Visions of Mana is a gorgeous JRPG set to release in 2024. Here’s everything we know about this adorable action RPG title.
What is Visions of Mana releasing on and when is the release date?
Square Enix’s upcoming RPG Visions of Mana is heading to Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PS4, PS5, and PC through Steam. It’s quite interesting the game is skipping the Xbox One, despite it showing up on the Developer Direct in January.
Visions of Mana doesn’t have a release date set right now, but it’s currently aimed for Summer 2024.
What is the combat system like?
Visions of Mana will remain an action-RPG but it seems elevated from past entries. It features aerial combat, which allows you to strike foes mid-air with weapons and magic. It looks very smooth like Bandai Namco’s Tales of games. Elementals can help you in battle; they’re used as items.
“The grand and mysterious powers of the Elemental spirits allow for fast-paced, flexible fighting styles the players will love,” explained Mana series producer Masaru Oyamada.
While fighting the classic Mana creatures, you may notice a frightening side to the cute monsters in the game. The creator of the Mana series Koichi Ishii said to “pay attention to their expressions during the fight scenes” in the Xbox Developer Direct.
How will players travel in the game?
To help travel the large open spaces of Visions of Mana, Ishii has created a new creature to ride on called a pikul. The inspiration behind it is a mixture between a Yorkshire terrier dog and a pangolin, which looks like an armadillo. Ishii says he was inspired by the Egyptian deity Anubis as well.
The result is an adorable, yet huge pet that can help you travel across the fields and other environmental areas of the game. To quote my senior editor Eric Van Allen, “I love the pikul, and will protect the pikul, and prevent any harm from befalling the pikul.”
What biomes will players explore?
The game features forest, desert and wintry biomes as you’d expect from a typical Square Enix RPG. Each look stunning in the anime-inspired art design.
Information on the soundtrack
The next entry in this celebrated JRPG series will feature 100 songs in total. The game will have “contributions from musical creators who lent their talents to previous Mana titles,” said Oyamuda.
Additionally, the press release says that some of the composers include Hiroki Kikuta (Indivisible, Rise of Mana), Tsuyoshi Sekito (Kingdom Hearts III, Dawn of Mana), and Ryo Yamazaki (Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Heroes of Mana).
Will Visions of Mana be on Xbox Game Pass?
Currently, Visions of Mana isn’t heading to Xbox Game Pass. It was not mentioned on the details screen in the 2024 Developer Direct.
