Visions of Mana, the first new mainline game in 15 years, was announced in a new gorgeous trailer and debuted at The Game Awards 2023.
Visions of Mana Announced by Square Enix at The Game Awards 2023
During the eve of the Game Awards (in which Baldur’s Gate 3 swept up 6 awards), Square Enix took a few minutes to the stage with a fresh new announcement. They revealed that their newest project is Visions of Mana, the first new mainline Mana game in over 15 years.
Originally a spinoff of the Final Fantasy series, the Mana games have become their own thing. Let’s see what the new trailer showed off!
Visions of Mana
The most apparent thing about the Visions of Mana reveal trailer was how vibrant and colorful it is. Square Enix is pulling out all the big guns in whatever new engine they’re using, as everything just pops out of the screen. The upcoming RPG’s visuals are gorgeous and look like something straight out of a well-drawn anime.
Square Enix invites players to immerse themselves in the vibrant landscapes of the world they’ve created. True to the Mana games, the world’s flora and fauna both contribute to the elemental mana of the land, creating a symphony of life and beauty.
Areas in the Visions of Mana trailer are huge, and they do look as if there’s going to be a ton to explore, even if you go off to the beaten path. However, it has been confirmed that Visions of Mana won’t be an open world, but is being described as “semi-open” and will have “vast areas”.
Visions of Heroes
We don’t get too much in terms of story reveal with the Visions of Mana trailer. However, the game’s official site does claim that we will be playing as newcomer Val, a soul guard chosen to protect pilgrims on their way to the Tree of Mana.
Val’s childhood friend is chosen to become an alm, essentially a pilgrim, and is tasked to travel to the Tree of Mana and help the flow of mana in the world. Of course, this is where our adventure begins with Val and his female friend in tow.
Val also mixes swordplay with magic in his combat abilities. He has the usual strikes, swipes, sweeps, and stabs. However, Val is also quite acrobatic, being able to double jump in combat, and even dash in the air to evade enemy hits. He can also mix up fights with fire, wind, lightning, and more to smite anyone who would wish his friend harm.
Visions of the Past
Visions of Mana will be the first mainline Mana game since 2006. It was preceded by Secret of Mana in 1993, Trials of Mana in 1995, and Dawn of Mana in 2006. We’ve had multiple spin-offs, remasters, and remakes sprinkled in between since then but this just means that Mana fans are quite hungry to see the next big thing.
There should be nothing to worry about, however, as the new game will be helmed by series veterans and other notable people. The game’s producer is Masaru Oyamada (who worked on Secret of Mana in 2018, Trials of Mana in 2020, and Legend of Mana in 2021).
I am delighted to finally be able to reveal Visions of Mana, the first mainline installment to Mana series in over fifteen years. 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.
Masaru Oyamada, Mana Series Producer
Other names include Hiroki Kikuta, Tsuyoshi Sekito, and Ryo Yamazaki working on the game’s sound. HACCAN will be spearheading character design and Airi Yoshioka on monster designs.
Of Might and Mana
Visions of Mana is targeting a 2024 release date, though no specific windows have been announced. There are no store pages for the game yet, though it will be released on PC (via Steam), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and the Xbox Series X|S.
In other news, check outAlan Wake 2 Update Adds A New Ending and New Game Plus, andTower of Fantasy Will Collab with Evangelion in 2024.
