E3 06: Dawn of Mana Trailer Impressions

LOS ANGELES--At Square Enix's press conference today we caught a short trailer showing off the first in-game footage of Dawn of Mana, the Mana series' debut in the 3D space on the PlayStation 2. As you can see from the screens that have been trickling out, the game will use the same whimsical art style that's defined this series since the beginning, but of course, this time around you'll be exploring a fanciful world in full 3D. The game has previously been revealed to take place at the start of the whole Mana storyline (hence its name), and it was mentioned that specifically the storyline is set 10 years before Children of Mana, the recently announced Nintendo DS title.

It's been mentioned previously that "touch" will be the theme in Dawn of Mana, and we saw one section in which the player character was using a chain whip-style device to swing from various environmental elements. Otherwise, the combat looks of the typical third-person hack-and-slash variety, though since this is a Mana game, you can bet there will be plenty of magic and character-building stuff thrown in.

Most importantly, there were rabbits! Everyone knows you can't have a good Mana game without rabbits, and these were in 3D and that made them even cuter. For a little more information on Dawn of Mana, check out our pre-Electronic Entertainment Expo preview, and with any luck we'll be able to bring you a hands-on look at the game from the E3 show floor in a couple of days.