• Home
  • News Blog
  • Feed
  • Games
  • Reviews
  • Previews
  • Features
  • Reader Reviews
  • Forum
  • Blogs
  • Friend Codes
  • Podcast
  • Members
  • About
  • news News Updates
    News as a Blog
    News as a Blog

    Cubed

    on 11.11.2007 at 11:47 User Icon Posted by Jorge Ba-oh (jb) Number of Comments Comments: 5 Number of Reads Reads: 2312
    Tag Tags:
    Square Enix Talks Heroes of Mana
    Interview by Adam Riley :: Sunday 11th November 2007


    The Mana series has always been seen as one with the potential to be as big as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest for Square Enix and with the World of Mana project, the company is attempting to achieve just that. Cubed3 recently caught up with the team behind the latest DS outing 'Heroes of Mana' to talk over the game and the various hurdles involved in bringing the Mana Universe to the realms of a real-time strategy game.

    Cubed3's Adam Riley: How come Nintendo-owned Brownie Brown was chosen to do development this time?

    Koichi Ishii-san, Producer of the Mana Series: Brownie Brown is quite familiar with the MANA series, having worked on Sword of Mana in the past, and we felt comfortable collaborating with them once again.

    AR: And why take the series in a Real-Time Strategy direction rather than follow in the footsteps of Children of Mana's dungeon-crawling style?

    KI: The impetus behind the WORLD OF MANA Project was, and still is, to allow our fans and users to experience the MANA Universe from many different perspectives. The reason we decided to make an RTS title is because the genre itself has not received much exposure in Japan, and we wanted offer our users a chance to experience it.

    Experiencing a new genre can be quite enjoyable and exciting. Our aim was to place the RTS genre in the "Favourites" folder of our Japanese users, so to speak. At the same time, we are confident that the gameplay will satisfy our overseas users and RTS veterans alike.

    AR: How does the game make use of the DS features? And is online Wi-Fi support definitely going to be included in the Western version? 

    KI: RTS games are primarily developed for the PC, and designing one for a portable console, in the case of this title the Nintendo DS, was not an easy task. However, we were overjoyed to discover that there was an excellent synergy between the RTS environment and the DS stylus. It almost seems as if the DS was tailor-made for the RTS genre.

    AR: What were some of the obstacles you faced when transferring the Mana series into the world of RTS? 

    KI: Since the MANA Universe is so solidly established, it was not difficult for us to adapt it into a new genre. Watching rabites and mushblooms wandering about an RTS field doesn't seem out of place at all--it's rather cute, wouldn't you say?

    AR: Sales in Japan were far lower than those of Children of Mana. What do you think the reason for this was and were you disappointed by its poor performance? 

    KI: The RTS genre has not yet permeated the gaming culture of Japan to the level that it has in Europe and the United States. HEROES OF MANA was an attempt on our part to "spread the word" on RTS games on the Nintendo DS, a portable console with a very high saturation level in Japan.

    It is our belief that we succeeded in creating a highly playable and enjoyable RTS for the DS, and we are confident that we provided the users who did play it with a new, innovative experience. However, people can be wary of the unknown, and perhaps the lack of exposure the RTS genre receives in Japan caused some hesitation.

    AR: The story ties into that of Seiken Densetsu 3's. But considering that game was never released in the West, was any consideration given to including an explanation as to how the two tie together?

    KI: Though it is true Seiken Densetsu 3 has not been released in Europe, the story of HEROES OF MANA takes place before the events of said title, so not knowing the story of Seiken Densetsu 3 should not hinder the gameplay experience of HEROES OF MANA.

    The reason the general world setting of Seiken Densetsu 3 was chosen for this current title was because it revolved around warring states, and thus it appeared ideal for an RTS.

    AR: And were any gameplay changes considered for implementation in the Western release?

    KI: No drastic changes were to be implemented, but we recommend playing the "Hard Mode" difficulty. It is quite a challenge!

    AR: On average how long do you think the game will last and is there anything to encourage the gamer to play through again? 

    KI: Overall play time will vary according to play style, but on average, the game can be cleared on normal difficulty in 20-30 hours. But Hard Mode and many other exciting incentives can be found by playing the game through and through. Just playing through normal once would be a waste!

    * * *

    Be sure to check out our wealth of exclusive interviews by following this link:



    Related Stories
  • Nintendo News | Square Enix Exclusive DS RPG Confirmed for Europe on 14.06.2007 at 09:30
  • Nintendo DS News | Square Enix Exclusive Mana Comes to US on 26.03.2007 at 14:37
  • Nintendo DS Media | Heroes of Mana Trailer, New Info & Seiken Densetsu 3? on 25.09.2006 at 17:03
  • Please post your comments below | Submit News Tip | Archive
    Top Stories and Features

    Show All

    Heroes of Mana (Nintendo DS)

    Rate:

    Add to CollectionAdd To Wishlist

    Developer

    Brownie Brown

    Publisher

    Square Enix

    Genre

    RPG - Real Time

    Players

    1

    C3 Score
    9
    Reader Score (2 Votes)
    10

    Buy Heroes of Mana
    Reply to this Topic
    Please login to post a comment :), or sign up for a free acccount.
    Page: 1
    Pro-Sonic, anti-Fagio (Mario)
    Number of comments 1300
    MC hammered

     L58 Hylian Knight

    Offline

    Great interview, I'm definatly considering getting this little gem!
    Enoch Powell was right, and you know it.
    on 11.11.2007 at 21:04
    My User Card | Games | Blog | Reviews | Friend Codes | PM Me  
    Number of comments 10
    jj984jj

     L2 Toad

    Offline

    How come you didn't ask if the AI issues were addressed for the EU released? Moving multiple units were a pain sometimes in HoM.
    on 12.11.2007 at 08:55
    My User Card | Games | Blog | Reviews | Friend Codes | PM Me  
    Prof. Layton 2 Hands-On & Another Code: R Review Now Live!
    Number of comments 11672
    jesusraz

     News Editor

    Offline

    Heroes of Mana is indeed a great game and it's a crying shame it failed to even break into the DS Top 30 Smilie

    And jj, several Qs were omitted from the final piece.

    Did anyone on C3 pick up the game? I really hope Seiken Densetsu 3 gets a VC release at least.


    Cubed3 Senior Editor :: Lead Writer :: News & Interviews Editor
    on 13.11.2007 at 09:56
    My User Card | Games | Blog | Reviews | Friend Codes | PM Me  
    Number of comments 4939
    mOojc

     L99 Master Hand

    Online!

    Lack of advertising really kills any potential games of sales. I'm planning to pick this up after my exams are over, can't wait to play it. I personally thought HoM was great.
    on 13.11.2007 at 10:31
    My User Card | Games | Blog | Reviews | Friend Codes | PM Me  
    Prof. Layton 2 Hands-On & Another Code: R Review Now Live!
    Number of comments 11672
    jesusraz

     News Editor

    Offline

    Lack of advertising does indeed kill off games that otherwise deserve high sales. Real shame, and I hope that the slow European and US sales don't deter S-E from bringing more Mana titles to Nintendo formats...


    Cubed3 Senior Editor :: Lead Writer :: News & Interviews Editor
    on 17.11.2007 at 21:53
    My User Card | Games | Blog | Reviews | Friend Codes | PM Me  
    FeedSubscribe to this topic
    To keep up with comments, you can view and add the RSS feed for this topic. (Find out More)
    Page: 1
     
    About C3
  • What is Cubed3?
  • The Team & Contributors
  • Advertising Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contribute & Share
  • Submit News Tip
  • AddThis Social Bookmark Button

    Our Button: