A third party made an unexpected guest appearance at today's Xbox Developer Direct. Square Enix interrupted the live to provide further details about their forthcoming Visions of Mana and to announce that the game would be released in the summer of 2024.
Following Obsidian and Ninja Theory's presentations, the surprise visitor appeared to provide fresh information on the upcoming Mana series. The fact that this will be the first game in the series to release on Xbox systems made its presence on the broadcast today very unexpected, to put it mildly.
Much of Mana's Visions Square Enix seems to be building on the success of its Trials of Mana remake with . After all, the vibrant, colorful, fully 3D action-RPG combat is appropriate for the Mana series. However, the pikul—a canine friend the player may ride about on—was, in my opinion, the show-stealer.
It seems that the pikul was formerly a hybrid, combining elements of a pangolin and a Yorkshire terrier. I adore the pikul and promise to look out for it and keep it safe from danger.
New perspectives
Square also briefly discussed the soundtrack, which will include 100 tracks overall and change as the player engages in battle. When the RPG is out, I'm particularly interested to hear this effect play out on the overworld since it sounds so great in practice.
Seeing this type of support for the Mana series is absolutely awesome. It would have been unthinkable ten years ago for a new Mana game to be presented among titles like Indiana Jones and Avowed . It seems like Xbox is reaching out to more independent developers. And that sure looks like Visions of Mana .
When Visions of Mana releases in the summer of 2024, we'll see whether the series still has that action-RPG charm.