Visions of Mana Review - An Exceptional Venture

In 2024, where there’s been chaos and negativity around every corner for several years now, Visions of Mana offers a charming respite that feels like a cool glass of water in the sun. 

For over 30 years, Mana games have been making their mark on the RPG genre. I had a chance to review Visions of Mana ahead of its launch, and it was my first experience with the series. It was more than I hoped for.

With an absolutely stellar story, lovable characters, fun combat, and a beautiful world, Visions of Mana is an adventure I’d recommend to anyone, RPG fan or not. 

The Alm Adventure in Visions of Mana

Visions of Mana follows the story of Val and Hinna, the Soul Guard and Alm of Fire. Every four years, each element chooses an Alm. That Alm travels to the Mana Tree to sacrifice their soul to the Mana Goddess, ensuring that Mana continues through the land.

The Soul Guard meets with all the Alms to make a journey to the Mana Tree, protecting them along the way. 

The premise of the story is simple, but the story itself is anything but. Without spoiling it, the crew encounters problems along the way. Everything builds up beautifully, and the conclusion left me in tears. 

Originally, I was worried about it feeling a bit cliche. However, parts of the story are executed and written so well that cliche was the last adjective in my mind. Both the journey and the end result exceeded my expectations, and it created such a great stage for everything else in Visions of Mana to shine. 

Visions of Mana’s Lovable Alms

One of the biggest reasons the story worked so well was because of its character. Hinna and Val, the original two party members, are so wonderful. They’re sweet and wholesome, and their relationship is precious.

In my preview, I had high hopes for Hinna’s character. As it turns out, those hopes weren't just met, but things worked better than I could’ve imagined. 

The rest of the main crew – Morley, Careena, Palamena, and Julei – are just as lovely. The characters I wasn’t immediately fond of grew on me quickly, and by the end, I loved them all. The game wouldn’t have been the same without this group.

The group’s dynamics were done well, as they grew closer together and developed relationships with each other as they journeyed. It felt very natural and like every friend group I’ve been a part of in my own life. I loved seeing them talk and banter with each other in the story and just through exploration in general. 

The characters didn’t just grow together, they also developed in their own ways. Each and every character is challenged in some way, and they all grow past it by the end. This was touching to see, and it’s where a lot of the hopeful messages in the game are shown. 

Character-based Combat in Visions of Mana

There’s a lot to love about the combat system in Visions of Mana, and it all centers around the characters. Each character has a unique play style, and players can form teams of three to take on ARPG fights. 

Additionally, each character can be given an Elemental Vessel. These can change their stats, weapons, and even their appearance (including in cutscenes, a little touch that went far). Each Elemental Vessel has its own skill tree of sorts to upgrade, giving characters special and more powerful moves. 

This was fun to tinker with – I loved seeing how each character changed with each vessel, and it gives players incentives to explore the world and have fun with combat. Combat itself is fairly simple, but the strategy going into it is where the fun really happens. Plus, simple combat isn’t a bad thing. 

The boss designs in Visions of Mana are so unique. The entire game is flooded with bright colors that give the game a light feel compared to the main storyline where characters are literally sacrificing themselves to a goddess.

The bosses continue this light feel, mixing poppy colors with fun designs that are never too terrifying. I actually looked forward to seeing what each boss would look like and what the fights would be like. 

The Minor Exploration Problems in Visions of Mana

Visions of Mana is one of the only open-world games I’ve wanted to get lost in. Exploration is incredibly rewarding, and it’s genuinely just fun. The small groups of enemies scattered around are the perfect size, making them quick but satisfying to take down.

Running around the incredibly varied biomes and gorgeous scenery was more fun than I ever thought it’d be.

However, there were a few minor problems. Occasionally, my inputs would overshoot or undershoot where I was trying to go. It made interacting with some things, like save points or chests, difficult at times.

Additionally, there were problems with the auto-tracking system at times. For example, if I needed to use a special item, the auto-tracking system didn’t have a way to show me. 

These problems were very minor, and they were the only real problems I encountered during my time with Visions of Mana. 

Visions of Mana Review | Final Thoughts

It’s not often that I would recommend an ARPG game to gamers who don’t like ARPGs, but Visions of Mana is one that I would. The story, characters, combat, and world are so well done that it’s a treat to experience, and one I think anyone can enjoy. 

Plus, it’s perfect for newcomers to the series. The marketing has said that there are friendly faces from other games, so it’s fun for veterans as well. This was my first experience with a Mana game, but it won’t be my last by any means – Collections of Mana is now on my wishlist. 

TechRaptor reviewed Visions of Mana on PS5 with a copy proved by the developer over the course of 20 hours of gameplay - all screenshots were taken during the process of review.