specific elemental attacks.[6]

At the end of combat, bonuses can be awarded based the battle's completion and whether damage was taken.[3] Towns include vendors which sell items, new weapons, and equipment.[4] Party members can equip one weapon and one set of armour, and Ability Seeds. Ability Seeds alter a character's abilities and attributes are dictated by ability seeds, changing statistics or boosting one attribute while lessening another. During the game, up to ten equip slots can be unlocked for each character to use Seeds.[7] During combat, a gauge called the CS Gauge is filled, and when full the controlled character can deliver a Class Strike for high damage, with the type of attack varying depending on the equipped class.[2][5]

Synopsis

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Setting and characters

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Visions of Mana takes place in the fantasy world Qi'Diel, a land of different coexisting species sustained by the Mana Tree, incarnation of the Goddess of Mana.[3][8][9] Every four years, a being dubbed the Faerie travels to villages tied to the Elementals, spirits tied to the flow of Mana, and chooses one resident as an "Alm" who will go on a pilgrimage to restore the flow of Mana through their sacrifice, travelling under the guardianship of a Soul Guard soldier.[10]

The main protagonists are Val, a warrior from the Fire Village of Tianeea who becomes Soul Guard to Hinna, a childhood friend chosen to undergo the pilgrimage to the Mana Tree as the Alm of Fire. Their other companions are Morley, a cat demi-human from Etaern who seeks to overcome a traumatic event from his past; Careena, a spirited dragon demi-human from Longren; Palamena, queen of the water capital Illystana; and the sproutling Julei.[10][11] Other characters include Eoren, a traveller from the Earth Village Gudju: Aesh, an enthusiastic scholar; and Daelophos, a legendary champion of the Goddess of Mana. The Benevodons, eight elemental monsters from the distant past, serve as antagonists.[9][12]

Plot

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A prologue shows Eoren and his lover Lysa, the Alm of Earth, attempting to escape Gudju; they fail and Lysa is petrified. Later, Hinna is chosen as the Alm of Fire, with Val becoming her Soul Guard. As they journey towards the Mana Tree, they join up with Careena and Morley, and aid Palamena in protecting Illystana from an attempted coup by the magistrate Passar. Along the way they gain the aid of the Elementals, who choose Careena, Moreley and Palamena as the Alms of Wind, the Moon, and Water respectively. They also meet with Eoren, who tells them a story of a time when Alms were not needed and the legend of the Mana Sword wielded by the Goddess's chosen hero. After helping Palamena, Eoren tricks Val and Hinna into going with him, then kills Hinna to gain her corestone−a crystallization of life essence−to awaken the Mana Sword and release Lysa from petrification. Initially in shock, Val decides to continue guarding the other Alms and hoping to find a way to restore Hinna. During this next journey they make contact with Aesh, who eventually is chosen as the Alm of Shadow.

When they reach the Sanctuary of Mana, they meet with Julei, who is chosen as the Alm of Wood. Attempting to reach the Mana Tree, they run into Eoren as he uses Hinna's corestone to awaken the Mana Sword, which releases Daelophos from a stone prison. Daelophos takes the Mana Sword and releases the Benevodons to reclaim parts of his old power, killing Eoren and Lysa in the process. The group begin defeating the Benevodons, during which Val is chosen as the Alm of Light. Wishing to learn Daelophos's goals, the group return to the Mana Tree to meet with Khoda, spirit of the first Soul Guard and Val's ancestor. From Khoda and memories in ancient ruins, the group learn that the fragmented realms of Fa'Diel were merged into Qi'Diel when a war depleted the flow of Mana, unleashing the enraged Benevodons. Daelophos became the Goddess's champion and sealed away the Benevodons, but his lover Cerulia was murdered, driving him to seek revenge on humanity by killing the Goddess before Khoda sacrificed himself to seal Daelophos away. The Alms' sacrifices were sustain the sleeping Goddess, who lost her strength preserving the merged world and suppressing Daelophos's anger, until someone would come with the will to create a new fate for the world.

