(Final da Angela/Duran)

Um bom j-rpg no geral, apesar de fácil e comumente adaptável em situações complicadas (pulei o primeiro up de class...). Não há muito para se falar no que tange a enredo por se tratar de mais um fruto dos incontáveis jrpgs de fantasia genéricos que há por aí, mas de alguma forma ainda consegue manter um certo charme por um consecutivo apelo na gameplay (que apesar de fácil, acaba sendo de alguma forma ou outra bem recompensadora para quem está jogando), apresenta também uma gama curiosa de 'upgrades' que me fez ficar instigado até o fim, mesmo após estar cansado de tantas batalhas aleatórias - do meio pro fim se tornou apenas um spam de mágia/fugir. Isso até chegar na dungeon final pós-game, que estruturalmente é bem interessante, mas novamente acaba sendo repetitiva e mais uma vez não apresenta dificuldade alguma. A final boss foi ridícula, e para quem estava acostumado com os comandos do jogo até esse momento, é praticamente impossível cometer um deslize que vá te matar durante essa bossfight. Ela é simplesmente... fácil?

Nem perto daquela porta ou sejá lá o que for aquilo que eu tive que enfrentar para conseguir o primeiro up de class (e eu não tinha nível o suficiente pra isso depois e não peguei :<)

Um jogo recomendável para amantes de jrpg, e mais ainda para quem gosta de ver animação bonitinha de personagem correndo em diferentes cenários (se tem algo que esse jogo é bom, é nisso). Só Deus sabe se compensa fazer os outros dois finais.

[~2.5hrs in]
Cute, charming, childish and nostalgic. Reminds me very much of older Final Fantasy titles crossed with the Legend of Zelda from when I was a kid. I had played the Demo of this previously so my progress transferred over into this play-through. Team is Kevin/Charlotte/Riesz. Currently heading to Beiser.

[~6hrs in]
Still really enjoying this game. Art style reminds me of Kingdoms of Amalur. The combat is a little button-bashy at present, but I'm putting that down to not having a very wide move-set available yet. I'm also noticing a trend of backtracking to previous areas I've visited, but at least the enemies update and scale so I can still grind/farm XP a little along the way. I can surely see the replay value appeal of discovering the different protagonist's stories, although I doubt I'll be undertaking multiple playthroughs simply due to my backlog.

[41hrs - End]
Game was repetitive by the third playthrough so it was speed-ran in ~5hrs on NG+ by carrying over my fully levelled team, using Magic Ropes wherever possible to remove backtracking in dungeons, and fleeing from pretty much every battle possible, and whenever I couldn't flee, I spammed Class Strikes relentlessly. Platinum trophy earned.

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 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.

Game Finished In 2024 #5:

In recent times, "[game] is like a PS2 game" has seen a bit of a reappraisal. From the PS3 to the PS4, a game being compared to the PS2 was often seen as it being lesser. But nowadays, with the cycle of nostalgia completing a rotation, and a growing disdain for Modern Western AAA Gaming, people have started to use the term endearingly. This is all to say that the remake of Trials of Mana is a PS2-ass game, and that owns.

This is not to say, of course, that the presentation is dated or lacking. It looks quite nice and runs mostly well on the Switch, which I played it on. I can imagine that on stronger platforms it will be even better. The graphics take a nice stylized approach and the OST is well composed. Compared to the original SNES version, the improvements are evident, and the transition to 3D from 2D is graceful. Especially compared to the frankly embarrassing Secret of Mana remake, there's a clear love for the original that shines through. There's also a full dub in both English and Japanese, and speaking for the English track it is good, but not great. In a sense, this adds to the PS2 energies of it all. Also, Charlotte's voice direction is fun, y'all are just mean.

