Trials of Mana

 Switch
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 132 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 93 out of 132
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 132
  3. Negative: 18 out of 132
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  1. Masa102
    Jun 21, 2020
    6
    As a big fan of JRPG's and Action RPGs of all kinds, I enjoyed this game well enough, if I could go back I wouldn't pay full price for it though. As I understand it is a faithful recreation of the original (except for the lack of multi-player), so if that is what you are looking for you will probably enjoy it more than I did.

    Having NOT played the original I feel like the story and    As a big fan of JRPG's and Action RPGs of all kinds, I enjoyed this game well enough, if I could go back I wouldn't pay full price for it though. As I understand it is a faithful recreation of the original (except for the lack of multi-player), so if that is what you are looking for you will probably enjoy it more than I did.

    Having NOT played the original I feel like the story and dialog just haven't aged well and I felt no attachment based on nostalgia. I didn't care about any of the characters or story whatsoever and found myself rolling my eyes at how some big things happened very abruptly with little explanation, and how convenient everything was, it was overly generic and felt kind of lazy. If you are going to remake a game tit for tat with better graphics I fail to see the point, I'd rather it be modernized and made better, what I see here there is a TON of room for improvement especially with the story and dialog, and the graphical upgrade, like many have said, is mediocre at best.

    The art style reminded me of a last generation game, nothing really wowed me there. The dancing copy/pasta merchants and NPCs with generic dialog really annoyed me, ruined the mood and dragged my immersion level down quite a bit.

    The main saving grace is the unique progression system and fun (although basic and easy) combat. I liked that I had to choose my team up front and learn about them as I go and decide which skills each member would have, if I enjoyed the story more I would probably go back and play the other characters but I did not.    … Expand
  2. Mctatertots
    Apr 27, 2020
    8
    As a newcomer into the world of Mana I can say that this game wowed me. This game is a lot of fun no matter how you cut it. The combat mechanics are where this game truly shines. Trials of Mana’s combat system finds the perfect balance between simple and complex. Controlling three characters, each with a unique and diverse move pool sounds overwhelming, but Square Enix made this combatAs a newcomer into the world of Mana I can say that this game wowed me. This game is a lot of fun no matter how you cut it. The combat mechanics are where this game truly shines. Trials of Mana’s combat system finds the perfect balance between simple and complex. Controlling three characters, each with a unique and diverse move pool sounds overwhelming, but Square Enix made this combat system work like a charm. The story (from 1995) was lacking in some places by modern standards but still enjoyable. Some of the voice acting was awful, luckily the worst of it can be avoided completely by steering away from one character choice in particular.
    At the end of the day, plain and simple, this game is FUN. Unfortunately the semi-lackluster story lines and poor voice acting bring this game from a high 8 to a high 7.... [True score 7.7] = Rookie score of 8.0    … Expand
  3. Flammie
    Apr 12, 2021
    7
    Trials of mana is complete remake of Seiken Densetsu 3, an action rpg from SNES era that never arrived to west until 2d mana collection and this 3d remake. While the engine in this version has been changed to totally new, the plot and lots of dungeon design as far as I remmber remains the same, in any case, it is a good quality action rpg with good battle system, interesting plot and greatTrials of mana is complete remake of Seiken Densetsu 3, an action rpg from SNES era that never arrived to west until 2d mana collection and this 3d remake. While the engine in this version has been changed to totally new, the plot and lots of dungeon design as far as I remmber remains the same, in any case, it is a good quality action rpg with good battle system, interesting plot and great musics. One of the things that must be mentioned with this version, it comes with voice acting, both English and Japanese. Do NOT turn the English voice acting on! This is probably the worst voice acting I have ever heard in my life and I have heard a lot of budget anime, eastern European dubs with one monotone voice for all characters, it's still better than this, unless you want to laugh at the sheer badness of the voice actors, avoid the English dub at all costs. The game has multiple party members to select for multiple story lines and little replay value, which is kind of cool, it is a short-ish game stil, probably worth it to play through twice.… Expand
