Is Trials of Mana still worth playing? - The Game Collection!
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 26 мар 2020
- Welcome back to The Game Collection! Recently the unthinkable happened. Square Enix after 25 years finally localized a game I had long since given up hope on. And then not only that, but it's getting a remake?! That's great and all, but sometimes there's nothing better than the original. So how about it? Is Trials of Mana still worth playing today? Let's find out! I am SuperDerek, and this is Trials of Mana!
Back in 1995, the team over at Squaresoft released a game that some would go on to call the best Action RPG on the Super Nintendo. Seiken Densetsu 3. Western fans of Secret of Mana were waiting with baited breath to hear of we would receive the game state-side. Preview Magazines were abuzz with this “Secret of Mana 2” talking about the multiple characters, calendar system, and all kinds of new features. Would we get it in the West? Unfortunately with the launch of the Nintendo 64 just around the corner, that dream would go unanswered by Squaresoft for decades.
But sometimes it is darkest just before dawn. And though our cries to Squaresoft for Seiken Densetsu 3 fell on deaf ears, there were fans with the skills and drive to make those dreams a reality. Neill Corlett, Linda Chan, Nuku Nuku, and SOM2Freak, would go on to make one of the most famous fan translations of the era, eventually released in 1999. Finally after 4 years, players with a firm grasp on a moral gray area could experience what would became a cult-classic of legendary proportions. Knowledge of this patch spread far and wide, purely through word-of-mouth, spread in hushed whispers in school lunch cafeterias and some darker corners of forums across the Internet.
It was in one of these such dark corners that I first heard the legend of Seiken Densetsu 3, and acquired the forbidden codes needed. The Rosetta Stone that would change these indecipherable runes into English words, unlocking the gates for any old schlub to experience this greatness!
I only got a couple of hours in before dropping it. Nothing against the game, I just have a weird mental block that kills my drive to finish games when I emulate them. So I never really got to experience the game in its entirety back in the day. But time flows like a river. And now Square Enix has seen fit to bring Trials of Mana to the West in the Collection of Mana on Switch, featuring the first 3 Mana games: “Final Fantasy Adventure,” “Secret of Mana,” and the newly christened “Trials of Mana.” Now I can complete my review of the trilogy. With a physical copy in-hand I got to work with renewed fervor! Was Trials of Mana worth the wait?
#actionrpg #review #trialsofmana 
Игры
Derek, tremendous work! Thank you for putting out such useful information! This is awesome
Man, Square was so on point with their pixel art.
It's so gorgeous
Instantly bought Collection of Mana. I played almost every single combination of characters and classes back in the day. I also wrote a guide for this game in an old (and now defunct) Argentinian Game site.
This, Chrono Trigger and Terranigma were my got to games from the SNES era, and the ones that made me love JRPGs/Action-JRPGs in general.
Recently downloaded the demo for the Trials of Mana remake, played 5 minutes and did my first pre-purchase of a game ever.
This review made me a little teary-eyed, in the best way possible :')
If they ever announce the remake of Terranigma, I will have an orgasm right on the spot.
nunca me lo terminè a este... me corre maso en la snes mini.
I love that the party in this video is Duran, Angela, and Hawkeye. That's the same party I am currently using in the Trials of Mana remake.
I totally agree with you on this. Trials improved on Secret in almost every way. I beat it with Duran, Charlotte, and Angela.
I haven't finished it yet, but so far the combat feels more button mashy than SOM and doesn't support three players.
I'm currently playing it with my brother and we are both having a great time with it
I am so hyped for the Remake... I played the demo twice to learn about a few characters and I can safely say, it immediately made me the collection, so I could experience the greatness once again. I chose Reisz, Kevin and Angela. So I can't wait. Thank you for the wonderful review as always Derek. Keep up the great work.
I actually LOVE the Game Collection in all of its glory! The music and intro, the way you say it, and especially the way you end these videos with: "And that's why it's got a spot... In the game collection!" Keep up all of the great work, Derek! :D
Hey Derek. Thanks for continuing to put out quality content during these trying times. Like most of us, stuff's getting stressful and it's nice to be able to escape with your fun, comforting reviews.
Glad I could help, if only a little. Take care of yourself man! :)
Slowly but surely, my Mana collection is near complete. Been playing Adventure on Switch since Christmas and boy do I feel the magic! Super stuff, Derek!
Me and my brother use to play this on ZSNES on a single keyboard. Frustrating yet good times. I fully admit I bought this day one digital after the Direct announcement after much rejoicing not even ashamed.
LOL. I can totally picture a couple kids huddled over a single keyboard playing this on a 30lb tube computer monitor. Sounds like a fond memory and I'm glad enterprising individuals went out of their way to translate games like these so that we didn't have to wait years and years to enjoy them.
