I legit love Visions of Mana. It is an extremely budgeted Jrpg, but you can plainly see that its devs poured their hearts into the project. The game is legit the most beautiful rpg that I've played in a while. Even if by the tail-end of the game you start to see the rust, I still 100% the game for a reason.
@@Frionelz You mean like dungeons? Yeah there are a few, and they’re pretty fantastic. But lot of it is outdoors and I understand why they did it that way. It really helps show off the sheer beauty of the world.
@@geovaughan8261I remember there was an inn in Etaern that you stayed inside as Val for like only 2 minutes, and it was the most cozy and warm feeling space in the game lol. Like even that little room you never see again had so much effort put in, dang
Just one note about Square Enix possibly dropping mid range games: the President clarified a few months ago that they’re still going to make those B range games. There just won’t be as many. Likely a response to how they released so many mid range games in Fall 2022. Which is good, because a world without those mid range games is not a world I want
Um, it's possible they sunk a ridiculous amount of money into NFTs, which impacted funding for the entire company. Plus all the money lost on stuff like Chocobo Kart and the Final Fantasy hero shooter. I feel sorry for their development teams.
@@greenhowie it didn’t impact funding across the entire company. I’ve read their financial briefings and while it probably did impact some things, it’s not to blame for this shift in releases. NFT’s suck, but they’re not at fault here
All the 2DHD games are mid range games, I do not think they'll give those up. Even after recent comments when some one said they are being cautious about over saturating the market with these titles.
I wish that I was eloquent enough to say how much I love your thought process about both games like this, and the games industry as a whole. KBash continues to show his amazing wit, and heart in everything he makes. Thanks for continuing to make amazing stuff, and thanks to the community that support KBash! I always try to watch through all the names at the end, y’all rock, I honestly wish I could give more.
I was having a conversation recently trying to explain why I have an attachment to the Mana series. It's always weird to talk about, because for a lot of the games, it's hard not to just go "Yeah I mean this combat system is a train wreck, and the dungeons aren't interesting, and the story isn't anything special, and--" but eventually I cut myself off, pull up a video of the Crystal Forest from Secret of Mana, and just said "But doesn't this look like such an amazing world to get lost in?" I think growing up with Secret of Mana taught me that it's totally fine to fall in love with a game for that reason. To just get lost in the fact that they put so much attention to detail into the design of the world and characters, and that can make an extremely meaningful experience in and of itself. Even if all the other elements don't totally come together, I would much rather live in a world where it can still leave that impact on me.
@@Lanoman123 same. Isn’t it a tri-ace game? I’m into that, why haven’t I played it yet? Oh right, because I got it for like $15 fifteen years ago and it’s sadly seated in my backlog ever since…
@@tylerdohoney1544 It's not too bad! Definitely kind of an oddball game, but what it lacks in mechanical depth, it (sorta) makes it up with its charm and story. If you don't take it too seriously and try to vibe with it, it's a good time :D
Thank you for making a video about Visions of Mana. I’m only 15 minutes into your video at the time of writing this but you are nailing how I felt in the early game and I can’t wait to watch the rest. I have hardly found any discussions or videos on VoM besides the occasional 10 minute beat on a podcast before they move on to talking about the next game so having an hours worth of this is so refreshing to see. I got all the achievements on Xbox for this game and I can see myself replaying it at some point down the line just to enjoy the world all over again. This game was my introduction to Mana and I’ve gone back and played Legend of Mana and I’ve started Trials. The world has been my favorite part of every Mana game so far, it’s just a joy to live in their world. Nice video!
It’s been a while since I played either FFA or Sword of Mana. I didn’t remember them knowing they would be a sacrifice from the beginning. I’ve got to replay them sometime 🤔
Everybody talks about Nightblade, but Val with the Dark Vessel was even more busted. I was one shotting Benovodon's and later the high level side quest monsters with the vessel's burst. It's a giant black hole nuke. I think there's some RNG, but more often then not it was a one shot even with massive level gaps.
I wont say nostalgia but more like attachment with weird magical word with their quirky character. It has charm on its own that cant be found in other JRPG
17:08 lord, your monologue about life really struck a cord with me. Your vocabulary is so excellent and the delivery really got me in my feels. I would absolutely live life to the fullest and never take anything for granted, just enjoying the essence of living. Bringing positivity to everyone I could, I'd go out with a bang. 🖤✨
This, Tales of Symphonia and Final Fantasy X are all games about taking your girlfriend to be sacrificed and find a way to break the system, each with their own spin. I wonder if there are othera stories with this theme that I don't know.
I’m five minutes into the video and it’s already sold me on this game so much that I’m gonna stop watching so I can go into the game as blind as possible. I’ll come back to the video eventually once I finish it, so I’m providing engagement as a sacrifice to the algorithm so me leaving early doesn’t look bad.
I LOVEDDDD visions. It was such a throwback feeling jrpg but still modern. The combat was fun, the ability to swap powersets and moves and everything was legit amazing. Story is fairly boilerplate but has some nice twists involved. Was a game that left me really glad i played it this year.
I really enjoyed Visions. There were a handful of gripes I had (way too many soulless side quests, class balance, FUCK the Benevodon of water) but all in all I had a wonderful time with it, it had some great story beats. The one thing it did that I am genuinely shocked you didn't touch on is the absolutely toothless plot twist that SOMEHOW the choice to sacrifice the Alms was the choice of the people despite literally all the evidence of the world saying otherwise but especially the fact that the Alms are CHOSEN by the elementals. It just flat out does not work in the context of the story and was very, very obviously written in to keep the mascots of the series in a positive light.
