- Publisher: Square Enix
- Release Date: Aug 29, 2024
- Also On: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X
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Aug 27, 2024Although the new class system has undoubtedly helped to rejuvenate the product formula a little, Square Enix's new "vision" continues to be too anchored to the traditions of the long-running Japanese saga, which this year celebrated its thirty-third anniversary. It is above all on the narrative level that Visions of Mana struggles to convince, as the title only gets into gear in the very advanced stages of the adventure and which we fear may only reach the most nostalgic fans of the series. Finally, everything is aggravated by a series of technical imperfections that we hope will be filed down through specific patches.
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Aug 27, 2024The beautiful graphics and the great gameplay of Visions of Mana unfortunately don't quite distract from the boring story.
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Aug 27, 2024While Visions of Mana presents a fantastical world brought to life with vibrant colors, the story's lack of depth makes it difficult to fully immerse oneself in the game, and the slow combat tempo and repetitive sequences until the mid-game are drawbacks. Despite these issues, the game is held together by its charming characters that keep you engaged until the end.
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Dec 3, 2024The ending didn’t sour me on Visions of Mana overall, but did leave me pondering its squandered potential. This is a game that could have brought the Mana series back to its former glory, but it appears that the development team weren’t given the room to shine. If you decide to try it for yourself, you’ll still find a beautiful game befitting of the Mana series, with some of the best battles it has to offer, but just be prepared for a story that goes nowhere.
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Sep 17, 2024Visions of Mana succeeds as a new entry in the Mana series that feels faithful to its identity while bringing it into a modern context with beautiful visuals. Cute characters and a casual battle system make this an action RPG that is approachable for newcomers to the series as well. Small inconveniences and flawed UX design are not enough to hold the experience back, but a story that approves of self-sacrifice narrows its appeal as a whole.
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Sep 10, 2024Visions of Mana takes you on a fun journey through a magical world, full of both joy and sorrow. A game that draws you in with its beauty but keeps you hooked with its RPG elements and the feeling of playing a '90s game wrapped in modern charm.
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Sep 6, 2024I’m always almost in love with Mana games. There’s just some minor thing that won’t click into place. Visions of Mana is no exception. I’m hooked by the story and the characters are gorgeous. I have a lot of fun exploring this world and meeting all these fascinating people. But the combat still feels a little stiff and sluggish. Battle customization is a mile wide and an inch deep. The plot dragged me by the collar, and the boss fights were a pleasant highlight. I wish the regular combat had some similar hooks to deploy, however. If you’ve been waiting for the next great Mana game, I honestly don’t know if this is the one. But Visions is pretty great for a Mana game.
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Sep 3, 2024The best Mana game in a long while but how it managed to leave out the one feature that should have come as standard is a complete mystery.
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Sep 3, 2024Visions of Mana offers a beautiful world to explore and challenging battles that can sometimes be a bit chaotic. Despite not having a very innovative story, the game provides enough fun and strategic depth to keep players engaged. Definitely worth it for JRPG fans.
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Aug 29, 2024Visions of Mana doesn’t aim to reinvent the wheel or set new benchmarks for the series, but it delivers on the fun and serves its purpose. While there’s room for improvement, especially in the narrative development, which relies on outdated formulas, the game still shines with its simple yet engaging gameplay.
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Aug 28, 2024The game is shorter than the genre often prides itself on, its retro charm is not always entirely well made and, above all, it's very Japanese. But if this little, old franchise is your kind of music - then you have a great adventure ahead of you.
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Aug 28, 2024The story, which won't be spoiled here, should be enjoyable for longtime Mana fans, but it also works just fine for newcomers to the series. And this is all by design - in many ways, Visions of Mana is an attempt to get back to the series' roots and create a comeback for an IP that's had quite a few middling releases and missteps in recent memory.
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Aug 27, 2024Visions of Mana isn’t necessarily breaking the mold, but it’s a good time if you’re keen to rollick around an assortment of biomes, smashing monsters with big ol’ swords and delving deep into the class system. While I don’t necessarily see myself undertaking another playthrough of the game, I do think that fans of the series will enjoy what’s in store. Just brace yourself for the inevitable “grizzly” cry to get stuck in your head.
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Aug 27, 2024The only times I wanted to put down—or throw—the controller were during the cutscenes with the almost offensively poorly written plot developments. I always thought the Mana games could do just fine without a story. I used to think it was nice to have one, but certainly not essential. Now I can honestly say I'd prefer a Mana game without a story if the alternative is a plot like this. Visions of Mana is so charming, plays so well, and is so addictive that even a terribly bad plot can't completely ruin it—though it certainly tries its best.
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Aug 27, 2024There's a great game hidden somewhere in Visions of Mana. It's a blast to play so long as you focus on the gameplay, and its more cartoonish aesthetic helps it stand out from the pack of more realistically rendered JRPG fare. It's just a shame the story is handled as poorly as it is, and that so much of the game is dedicated to its narrative by virtue of it being a story-driven JRPG.
