Visions of Mana main characters and features revealed
It's been a while since we last saw new information for Square Enix's upcoming game Visions of Mana. The game was first announced at The Game Awards 2023 in December, and it also appeared at last January's Xbox Developer_Direct 2024 where we got introduced to the Pikul creatures among others.
Recently in early March, Square Enix published a new press release to Japanese outlets that introduced the game's main characters and features. But as of this writing, the company has yet to update the game's official website or release an English version of the press release, so we have translated the details that we could get from the Japanese article. Note that the romanizations of characters and terms that have not been confirmed in official English press releases are still tentative and may change in the future.
Main Characters
Val
"Rescuing my precious friends is an obvious thing to do."
The protagonist of this game, who comes from the fire village Tiana. The Soul Guard also has a duty to protect the Child of Fire. He has a good-natured personality and is also brimming with curiosity. When the Child of Fire has been chosen, that also becomes his opportunity to travel to regions around the world. He is proud to have been chosen as the Soul Guard, as well as a representative of his village.
Hina
"Please escort me to the Tree of Mana, Mr. Guard!"
Val's childhood friend who also comes from the fire village Tiana. She is chosen to become the Child of Fire. She is really glad that she gets to get on a journey with Val, the Soul Guard.
Karina
"My dream is to see the world with my own eyes."
Karina comes from the wind valley Longren, but she lost one of her wings due to an accident. She has a strong interest in the world outside the village, and she dreams of traveling around the world as a Child. She is also close friends with Ramco, the child of a holy beast who rescued her from the accident. The two may even look like they are actually related sisters.
Mortrea
"What do you mean about carving the future? Do I have the qualification for that?"
Mortrea comes from the moon town Etherana. An incident that happened in his hometown during his childhood inflicted a deep wound on his mind. Encountering Val's party will allow him to face his own past.
Story Synopsis
The protagonist Val, who lives in the fire village Tiana, invites his childhood friend Hina to a festival where they can see Faeries. These Faeries have a duty once every 4 years to appoint Children who will be then tasked to travel to the Tree of Mana and support the circulation of Mana that fills the world. When the sun sets, the sky glitters, and the Faeries are seen flying down towards Hina. She is chosen as the Child, and the villagers celebrate. Val now goes on a journey to escort Hina to the Tree of Mana as the Soul Guard.
Spirit Vessels
These are mysterious items that host the power of Spirits. Characters will be able to use the power of Spirits from their respective Vessels in both Exploration and Battles.
While exploring fields, the Spirit Vessel can be used to control Gimmicks. You can discover new items or paths by manipulating wind, stones, or even time. Coming back to previously explored fields with new Spirit Vessels may even lead to more new discoveries.
During battles, each character can equip a Spirit Vessel to determine their Class. Changing Class will also alter status, abilities, and the weapons they can equip. The abilities will range from sealing enemy movements to continuously healing allies. Understanding the perks of each class will be the key to gain an advantage in battles.
There are also two Spirit Vessels introduced here:
Djinn Boomerang
A Spirit Vessel hosting the power of the wind spirit Djinn. Its effects will revolve around Whirlwinds.
During explorations, it will let you make a big jump by creating updrafts between valleys with broken bridges, or even float rocks as platforms to detour from apparent dead-ends.
Throwing the vessel to enemies during battles will make them bound with Whirlwind. Attacking it will cause the whirlwind to burst and launch wind blades into its surroundings.
Characters who equip the Vessel will also get the following classes:
- Val - Rune Knight
- Karina - Dance Princess
- Mortrea - Wanderer
Luna Sphere
A Spirit Vessel hosting the power of the moon spirit Luna. Its effects will revolve around Time manipulation.
During explorations, you can use it to slow the speed of ice flowing on rivers to make it safely traversable. You can also go back and forth between past and present to open or close other paths.
Using the vessel during battles will generate a field that will either slow down the enemies' movements or reduce the time for allies' magic casting when they enter it.
Characters will also get the following classes by equipping this Vessel:
- Val - Aegis
- Karina - Moon Reader
- Mortrea - Night Blade
Pikul
Visions of Mana will have a new friendly creature named Pikul, which will help you move comfortably on the ground. You will be able to call it with a specific Bell item.
Other than moving around the vast fields quickly, it can also rout enemies during the movement.
Visions of Mana will be available for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, and PC via Steam and Microsoft Store worldwide in Summer 2024.