Perhaps leaving it a little late in the month for this (with just under a week left of it at the time of writing), but hey, I’m putting this post out. Even though it might go out before I actually receive the game I want to feature, but that’s just how things have been lately, as I’m sure you know.
Anyways, the game I intend to feature this month is a remake of a Squaresoft title (and no, not the one that you might think it is). Of course, Squaresoft are known as Square Enix now, but the point still stands.
This particular title was not officially available outside of Japan until relatively recently, and now we’re getting a 3D remake.
Trials of Mana was first released outside of Japan as part of the Collection of Mana, back in June 2019. Don’t know about anyone else, but that seems so far away now – and yet, it is relatively recent if you really think about it.
The version included in Collection of Mana was the original 2D game as it was released on the Super Famicom (well, with an English translation, naturally). Some proper excellent 2D JRPG goodness there, and now Square Enix have remade it into 3D.
In Trials of Mana, you make a party of three characters from a selection of six, and the story that unfolds depends on your chosen characters. For the 2D game, I had Riesz as my main character, accompanied by Angela and Charlotte.
For the remake, my first playthrough will have Angela as the main character, accompanied by Riesz and Charlotte.
I know that there is a free demo to download on the Nintendo eShop (presumably the same can be said for the other platforms’ digital storefronts as well), that lets you play up to the first boss and carry your data into the main game. As such, I have already had a taste of the updated combat the game offers, and I like what I have experienced.
As the game progresses, you’ll have the opportunity to change your chosen characters’ classes, going down a dark route or light route. With multiple stories to experience as well as the character’s different options for classes, there are plenty of reasons to keep coming back to Trials of Mana time and time again.
Rory Muses 