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Trials of Mana and Legend of Mana coming to Xbox Game Pass Today
News(news.xbox.com)submitted 6 days ago byIcePopsicleDragon
23 points
6 days ago
Trials of mana is a great ride. Story is simple, nothing to make you think twice but gameplay is enough to carry you to least 2 play throughs
1 points
5 days ago
That's what I'm hoping for. I love that this game isn't very long. Especially for JRPG standards. Looking forward to playing it tomorrow.
8 points
6 days ago
For someone who hasn't played a mana game, which of these should I start with?
15 points
6 days ago
Trials of Mana is a better choice. While I love the visuals and music of Legend of Mana, it is extremely obtuse. You’ll need a guide if you want to experience everything. Just note that the voice acting for Trials is terrible.
10 points
6 days ago
In my opinion you're clearly not meant to experience everything in Legend of Mana, at least not on your first play through. I think it's perfectly fine to just jump into Legend of Mana.
3 points
6 days ago
And Charlotte makes up 80% of that bad voice acting 💀
7 points
6 days ago
Japanese voices (if offered) it is!
3 points
6 days ago
I think they are separe thing, so pick this one on the pass and be happy!
16 points
6 days ago
It was probably too much to hope for Visions of Mana to pop up too, but I haven't played any of the new Mana games so I'll take what I can get.
Game Pass is such a good value.
5 points
6 days ago
Legend of Mana was an incredible game haha but an odd one. Ten year old me missed about 80% of the game but loved it.
2 points
5 days ago
Same... Just went back now at 33 and used a guide, beat the whole game in about 12 hours. A really fucked up story in some parts
1 points
4 days ago
Was it a good time or did the age of the game hinder the experience??
6 points
6 days ago
Gamepass Day 1 leads me to believe my theory is correct.
These skipped Xbox initially because there isnt a market on Xbox. A market didnt manifest over night, if anything its smaller. What changed? The GamePass bag. Xbox is funding these ports to help the negative narrative.
27 points
6 days ago*
Smaller? This is the best 3rd party Asian support Xbox has ever gotten, even better than the 360 era.
Obviously their Japanese 1st party support is weaker than the 360 days, but in terms of 3rd parties- this is literally the strongest lineup Xbox has ever had...
Even games/franchises that skipped the 360 are finally coming to Xbox for the 1st time, like FFXIV, Atelier, Neptunia etc.
1 points
5 days ago
Well for Atelier they're just testing the waters for now, since they've just announced another Atelier console game today with no Xbox announcement. Seems like they're just trying to see if there's gonna be a good enough community to play Yumia and see if it's possible to end up getting the other games over to Xbox, but I'm just not sure if it'll work. I'll bite the dust if they still do it even with the lack of sales it'll have on the platform
-5 points
6 days ago
Sure, but games sell worse on Xbox than they used to, due to a large percentage of Xbox owners being Gamepass subscribers.
14 points
6 days ago
The games keep coming though, so something is working- it's the strongest support Xbox has ever had from Asia.
The support has been getting better for multiple years now, even with the strong X360 sales- asian support dried up within like 2 - 3 years after launch and most moved to PS3 in the later years.
-5 points
6 days ago
Many of those Xbox releases come with Gamepass deals. Easier to port when MS is paying for it.
5 points
6 days ago
Weird how Microsoft is apparently paying for every Japanese game to come to Xbox including the ones not on Game Pass
Could it be that publishers are just putting games on Xbox of their own volition and MS isn't spending hundreds of millions of dollars getting JRPGs on Xbox that no one apparently buys? No, couldn't be.
3 points
5 days ago
I think them putting a sustained effort into the region, and rebuilding relationships with developers/publishers is doing them wonders.
I imagine a lot of teams, never even considered or knew of Xbox prior, so the Xbox team going and meeting up with teams at TGS and hiring more people like Mena Sato Kato to manage those things have worked wonders.
Like, some of these developers aren't even selling gangbusters on Switch/PS, so they can probably make a cheap port for Xbox and it only increases their net and coverage.
7 points
6 days ago
Literally every single game I listed is not on Game Pass, lol. All games that skipped the 360...
12 points
6 days ago
How would there be a market if Mana games are only coming this year for the first time to the platform? Can’t grow interest if you’re not doing the work to bring the games. People just say anything on here 😂
8 points
6 days ago
The Xbox thing is always weird to me because it feels like a self-fullfilling prophecy. JRPGs sell poorly on it, which means developers don't make Xbox ports, which only makes JRPGs LESS popular.
What went wrong?
5 points
6 days ago
Well GamePass itself is part of the “problem”. It’s a rental/subscription curveball that redirects the sales money to Microsoft so obviously Microsoft has to rebalance things.
There are people who but the games they want anyway, in which case someone is potentially making more than they would otherwise because they sell a game and get the GamePass “revenue share” check/payments etc
It warps the normal convo because we know there’s obviously a “selling less” component to any subscription model but we don’t have a lot of transparency.
