Visions of Mana was the latest entry in Square Enix's long-running Mana series and was applauded for living up to the series' aesthetics and its light, adventurous tone. Which is why the closure of its development team (Ouka Studios) the day after the game's release came as a shock and soured some on supporting the title. Almost a full year later, one of the directors behind Visions has decided to open up his own studio.
Ozawa makes this mission statement known through the reveal of his studio's new YouTube Channel.
Visions Of A New Start
Studio Sasanqua takes its name from the Sasansqua Camellia breed of flower, which is known to bloom in the depths of winter. Ozawa feels it's the studio's responsibility to care for its developers even through the rough patches so that they can create something special to the best of their abilities. It's easy to imagine that his experiences as a director at Ouka Studios drove Ozawa down this road. Fellow director of Visions of Mana, Ryosuke Yoshida, recently joined Square Enix in an official capacity just a few months ago.
It's worth mentioning that Ouka Studios, while based in Shibuya, was owned by NetEase....
