Square Enix Senior VP talks about Children of Mana

Kouichi Ishii, Senior Vice President of Square Enix, recently met with the press to talk about Square Enix’s new title for the NDS, Children of Mana.

A particular feature of this “good feeling” 2D game that Square Enix is particularly proud of is the multiplayer mode.  Four players, lots of quests, coop play, and random dungeons, all using the wireless DS connection.

In a display of marketing savvy, when asked the question why the game doesn’t take advantage of WiFi, Ishii said that he wanted the game to go back to Secret of Mana and create a space where people would play with close friends and siblings in the same area, instead of being distanced from each other and play with strangers. “Good feeling” indeed.

Hopefully, the increase in re-playability generated by the random dungeons will make up for the lack of WiFi. The game will feature a branching story line, with side quests that break off from the main story every now and then. It also features powerup items that supposedly introduce customization and complexity to the Mana series.

The Square Enix Senior VP says that for Children of Mana, they focused on a “pinball” effect in the battles where the enemies bounce around the terrain (and sometimes back at the player) when hit hard by the gamers. This should allow for devastating combos, and at the same time give you strategic challenges as there are moments when bouncing might not be so good.

In regards to a possible “Wii move” for the Mana series, Ishii says that he feels that there is a “great amount of possibility” for the development of a Mana game on the Wii. As for the future of the Mana  titles, Ishii states that he’s a big fan of RTS games and that the stylus of the DS is perfect for that genre. He says that he wants to bring people back to a strategy based mode of gaming and at the same time bring in elements that he feels are missing from current games.

The game has been on Japanese store shelves since march, and according to Ishii, there won’t be any major differences in the North American release at the end of this month.

Buy: [Children of Mana]

Via IGN

Kouichi Ishii, Senior Vice President of Square Enix, recently met with the press to talk about Square Enix’s new title for the NDS, Children of Mana.

A particular feature of this “good feeling” 2D game that Square Enix is particularly proud of is the multiplayer mode.  Four players, lots of quests, coop play, and random dungeons, all using the wireless DS connection.

In a display of marketing savvy, when asked the question why the game doesn’t take advantage of WiFi, Ishii said that he wanted the game to go back to Secret of Mana and create a space where people would play with close friends and siblings in the same area, instead of being distanced from each other and play with strangers. “Good feeling” indeed.

Hopefully, the increase in re-playability generated by the random dungeons will make up for the lack of WiFi. The game will feature a branching story line, with side quests that break off from the main story every now and then. It also features powerup items that supposedly introduce customization and complexity to the Mana series.

The Square Enix Senior VP says that for Children of Mana, they focused on a “pinball” effect in the battles where the enemies bounce around the terrain (and sometimes back at the player) when hit hard by the gamers. This should allow for devastating combos, and at the same time give you strategic challenges as there are moments when bouncing might not be so good.

In regards to a possible “Wii move” for the Mana series, Ishii says that he feels that there is a “great amount of possibility” for the development of a Mana game on the Wii. As for the future of the Mana  titles, Ishii states that he’s a big fan of RTS games and that the stylus of the DS is perfect for that genre. He says that he wants to bring people back to a strategy based mode of gaming and at the same time bring in elements that he feels are missing from current games.

The game has been on Japanese store shelves since march, and according to Ishii, there won’t be any major differences in the North American release at the end of this month.

Buy: [Children of Mana]

Via IGN