  4. serge512
    May 3, 2020
    10
    Most of the time i don't write reviews but i ant to do it for this game, i didn't play the original though i want to, the game is fun, tragic, have a lot of deep characters, and stories, that i love, just beat it with the girls only, love the gameplay and the combat system is just fun, and needs strategy to beat the hardest bosses, the story was a bit predictable, but some parts of it wereMost of the time i don't write reviews but i ant to do it for this game, i didn't play the original though i want to, the game is fun, tragic, have a lot of deep characters, and stories, that i love, just beat it with the girls only, love the gameplay and the combat system is just fun, and needs strategy to beat the hardest bosses, the story was a bit predictable, but some parts of it were not and that was cool! in the end it does matters… Expand
  5. RaidouF
    Apr 24, 2020
    9
    An excellent and propper 1:1 remake with more things. Great ost and gameplay. Im enjoying it so far. Only issues are the camera sometimes and some minor fps drops. Jap voices are mandatory, they are great. I loved in snes and Im loving it now, no matter what plattaform are you choosing to play it is awesome.
  6. wJamesmci
    Apr 24, 2020
    9
    Hey look Square Enix *can* make a complete remake of a game without making it episodic and milking their fans to death :)
  7. DreamCore
    Jun 17, 2020
    0
    Awful game. The story is very shallow and uninteresting. Voice acting is terrible. The combat is mindless button mashing. The friendly AI is bloody awful. Enemy variaty is severly lacking. Visuals are mediocre with crappy LOD, texture popping and many low res textures. There's more loading screens than I've ever experienced in a game before. There was absolutely nothing I liked in this game.
  8. Rpg89
    Apr 24, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game was made for the switch console handheld. Great rpg from past to future.… Expand
  9. Sunshadow87
    May 28, 2020
    9
    Trials of mana o seiken densetsu 3 es personalmente uno de los mejores Action RPGs de la SNES, aunque nunca salió de Japon (hay traducciones de fans), y el mejor juego de la saga Mana, un juego de 10.
    Lo que hace grande a este juego no es la historia o los personajes (que son simplemente personajes y historias clásicas, con la magia de cuentos de hada y historias de caballeros y brujos)    Trials of mana o seiken densetsu 3 es personalmente uno de los mejores Action RPGs de la SNES, aunque nunca salió de Japon (hay traducciones de fans), y el mejor juego de la saga Mana, un juego de 10.
    Lo que hace grande a este juego no es la historia o los personajes (que son simplemente personajes y historias clásicas, con la magia de cuentos de hada y historias de caballeros y brujos) si no una cualidad rara en los RPGs: la REJUGABILIDAD. Hay RPGs más rejugables que otros, pero ninguno se compara con trials of mana. Llegar al final puede llevarte unas 20-30 horas, pero con 6 personajes iniciales para elegir, y la capacidad de elegir 3 para formar tu grupo, las posibilidades y diferencias para una nueva partida son enormes, en un juego que lo que mas destaca son sus mecánicas jugables y sistema de combate. Jugar con diferentes personajes es MUY diferente, y además cada personaje puede evolucionar a diferentes roles con los cambios de clase. No solo eso, la parte final del juego desde la historia cambia en función de quien elijas de personaje principal, habiendo 3 jefes finales con 3 enormes mazmorras finales completamente diferentes, dando más incentivo a rejugar con diferentes personajes.
    ¿Quieres jugar con un personaje clásico, ya sea pura fuerza de ataque o tener un tanque? Juega con Duran (el más aburrido de los personajes personalmente).
    ¿Quieres destruir todo con magia? Juega con Angela (historia paralela a Duran).
    ¿Quieres destruir todo lo que se ponga en tu camino con el mejor personaje en solitario? Kevin es tu personaje
    ¿Quieres que tu partida sea un infierno? Juega con la maga blanca, genial como compañera eso sí, y sufre xD (historia paralela a Kevin).
    ¿Quieres jugar con brutales buffs o debuffs, invocaciones y uno de los mejores personajes de ataque? Juega con Lis.
    ¿Quieres jugar con suerte y agilidad, ya quieras especializarte en trampas, magia ninja o puro ataque? Juega con Falco (historia paralela a Lis).

