Gaming

Visions of Mana review: A traditional JRPG with traditional issues

But still plenty to play for

Published

August 28, 2024

Luigi Leonardo

The JRPG genre is easily one of the most divisive segments of the gaming world. It’s a genre wherein one aspect — whether it be graphics, story, or gameplay — can end up as a positive for one gamer but a negative for another. Buoyed by almost twenty years of nostalgia, Visions of Mana, thus, faces a monumental task: appeal to older gamers while attracting newer ones. Is it up to the task?

Visions of Mana is the franchise’s first entry in almost twenty years. Old players might recognize the name as a spinoff from the iconic Final Fantasy franchise. Despite the age of the series, Visions of Mana features a compelling premise that kept me glued to the game until the credits rolled.

Val, a Soul Guard, is tasked with escorting and protecting Hinna, his childhood friend, as she becomes the Alm of Fire. Now, Alms are no joke in this world. Every village must have an Alm to take to the Mana Tree, lest their village suffers disaster.

While this looks like a traditional “chosen one” story, Alms will ultimately have to sacrifice their lives and souls to the Tree. If that sounds ethically wrong, then you’ve found why the story is engrossing. Most of the story is a “will-they-won’t-they”: Will they realize that sacrificing innocents is wrong? Will Val realize his love for Hinna and stop her from sacrificing herself?

Unfortunately, the same reason for the story’s allure is also its downfall. For most of the story, the sacrificial aspect is played as a given. In fact, it’s an honor for most of the characters. While the game addresses the disconnect in a few plot points, you’ll have to go through a lot of hoops to find satisfaction.

Off the bat, Visions of Mana wastes no time in telling you what you’re in for. Though cutesy, the game’s character design belies an intricacy that the eye can’t pick up on first glance. It’s more than cute just for the sake of being cute.

The environments, however, are a different story. Reminiscent of Genshin Impact, the game’s anime-style characters are dropped into a more realistic world. It’s not the most elegant of results, but it stands out among a field of similar-looking JRPGs in the wild.

What does knock this game down, however, is how NPCs feel the same across different villages. Though you’ll get different flavor text per character, each merchant in every village is practically the same. They even do the same weird dance.

One element that emphasizes the character design is the game’s class system. Rather than keeping characters in just one class, characters can equip an elemental item to change their class. Giving the Luna Globe to Val, for example, turns him into a paladin-like character.

With a number of elemental items and characters, there’s a huge variety of mixing and matching to find the perfect synergy for your team. It’s also a treat to discover what certain combinations can turn your characters into, especially since each combination comes with a Pokémon-like transformation scene.

Combat is much more streamlined than the turn-based system typical to the JRPG genre. Monsters are fought in real time. Plus, other members of your team will automatically attack and help you out. If you’re overwhelmed, you can exit out of the bounds of your current fight and escape.

While fighting regular mobs is already fun, fighting bosses in this game is another level. It’s not as difficult as a Dark Souls boss, but it presents an interesting challenge that requires players to maximize every aspect of the JRPG.

It’s a fun system, overall. However, your teammate’s AI suffers from a lack of direction. Leaving them alone in a tough fight will rapidly deplete their HP. It’s practically a requirement to swap places just to keep them alive.

Visions of Mana features a vibrant world with different ecologies. While one shows off a verdant valley, another will expose players to a harsh snowstorm, among others.

Players can easily get themselves lost in all these different locations. However, the game suffers from a lack of meaningful exploration. Yes, there are collectibles, unlockable chests, and challenges. Unfortunately, they rarely translate to anything meaningful for an open-world game.

Most items found out in the world offer only marginal gains to your character. Others, like the Grizzly Syrup, are currencies that require a lot to unlock anything good. It’s an unfortunate grind that comes with every JRPG.

The lack of meaningful exploration only exacerbates how lifeless the world is. There are numerous set pieces in the outer world, but hardly any truly matter. A side character might pop up once in a house outside the village, but there’s no reason for them to be there. It’s not their house; it’s just where they are.

Playing through the game, it doesn’t feel like the exploration matters at all. Sadly, because a JRPG requires a lot of grinding, exploring is a requirement, whether it’s for more EXP, Lucre, or Grizzly Syrup.

Visions of Mana is a traditional JRPG through and through. Especially because of its nostalgia, the game comes with a premise and a combat system that will keep you playing after you boot it up for the first time.

Unfortunately, the traditional JRPG grind and its tedious exploration puts Visions of Mana in the same limbo as its contemporaries: a divisive experience that will appeal to some players while alienating others.

Gaming

Street Fighter 6’s first Filipina fighter arrives August 3

Yasmine arrives in August.

Published

July 17, 2026

GadgetMatch

Capcom is celebrating the arrival of Yasmine, the first-ever Filipina character in the Street Fighter series, with an official community event in the Philippines this August.

The Official Street Fighter 6 ‘Yasmine’ Community Event takes place on August 9, 2026 at Salud! by Primera Bar & Restaurant in Palanan, Makati. Doors open at 2:00 PM, with tournament matches, community activities, giveaways, and free play sessions scheduled throughout the day.

