Visions of Mana’s Producer Discusses Bringing Back the Series After Almost Two Decades

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It’s been 16 years since the last new game in the Mana series, but recent remakes have introduced a whole new audience to the series. With players begging for a completely new adventure, Visions of Mana was born, giving fans the series’ first new adventure since the PS2. We were lucky enough to be able to play about an hour of the upcoming entry and then sit down with Masaru Oyamada, the series producer, to ask him all our burning questions.

He told us how the series has finally managed to make a comeback, why so many of the original developers returned, why the team is bringing back the Ring Command System, and what happened with the long-awaited Secret of Mana remake.

Related: Visions of Mana Preview: Secret of Mana Made Modern

GLHF: Why is 2024 the right time to introduce a new mainline game to the series?

Oyamada-san: It was in 2014 when I took over this role, and the PS4 was already out and the hardware in general had really developed [since the original games were released]. We were in a situation where a lot of the previous titles were no longer available on modern consoles, so we wanted to be able to make sure that the modern audience had a chance to be able to experience those. This is why we really honed in on our mission to focus on remakes.

While creating these various remakes and remastered games, we were thinking about if we were to make a new entry in the series, what sort of technical developments would need to happen in order to make that happen. In that process, we launched Trials of Mana in 2020, and that was a game where things are a little bit more ambitious and ultimately really successful, so we could use that as a basis or as a foundation for Visions of Mana.

Another thing that I'm very thankful for is the surveys that our players took. The one thing that they all expressed interest in was experiencing a new game. Given that response, as a company, we were able to actually get the green light to move forward with creating this latest installment.

Do you think Dawn of Mana will get a remake or a remaster?

At this moment, there's nothing specific in motion. However, as a series, we do want to be able to make sure that the series overall is accessible. So, at an appropriate time, we'd like to be able to think about that, too.

How was the response to the revival of the series?

This is a series that people weren't necessarily expecting at that stage. So I think that we were able to surprise our fans with that announcement. In terms of reception, there was, of course, a lot of joy and surprise from our fans, but the announcement itself wasn't one that was oriented toward explaining the game.

There were people who were very happy, but I did feel as though the response was that a lot of people were very curious to know more about what the actual content of the game would be. One of our biggest objectives [with holding a preview event] was to address any of those concerns that people might have about what the actual content would be. So my hope is that, as everyone gets to experience the game, they are able to get a much firmer grasp of what the game has to offer.

What made you choose to do the extended reveal with Xbox?

With this game, one of our main objectives was to actually expand the series and reach newer players as well. In that sense, we thought it was really important to be able to expand the number of platforms available including Xbox.

A number of people are returning like series creator Koichi Ishii. What was the process of getting the team back together?

Essentially, every single time we had a new movement within the series, I was in talks with Ishii-san, just giving updates on what was going on, just because he is the creator. Being able to actually talk to him about potentially creating the design for the Pikul felt like a very natural extension of those conversations that I'd been having with him, especially given how expansive the world was going to be for this game.

Then of course, I did feel that it was important to be able to involve past staff members of the series in order to really nail that feeling of this game, the feeling of a Mana game. So in order to emphasize that, whether it was on the music side, or with Yoshioka-san who was involved in monster designs, or Haccan, who was kind of involved with the character design, I thought it was really important to involve them in the game.

There definitely were people who were willing to say yes immediately [to coming back to the series], but of course, some other members were very busy. There was some discussion in terms of scheduling and being able to see how things would go.

Why did you think that Visions was the right time to introduce Pikul as rideable characters?

With this game, we knew from the very early stages that we wanted to be able to create a very unique feel, and of course, we also really wanted to be able to capture the feeling of nature as well. Those were the two things that we really honed in on and we wanted to polish with this game. So when we thought about it that way, we knew that traversing this very large, vast land would be very difficult just on human feet.

In the past games, there have been companions that you can ride to traverse the sky or the sea. Rather than having a straightforward riding device, we really wanted to make sure that it could be like an actual living creature. From that perspective, we thought it would be good to maybe ask if we would be able to use the magic to create a unique but also appealing creature that could kind of fill that role.

When we asked Ishii-san about it, one day, he just came up with a design to see, and that's how the Pikul was born. Then, when I got to see the concept art, I did feel that it was going to be a character that a lot of people would treat as a very beloved creature for many, many years, so that made me very happy, too.

Why did you decide to bring the Ring Command system back to the series?

This was something that came about because we were thinking about this becoming an action RPG. We were having our thoughts about how much of an action game it should be versus how much of an RPG game it should be. So this became a feature that can be used to be able to judge that.

When you think about it from the action game POV, being able to implement shortcuts [Note: Visions of Mana features quick access to the Ring Command menu using the bumper without pausing the gam] helps to make it a speedier experience. It's much more exhilarating. On the other hand, the Mana series, from its birth the aim was to be able to create a seamless RPG experience.

We wanted to be able to make it accessible for people who are not as familiar or they don't necessarily prefer those action-oriented games or find those to be too difficult. We wanted to be able to make it so that you may pause the game and still choose what you do. Being able to cater to both kinds of players was the main intention.

Why do you think the Trials of Mana remake was so much better received than the Secret of Mana remake?

The Secret of Mana remake was definitely a challenge at the time just because when it originally launched, this was the first title that I was working on as a producer, and many of the original staff, including Ishii-san, had actually left the company. From a company perspective, I think there were some thoughts about how much of a budget would be appropriate, and there was some hesitation in that regard too.

Through that process, with the remake of Secret of Mana, we were able to secure a certain level of performance [note: A common complaint about the Secret of Mana remake was its poor technical performance] and users were able to share their thoughts in terms of their perception of that game.

My feeling is that the company was much more comfortable with the idea of investing further into the Mana series and continuing to grow it [for the Trials of Mana remake]. But of course, it's a little difficult for me to comment on that because that goes into some of the high-level business sides of the company, which I typically don't see.

Visions of Mana will launch in mid-2024 for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.

Related: Visions Of Mana Is A New Mana Game Coming In 2024