    En la variedad esta el gusto. Además de que los gráficos están adaptados a tiempos más modernos con el paso a las 3D y la incorporación de algunas nuevas mecánicas que hacen mucho más divertido jugar con personajes basados en magia como principal (los benditos atajos y la mecánica de targetting). Además, el juego incluye nuevo contenido post-game y el jefe secreto del juego original pasa a estar disponible para todos los personajes (en el original era exclusivo de la mazmorra final de Duran y Angela). Han añadido también un New Game + que hace más fácil el volver a jugarlo. También hay otros nuevos añadidos como nuevos coleccionables, armas, bonus de combate, etc.
    Cómo un punto negativo a la jugabilidad, los nuevos combos aéreos podían haber sido mejores.

    Además, en el tema de la dificultad es un detalle que hayan sido capaces de trasladarla prácticamente tal y como en el original (el modo "difícil" es la dificultad del juego original). Hay partes del juego donde la dificultad puede incrementarse por la IA de tus compañeros, especialmente cuando te empieces a enfrentar a enemigos cuyos ataques son casi inmediatos o tienen un efecto de "homing", así que planea bien tu equipo si vas a jugar en esta dificultad o veras la pantalla de game over bastantes veces (¡no te fíes de la demo que es solo el tutorial!).

    En definitiva, un gran remake y un juego para disfrutar durante muchas horas con la formación de tu equipo y el crecimiento de tus personajes, con una enorme cantidad de jefes enormes con los que ponernos a prueba. No es un juego de gran presupuesto, y podía haber estar algo más pulido en algunas partes, así que no puede se considerado como obra maestra, pero es sin duda un gran remake y un gran vicio de juego.    … Expand
  10. JinIzanagi
    Jun 10, 2020
    2
    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.
  11. Joes
    Apr 24, 2020
    9
    Grata experiencia sobretodo su sistema de combate, y su arte un remake más que decente
  12. hkjhkjh
    Apr 25, 2020
    9
    This is a low budget game by Square Enix and yet still looks much better than Pokemon SwSh ^^
  13. peropify
    Jun 8, 2020
    6
    Could not stand how bare bones the environment of this game was. The last game it reminded me of was Star Ocean 5, and that was bad. Oh.. when was the last time Square released anything decent..?
  14. blinkme0
    Apr 27, 2020
    9
    The only reason it is not a 10 is the texture pop-in and modest loading times on switch, otherwise it is the remake we deserved. well done SE, well done.
  15. sirpikaz
    Jun 21, 2020
    10
    Fantastic remake of a classic the west never got. The game has beautiful visuals and a complex enough class and leveling system to keep you engaged. I hope this sells well enough so that they make more games in a similar vein.
  16. GAGMR
    Apr 30, 2020
    9
    I opted to get the Switch version over the PS4/PC version for the ability to play in hand held mode. I was thinking I might be disappointed by a downgraded version of the game. Safe to say that wasn't the case. This is a great rendition of the timeless classic that is now called Trials of Mana.

    The game revolves around your character of choice. Having played the original I went with    I opted to get the Switch version over the PS4/PC version for the ability to play in hand held mode. I was thinking I might be disappointed by a downgraded version of the game. Safe to say that wasn't the case. This is a great rendition of the timeless classic that is now called Trials of Mana.

    The game revolves around your character of choice. Having played the original I went with the safety net that is Duran as my main character. He's basically Goku with a Sword. He starts out as the Fighter class. As you progress through the game you meet up with the other two characters that you choose in the opening sequence. Angela the Mage & Riesz the Amazon were my choices.

    Starting out, combat is fairly generic. You can only do basic 3 button combos, ending your combo with a heavy attack will deal considerably higher damage. Every character has the same combos, so there's no need to memorize multiple combos for each character. That isn't to say every character is the same, because they aren't. Duran uses a 2H sword & has a wider swing than most other characters. Angela uses a short staff or rod so her range is closer. Riesz uses a spear, so all her attacks are thrusts with higher damage but require more accuracy. The game does have a lock on system which negates the need to aim most of the time. If you aren't locking on, the game will automatically try to lead you to the nearest enemy with each first attack. Every attack after the first is considered a combo so if you miss the first you might be stuck in an animation. You can always cancel an attack by rolling or jumping, tho which is useful for evading enemy attacks & aoe's. You'll be rolling a lot in this game. Each character also has a CS gauge that gives you an ultimate attack of varying strength depending on your class level. It goes up to 4 full gauges. The more gauges you use, the flashier & more damaging the attack.

    Later in the game you eventually get to change classes which gives your characters access to a much wider array of abilities. The first class change comes fairly quickly at level 18, roughly 3-5 hours into the game depending on cut scenes. After changing classes the game gets much more fun, depending on your class choice. Since I chose Duran as my main, I made him a healer so it didn't add much to his skill set. Angela, however got access to many more spells. Every enemy is weak to certain spells so it's best to use the ones they're weak against. Riesz was my buffer/support class so she was basically the same as Duran when it came to extra skills added.

    The majority of the game you'll be doing combo's while occasionally casting a spell. The AI for companions is pretty good but they can occasionally get themselves killed if you aren't careful. I found the best way to set them is to have them either use all their MP/CS or none of it. Once you have enough resources/skills to regen MP/CS you can eventually just set them to use it with no regards to conservation & everything will die.

    The leveling system is far different from the original game, tho. In the original, you were given 1 stat point per level and you spent said stat point. In this remake, all stats are auto leveled & you receive Training Points each level. You start out with 1 point per level, but eventually you get 2, 3 and even 4 per level. Training points are spent on simple stat trees to specialize your characters. There's Strength, Stamina, Intellect, Spirit & Luck. Dexterity has been removed in this remake & it's probably better this way since in the original it was bugged to begin with. STR increases melee damage, STA increases Health/Defense, Intellect increases Magic Damage & Magic Defense, Spirit increases MP, Healing & Buff Strength, Luck increases Crit rate & Ranged Damage Resistance (It's basically for crit, tho). Characters all get ability slots that change/augment their stats in some way. These are all passive abilities, not active. Like every time you get hit you're attack increases by 10% for 30 seconds or a passive 5% Defense Increase for all party members. Simple stuff like that. Active abilities are spells that you get via these trees as well. In the original, you unlocked spells by putting a point in INT. In this remake, spells are under their specific stat trees. Water is under INT, Fire under STR, Earth under STA, etc. All in all, I enjoy this change. It's tougher to get good builds for casters at early levels but it still works pretty well.

