Visions of Mana

If you remade Secret of Mana in modern times, you would get this. Its not a 10/10, its more of an 8/10, but it feels like a 10/10. Secret of Mana is a classic, and because of that it gets some leeway and its short comings are disregarded. Visions has some short comings too, but it still maintains the same feel and charm of the SNES classic. I enjoyed my time and never got bored. I even did a bunch of side quests. It felt like an honest to goodness return to form to the old style of games where you just sit down and have fun. The best part for me was trying to beat the lvl 50 enemies while under lvl 20. The option alone made me think of ways to somehow win. I really hope this was a sign we'll get more Mana in this way.

Character A:"I was chosen to sacrifice myself." Character B:"That's great to hear, we always wanted something like this for you! :D" Savage. Memes aside, the game is definitely quite rough around the edges, but overall a very enjoyable experience. Most combat encounters are trivial, I got through "Hard" difficulty repeatedly holding down the triangle button, dodging when the ground was red and burning through consumables. Only the postgame fight and a few optional encounters (so-called aeries) really necessitated me to make specific strategies and swap between characters a lot. The level curve was almost perfectly keeping up with me while linearly following the story, but once the game opened up and I started doing all the sidequests that popped up, I got a solid 10 level lead over most encounters. Still got one-shot occasionally. Story was okay, it's pretty classic JRPG and doesn't really try anything new, but it achieves what it's trying to do. Voice acting, I found decent on the main characters, but it gets funky on side NPCs. Meeting Morly for the first time gave me whiplash, but it grew on me. Visually, the environment is absolutely gorgeous, the effects pretty and there's nostalgia galore, but the characters can be a bit off-putting, since they all look like porcelain dolls and the lack of lip syncing and the often very restricted facial impressions are not helping that impression. Some even got a reflective sheen on the skin, which is hilarious. I cracked it up to art style, but couldn't shake off creepy dollhouse vibes at times. Music was okay all-around. No real bangers that make you stop what you do and listen, no real stinkers that make you wanna turn it off either. For the most part, it just sat unobtrusively in the background and did its magic setting the mood. To me, it enhanced immersion quite a bit. QoL leaves a bit to be desired. Like, being able to use the world map when you are flying, for example, or making some traversal points permanent instead of constantly having you hit the switch again every time you backtrack (and you backtrack a lot if you do side quests). By the time you get to fly, fast travel becoming unlocked beyond continent borders would have been nice as well, since it would save you one loading screen. It's the little things, nothing too game breaking (unless you got no SSD, I guess). Personally, I got the game on sale and I'd suggest you do the same, especially if you're only going for a single run. I got 56 hours of decent entertainment for 23 bucks and I think that ratio is pretty good, but you can be done with the main story in like 25 hours if you don't do the side stuff and at that point full price seems really unattractive.

Fun JRPG with a really well built combat system. Lots of interesting story points. Ending is one of those "up to your interpretation" types so keep your expectations low.

Honestly incredibly vanilla and boring. The gameplay and combat are very basic, the story is a genuine slog and the characters are walking mediocre stereotypes.

