Mana game for wii was considered?!?!

[Hawk]

I saw this "In 2006, a Mana installment for the Wii was considered but did not enter development" in wikipedia and I dont get it, could someone explain it? im comfused

[Kimiko]

That sentence is actually sourced, to an interview with Kouichi Ishii on RPGamer:

Could we see a Mana game for the Nintendo Wii?
Kouichi Ishii: That idea is currently being considered, with a lot of forward momentum. In general, I feel there is a great amount of possibility on the Wii, as it presents tremendous potential.

[Hawk]

Thanks for information.
SO they are not going to do the game right?

[LunarWisp]

It doesn't look likely, but that depends on if Square-Enix feels that the series can continue without Ishii.

If the Secret of Mana remake for the iPhone gets enough sales, perhaps they'll consider expanding the series.

[Marini]

Oh, the possibilities. I'm reminded of a time when I wished that DoM was released on Wii as well and was so upset that it wasn't. A new Mana game, regardless of platform, would be lovely.

[nick912012]

Secret of Mana on the iPhone won't outsell Chrono Trigger DS. And the sales of CTDS weren't enough to warrant a rebirth of the Chrono series, so don't bank on that one. The only hope, I see, for the Mana series is its 20th anniversary next year, but considering we didn't see any news on a sequel at E3, it's unlikely. TGS might bring some light I guess.

EDIT: And for those who want a link to Square talking about Chrono, here it is:
http://www.destructoid.com/want-a-chron ... 5393.phtml

[LunarWisp]

But, it's hard to compare Mana with Chrono. Chrono has only two installments, and our beloved lil' Mana series has nine.

The 20th anniversary of Mana might spawn something. There was a whole set of games to go along with Final Fantasy's 20th anniversary, after all.

[nick912012]

I know it's a little difficult to compare Mana with Chrono, but the way I see it, both games have very limited activity going for them. Chrono's stuck in a muck with the only a game a decade it seems (excluding Radical Dreamers since that hardly counts as a game). Mana, like you mentioned, was blessed with a feast of games, though each game seemed to get worse and worse.

Mana will probably not get a grand festival of games considering the last time they tried to pull that off, each one of them were mediocre or awful. I think Chrono might get something by its 20th birthday, but that's only because the fans will probably send death threats if something isn't done by then.

And honestly, Mana has its job taken by Kingdom Hearts. KH is Square's main Action RPG, and that title won't be given up at all. There are other routes to be taken in the A-RPG genre, like a dungeon crawler or puzzle based action RPG; however, Mana already dabbled in the dungeon crawler field (and failed IMO) and Square seems to be giving Lufia a shot at becoming a more puzzle based Action RPG.

The only hope I see for Mana returning to somewhat of its original glory is if it takes up more of a "team" based Action RPG, which Secret of Mana kinda had that going for it. Secret of Mana is easily regarded as the best of the series by the bulk of the fans, including myself, and so the idea should stay the same, but add more features and balancing. KH might have three party members, but there's no co-op feature. Mana should stay in a 2D realm (though they can either go High Def sprites or 3D Models. Just retain the 2Dish gameplay). Emphasis on online play and teamwork.

Anyways, that's just my brain vomit/two cents and I just got off of work/it's 11PM. Not even gonna proof read it!

*hits submit*

[Hawk]

Your saying mana games don’t have much future because kh is also an action RPG, but you are saying that Chrono Triger has more chance of getting a new game, which doesn’t make sense because Chrono Triger is the same type of game as final fantasy which is more famous than kh.

[Kimiko]

Kingdom Hearts isn't the only ARPG series competing with Mana. There's also Crystal Chronicles.

[nick912012]

Your saying mana games don’t have much future because kh is also an action RPG, but you are saying that Chrono Triger has more chance of getting a new game, which doesn’t make sense because Chrono Triger is the same type of game as final fantasy which is more famous than kh.

I thought about the FF-CT comparison last night. Then I realized, FF changed genres. It's no longer a standard turn based RPG. I'm not entirely sure, but I know things were changed around a lot. Plus CT has a weird gimmick with the Dual Techs and Triple Techs making an emphasis on team attacks. Of course, such a feature would need to be expanded greatly, and if they wanted to go the Chrono Cross route, they could make it have a good 30 characters to choose from instead of CT's 7 or whatever.