I bought romancing saga 2 new remake over visions . I was hyped for visions until I played the demo and it just felt meh. Romancing saga 2 is rather unique and was ahead of it's time.
Mega beautifully written ending and really wrapped up the whole video. Id love a video literally just on that topic and some of your nostalgia towards them good af b games. God hand anyone?
As a cat owner, I can confidently say that this game has immense playability from my perspective since one of the playable party members is an anthropomorphic katana wielding cat person.
Holy shit that ending. "Trying trying to pull some value that I only like okay." That describes my feelings on - what is very likely - the final entry to my favorite series of all time. This one hurts.
15:12 funny story: after playing the intro which let you double jump and air dash through a town, I was surprised when Van couldn’t do the same thing in the starting village… I thought “oh, Eor-whatshisname must have already unlocked all that by being level 19-the game was showing me what I might unlock later!” Then I left the starter village and immediately got my double jump and dash back.😂
Feels like some of the DNA for the story was taken from Legend of Mana. Some of the character stories revolve around the idea of sacrifice and returning mana to the Mana Tree, although at the end you find out it was horribly corrupted from the start.
I'm so glad you mentioned Steambot Chronicles and showed a bit of footage for Styx. These are games I grew up with and I always am delighted if they get bought up. Games like the Mana series are not going to be the most talked about game, but will be the most memorable for some. If you play these games I feel like are the enthusiasts for the experience each game has to offer.
the last 5-10 minutes are the reason I show up to watch your content every time. thank you KBash for always speaking your mind and loving what you love
This game has clear points of strength and clearer weak points, but man, the love that is infused into this game by the people who made it is so palpable. ❤
"After that, mankind grew afraid to desire. Their hearts filled with empty emotions, and grew estranged from my hands. They turned their eyes away from my infinite power, and were troubled by their petty disputes. Remember me! Need me! I can provide you with everything! I am love. Find me, and walk beside me." I might be biased, because Legend is one of my favorite games of all time. But that single piece of the opening of that game has always seemed to me like the thematic core of the entire franchise. The world is beautiful, and all we need do to enjoy life is let ourselves see that, caring for it and each other without letting pointless squabbling blind us to the the things right in front of us. Something like that, anyway.
You’ve gotta be sitting on top of a treasure trove of complete quality videos you’ve already made and releasing them into the wild… …you can’t possibly be putting these together one after another at this pace, right? Right?!
@@ytnukesme1600 calling this hour long video "minimal editing" is hilarious. Also, I hope I'm not so down bad a loser that I watch and skulk the comment section of a content creator I don't like and doesn't affect/target me
I really love the way you speak about the games you present to us. Clearly you have love for them but are not blind to their downsides. I really appreciate the honest criticism. Also hearing about games I never realized existed is always a plus. Thank you for your work!
It was just revealed that Visions’ director Ryosuke Yoshida has been hired by Square Enix. I think that shows that Square does think Visions of Mana is worth remembering and respect, which would be very good.
Out of curiosity, is Ever Oasis on the to-review list? Obviously I'm not a patron and your backlog's likely plenty big as is. Regardless, I think you're the biggest Ishii fan I've ever come across and I'd be really interested on your thoughts as to how that one stacks up to Mana. Sad to hear this game didn't quite stick the landing, especially when it comes to builds, but I definitely intend on picking it up soon. There's a lot of positives in there and that world looks like an absolute delight to explore.
Funny youtube showed me your video the day after I finished Visions. Really great video. Said anything it had to be said. I currently on a B game love. Played Wanted: Dead and loved it and now I'm playing Slitterhead. Really loved them. I feel fun and freshness in the oldschool style (if something like fresh in old is possible). I can't stomach some crap like witchers and elder scrolls and is sad to see everybody saying those are the best thing ever. And we loosing the games that actually are made with some love without money.
It's bold that they went with such a bittersweet ending, I think that is worth some acknowledgement. I'm torn on this game. I want to play it, but It really does suck that the team got canned.
My brain is so Genshin Impact pilled now whenever I glance up at the screen at the Visions of Mana screens that's all I think of. The character designs look delightful though. Also appreciating all the love for Legend of Mana. Really enjoy that game.
Your ending talk about preserving the b games really resonated with me. I personally haven't really been participating in the videogame zeitgeist for some time now. I more and more found that I just didn't have it in me to go learn a new game that would be dropped by everyone by the end of the week. More and more I found that I got much more enjoyment out of smaller more personal indie projects. Games that are made to be experienced, not to string the player on like a coke addict. Heck even elden ring fell into that camp for me. I regularly do 1-2 hour playthroughs of dark souls and demon souls, but never even took elden ring to completion. I love the souls series and can't front about elden ring being a good game, but by the end I was just exhausted. I also just have a very stylistic preference in games. I love simplistic graphics, especially ones that emulate early n64 and ps1 graphics. It's been great to see games get better graphics but I also feel like that became the priority as opposed to having good gameplay loops and character designs. Indie games though have many devs that are equally disillusioned with modern gaming and are making things to appeal to what made gaming special for them. While the AAA studios making B games may be a dying thing there are still plenty of smaller studios making AA experiences that are just as engaging. Hades and Hades II are crowning examples of this while kickstarter projects from og devs like bloodstained ritual of the night show that worthwhile stuff is still getting funded. I believe much of this is industry cycles. At one point activision and atari was king, then the video game industry crashed and we had scrappy punks like id software come in and innovate, those scrappy companies eventually become larger companies, the industry proceed sto consolidate, then it stagnates and causes your indies to be in high demand. It's honestly the cycle of every industry, innovate, flourish, consolidate, stagnate, innovate. This applies in the music industry, the film industry, and even to an extent most capitalist industry period. In a weird way too it mirrors that of nature, overgrowth leading to starvation which subsequently leaves the ground fertile for new growth.