With all the Benevodons defeated and their will to better the world determined, the party confront Daelophos, but are unable to defeat him; he breaks the Mana Sword before leaving for the Sanctuary. The group pursue and defeat Daelophos by the Tree of Mana, and Val strikes the final blow with the Mana Sword, repaired by the dead within the Mana Tree including Hinna and Eoren. Daelophos concedes, reuniting with Cerulia's spirit before the two pass on, with the awakened Goddess promising they will reunite in new lives. Val uses the Mana Sword's power to wish for a world where Alms are not needed. Mid and post-credit scenes show Mana flowing freely through the world again; Morley, Careena, Palamena and Aesh helping restore the damage to the world, and Val dying of old age after a long life of adventure and reuniting with Hinna as the Goddess of Mana. A post-game scenario follows the group before the final battle as Passar attempts another coup using the dark dragon Aeve Zalaha; Aeve Zalaha awakens, killing Passar, but the party defeats him.

Development

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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.[13] Oyamada knew there was fan demand for a new entry, though opinion was divided 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.[14] 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 positive reactions to the Trials of Mana remake.[15] 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.[13] Ouka Studios' Ryosuke Yoshida and Kenji Ozawa were co-directors; Yoshida worked on the gameplay elements, while Ozawa supervised world design and story.[16]

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.[13] 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.[17] The spirit powers used in the final game were chosen based on how much fun they would be for players to use.[18] 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.[19]

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.[20] Series creator Koichi Ishii, whose last work on the series was Heroes of Mana (2007), returned to oversee classic monster redesigns.[21] Ishii also created the dog mount Pikul.[14] 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.[22] The design of open areas was intended to evoke the artwork created for earlier entries by Hiroo Isono.[14] Multiple visual and stylistic elements were incorporated from other Mana titles, such as species from Legend of Mana being featured in Visions.[17]

Music

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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.[20] 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.[23] A five-disc album, Seiken Densetsu: Visions of Mana Original Soundtrack, will be released by Square Enix on September 11, 2024.[24]

Release

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The development of a new mainline Mana title was confirmed during a 30th anniversary livestream for the series.[25] It was officially unveiled at The Game Awards in December 2023.[26] 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.[14][13] An expanded look was featured in the January 2024 Xbox Developer Direct.[22]

Visions of Mana has both standard editions, and special editions with bonuses including in-game costumes and music from earlier Mana games. A demo covering a section of the game was released on July 30, 2024, with players receiving bonus weapons in the final release if they had save data from the demo. It was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on August 29.[11][27] On the day of the game's release, it was reported the developer Ouka Studio was being closed down by its parent company NetEase as part of a scaling back by Chinese companies that had invested in Japanese game development.[28]

Reception

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Visions of Mana received "generally favorable" reviews for the PS5 version from critics, while the PC version received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[29][30]

Luis Mauricio of RPGamer was very positive about the story and cast, praising the references to earlier Mana titles and its approachability for both series veterans and newcomers.[2] IGN's Nick Ransbottom summed up the storytelling style as enjoyably simple despite later parts featuring heavy exposition, but found the cast enjoyable throughout and was satisfied by the ending.[6] Cullen Black of RPG Site was disappointed by the story's conventional approach to its premise, but praised several emotional parts of the story and enjoyed the cast throughout.[4] One of the reviewers for Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu commented that the storyline brought them to tears.[31] Izzy Parsons of RPGFan noted the unique premise surrounding sacrifice and praised the world and characters, but felt the story played situations too safe.[7] Autumn Wright of GamesRadar+ found the story overall unoriginal and felt both the main and supporting cast lacked any standout characters.[32] GameSpot's Imran Khan was disappointed by the story's lack of depth and unwillingness to take bold directions, causing the characters to appear as "poorly-written caricatures" and further noting poor pacing during later areas.[33]

Ransbottom cited the combat as the best part of Visions of Mana due to the customization possible with its classes, and enjoyed exploring the open areas.[6] Black came to greatly enjoy the combat system after an initial learning curve, and found quest design "pretty standard but strong overall."[4] Mauricio found the combat and character class systems enjoyable to use throughout the game, and additionally praised the environmental puzzle elements.[2] Parsons similarly praised the customization options available, but found dungeon environments overly simple to navigate.[7] The Famitsu reviewers positively noted the combat system as enjoyable though lacking innovations, but highlighted limited movement options when navigating different environments.[31] Khan positively noted the class system's variety, but found constant input delay with the controls made combat and exploration unnecessarily difficult.[33] Wright felt combat was too cluttered with independent systems to be enjoyable, and described the progression as repetitive and exploration as uninteresting.[32]