非系列粉丝，单纯喜欢日系RPG，来聊聊游戏体验。 一、优化 帧数稳定，少有掉帧，也没有闪退问题，遇到过1次卡读图，总体来说很不错。 二、音乐 以舒缓、欢快的曲调为主，也契合游戏整体基调，不是什么苦大仇深，就是典型的王道冒险。 三、美术 类似碧蓝幻想的色彩搭配风格，但饱和度相对较高，人物偏向卡通。场景大多是暖色调，游戏中有非常多的花草树木，很养眼。打完仁王3的可以来这里治疗眼睛。 四、剧情 可以聊的不多，主题仍然是勇气、成长、责任，亲情、友情。虽然俗套，但讲了一个完整的故事。要写一个精彩的故事不容易，但有些编剧就喜欢喂屎。如果水平不行，你就把故事讲清楚就行，千万别放飞自我整活。 五、地图 （一）随剧情解锁坐骑，可以快速在场景内或大区域间快速移动。场景中的龙脉既可以恢复状态也可以传送，可以说在探图体验上很便捷。 （二）熊蜜，硬币，可以在对应商店购买物品。 （三）宝箱、精灵居所、精灵等要素，都标记在地图上，到对应位置收集即可。精灵居所挑战完成后可以获得技能种子，精灵在获得对应精灵器后可以互动帮助玩家抵达常规情况下无法达到的地方或者跨越障碍地形。 （四）遗迹，一共8个，里面的敌人比较强，可以获得强力武器。 （五）仙人掌，一共38个，靠近有音效提醒，推荐对照攻略来找，集齐日记可以获得经验双倍、购买物品打折等实惠效果。 六、支线 大多数都是打怪、收集素材的任务，有一部分任务奖励强力武器、技能种子，也是获得金钱的一大来源。探图的时候顺路就做，随着章节推进，每个场景大多都有新支线。 七、养成 （一）职业，除了基础职业，8个精灵器对应8个职业，职业可以随时切换。在元素面板可以学习技能，如果对加点不满意或是想尝试其他搭配，可以消耗道具洗点。 （二）队伍，一共5个可操作角色，可以详细的定制战斗方案。出战角色3个，玩家主控1个，另外2个由电脑控制。 （三）装备，就只有武器和衣服，也没有强化等机制，逐步更新即可。游戏有一个武器纸娃娃系统，可以选择你喜欢的外观。 （四）技能种子。除了元素面板学习的技能外，还可以装备技能种子来为角色赋予额外的技能，技能种子槽位和职业技能槽位都是10个（需要消耗道具解锁），都可以自由搭配。技能施展方式除了组合键，也有轮盘快捷键，可以尽可能多的装备上各种技能。击败怪物获得的魂石，可以用来兑换各种技能种子。 八、战斗 （一）负面状态。本作的负面状态多种多样，会给玩家造成很大的麻烦，比如黑拉比兔这种可以施展各种负面状态攻击的BOSS也够玩家喝一壶，因此解除异常状态的道具和技能必备。 （二）部位破坏。游戏中的小怪、精英怪都是一小只，BOSS则是一大只。在战斗中可以切换锁定部位，如果仔细观察不难发现弱点部位。破坏弱点后BOSS会陷入大硬直，是集火输出的好时机。 （三）游戏没有防御这一功能，因此躲避怪物攻击的主要方式是闪避、跳跃、空中冲刺，靠技能无敌时间躲也是可以的。 （四）玩家施展的各种攻击会让怪物进入击飞、倒地、眩晕等状态。同样玩家受到怪物攻击也是如此，因此施展技能时注意走位，尤其是一些吟唱技能更需要安全的环境。 （五）必杀技。受到怪物攻击或者攻击怪物都会积攒SP值，同一角色不同职业必杀技不能，演出效果还是挺帅的，可以作为主要输出方式。 （六）精灵器。精灵器不仅在探图、养成方面发挥重要作用，也能参与战斗，搭配其他技能可以较好的控制怪物，或者破坏弱点部位，为玩家创造输出空间。 （七）图鉴。可以看到各种怪物的属性抗性，选择弱点属性攻击能让战斗更轻松。 九、总评 标准的日系RPG，好上手，体验人性化，但综合质量一般，推荐打折再买。

良い点 ・景色とかは綺麗（だが、戦闘中の処理速度間に合わないので結局グラフィック低にすることになる） 悪い点 ・あとちょっとで倒せるって時に、逃げる気がないのに逃げてしまう（逃走モードになっているのに気づかない） ・声と顔がどうしても一致しないキャラが多い ・主人公の独り言がうるさい ・ストーリーが雑（そうはならんやろ、とか、ついさっきと言ってること違うやんって突っ込みが多々ある） ・欲しい説明が載っていない（左下の黄色ゲージとか） ・グラフィック高だと、戦闘中に処理速度が間に合わない問題があるので、結局低でやることになる ・急にアイテム使えなくなったりするバグ？も存在する ・戦闘に負けたら、直前のセーブからになる（結構理不尽な死に方するときあるのに、戦闘前からにしてくれない）