I was sitting here wondering why the video was doing something weird with screen tearing on my 120hz display and what do you MEAN you uploaded at FIFTY FRAMES PER SECOND
that was well said, great vid. I actually find the story very intriguing on this one. And my only connection with mana is the gba one. It was fun and for sure unique
The honey dew collection and style reminds me of granblue fantasy rpg. It's quaint and simple something I think is missing from the game sphere cause people don't appreciate it. Bot everything has to be this epic perfect mechanical masterpiece. It has its own creative beauty and goes as high as it needs too
Subscribed, dude you nailed it with this video. I felt like I was taking crazy pills from the fact other people didn't observe what was going on with the class system in this game. Also the best skills/customization options being locked behind post game--SUCKED.
11:00 Along the same line, I had to break out Cheat Engine to make the game run at full frame rate at all times. The 30FPS limit in cutscenes is completely unneeded, they work just fine at 60+FPS.
I loved Trials so much and even said when playing “If they ever made this as its own thing and not a remake it would be amazing” and that is sorta what we got with Visions. The visuals are amazing, sound work is good (some really good boss fight tunes), and gameplay is fine but there is a lack of polish for sure that keeps it from truly being a better experience than Trials which is unfortunate because I came into this really wanting to love it and while there is plenty there it just didn’t grip me the same way SD3 on SNES and Trials did.
Legend of Mana fans represent! My favorite game, bar none. Sure it's got warts and systems that don't remain relevant in harder difficulties, but goddamn I love the soul of that game.
What a tragedy, totally agree. All the small games are the ones that really do something special for the most part. I still like the big ones a lot of the time but I'm finding it hard to justify spending all that money rather than going digging for some real gems on steam. Especially with all the indies that I've been playing. Neon white, cruelty squad, and void stranger have all made my tentative top 10 and those are all games I played in the past 2 years, not long after launch. And I really appreciate what you do, I've taken some recs from your vids. Gotta go Finnish the little goody two shoes vid now that I've played it.
It's still worth it. The art has been made and the decision was not made by Squeenix, it was the Chinese parent company that did it. I have problems with a lot of what Squeenix does but this one genuinely wasn't their fault. The damage has been done, you might as well pick the game up and enjoy it.
The LAST thing I expected from a video with this title was a game from the current year And like FUCK, dude. I was NOT ready Absolutely fantastic and deeply thought provoking video I will stay up at night for weeks thinking about this I think
I once read a 10+ year old interview with Morita Masamoto of Sega saying offhand he doesn't get the push to remove or shrink HUD elements from westerners. That Japanese prefer the big numbers and health bars everywhere to help with the escape from realism. I mull over that quote a lot. Because for most of us, HUD Removal is about immersion, not the opposite.
i like RPG , and i dont care about how combat , story and graphic, i like the depth of customization and how i do my build , so for me this game is the best.
i didn't realize that Dawn of mana is not that popular, it's my favorite one, especially story wise, the story is punching down on the MC from the start to finish i genuinely impressed that he still a good guy. i still vividly remember seeing his last struggle trying to save the mana girl in vain.
Great video. The Mana series make me love Jrpgs. With it flaws I really enjoy playing Visions of Mana, the world and characters is just too charming for me, I still dont finish because I just want to walk around and enjoy the scenery doing every sidequests as an excuse for that, is just lovely. Games doesnt need to be perfect, games need to be fun, and for me Visions of Mana is fun.
I've only learnt about the studio shutting down through this video review. Outside of that I thought everything about this game seemed to be on the up and up with the people who played it fawning over it and enthusiasm about how it develops on a similar base to Trials. It is truly disheartening to hear about it... But in a way I feel it really isn't a surprise since this kind of thing seems to be commonplace with bigger publishers and in many ways I'm reminded on the "failure" of Neo:TWEWY which is almost similar in terms of how there was a brief announcement and nothing much else was said up until release. In a way it almost seems like specifically Square Enix is using its back catalogue to try and phase out B games with B games. Barely advertising them, leaving them at high price points, phasing out developers and studios who put their time into this on other projects or on disolving studios... I am now hella worried for that Romancing SaGa 2 remake and what it will mean for SaGa and the rest of the Squenix back catalogue going forward. Either way, you've definitely said it best at the end and I hope to take that in for anything that looks promising to me.
@@GrayvyFellow the Romancing SaGa 2 remake is safe, it’s been selling insanely well in Japan. Even if it wasn’t, the creator of SaGa is a bigwig at Square who’s been able to get games out regularly. It’s probably the safest out of all their B tier franchises
I'm gonna have to be that guy. Absolutely love your videos, and I am writing this as I just started this video so I have no ideas what you are going to say. BUT I will say that Visions of Mana is in my modest opinion as a long time fan (since the SNES days, from the top of my 34 years), a great entry in the series. But it is also bogged down by wanting too much to rely on Trials of Mana's remake and the nostalgia it brought with it. It's also WAY too easy, which is my biggest issue with it. With that said, I am glad it exists, it might not end the legacy on the highest note, but it sure as fuck ends it higher than Heroes of Mana and Dawn of Mana.... I will add that the Rune Knight is honestly just as broken as Nightblade. All you need to do is slap you Saber Magic of choice and enjoy over 900 damage in a single charged hit. It's also brain dead.
