Anime idea responsible for recent remaster

Among the news and announcements coming out of this weekend's Mana 30th anniversary live stream, Square Enix announced that an anime series, based on 1999's Legend of Mana, is currently in the works fo??r Japanese TV. A rele??ase date was not announced.

The new anime series is expected to feature the settings and characters of the PlayStation release, the fourth mainline title in the long-running Mana series. The anime is being produce??d b?y Warner Bros. Japan, along with partner studios Yokohama Animation Lab and Graphinica, previously responsible for the anime adaptations of the manga Hellsing.

In an interesting tidbit, it appears that the recent remaster of the original Legend of Mana game is a result of the desire to create this anime, not the other way around. According to Mana series producer Masaru Oyamada, the Legend of Mana remaster was not even in discus??sion, but a Warner Bros. executive pitched the anime series with such passion, that it ignited a desire with?in Oyamada to begin work on remastering the game!

While the anime series is clearly still somewhere in the far-flung future, you can check out the official website right here. Additionally, the Legend of Mana remaster is now availab??le on PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

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Mind Your Manas

It's been 30 years since the debut of the beautiful and classy Seiken Densetsu series, better known in the west as the Mana series. That's three decades of colorful fantasy, whimsy, and wonder. And while not all of the series myriad entries have been stellar, the series has had its fair share of stone-cold classics. Publisher Square Enix is getting set to celebrate the Mana series upcoming anniversary with a special Japanese live stre?am, scheduled to take place this weekend.

Hosted by Mana series producer Sho Oyamada, Eleki Comic's Susumu Imadachi, and series creator Koichi Isshi, the live stream will chart the long and storied history of this beloved franchise. From 1991 Game Boy release Final Fantasy Adventure, through the brilliant 1993 SNES release, Secret of Mana, the 2006 PS2 entry Dawn of Mana, and numerous spin-offs, the stream will re-tread the lengthy journey that has lead fans to new release Legend of Mana, which launches this very week.

The stream is scheduled to last around three hours and will kick off Sunday, June 27, at 20:00 JST on the official Square Enix Japan YouTube channel. Of course, both time and language will provide something of a barrier to western fans, which is a shame, but we'll be sure to let you know if there is any pertinent news or other info that comes out of this celebratory event. In the meantime, Legend of Mana launc??hes June 24 on PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

//twit??ter.com/Seiken_PR/status/1406887740747124736?s=20

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This time, we plant the tree

Squaresoft was having a hell of a time designing Mana games back in the day.

I was a simple child: I saw a Mana game (or an Evermore!), I rented it and tried it. In the year 2000, I remember picking up Legend of Mana and being thoroughly confused, then slowly understanding it, and coming to love it. I got to relive that feeling 21 years late?r and it's been a delight.

Legend of Mana (PC, PS4 [reviewed], Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Released: June 24, 2021
MSRP: $29.99

First, a bit of back??ground to ma?ke sense of some of the whimsical entropy.

A long time ago, the various races of Fa'Diel battled in the wake of a burned Mana Tree (a font of life), and some civilizations were smushed into artifacts. It's up t?o you, as a man or a woman hero (your choice), to collect said artifacts?, and rebuild the entire world as you see fit.

Legend of Mana was very much a product of its era, when JRPGs like Dark Cloud were experimenting with "worldbuilding" and player choice. No matter how you approach it, there is a Mega Man-esque "end" to the narrative, no matter how you choose to snake through the labyrinth. But ultimately, the lack of direction and the open-ended nature in which to approach everything helps Legend of Mana stand out from the pack, even today.

Again, you're wandering around this new world yourself, trying to make sense of it amid a very simple combat system and plenty of charming dialogue and character interactions. The flow of Legend of Mana involves the player character typically exploring a town, finding a questing companion (which can be controlled by another player), then heading into a dungeon. After completion, you'll earn at least one artifact (if not more), which then unlocks a new "main quest," amid ot??her NPC interactions, and so on. But it's not always so cut an?d dried.

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Sometimes quests involve conversation puzzles, or pure exploration. And you probably should lean into the journey, because that's where Legend of Mana really shines. It still looks lovely with or without a remake, but the enhanced resolution does do it favors. The backgrounds are absolutely stunn??ing, and it's a treat to unlock a new artifact/land just to see how the art team is going to handle it. There are also some pretty insanely weird creatures and characters that only this game can deliver on.

It's also still going to be polarizing 20 years later. Legend of Mana is likely going to face the same criticisms as Octopath Traveler, in that things mostly feel loosely related, or complete?ly isolated. It doesn't have a grand villain that make??s itself known early on, and even the main questline isn't really in your face.

But to some, that's a plus. It certainly is for me, having seen two decades of games follow the same tropes over and over. I think over time, people have co??me to love this little gem and appreciate it more.

If you crave an intricate combat system, Legend of Mana might not be for you. Dungeons typically involve getting to the bottom (or en??d of the path) and fighting a boss. "Sticking to them," like a lot of old-school brawlers, is a sound strategy for the majority of these foes. Combat is extremely floaty, and in some cases, delayed, giving off the air of a classic JRPG while moonlighting as an action system. It's the single weakest element of the game, but with the ability to turn battles off if you're winded, you can choose to focus on some of the more flavorful bosses instead.

In the remake, you can even toggle encounters off entirely (with the exception of boss battles), just in case you wanted to take the?? exploration angle a lit??tle more seriously. Oh, and the small quality-of-life option to toggle two-player co-op at any time (instead of being at the whim of an inn or save point) is a Godsend if you're going at it from that angle.

If you break down the core loop, it doesn't ?seem super impressive on paper. And not every zone is a winner. But the slow pace helps you tune into some of the more intimate character moments, and the open-ended approach allows it to gain a lit??tle more of an edge in terms of evergreen replay value.

It's about the micro-level of making a difference in these little characters' lives and the macro-level worldbuilding??. And it's extremely charming and welcoming �fitting, given the tranquil nature o?f the art style, soundtrack (which now has a toggle for the new arranged version or the classic tracks), and the core theme.

All these years later it's a treat to revisit the world of Legend of Mana in any form, much less through an HD modern lens. It's still unlike just about anything? else out there.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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The remastered HD backgrounds are an adjustment, for sure

If I'm going to play an older action-RPG, I want to do so on my Nintendo Switch, plain and simple. Thankfully, the Mana series got the message – Square Enix is bringing back Legend of Mana in 2021.

The trailer serves as a vivid reminder of ??how cool this game's bosses were and still are.

Announced during today's Nintendo Direct, Legend of Mana is coming to Switch, PS4, and Steam on June 24 with enhancements like remastered graphics, a toggle for enemy enco??unters, the Ring Ring Land mini-game, and the ability to hear the original soundtrack or choose an arranged version.

The more PlayStation-era R?PGs that tag-team Switch and PC, the better. Keep the train going!

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