VISIONS OF MANA

The action RPG series returns, as light on its feet as ever

Back in its '90s heyday, the Mana series' realtime action set it apart from its RPG peers. But as the first mainline entry since 2006's Dawn Of Mana, Visions arrives in a changed landscape, with many of its genre contemporaries having abandoned the idea of taking turns. So what does it have to offer these days? On paper, there's little to choose from, though were we to pick one aspect from our hands-on, it would be the air-dash.

As we freely explore Fallow Steppe, one of its semi-open world areas, it's an action that's effortless to execute. When we leap off a cliff to lower ground, we discover we can air-dash repeatedly during our descent though the distance covered diminishes with each button press. We may not find a specific mechanical purpose for it, such as reaching a treasure chest on a distant platform, but it makes for pleasingly brisk traversal.