Visions of Mana Director Snapped Up by Square Enix Following Studio Cuts | Push Square

pushsquare.com:

Visions of Mana director Ryosuke Yoshida has announced that he left the NetEase-owned Ouka Studios on the 31st October, and that he's now working at Square Enix. Of course, Square Enix published Visions of Mana to begin with, so the move makes sense.

Previously, Yoshida was a designer at Capcom, helping develop titles like Devil May Cry 5. And while we don't yet know what kind of position he'll be given at his new company, it's fair to assume that he'll be placed in a fairly important role, considering his leadership on Visions of Mana.

The action RPG launched back in August, and it was well received by both critics and fans. However, Ouka Studios was downsized quite dramatically following the game's release, with reports saying that NetEase was having doubts over its Japan-based operations.

Branching out

Chinese companies having doubts over Japan

What are your thoughts on Visions of Mana, now that we're several months removed from its release? Do you think Yoshida has a bright future at Square Enix? Embark on a new adventure in the comments section below.

Robert (or Rob if you're lazy) is an assistant editor of Push Square, and has been a fan of PlayStation since the 90s, when Tekken 2 introduced him to the incredible world of video games. He still takes his fighting games seriously, but RPGs are his true passion. The Witcher, Persona, Dragon Quest, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, Trails, Tales — he's played 'em all. A little too much, some might say.

Didn't NetEase lay off most of the studio down the day the game released? Seems like a huge slap in the face to all the developers involved, so I'm not surprised at all that the director would quit. The Twitter message seems cordial enough, though I suspect that a healthy dose of professional courtesy is responsible for that.

Here's hoping some other people get hired by square too.

I hope this means we get more games like Visions of mana. Visions of mana is one of my favorite games from this year

@arzis100193 That's my