In a sense, Final Fantasy is trying to innovate itself, and I don't see it moving back to the traditional turn based system. I think Dragon Quest will remain in such a genre, but CT deviates from the format enough to justify it being on the market. Plus, Chrono fans are rabid considering their malnourished from Square-Enix not feeding them.


EDIT @ Kimiko: Yeah, forgot about that franchise. I've honestly never played a Crystal Chronicles game. Is it a true ARPG or is it dungeon crawlerish? I honestly have no idea.

[DeadWolf]

In a sense, Final Fantasy is trying to innovate itself, and I don't see it moving back to the traditional turn based system.

Don't say that. Final Fantasy is slowly getting worse and that statement there shows that they want Final Fantasy to be horrible.

[nick912012]

In a sense, Final Fantasy is trying to innovate itself, and I don't see it moving back to the traditional turn based system.

Don't say that. Final Fantasy is slowly getting worse and that statement there shows that they want Final Fantasy to be horrible.

Well, if Final Fantasy goes back to its old format, what's the point of having Dragon Quest on the market? Dragon Quest is about it for Enix's old franchises. Well, I think Star Ocean was an Enix one as well, but still, Enix had some amazing games back in the SNES days. What happened to the Soul Blazer trilogy (ish), Actraiser, or Robotrek? Square Enix has shown love to Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Mana, SaGa, Front Mission, etc. Hell, even Chrono has seen a little bit of sun since the companies have merged together. Annd I'm breaking off into a tangent again! Wooo... back to Mana discussion? Sorry, I was listening to Illusion of Gaia music while I got on, so that's prolly why I decided to go all "MUST DEFEND ENIX!" mode.

Anyways, I want Mana to come back, but the World of Mana project really hurt it. I think Kingdom Hearts really is pressuring the series as well. I'm not sure why ZERO of the World of Mana games were a traditional Action RPG, but I want to pin the blame on KH. I think Koichi Ishii felt pressured from KH to make something new with Mana since he knew Kingdom Hearts was around to stay. Of course, this is purely speculation, and Ishii could of just been trying to make Mana into an empire like Final Fantasy is. Making it into every genre and such. Unfortunately, every single game felt underdeveloped and just the products they dished out were deadly to the series.

[LunarWisp]

Of course, this is purely speculation, and Ishii could of just been trying to make Mana into an empire like Final Fantasy is. Making it into every genre and such. Unfortunately, every single game felt underdeveloped and just the products they dished out were deadly to the series.

If this is the case, then the Mana series may be better of without Ishii. He was the one who kept coming up with all these wacky ideas for the franchise. It's odd to say that any series would benefit from it's creator's absence, but it seems almost like Ishii himself was the root of Mana's downfall.

[nick912012]

Of course, this is purely speculation, and Ishii could of just been trying to make Mana into an empire like Final Fantasy is. Making it into every genre and such. Unfortunately, every single game felt underdeveloped and just the products they dished out were deadly to the series.

If this is the case, then the Mana series may be better of without Ishii. He was the one who kept coming up with all these wacky ideas for the franchise. It's odd to say that any series would benefit from it's creator's absence, but it seems almost like Ishii himself was the root of Mana's downfall.

Yaeh, Ishii already left Square Enix, so if they do decide to bring back the franchise, I'm almost positive someone new would lead the team. Ishii did some great things back in the day, but I remember reading in one interview that Ishii's dream game was Dawn of Mana.... that's just ehhh... The idea was really cool, but it was poorly implemented and with the levels resetting after each dungeon, that's just inexcusable and lazy.

Anyways, if they were to make a Mana game for the Wii/any other console, I would love for the following:

Kikuta running soundtrack
2D overworld (Secret of Mana esque travel)
Free form Flammie travel + Map with indicator where to go (SD3 did it perfectly)
Multiple weapons
Multiple party members that can use each weapon.
Online co-op storymode play.
A refinement with the magic system
Mana Sword to be usable in combat
Mr. Moti dancing and as a shop keeper.
Return of Neko instead of Niccolo. Maybe include both.
Plenty of towns
Several side quests
Maybe a combo system as opposed to charge attacks? - The charge system was really poor.
New Game +
Class Changing I guess would be nice.
And if it's for the Wii, NO MOTION CONTROLS!!!

Anybody else wanna share features they'd like to see in a new Mana game?