Once again, nostalgia for the good ol’ days is driving the course of the gaming industry. At the most recent Nintendo Direct, Nintendo announced a slurry of JRPGs and JRPG-adjacent titles, one of which is the upcoming remaster of a 1999 classic, Legend of Mana. While they’re far from new, slowly, Eastern styles of gaming are becoming more and more popular in the west, and this looks to be a continually growing trend on the Switch, and Nintendo seems to be using its hit console to continue the upward trend of JRPGs.
The Mana series isn’t new to remakes. In fact, the most recent game from the series to be remade was Trials of Mana for the Switch, and before that, the most well-received game from the franchise, Secret of Mana, was given a full 3D remake for the PC, PS4, and PS Vita. But what sets Legends of Mana‘s remake apart from the others is, despite it being a full remaster, it preserves the original art style and is keeping with the 2D and pixel graphics seen in the original.
In a community where gamers are constantly calling for the classics of their childhood to be remade with top-of-the-line graphics, this is an interesting change of pace. Soon, gamers will get to experience the golden age of Japanese gaming in a now-mainstream playstyle, and this is excellent news for the upcoming Sea of Stars, which draws direct inspiration from 90s Square Enix RPGs like Legend of Mana.
Not all remakes will turn out like Final Fantasy 7, but the gaming community actively calls for these enhancements. Rather, remasters and remakes often turn out similar to the Pokemon main series games. While the graphics are modernized from the original, the overall quality never really sits right with fans. Pixel art is a solution to work around the egregious expectations of the gaming community, and there are many who are still drawn to older games and enjoy this style.
In terms of graphics, gaming is nothing like it used to be—in a good way—but it’s rare to see triple-A studios developing titles in older graphics styles. But as Stardew Valley showed, many are still enthralled by the art of the old, which is often nostalgic, if not charming. Pixel art is a great tool for new and indie developers because of how accessible it is, especially in terms of animations, which can resort to being rudimentary while exhibiting a classic charm. While indie devs are often limited based on budget, technology, and skill, such was the case with Stardew Valley‘s Eric Barone, it forces them to get creative in that small working space.
Sea of Stars was among the slew of games backed by Kowloon Nights, and Sabotage’s goal is to replicate the 90s experience more than it is hankered down by budget constraints, but the uptick in popularity for pixel art games, such as Legend of Mana, bodes well for Sea of Star‘s hopeful success.
JRPGs in the West are sometimes still considered a niche category, but with the rise of Persona 5, Final Fantasy, and now, Bravely Default, the appeal for gamers around the world slowly grows and grows. However, JRPG is a broad term, used to cover any Japanese-developed games like those with turn-based combat, such as the original Paper Mario, to those that have stats and leveling systems, like Kingdom Hearts.
And while Sea of Stars may not fall under the JRPG umbrella simply because it’s not being developed by a Japanese studio, it draws inspiration from them, most especially Chrono Trigger, another Square Enix title. And hopefully, fans’ love for games like Legend of Mana will drive their insterests to play retro-inspired indies, like Sea of Stars.
Legend of Mana‘s remaster is set to release June 24, 2021 for PC, PS4, and Switch.
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