Visions of Mana Review PS5 Review. Despite not having an original release in over 15 years, the ‘Mana’ series of games has an unspoken legacy in the broader scope of Square Enix‘s properties. Beginning as a simple spin-off of the greater Final Fantasy franchise, the Mana series steadily grew over time and stands as a turning point for the action-RPG as we know it today.
Over the course of the 15 years since the last release, standards have shifted and new ideas have come to the table for the genre as a whole.
Visions of Mana is acutely aware of this and manages to make use of its legacy to blaze new trails for the franchise as a whole. It takes a magnifying glass and examines the tropes that the series stems from and raises some interesting questions along the way that managed to enthral me until the very end of this whimsical journey, despite some small hiccups here and there.
I write this review from the perspective of a pretty well-seasoned RPG enjoyer – I’ve played my fair share of games from this genre and a boatload from Square Enix.
Visions of Mana was not a game that pushed me to my limits as I played – but my mind went to players who might have been scared off of trying these types of games and how they would enjoy this lighter gameplay.
In that way, Visions of Mana is a visionary in its own right, creating an atmosphere that suits all.
Visions of Mana Review (PS5) – Taking Root and Standing Tall
A Heartfelt Story
There’s a bitter-sweetness to the story of Visions of Mana that underpins the entire experience. Despite the upbeat party that you travel with, there’s a constant feeling of sadness as you travel towards the inevitable sacrifice of the Alms.
The world operates on a constantly ticking clock, where Alms are appointed and sent to sacrifice themselves at the foot of the great Mana Tree to maintain the world for everybody else. Soul Guards are appointed to escort this convoy of Alms to their final destination, once they have been chosen.
The story of Visions of Mana opens in a world where this act of self-sacrifice is the norm and has been for generations. The main character Val is a proud Soul Guard and begins his journey as the escort for Hinna, Alm of Fire.
From there, the convoy travels around the world steadily crossing continents and journeying towards their final destination. Despite how cut and dry this premise initially appears to be, there are some genuinely interesting wrinkles that raise the stakes of what sounds like a relatively tepid adventure.
Without ever feeling too melodramatic or self-indulgent, Visions of Mana asks precisely the right questions and handles them with care to result in some really heartfelt moments that feel earned.
In particular, the relationship between Val and Hinna feels well-established and never feels like it exists for the sake of a joke or gimmicky interaction. These two are a pair I can believably become invested in, and their journey feels all the weightier for it.
The same is true for the remainder of your main party, with each member of your team having a unique wrinkle that manages to raise them above the cookie-cutter roles of classic RPGs.
Careena is introduced as a rough-and-ready character that causes some friction within her community – it was her I was the most worried about disliking. I tend to bounce off these types and yet, I found myself appreciating her perspective before long.
Where I thought the game would brush over aspects of her story, they spent time steadily breaking her down and making her a surprisingly sympathetic character.
The story is carried by its colourful cast and I found myself absolutely loving their dynamic. The quietly stoic Morley pairs brilliantly with the upper-class Palamena and Julei rounds out the main party into a memorable entourage that has their golden moments.
Unlike Trials of Mana, this story is completely linear. Instead of picking a protagonist to begin with, Val is very much the main character of this journey.
Previous Mana games put emphasis on several stories unfolding in the same world and this leans back into the traditional structure for a narrative and manages to do so well, almost evoking Dragon Quest in its progression. Conflicts are centered around the settlements that you visit and this decision lends a great deal to establishing a strong world to explore.
And it’s partially because of these evident strengths that I find myself feeling slightly frustrated with the story of Visions of Mana. This early promise of intrigue and exciting exploration of a world feels like it starts running out of steam towards the latter quarter of the game and left me feeling like something was maybe missing.
Certain aspects felt a little bit rushed or thrown to the wayside and resolved with a handwave. It’s a shame that these moments reared their heads when the events leading up to them were so strong.
While I’m still digesting some of the finer details, I certainly have some questions that I hope will be answered on a re-examination.
A Varied and Realised Word
The visual DNA of the Mana series has almost always remained in the key visuals offered by the esteemed HACCAN and the same is absolutely true here too. These key visuals have done the lion’s share in establishing the tone and mood of Mana games previously, but this feels like the first time that HACCAN’s signature style has been able to fully stretch its arms in a 3D environment.
Previous entries in the series were mired by relatively low budgets in specific areas. More recently, the Secrets of Mana remaster brought the classic SNES RPG to a new generation but did so in a way that lacked the impact of other remasters of classic titles.
Trials of Mana received a full remake in 2021 and this serves as the grassroots of this artistic vision coming to life, but still just barely missing the mark. It’s exciting that Visions of Mana finally bridges this gap and the result is a vibrant world that I couldn’t help but love exploring.
Compared to other recently released games from Square Enix, there’s a real emphasis on verticality and exploration from the very beginning of Visions of Mana. Each area of the game is bursting full of treasure chests to find, challenge battles to unlock and quests to complete each encourages you to truly become familiar with the landscapes.
The leader of the party is given a frankly impressive range of movement abilities that give you a lot of freedom in how you tackle each area.
