LEGEND OF MANA STEAM SERIES
MO: This series is forged by strong passion and love of many people.
Looking back on it, what have you learnt? GB: The Mana series as a whole is 30 years old now. I wish for the titles that we enjoyed playing as children, to be a title that could be enjoyed with our own children too. I would like to strive to create a status where titles with high demands are playable at modern standards, while also working hard to bring you completely new titles. MO: There are just so much emotion and thoughts. GB: Moving forward, what do you personally see for the Mana series’ future? This is what the original non-Japan release missed out on. But thinking back on it, taking it out of the home to bring-up your buddy and then going back home and linking it with the PlayStation, I personally recall this as an exciting experience. I am not exactly sure why it was limited to PocketStation at that time. MO: There are no changes except for the adjustment of the display bugs. GB: Besides adding it to the remaster, any changes you’ve made to Ring Ring Land? Why was it limited to the PocketStation anyway? Shimomura, we involved the sound engineering team to record the beautifully arranged tracks. It is very unlikely to go this far for audio in a remastering title, but to meet the strong passion of Ms. Yoko Shimomura about the remaster version initiation, we kindly received the will for manipulation of the original audio.
MO: Before laying hands on the remastering process, the original music was already great to the ear and the initial plan was to keep them. GB: Who made the decision to also include new soundtrack arrangements? Why? There are setting which may not be a necessary option for first time players, but is definitely an attentive function for users who have played the original and/or players who will dive deep into the game.
But to prevent being stuck or trapped, please note that there are sections of maps where it is not possible to save. Auto save and save anywhere were functions to meet the modern convenience and demands. MO: As a basic principal, the aim was to implement user-friendly functions to satisfy players of the original game. the quality of life features such as disabling enemy encounters, or the gallery/soundtrack options? What else did you put in? GB: Talk more about the additional features added to the game e.g. Does not mean you can’t make them into a comrade! The elderly millennials might remember this. In this title, Chocobo will not be your first pet, but no worries. MO: Any contents which required data from other titles are all accessible and playable. note: The original game had additional bonuses for having save files from Chocobo Racing and Final Fantasy VIII.) GB: Are the secret bonuses still in? ( Ed. Coming across private notes and conversation records, I was also able to visualize the strong young passion of developers who are now the key persons of such a big title which definitely encouraged my motivation. MO: We started by excavating development data at that time and there were moments when I got lost in time by finding numerous settings and data which were definitely interesting to take a glance at. GB: Something you felt you learnt during the process? We tried to be extra careful not to cause any visionary confliction between the beautified memories and high resolution remaster upon first sight. The biggest difficulty is the fact that, nostalgic memories of playing experiences are glorified especially if it was enjoyed. I personally thought this was the most difficult title in the past as I already knew that the enthusiasm of the original fans for this title were very high. MO: Remastering may be seen as a simple porting procedure, but as it get compared to the original work, I actually think it is more challenging in a way than creating something new. GB: What’s the remastering process like? How difficult was it, considering it’s such an old game? This title was highly rated for the picture-book like view or the world and beautiful graphics at the time and therefore, the HD remaster was the choice so players of the original title could feel right, as well as to deliver the authentic unique atmosphere of LoM to first time players. There was an option of, simply porting the original title, but noticeable roughness of the graphics were inevitable using the current high definition monitors. But as the original LoM was only released in Japan and North America, one of our especial wishes was to make this title globally available as soon as possible. MO: As a producer of the series, there was a goal to make as many titles available to be enjoyed in modern machines and consoles. GB: What influenced the decision to remaster this game anyway?