It's balancing old and new, then, and embracing a sort of breezy retro simplicity. Pleasing as that is, though, it so far feels a little shallow by comparison to other genre heavy-hitters. Despite moving to an open world and offering sumptuous presentation, Visions of Mana clings to the past and lacks truly fresh ideas of its own. It's a welcome return and a fun, bubbly, frivolous experience, but the Mana series looks set to remain in the shadow of Square Enix's premiere franchises for now.
As the first mainline entry in the Mana series, Visions of Mana has a lot to live up to. We've got our first hands-on preview ready to see how things are shaping up.
Mana surges back to life after all these years.
The first original entry in the Mana franchise in 15 years makes a solid impression with its dazzling art style and flexible combat.