I found Mana on the Switch. It’s still the only console that I own and that means I’ve missed this gem this year. Which is a shame that it didn’t sell amazingly! I have to wonder if there are more than a few of us. OR MARKET CONDITIONS
@@Tuskumo You are right. I always see that Mana series can become as big as Zelda series if only Square and peoplec I always see that Mana series can become as big as Zelda series if only Square and people care more about this series
One of my favorite games as a kid was the 2nd zoids gba game, zoids legacy. By all means, it was a B game. It was a game made based off of a show and toy that had an anime aesthetic, trying to be the next big thing, but ultimately, nothing revolutionary for RPGs. However, I beat every single challenge mission, not because the game was my favorite, but because I got behind it's turn based combat in ways I have really gotten to appreciate with other jrpgs. Now it feels like all games are shovelware, indie, or AAA shlop
This really highlights everything I love about Astral Chain. It doesn’t have the best story. It’s stuff we’ve seen before. Music is okay. Combat, while stellar, becomes a real grind after a while. But man….it was a simple, straightforward experience. Not everything needs to be Xenoblade Chronicles. The simple indie games you cover are all we need in times like these.
A really risky and with a strong singular vision b-game that launched recently is Slitterhead from Keiichiro Toyama, an action horror game with a body switching mechanic, i think you would like it, i would love to see a video about it from you.
The "B" games now are the big indies There one will find a bit of innovation and enough polish In small indies, one will be able to find unpolished but very innovative experiences We have more games than ever now, more variety then ever Just gotta choose!
I was super glad that characters in the story weren't actually super thrilled about the whole human sacrifice thing and kinda jumped on the first chance to not do that.
15:55 oh hell yeah 1:00:05 yeah thats kinda the feeling i got from the demo. Its Mana but blended and poured into a modern safe game mold, and was kinda down for it, but not enough that i was willing to once the dev situation came out And like other folks have mentioned, indies are a good place to find the more daring games, and they need our support now more than ever
For a while I've been enjoying the indie market a lot more than the Big Games Industry haul. Not that there aren't good games made that inspire me - Metaphor comes to mind as a recent example - but as you state, the industry is too obsessed with playing it safe and extracting value.
I legit love Visions of Mana. It is an extremely budgeted Jrpg, but you can plainly see that its devs poured their hearts into the project. The game is legit the most beautiful rpg that I've played in a while.
Even if by the tail-end of the game you start to see the rust, I still 100% the game for a reason.
The world is so out-of-control stupid gorgeous, I completely get it
It’s a budget title for sure, and the story is nothing spectacular at all, but damn was it an absolute JOY to play and explore.
@@geovaughan8261didnt play it yet but os there any indoor exploration too ?
@@Frionelz You mean like dungeons? Yeah there are a few, and they’re pretty fantastic. But lot of it is outdoors and I understand why they did it that way. It really helps show off the sheer beauty of the world.
@@geovaughan8261I remember there was an inn in Etaern that you stayed inside as Val for like only 2 minutes, and it was the most cozy and warm feeling space in the game lol. Like even that little room you never see again had so much effort put in, dang
Just one note about Square Enix possibly dropping mid range games: the President clarified a few months ago that they’re still going to make those B range games. There just won’t be as many. Likely a response to how they released so many mid range games in Fall 2022. Which is good, because a world without those mid range games is not a world I want
They released so many mid-budget games only to price them at $60 and release them all within a two month timeframe.
Yeah it's 2 steps forward 2 steps back i swear a c-suite hates mid range games and is trying to kill it by any means necessary
Um, it's possible they sunk a ridiculous amount of money into NFTs, which impacted funding for the entire company. Plus all the money lost on stuff like Chocobo Kart and the Final Fantasy hero shooter. I feel sorry for their development teams.
@@greenhowie it didn’t impact funding across the entire company. I’ve read their financial briefings and while it probably did impact some things, it’s not to blame for this shift in releases. NFT’s suck, but they’re not at fault here
All the 2DHD games are mid range games, I do not think they'll give those up. Even after recent comments when some one said they are being cautious about over saturating the market with these titles.
I wish that I was eloquent enough to say how much I love your thought process about both games like this, and the games industry as a whole. KBash continues to show his amazing wit, and heart in everything he makes. Thanks for continuing to make amazing stuff, and thanks to the community that support KBash! I always try to watch through all the names at the end, y’all rock, I honestly wish I could give more.
I was having a conversation recently trying to explain why I have an attachment to the Mana series. It's always weird to talk about, because for a lot of the games, it's hard not to just go "Yeah I mean this combat system is a train wreck, and the dungeons aren't interesting, and the story isn't anything special, and--" but eventually I cut myself off, pull up a video of the Crystal Forest from Secret of Mana, and just said "But doesn't this look like such an amazing world to get lost in?"
I think growing up with Secret of Mana taught me that it's totally fine to fall in love with a game for that reason. To just get lost in the fact that they put so much attention to detail into the design of the world and characters, and that can make an extremely meaningful experience in and of itself. Even if all the other elements don't totally come together, I would much rather live in a world where it can still leave that impact on me.
3:44 don’t tease me man - PLEASE give Radiata Stories some love one of these days.
There are dozens of us! DOZENS!
Y’know, I own Radiata Stories. Maybe I should finally play it
@@Lanoman123 same. Isn’t it a tri-ace game? I’m into that, why haven’t I played it yet?
