This latest videogame generation has seen the arrival of a new modus operandi that has been able to delight many gamers, that is to bring to light pearls of the past through high quality remakes, such as Resident Evil 2 or Shadow of the Colossus. Trials of Mana falls into this category, presenting itself as the remake of Seiken Densetsu 3, a title that in the now very distant 1995 managed to convince Japanese players on the then famous Super Nintendo Entertainment System (or SNES). Now, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the saga, Square Enix has decided to give players the opportunity to put their hand to a real remake of this little classic, trying to give new light to a title that is certainly not too well known to the new generations, also and above all because of many much more noble JRPGs, some of which have also been released in the last few weeks (has anyone said Final Fantasy VII Remake?).
Time passes for everyone
With Trials of Mana Square has therefore tried to bring a breath of classicism to new generations of players, a game that embraces a gameplay firmly anchored to tradition but with a graphic sector (almost) at the height of current consoles. The "jump" is in fact above all else purely technical: say goodbye to the old bird's eye view and the strictly 2D sprites seen on the 16-bit platform of the Mario's House. In this remake the characters and settings are strictly in three dimensions, which confirms Square Enix's desire to rejuvenate a game belonging to the Mesozoic era of video games. It's just a pity that, net of the basic goodness, the modernization effort is actually at the minimum wage, especially as regards the general glance. There is nothing that makes you open your mouth in amazement throughout the adventure, so much so that a restyling operation of the genre seems to have come out of the past generation of consoles rather than on decidedly performing platforms such as PS4 and Switch (and PC).
We are therefore well below the average quality level offered by Square Enix, so much so that there is the constant feeling of a constant recycling of assets (both as regards the NPCs, and as regards the environments we are going to visit). Of course, from a B-series title like Trials of Mana we certainly wouldn't have expected the same use of resources as a Kingdom Hearts 3 or a Final Fantasy VII Remake, but it is also true that at present the final result is well below expectations. Furthermore, also from the point of view of the playful experience itself, the last chapter of the Mana series does not seem to want to distort the original formula in any way.
At the beginning of the adventure we will be offered the possibility to choose a group of three heroes among the six available. The plot will in fact follow slightly different paths based on who we decide to bring into battle, what this will inevitably affect the history and background of the characters. Each pair of characters share different goals, with the common goal of ridding the kingdom of dark forces who wish to use the Mana Stone to dominate the world. To do this we will need the legendary sword that can save the Ancient Mana Tree and thus restore peace and prosperity. In short, even from a purely narrative point of view Trials of Mana does not make any progress compared to the '95 title, thus bringing to light a jumble of clichés and clichés. Even the scrolling of the main adventure will turn out to be linear and without any deviation (if not minimal), with a lot of backtracking to make everything even more disgusting (and instant travel is of little use).
Mana or not Mana?
The clashes with the various enemies (strictly in real time) are based on an absolutely canonical combat system, which allows us to carry out physical, special and elemental attacks. The continuous respawn of the enemies will be the excuse to level up as much as possible, waiting for the usual clash with the boss at the end of the dungeon. An equally traditional progression system will give us the opportunity to grow our characters following various specific branches linked to the path of Light and Darkness, different in terms of the abilities and magical powers that we will be called to use. There is more? Definitely no. The Square Enix title is a real bucket of classicism, able to satisfy only and exclusively those who have a strong nostalgia for the old Japanese action role-playing games of the last century.