I always look forward to your reviews Derek. Thanks for all the hard work.
Great review as always Derek!
I live in Japan, and bought the collection when it came out a few years prior as a Japan only release, so I plan on playing all three games eventually - especially Secret of Mana, and Trials of Mana with my partner.
Like you, I had played the emulated version of the game, when I was a teen, but I never got really far into it, either. I am not too sure why.
Anyway, thanks for the awesome review, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you review next.
Awesome review, as always! I'm about to get it in a few days and can't wait to finally dive into this gem of a game.
Oh and also... pretty slick eye brow move at the end lol
Great review, well done man.
Saw the reddit post about this last night, couldn't wait to watch the accompanying video. I played this first on ZNSES in the early 2000s & have been in love with the charm ever since. SOOOO happy to see it finally see the light of day and a solid push from SE for the remake.
Also quite happy u put my two favorite songs from thisgame in your review. Delicate Affection is a weirdass name, but damn doesnt it sound like an intimate moment of one's life embraced in music form. And Sacrifice part 3 is just a banger, one of my favorite oldschool RPG music pieces that gets you hyped for the final stretch!
This is my favorite out of the entirety of the Mana series. I only played through once back in 2000 or so, but I have nothing but fond memories of this game.
I like the story and characters better in trials, but unlike many, I thought the gameplay was much better in secret of mana. Waiting and dodging enemies while charging then unleashing a strong attack just worked for me. I get bored in trials just mashing an attack constantly. It also takes forever to get new abilities so I find the gameplay to get stale fast. In secret, you could switch your weapon often and mix things up constantly with many more spells. I've accepted that I'm like the only one that thinks this. Alas I'm super excited for the remake since they've revamped the combat entirely.
With that being said, you put out another quality review and I enjoyed hearing your take on things! Well made.
That was my take away when I played too. Trials is much more like a Turn based RPG than a action RPG. It's super hard to actually dodge anything, and even basic mobs more or less auto hit. Also because they got rid of the hit stun from Secret, you can't focus down bosses in Trials. That was one of my favorite things to do in Secret.. Boss hits too hard but is week to a specific magic? Spam them down. It's not even an exploit because there are certain bosses where spamming them to death is the intended strat and basically the only way to win.
It's interesting to hear different takes
I literally started playing this right before you uploaded the video 🤯
Love the intro Super Derek...So RETRO!
Another Awesome Review Derek!!! im playing Star ocean departure R on the switch. Maybe u can try out that game next time. kinda old school as well.
The encounter rate is maddening. By the time i was in the final parts i just wanted it to be over with
Hopefully this comment will get to you. I just wanted to say your reviews were a big part of inspiring me to get into reviewing games. I did my first major one for Death Stranding recently. I really like your style. Keep up the great work. :)
Derek sounds like a mix of Solid Snake and Krillin and that's awesome.
That aside, I've been waiting for a good review of this game and I think I'm in! Thanks!
the answer is yes, even if its just for the soundtrack. not to mention the amzing gameplay. but that soundtrack hnnnngggg
but the gameplay is just not the same & the reason one plays a game is for a gameplay. Seiken 3 was much better.
top quality content, Keep Creating!! 👍
I love the mana series. I'm so happy it's getting positive attention ☺ this was a welcome review
I won't be here at 3 am 😁 so I'll catch up tomorrow.
What a trick question - of course it is. 💓
If you choose Hawkeye, the best character to pick on the side is Riesz, because her nation is the one Hawkeye's is targeting. The same is true for Duran-Angela and Charlotte-Kevin. I lucked out and started with Angela+Duran+Charlotte because a party of Mage/Figher/Cleric appealed to my D&D instincts.
another great review, thnx ^_^ keep well keep safe
Great review man! I'm really looking forward to the remake of this game.
I will wait for the updated version!!
omg! nostalgia trip! I remember using these sites on dial up XD.
Yeah, I totally get not finishing games for no particular reason. I get distracted from finishing things all the time, and some of my favorite RPGs are ones that I never got around to finishing for some reason or another.
Good review, man!
As someone who has never played any of these games despite having Collection Of Mana Physical for the last three months just sitting in my shelf (it was in my backlog queue) I feel like this video gave me the push of interest I needed to start the journey. Since I also plan to get the remake and feel like I would like to complete the game as well, I might have hundreds of hours waiting for me (thank god for quarantine :P)
This review really got me pumped up for the Remake. The Demo recently got me pretty damn excited. I will miss you Local Co-Op though.
The Sprite's in this game still look really damn good. That soundtrack is also pot notch.
Damn good review Derek!!!
No local co-op in the new one??? Lame!
nice sprite work.