The environment and art design was a common point among the Famitsu reviewers, and one further highlighted the music as reinforcing the story's emotional moments.[31] Black described the environments as "true works of art", describing the art and environmental design as some of the best in the series' history.[4] Ransbottom lauded the game's artistic design, positively comparing the visuals to those from an old storybook.[6] Parsons lauded the environment and art design as some of the best available in video games, and gave praise to the soundtrack.[7] While giving no specific commentary, Wright praised the game world's design, and praised the English cast's performances.[32]Mauricio was positive about the art and character design, and praised both the music and the English cast as helping reinforce the game's atmosphere.[2] Khan, while negative on many other aspects of the game, praised the world and art design, though he was unimpressed by the music and the voice acting.[33] Multiple reviewers noted different graphical or technical issues with their versions of the game.[4][7][6][32][33]

Notes

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  1. ^ Known in Japan as Seiken Densetsu: Visions of Mana (Japanese: 聖剣伝説: ヴィジョンズ オブ マナ, lit. The Legend of the Sacred Sword: Visions of Mana)

References

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  1. ^ a b Ramsey, Robert (July 31, 2024). "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 August 3, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Mauricio, Luis (August 27, 2024). "Visions of Mana Review". RPGamer. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d ［プレイレポ］「聖剣伝説 VISIONS of MANA」は，アクションRPGの王道的な楽しみが目いっぱい詰まったシリーズ最新作だ. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). August 27, 2024. Archived from the original on August 31, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Black, Cullen (August 27, 2024). "Visions of Mana Review". RPG Site. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c 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 April 1, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Ransbottom, Nick (August 27, 2024). "Visions of Mana Review". IGN. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Parsons, Izzy (August 27, 2024). "Review: Visions of Mana". RPGFan. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  8. ^ シリーズ最新作「聖剣伝説 VISIONS of MANA」，8月29日にPS5＆PS4，Xbox Series X/S向けに発売決定. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). June 12, 2024. Archived from the original on June 22, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Romano, Sal (August 21, 2024). "Visions of Mana 'Final' trailer; latest details and screenshots". Gematsu. Archived from the original on August 22, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "「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.
  11. ^ a b Romano, Sal (June 12, 2024). "Visions of Mana launches August 29". Gematsu. Archived from the original on June 26, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  12. ^ Romano, Sal (July 18, 2024). "Visions of Mana details Aesh, more Elemental Vessels, Elemental Plots, and Li'l Cactus". Gematsu. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d ［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). March 21, 2024. Archived from the original on March 29, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  14. ^ a b c d 『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). March 28, 2024. Archived from the original on March 29, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ "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. June 14, 2024. Archived from the original on August 1, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Visions of Mana Dual Interviews with Series Producer Masaru Oyamada". RPGFan. March 28, 2024. Archived from the original on July 31, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  18. ^ 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). July 29, 2024. Archived from the original on July 31, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  19. ^ Nightinggale, Ed (April 19, 2024). "Visions of Mana won't have co-operative multiplayer, despite series history". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on August 1, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  20. ^ a b 『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). March 7, 2024. Archived from the original on August 6, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ a b 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.
  23. ^ Napolitano, Jayson (August 9, 2024). "Interview: Visions of Mana Music Team". Scarlet Moon Productions. Archived from the original on August 31, 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  24. ^ 『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). June 25, 2024. Archived from the original on August 12, 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (December 8, 2023). "Square Enix Reveals Visions of Mana, New Game in the Mana Series / Game Awards 2023". IGN. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  27. ^ Nightingale, Ed (July 30, 2024). "Visions of Mana demo now available ahead of August launch". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on July 31, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  28. ^ Nightingale,Ed (August 30, 2024). "Visions of Mana developer Ouka Studios reportedly set to close, days after game's release". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  29. ^ a b "Visions of Mana reviews for PlayStation 5". Metacritic. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  30. ^ a b "Visions of Mana reviews for PC". Metacritic. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  31. ^ a b c d (PS5/PS4) 聖剣伝説 ヴィジョンズ オブ マナ. Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 1862. Kadokawa Game Linkage. August 22, 2024.
  32. ^ a b c d e Wright, Autumn (August 27, 2024). "Visions of Mana review: "A beautifully sculpted 3D world that disappoints in a thousand small ways"". GamesRadar+. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  33. ^ a b c d e Khan, Imran (August 29, 2024). "Visions Of Mana Review - Limited Tunnel Vision". GameSpot. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
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