There was a time in the bygone eras of the Game Boy and Super Nintendo when Mana was a prestigious series. The original Mana game, Final Fantasy Adventure in North America (and Mystic Quest in Europe), was a marvel on the Game Boy. Secret of Mana was a star of the action RPG genre, and the Japan-only Seiken Densetsu 3 (now known as Trials of Mana in English) held an almost mythical status to those of us outside of its home country. There have been worthwhile Mana games since, and yet there is no denying Mana has fallen in the eyes of the gaming public. After years of mobile games, the 2020 remake of Trials of Mana finally gave fans a glimpse at a return to form for the series, but I think even then, the announcement of Visions of Mana at the end of 2023 was a surprise.
I was immediately impressed by the scale on display in the first trailer, and further trailers and interviews with the series producer raised my hopes. Now that I have had the chance to play the game from beginning to end and put 30 hours into it, I am eager to proclaim Visions of Mana a paragon of its series.
The world of Fa’diel lives under a precarious balance. Every four years, eight Alms must journey to the Mana Tree and bequeath their souls to the Mana Goddess, or disaster will fall upon their homes. To ensure the chosen Alms reach their destination, a Soul Guard is trained to guide them. As the most recent cycle nears its end, Val, the newest Soul Guard, prepares to set out on his quest. To the surprise and delight of Val and his girlfriend Hinna, she is chosen as the Alm of Fire.
Yes, you read right. The couple is elated upon learning that Hinna must sacrifice her life. Almhood is a sacred duty. This premise is unique for the Mana series and lends an immediate otherness to the setting. I was not raised in a society where I could ever be excited about the death of a loved one, and I am guessing you weren’t either. Of course, the characters are still human, and the gravity of the situation is unavoidable. Visions of Mana is a game that examines ideas like love, grief, and the meaning of life, focusing on the related choices made by four men (the women, unfortunately, not so much) and their consequences. I won’t go into spoilers, but unfortunately, the plot takes the safest or most familiar path when given opportunities to do something more fascinating.
Thankfully, despite gripes about the main plot, the characters and their world are delightful. On initial impression, Val might seem bland, but his innocent charm and inner conflict remind me of Kingdom Hearts’ Sora, and I can always use more Sora in my life. Val and Hinna have a supportive and loving relationship, and they make fast friends with anyone who joins your party. Careena is a one-winged dragon folk girl. She is on the prickly side and is not afraid to speak her mind. The choice to give her a southern twang is inspired and leads to the most hilarious lines in the game. Morley is a high-strung cat boy with a tragic past, whose interactions with Careena are expectantly humorous. Palamena is the queen of the capital city and has a chipmunk tail. Her overly polite demeanor contracts with her sheer curiosity for the world around her. Julei is a Sproutling and fancies himself a bard, but his childish voice and personality make him difficult to take seriously. The party’s depictions remain strong throughout the game, and I never tire of their banter while exploring the world.
The world is a character all its own. The producer, Masaru Oyamada, has confirmed in interviews that Hiro Isono’s art for the original Secret of Mana inspired the look and feel of Visions of Mana. They succeeded marvelously — every forest, jungle, hill, beach, and cliffside bristles with vibrant flora and fauna. Every vista entices you to stop and stare, perfectly crafted to blow your mind. The variety of environments and their scale are astounding too. Visions of Mana took a leaf out of Xenoblade Chronicles’ book in zone design. The soundtrack does a lot to exemplify the beauty on display. Every song feels carefully crafted to evoke the feelings best matching the sights. This isn’t surprising to me, as the composing team includes Hiroki Kikuta (along with Tsuyoshi Sekito and Ryo Yamazaki), one of my favourite composers in the business.
Outdoor zones may overflow with gorgeous terrain and tunes, but also abundant treasures and collectibles you should not ignore. Grizzly Syrup and Niccolo Coins scattered across the landscape are tradeable to Dudbears and Niccolo for handy items. The Li’l Cactus returns and has learned how to hide much more deviously than in Trials of Mana, but he offers desirable rewards if you seek him out. Even more importantly, you can find Elementites that grant you Elemental Points and Golden Clovers that are exchangeable for more Elemental Points to power up your characters.
There aren’t only open areas to explore in Visions of Mana. Numerous dungeons await Val and his crew with their own gimmicks and puzzles. There is a simplicity to these dungeons that will please some and annoy others, but their existence is a bonus in my books. I would rather have an easy laser or block puzzle than nothing. Usually, these puzzles are connected to Elemental Vessels you collect during the story, and each one you receive also unlocks new things to do in already explored areas and more classes for your characters.