    Overall, this is a very good remake. The music is good, the combat is simple yet satisfying. It stays true to the original while adding extras like Li'l Cactus & Chain Abilities which are found in the world. It's a very good remake. The Switch version has some performance issues & pop-in but for the most part I've had a smooth 30FPS 99% of the time. So yea, if you're on the fence I'd say get it. I'm enjoying it.    … Expand
  17. Phuz
    May 4, 2021
    2
    I give 1 point for fanservice, which although I'm not a fan of, it was good and I give 1 point for graphics, as the game world was quite nice as were characters.

    Loading was a joke. I would get a loading screen to enter a cut scene, to a loading screen to enter a passage, to a loading screen to exit the passage. Characters were poor, script was poor and voice acting was poor. Now I    I give 1 point for fanservice, which although I'm not a fan of, it was good and I give 1 point for graphics, as the game world was quite nice as were characters.

    Loading was a joke. I would get a loading screen to enter a cut scene, to a loading screen to enter a passage, to a loading screen to exit the passage.

    Characters were poor, script was poor and voice acting was poor. Now I generally don't care about story, or graphics, I just like a fun game and it wasn't fun at all. I was constantly wanting to move to a new area just to see if anything got better and it didn't. It's a shame because it is nicely polished. It just has no atmosphere, invokes no emotion. Just plain rubbish.    … Expand
  18. PinkyDemonTR53
    Jul 1, 2020
    0
    what comes to your mind when you the word garbage? this game.
    dont buy it unless you wanna force yourself to play.
  19. Natedog1985
    May 15, 2021
    0
    5 minutes into the game and the character is stuck blocking. Tapping all keys doesn't do anything. I can look through my items and push the game but no other choice than to let the weak little monsters kill me or return to the title. Taking this game back ASAP
  20. HallbjornHauk
    Apr 29, 2020
    9
    Nearly perfect! I’m not sure what it’s missing, but it is a very good game. I loved it!
  21. warozell
    Apr 30, 2020
    9
    An amazing game with a simple yet fun combat, interesting lore and story, six playable characters to choose from and many hours of enjoyable gameplay.

    There are too many pros in this game to mention, but the main cons are annoying UI in certain cases (anything related to switching your classes) and easy post-game if you play as Angela.
  22. Mar190
    Oct 23, 2020
    10
    Un gran remake de uno de los mejores Jrpgs de la historia que conserva toda la magia del original. Recomendadisimo (tanto la version de Switch como la de PS4) para todos los amantes del genero.
  23. BasilZero
    Sep 20, 2022
    9
    Game: Trials of Mana
    Genre: Action RPG
    Developer: Xeen Publisher: Square Enix System: Nintendo Switch (NSW) Year of Release: 2020 Length of Playthrough: 33 Hours Total Score: 92/100 Value Score: 9.2/10 • Story: 10/10 • Characters: 9/10 • GamePlay: 10/10 • Graphics: 8/10 • Sound: 6/10 • Music: 10/10 • Length: 9/10 • Replay Value: 10/10 • Player Value: 10/10 Pros    Game: Trials of Mana
    Genre: Action RPG
    Developer: Xeen
    Publisher: Square Enix
    System: Nintendo Switch (NSW)
    Year of Release: 2020
    Length of Playthrough: 33 Hours

    Total Score: 92/100
    Value Score: 9.2/10

    • Story: 10/10
    • Characters: 9/10
    • GamePlay: 10/10
    • Graphics: 8/10
    • Sound: 6/10
    • Music: 10/10
    • Length: 9/10
    • Replay Value: 10/10
    • Player Value: 10/10

    Pros
    +Remake of the 1990s Trials of Mana released on SNES
    +Improved visuals and remixed OST with the option to use original SNES OST
    +Story and gameplay retained from original game but with new additions
    +Towns and dungeons expanded and far more freedom to travel with Jump ability
    +Stat system improved and learning unique skills/spells based on stats gives forth ability to create different builds to play with
    +Reset system allows you to reset stats and classes
    +4th class introduced
    +New Game+
    +Post game with additional story and boss battle
    +The ability to choose your own hero/party and the story changing based upon who you chose is retained
    +Multiple difficulty modes introduced for more challenge

    Cons
    -Multiplayer completely stripped
    -Voice acting is poor
    -Animations during cutscenes look amateurish (ex. walking in cutscenes is the same animation throughout the game)

