

Legend of mana remake review series#
But most of the Western fans of the series were missing a very important piece of the puzzle, and it would lead to Legend of Mana getting a chillier reception than it probably deserved. A proper sequel to Secret of Mana, straight from the same people. Perhaps most importantly of all, the fans saw it as the glorious return of the real Mana. The game had been a major success in Japan when it released there in the previous summer. Legend of Mana seemed like the perfect lead-off. It was called the Summer of Adventure, and it would see the releases of Legend of Mana, Threads of Fate, and Chrono Cross over a three-month span. To lead up to that momentous Final Fantasy finale, Square planned a major event for Western fans. But it also planned to give the original PlayStation the exit it deserved, with Final Fantasy IX set for release in November of 2000.

Square had big plans for the new console, with both Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XI announced for it. The PlayStation 2 launched in Japan in the spring, and it was scheduled for a release in North America, Europe, and Australia later in the year. In the year 2000, the PlayStation was beginning its decline. This was Square at one of its peak periods, and PlayStation owners hung on their every word.
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Magazine articles, TV commercials, ads in comic books, and even a few very clever advertising campaigns. Not every PlayStation game the company released was a hit, but they all had the attention of players. With the launch of the wildly successful Final Fantasy 7, Square was suddenly one of the star players in the gaming market. Conspiracy theories ran wild, and fans were more than a little annoyed.īut hey, there’s always the next game, right? After the Super NES headed off into the sunset, Square picked up sticks and moved to the PlayStation. In its stead came a pseudo spin-off of sorts called Secret of Evermore. Unfortunately, a variety of reasons led to the Western release of the game that ultimately came to be known as Trials of Mana being canceled.

It was a huge success by the measures of the time, and its many fans eagerly awaited the next game. The sequel came on the Super NES, sporting the title Secret of Mana in North America. The first game in the series released in the West on the Game Boy under the name Final Fantasy Adventure, and was a decent success. While the series would continue for many installments after, all of that appeared to come to an unfortunate head with the Western release of Legend of Mana ($13.99) on the PlayStation. It’s a tale of confusing branding, lightning caught in a bottle, tough business choices, and a creative team that seemed to perpetually have different ideas than what its fans may have hoped. The Mana series has had a complicated history in the West, and it’s one that we’ve gone over to varying degrees in articles about other Mana games.