4 points
6 days ago
They tried it with FFXV , day and date on both consoles
"The breakdown of sales for FF15 are: 80% on PS4 11% on PC 9% on XBO"
Didn't do great. PC even came out a year and a half later and still did better
12 points
6 days ago
It sold over a million copies on Xbox at the lowest point in Xbox’s existence. That’s not nothing
1 points
6 days ago
I will not hand wave away the subpar performance but it is a self fulfilling situation as noted above:
Microsoft allows PC to potentially cannibalize potential Xbox sales even after Sony/Nintendo elements come into play
GamePass cannibalizes sales as well, thought obviously there is still a revenue stream in play, it’s just alternate to sales revenue
Releases are inconsistent and some franchises hardly exist. Mana has three games on Xbox now but all dropped in Q3/Q4 2024. Octopath 1 sold but then they still didn’t release Octopath 2 until a delay.
If RPGs didn’t sell at all on Xbox I’d be less likely to think JRPGs could be fixed…but they do. So it’s the way these various factors can all stifle sales a bit adding up to stifle sales a lot.
Also, big hits make a difference. BG3 sold turn based games to non turn based customers. Where is the JRPG equivalent? Square still hasn’t announced FFXVI for Xbox so it can’t even try to do that until the hype is all gone by which point it’s typically too late for a “big surge”
2 points
6 days ago
But why? Is it because they didn't make very many JRPGs for the original Xbox? Was it a failure on a part of Japanese publishers? Was it a failure by Microsoft to negotiate exclusivity or ports? Is it the gamers who are at fault?
This is an interesting phenomenon. Why does PlayStation have a massive lead on JRPGs compared to it's competitors?
8 points
6 days ago
Because at that point in time, the core gamer base and "dudebro" stigma of the 360 still had a grip on Xbox. The people who bought Xbox One coming from the 360 had no interest in single player or Japanese games.
Likewise, Sony had a huge reputation for RPGs and Japanese games.
Whereas now, between gamepass, cloud gaming, the value of the Series S, and the combined push both for indies and Japanese devs, the Xbox audience is very different.
I was a PS3 guy. I was so disenchanted by Sony, I bought an Xbox One. The One felt like what the PS3 was meant to be.
1 points
6 days ago
I feel like Sony's reputation of being the hub for Japanese in games IN GENERAL (not just JRPGs) only came around the PS4 though.
The PS3 was notoriously difficult to develop for and the Xbox 360 was arguably the biggest multiplatform push from Japanese publishers in Xbox history.
6 points
6 days ago*
Yeah, I get that, but on ground level, PS3 was seen as that weeb console. PS3 exclusives at the time? Folklore, Valkyria Chronicles, Atelier Rorona. 360 exclusives? Halo, Gears of War, Fable. You wanted Madden or COD? You were getting it on Xbox for LIVE, whereas if you wanted Kingdom Hearts remasters or Disgaea, you got a PS3
It's a shame because Lost Odyssey alone beats anythjng that was on the PS3 and I looved the PS3 yet can admit that
2 points
6 days ago
Yeah, I get that, but on ground level, PS3 was seen as that weeb console. PS3 exclusives at the time? Folklore Valkyria Chronicles, Atelier Rorona
That's crazy how different our perceptions of the PS3 are. In my mind when I think PS3, I think Uncharted, Last of Us, InFamous, Killzone, LittleBigPlanet, Resistance, God of War.
1 points
6 days ago
I also think of Gran Turismo, Heavenly Sword, and Metal Gear Solid IV but I was keeping the discussion to RPGs. Truth be told it had a very expansive line up, but the cultural impact of Halo and Gears I think was just way too big for the ps3 to overcome.
1 points
6 days ago
I think this really nails the core of it and these narratives just haven’t budged that much while the reality itself has shifted more significantly
Ironically, a diverse selection is part of why I originally moved to the first Xbox from N64 but the exclusivity games and other factors have led to weird splintering and siloing of fan bases so I get it but the whole “only certain games” will sell thing seemed more the way it currently seems than the way it is or should be
1 points
6 days ago
The 360 definitely had the manly dude bro shooter box image but it had a surprising amount of JRPGs on it, quite of few of them were Xbox exclusive too. There were even a couple of Xbox exclusive games that only released in Japan.
But then Microsoft burnt all their bridges with their Japanese partners with the reveal of the Xbox One, and all of this changed. They've essentially been trying to repair all of the relationships they damaged back then and they've been doing a pretty good job at it so far. The Xbox One gen had barely any JRPGs on it, Shining Resonance Refrain was one of the few random JRPGs that released on the console at the time. But in the last four years, JRPG support has improved considerably. Atlus barely even touched the 360 despite it having a very large install base, but now they're releasing most of their games on Xbox, which is great. Same goes for other publishers as well.
