magazine scan: http://home.comcast.net/~evolutionseed/seikends.jpg

http://ds.ign.com/articles/654/654401p1.html

Mana At Last
Square Enix takes the veil off of World of Mana to reveal a DS child.

by Anoop Gantayat

-Since its announcement at this year's E3, World of Mana has been the
most opaque of Square Enix's upcoming projects. While the Square Enix
Party back in July offered a bit of clarification, confirming that
multiple games across multiple systems would be a part of the project,
we were still without specifics on what was expected to be a revival of
one of the company's most beloved series of yesteryear.

At long last, the veil has started to slip off. Two World of Mana games
have been announced via the latest issue of Jump Magazine over in
Japan. Of the two games, Seiken Densetsu DS: Children of Mana (Seiken
Densetsu is the Japanese name for the Mana series) seems to be the
farthest along. This 2D action-RPG is being developed for the DS for a
2006 Japanese release.
The second game is a proper sequel in the series: Seiken Densetsu  This
game is fully 3D and affords lots of detail to its main characters --
so much, in fact, that you can see clear facial expressions. The game
is listed without a release date and without a system, but it appears
to be current generation. We'll have to wait for confirmation from
Square Enix, but a PlayStation 2 release looks most likely.

While the update from Jump gives us just the slightest of peaks at the
two new Mana games, we expect the full veil to come off shortly.
________________

http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=5598

Seiken Densetsu 4 & Seiken Densetsu DS: Children of Mana revealed
Posted by Josh Freund at 09:15:14 PM EST on 9.28.2005.

The latest issue of Jump magazine has the first images from two newly
revealed titles - Seiken Densetsu 4 and Seiken Densetsu DS: Children of
Mana, both part of the "World of Mana" project that Square Enix has
been keeping under wraps. Seiken Densetsu not sound familiar to you?
It's the Japanese name for what's called the Mana series here - Secret
of Mana, Legend of Mana, etc.

The top half of the scan below shows Children of Mana, the DS title. As
with past games in the series, it will be a 2D action RPG and will
reportedly feature a similar fighting system to that of the SNES
classic Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2). It's scheduled for a winter
2006 release in Japan.

Seiken Densetsu 4 (bottom half of the scan) will be a fully 3D action
RPG. You can see that's it appears to be a current generation game, but
the console is unknown at this time.

_______

http://www.modojo.com/articles/news/20050928/448/

Children of Mana DS Revealed

Seiken Densetsu returns from a long period of hibernation

The latest issue of Japanese magazine Jump has unveiled a new project
from Square Enix currently in the works for Nintendo's DS handheld.
Seiken Densetsu DS: Children of Mana is part of the company's new World
of Mana series of games, and though they had previously announced (at
both E3 and the Square Enix Party in July) that the project would
consist of multiple titles across multiple platforms, it is only now
that we find out that one of those titles is a DS game.

"Will be a 2D action-RPG in the vein of older Seiken Densetsu titles"

The images depicted in the magazine show a title that seems to be well
on its way in development, and currently sports a tentative 2006
release date for Japan. Though little information is presently
available about the game, we do know that it will be a 2D action-RPG in
the vein of older Seiken Densetsu titles.

You can expect to hear more details regarding Children of Mana fairly
shortly as Square Enix prepares to officially unveil the title
themselves.

Scott Armstrong

________

http://www.tinyurl.com/9xnwe

Square Enix has revealed some new and unexpected information on two new
Mana games it has in the works, one for home console and a portable
spin-off for Nintendo's DS.

Right now, no platform has been announced for the console version,
though Square Enix has promised the most realistic Mana experience to
date, with "...storylines offered through hints as subtle as the
facial expression of an NPC," according to Famitsu Weekly.

The DS version is looking fairly advanced however, and is a direct
descendant of the lacklustre Game Boy Advance Mana game from last year.
Fully titled Seiken Densetsu DS: Children of Mana in Japan and Secret
Of Mana DS everywhere else, this will be bittersweet news to fans of
the series. The long-awaited revival of the 2D series on GBA was widely
panned, with the promise of one of the best modern RPGs in years
evaporating into the ether.

looks as though the player controls the action in battle sequences
using stylus strokes. No other gameplay details have yet been revealed.

We'll bring you more details on both Mana games as they emerge in the
coming months.

________

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3144166

Square Enix Reveals 'Mana' Games
The fan favorite series receives DS and console sequels.
by Patrick Klepek

Poor Legend of Mana (Seiken Densetsu in Japan) fans have been teased
about further installments in the action RPG series for some time now,
but thankfully, Square Enix finally seems comfortable with taking the
wraps off their latest wares in Famitsu Weekly.
Children of Mana is an action RPG in development for Nintendo DS coming
this winter in Japan, though right now we don't know how the game takes
advantage of the dual screened or touching nature of the handheld.

Seiken Densetsu 4, on the other hand, is slightly more mysterious
considering Square Enix won't even confirm what platform it's coming
for right now. You'd assume PlayStation 2, but what's stopping them
from simply coming out and saying it?

The other question is what happened to World of Mana. Square Enix's
shown vague trailers at trade shows for two years now, but we're still
left clueless. Actually, if you remember at E3 this year, the company
stressed the development of franchises expanding to all forms of media:
videogames, music, anime, magna, etc.

For all intents and purposes, World of Mana appears a rift on this
concept, rather than a mysterious next-generation release Square Enix
is keeping quiet about.