Why Visions of Mana is Going to Matter, Hands On Thoughts, Best Deals, and More!

ign.com:

While it's no secret that Mana has been spun-off a ton, it's shocking to realise that it's taken 15 years for someone to envision another mainline entry. For those of you unfamiliar with the era of parachute pants and 1993's Secret of Mana, it is fondly remembered as a legendary must-own for the SNES—an impressive feat given that system was teeming with JRPG GOATs.

Obviously, a modernisation of the franchise is a huge deal, and wild pikuls couldn't have held me back from my world's first chance to go hands-on with Visions of Mana.

I'm going to dive into those impressions in a sec. For now, though, I should probably list some purchasing options for you “mind’s already made-up” diehards who have pined for too long. If that's not you, bypass all the window shopping by skip clicking here to get to my extended thoughts.

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Fair warning before I begin: the time I spent with Visions was barely over an hour, which, in my long years of previewing, felt rather “wham bam, thank you, Mana.” Snooping through two areas of the game—Mt. Gala and Fallow Steppe, both of which are still under development—is not enough time to say if this game is worth your lucre. It is, however, more than enough time to get a feel for what I do and don’t like about where this title is heading.

As per always, the first impression is one of visuals, and Visions proves to be quite the vision indeed. I’m dropped into a sandbox that looks as colourful and vibrant as it is detailed and tickled by incidental movement (think: wind tech ruffling trees, grass, shrubbery, and the frilly lace trims on my four “person” party).

Vast and painterly, like Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, is the overriding opinion. I’m also mighty impressed by the scale of this Sound of Music-esque mountainside I’ve been plopped onto. You’ll have to take some time to crane your virtual neck upwards to fully drink in the snow-capped ranges that girt this sandbox.

That being said, after I poke around, the