![]() ![]() This new version of the game sees combat playing out in the form of action-oriented real-time battles, like something you’d see out of Ys or the Tales series. While the story and characters of the original Trials of Mana are perfectly recreated without much alteration, the gameplay has seen a massive change. Rather than having Angela and Riesz simply be one-note side characters, the fact that villains from their own journeys can show up at any time to halt your adventures helps establish that all of you have major reasons for going on this journey. It also helps flesh out the backstory and existence of your companions so much more. While multiple playthroughs will break the illusion a bit by showing you which story beats can end up repeated or only slightly between characters, seeing the way major pieces of all six characters stories come together based on your crew is incredible. The best part is that none of these combinations ever seem forced or unnatural. This leads to a daunting number of story variations for you to explore, as you’ll never get the full experience from one playthrough. Alongside them, you’re able to pick two companion characters from the lineup, and major elements of their own journeys will be mixed into your experience. When you start the game, you’re tasked with selecting one main character who’s adventure you want to tackle. The game features six different playable protagonists, who each have their own unique journeys and villains. Take, for example, the story of Trials of Mana. If you don’t have any nostalgia for the original release, there are still some novel ideas from the 1995 JRPG that are just as impressive today. I’m extremely happy that the game supports dual audio, because a lot of the English voices dip into extremely campy territory and have almost every villain sounding like a Saturday morning cartoon arch-nemesis. ![]() You can play through the game with the original SNES soundtrack too, alongside full voice acting in either Japanese or English. A lot of the new music has the sort of heavy fanfare you’d expect from JRPG music, but a few of the more energetic battle tunes feature heavy usage of contemporary instruments like electric guitars that add some spice to the score. That old-school appreciation even extends to the audio of the game, with a gorgeously remastered soundtrack that puts a modern spin on the iconic melodies and themes of the original game. Even minor but utterly iconic quirks from the original game, like the silly shuffling dance of the turban-clad shopkeepers, are faithfully rendered in 3D for fans of the original to appreciate. Character, monster and boss designs have hardly been altered from their original SNES iterations, adding an incredible 90s touch to the style of the game that scratches that same old-school itch that Dragon Quest XI did just a few years ago. Still, technical snafus aside, the care put into plucking the towns and characters of the original game and turning them into a 3D space is impressive.
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