Square Enix’s Visions of Mana is “semi open field,” but what does that mean? Producer explains
Square Enix is set to release Visions of Mana this summer, a surprise new entry in the long-running fantasy JRPG series. In our upcoming interview with producer Masaru Oyamada, he explains how the story-driven Visions of Mana will have a “semi open field” and what exactly that means.
Visions of Mana is the latest game in Square Enix’s Mana series. Known as the Seiken Densetsu series in Japan, it originally began as a Final Fantasy spinoff in 1991. Over the years, the Mana series has developed its own distinct lore, with Mana Trees, the holy Mana sword and battling against evil being key components of these colorful and charming fantasy RPG titles. Although the older Mana games have been remade recently, Visions of Mana is the first brand new entry to the series in over 15 years. You will play as Val, a soul guard who protects alms. Alms are pilgrims chosen to travel to the Tree of Mana to rejuvenate the flow of Mana power, vital to the well-being of this vibrant world.
Visions of Mana will have various overworld landscapes and dungeons to explore, with screenshots promising lush and vivid environments that resemble a children’s storybook brought to life. This will be a “semi-open field” game, with Oyamada clarifying that it will consist of a mix of areas large enough to feel like they’re open-world and smaller dungeons. These will be woven together into an almost seamless world that the player can explore. Rather than a fully open world, the semi-open field approach will allow players to discover different environments while advancing the epic story.
Oyamada also explains that Visions of Mana will have dynamic music. Visions of Mana is an action RPG where you encounter monsters in real-time while wandering through the world. Previous Mana games have had the same music for the overworld and battles, but as the explorable areas are much bigger in Visions of Mana, the music will change to fit what is happening on screen. As Oyamada explains “Even if the same song plays in the field, it goes into a different arrangement when you encounter an enemy,” adding that this “gives players a sense of variety and immersion even if they have been playing the game for a long time.”
To find out more about how Visions of Mana is bringing this beloved RPG series up to date, stay tuned for our full, in-depth interview with Masaru Oyamada.
Visions of Mana is scheduled to be released in summer 2024 for PS4/PS5, Xbox Series S|X and PC (Steam).
This reminds me of SMT V’s World, i called it Open Zone areas because they are not open world, but they are not closed off linear worlds either. But i do like the naming scheme of Semi-Open Field. This works better for companies that would like to blend both things together rather than create an open world. It prevents a lot of weird bugs and errors from happening and also can prevent the monotony of travel where it feels like you are just walking 90% of the game and doing fetch quests. I am hoping there is a lot of ways to level up in Visions Of Mana like EXP for exploration for certain areas, and hitting off certain moves in a timed manner or battling unique monsters. This would more than make up for a lack of open world and give more density of options to level up and to feel closer to each area in the game.