It was refreshing to have the flexibility to platform around – I enjoy the more grounded movement of some open-world games, but it’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed just exploring an overworld. This ranks up there with some of the most engaging environmental design in any Square Enix game – period.
It’s lucky then that each new vista looks as gorgeous as they do, across every landscape that you visit. There are the classic fantasy trappings of open fields and frosty peaks, but each is brought to life with breathtaking detail and lighting.
There’s no day or night cycle in Visions of Mana, so what you see is what you get, and what you get is a visual marvel. The very first path you traverse outside of Val’s village is a sunset-soaked beach path with light reflecting off the water.
One of the first towns you visit on your journey is surrounded by vivid blue leaves on the coast and acts as your launchpad to the main continent. Each locale you visit has a distinct flavour all its own, that reminded me of Dragon Quest in some ways.
I could quite easily go on about the environments throughout, but that grandeur should be saved for you to explore. These towns are also populated with NPCs that offer bog-standard RPG quests that rarely push the boundaries of what quests can do in RPGs.
The majority of them are relatively flat, with a handful of short stories that had me following a chain of quests to a satisfying conclusion. These were nice and I wish there were just a few more moments of continuity.
A Trial By Mana
There’s more to the world than just exploring, Visions of Mana also iterates on the action-RPG roots that defined the series way back with the original Mana games. That action-combat spine is intact here and is very much the focus, with combat taking a real-time approach with light and special attacks being what you use most. The party is made up of three core members, with the player controlling one of them at a time.
The action ring from the previous games also returns, allowing you to freeze combat at any time and select an item or a move to use at your own pace. While you’re able to assign shortcuts, I enjoyed doing this to take stock of a situation and plan my next move. While you’re able to assign certain behaviours to your allies to get them to use items by themselves, it’s easy to keep an eye on resources with this menu.
The downside is that items are sometimes not used correctly – I had more than one moment where I told someone to use a healing item and it just… never came. These inconsistencies rarely resulted in a big problem but were certainly noticeable in a pinch.
Generally, combat is a relatively simple affair that offers a limited amount of depth in terms of the things you can do. You won’t be stringing intricate combos together with light and heavy attacks.
At the same time, I don’t consider that a flaw as others might – simplicity is a different beast from being boring and that certainly isn’t true here. Underneath the simple foundation is a class system that encourages experimentation and exploration in its own right.
As you progress, you steadily unlock items known as ‘elemental vessels’ that give the ability to change classes for each of your party members. These elemental vessels also have an impact on the way you explore dungeons but primarily open up new options for combat.
Each of the main five has unique classes for each vessel, so there’s a boatload of options to wade through. These each have unique strengths and abilities that can be useful in battle and are unlocked through the ‘elemental plot’.
Certain class abilities can be transferred as you invest in newer classes and so there’s a constant stream of new abilities to use and bolster your party with, from fireballs to debuffs and healing while still allowing each class to have their own distinct identity.
One of my favourites throughout the game was Morley’s moon elemental class – the Nightblade. This class capitalises on the relatively glass-cannon nature of Morely as a character and instead puts the focus on dodging and dealing high amounts of damage through a high critical hit rate.
Other classes may focus on summoning creatures to do the dirty work, whereas another class might be more interested in applying debuffs to enemy monsters. Each class also comes equipped with a unique ability to use on the right trigger.
This changes for each class but is the same across each character. For instance, Val and Careena may have different classes associated with the moon elemental class, but both can make use of the Luna Globe to slow down time with the press of a button.
While combat was never particularly punishing – this feels by design. On normal difficulty, I felt like this game would be a great entry point for someone looking to get into action RPGs as a genre.
There are still some hearty challenges to be found in the optional battle arenas and late-game fights, but this game feels geared towards the beginner and player who might not have enjoyed a game like this before. Not every game needs to be designed with intense challenge in mind, and this game is a testament to that.
For players looking for a bit more grit, harder difficulties are on offer to up the challenge somewhat – the game certainly isn’t a pushover – especially compared to the Trials of Mana remake.
Everything Comes Together
Every element of Visions of Mana manages to come together to make a brilliantly cohesive experience that surpasses everything that came before it. The Mana series as a whole has never quite had the adventurous spirit of Final Fantasy in terms of reinventing its own setting and also doesn’t have the weight of the Dragon Quest’s legacy on its shoulders.
In this way, Visions of Mana should be the blueprint for the series as it moves forward.
While I think the game loses steam in the latter parts and combat might be erring on the side of too simplistic for genre veterans, I think this makes for an approachable experience for newcomers that doesn’t feel pandering or too safe for its own good.
There are more than a few people out there who are intimidated by the pure range of the genre and may have rudimentary experience with games like Genshin Impact. This game feels like a perfect jumping-on-point for players who have this kind of soft experience and are looking for something a bit meatier than a free-to-play game.
There is a lot of love put into this entry with a great helping of new ideas to bring the Mana series into a new light, and I appreciate it for doing those things above all else.
Visions Of Mana will be available on PS5 and PS4 on August 29, 2024.
Review code generously provided by the publisher.