Visions of Mana played: A charming JRPG adventure

“Mana” fans have been waiting for a new main part of the venerable JRPG series for more than 17 years, but apart from various mobile spin-offs or new editions, nothing has come since then. But the players' long wait is almost over, because it will be released in summer 2024 “Visions of Mana” a new main part of the franchise.

We recently had the opportunity to play a preview version of the role-playing game. As usual, we'll tell you everything we experienced in the fairytale game world in the following lines of our little preview article.

The beginning of a great adventure

The story of “Visions of Mana” begins in the small village of Tiana, where a special event is about to take place. Every four years a fairy is expected to appoint a resident as a consecrated one. He then has to travel to the mana tree. This time the young Hina is chosen, who sets off a little later with her boyfriend Val. Val is a soul guardian and is therefore obliged to protect an initiate.

If you are wondering whether you need to know the predecessors, we can reassure you: a completely new world awaits you here with new characters and a new story, detached from the previous parts of the series.

The first of the two preview sections begins after Val and Hina's departure from Tiana. They have now gained two new friends in the form of magician Carina and swordsman Morley. In front of them and also us, lush green meadows spread out under a bright blue sky with a few fluffy white clouds. Speaking of fluffy: In “Visions of Mana” you can summon additional companions, namely the cuddly Pekuli.

Secrets and challenges

We were able to move through the area more quickly on the backs of the friendly fur balls. While we soaked up the fairytale atmosphere created by the combination of the chic cel-shaded visuals and the beautiful soundtrack, we also stumbled upon one or two interesting discoveries. For example, we met a man who told us that his farm was being terrorized by monsters.

As brave traveling heroes, we of course looked around the farm and took care of the monster problem. The cause of the problem was several hedgehog-like monsters, which we quickly dealt with. Well, at least the smaller ones. The leader of the pack actually made our lives pretty difficult. He was a notorious monster, i.e. a stronger beast than his normal counterparts.

It was one of several optional side activities we were able to explore in this preview section of Visions of Mana. Elsewhere, among other things, there was a challenge in which we had to compete against several strong opponents. Both side quests were a nice way to warm up to the JRPG's combat system. However, this did not increase our chances of survival in the challenge.

Val and his friends have a normal and strong attack as well as special abilities, which are tied to a cooldown after use. Our spells also consume points, while the meter for the ultimate attacks must be shared by all characters. This is where a good dose of tactics comes into play, because we quickly noticed that simple button mashing doesn't lead to success against stronger opponents.

Too strong opponents and an XXL praying mantis

During our exploration of the beautiful surroundings, we stumbled across very powerful enemies in an old ruin who killed our entire squad with just a few attacks. The optional character change didn't help us here either, unlike in the previous skirmishes with weak monsters. Since the level of these enemies was 40 (!) levels higher than that of all the other enemies in the area, we were fighting a losing battle.

We then moved on with Val & Co. to the second area of ​​the “Visions of Mana” preview version, which was much more linear. A few monsters stood in our way here too, but initially it was more about the ghost relics of our characters. These are mystical items that allow our characters to use powerful special attacks in battle. But they are also useful away from the action because they allow us to overcome obstacles.

For example, Val equipped the Wind Relic, which we used to make collapsed paths accessible again. In some places we were able to use the magic of the wind to make boulders float in the air to pave our way. Really practical and a nice idea. Incidentally, the spirit relics are not tied to a character, but can be freely exchanged between them, which unlocks new powers and forms.

Before we faced the boss of the second section, an XXL praying mantis, we gave Carina the wind relic and Val the moon relic. The latter has become a shiny golden warrior with new moves. However, Val's new special ability was more useful because it allowed us to briefly stop time in a limited area. Particularly useful against the boss, who was defenseless against our attacks.

We found the boss fight to be a bit too easy during the demo, which lasted just over an hour. The boss's attacks were varied and easy to read and when they did hit us, they caused relatively large amounts of damage. However, we never felt like we were in any real danger. But things will probably look completely different when fighting bosses from later areas.

Too classic a JRPG?

“Visions of Mana” was able to captivate us at first, even if it seems very classic in many places. The side missions, for example, have proven themselves over the years, but at least here they weren't all that creative. We haven't seen much of the real-time combat system so far and have probably only scratched the surface of what will be possible after several hours.

We also think it's a real shame that, apart from a really beautifully staged cutscene, we didn't see more of the JRPG's story. We would have liked to tell you a little more about this, but not yet. Based on what we've played so far, it still promises to be an extremely charming fantasy adventure for JRPG fans.

Further news about Visions of Mana.

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