Trials of Mana

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 144 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 106 out of 144
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 144
  3. Negative: 24 out of 144
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  1. anfabio
    Jan 13, 2021
    4
    I tried to like this game with all my heart. I love old good RPGs and I was excited to play a classic I never had the chance.
    What a disappointment!
    Th gameplay is sooo boring. ALL characters are sooo generic. They didn't even created more than 2 or 3 models for each area. It's sooooooooooo repetitive. The story is bad. The characters are bad. The grindind is still there. I played    I tried to like this game with all my heart. I love old good RPGs and I was excited to play a classic I never had the chance.
    What a disappointment!
    Th gameplay is sooo boring. ALL characters are sooo generic. They didn't even created more than 2 or 3 models for each area. It's sooooooooooo repetitive.
    The story is bad.
    The characters are bad.
    The grindind is still there.
    I played 25 hours and, at the final dungeon I got to fight recycled bosses I knew couldn't go on.
    Smash buttons, win the fight, cure your party, repeat. I cannot play JRPGs that stick to the old boring formula ever again.
    Only thing I can say that's good are the cute graphics and the reasonable music.    … Expand
  2. JinIzanagi
    Jun 10, 2020
    3
    The character design is good, map design is good, but that's all.
    Battle is too easy and simple enough to make you boring.
    And this was the biggest disgrace, the direction of the cut scene and event scene are horrible. It's like made by an elementary school students, it's so childish.
    The original version of SNES wasn't artless as this remake.
  3. Amanodel
    Jun 9, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This remake is a disaster. I thought the secret of mana remake was almost perfect. It was the same game, even using the original maps. My biggest complaint was that they fixed a bug. So I was incredibly excited to learn that this game was likewise getting a remake. I have a copy of the original that I still play and it's amazing. So I preordered this and as soon as i turned it on I was let down. They changed names, not just Lize to Reisz which was a translation error to begin with, but other names too. I picked Kevin and right away started noticing that the changes continued. Lugar no longer existed. The death jester looked terrible. Battle was way too easy. They changed stats. You can only take your stats up so far. But when you do then you unlock bonus stats pushing higher than it would have been if they let you pick your own build. When I got Carlie, or Charlotte as she's now called, the game became unplayable. You can't make out anything she's saying from the stupid speech impediment they gave her. And if the game wasn't already too easy, you'll level up way faster for no real reason. You also no longer have item limits, which is good since you'll never have a need to use them. This was a waste of money for what should have been a slam dunk. This version is garbage.… Expand
  4. xiaolinstyle
    Apr 30, 2020
    3
    The writing in this is garbage. Gameplay is ok but if you want to care about your character and not scream at your tv constantly about the absolutely ridiculously stupid decisions they are making, don't play this trash.
  5. SkySmartyNL
    Apr 25, 2020
    3
    Technicaly this game is 1 or 2 generations behind scedule.
    Textures loading too slow, even during the cutscenes. Combined with the very limited renderdistance it looks just awkward.
    All in all graphicly so disturbing that the fun is missed.

    Sorry, this does not belong in 2020.
  6. Ploppy0
    Apr 25, 2020
    2
    The game is hideous and a technical shame!

    -Texture are incredibly low res and flashy... The warm and soft color palette of the 2D 16bits is nowhere to be seen. -3D assets are straight out from a low budget mobile game... SQUAREENIX probably outsourced that remake in China again. -The engine doesn't handle lighting, while it's a low poly game... I'm not asking for RTX but at least    The game is hideous and a technical shame!

    -Texture are incredibly low res and flashy... The warm and soft color palette of the 2D 16bits is nowhere to be seen.
    -3D assets are straight out from a low budget mobile game... SQUAREENIX probably outsourced that remake in China again.
    -The engine doesn't handle lighting, while it's a low poly game... I'm not asking for RTX but at least something from 2010 era...
    -Not a SINGLE light cast shadow, everything looks flat.
    -Animation are bad, and makes fight dull, movement feel like if your character is on Zero G.
    -Character hairs look like helmet ploped on the top of their heads.
    -Physics doesn't exist.
    -The environment doesn't scale with the characters, tiny doors, big wall, small trees, nothing make sense.
    -The cutscene are boring without any single directing effort, style or presentation.
    -The dialogue are written for toddlers and by toddlers.
    -The US dubs are awful, the Japanese one are ok but very caricaturing/childish.
    -NO COOP/MULTIPLAYER

    The only 'good' thing is chill feeling of old school RPG, but everything else is trash, knowing that Trial of Mana/Seiken Densetsu 3 never shined by his story.    … Expand
  7. t2daino
    Jul 6, 2020
    0
    As someone who has only played Secret of Mana 1, 2 and Legend of Mana, I can honestly say that I enjoyed this game a lot. The characters have simple but interesting stories. The gameplay is very fun and reminiscent of FFVII Remake in that you have to constantly change between your characters in order to be effective in battle. The musical score is amazing, which is expected of SquareAs someone who has only played Secret of Mana 1, 2 and Legend of Mana, I can honestly say that I enjoyed this game a lot. The characters have simple but interesting stories. The gameplay is very fun and reminiscent of FFVII Remake in that you have to constantly change between your characters in order to be effective in battle. The musical score is amazing, which is expected of Square nowadays and I love the fact that they included the original 16 bit soundtrack. Which you can change to at any moment throughout the game. The game does have multiple endings which lends to its high replayability. The only thing that bothered me about the game was the voice acting. There were time when it would be so cringey that I would have to hit X to skip it. It was very obvious that the voice acting budget was lower than usual. All-in-all this was an above average game for me and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of lighthearted action RPGs.… Expand
  8. vicwolk
    Jan 1, 2023
    4
    This game is so bad and out of place that amazes me audacity in the price tag. The graphics suck in a level that is beyond any conceivable argument. The voice acting tends to be worse. The story should work if you're < 10yo, but I'm not sure. It just doesn't belong to this age of videogaming. You have to do better with the resources available.

    Controls are not great and combat is almost    This game is so bad and out of place that amazes me audacity in the price tag. The graphics suck in a level that is beyond any conceivable argument. The voice acting tends to be worse. The story should work if you're < 10yo, but I'm not sure. It just doesn't belong to this age of videogaming. You have to do better with the resources available.

    Controls are not great and combat is almost decent, but not enough to carry the game. A bad experience all in all.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

91
#91 Best PS4 Game of 2020
62
#62 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 54 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 54
  3. Negative: 1 out of 54
  1. GameMAG
    Sep 21, 2020
    80
    If only Square Enix dropped subpar English dubbing and instead focused their efforts on more polished visuals and multiplayer modes, the game could have been a perfect remake.
    Read full review
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jul 24, 2020
    80
    One of the most beautiful JRPGs of the 16-bit era finally got an excellent remaster. [Issue#304]
  3. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Jun 4, 2020
    70
    Back in 1995, Trials was unparalleled in its adaptability, even when it came to its story– you choose a party of three out of six possible characters to take on a journey to restore the sacred Mana tree and hopefully stop wars breaking out between different factions. Some parts of your characters’ backstories will overlap, leading to shared experiences. However, despite new additional lines, interactions between characters can feel random, and the dialogue doesn’t hold up for a modern game. The English voiceover, too, strongly varies in quality. A win for fans, Trials Of Mana nonetheless proves not every game ages well. [Issue#176, p.74]
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