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Aug 27, 2024The charm of Visions of Mana manages to shine through. It’s not the most visually impressive game on any platform, but the colorful art style feels Mana appropriate, the soundtrack is solid if not quite as memorable as prior series entries, and the explorable world is larger than you’d expect, with lots of little chests and other items to find scattered about. I definitely did not hate my time with Visions of Mana, but it’s also not a game that feels like it’ll garner much mass appeal either. If you’re like me, and have fond memories of Mana games prior, then it’s worth checking out. For everyone else, there are plenty of RPG’s on the market that are more worth your time.
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Aug 27, 2024Visions of Mana isn't the most sophisticated RPG, but it's good comfort food for genre fans.
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Aug 27, 2024While much of Visions of Mana’s bloated side content misses the mark, its gripping storyline, likable cast, ample mechanical tweaking, and engaging combat combine to forge a very good game, if not quite a great one.I wasn’t at all confident that we would ever get another big swing at the series, so for all my caveats, I’m damn glad this game exists.
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Aug 27, 2024Visions of Mana simplifies modern action RPGs to fit the classic brand for better or worse. On the one hand, combat can be exhilarating as you get in the groove and make every character work in the best way for you. On the other hand, the story, while beautiful, is too paper-thin for its own good. But this culminates in a game that feels like any player of any age can enjoy it.
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Aug 27, 2024The latest installment in the franchise is more than welcome and scores points mainly on its beautiful and varied world. The combat is also diverse and the soundtrack is incredibly enjoyable. However, the pace of the game is a bit crazy, the dialogues are choppy and the animations are a bit disappointing. Still some flaws, but if you are a fan of the franchise you will nevertheless enjoy it.
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Aug 27, 2024As a nostalgia-driven retread of the classic Mana adventure, Visions of Mana is rock solid — but it struggles to be anything more than a reminder of how magical those old RPGs could be. If you can look beyond the game's monotonous storytelling and tragically bland characters, the essence of an old-school excursion is here, in the exploration of wonderful environments and in battles against burly boss monsters.
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Aug 27, 2024Visions of Mana marks a solid return to the series, featuring an emotionally engaging storyline and striking visuals. However, the side quests and voice acting may turn some players off.
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Aug 27, 2024Visions of Mana aims to bring players back to a classic RPG experience reminiscent of the 1990s. Accepting these conditions, you'll still find a pleasant, colorful action RPG that can entertain you for a good number of hours—nothing more, nothing less.
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Aug 27, 2024Visions of Mana is a short action RPG, with about 25 hours of gameplay, that delivers a bloated and repetitive experience. The exploration mechanics are tedious and its world doesn't take advantage of a fraction of its full potential.
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Edge MagazineSep 5, 2024Combined with the weight of nostalgia, Visions is thus a strangely conservative game. While not lacking the conveniences of modern design (the fast-travel system balances speed with a sense of scale), it's merely evolutionary. [Issue#402, p.112]
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Sep 3, 2024Visions of Mana is a worthy revival of a franchise long kept aside by Square Enix. Inspired by trends in the genre, the studio updates its classic JRPG for the Genshin Impact era, while making an honest adventure with a callback to Mana's traditions as a game.
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Aug 29, 2024The first original Mana series game in over a decade and a half is a pleasant romp through a visually stellar fantasy world. Fun combat quirks such as class switching and malleable builds offer plenty of customization, too, that’s all really quite easy to understand. Unfortunately, some stiffer elements of movement and a story that doesn’t quite realize its full potential have Visions of Mana falling short.
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Aug 27, 2024It’s a shame nothing else in Visions lives up to its gorgeous presentation. While it’s a joy to look at, I found it dull to trudge through, with too many undercooked systems bogging down what’s otherwise extremely simplistic gameplay. Even that wouldn’t be a dealbreaker if its story and characters were good enough, but alas, no luck there either. As someone with a soft spot in my heart for Secret of Mana, I keep hoping that the series will see another truly great game again someday. Unfortunately, Visions of Mana isn’t it.
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Aug 27, 2024There is a game here for someone willing to lower their standards enough, but trust me when I say there are hundreds of better RPGs for you to spend your time on. You do not need to waste it searching for a few nuggets buried here.
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| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
| These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation. | |
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Aug 27, 2024I helped heal Visions of Mana itself from its illness. Things were wrong, the world was not functioning properly. And the poor people doing their best to keep life worth living couldn’t see it. Even in the moments when they could feel it, even when Val at one point begged to be “the villain” under the weight of grief, the world was sticking to its guns and refusing to acknowledge the problem. But in those final moments, when my confusion almost turned to tears as the world was right again, I realized I had helped put Mana back on track. Just like so many folks out there hope Visions of Mana itself is doing. How do you put a score on that? I’m grateful I don’t have to this time.