the TRUTH about Visions of Mana

I don't think there's a game coming out this year that will top this for me, even if I do recognize that FF7RB is the superior game. This is gonna be my game of the year.
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Twitch: / solaceanddread
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#visionsofmana #jrpg #rpg

[@chicodepuertorico1450]

"makes me feel like a kid again." That's what I've been looking for. The demo was fun. I can't wait for the main title. :)

[@SolaceAndDread]

Can't wait to compare notes!

[@MisterAlerion]

Nice. The demo was wonderful and I was just saying to myself over and over "wow this is well done! I'm so charmed!" There are small nitpicks sure but wow, this is a fun and colorful world that I can't wait to explore. I'm not expecting Rebirth quality, I'm just ready to play another great Square game.

[@SolaceAndDread]

right, this should hold a lot of us over until the next AAA title, hahaha.

[@shazel8616]

The game is not out yet , but some people will always find a reason to start complaining 😊

[@Zephyr_Weiss]

Did you know that demos are playable before the full game is released? How about you stop bitching and do some research.

[@Disconnis]

Some people will relentlessly defend a game without accepting ANY criticism of it... 😔

[@derekosgood3230]

​@@DisconnisThat's why I play games for myself and if I like it, then I like it. Criticism is usually subjective anyway. People act like FF16 is the worst game ever. I love that game. I disagree with most of the criticism I've seen lol

[@jordankelly4684]

Well 2 weeks later I beat the game, and it's worst point is it falls apart in the endgame, they were visibly rushed to release by corporate, it was like. 5/10s of the way to DQ11 endgame quality, and they gave up.

[@chesterfieldthe3rd929]

My love for Legend of Mana makes me want any game that even comes close to it and unfortunately i haven't found any game even close. It's a unique masterpiece and there in lies the problem. I would be happy if they just did the forging and items the same way in this game. I'm starved for a game anywhere close to Legend. With that being said hopefully this game is good and finds a way to scratch everyone's itch in their own way.

[@antney7745]

What I got from the story of the demo so far, reminded me a lot of Final Fantasy X and Yuna's arc.

[@SolaceAndDread]

YO how did I not make that connection????

[@amacandtheswordoflight310]

I would say the story being simple probably isn't the worst thing in the world for it to be honest the Mana games have never had the most complex story in the world it has similar appeal to Dragon Quest it's a comfort food jrpg which is perfectly fine by me

[@SolaceAndDread]

I feel that. Buuuut since they're throwing so much story and cutscenes at us in this game it would be nice to have it a bit deeper if we gotta sit through it, lol. Dawn of Mana actually had a really rich story.

[@amacandtheswordoflight310]

@@SolaceAndDread fair enough

[@MrMarvell]

I need a feel good JRPG in my life right now so this game coming out soon is great timing.

[@SolaceAndDread]

It really is a "feel-good" RPG, huh... Yeah, I guess I need it too. I took PTO for it, lol.

[@4Clubs]

Brother, I hope you're feeling better. Remember to take care of yourself. As for burning out near the end of FF7R2, that is honestly something that happens frequently to me when playing almost any game. To me personally, it's a bad idea to push through, you need to give it some time. Anyway, keep doing your best and God bless you, brother.

[@SolaceAndDread]

Thanks man, I'm doing pretty great now, I think I have the balance figured out ❤. FF7 I took a few months off but I will probably go back and finish next week before Visions

[@jogymogy3691]

I wait for a price drop. Also have to play Trails of Cold Steel 2.

[@jordankelly4684]

I loved it, I just wish it wasn't rushed in the endgame content, the way things were handled screams, corporate is breathing down our necks and we're not done, but have to release now.

[@varuna918]

The game has denuvo. The demo has denuvo. The stutters though are not happening becasue of denuvo. It's because there is no shader cache compilation at the start of the game, and compiling shaders on the fly always causes stutters (more or less depending on your system, mainly the CPU). About the large areas "activities", I'm glad they didn't do the whole FF7R tedious mini games. I never liked having mini games in an JRPG, give me meaningful stuff instead, like secret areas, side dungeons, hidden treasures. Stuff like assassin's creed open world gameplay has no business in a fast paced ARPG. I'm glad Visions of mana doesn't have that. What it needs though is more encounters on the map, there were not enough mobs. The mini bosses were a nice addition. I actually think the mana series could use some diablo-like gameplay (not diablo 3 or 4 obvisouly, but more last epoch or Path of exile), with more item and/or skill depth. Since the mana is by essence and hack & slash, and has the potential to become the first true JRPG h&s.

