You can adjust their tactics, but none of the options fix this. For instance, if the enemy is launching an AoE attack, I swap characters to move my allies out of the way, and what do they do? They run straight back into the attack for deadly damage. Having to babysit your A.I.’s health isn’t fun, but the worst part is that they just don’t have any awareness for incoming attacks. This was a huge issue in the Secret of Mana remake, and while it isn’t as prevalent, it still stands as a common frustration. Unfortunately, boss battles expose your party member A.I’s weaknesses. Plus, the satisfaction that comes when you finally get that last hit is divine, like when I fought atop a dragon against a two-headed beast. More than a few got my adrenaline pumping. The bosses are high points of the journey they’re creative, memorable, require different strategies, and let you prove your mastery of the battle system. Regular battles are quick affairs, which is balanced well by the more laborious boss battles where you have to whittle down their large health bars. I enjoyed being able to build my characters to a certain degree by investing points in their stats and unlocking different perks for battles, like auto-heal or increased critical odds. As you level up and open new classes, you gain access to more powerful combos and moves to keep things interesting. It not only gives you variety in how you fight, but also can play into your strategy, especially if you want to knock out an enemy and create a flurry of special moves. This means you can easily go from an up-close brawler like Kevin to spellcaster like Charlotte. There’s never a dull moment on the battlefield, and I enjoy that kind of frenzy.Įvery character in your party plays differently, and you can swap with the touch of a button. The addition of a jump button also comes in handy for avoiding attacks and more combo options. On the surface, this all sounds simple, but it becomes a game of chaining together combos, avoiding spells, and canceling out enemy’s larger attacks by striking at opportune moments. Combat plays fast and smooth, as you have access to strong, weak, and aerial attacks alongside special moves and dodging abilities. The real draw of Trials of Mana is its fantastic action-oriented combat. Do yourself a favor and stick to subtitles. It doesn’t help that, while the voice acting is a slight improvement over the previous remake, the production sounds amateurish, with weird pauses and horrible accents. The dialogue is extremely unnatural, so all the voice acting sounds stilted. However, Square Enix may have stayed too true to the original script, which creates issues in terms of presentation. Seeing how the characters’ adventures intersect is intriguing, especially learning the tragic events that gave them something to fight for. Because players form a party of three from the six available heroes, I like the replay value in selecting different characters and experiencing their stories and different fighting styles. It’s a linear and straightforward RPG, and the remake sticks close to the original story and structure. Trials of Mana still retains its classic elements and feel. Even so, this is probably the most fun I’ve had with a Mana game in a long time, and that’s thanks to smooth combat, amazing boss fights, and cool ways to upgrade your characters. That remake didn’t exactly do justice to the original, and now the team is trying again with a remake of Trials of Mana.ĭid they learn their lessons? Trials of Mana is definitely an improvement over the Secret of Mana remake, but it still comes with many of the same problems I still noticed poor A.I., questionable voice performances, and technical hiccups – just to a lesser degree. People began to wonder if the series had seen its last days, but 2018’s Secret of Mana remake showed Square Enix still had a place for the fan-favorite property. After earning accolades in the ‘90s, the franchise has struggled to capture the same magic in a modern landscape. The beloved Mana series hasn’t traveled an easy road.
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