In terms of gameplay, Trials of Mana is a great ARPG. The ARPG is a weird beast, as action and RPGs are sort of diametrically opposed. An action game is won by skill, and an RPG is won by strategy and numbers. Put too much mechanical emphasis on skill, and the numbers can feel superfluous. Too much emphasis on numbers is bad too, however, because skill gets lessened. Trials of Mana feels like an attempt to find the exact scientific midpoint between action and RPG. I haven't played the SNES original to compare, but I believe mechanically the two are entirely different beasts, especially considering the transition to 3D. Trials of Mana manages to do a lot of things very well at once. It allows for strong character building with the excellent class system, which gives all six characters, who are already wholly unique in their own right, four classes that change their capabilities significantly. Each class upgrade is a large increase in power as well, giving multiple new options in combat. You can further augment the characters with a skill point system that allows you to gain new spells and abilities, which can really make a build come together. The actual moment to moment to gameplay is great too, with an almost musou-like charge attack system, access to diverse spells, and a super attack system that feels great to use. This is all on top of encounters that feel straight out of FF14 [or, if you have a more refined taste, Dragalia Lost] with AOE markers you have to dodge while fighting, and multiple bosses having strong attacks that have to be stopped. The dungeon designs you fight these encounters in are great in their own right, too, and there's plenty of reward for exploring.

The structure itself is ambitious, too, especially considering this game originally targeted a 16 bit console. You choose three of the six characters as your party at the start, and your first choice becomes the main character who goes through their own plot. You meet the other three characters you didn't pick as well, enriching the world somewhat. I kept waiting for the moment when the ambition of the structure would cause the game to buckle, perhaps with a retreading of old areas or a fetch quest, but it simply never happened, and even when the game tells you to go fight eight bosses near the end, all except one are in new areas or new parts of old areas.

It isn't all perfect, though. Probably the biggest issue is the party member AI. While you can thankfully switch between party members at any time, the AI is simply not equipped to handle some of the things the game throws at it. You can fine tune the AI's tendencies somewhat, but it isn't as in-depth as something like FF12's Gambit system, and there's no way to teach the AI to jump over a boss's attack. On that note, there's a notable layer of Jank to the whole experience, which, while far from deal breaking, is noticeable and unavoidable. You will get hit behind a line AOE in front of the boss you're fighting at least once. This makes the later bit of the game harder for the wrong reasons, and I found myself abusing items a lot more. This is further PS2 energies, but it's still annoying. The final negative mark is the story, which, despite the ambitious structure, ends up feeling very generic. If you skip it, you will likely not miss out on much. FFs 4 through 6 were out by this point in the SNES's lifetime, but the plot and characters feel like they're competing with FF3.

I sincerely hope the upcoming Visions of Mana takes as many of this game's strengths as possible, because a game like this is an excellent template for future games in the same style, while still providing plenty to enjoy on it's own. It's a game I could easily see myself replaying in the future, as the game is practically built for it. The few negatives are easy to forgive when the strengths are as strong as they are.

Despite its flaws I enjoyed this game quite a bit. The story and characters are extremely barebones and cliché, and the AI of your companions in combat can be really annoying at times. However, the combat, world design and the art direction on enemies were really nice overall. The bosses were also mostly really fun outside of a few. The postgame dungeon and boss was also really good.

This is a very simple game, but it was engaging to me all the way through and it didn't fill itself with unnecessary bloat like a lot of JRPGs i've played. I'll probably play through it again at some point with the other characters I didn't use.

The ‘Trails of Mana’ remake looks gorgeous and is a good 3D adaptation. The remake is quite limited though, resembling the mild remakes of Final Fantasy and some of the older Dragon Quest games. ‘Trails of Mana’ is either great as someone’s first RPG game or an RPG that people who love the genre would like to experience, there is no inbetween. A lot of the game mechanics can be quite simple as well as the storyline. The storyline and cinematics are not deep nor are they epic. You start the game by picking 3 characters out of the 6 available. Meaning you need to complete the game more than once to see all the storylines. That’s a no from me. I don’t mean if you do that at all it is a no, just not a 40 hour game that felt like a drag towards the end of the first playthrough.

The battles can be fun but often quite boring, the battle transition to encountering the enemies on the field and actually battling them is seamless. Often I would play this game on mute as the repetitive music with the constant item picking up sound is tedious for the player let alone anyone else within the vicinity not playing the game.