Oh right, because I got it for like $15 fifteen years ago and it’s sadly seated in my backlog ever since…
@@tylerdohoney1544 It's not too bad! Definitely kind of an oddball game, but what it lacks in mechanical depth, it (sorta) makes it up with its charm and story. If you don't take it too seriously and try to vibe with it, it's a good time :D
Thank you for making a video about Visions of Mana. I’m only 15 minutes into your video at the time of writing this but you are nailing how I felt in the early game and I can’t wait to watch the rest.
I have hardly found any discussions or videos on VoM besides the occasional 10 minute beat on a podcast before they move on to talking about the next game so having an hours worth of this is so refreshing to see. I got all the achievements on Xbox for this game and I can see myself replaying it at some point down the line just to enjoy the world all over again.
This game was my introduction to Mana and I’ve gone back and played Legend of Mana and I’ve started Trials. The world has been my favorite part of every Mana game so far, it’s just a joy to live in their world.
Nice video!
NGL... as soon as you said "Sacrifice to the Elements and GF" im like... Wait a minute... This is Tales of Symphonia all over again.
@@Trauson or the first mana game
Final Fantasy X
It’s been a while since I played either FFA or Sword of Mana. I didn’t remember them knowing they would be a sacrifice from the beginning. I’ve got to replay them sometime 🤔
Everybody talks about Nightblade, but Val with the Dark Vessel was even more busted. I was one shotting Benovodon's and later the high level side quest monsters with the vessel's burst. It's a giant black hole nuke. I think there's some RNG, but more often then not it was a one shot even with massive level gaps.
I just beat Visions of Mana last week, I loved it so much. So cute, but also really fun and engaging!
I'm so wildly happy you mentioned Secret of Evermore in the first 35 seconds. It's one of my all time favorite games from my childhood.
I've been so excited for you to cover this- and with a copy from Square Enix no less- way to go bud!
It hurts to say, but I think my attachment to the series is solely due to the fantastic soundtrack and nostalgia.
The visual art and whimsy vibes are valid reasons, too. I just love the Mana serie.
I wont say nostalgia but more like attachment with weird magical word with their quirky character. It has charm on its own that cant be found in other JRPG
Dude your video management is AMAZING! from script to humor to flow your videos work perfectly bravo👏👏
17:08 lord, your monologue about life really struck a cord with me. Your vocabulary is so excellent and the delivery really got me in my feels. I would absolutely live life to the fullest and never take anything for granted, just enjoying the essence of living. Bringing positivity to everyone I could, I'd go out with a bang. 🖤✨
This, Tales of Symphonia and Final Fantasy X are all games about taking your girlfriend to be sacrificed and find a way to break the system, each with their own spin.
I wonder if there are othera stories with this theme that I don't know.
LET'S GO TALES OF SYMPHONIA.
There's like a million billion untranslated visual novels out there so I'm sure there's probably a couple hundred with this plot.
I am Setsuna!!
I am Setsuna does this too i think
@skunthundler great answer. Water is wet.
I’m five minutes into the video and it’s already sold me on this game so much that I’m gonna stop watching so I can go into the game as blind as possible. I’ll come back to the video eventually once I finish it, so I’m providing engagement as a sacrifice to the algorithm so me leaving early doesn’t look bad.
The Mana series will always fit in my landscape. I remember finding SoM at a pawn shop and immediately enjoying the gameplay.
I LOVEDDDD visions. It was such a throwback feeling jrpg but still modern. The combat was fun, the ability to swap powersets and moves and everything was legit amazing. Story is fairly boilerplate but has some nice twists involved. Was a game that left me really glad i played it this year.
I really enjoyed Visions. There were a handful of gripes I had (way too many soulless side quests, class balance, FUCK the Benevodon of water) but all in all I had a wonderful time with it, it had some great story beats. The one thing it did that I am genuinely shocked you didn't touch on is the absolutely toothless plot twist that SOMEHOW the choice to sacrifice the Alms was the choice of the people despite literally all the evidence of the world saying otherwise but especially the fact that the Alms are CHOSEN by the elementals. It just flat out does not work in the context of the story and was very, very obviously written in to keep the mascots of the series in a positive light.
Gotta say I cackled at "has Mana gone WOKE?" your delivery consistently caught me off guard throughout. Great jokes, comedy man.
Your content is valuable and the work you do is good.
"Balls shave? Yes or no? You can be the judge!" would make you bazillionaire if you sponsored Manscaped like that.
Babe wake up new hour long kbash video!
Does babe ever get to sleep? Lmao
Must be different babes
another hour long of him talking in circles just like the games he reviews. why does it take him so long just to say that a game feels derivative? 😅
YO TALK ABOUT GRAVITY RUSH 1 AND 2 IT PRETTY GOOD AND THE OST IS A BANGER! *in the background*
or professor layton both are good @KBash
I bought romancing saga 2 new remake over visions . I was hyped for visions until I played the demo and it just felt meh. Romancing saga 2 is rather unique and was ahead of it's time.
Mega beautifully written ending and really wrapped up the whole video. Id love a video literally just on that topic and some of your nostalgia towards them good af b games. God hand anyone?
As a cat owner, I can confidently say that this game has immense playability from my perspective since one of the playable party members is an anthropomorphic katana wielding cat person.
Holy shit that ending. "Trying trying to pull some value that I only like okay." That describes my feelings on - what is very likely - the final entry to my favorite series of all time. This one hurts.