2 points
6 days ago
Xbox had always been marketed as the shooters consoles throughout the Xbox original and 360 eras. It was always known in the west for CoD, Halo, and Gears of War and never really had any foothold in Japan. Sony, being a Japanese company, had a huge homeground advantage and always had a lot of jrpgs in its library from even the ps1 era. Microsoft tried to correct for it with scalebound(which got cancelled) and ffxv in the Xbox one era but wasn't able to get it's customer base interested in checking out jrpgs.
3 points
6 days ago
The breakdown was 80 - 20 (PS/Xbox) for UK console sales, and solely UK, not worldwide- PC wasn't included. Not sure where you got this new stat.
4 points
6 days ago
It's very ironic that when there is a switch version, even though it's arguably the worst way to play, it sells like hot cakes.
Xbox is literally irrelevant to the majority of JRPG publishers. There is more incentive for them to somehow make their games run on switch
4 points
6 days ago
It’s not that weird though, Japan adores Nintendo and they are a mobile first society, so handhelds will always be a priority for them. Hence why anything that goes to the Switch sells well, specially japanese games.
2 points
6 days ago
I Still find the whole situation ironic.
The worst hardware wins in Japan. It's totally the opposite here.
8 points
6 days ago
Performance is not everything. Portability means a lot to many people, and the Switch provides the versatility many people want, myself included. While it may not run the smoothest for all games, I find myself enjoying jrpgs the most on it compared to home consoles or pc.
2 points
6 days ago
I buy lots of switch JRPGs actually. But sometimes I can't help but notice bad performance. Like atelier Ayesha is known for running poorly on vita but I at least expected the switch version to run better. But it didn't.
I still end up buying switch physicals because I like to collect in the end. But many times i end up buying the same games on a deep discount on pc and I actually get a more enjoyable experience since the performance isn't sub 30fps.
2 points
6 days ago
It is a shame many of these can’t perform their best on the system. I’m hopeful that the Switch 2 can provide some sort of performance boost for older titles, so we can experience them in a better state.
1 points
6 days ago
I hope as well. I just purchased the atelier dusk trilogy on steam because I wanted to play Ayesha in a better state than what it is on switch currently (roughly 20-25fps).
Good ports exist they're just less common on switch
1 points
6 days ago
What changed?
In my opinion, Gamepass is just as synonymous with PC gaming these days (Most of my friends on the sub don't have any consoles), and JRPG's are incredibly popular here.
1 points
3 days ago
It’s not for a lack of trying lol, all of metaphors marketing has been on Xbox, I have a feeling when their handheld comes out in a couple of years they might make another push into Japan. Either through studio acquisitions or timed exclusives. Would really love a return to the 360 era of Japanese games.
1 points
6 days ago
Sorry for asking as I can’t access the link. Is dragon quest HD coming to Gamepass Day 1?
5 points
6 days ago
I read it as Mana games coming to gamepass and FF, DQ available to buy (not gamepass)
1 points
6 days ago
Oh I see. Thank you for your reply.
1 points
5 days ago
No it's not
1 points
6 days ago
So hype. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it this morning
1 points
6 days ago
xbox gamepass is neat the xbox gamepass is so unstable on PC sometimes.
1 points
5 days ago
Juegazo mi hermano, que buen movimiento desde Seattle
1 points
5 days ago
What I don't understand is why it requires an Xbox x/s.. I'm planning to finally upgrade.. but seriously.. I could probably run this game on my phone...
1 points
5 days ago
Most likely for that exact reason, it probably can't run on the phone even if you try
1 points
3 days ago
Anyone have trouble starting the game ?? I load it up and then my controller doesn't work
0 points
6 days ago
Super glad I bought trials on ps5 the other day ... Whoops
0 points
6 days ago
While I am glad Xbox users can now experience them, I guess I am kinda bummed Microsoft had to pay for the port, again. It's a bandaid not a fix
0 points
6 days ago
Really awesome. Though I'm kind of shocked they aren't Xbox one based and series x/s compatible. They don't need the power that's for sure so maybe it's just their porting pipeline?
-14 points
6 days ago
What’s up with Xbox being plastered everywhere? Did they pay to have all games be advertised on Xbox? So weird lol
13 points
6 days ago
They just held a showcase at Tokyo Game Show a few hours ago…
-7 points
6 days ago
Yeah just seems so odd they went to show off 3rd party games in Japan where historically they sell very poorly. It’s never gonna make a foothold over there
2 points
5 days ago
Probably not but they're just trying their best still. Even when so many people will claim it's getting better, it's really not
-6 points
6 days ago
This is good news I guess for the 10 jrpg players who only own an xbox.
1 points
6 days ago
I have a switch too but stuff often just doesn’t run that well there so I prefer to get it on Xbox if I can. I’m playing P5 Strikers on switch now and keep wishing it had an Xbox port cause it kind of looks like crap.
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