Visions of Mana Review – Heading for the Mana Tree

The Mana series of games have been around since way back in 1991, with the release of Final Fantasy Adventure on the Gameboy. Developed by Square Enix and released across a myriad of different platforms, it has been a series that has stood the test of time and continued to churn out solid and fun games. Visions of Mana is the latest in the series and aims to continue that tradition. As the first mainline game in the series since 2006, does Visions of Mana continue in that same vein? We tackle that and more in the review below.

An Exciting Return

Visions of Mana puts players into the role of Val, a soul guard whose job it is to protect the Alms on their pilgrimage to the Mana Tree. Alms are those that have been selected by a fairy and must then make the trip with Van to offer up their life in exchange for keeping the world in balance. Val is a strong character who has no qualms with his job and puts his all into it.  Along with Val, you start the journey with his childhood friend Hina, who happens to be the Alm of Fire. Together, you set out to reach the Mana Tree and set things right.

The characters in Visions of Mana are where this game really shines. Each person you recruit has a good backstory, which helps to shape who they are in the game, and everyone gets a fair amount of screen time here to get their point of view across. The dialogue isn’t always the best, and there are a few story beats that feel like they sped past you, but overall you have a vibrant world full of likable characters and a plot that does enough to push you forward. The story, while not overly deep in its complexity, does present interesting topics such as giving your life for a specific goal, being a part of something bigger than yourself, and what it truly is to sacrifice for others. It often has you wondering if the plight of the alms is one of blind acceptance or a noble cause. It’s not only the main characters that are well developed either, as there are a handful of side characters that aren’t shoehorned in and provide good depth to the experience.

Combat in Visions of Mana plays out similar to what you might see in a Tales of game, with real time combat taking place in a circular area. Players will control one of three field combatants, with the ability to switch between the three, along with options to set up how the AI-controlled members react when you aren’t controlling them. The combat is smooth and works, though it oftentimes feels a bit stiff in its movements. There are also times when you are fighting six plus enemies at a time, and between their abilities and your parties, there can sometimes be a bit too much going on at a given time. All that being said, the combat is enjoyable and rather deep. As you progress the story, you will recruit new members and also find new elemental vessels, which when equipped will gain you access to new abilities. Along with the vessels, you can also equip characters with ability seeds, which have various effects such as boosting your attack, resistances, and more. Each character also has three different weapon types they can use, which changes depending on the vessel you have equipped. This makes trying all the different elemental styles and weapons rather fun, trying to nail down the best combination for your playstyle.

Boss battles provide good value as well here, with plenty of larger than life baddies to get through. These fights can get rather lengthy, as you are often dodging multiple area attacks and switching between different party characters. The difficulty in these fights, and really fights in general felt solid. Like I mention later, I didn’t partake in a ton of side quests and would say I was pretty minimal with a lot of extra battles, but I never felt particularly over or under powered in any fight.

Exploration is a lot more open-ended than I remember in past games (truthfully, I’ve only played Secret of Mana and Legend of Mana). The world provides you with various different things to collect or activate on your journey from point A to point B. It’s not really an expansive world full of lots to do, but what it gives you is enough to keep you occupied and interested in collecting next item. One problem I did find though was just like the combat, exploration can also be a bit stiff at times. There were a few times when my jump or path just didn’t feel fluid enough, but this was really a minor gripe that didn’t pop up all that often. Enemies you find across your travels are also easy to skip past if you don’t feel like fighting at that moment, and the game gives you lots of vertical elements to make the world map feel a bit bigger.

Visually speaking, Visions of Mana is a good looking game, full of colorful and well-designed characters, with plenty of charm to be found everywhere you look. Each person you met was well thought out and for the most part, characters’ voices matched what you were seeing on screen, with a few strange exceptions (looking at you Careena).  I do wish that some of the world itself had a little bit more to it, as the open world can look a little barren at times. Enemies are also given a fair amount of polish, with both grunts and bosses looking great. The soundtrack, on the other hand, was neither memorable nor ear-destroying, so I guess we can call that a wash.

At the end of it all, Visions of Mana is a well-crafted game full of vibrant characters, good combat, and a lot of experimentation with the elemental vessel system. The story is solid enough to carry you through, and with a few surprises I didn’t see coming, but it isn’t anything world-breaking. Clocking in at over 25 hours with minimal time spent on side quests, the game didn’t feel short and also didn’t overstay its welcome. In my opinion, this is a game I think could be enjoyed by veterans of the series or newbies straight off the street. Visions of Mana is well worth the price of admission for anyone looking for a good RPG to add to their backlog.

Score: 7.5/10

Pros:

• Characters are well-crafted and full of life.
• Combat is full of enjoying moments.
• The story does enough to keep you interested.

Cons:

• Exploration/Combat can feel rather stiff.
• The world map can be a drag to navigate.
• Parts of the story feel rushed.