Should I play this if I enjoyed Granblue Fantasy Relink? I really enjoyed that game and this reminds me of it.
15:12 funny story: after playing the intro which let you double jump and air dash through a town, I was surprised when Van couldn’t do the same thing in the starting village…
I thought “oh, Eor-whatshisname must have already unlocked all that by being level 19-the game was showing me what I might unlock later!”
Then I left the starter village and immediately got my double jump and dash back.😂
Feels like some of the DNA for the story was taken from Legend of Mana. Some of the character stories revolve around the idea of sacrifice and returning mana to the Mana Tree, although at the end you find out it was horribly corrupted from the start.
No matter how many times I get to the credits, the names DankyStankSwankyMank and FupaSaiyan always give me a belly chuckle
I'm so glad you mentioned Steambot Chronicles and showed a bit of footage for Styx. These are games I grew up with and I always am delighted if they get bought up. Games like the Mana series are not going to be the most talked about game, but will be the most memorable for some. If you play these games I feel like are the enthusiasts for the experience each game has to offer.
the last 5-10 minutes are the reason I show up to watch your content every time. thank you KBash for always speaking your mind and loving what you love
The amount of puns on the game's title was top tier, amazing video as always🎉
This game has clear points of strength and clearer weak points, but man, the love that is infused into this game by the people who made it is so palpable. ❤
That segment at the end about B-games disappearing could've been a masterpiece of a vid on its own, goddamn... really put my thoughts into words.
"After that, mankind grew afraid to desire. Their hearts filled with empty emotions, and grew estranged from my hands. They turned their eyes away from my infinite power, and were troubled by their petty disputes. Remember me! Need me! I can provide you with everything! I am love. Find me, and walk beside me."
I might be biased, because Legend is one of my favorite games of all time. But that single piece of the opening of that game has always seemed to me like the thematic core of the entire franchise. The world is beautiful, and all we need do to enjoy life is let ourselves see that, caring for it and each other without letting pointless squabbling blind us to the the things right in front of us. Something like that, anyway.
You’ve gotta be sitting on top of a treasure trove of complete quality videos you’ve already made and releasing them into the wild… …you can’t possibly be putting these together one after another at this pace, right? Right?!
His previous video was four weeks ago. Lol isn't one per month standard for Patreon-based long-term content?
@ you’re right, I’m easily impressed. I did not just mix up / combine how many KBash and KingK videos I’ve watched recently…
Okay, maybe I did.
an hour long yappafest with minimal editing every month or so is hardly impressive.
@@ytnukesme1600 calling this hour long video "minimal editing" is hilarious. Also, I hope I'm not so down bad a loser that I watch and skulk the comment section of a content creator I don't like and doesn't affect/target me
I really love the way you speak about the games you present to us. Clearly you have love for them but are not blind to their downsides. I really appreciate the honest criticism. Also hearing about games I never realized existed is always a plus. Thank you for your work!
It was just revealed that Visions’ director Ryosuke Yoshida has been hired by Square Enix. I think that shows that Square does think Visions of Mana is worth remembering and respect, which would be very good.
15:54 I feel acknowledged and understood
Tbh I blame the fact that it’s not on the switch where the trials of mana remake founded success in the first place
This fully.
I would've honestly considered buying it if it came out on switch. hopefully it releases on the successor 🤞
Out of curiosity, is Ever Oasis on the to-review list? Obviously I'm not a patron and your backlog's likely plenty big as is. Regardless, I think you're the biggest Ishii fan I've ever come across and I'd be really interested on your thoughts as to how that one stacks up to Mana.
Sad to hear this game didn't quite stick the landing, especially when it comes to builds, but I definitely intend on picking it up soon. There's a lot of positives in there and that world looks like an absolute delight to explore.
As someone whose favorite game of all time to date is Legend of Mana, I was extremely stoked for Visions.
Funny youtube showed me your video the day after I finished Visions. Really great video. Said anything it had to be said.
I currently on a B game love. Played Wanted: Dead and loved it and now I'm playing Slitterhead. Really loved them. I feel fun and freshness in the oldschool style (if something like fresh in old is possible). I can't stomach some crap like witchers and elder scrolls and is sad to see everybody saying those are the best thing ever. And we loosing the games that actually are made with some love without money.
"Soul smoothification" ... never change, please
It's bold that they went with such a bittersweet ending, I think that is worth some acknowledgement.
I'm torn on this game. I want to play it, but It really does suck that the team got canned.
My brain is so Genshin Impact pilled now whenever I glance up at the screen at the Visions of Mana screens that's all I think of. The character designs look delightful though. Also appreciating all the love for Legend of Mana. Really enjoy that game.
"...the weird grabby thing from DmC Devil may Cry, only without the red/blue Simon says gimmick..."
soo the Devil Bringer from DMC4
Your ending talk about preserving the b games really resonated with me. I personally haven't really been participating in the videogame zeitgeist for some time now. I more and more found that I just didn't have it in me to go learn a new game that would be dropped by everyone by the end of the week. More and more I found that I got much more enjoyment out of smaller more personal indie projects. Games that are made to be experienced, not to string the player on like a coke addict.
Heck even elden ring fell into that camp for me. I regularly do 1-2 hour playthroughs of dark souls and demon souls, but never even took elden ring to completion. I love the souls series and can't front about elden ring being a good game, but by the end I was just exhausted.
