Square Enix has officially shut down the servers for its Mana mobile spin-off game, Echoes of Mana, after just over a year on the market. This effectively makes it the first of the entire Mana series to not be available anywhere.
Originating as a spin-off/side story of Final Fantasy, Secret of Mana was released by Square Enix in 1993, and the ensuing Mana series his since become its own thing, spanning multiple genre-bending entries over the past 20 years. Notably, the series has spawned more spin-offs than main entries, four of which initially launching on Android and/or iOS. The latest of such was Echoes of Mana, which released on April 27th, 2022 as an action RPG (a return to the franchise's roots) with a free-to-play model and microtransactions. Likely due to this, it is the only mobile entry that hasn't seen a release on other platforms.
On May 15th, 2023, the official Echoes of Mana Twitter account officially declared that the game had been shut down. They apologized for the premature ending and thanked players for partaking in the adventure with a painting of Mousseline, one of the game's many unlockable playable characters. The tweet also included a link to the Square Enix Bridge site, reminding players of the original shutdown announcement (alongside the announcement of one last spirit crystal sale) back on February 13th. Despite the game garnering similar ratings to the Secret of Mana mobile port, the team decided to axe it because of difficulty keeping the servers up, describing the choice as difficult.
Despite the relief from a couple of skeptics who would've preferred a proper next entry, most players in the replies seemed a little bit saddened at the news, praising various aspects of the game such as its art style and boss fights, especially towards the end. Many were thankful that the game had actually reached a story conclusion before being shut down, and looked forward to seeing the beloved characters again. Seeing how Square Enix has no problem offering fanservice, including for the Mana series, it's safe to say those desires will be met soon enough.
One commenter expressed their disappointment that this game would be among the few in the series to not see a port anywhere else, effectively leaving it lost to time for dedicated players and inaccessible to those who missed it. But with the Mana series being no stranger to remakes and rereleases, another way to enjoy this mobile installment could possibly come in the future.
Echoes of Mana was officially shut down on May 15th, 2023.