Charming Visuals, Atrocious Voice Acting

Trials of Mana

byTim Augustin (GameAxis)

Between Resident Evil 3, Final Fantasy 7 and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, we’re pretty much living in a golden age for nostalgia. Games are getting remade left and right - so of course the iconic Seiken Densetsu 3 would get similar treatment, given its iconic stature as an RPG from the Super Famicom era.

So, where does Trials of Mana land on the spectrum of remake quality?

Right out of the gate, Trials of Mana does a great job of differentiating itself from other RPGs. When booting up the game for the first time, you are given six different characters to choose from - one to be the main character, and two more to act as companions. The game will then unfold in one of six different ways. Depending on which main character you chose, you’ll start in entirely different locations and play through lengthy backstories, before you meet up with your companions and start your true journey.

This is a really, really unique way to play through an RPG, and lends it a ton of replayability. That being said, it is also pretty flawed in execution. I’ve restarted my game once because my selection of characters bored me to tears.

Trials of Mana’s story is technically 25 years old - so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it seems a little dated. Then, after playing through the main character’s backstory, you’re given the task of rounding up elemental spirits - which doesn’t seem like the most exciting thing to start off doing, and it doesn’t get much better from there.

The game’s writing doesn’t do a good job of keeping you hooked. When it tries to be dramatic and emotional, it comes off as cheesy. NPC dialogue isn’t very interesting, so you end up avoiding striking up conversation with passers-by, and while the main story can get interesting every now and again, you’re still stuck with overtly childish dialogue and awful voice acting.

To be fair, I played the game with English voice acting turned on - and it was a terrible experience. I played as Angela, who inexplicably made loud hamster-squeaking sounds whenever she jumped or attacked-two things you have to do all the time. A character named Charlotte recently went viral, and rightly so, for solely speaking in baby talk. Even the subtitles are in baby talk! It’s funny…for about five seconds, till you realise that you have to deal with it for the next 20 hours.

Combat though is a different story. Trials of Mana’s combat has been overhauled, with a new real-time system filled with a combination of light and heavy attacks alongside abilities and spells to use. In and out of battle, you can switch between all three characters in your party. It’s a welcome addition to combat, allowing you to make quick decisions on the fly while making full use of your entire team.

Each character comes with a skill tree, comprising special abilities to unlock using points you earn by levelling up. These skills allow you to really nail down each party member’s role in combat, which can be further tuned when the game lets you change character classes after level 18. You can also tweak how characters act during combat when you’re not in control of them, which I sincerely hope gets incorporated into Square Enix’s other games (*cough* Final Fantasy 7 *cough*).

Trials of Mana’s combat systems are perfectly adequate as the hours crawl by and the story doesn’t get any better. The problem is that it’s just way too easy! I had absolutely zero problem rolling through enemies (and bosses) like a bowling ball, compared to other RPGs of this nature. So if you’re looking for a good challenge, you’re out of luck here.

Trials of Mana does manage to breathe some life into an old game without taking away the qualities that made it memorable. Unfortunately, the main narrative hasn’t aged very well, and worsened by some truly awful writing and voice acting.

It’s not all bad, however. While the story can’t be helped, the game is really pretty at times, with an enjoyable combat system that will carry you all the way through.