I also just have a very stylistic preference in games. I love simplistic graphics, especially ones that emulate early n64 and ps1 graphics. It's been great to see games get better graphics but I also feel like that became the priority as opposed to having good gameplay loops and character designs. Indie games though have many devs that are equally disillusioned with modern gaming and are making things to appeal to what made gaming special for them.
While the AAA studios making B games may be a dying thing there are still plenty of smaller studios making AA experiences that are just as engaging. Hades and Hades II are crowning examples of this while kickstarter projects from og devs like bloodstained ritual of the night show that worthwhile stuff is still getting funded.
I believe much of this is industry cycles. At one point activision and atari was king, then the video game industry crashed and we had scrappy punks like id software come in and innovate, those scrappy companies eventually become larger companies, the industry proceed sto consolidate, then it stagnates and causes your indies to be in high demand. It's honestly the cycle of every industry, innovate, flourish, consolidate, stagnate, innovate. This applies in the music industry, the film industry, and even to an extent most capitalist industry period. In a weird way too it mirrors that of nature, overgrowth leading to starvation which subsequently leaves the ground fertile for new growth.
As someone who got burned out on JRPG stories and their gazilion corny tropes, your videos on them are great.
I loved the hell out of this game. As a big fan of the Mana series (LOM is my personal favorite) I was glad they released a new game in the series.
I saw radiata story clips in the first 5 minutes. That game was my Jam. If someone bought me that as a gift I would cry.
It's a great hidden gem. The only real flaw in retrospect to me is the incessant battle grunts and screams for every single attack you perform.
I was sitting here wondering why the video was doing something weird with screen tearing on my 120hz display and what do you MEAN you uploaded at FIFTY FRAMES PER SECOND
In a perfect world, the team would have been scooped up by Capcom and given a sizable budget to make a Breath of Fire sequel
in an ideal world, Capcom wouldn't be crapping the bed so hard while everyone claps from the side like a bunch of seals..
that was well said, great vid. I actually find the story very intriguing on this one. And my only connection with mana is the gba one. It was fun and for sure unique
The honey dew collection and style reminds me of granblue fantasy rpg. It's quaint and simple something I think is missing from the game sphere cause people don't appreciate it. Bot everything has to be this epic perfect mechanical masterpiece. It has its own creative beauty and goes as high as it needs too
Subscribed, dude you nailed it with this video. I felt like I was taking crazy pills from the fact other people didn't observe what was going on with the class system in this game. Also the best skills/customization options being locked behind post game--SUCKED.
11:00 Along the same line, I had to break out Cheat Engine to make the game run at full frame rate at all times. The 30FPS limit in cutscenes is completely unneeded, they work just fine at 60+FPS.
I loved Trials so much and even said when playing “If they ever made this as its own thing and not a remake it would be amazing” and that is sorta what we got with Visions. The visuals are amazing, sound work is good (some really good boss fight tunes), and gameplay is fine but there is a lack of polish for sure that keeps it from truly being a better experience than Trials which is unfortunate because I came into this really wanting to love it and while there is plenty there it just didn’t grip me the same way SD3 on SNES and Trials did.
these new thumbnails are sick (complimentary)
Legend of Mana fans represent! My favorite game, bar none. Sure it's got warts and systems that don't remain relevant in harder difficulties, but goddamn I love the soul of that game.
Really like the ending section here i think it hits home for a lot of gamers nowadays
What a tragedy, totally agree. All the small games are the ones that really do something special for the most part. I still like the big ones a lot of the time but I'm finding it hard to justify spending all that money rather than going digging for some real gems on steam. Especially with all the indies that I've been playing. Neon white, cruelty squad, and void stranger have all made my tentative top 10 and those are all games I played in the past 2 years, not long after launch. And I really appreciate what you do, I've taken some recs from your vids. Gotta go Finnish the little goody two shoes vid now that I've played it.
16:43 omg i laughed so hard and suddenly that i think i strained my neck 😂
Hmmm i was wondering whether to get the new visions but hearing about the studio closing did make me a bit hesitant
It's still worth it. The art has been made and the decision was not made by Squeenix, it was the Chinese parent company that did it. I have problems with a lot of what Squeenix does but this one genuinely wasn't their fault. The damage has been done, you might as well pick the game up and enjoy it.
Hell yes, new KBash. One video closer to him starting a series on Kiseki. I hope.
Just Platinumed Visions Of Mana and this game's Post Game/New Game + was the stand out to this amazing game👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Oh shi, bros lookin clean! Really enjoyed the vid nice one
Finally JRPG Content why I subbed 6 years ago
The LAST thing I expected from a video with this title was a game from the current year
And like
FUCK, dude. I was NOT ready
Absolutely fantastic and deeply thought provoking video
I will stay up at night for weeks thinking about this I think
I wish it had the writing of previous entries, but the environments and the characters were a lot of fun.
I once read a 10+ year old interview with Morita Masamoto of Sega saying offhand he doesn't get the push to remove or shrink HUD elements from westerners. That Japanese prefer the big numbers and health bars everywhere to help with the escape from realism. I mull over that quote a lot. Because for most of us, HUD Removal is about immersion, not the opposite.
Man, the Radiata Stories clips... I miss the hell out of that thing. I miss my squadron of total freaks.
Babe wake up, new Kbash video dropped!
i like RPG , and i dont care about how combat , story and graphic, i like the depth of customization and how i do my build , so for me this game is the best.
Man that short clip of Radiata Stories brought back so many memories
i didn't realize that Dawn of mana is not that popular, it's my favorite one, especially story wise, the story is punching down on the MC from the start to finish i genuinely impressed that he still a good guy.
i still vividly remember seeing his last struggle trying to save the mana girl in vain.