[@SolaceAndDread]

It's possible to have varied gameplay in an open zone without pushing it to nauseum like 7R did. fact is, that is going to be what nails GotY for them, the immense amount of stuff to do in the game. There's definitely some area of acceptable side content between 7R and what Visions seems to have. I hope it's a little better in the full release. (Same for the stuttering, lol)

[@dios_del_encanto9327]

Since it looks like we're getting 5 playable characters. And each character have clear similarities to previous games classes and/or combat roles. Val - Duran - Randi (Melee DPS/Tank) Morley - Hawkeye, (Melee DPS/Support) Careena - Kevin/Riesz (Melee DPS/Support) Palamena - Angela - Popoi in class/abilities, but Primm in appearance (Magic DPS) Julei - Charlotte - Primm in class/abilities, but Popoi in appearance. (Healer, Support) There are other games with similarities, like Dawn of Mana Keldy - Val, or Ritzia - Hima, but I've only played Seiken Densetsu 2 & 3, I should play 1/FF Adventure, but still haven't gotten to it. Most Mana games changed too much from the Secret & Trails of Mana formula, so I'm thrilled that this appears to be a nice return to what made me a Mana series fan.

[@SolaceAndDread]

Who was your favorite of the 3?

[@dios_del_encanto9327]

@@SolaceAndDread Of the 3 characters we got to play I think I like Morley the best. I'm really interested in his apparent tragic backstory and his gameplay is pretty quick. And I'm pleasantly suprised how they attributed time to the moon elemental Luna, I love using that vessel in battle and Morley's the Alm of the Moon so, he's my boy 🤜🤛🌛 I'm looking forward to trying out all his other classes too though.

[@SolaceAndDread]

That's a great point, I too love the time/moon combo. Normally it's just an elemental damage type, so pretty cool improvement. And yeah, Morley feels so fun. He can juggle and has great single target damage. I think he will be a must for bosses.

[@madkaiser4887]

It speaks volumes how I’m excited for this game When after I did my demo review of this game, I went back and wanted to play a bit more, and still enjoyed it. I went and made sure I did as much as I could.

[@SolaceAndDread]

right? I don't think I left a single thing undone, I can't wait for this game lol omg.

[@thequeeng2282]

I never got into the mana series. The reviews on this demo definitely have me intrigued in the series 👌🏾

[@SolaceAndDread]

Hi friend ❤️ I hope you play it!

[@SolaceAndDread]

@@thequeeng2282 when I tell you I literally didn't know you had a KZbin channel wth 😭

[@KainsAddiction]

You sound young

[@kermitwithamustache3885]

Gotta try Dawn of Mana one of these days, it actually looks pretty cool, a little Kingdom Hearts 1 vibes

[@SolaceAndDread]

@@kermitwithamustache3885 I love the game but I have to admit it's got some rough parts. Still I think it's the strongest story in the Mana series by FAR.

[@jonathansoko1085]

By far my favorite JRPG this year. It's simple yet complex in its own ways. It is so much better than trials of mana was and I don't mean that as an insult because I love that game but this game does all of those things but better. I can only imagine if the next man a game they come out builds on all of this stuff and doesn't fall into the typical traps and just makes all of what they have better I'm very excited, itl be great. I'm at about 40 hours in my first playthrough cuz I'm doing as much as I can and the time flew by usually at this point in any game I'm tired of it and I kind of want to just end it and finish it at this point. Get here I am doing everything I can just to extend it. My main complaint would be the side quest being so bad. Jrpgs seem to all have this problem and I really wish Japanese developers would focus more on good side quests, I can't name you one good jrpg with good side quest. I don't need Witcher level quality but I need something more than go fetch 3 chicken breasts on a map you already cleared 15 times

[@jonathansoko1085]

My other complaint would be Val. I really liked his relationship with Hinna and after the incident... There's just very little character progression and I just don't love him but I don't dislike him I just wished we got more of that.

[@calvinmatthews1527]

Yes, hope they can take the time they have left to iron out most of these gripes in the demo. The Mana series is a nice niche series more people should know about. Would hate to see it take an L after being absent for so long. Also, hope get better dude, treat your mental & physical self balanced.

[@SolaceAndDread]

Trials came out in decent shape but I think that was lead by a different development team. fingers crossed :-) And thanks, I'm much better these days.

[@LouSeph]

I love the original SoM and Chrono Trigger - really hope this game hits!

[@xmissviolencex]

The Dread: That mishapened cat with a bowl cut. 😂👀💜

[@SolaceAndDread]

BE NICE TO MORLEY

[@xmissviolencex]

@@SolaceAndDread NO! 🤣

[@b1zarr01]

I was on the fence about this watching the trailers but getting to play the demo sold me on it. I wish more game companies were just that little bit more customer friendly enough to drop demos so the customers can make a more informed decision My biggest gripe is that they are on that weak stuff not respecting my wishes to maintain that performance mode performance during cutscenes on PS5. Those cut scenes are fine and all but they aren't doing anything to justify only running at molasses ass 30fps. That said it is a bit of a budget title, it generally runs in the vicinity of 60FPS during gameplay in performance mode and they released a demo so I could see how it looks and feels in real life vs watching footage online.

