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. 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
  3. 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..?
  4. 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.
  5. Figgiet
    Jul 23, 2020
    7
    A good remake. Good gameplay and you will have a fine time with the story..

Awards & Rankings

31
#31 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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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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