There isn’t a huge amount to say about the game as it’s quite a shallow game, like I said if you’re either new to RPGs or a genre veteran it may be worth a play.

Trials of Mana is a remastered version of the classic 1995 RPG for the PlayStation 4 that has received widespread praise for its updated graphics, enhanced gameplay, and true-to-the-original storyline. The music of the game is a standout feature, with a rich and immersive soundtrack that perfectly complements the game's world and characters.

The job system in Trials of Mana is another highlight, offering a unique and engaging gameplay loop that keeps players engaged and coming back for more. The system allows players to choose from a variety of different classes, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, and offers a great deal of replay value as players can experiment with different combinations and play styles.

The character design in Trials of Mana is cute and charming, with a cast of memorable and likable heroes and villains. Although some characters may be objectively better than others, the game's replay value is further enhanced by the fact that players can choose to play as any of the six main characters, each with their own unique story and perspective.

Overall, Trials of Mana is a fantastic RPG that is well worth the time and effort required to platinum it. Despite being a bit under the radar, this game is a hidden gem that is sure to delight fans of the genre and newcomers alike.

I originally played the opening hours of this on the Switch a few years ago, but at the time I thought the game felt a bit 'cheap' and moved on to other things. I sold that game, and now I bought it again for the PS4.

Playing it now with a new perspective (and framerate) was such a wonderful experience. The main focus here is the vibes as this is a very charming and relaxing game. Being a remake of a game from 1995 makes it quite simplistic in design , but that's not a bad thing. It has a good gameplay loop that picks up a few hours into the game when you're finally able to switch classes. I'd say the opening hours are a bit boring at times, but pretty much all the second half of the game was extremely satistying to play through.

Having six playable characters is nice because I can now replay it with a whole new perspective, but at the same time having a story split in so many subplots did a bit of a disservice to the whole story overall. The plot is thin, but it's not the main focus of my enjoyment so I personally don't mind.

I'm so happy I got to play this and I'm super excited for Visions of Mana!

Overall this is a pretty fun and chill game to sit through. I'm a big fan of the Mana series so yeah, this has big flaws but it's up my alley. I'm super excited for Vision of Mana!

The game showed me that I don't necessarily need good writing in the form of story, characters etc to enjoy a game. Because, and I'm sorry to say this, the writing in this game is pretty rubbish :D It's absolutely the most standard fantasy stuff that you shouldn't think about for too long or you'll open up the deepest holes in the story :D But, and I really appreciate this, the game puts its gameplay front and center and mostly remains rather restrained when it comes to story and presentation.

In terms of gameplay, the game was a delight. I found it so motivating to explore the areas, beat up monsters and level up my characters. There are so many ways to develop the characters, which also greatly increases replay value. I've played it once now and I can already see that there's still a lot to discover. I'm really looking forward to the next playthrough with other characters.

That brings us to another great achievement - the game is totally adaptive. Depending on which 3 characters you choose at the start, the story and cutscenes adapt to them, so you can have very different experiences. That was certainly very remarkable when the original came out, but I still think it's very cool today.

Yeah, all in all I had a lot of fun with it. I wish the writing was a bit more ... sophisticated but even so I thought it was great. I'm looking forward to more cool Mana titles.

PS: I've just caught up on the post-game content and I'm really impressed. The last dungeon is rather huge and a bit too monotonous, but the fights are fun and the final boss fight was also great, amazing optional content.

A solid 3D remake of a Super Nintendo classic.
Original Score Before Backloggd Rounding: 7.5/10 (Good)

Trials of Mana is a game I have consistently come back to for three, going on four years now. I still remember the excitement in the E3 2019 Nintendo Direct when not only was the original, released 25 years prior, finally localised in the Collection of Mana in an official release hardcore fans had begged to see, but when that long sought after, ever absent third game was getting a full 3D remake. And it looked positively gorgeous. After the disappointment of the Secret of Mana remake for PlayStation 4, it seemed Square Enix had listened to feedback, and Mana fans were finally about to be rewarded for their patience.

