It’s balancing old and new, then, and embracing a sort of breezy retro simplicity. Pleasing as that is, though, it so far feels a little shallow by comparison to other genre heavy-hitters. Despite moving to an open world and offering sumptuous presentation, Visions of Mana clings to the past and lacks truly fresh ideas of its own. It’s a welcome return and a fun, bubbly, frivolous experience, but the Mana series looks set to remain in the shadow of Square Enix’s premiere franchises for now.