    ---

    Series Scorewise comparison sake

    Trials of Mana (SNES): 91
    Trials of Mana (NSW): 92    … Expand
  24. rpgczar
    Mar 5, 2022
    9
    Trials of mana is one of the best remakes I've ever played. While the graphics won't blow you away it was a much more enjoyable experience than Elden ring. The graphics are colorful and anime inspired and the battle system is hack and slash with a dodge roll. In battle you build up a guage like in final fantasy 7 that allows you to unleash devestating attacks on does which differ dependingTrials of mana is one of the best remakes I've ever played. While the graphics won't blow you away it was a much more enjoyable experience than Elden ring. The graphics are colorful and anime inspired and the battle system is hack and slash with a dodge roll. In battle you build up a guage like in final fantasy 7 that allows you to unleash devestating attacks on does which differ depending on what class you choose. Some examples are knight ,brawler ,sage, ect once you get to a certain level you can level up class for stronger stats and cooler special moves. Your appearance changes each time you level up a class and level 4 is the highest level class. The story also plays out different based on which characters you choose and there are multiple difficulty levels. So the replay value is high. If you are looking for a fun underrated RPG to enjoy this game is it.… Expand
  25. Tortor
    Sep 11, 2022
    3
    I really just did not enjoy this. I felt like it aged badly, I know it's a remake but some of the tropey story telling and characters just didn't feel like they keep up with modern standards. The combat is also extremely slow, i have no idea what some of these reviews claim its fast paced combat when it clearly is not. It's slow, clunky, basic and overly easy. Maybe because I never playedI really just did not enjoy this. I felt like it aged badly, I know it's a remake but some of the tropey story telling and characters just didn't feel like they keep up with modern standards. The combat is also extremely slow, i have no idea what some of these reviews claim its fast paced combat when it clearly is not. It's slow, clunky, basic and overly easy. Maybe because I never played the original, nostalgia just isn't keeping me involved.… Expand
  26. Garlands
    Sep 1, 2020
    9
    Je ne connaissais pas le jeu de base et ce fut un régal de le découvrir , même si des fois les alliés font un peu n'importe quoi :-)
  27. SenseiMiguel
    Jun 19, 2020
    9
    graphics: 8/10
    music: 10/10
    story: 9/10
    control: 8/10
    fun factor: 9/10

    TOTAL: 8.8 > > > 9-ish
    TOTAL: 8.8 ... 9-ish
  28. tom974
    Jun 15, 2020
    8
    Nice remaster of a great game I didn't finish 25 years ago. Clearly they didn't put the budget of FF7R in it but still, nostalgia works. Nice graphics, basic but fun gameplay, some kind of replayability, fidelity to the original work, it's an honest game. Though, without the nostalgia it'd be a 7 more than a 8 for me.
  29. Starfree
    May 19, 2020
    8
    Until Square Enix port’s their big ticket Action RPGs, Trials of Mana will be our best bet for an Action JRPG on Switch. And that’s fine because this game is amazing. It’s a little disappointing that it’s way shorter then more Square games. You can beat this game the full 3 times to experience all it has to offer very quickly. There just isn’t the same about of content to be expected fromUntil Square Enix port’s their big ticket Action RPGs, Trials of Mana will be our best bet for an Action JRPG on Switch. And that’s fine because this game is amazing. It’s a little disappointing that it’s way shorter then more Square games. You can beat this game the full 3 times to experience all it has to offer very quickly. There just isn’t the same about of content to be expected from a Square game. But it’s worth it. The story is incredible, and the villains are probably the best villains to understand I’ve seen in a Square game and there’s 9 of them! With the Switch drought we are going though right now, there really isn’t an excuse not to pick up this game. It’s really good.… Expand
  30. Oldskoolberk
    Dec 29, 2020
    7
    I do not think anything is wrong with Trials of Mana as a whole. Graphics are decent, gameplay is fine, storylines are solid. But it felt to me like it was too much like Dragon Quest at times so it did not feel "original." Again, I liked the game but it is not one where I am itching to keep playing it.
  31. EnigmaXtreme
    Aug 12, 2020
    8
    Seiken Densetsu 3 was released in 1995 on the Super Famicom as the third game in the series following the success of its predecessor, known in the west as Secret of Mana. Sadly, by 1995 the SNES in the US was slowly fading away, with anticipation of the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 on the horizon and Square didn’t want to put in the time and money into localizing the title.

    I’ve played    Seiken Densetsu 3 was released in 1995 on the Super Famicom as the third game in the series following the success of its predecessor, known in the west as Secret of Mana. Sadly, by 1995 the SNES in the US was slowly fading away, with anticipation of the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 on the horizon and Square didn’t want to put in the time and money into localizing the title.

    I’ve played the original Mana 2 a few times and was just engrossed by its brilliant orchestral soundtrack, 6 character arcs and vivid 16 bit design. I played it, confined to the fact that it will never see an official localization.

    How wrong was I

    E3 2019 however, there was noise, LOTS of noise when not only was it confirmed Collection of Mana would be getting a worldwide release, but Mana 2 was getting localised alongside a full blown Remake. That, and a brand new official title for the game, TRIALS of Mana.

