Square Enix steals the spotlight with Visions of Mana at the Xbox Developer_Direct 2024
Developer_Direct isn’t just for first-party studios or exclusives, it seems.
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In December of 2023, fans of the legendary and long-running Mana RPG series were finally treated to abrand-new mainline entry in the franchise after a 15-year hiatus. This time around, too, Visions of Mana is coming to Xbox consoles — the very first time for any Mana game. During theXbox Developer_Direct 2024show, Square Enix surprised viewers by showing off more of Visions of Mana, showcasing the publisher’s growing relationship with Xbox.
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I’m not familiar with the Mana series personally, but Visions of Mana has definitely piqued my interest. Square Enix showed off plenty of in-game footage and gameplay, including a look at the world, character and companion designs, and combat. We also got to hear from Square Enix about the design decisions behind the game, music choices, and more.
It was a shock to see Square Enix’s name pop up during the Developer_Direct, though, since it seemed the show is mostly dedicated to first-party studios or upcoming Xbox exclusives. Visions of Mana is neither, as it’s also coming to PlayStation 5 on day one. The game isn’t confirmed as coming toXbox Game Pass, either. The highly-anticipated action-RPG is arriving in Summer 2024, and I’m excited for it to be my first foray into the Mana universe.
The Mana franchise saw its beginning back in 1991, and since then has been known for its accessible, fast-paced gameplay, colorful world, and expansive narrative surrounding the epic Mana Tree. It has been well over a decade since the Mana series first saw a mainline entry, so it’s great to see Square Enix finally break that silenceandexpand onto new platforms. If you want more information,Xbox Wirehas a handy post detailing Visions of Mana and the history of the franchise.
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Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter@BoddyZachary.