Great video. The Mana series make me love Jrpgs. With it flaws I really enjoy playing Visions of Mana, the world and characters is just too charming for me, I still dont finish because I just want to walk around and enjoy the scenery doing every sidequests as an excuse for that, is just lovely. Games doesnt need to be perfect, games need to be fun, and for me Visions of Mana is fun.
I live how knightblade catboy is literally just Virgil...
I've only learnt about the studio shutting down through this video review. Outside of that I thought everything about this game seemed to be on the up and up with the people who played it fawning over it and enthusiasm about how it develops on a similar base to Trials. It is truly disheartening to hear about it... But in a way I feel it really isn't a surprise since this kind of thing seems to be commonplace with bigger publishers and in many ways I'm reminded on the "failure" of Neo:TWEWY which is almost similar in terms of how there was a brief announcement and nothing much else was said up until release.
In a way it almost seems like specifically Square Enix is using its back catalogue to try and phase out B games with B games. Barely advertising them, leaving them at high price points, phasing out developers and studios who put their time into this on other projects or on disolving studios... I am now hella worried for that Romancing SaGa 2 remake and what it will mean for SaGa and the rest of the Squenix back catalogue going forward.
Either way, you've definitely said it best at the end and I hope to take that in for anything that looks promising to me.
@@GrayvyFellow the Romancing SaGa 2 remake is safe, it’s been selling insanely well in Japan. Even if it wasn’t, the creator of SaGa is a bigwig at Square who’s been able to get games out regularly. It’s probably the safest out of all their B tier franchises
I'm gonna have to be that guy. Absolutely love your videos, and I am writing this as I just started this video so I have no ideas what you are going to say. BUT I will say that Visions of Mana is in my modest opinion as a long time fan (since the SNES days, from the top of my 34 years), a great entry in the series. But it is also bogged down by wanting too much to rely on Trials of Mana's remake and the nostalgia it brought with it. It's also WAY too easy, which is my biggest issue with it.
With that said, I am glad it exists, it might not end the legacy on the highest note, but it sure as fuck ends it higher than Heroes of Mana and Dawn of Mana....
I will add that the Rune Knight is honestly just as broken as Nightblade. All you need to do is slap you Saber Magic of choice and enjoy over 900 damage in a single charged hit. It's also brain dead.
I'm bout 5 minutes in and stopped cause I wanna play this game first then I'll come back and watch the rest stay safe brother.
The best weapons in secret of mana snes are the weapons that inflict status ailments like balloon, confuse, poison, sleep.
I like the random Radiata Stories clips lol
oof
That last segment kinda got me
I found Mana on the Switch. It’s still the only console that I own and that means I’ve missed this gem this year.
Which is a shame that it didn’t sell amazingly! I have to wonder if there are more than a few of us.
OR MARKET CONDITIONS
You know what NO ONE TALKED ABOUT THIS GAME at all this year it’s sad 😔
I would love to play it, but it’s not on Switch so I’m SOL
Isnt vision of mana XBox exclusive ? No wonder no one talk about this.
@@the13thjoker no it’s not a Xbox exclusive wukong was still trending at the time that’s probably why nobody cared for it sadly
@@prof.laytonfan764 it’s not ?! Wow 😯
@@Tuskumo You are right. I always see that Mana series can become as big as Zelda series if only Square and peoplec I always see that Mana series can become as big as Zelda series if only Square and people care more about this series
One of my favorite games as a kid was the 2nd zoids gba game, zoids legacy. By all means, it was a B game. It was a game made based off of a show and toy that had an anime aesthetic, trying to be the next big thing, but ultimately, nothing revolutionary for RPGs. However, I beat every single challenge mission, not because the game was my favorite, but because I got behind it's turn based combat in ways I have really gotten to appreciate with other jrpgs. Now it feels like all games are shovelware, indie, or AAA shlop
This really highlights everything I love about Astral Chain.
It doesn’t have the best story. It’s stuff we’ve seen before. Music is okay. Combat, while stellar, becomes a real grind after a while.
But man….it was a simple, straightforward experience.
Not everything needs to be Xenoblade Chronicles. The simple indie games you cover are all we need in times like these.
A really risky and with a strong singular vision b-game that launched recently is Slitterhead from Keiichiro Toyama, an action horror game with a body switching mechanic, i think you would like it, i would love to see a video about it from you.
It is a great game that deserved better
The "B" games now are the big indies
There one will find a bit of innovation and enough polish
In small indies, one will be able to find unpolished but very innovative experiences
We have more games than ever now, more variety then ever
Just gotta choose!
I’ve never solved “palm trees and eight” 😭😭
I was super glad that characters in the story weren't actually super thrilled about the whole human sacrifice thing and kinda jumped on the first chance to not do that.
23:36 This gives me 80s-He-Man vibes, but as an anime furry. Wild, what a time to be alive
God mana is up there for me as one of my favs. I always need good music, and mana delivers.
15:55 oh hell yeah
1:00:05 yeah thats kinda the feeling i got from the demo. Its Mana but blended and poured into a modern safe game mold, and was kinda down for it, but not enough that i was willing to once the dev situation came out
And like other folks have mentioned, indies are a good place to find the more daring games, and they need our support now more than ever
For a while I've been enjoying the indie market a lot more than the Big Games Industry haul. Not that there aren't good games made that inspire me - Metaphor comes to mind as a recent example - but as you state, the industry is too obsessed with playing it safe and extracting value.