Meet Yasmine, Street Fighter 6’s first Filipina fighter

Yasmine joins Street Fighter 6 as the first playable character in the game’s Year 4 roster.

According to Capcom, she learned to fight alongside her older brother under the guidance of her grandfather. After her brother’s disappearance, she returns to combat using high-speed Eskrima techniques while wielding a Karambit knife.

She is joined in the Year 4 lineup by Arjun, Tifa from the Final Fantasy VII Remake series, and Bosch. Her release also coincides with balance updates for the entire Street Fighter 6 roster.

Yasmine becomes available on August 3, 2026 for players who own the Year 4 Character Pass or Year 4 Ultimate Pass.

Community tournament and exclusive merchandise

The Makati event will feature a double-elimination tournament, beginning with Best-of-3 matches before switching to Best-of-5 during the Top 8 Finals.

The schedule includes:

2:00 PM: Doors Open, Player Check-in, Controller Button Checks, and Free Play Warmups
3:00 PM – 3:15 PM: Welcome Speech & Official Street Fighter 6 Yasmine Gameplay Showcase
3:15 PM – 5:00 PM: Tournament Pools
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM: Top 8 Finals (Main Stage Broadcast) & Prize Presentation Ceremony for Champion, 2nd and 3rd Placements.
6:30 PM – 7:00 PM: Premium Community Giveaways, Group Photo Ops, and Closing Remarks
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Free Play and Community Networking

Attendees can also receive exclusive event merchandise while supplies last, including a Yasmine-themed T-shirt, lanyard, keychains, and themed food and refreshments.

Capcom says admission is subject to venue capacity and will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Watch the event online

Fans who cannot attend in person can watch the tournament live through the Capcom Asia Official YouTube Channeland the Enduins Games Official YouTube Channel.

Capcom also teased additional announcements, including appearances from cosplay personalities, fighting game veterans, and content creators, which will be revealed closer to the event.

Street Fighter 6 Yasmine community event details

Date: August 9, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Venue: Salud! by Primera Bar & Restaurant, Palanan, Makati City
Tournament: Double-elimination (FT2, Top 8 FT3)
Livestream: Capcom Asia Official YouTube Channel and Enduins Games Official YouTube Channel

Gaming

Most of the world’s PlayStations will be officially useless by 2028

PlayStation’s disastrous no-disc policy is now a lot worse than you thought.

Published

July 16, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Last week, we lamented the loss of the PlayStation disc. As we described, the loss isn’t just a major blow to nostalgia for aging gamers, but it also puts a huge question mark on game ownership. Well, there’s another wrinkle that the world is slowly realizing. By deleting physical discs, PlayStation has effectively blockaded their entire service from countries without an official online store.

If you haven’t heard, PlayStation is ceasing the production of physical discs for new games starting 2028. The console will become an all-digital platform. Now, we can blather on and on about how this sucks for ownership, but all gamers will still have access to games online at the very least. Right?

Wrong.

Not every country has an official PlayStation Store or the ability to create a PSN account. In fact, a staggering amount don’t; 121 countries (or 62 percent of the entire world) don’t have official access to the online storefront.

If you live in any of these countries, you’re likely familiar with some unofficial solutions: that is, setting your country elsewhere where the store exists. But, because it’s an unofficial solution, doing this is technically against PlayStation’s policies and can result in bans.

That being said, as noted by users on Reddit, this means that, on a very technical and legal level, these 121 countries will no longer be able to buy physical or digital games starting 2028. Because of a clarified policy, you can still play older games, but if you want to play the latest Call of Duty or NBA 2K, you are out of luck.

There’s no official list of affected countries, other than those collated by others manually. But if you’ve never been able to set your own country on the PlayStation Network, you’re a part of it.

Gaming

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced comes to life at Skypark Macau

Themed event lets fans experience the game in real life from July 17 to 26

Published

July 13, 2026

GadgetMatch

Assassin’s Creed fans are invited to celebrate the launch of Black Flag Resynced through a limited-time themed experience at the Skypark Macau Tower.

The experience will run from July 17 to 26, and will feature elements from the title brought into a real-world setting. There’s themed installations, photo opportunities, and exclusive event rewards.

Aside from that, there is a concept art gallery and replica props inspired by the action-adventure.

The experience opens to the public from 11:00 A.M. on Friday, and will remain available until the last Sunday of the month.

It will be more fulfilling to come on the first day, as there will be exclusive merchandise sold only on July 17.

Guests who purchase the game on-site, or present proof of purchase of the game at the event will be eligible to redeem an exclusive item, available only until supplies last.

Moreover, those who complete an eligible activity during the Assassin’s Creed event period at Skypark Macau will receive a paper scroll replica of the “Letter for Duncan Walpole”, while supplies last.

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a faithful remake of 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag. Rebuilt from the ground up and powered by the latest Anvil engine, the game features updated visuals, enriched gameplay, and new narrative content.

Set during the Golden Age of Piracy, the game invites players to sail the Caribbean as Edward Kenway. The rebellious pirate captain is drawn into the centuries-old conflict between Assassins and Templars.

As the protagonist pursues glory and fortune, he crosses paths with legendary figures such as Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, and Calico Jack. All this while the fate of everything the pirates have built hangs in the balance.

The game is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.