    Diving into the Remake, a lot of work had to be done to take the 16 bit sprites into a fully fledged world, the character models stay true to the original designs and booting up the game for the first time, I got chills listening to the iconic theme again in all its glory. You start off like in the original by selecting 3 of the 6 characters to play with, including the swordsman Duran, the thief Hawkeye, the beastman Kevin, the magic princess Angela, the Amazonian Riesz and elf Charlotte, regardless of who you pick, the story always begins the same, with your character embarking on a boat towards their quest for revenge and redemption, before meeting your chosen co-horts and the fairy…..um….Faerie, you will also occasionally run into the other 3 as they continue their journey.

    The plot is the typical, Square plot, unlocking several macguffins, while exploring several dungeons and giants bosses, while also finding time to visit local towns, sleep in Inns and continuously upgrading your weapon and armour as well as buying hordes of food and potions to keep yourself healthy on your journey. In this case, you set out to help save the dying Tree of Mana and claim its sacred Sword before the elusive “Benevodons” (no, I did not make that word up) reawake and destroy the world.

    Gameplay is that of a hack and slash and Trials doesn’t set out to over complicate things, you are able to easily attack, dodge, switch party members on the fly and unleash special moves without too much hassle, however you may wanna adjust your party members strategy as in their default state they can be fairly useless, ignoring the obvious fact a boss will be unleashing a serious attack on them, but with a few adjustments they can mostly take care of themselves. However, there seems to be a limit of how many items you can bring into battles, even if you have like 60 Candy, which I did by the end, you can only bring 9 of any item into a battle at one time. Plus you can’t make Item Ring adjustments mid fight, so if you need to change, sadly reload a save.

    That being said, the game seemingly has the same issues as Panzer Dragoon’s remake, the upgrades have made the game fairly easily in comparison to the original, with some bosses just feeling like a breeze. This highlights one of the game’s biggest changes, how streamlined everything is. Instead of a giant world to explore and people to meet, the game’s beacons highlight exactly who to talk to and where to progress the story, plus it is so much easier to find items littered all over the place. For some, this will bring comfort in knowing where to go next, but to others, it could feel like way too much hand-holding.

    Graphically, when put up against a certain other Square remake, there is no comparison at all. While the other one seemingly spent 10 Million Dollars on the main character’s hair alone, Trials of Mana is more concerned with sticking to the original, and while towns surely have some life to it, they can feel slightly claustrophobic and if you’ve seen one shop or home you’ve seen them all. Plus, all that added detail in areas just make you earn to explore only to be met by our good friend invisible walls.

    Now with that said, there are issues with this new version and the most glaring is the voicework, particularly the English is rife with hokey cringe. The worst offenders are Kevin, who being half man half beast, talks like a mentally handicapped caveman and it felt like a bone right to the skull, and Charlotte whose attempt at being adorable just comes off as obnoxious, I swapped to Japanese dialogue as soon as I could.

    While we have all been drooling over FF7’s shiny new remake, you should give a moment to appreciate Trials as well. A title that just last year was still only available in Japan has now, not only finally gotten localised but a full-blown Remake as well. This also holds out hope for other classics like FF6 and Chrono Trigger finally getting a much deserved remake.    … Expand
  32. Akelarre7
    Apr 27, 2020
    9
    I love how they were so truthful to the original game, with so much care and attention to detail. The only thing I was really dissapointed with was the characters hair color not changing with class changes. I know the reason behing that in the original was the systems limitations, but I think it was really amazing because it gave the feeling of your character not being the same anymore, ofI love how they were so truthful to the original game, with so much care and attention to detail. The only thing I was really dissapointed with was the characters hair color not changing with class changes. I know the reason behing that in the original was the systems limitations, but I think it was really amazing because it gave the feeling of your character not being the same anymore, of a huge change taking place due to mana running through him/her. Now it just looks like a change of clothes. But aside from that, AWESOME REMAKE… Expand
  33. hoboPidgey
    May 6, 2020
    8
    The opinions of someone who played the original SD3 and on Hard mode:

    Might be a 7/10 if you've never played the original. Minimum of 8/10 if you have. This is one of the best remakes I've played that stays absolutely faithful to the original game but possibly to a fault. It carries a lot of the wonderful atmosphere and charm of the original game but with new additions and changes,    The opinions of someone who played the original SD3 and on Hard mode:

    Might be a 7/10 if you've never played the original.
    Minimum of 8/10 if you have.

    This is one of the best remakes I've played that stays absolutely faithful to the original game but possibly to a fault. It carries a lot of the wonderful atmosphere and charm of the original game but with new additions and changes, mostly good but with some bad.

    The pros:
    The gameplay's combat flow is great, if a bit simple, and the new leveling system pushes your theorycrafting to a new level ontop of the original famous class switching. There are now new passive abilities depending on which stats you increase which really makes your builds stand out - more so in the mid game than early however.

    The graphics are simple, but works into the charm of it, but there are parts of the game that look great - all the characters are fully realised in 3D and the artstyle direction is 100% faithful to the concept art developed from the original.

    While the plot is a barebones save the world classic, it is the charming characters that now interact much more with each other and with voices that put their friendships and your playthroughs unique. The fact you are only able to select one main character and two side characters in your journey from a total of 6, will mean each unique combination of characters will offer a slightly different experience in subsequent playthroughs.

