Visions of Mana - Interview @ RPG Site

RPG Site interviewed Mana Series Producer, Masaru Oyamada-san:

Visions of Mana Interview: Masaru Oyamada and designing a world touched by the Elemental Spirits

When we had the chance to play the upcoming Visions of Mana earlier this month, Square Enix was kind enough to offer us a chance to have a chat with the Mana Series Producer, Masaru Oyamada-san. We talked about the long wait for another release in the series, and what the goals were when developing it.

RPG Site: So, it's been nearly 2 decades since the last truly new release in the Mana series. Obviously we had the Trials of Mana remake a few years that was a milestone for the series as it had been dormant for quite a while at that point. With that being said; what has been the goal with Visions of Mana, considering that it's essentially a revival for what must be one of Square Enix's most seminal and beloved RPG franchises?

Masaru Oyamada: So a strong objective that we had was that, this series, it's been 15 years since the last mainline game launched. When the original inceptor of the series, Koichi Ishii, originally left his position - we found ourselves in a situation where we weren't able to release a new game in the series. Yet in the end we still really wanted to release a flagship game for the Mana franchise as a whole. Trials of Mana in and of itself was a very ambitious remake; the reception for that was well-received by fans, and we conducted a survey just to gauge interest from users - with many expressing interest in a new installment in the series. Ultimately, our hope is to be able to deliver such a title to fans is what has lead us to Visions of Mana.

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Thanks Couchpotato!