Echoes of Mana

Echoes of Mana
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Developer(s)	Square Enix, Wright Flyer Studios
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Producer(s)	Akira Hiruta
Series	Mana
Platform(s)	Android, iOS
Release	April 27, 2022
Genre(s)	Action role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Echoes of Mana was a 2022 action role-playing mobile game by Square Enix and Wright Flyer Studios, and a spin-off of the Mana series. It was released free-to-play for Android and iOS on April 27, 2022. Service was discontinued on May 15, 2023. The game's story revolves around a gender-selectable protagonist, Quilto or Quilta, who awakens in a lifeless world and are given a mission by the Mana Goddess to restore the Mana Tree and save the multiverse by stitching together memories from previous Mana series games. The game was praised for its visuals and music, as well as its gameplay, but its gacha elements were criticized by some as exploitative.

Gameplay

The player began by creating their own custom player character, then added to their team with random characters drawn from previous Mana games. After creating a three-person party, the player used the touchscreen to drag around their party on the overworld. Combat was executed using an attack button on the lower-right of the screen that was surrounded by smaller buttons dedicated to special abilities. Pressing the main attack button automatically targeted the nearest enemy, while the upper-left of the screen allowed the player to swap party members, enabling the use of alternate weapons and builds.

Plot

The player character, Quilto or Quilta, depending on the player chosen gender, is given a mission by the Mana Goddess to restore the mysteriously destroyed multiverse of the Mana series, and is given a familiar named Baashear to aid them. The player character of the alternate gender remains within the story as a supporting character. Eventually, it is revealed that the player was actually working for an impostor Goddess, Dema, and unknowingly assisted in gathering power for her. The real Mana Goddess was once a human maiden, Nona, chosen to become the next personification of the Mana Tree, with Baashear being a stuffed toy of hers given life. Her twin sister, Dema, was originally slated to become the Goddess, but passed over for the role. Dema was manipulated by Anise, a recurring villainess of numerous Mana games, into believing she deserved to become Goddess. Dema usurps the throne of Goddess, seeking to reshape the multiverse according to her own plans.

Dema fools the player's alternate-gender counterpart into becoming a rival Mana Swordsperson. However, the player manages to destroy the roots of Dema's golden Mana Tree and convince their rival to stand down, combining their rival's power with the player's own. Dema is defeated and freed from corruption, surviving and reconciling with her sister.

Development and closure

Echoes of Mana was announced on June 28, 2021, as part of Square Enix's 30th anniversary celebration of the Mana series, for release in 2022. It had previously been in development for about 3 years. According to Akira Hiruta, the game's producer, the COVID-19 pandemic caused difficulty communicating between staff working on the game, but did not appreciably affect the progress of development. The game's combat drew inspiration from Secret of Mana, Trials of Mana, and Legend of Mana. Developers tried to add a balanced selection of characters from previous games in the series and attempted to remain true to their personalities when considering how characters from different games would interact. Hiruta intended it as a gathering place for both new and old fans of the series.

Released in April 2022, Square Enix celebrated 4 million downloads in September. In February 2023, it was announced to be discontinued on May 15.

Reception

Neal Ronaghan of Nintendo World Report wrote in a preview that the game's "stamina meter", while being one of his least-favorite mobile game mechanics, was not "burdensome" when engaging in normal, everyday play. He praised the game's combat as "way smoother" than he expected and "nicely simplified" from the main Mana games. He stated that he hoped the game helped more Mana games to come to Nintendo Switch. In another preview, Jenni Lada of Siliconera stated that Echoes felt reminiscent of other Mana games, with numerous familiar returning characters, as well as Memory Gems that displayed cutscenes showing lore about characters and granted them special skills. John Friscia of The Escapist called the game's aesthetics "immaculate", and the music "a delight to hear", but described the story as simply "a parade of cute but vapid interactions".

Scott Clay of RPGFan praised Echoes of Mana's visuals and sound, calling its animations "fluid" and its story "decent", but heavily criticized the gacha business model as "horrid". Describing it as "unfair" and "almost predatory", he noted the lack of free daily attempts to unlock characters, or pulls, calling it "pretty much unheard-of". He called the low rate of rare four-star characters or Memory Gems even more egregious, especially due to the need to get many duplicate versions of a character to make them stronger, with six copies to fully power them up. He ultimately described it as a "slog" for players who did not spend much money.

He also criticized "forced and broken co-op" and "rampant cheating" in ranked events as hurting the game's appeal. He noted a "severe lack of content" as damaging the game's long-term playability, summing up Echoes of Mana as "disappointing", especially due to the series' already high number of "hit-or-miss" games.

Bloomberg News alleged Square Enix had a run of erratic quality releases in 2021–2023, with several mobile titles "rushed out the door and then shut down in a year or so" including Echoes of Mana, Bravely Default: Brilliant Lights, and others. In interviews with anonymous employees suggested that each product was its own "fiefdom" where its producer could shift the product around quickly and without warning, which resulted in some excellent products but some products where sudden shifts in project goals compromised the ability of the team to deliver a quality product. More generally, Square Enix may have oversaturated the market with their own games and competed with itself too much.

External links

• Official website