[h2]Context[/h2] This will be a predominantly spoiler free review. I played the game on Hard from start to finish with English voice acting. My style of play was prioritizing exploration and backtracking frequently to keep an eye out for side quests as the main story progressed. This affected my impression of the main story somewhat but will explain in "The Bad" section below. [h2]The Good[/h2] The story is pretty strong and has a lot of emotional payoffs when things are all said and done. The characters are probably the most fleshed out of the previous Mana series (I've played them all starting with the original SNES Secret of Mana). Additionally the voiced cutscenes were very well done and I felt the casting for all the characters were spot on. The world building and environments were a joy to experience and move through. I don't see it as a home run, granted, but seeing this world unfold as you moved through it was satisfying. It had a lot of scenic spots and places that you just wanted to drink in when you found yourself there. The combat on Hard was somewhat tedious due to what I would consider as a little clunky both in how your character moved in combat as well as fighting with the camera during some encounters more frequently boss battles. I adjust the camera speed until it was responsive enough for me, but it still felt unresponsive at time. Nonetheless I enjoyed the combat and the progression system surrounding it. There was a good amount of depth and build opportunity there to customize your team. The amount of content was substantive but not bloated. There are plenty of NPCs to chatter with, side quests to do, and sprawling settings to search through. Weapon models looked great and so did the most of the class designs. If you're the type to really scrub to every inch of a game you'll enjoy this. [h2]The Bad[/h2] There is unfortunately some rough spots with this entry. I experienced a number of recurring bugs such as random audio playing on loading screens, missing assets when using the map UI, and objective markers appearing incorrectly on said map UI. I found floating objects in a number of the environments too, and at times my party members would move erratically when in tow. Certain weapons were poorly animated when you run. Now, this isn't anything game breaking but definitely hampered my experience. While I enjoyed the combat the majority of the time through my playthrough, it did feel feel repetitive halfway through the game even with several party members to choose from and elemental classes to choose from. The party AI didn't feel robust enough, and they felts incompetent at times, but even then I managed without too many defeats on Hard. The side quest variety range from uninspired fetch quests to some longer more heartfelt escapades. These are skippable so if there rewards aren't to your liking you're never pressed to do them. I do think the best way to experience the story is to just skip all the side quests and do them once your close to the end of the story. I think the narrative feels more cohesive this way and you don't get the sense that I did that there wasn't much effort in updating NPC dialogue when the story hits some big plot points. Now while I enjoyed the exploring the various continents and locales in Visions of Mana, there were moments that it felt empty. There are plenty of beautiful vistas and views, meadows and mountains, villages and cities but at times it just felt like something was missing. Some areas felt almost too large and spaced out without consideration for enemy density, NPC presence, and points of interest. Itemization wasn't very deep. Weapons and armor were all just incrementally more attack or defense as your found them. Item sorting also felt basic and would always reset to their default setting which made it droning to peruse though. It definitely could have been tidied up substantially. [h2]Final Thoughts[/h2] I think this is an easy recommendation when it's on sale. I think the final product isn't polished enough to warrant the full price. The pacing felt uneven at times, and the distribution of side quests hampered the main story and want to reiterate should be saved for closer to the end. Once the credits rolled and I finished up my time with the game I did feel moved by it. I will remember this entry into the Mana series fondly and I liked that they took a really big swing on it and put a lot of heart into the characters and world. Definitely stay for after the credits!

Some would comment on the childish story and how strange it is the civilization accepts sacrifice and folks are happy to be chose. Then I remember the very first one and it's entire start being a kid falling off a log after a dare then kicked out of his home. This game fits the mana series very well.