Square Enix has been poking at the Mana series again recently as they try and figure out what to do with it, releasing a somewhat poorly-executed remake of Secret of Mana on consoles last year. Even earlier than that, a collection of Mana games ported to Switch was released in Japan in 2017, but Square Enix seemingly had no interest in bringing it to the west. As one of the games in the collection was unlocalized, it likely proved to be too big a task for a simple port anthology, and most people gave up hope.
However, a new trademark filing in Europe might indicate that Square Enix has changed their mind and that hope still lives.
Found by Nintendo World Report, Square Enix filed the trademark for “Collection of Mana” with the European Union Intellectual Property Office. The only existing project this would likely apply to is the Seiken Densetsu Collection released on Switch two years ago, which contained three Seiken Densetsu games named Final Fantasy Adventure in America, Secret of Mana, and the never-localized Seiken Densetsu 3.
Seiken Densetsu 3 was a victim of bad timing and cart space issues. The English localization, which would have replaced the decidedly more compact Japanese text, would have put the extremely text-heavy game well past what the SNES carts could support. With multiple playable protagonists to choose from and various ways their stories could unfold, in theory the only options were to cut away at the game or not release it at all. Considering a localization would have put an American release after the launch of the Nintendo 64, not releasing it became the only real option for then-Squaresoft.
Fan translators eventually got their hands on the game and produced a very good, though very unofficial, English version. I personally love Seiken Densetsu 3 and it is one of my favorite RPGs ever. I would welcome an official English version of the game, though it is always possible that “Collection of Mana” is just a bad name for a different project. Perhaps, more garishly, what if it is a Seiken Densetsu 3 remake in the vein of the Secret of Mana one?
We might find out for sure at Square Enix’s E3 conference, which takes place on Monday, June 10 at 6:00 p.m. PT.
[Source: Nintendo World Report]
Source: Game Informer
