(This is specifically for Trials of Mana in this collection)
I played the Trials of Mana remake closer to when it came out, I think sometime in 2020. I liked that game a lot, but the presentation was a bit lacking, especially for the remake of a game oft touted as the “best looking SNES game”. The overhauled combat was fun, if a bit simple, and the dub/cutscenes were.. kinda bad actually. At the time, I switched the game to the Japanese dub (mildly better but not great) and wrote the story off as a kinda goofy not-too-serious game.
At the same time I’d picked up the Collection of Mana, the first three Mana games but on switch, and played the first two. I’d loved the first one, Final Fantasy Adventure, which is still one of my fav Gameboy games, and mildly disliked its incredibly popular sequel, Secret of Mana. For some reason, I waited until now to play the original Trials of Mana, and god damn I wish I hadn’t waited so long.
Guys
Guys this game is so damn good
There’s parts of it that are obviously good, stuff like the art (it is, indeed, probably the most gorgeous and spectacular SNES game, FF6 eat your heart out), the music (just stunning), and the cool pacing/story structure. Basically, there’s six playable characters, all with their own interweaving stories, and you choose one as the main character and two as sidekick-type computer (or friend!) controlled characters. Mix this tapestry-style storytelling with the incredible world building, which has been even more expanded upon from the other Mana games, and you get an experience that’s just plain stunning.
The SNES version’s presentation also (imo) greatly enhances the gravity of the story. There’s no goofy VA or overly plucky animations spoiling the serious scenes. Instead you get a gorgeous pixelart scene and somewhat moody OST setting the tone for what end up feeling like serious monologues and dramatic twists. It’s not all dark and edgy or anything, but there’s a range of emotions confidently displayed here.
What I wasn’t expecting was to like many parts of the game that are, uh, more on the infamous side of things. In particular, the combat is… weird? I don’t even know how to describe it honestly. It kinda feels like a rtwp or ffxii-style system but done on hardware that can’t quite handle it. Now, I had my share of frustrations with this system, stuff like “oh apparently while this character is in this stage of an attack animation she cannot be told to cast a spell” or “wow the enemy just cast two spells immediately after each other, really wish I could cast something while he was charging up that second one”, but broadly I liked the system. It was fun and fast during dungeons, and had a good bit of weirdo complexity and hidden numbers in the back half to give it some depth.
I definitely preferred it to Secret of Mana’s combat, which is more responsive, but (like a lot of SNES games for me) has very touchy hitboxes and that weird goofy meter at the bottom that discourages attacking when it’s not full. Honestly I thought everything people love secret for this game does better, from the music to the art. I guess it doesn’t have three player support without a mod, so that’s a point in secret’s favor, but this one’s fun by yourself so HA.
Obviously I recommend this game, whether you play a fan-translation or the official release it’s still a great time. You can feel it pushing the SNES to its limits, but as usual for me that’s kinda cool (and only noticeable in the menus really). Play it whether you like or dislike Secret, play it if you want a weird but also modern-feeling SNES RPG, play it if you’re in the mood for RPG comfort food that pushes your boundaries more than you would think. Just give it a shot, and see if you vibe.
I played the Trials of Mana remake closer to when it came out, I think sometime in 2020. I liked that game a lot, but the presentation was a bit lacking, especially for the remake of a game oft touted as the “best looking SNES game”. The overhauled combat was fun, if a bit simple, and the dub/cutscenes were.. kinda bad actually. At the time, I switched the game to the Japanese dub (mildly better but not great) and wrote the story off as a kinda goofy not-too-serious game.
At the same time I’d picked up the Collection of Mana, the first three Mana games but on switch, and played the first two. I’d loved the first one, Final Fantasy Adventure, which is still one of my fav Gameboy games, and mildly disliked its incredibly popular sequel, Secret of Mana. For some reason, I waited until now to play the original Trials of Mana, and god damn I wish I hadn’t waited so long.
Guys
Guys this game is so damn good
There’s parts of it that are obviously good, stuff like the art (it is, indeed, probably the most gorgeous and spectacular SNES game, FF6 eat your heart out), the music (just stunning), and the cool pacing/story structure. Basically, there’s six playable characters, all with their own interweaving stories, and you choose one as the main character and two as sidekick-type computer (or friend!) controlled characters. Mix this tapestry-style storytelling with the incredible world building, which has been even more expanded upon from the other Mana games, and you get an experience that’s just plain stunning.
The SNES version’s presentation also (imo) greatly enhances the gravity of the story. There’s no goofy VA or overly plucky animations spoiling the serious scenes. Instead you get a gorgeous pixelart scene and somewhat moody OST setting the tone for what end up feeling like serious monologues and dramatic twists. It’s not all dark and edgy or anything, but there’s a range of emotions confidently displayed here.
What I wasn’t expecting was to like many parts of the game that are, uh, more on the infamous side of things. In particular, the combat is… weird? I don’t even know how to describe it honestly. It kinda feels like a rtwp or ffxii-style system but done on hardware that can’t quite handle it. Now, I had my share of frustrations with this system, stuff like “oh apparently while this character is in this stage of an attack animation she cannot be told to cast a spell” or “wow the enemy just cast two spells immediately after each other, really wish I could cast something while he was charging up that second one”, but broadly I liked the system. It was fun and fast during dungeons, and had a good bit of weirdo complexity and hidden numbers in the back half to give it some depth.
I definitely preferred it to Secret of Mana’s combat, which is more responsive, but (like a lot of SNES games for me) has very touchy hitboxes and that weird goofy meter at the bottom that discourages attacking when it’s not full. Honestly I thought everything people love secret for this game does better, from the music to the art. I guess it doesn’t have three player support without a mod, so that’s a point in secret’s favor, but this one’s fun by yourself so HA.
Obviously I recommend this game, whether you play a fan-translation or the official release it’s still a great time. You can feel it pushing the SNES to its limits, but as usual for me that’s kinda cool (and only noticeable in the menus really). Play it whether you like or dislike Secret, play it if you want a weird but also modern-feeling SNES RPG, play it if you’re in the mood for RPG comfort food that pushes your boundaries more than you would think. Just give it a shot, and see if you vibe.