Visions of Mana crashes the Xbox Developer Direct party

An incredibly pleasant surprise, Square Enix appeared in the Xbox Developer Direct like a random turn-based battle in a 90s JRPG to reveal gameplay of the highly anticipated Visions of Mana.

The first mainline entry into the Mana series in over 15 years, the developer showcase gave us some gameplay footage ahead of the release in Aussie Winter 2024.

A key feature of the gameplay shown was the introduction of “pikuls”, companions you can encounter in the world and use as a mount (and pal) in the super-pretty game world. The giant adorable dog has me on board instantly, to be honest, if I wasn’t already. Additionally, Visions of Mana showed off some of the combat systems, noting that this one properly puts the “action” in “action RPG”. There is also the addition of the new aerial combat system which will allow you to attack with weapons and magic while in mid-air.

“Fans can also expect to see the return of series staple, the Elementals. These assist players during battle in the form of specialized items, with each weapon producing a different effect in combat according to its respective element, allowing for a fast-paced, flexible fighting style.” says the press release.

Additionally, it is set to feature an expansive soundtrack that will have over 100 songs at launch, all composed or having received contributions from musical creators who lent their talents to previous Mana titles, including Hiroki Kikuta, Tsuyoshi Sekito and Ryo Yamazaki. “Visions of Mana will also feature a new adaptive music system that will allow players to seamlessly transition from map exploration into battles and heighten their sense of urgency through the arrangement of background music which will change the moment players enter or leave combat.”

Overall, this looks like an incredibly exciting entry into the Mana series, and we can’t wait to check it out for ourselves.

Visions of Mana will be launching in Winter or PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC and Steam.