Announced at today’s Nintendo Direct, the 1999 action RPG Legend of Mana will be coming to the Switch in June. Though the beloved 90s title will be remastered to fit modern standards, Square Enix is keeping the same charming pixel graphics that players fell in love with over two decades ago.
Legend of Mana is the fourth installment in the high-fantasy Mana series. The series first began as another side story to the Final Fantasy franchise, though those inspired elements were later dropped with the second game, Secret of Mana. Later on, an attempt was made by Square Enix to revive the Mana series with the World of Mana subseries, however, those games were rated far lower than the original Mana games, and the series temporarily ended with Heroes of Mana, which sits at a score of 66 on Metacritic.
Further down the line, however, Square Enix began remaking the Mana series for more modern consoles, not unlike the Pokemon remastered games, starting with Adventures of Mana, a 3D remake of the original Mana title known as Final Fantasy Adventure. Most recently, the 1995 installment Trials of Mana released a 3D remake last year. Additionally, fans can play the original three Mana games from the 90s in Collection of Mana, a bundle for the Nintendo Switch.
Now, it looks like Square might be skipping over Dawn of Mana and will be releasing the next game, Legend of Mana, for the Switch this summer. Originally, Legend of Mana was considered a spin-off to the Mana series and as such, implemented its own distinct style of gameplay that garnered mixed reviews.
Legend of Mana is set in the fictional world of Fa’Diel after the Mana Tree almost completely burned down. Players will assume the role of a hero, either a male or female silent protagonist, who must restore the world and mana to their former glory. Players will shape the protagonist’s backstory and personality.
Additionally, the acclaimed music composed by Yoko Shimomura, best known for her work in the Kingdom Hearts and Super Smash Bros. series, has been rearranged with musical enhancements. It’s unclear if Shimomura has a hand in the remaster of Legend of Mana, but because she’s still actively working on modern Square titles such as the recent Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, it’s highly likely. Either way, players can choose to listen to either the new or original arrangements at any time during gameplay.
Similar to previous Mana remakes, some gameplay and story aspects of Legend of Mana may also be improved upon from the original. Though it’s currently unclear if this is Square’s intention, critics were disappointed with the lack of a clear storyline after the ’99 release.
Legend of Mana will release for the Nintendo Switch on June 24, 2021.
![\"IT電腦補習](\"http://itteacheritfreelance.hk/test/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo2-2.png\"){kind=logo}
www.itsec.hk
www.itsec.vip
www.itseceu.uk
Leave a Reply