[@SolaceAndDread]

@@b1zarr01 big agree on the demos. Needs to be the standard now. Yeah, the 30 fps is a crime. What an odd choice considering so many of the cutscenes are just characters standing delivering dialogue

[@TheKensei777]

Love what you said about Chrono Cross. I've not played many a game that gave me that feeling you described since then. Would you say this is similar to Trials? I didn't like Trials much. it seemed bare bones story beats and no good side content.

[@SolaceAndDread]

@@TheKensei777 no, other than the combat working in a similar manner (but faster/better) I think it will rely on exploration and have a better story.

[@TheVulgarPeasant]

I’m playing the demo, it’s pretty good! I loved the SNES Mana games back in the day (I’m old lol).

[@SolaceAndDread]

hey I'm just as old, lol. I too love SoM

[@kaoticisland]

The game is out now. Awesome game. But there are some dumb design choices. No double jump in towns. Just weird. If you are using other character, the game forces to using Val in town. Sometimes the game randomly changes your party setup after cutscenes even though all same people are still in your party. And the frame rate is very horrible.

[@marvin8559]

The trials of mana remake blows this out the water in terms of game feel during combat tbh. If they kept that feel and added the depth form Visions it would be perfect but it's so floaty and hits have very little impact

[@SolaceAndDread]

@@marvin8559 iono man. I enjoyed the combat experience in this 2 hour demo more than most of my time in Trials. I like the speed and movement, very star ocean-esqe

[@motzmygotz9493]

Great video! I know nothing about this series, but I might check this one out

[@SolaceAndDread]

@@motzmygotz9493 guess I should do a "what you should know"video, eh? 🙃

[@punkrachmaninoff]

Can't wait. How many more days?

[@SolaceAndDread]

13!

[@exaggeratedproblems5483]

6:25 Hmmm might you be talking about a certain young cleric whose name starts a C🤔

[@DreadandSolace]

listen.. I don't get the hype, but I'm happy you're hyped and I'll watch you play 😂

[@SolaceAndDread]

Lol you should play it

[@Sairento-kun]

​@@SolaceAndDreadBetter not, demo is 50/50, thet gave one of worst segment to sell the game, campared to Trails of Mana demo, Vision looks meh... Specially combat (which probably is much better later, but at early stage its quite bad)

[@kennethhernandez9243]

@@Sairento-kungame really does open up after chapter 3. It’s a fantastic game but the pacing isn’t the best. Once you do have more characters, vessels, and skills the combat is brilliant. The story too really becomes interesting too at key moments. It really is a great game.

[@Sairento-kun]

@@kennethhernandez9243 Welp, you cant expect every person will give u chance, boring start is fail of design as well

[@kennethhernandez9243]

@@Sairento-kun I’m not disagreeing with you. The pacing is really not the best. But once the game opens up it’s really, really good. It’s got that old school 90s pacing.

[@kagepoker]

Hey man. Looking good 🤠

[@SolaceAndDread]

@@kagepoker thank you 💪🏾

[@jessetoews2446]

Secret of Mana was one of my most pivotal gaming memories, and yet I don't want to play this. I love anime, but I wish this IP didn't go anime style with its art direction.

[@OurHeroXero]

Rawr

[@SolaceAndDread]

Rawr

[@rune9055]

Did the game came out already!? Lol

[@SolaceAndDread]

lol nah, just the demo. I know, I know...

[@SupraZelda666]

And no leveling weapon skill with evolution lvl 9. 99 is sad

[@SolaceAndDread]

@@SupraZelda666 I'm sorry to hear you don't like it

[@gri22lybear]

I can respect your take, but after trying the Demo I thought that it was Hella Mid at Best; especially comparing it to Tales of Arise. Maybe that was my mistake, but everything just felt off and I’ve never played a Mana game prior to this demo either, so idk. 😊

[@SolaceAndDread]

@@gri22lybear huh. Tales of arise felt better to you? I wish I felt that way... 😔

[@jordankelly4684]

I hated tales of arise, nothing about it felt right to me except the art style

[@rosalina2938]

to bad the story is so bad in this setting.

[@VengeanceFalls]

Gender neutral main character….check..gtfo.

[@aesthetic2679]

So close to mid... Fix your thumbnail

[@SolaceAndDread]

lol tell me how you REALLY feel.

[@SupraZelda666]

Secret of mana is better because music and 2d. 3d woke mobile is never good. This game is made free to play in mind for sure. Kind of genshin impact to be fair. Mana was a FFoldschool but zelda gameplay.

[@SolaceAndDread]

@@SupraZelda666 it's... Not free to play at all, nothing about it really says it was developed with that in mind.

[@DjangoDrango]

a weeaboos opinion is woth basically nothing

[@SolaceAndDread]

@@DjangoDrangois the weeaboo in the room with us right now?

[@DjangoDrango]

@@SolaceAndDread no I am not a homosexual