Horrible English voice acting aside (play in Japanese if it bothers you that much, ‘ya nerds!), Trials of Mana is a game that doesn’t really do anything wrong, while doing a whole bunch right. It’s cute, it’s charming, the characters are fun, it has great monster designs, the action combat is decent, the music is absolutely fantastic, and the story that’s told no matter who you choose as your protagonist is a pretty pleasant journey. Some will point to the recycled NPC models as the game being cheap, and low budget, but I think if anything it adds to the feeling that the game we see today built off of a Super Famicom great. And either way, it is still much higher production value than the previously mentioned lacklustre Secret of Mana remake. If I had one significant complaint about the game and how it plays out, it might be that the AI party members are incredibly stupid and will often get themselves hurt or killed, especially in easily avoidable scenarios. If this had been addressed, I likely would have given the game a flush 4 star rating. That being said, Trials of Mana is an increasingly rare and triumphant Square Enix win despite these problems.

The main feature unique to this game that sets it apart from its contemporaries, other than simply having that trademark Mana charm, is its narrative and party structure. At the beginning of the game, you’re tasked to create a three character party combination out of six possible characters, and whoever you choose as the main character will determine the path of the game’s story, where it leads, and where it ends. Whoever you bring along for the ride will then have their own occasional unique interactions with your chosen protagonist, making for a fun and dynamic storyline system with a degree of replay value perhaps not seen in other RPGs of this style.

I would recommend this game to anyone with a desire for cute RPGs, or the classics in general, as the most excellent rendition of Mana to come out of the series for a very long time. It is a truly grand adventure, packed with vitality and love. Perhaps it doesn’t quite reach the same heights as the original 1995 release, but you can play that in Collection of Mana on Nintendo Switch if you so desire. Either way, this hidden gem's legacy is now preserved for all to experience, whichever form that might take, and that is a fact that makes me very happy.

The remake of the game I've been holding off playing for YEARS. I absolutely LOVE the Mana series and I honestly got really excited seeing the trailer to this game and was conflicted if I should play this or the original first. If anyone else is curious about that but don't want spoilers I can say this: play the original if you either want the authentic pure feel of how action RPGs were back in SNES days or if you want to play the game co-op then the original in the Collection of Mana is your bet. If you want a modern feel of an action RPG and find yourself enjoying stuff such as voiced dialogue and a full interpretation of the artist's and developer's vision then go with this remake. Now onto the review.

Now for starters, I can't actually compare the original game and the remake because I have yet to play through the original, so these thoughts are from someone who played all the Mana games and their remakes except the original Trials. That being said, I really love how beautiful this game looks. I recall seeing this kind of look when the other games were pushed to 3D such as Dawn of Mana or in lesser terms the horrid Secret of Mana remake. Everything in this game looks great and I never stop being impressed seeing 3D models of enemies I once fought in the old 2D Secret of Mana brought to life. It's vibrant and colorful and everything is very animated.

The gameplay was the one point I was actually worried about. I was so used to the 2D feel of the Mana series and wasn't sure how a 3D game in that fashion would work. I know Dawn of Mana was 3D but it was an a PS2 game with you using one character while Trials does stick to a 3 person team and you all fight together, and I gotta say I love how this game plays. You take control of your main character you picked and you can easily switch between the other two on the fly and menu access is as easy as a button press. Combat has a sort of timed hit way of playing to button mashing isn't really a highly valid way of playing and each character has their special way of playing and using their own skills which can change based on a character's class change at certain levels giving them new skills and stats. The gameplay is very fun and engaging and somehow still feels like the old game despite being different.

The music was also another shocking part. As much as I love the music from the Mana series in the past, I had never actually heard a single tune from the original game and I definitely was worried that if they modernized the music it would lose whatever magic it might have initially held. I can say with certain that you get the option to go with the original or remake music and I played with the remake music and forget to ever go back to the original, so I loved the remake music so the original must be just as good or better, because aside from Super Mario RPG I usually go with original music anytime. thanks to Secret of Mana remake I was afraid the voice acting was gonna be terrible, but I can gladly report it was very well done and was never taken out of the great story being told through the voiced dialogue.

