The Mana series has long been a staple of the JRPG genre, beginning in 1991 with Final Fantasy Adventure and stretching all the way to now, with a Legend of Mana remaster slated to hit shelves on June 24. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the series, it seems Square Enix wants to do something special, announcing yesterday that it intends to hold a livestream later this week.
The broadcast will reflect on the Mana series' long and storied history, and will take place on June 27 at 18:00 JST. Square Enix's website provided a host of other details regarding the stream, revealing that it'll feature some notable guest appearances from creators synonymous with the franchise and offer new information about "the future" of the Mana series.
The latter will definitely be a big draw for fans, especially as the stream launches just a few days after the release of the Legend of Mana remake. Square doesn't delve any further into what it will reveal regarding the next step for Mana, so it'll be interesting to see whether the publisher has anything specific to share or will just give players a few hints as to what to expect going forward. Considering Secret of Mana, Trials of Mana, and now Legend of Mana have received remasters over the last few years, it'll be interesting to see if Square is hoping to continue that trend or offer something wholly new.
The rest of the broadcast will be dedicated to discussing the 30-year history of the series, with Mana's creator, Koichi Ishii, slated to feature during the show. Other guests will include Eleki Comics' Susumu Imadachi and series producer Masaru Oyamada. The entire event will be viewable via Square Enix's YouTube channel, which already has the stream up and ready to go for Sunday.
In the meantime, fans of the franchise will have their hands full with the aforementioned Legend of Mana, which resurrects the 1999 classic with updated graphics for PC, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. Players can expect a brand new orchestral score and quality of life improvements, including the ability to disable random encounters, addressing a long-held complaint from the fanbase. For those who never played the original game, it follows a nameless protagonist who must restore the land of Fa'Diel and save the dying Mana Tree. Among its range of fun RPG mechanics, the game featured an innovative system known as "Land Make," which allowed players to generate the game world by placing pieces of land around a map. Seeing as Legend of Mana has been heralded as an underrated gem in recent years, it'll be interesting to see how it fares in 2021.
The Mana 30th anniversary stream will take place on June 27 at 18:00 JST
Source: Square Enix