Once I first bought my fingers on Visions of Mana at PAX East 2024, I used to be happy by how a lot I loved the gameplay. A refreshing tackle battle and sophistication techniques and a clean total movement to fights have been just a few of the highlights I skilled within the two hours I bought to play. For my ultimate preview, it was nearly the alternative expertise, however in a great way. I performed proper from the start of chapter one for about three hours, and what shocked me most this time was how a lot I loved the characters and story.
The journey begins with Val and Hinna, a duo who grew up in the identical city and have identified one another for a very long time. As they set off on their journey to the mana tree, a bit of time is spent on their relationship and the connection they’ve constructed over time. Based mostly on the townsfolk’s feedback, it’s clear that the 2 have nice chemistry collectively, they usually comprehend it. The duo would not even flinch on the thought of being a pair at one level, making me instantly ship them. What made me like them much more is how down-to-earth and relatable they really feel.
Val serves because the aloof player-insert character who will ask questions that any participant who’s new to the collection may also have. Hinna works reverse him completely, giving exposition within the kind of conversations as the 2 journey towards the manna tree, explaining the setting and its background alongside the way in which. Whereas this technique of worldbuilding can really feel compelled, as if the characters are unnaturally dumping data on you, it really works in Visions of Mana resulting from how they craft their character’s backgrounds and personalities.
It’s defined that Hinna is aware of all of the data as a result of she’s been making ready to be the alm of hearth and touring exterior of their hometown for some time now, and the function should be educated. Alternatively, Val has been within the village honing his talents as one of the best swordsman so he can function her soul guard on the journey. She is the brains, and he’s the brawn. It would look like a small factor, however it helps construct each the characters and the world of Visions of Mana whereas establishing how they match of their roles.
Careena and Morley additionally profit quite a bit from getting origin tales. As a substitute of simply being thrown collectively eight hours in with a pre-established dynamic like within the final preview, right here I bought to fulfill every character individually and be taught why they’re additionally on the journey to the mana tree. Initially, I did not like Careena’s sarcastic angle or Morley’s brooding nature. Given the context of the struggles they each undergo simply to develop into alms on this preview, these flaws make rather more sense and even present room for enticing private progress because the story progresses.
Attending to expertise fight, leveling, and skills from the bottom up made me much more appreciative of the RPG components that go into Visions of Mana. As a substitute of having powers unlocked and pre-assigned, I used to be now liable for discovering, unlocking, and determining who to offer them to. Once more, this would possibly sound easy, however having one thing introduced on a platter in excellent order is far simpler than discovering every little thing your self and determining what works finest. Fortunately, it’s a fairly simple course of, though it’s sluggish. All through Chapter One, I discovered sigil seeds by defeating enemies, finishing quests, looking for chests, or shopping for them at merchants with the in-game foreign money. Determining which sigils to assign to which character grew to become its personal sport inside a sport.
Whereas I initially had points combating characters just like the Blood Owls resulting from their velocity, equipping the Thunders Saber to Val and Ice Smash to Careena made for the proper one-two punch to sluggish it down and drain its well being. Attending to assign these talents myself as an alternative of having them already given to one of the best character by the builders helped me higher perceive each the managed and enemy character’s strengths and weaknesses.
Now that I’ve skilled the early and center elements of Visions of Mana, I merely can’t wait to sink my enamel into what the complete sport has to supply. The first preview showcased how good the fight and RPG components are as soon as they’re established, and the second highlighted simply how good the build-up is for the characters, setting, and ever-evolving techniques. Right here is to hoping the story continues to develop as a lot because the gameplay does because the story reaches the later elements of the sport.