The demo for Visions of Mana was recently released across platforms, allowing me to check out a chapter of the upcoming RPG from Square Enix and Ouka Studios. Given my experience with the Mana series, I had an approximate knowledge of what to expect from this demo, though it exceeded these expectations in quite a few ways.
The first thing I noticed was how gorgeous Visions of Mana is. As is often the case with Mana titles, the vibrant colors and uniquely appealing character designs give off an inimitable sense of whimsy and light-hearted adventure, the enemy monsters are cute and memorable, and the environments are sprawling and pleasant to look at. There’s little as immediately charming as the visual design of Visions of Mana, with it looking especially great on the PS5.
The real-time action gameplay is exciting and methodical thanks to the different elemental advantages you can utilize. Stringing together combos with each of the characters felt very satisfying, with the flashy special attacks standing out as a highlight of combat. It’s a smooth sort of combat that meshes well with the magic attacks and RPG mechanics of Visions of Mana and one that I imagine will remain fresh for the entire game.
“The bits of narration and character interactions I got seemed to communicate that this will indeed be a bittersweet narrative, which I’m already a bit invested in.“
The end of the experience featured a boss battle with an enormous Kraken, which was a nice change of pace from the smaller enemies that populated the overworld. I ran into some minor issues with the lock-on system while trying to hit the Kraken’s tentacles instead of his head, but these weren’t especially frustrating.
It was quite fun to explore the larger open area that appears midway through the demo, as it offered a taste of the different sidequests and collectibles that will be found in the full game. I got to ride these enormous wolf-like creatures, which further added to the whimsical nature of Visions of Mana’s world. I hope the full game has more open areas like this, as exploring it was my favorite part of the demo.
Finally, I was intrigued by the story from the small snippet I received in the demo. Similar to Final Fantasy X, Visions of Mana seems to follow a group of characters that set out to the Tree of Mana for a few of them to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their homes and people. The bits of narration and character interactions I got seemed to communicate that this will indeed be a bittersweet narrative, which I’m already a bit invested in.
I’m excited for Visions of Mana to release on August 29, as the demo indicates this will be another excellent installment into the Mana series from Square Enix. The story, visuals, and gameplay are all exceptional, with the demo being available to download now if you want to experience it for yourself.
