With all the talk of digital storefronts being shut down (I’m looking at you PS3, PSP, and Vita) as well as digital games being delisted (Mario’s 35th anniversary), it got me thinking. I never owned a PlayStation Vita, but I did buy a PlayStation TV a couple of years ago. If you’ve never heard of it, PlayStation TV is basically a screen-less mini Vita that you can play with a PS3 controller and hook up to a TV with HDMI. One of the first games I purchased was Adventures of Mana. It is a 3D remake of Final Fantasy Adventure, a game I played the heck out of on my Game Boy when I was a kid. It is only available digitally on Vita and on iOS and Android.
Eventually, Collection of Mana was released, but it only included the original Game Boy version, not the remake. There was also a 3D Secret of Mana remake released for PlayStation 4, Vita, and Windows. Both of these games, I think, would fit perfectly on the Switch. The Trials of Mana remake was just released on Switch, so I am amazed there is no Switch version of the other two games.
With the Vita shop being shut down, it will be a lot harder for fans of this series to play Adventures of Mana. So this is my plea to Square Enix. Please release this game on Nintendo Switch. And while you’re at it, the Secret of Mana remake on Switch would be great too. Why keep it locked on PlayStation 4 and Vita? Perhaps you can make a Collection of Mana 2 that includes all the remakes instead of the originals.
Sure it’s still available on mobile platforms, but for how long? Will they continue to be updated for newer OS versions? And let’s be honest, I just don’t like playing in-depth, story-driven, multi-hour games on my phone.
Do you have any favorite digital games that might be lost forever if more digital storefronts get shut down?