Visions of Mana Review: Reminds Me Why I Fell In Love With This Series In The First Place

Nostalgia can be a powerful thing, and may be a prime example of how well that can work for a series' favor. The latest entry in the long-running series maintains most of its signature trademarks and feels like a classic title in nearly every sense of the term. This is both a boon to and a drawback — but it mostly works.

was given advance access to ahead of its release, leaving plenty of time to explore the world, learn about its characters, and experiment heavily with its action-RPG combat. The story, which won't be spoiled here, should be enjoyable for longtime fans, but it also works just fine for newcomers to the series. And this is all by design -in many ways, is an attempt to get back to the series' roots and create a comeback for an IP that's had quite a few middling releases and missteps in recent memory.

For a series that started out as here in the States, theseries has found its own footing in the decades since, carving out its own niche in the RPG landscape and setting itself apart from genre titans like y and. Like those series, each mainline entry works fine as a standalone adventure, but regulars will easily be able to spot familiar terms and tropes — and, of course, find familiar enemies like the adorable rabite, which serves as the franchise's mascot.

's story structure probably won't be a surprise to most people who've played a game before. Protagonist Val seems like pretty standard fare for an RPG hero, and each story portion is fairly segmented. Most of the characters are endearing in their own way, although Careena's personality and pseudo-Southern drawl can start to wear thin. It's a cast worth rooting for, even if none of them are greater than the sum of their parts.

There's a lot to do in — treasures to find, items to collect, side quests to perform — and along the way, more heroes join up with Val and add strategy and customizability to gameplay and combat. There's also a Job-like system which imbues characters with elemental powers,