Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

You won’t have to wait that much longer for Visions of Mana

By
Visions of Mana | Launch Date Trailer

Square Enix announced on Wednesday that Visions of Mana, the next mainline installment in the Mana RPG series, will be making its way to consoles and PC on August 29.

Recommended Videos

Visions of Mana, the first new main entrant in the franchise in over 15 years, is now available for preorder for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. There’s a standard edition available for $60 and a digital deluxe edition for $80. If you preorder either version, you’ll get the Brave Blade, a Val weapon. Deluxe edition owners (you can also upgrade to the deluxe edition from standard) will get a Mana Superstars Costume Set, a Mana Series BGM Bundle, and 24-hour early access. Plus, if players preorder a physical copy or purchase the digital version before September 30, they’ll receive the Guardian Garment outfit for Val and a starter pack.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The release date was revealed in a new extended trailer, which shows off the five playable characters — Val, Careena, Morley, Palamena, and Julei — and their English voice actors. However, the plot revolves around Hinna, who’s been chosen as an alm and must travel to the Tree of Mana to offer up her soul. Val is the soul guard and friend who’s been tasked with getting her there safely. While she isn’t playable, she is a support character that can help out in combat from the sidelines.

You’ll be able to mix and match these characters to form three-person parties and customize their classes as you play. This flexibility is thanks in part to Elemental Vessels, which are new to the Mana series. Players are encouraged to explore the world to activate Elemental Triggers and collect Vessels.

The publisher also put out a blog post to coincide with the announcement, detailing even more about what players can expect from the story, combat, characters, and more. While there are plenty of bright, colorful visuals in the trailer, the post will provide way more detail about the characters’ fighting styles and the creatures you’ll meet.

Visions of Mana launches on August 29 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Carli Velocci
Carli Velocci
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…
Smite 2 roles, explained
Key art for SMITE 2.

Smite 2 sticks to most of what made the first Smite so successful, including all of the basic gameplay mechanics and design philosophies the popular MOBA is best known for. However, this sequel has changed the way roles work, doing away with the original's class-based design in favor of a loose and flexible system that allows you to use any god in any role if you build and play them correctly. While there are still gods best suited for certain roles, the creativity this extra freedom allows can be very rewarding for new and returning players alike. Here's what you need to know about each role in Smite 2.
Solo
The Solo roster is comprised of characters designed for, well, the Solo lane. Because this is a 1v1 lane, your goal is to clear waves more quickly while also dealing as much damage to your opponent as possible. Because you need to equally be able to survive their incoming attacks, you'll generally want to focus on a Bruiser-style build, which consists of both offensive and defensive items. Counterbuilding is more important here than in nearly any other role, as you'll spend quite a lot of time engaged in a battle of attrition seeing who can force the other person out of the lane to score a few hits on a tower. Later in the game, you'll become a frontliner alongside the Support to help control the flow of teamfights.
Recommended god for newbies:
Chaac offers low cooldowns, solid lane clear, and a powerful area-of-effect ult that is easy to land and silences foes momentarily. He also has sustainability via an ability that self-heals.
Jungle
The Jungle role is among the hardest to master in Smite 2, as you'll spend your time rotating around the map and learning when you need to rush to the aid of your teammates. This is a job for those who enjoy playing as an assassin of sorts by ganking enemy players from each of the three lanes. However, it's not as easy as just being a killing machine because you'll also need to quickly and consistently farm jungle camps throughout the map while you plan to make those moves on out-of-position foes. If you aren't clearing camps (or have them stolen by the enemy Jungler), you'll fall behind in level and make things more difficult on your team. It can take quite some time to learn how to play Jungle effectively, but when you do, you can turn the tides of a match in mere moments.
Recommended god for newbies:
Thor offers an easy-to-hit stun and straightforward kit designed to deal huge damage. Additionally, his ultimate ability allows him to cover a lot of ground to catch unsuspecting opponents.
Middle
The Middle role is among the most important in a match of Conquest because the Middle lane is a central convergence spot for large team pushes. Your goal here is to clear your lane very quickly and keep your opponent pushed back to their tower as much as possible so that your team can use your lane as a way to cross back and forth to other lanes without much fear of repercussions. Winning the Middle lane can often be what leads your group to victory, as it will funnel both teams to the center of the map to engage in a large-scale battle that, if your team plays well, could result in a deicide (team wipe) for your foes. In the late-game, this is likely to give you a chance to take down their titan and wrap up the match.
Recommended god for newbies:
Kukulkan has excellent lane clearing capabilities, an attack that slows foes hit, and a very hard-hitting ultimate ability. His dash can also let him get in and out of engagements quickly.
Support
The Support role is exactly what it sounds like: supporting your team and setting them up for success. You'll begin matches in the Duo lane with your Carry, but as the match progresses and they're clearing the lane alone, you'll need to move around the map to assist others, too. Support gods tend to have abilities that lock enemies down or displace them so that your team can dish out massive damage. Depending on the god, though, you may also need to help via healing or bolstering your team with stat-boosting abilities. Your job as a Support isn't to earn the largest damage numbers at the end of a match, but you'll be every bit as important to your team's success as those who do.
Recommended god for newbies:
Khepri provides a lot of control opportunities via a stun and a grab, both of which are fairly easy to land. Plus, his ultimate ability can be used to save himself or another player from death.
Carry
The Carry role is designed to provide your team with a deadly damage dealer that can quite literally carry the team to victory in the late-game. Your goal is to begin in Duo lane with a Support and work diligently at scoring a few early kills while farming your lane. In most cases, you won't be majorly powerful in that early part of the match, but your damage will begin to ramp up rapidly after you've built 3-4 items, allowing you to spring into action in later teamfights and rapidly destroy your opponents. All of this damage will help you take down objectives quickly as well, making you a vital component of your team's strategy beginning around the 15-20 minute mark and beyond as they work hand-in-hand with you to shred through anything in your path.
Recommended god for newbies:
Cupid can provide support for himself and others via healing, has a dash for quick escapes, and can dish out solid auto-attack damage. His wide area-of-effect ultimate ability can even slow enemies down for big damage opportunities.

Read more
2024 gaming report card: How did PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo fare?
Living room with Microsoft Xbox Series X (L) and Sony PlayStation 5 home video game consoles alongside a television and soundbar.

After a long and busy 12 months, 2024 is officially in the books. Players have a few weeks to rest before the video game release calendar picks up in February with a barrage of major releases. That's a problem for next month, though. Until then, we've still got some time to reflect on what was a rollercoaster year for the gaming industry, full of surprise hits, total flops, and surprising no shows.

At the center of all that was the three pillars of mainstream gaming: Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. While their power may be waning in the age of portable PCs like the Steam Deck, these platform holders are still the watercooler conversation starters whose every move generates buzz. This year, all three companies found themselves in a strange spot. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X hit the awkward midpoint of their lifespans, while the Nintendo Switch was left to tread water after its much anticipated successor was pushed out of 2024. All three would have to get creative if they were going to end the year strong.

Read more
You may have missed the reveal of this limited-edition Helldivers 2 controller
Key art for the Super Citizen Edition of Helldivers 2.

Last night's Game Awards confirmed what we already feared: the Illuminate have arrived, and they're frightening enough to give any Helldiver a case of the sweaty palms. Not that the protectors of Super Earth would admit to fear; they're more likely to take up this new, limited-edition Helldivers II controller and get back out on the battlefield. And now you can, too. The controller will be available for preorder at 10 a.m. ET on December 20 for a starting price of $85. The official launch is planned for February 6, 2025.

Helldivers 2 - DualSense Controller Reveal | PS5

Read more