    Now, my favourite part, the soundtrack - it's damn well beautiful, faithful and modern. I found myself humming throughout the whole game and I enjoyed it so much. I have my preferred tracks but the whole soundtrack is done so well, they're all equal to each other. You can even switch back to the original SNES music ingame!

    The cons:
    While the gameplay feels great and the leveling system revamped is very welcomed however the problem is the difficulty of the game. On Hard mode, I can say it can be too easy at some points of the game and I honestly hoped this game was harder just so I can test my builds to the mettle. There's definitely an amazing combat framework here but the potential is unfortunately not realised. That said, you will definitely see difficulty spikes in the game, and if you're a masochist, you'll love it.

    Though I love the new added voiced interactions of the main characters, you will definitely feel the varying, undirected quality of the English VA work here. It can be outright good, such as Angela's spoilt princess voice and Hawkeye's flirty confidence or it could be the qwuestionabwe choice of Charlotte or Riesz's clueless voice. That said, it's not consistently bad, but Charlotte definitely takes the case here. I would consider playing with JAP voices for certain characters if the english onces grate on you.

    The graphics of the game, can at times, look like a mobile phone knock-off though this can be partly blamed on it being fully faithful to the map designs of the original. So I'll leave it to you if you consider this a con or not.

    - - - -

    All in all, this is one of my favourite games of the year, and this is my first review! Mainly because I wish to see more Mana instalments in the future and I hope the series gets new fans because this is definitely a right direction for the series and I hope Trials of Mana Remake gets much needed updates in the future so I can push this review to a 9/10!

    Peace.    … Expand
  34. Rodbatalha
    May 8, 2020
    9
    Great game. Deep stories. Good characters. Great combat system. Excellent Class upgrades. Nice moves, specials and abilities. Beautiful drawn on the characters. It’s not perfect because of the lack of freedom to move in the fields and the trees, plants and leaves are not with a good appearance.
  35. Aokana
    Jun 19, 2020
    9
    A game that doesn't require "Shock and Awe" nor a ton of blood and gore and instead keeps its focus on what a game should be. FUN.

    Graphics 9/10 - Environments and characters are well done for a low budget game. They stay true to the original games feel and keep that cute fantasy feel. OST 10/10 - I love the Soundtrack to this game, its vibrant and clean. Voice Acting 5/10 - It's    A game that doesn't require "Shock and Awe" nor a ton of blood and gore and instead keeps its focus on what a game should be. FUN.

    Graphics 9/10 - Environments and characters are well done for a low budget game. They stay true to the original games feel and keep that cute fantasy feel.

    OST 10/10 - I love the Soundtrack to this game, its vibrant and clean.

    Voice Acting 5/10 - It's bearable, but some of the voices can get irritating after a while, Angela for one makes this loud "EEEP" noise that I can only place akin to my old Mac LC575 Classics error sound. Some more variety of combat and menu lines would have been nice "I love shopping!" gets old after a while.

    Gameplay - 10/10. It's fun, the leveling and progression systems are simple, and varied enough. Each of the characters has a unique play-style and there is enough skills and abilities that it really feels like you have an option in leveling and combat. Combat itself is fun, you engage monsters on-site and as you level more combo actions come available. Like the game itself its simple and lighthearted. No need to spray guts everywhere, monsters disappear and Crystals appear to charge your special move gauge. Boss battles are clean and intuitive enough but supplies are not indefinite as you can only access 9 of each item on your right (some less) for the duration of any battle, however you can access much more out of combat so you can stockpile items to reduce the need of returning to town after every X uses of restorative items.

    Story 6/10 - This is by no means the next big thing, but its a fun, lighter story with a bit of drama and its told well enough, especially for a game that gives you more of an open story telling and less linear. Is it going to win best story of the year, not even close but you learn enough about the world, the characters and overall lore that everything makes sense and the characters to be rounded out enough so they are not flat but also doesn't really get into deep development either.

    Overall compared to recent games I've played this was a nice trip back to an age when developers focused on making a game fun and enjoyable.Where you didn't need long drawn out linear movie cinematic s with hyper-realistic graphics or over the top blood and gore with a M rating, just a game you can pick up, play, enjoy and share with the whole family.    … Expand
  36. Dkhenny
    Jun 29, 2020
    9
    Great game with lots of replayablity, only thing I can complain about is some of the voice acting and repetitive lines during combat.
  37. Figgiet
    Jul 23, 2020
    7
    A good remake. Good gameplay and you will have a fine time with the story..
  38. MagicMikey
    Aug 22, 2020
    8
    Low Budget game that blew me away. I love its art style and characters. huge replay ability and the fast pace combat is so much fun . Underrated JRPG. Loading times are a bit much but well worth it
  39. joeferiante
    Nov 1, 2020
    1
    The camera system ruins the game. Most of the effort you put into playing this game will be in trying to get the camera pointed in the right direction and you can forget about seeing much in combat. Totally destroys immersion in the game. They make you use joystick presses for important functions which is awkward and uncomfortable. Don’t buy for more than $10 until they patch the camera toThe camera system ruins the game. Most of the effort you put into playing this game will be in trying to get the camera pointed in the right direction and you can forget about seeing much in combat. Totally destroys immersion in the game. They make you use joystick presses for important functions which is awkward and uncomfortable. Don’t buy for more than $10 until they patch the camera to always stay behind you character and fix the button mapping to allow for anything other than joystick presses.… Expand
  40. omniface
    Mar 7, 2021
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. a great game for rpg players

