Releasing next month, Square Enix and Ouka Studio’s Visions of Mana will be the first mainline Mana game since 2006’s Dawn of Mana. Producer Masaru Oyamada discussed the series’ return in a recent interview, describing the studio’s goals for the upcoming game.
Visions of Mana combines elements from previous games
Oyamada discussed Visions of Mana in a recent interview with RPG Site. “When we thought about the next, say, ten years of the series’ future, we felt it was paramount to really solidify what we wanted ‘Mana’ to be going forward,” Oyamada explained. “Some of those core tenets included a focus on expansive environments and a richer experience overall.”
The Visions of Mana producer described how the game builds on what the studio did with previous games. However, the studio also sees the importance of continuing the tradition of giving each installment unique gameplay. “With Visions of Mana,” he explained, “one thing we really wanted to do was to take all the best-received parts of previous games and put them together, with a particular focus on Trials of Mana. Really, the goal was to try and make a game where longtime fans can see the ‘echoes’ of what came before while also acting as a series primer to players taking their first step into the franchise.”
Oyamada later discussed the game’s world, which is split roughly equally between open and more linear areas. Visions of Mana will take players on a globetrotting adventure, and the game encourages them to explore that world fully. “Depending on the strength of your party and what elemental vessels they’ve obtained,” he said, “there’s a focus on offering reasons for players to return to the places they’ve already been to find something new.”
Oyamada drew attention to the amount of care and effort developers put into depicting that world. Specifically, he wants Visions of Mana to clearly show the effect its elemental spirits have on the world they inhabit. He concluded by saying, “It’s our sincere hope that when players get the chance to play the game, that they might take the time to let that atmosphere sink in and to maybe find all of the little details we included along the way.”