Moving about the world is never a chore either — characters run fast, double jump, and can dash unlimitedly while in the air. Pikuls, cute dog-like creatures that act as mounts, allow you to move about even faster, and they aren’t the only mountable travel options the game has to offer. Fast travel is also abundant and accessible from your map screen. Oddly, you cannot double jump or dash within towns, but it isn’t a big deal in practice. The large areas and freedom of movement sometimes come with the cost of janky moments where you end up in places you shouldn’t be able to access, or terrain features interact with your character unexpectedly, but it is worth it.
I default to the quality mode in Visions of Mana, and while there are stutters here and there or the occasional graphical artifacts, I find the game’s performance never affects my enjoyment. I noticed more hitches when playing in performance mode, but that could have just been the luck of the draw or because I was paying more attention when testing it.
Most side quests in Visions of Mana are of the “kill X of Y monster” or “fetch an item from Z” variety. While not my preferred style of side quests, the ease of moving about the world and the fact you can see a quest’s rewards before you complete it makes choosing and completing quests a breeze. As a bonus, the NPC dialogue is often amusing.
Visions of Mana doesn’t only shine in its beautiful world; it is one heck of an action RPG. Combat might seem basic at first — you have two types of attacks and can dash or jump to avoid enemy attacks — but as you unlock more systems and classes, combat becomes something special.
There are eight Elemental Vessels to find, and each one unlocks a new class for each of your characters. The Elemental Points I mentioned above can be spent on the Elemental Plot to unlock new abilities. Most of these unlocks (things like spells, traps, and thrown weapons) can be used by a character no matter which class they are currently using, but passives are class-specific. Classes use one of three different weapon types per character. For example, Careena wields spears, fans, or knuckles based on her class. As you unlock more classes and their abilities, you also increase even the basic moveset of their weapons, introducing charge attacks or alternate combos based on different button timings.
On initial viewing of the equipment screen, it might seem like Visions of Mana has overly simplified equipment. Characters can only equip a weapon and armour, and new ones are straight upgrades over old ones. However, ability seeds functionally replace accessories from different games and are hugely beneficial. Characters start with two ability seed slots but can unlock as many as ten. Each ability seed grants either an active or passive ability. Many active abilities are the same as those learned from classes, but this allows you to equip them to characters who couldn’t normally learn them. Passive ability seeds do what you expect from accessories — nullify status effects, grant status bonuses, or other more specialized effects.
Elemental Vessels can also be helpful in combat. A press of the right trigger activates the ability of your current Vessel and puts it on cooldown. Vessel abilities are unique to the Vessel and can be incredibly powerful. For example, the Wood Vessel grants an AOE of regeneration, while the Dark Vessel lets you pull small enemies toward you or yourself toward large enemies. Additionally, two gauges, shared by the party, fill as you deal and take damage. Spending these gauges allows Elemental Breaks and Class Strikes. Elemental Breaks unleash the power of your current Vessel to an extreme degree, while Class Strikes are powerful AOE attacks that come with a flashy (and skippable) cutscene.
With all these systems explained, how does it work in practice? Let me give an example of one of my favourite fight openers. The Light Vessel links enemies together and makes them share damage, while the Water Vessel encases enemies in bubbles that deal AOE damage when popped. My first actions in many battles include tossing the Light Vessel at a group of enemies, switching to the party member with the Water Vessel and activating it, then using Palamena, equipped with as many intelligence and magic attack buffing seeds as possible, to cast a large AOE spell the monsters are weak to. The combination of the Light Vessel multiplying damage, the bubbles being popped by the spell, and the damage of the spell itself often ends the battle. This is just one example of how combining the options given to you can result in hilariously explosive outcomes. During boss fights, you may instead layer buffs and debuffs to eke out every advantage before unleashing your most imaginative combos. The bosses can be challenging, often coming with gimmicks to overcome.
There is something magical about playing a brand-new Japanese RPG that is unconstrained in its budget or vision in 2024. There is no denying a game like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has a far greater budget and scope than Visions of Mana, but the latter still gives me a comparable feeling of “my childhood games are back.” I can only hope other people feel the same and we see more Mana games in the future. I might have gripes with the story or wish the dungeons were a little more complex, but Visions of Mana makes me smile repeatedly with the joy of a child in my heart.
