ABSOLUTE ASCENDANCY

It looks quite stunning, and throughout the adventure, a player will travel through a myriad of locations from deserts, to icy caverns, through lush greens to underground exploration. The graphics do an excellent job at faithfully portraying these varied environments.

Combat

The combat system has been revamped, leaning more towards fluid action paced combat which has seen an uprising trend in recent years, over other combat systems such as turn-based. As a fan of hack and slash, fast-paced combat, this is a welcomed change for me.

The game can be paused when selecting spells or skills to use, so there is that pseudo-turn-based element there, which grants a nice balance between fluid and turn-based systems.

The terrain can affect combat as well, the most annoying is probably sliding around on the ice, but there is also quicksand, and other kinds of traps to watch out for a while fighting and navigating through the adventure.

The magic system comprises of eight different elements split into four pairs of rivalries. One complaint I have about the magic system is that the only way to find out the weakness of an enemy, is to select which magic to use, and it will then say how effective it is. It would have been nice if there was a way to view enemy stats during battle so you could see their weaknesses/resistances and other bits of information.

Also, during a battle, there is no way of determining the strength of the spells a character can cast. During gameplay, you will likely learn multiple spells of the same element, and it is not always the one with the greatest cost which does the most damage, though usually, it is the case. They should have added the damage of the spell in addition to the MP cost when selecting which spell to use in battle.

Level Up System

Trials of Mana retains the class system that sprouts a tree diagram formation for evolving each chosen character, allowing for four possible upgrade paths to traverse.

There are five base stats which can be levelled up also and depending on the character, will influence where it is best to allocate the points gained through levelling up.

I enjoyed experimenting with the system and found that there is a lot of versatility and flexibility the game offers, allowing for the potentiality of wacky customisations and crazy strategies.

Soundtrack

The revamped soundtrack is excellent and fits the classic RPG environment well. The option to listen to the original soundtrack is also available in the remake, but having never played the original, I was content to play with the new soundtrack. There are a variety of different boss themes, around 10, which is impressive, although they do play elsewhere in the game.

There’s no orchestra like in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, but there doesn’t need to be for this style of game. The soundtrack gets the job done without blowing a massive hole in the budget.

Post Game

After one of the three potential final bosses are defeated, there is some decent post-game content for players to enjoy. Square Enix released two additional difficulty modes for new game plus which adds extra replay value to the game – Expert Mode and No Future. No Future difficulty requires two previous playthroughs (to cover all six characters) so that you have the necessary equipment and chain abilities to pass on to the No Future run. I have completed one playthrough of No Future, and for the most part, I think it is easier than Expert Mode. I struggled on a couple of the Benevodons (Dark and Wind), and it is true that the post-game fights for Kevin and Duran especially, are a nightmare. But the Black Rabite secret boss is easier on No Future, as is Anise and most of the other bosses. 

I have done four playthroughs so far, and I intend to do the full six. My current playthrough is again on No Future but with my remaining three characters (Angela, Charlotte, and Hawkeye), and I can say for certain that I am not looking forward to Angela’s trial fight. My final playthrough I think I will revert to Expert Mode and blitz it for fun. 

 Conclusion

All in all, I rate Trials of Mana remake at 6/10. It is a classic RPG, and if that is your jam, then you will surely enjoy this game.

Mission complete – Overlord Drakow signing out.