Squenix wields archived Mana

Back in August last year, we got very excited about Square's plans to release a new Seiken Densetsu (Mana) title on the GameBoy Advance, after we heard that it would be a new title and not some questionable old rehash. In fact, "excited" is probably an understatement. "So happy we pranced around the office with red streamers in our hair operating an imaginary ring menu magic system and calling ourselves Sprite" is closer.

Now, while we're not absolutely sure that this is what they were referring to (and we will certainly hold on for more), it appears that the now Square Enix is going for an updated rerelease of Final Fantasy Adventure, which was actually the earliest Mana game released in the US on the original GameBoy back in 1991. That's according to a report in Jump magazine in Japan. The new title, Shinyaku Seiken Densetsu ("The Legend of Mana: The New Testament") will be playable from the perspectives of both 17-year-old hero and 17-year-old heroine. The former is a slave gladiator of Grans (we'll leave the Python references up to you), gunning for the Grans leader known as the Shadow Knight, who killed our hero's parents. The latter meanwhile is a descendant of the Mana tribe, whose quest we don't know too much about.

Not much has been revealed beyond that, but we do know that the ring system from Secret of Mana will make an appearance. Hurrah for that then, but let's have a proper Mana sequel next, eh?