Trials of Mana

スクエアエニックスの非常に珍しい良いゲーム。リメイクとしても完成度が高い。 難易度もやりこみを考えなければ、手軽にクリアできるのもよいと思う。 難点を挙げると、リースの弟が攫われる。闇市場に行く。再び敵の手にという行動をするのですが、 なぜ、いったん手放して、手元に戻すのかがスーパーファミコンからの謎です。 それ以外は特に悪い点もありません。2人プレイに対応してほしかったくらいでしょうか。

Trials of Mana is a faithful, respectful update of the SNES action-RPG. It is bright, colorful, anime-styled, and still very much a gameplay-first experience. It’s the kind of remake that doesn’t feel the need to “fix” what wasn’t broken, just make it prettier and smoother. Unlike other Square-Enix "remake" projects that turned into bloated fanfictions. Be warned that despite it looking good, it is still a mid-90s action jRPG. You explore, fight, level, gear up, fight, learn new spells/skills, fight, find synergies between characters, fight and repeat. There’s even a day/night cycle that affects enemies, as most of them literally nap at night, letting you sneak up for some free hits. Combat is fast and punchy, but unless you’re using a caster (who gets a few more tools), it’s mostly a couple of standard combos over and over. Difficulty here is a little strange. Everything below Hard is very easy, and Hard is only roughly comparable to the original SNES version. All the real challenge comes in the very late game and post-game, with things like superbosses and an extra dungeon. There are also two sadistic difficulty modes unlocked after beating the game once. Trials looks gorgeous, with colorful towns, whimsical charm and ovingly recreated 3D versions of the original’s pixel art designs. The soundtrack has been beautifully rearranged, and you can even swap to the original SNES music. Voice acting… is a mixed bag. Sometimes great, sometimes it feels like the voice director wandered off to get coffee mid-session. Story is just okay, but Mana series were never deep narrative experiences, and this one’s no exception. Three heroes, elemental spirits, save the world. The novelty is in choice: you pick from six playable characters, build any party you want, and your main character changes which antagonist you face and alters bits of the plot. In later parts you can also tackle some objectives in any order. This is not a long game, and can be beaten in like ~20 hours, but that’s actually a plus here, as it is easy to replay with new parties and class builds. The camera here can be a pain in battle, forcing constant adjustment just to see what’s happening. Load times are frequent and way longer than they should be. Still, this is how remakes should be made. Square-Enix should be taking notes from itself. Recommended for fans of the original and anyone who likes their jRPGs vibrant, replayable, and very old-school.