    pros
    amazing graphics
    amazing people
    amazing story
    good gameplay

    cons
    none    … Expand
  41. Yarun64
    Jun 16, 2021
    10
    Trials of mana deserverd to be named a good remasterization!
    First of all, the OST is epic, at least it caught me as an ASMR. Graphically, it's very well done. I would change or fix just a little bit the way of mobility, it would be more awesome if it were kind of open world instead, but I really like it anyway, those are just little details.
  42. twinkletoes-rp
    Jan 30, 2023
    10
    This is my first intro to JRPGs, and *holy crap*, is it an incredible one! I downloaded the demo on a whim 'cause I liked the cover art and name, heard of the Mana series, but never played it, and I was *blown away*! I kept thinking about playing more while I was at work, *needing* to know what happened next! That feeling got even more intense when the demo ended! I *had* to know whatThis is my first intro to JRPGs, and *holy crap*, is it an incredible one! I downloaded the demo on a whim 'cause I liked the cover art and name, heard of the Mana series, but never played it, and I was *blown away*! I kept thinking about playing more while I was at work, *needing* to know what happened next! That feeling got even more intense when the demo ended! I *had* to know what happened next! The story and characters had me *hooked*! Haha! My parents offered to get the game for me for Christmas after I was done gushing about it, lol, and I *jumped* on it! Immediately downloaded and didn't put it down for *weeks*! lol. It's *beautiful* visually! Anyone who says games look like ass on Switch, I *dare you* to look at that game intro cutscene and *tell me* to my face that that doesn't look like a damn *movie* on your screen! It's *gorgeous*! The characters and development are incredibly engaging, too! The English voice acting is a *bit* cringy at certain parts, lol, but I mostly attribute that to the dramatics of what's happening and the time the story was originally crafted ('cause, again, drama, lol)! Those here-and-there moments aside, the characters sound *perfect*, IMO, and I love all of their voices a lot! The environments and intricacies of all the intertwining stories are *so cool* and unique, and I love it! The *music*, too! The music is *beautiful* and gets stuck in your head all the time! I constantly find myself humming the main title track! It's just so epic and catchy! Haha! I really like the leveling up and how the game handles upgrading gear! I've tried other J/RPG-like things, and none of their weapon/level progression really made sense to me at all. They just expected me to *know* things when I was clueless! Almost made me hate the entire genre, TBH. lol. But since this game gave the option, I chose 'Beginner' difficulty ('cause, yk, I am, lol), and they *really* made level/weapon progression *so* simple to understand! *Never* had any other J/PRG do that for me, and I very much appreciate it! lol. This is one of the *best* experiences I've ever had on Switch, and I *wish* all JRPGs were like this one (namely ease of use)! I'd definitely be inclined to play more if they were! This game is *amazing*, one of my absolute *faves* ever, and I can't get enough! Thank you *very* much, Square Enix, for remaking this game so well and so beautifully! (Hell, I love this game so much, I'm writing *fanfiction* for it! That's basically the *highest* compliment anything gets out of me! Haha!)… Expand
  43. LastResource
    Jan 14, 2023
    10
    worth it and glad to play this game again. so much memories and nostalgia within this spin off game in the series.

Awards & Rankings

31
#31 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Aug 29, 2020
    85
    This is leagues above the effort produced for the Secret of Mana remake. [Issue #47 – July/August 2020, p. 72]
  2. Impulsegamer
    Jun 11, 2020
    78
    Overall Trials of Mana 3-D Remake is essentially that a remake, for fans of Secret of Mana I would suggest playing the original version of Trials of Mana which can be found in the Collection of Mana for Nintendo Switch. For anyone who has not played a Mana game before then you really can not go wrong with this version, Square Enix have really done a good job at breathing new life into a 25 year old game whilst keeping to its roots as a 16 bit Classic.
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  3. XGN
    Jun 8, 2020
    70
    Trials of Mana brings the old SNES version of the game to the modern age, but fails to take full advantage of modern possibilities. Graphics have improved but still have odd choices like stiff garments. The balance between very easy random enemies and very tough (mini)bosses is off, requiring more grinding than we want in a modern game. All in all, Trials of Mana fails to fully deliver where its big competitor (FF7) does.
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