Speaking of story...I do have to say the story being told was decent is the best I can say. It's good, but because you choose 3 characters to start with out of 6 selectable ones, it creates a slight issue. I can't really explain it very well with being super vague or anything, but I'll use my choice of characters to show what I mean about the stories issues.

I choice Kevin as my main character, so this is the character who the story will focus around. You'll get told everything you need to know about him and he'll have the most input, he's the main character. I chose Angela as my second character/ She will act as a companion and most of her story and her dialogue will intertwine with Kevin in spots as well as have her own. She'll be somewhat as important as Kevin, her story being slightly shadowed over his, but she will interact and react along with Kevin kinda like a sidekick. Lastly I chose Duran as my third character. His story is going to be told alongside Kevin and Angela but it's mostly the cliff notes of his story. Anything deeper than the surface of his story won't be told and his input will be minimal to the point it's almost like he's barely there and he only has importance when things are relative to his storyline or if Kevin or Angela have no input. The other 3 characters Hawkeye, Riesz and Charolette will be seen throughout the game and you may get a 5 to 10 minute snippet of their story and dialogue just to move the plot forward and that's it. Again, you can choose any sets of characters and their importance change based on if they are main or support characters or NPCs.

So, because of what I explained above. The main character's story does get fulfilled from start to finish, but when the other characters and their stories get involved in the main plot, it causes holes in story, because you won't have all the context you need, so while the main story is great, the game's storytelling mechanic does bog it down a little.

Speaking of bog down...what else brought the game down?

- The A.I. You can set commands to the cpu controlled characters, but the choices are so vague and not precise, that sometimes having them feels like a detriment.

- The class change system doesn't do a good job of explaining what kind of skills you get over time, example is saying a class has healing spells, yet you only get one and it's a basic one that other classes get.

- Certain character's stories make more sense and complete it better with the right companion, yet the game does nothing to tell you which or if that's even a thing.

- While the music is really good, it reuses ALOT of Secret of Mana's music and jingles, but in spots that feel out of place, so if you played Secret of Mana a lot then get ready for uncanny music.

This was awesome playing this well done remake after avoiding the original for years. It was fun every second and I even did the post content and it was fun and worth doing. I recommend this to any Mana fan or action RPG fan. I still don't think it's better than the original Secret of Mana game but it's MILES ahead of the Secret of Mana remake...can you tell I hate that game?

To preface this I quit around 11 hours so maybe it gets better but I doubt it

As I decide to drop this game forever
It is a page of my youth I am closing as well. And I cannot state how sad and disappointed I am

I grew up with the fan translation of the game and became obsessed with it for the sole reason of the class evolution system.
But it ended up being a mid-ish game with interesting things, that ended up being way too streamlined and linear, with no real player involvement regarding character progression.
It is a childish story that does not take itself seriously at all and not in a good sarcastic way.

The combat is just button mashing with some different combos that all have different "effects" like one knockbacks etc. But all characters have the same combo effects so it's just a reskin with different hitboxes
Gear progression here is a gaming trope I want to be eradicated
When you HAVE to buy the new shiny gear at the next town or else your damage output and defense fall behind where you're currently at in the story, just because it just the same sword with better stats, and you have ONE weapon option per character, no variations whatsoever that could push you into thinking more about your build, why even have an equipment system in the end?
Just have a weapon and emphasize upgrading it by killing stuff, instead of making us pay extra for shit weapons that just have better stats

Character progression is linear, streamlined, boring
I did not feel rewarded for my decisions, abilities weren't interesting. I CAN NOT STAND the fact that Duran, Angela, and Charlotte can get the same stupid saber magic spells with no variations

I would recommend it if you do not want to overthink but I think you'll get bored even playing that way so just play something else