I bout the Japanese Collection of Mana when the switch launched. I can't read Japanese, but wanted to have this as a physical copy since I loved the fan translated on the ZSNES back in the day. I always hoped they would officially translate this game and bring it to the US and couldn't believe it when it was announced not only would we get the Collection of Mana, but also get a remake! One of my favorite games of all time and so happy you are finally able to experience it for yourself.
Great review! I picked up the collections of mana as well and I really enjoyed it. Though I laughed pretty hard when you mentioned the menu system because that thing horrible.
On another note since you're covering a lot of "mana" games, are you planning on going into the later ones like Legend of Mana?
Thanks Super Derek!
I started approximately 120 new game of this one out of shear inability to choose character and class branches... Finished only one! Such a huge childhood game for me.
The one time I beat this game was with Hawk, Kevin and Duran. Powerhouse team. I must have played through about 70-80% of the game on dozens of other occasions though.
I just beat this yesterday on the Trials Of Mana collection for the first time ever ,took me 33 hrs lol.Its incredible that we got the snes version translated some 20 odd years later (official release) then not long after the 3D remake!!
Cant wait to get it after playing he demo on my Switch. :)
I picked Hawk, Charlotte & Duran.
You rock SD!
Just before watching your video: Definitely yes! I completed the game 4 or 5 times on emulator (Maybe more ;) ) and I'm on my 5th run on the Switch now and it was worth every single hour.
Loved it.
I feel the same way when I emulate my games too. Something stops me from fully enjoy it. Could be I'm not much of a PC gamer (I do most my playing on console) so it's hard for me to stay glued to the PC (where I have all my ROMs and such). My combo was Hawk, Riesz and Angela. You definitely want to pair up the characters who share a villain.
i have this on switch and def need to play it but i streamed the remake demo and omg i cannot wait to get it on day 1!
I just beat it last week. It's fantastic.
Best SNES ARPG without a doubt.
Excellent story (and multiple different story paths), excellent combat, interesting character progression, great replayability, amazing graphics for the time, perhaps the best musical score on the SNES etc. Much better than it's predecessor in every way.
It's definitely up there! But would I give it the top spot? I'm not so sure... :)
Terranigma is the best one without a doubt.
Secret of mana is still more magical imo . The overall story progression is better.
your channel deserve 5 millions of subscribers Derek - you just the way how tv of 21 century need to be - #GIVEDEREKMORELOVE
I've noticed something interesting, the way you pronounce "mana" for Trails and Secret is different. Why is that?
I noticed that too. It was interesting.
Enjoyed the demo, can't wait to get my copy!
Trails of Mana in the sky the 3rd :^)
You cant make me stop
The final boss theme you use in the intro is my favorite final boss theme of the snes era... Maybe second overall
My only real beef with this one (I'm okay with the lightweight storytelling) is when the class changes are doled out. It feels like you spend too long in your most boring default class and you don't get your final set of abilities until so late in the game that there's very little left to use them on. Class changes at levels 10 and 30 would have been perfect.
i like how all the bosses look.. like that pumpkin head thing .. I've never gotten far in this game everytime I've ever tried it guess I'm gonna try one more time to get into it lol
Super Derek knows his shit. Love it.
I cried when I found the translated version on ROM, and I cried now as well. I just got a Switch and thought this was a review of the remake of Secret of Mana but no, it's Seiken Densetsu 3! AAAAAAHHHHHH 🤩🤩🤩🤩
Really enjoyed this game. It holds up very well to this day. The remake is my most anticipated game this year
I got a game that you need to check out asap. It's called Ara Fell. It's a 16bit throwback in the vein of Chrono Trigger. It just came out on Switch, it's cheap, incredibly well made, is about the length of Shadows of Adam or longer, and one guy said that it's like Xenoblade meets Chrono Trigger. That statement alone makes this game worth a look.
Love it I just wish I could turn off the background on the switch version. Glad to get a ripped rim for the supernt
I really am enjoying it. Am playing the demo of the remake and that's pretty sweet too. Looking forward to it later this month...
I played the OTHER emulated translation patch (and loved it so much I got a super famicom and physical sd3 cart). The one that names Riesz Lise. To this day I dont know why there are 2 patches, wby they are slightly different, and/or if they shared work at any point.
Don’t need to watch for the answer to be Yes! I played it for a comparison of the demo and I’m still playing long passed where the demo ends. It’s so good!
The translation patche is not the only patch for the SNES game there is a patch that changes the intro from Seiken Densetsu 3 to Secret of Mana 2, and another patch that makes it 3 players like secret of mana. Anyone know if Trials of Mana is 3 players?
I bought Collection of Mana but would like to play all three games so who knows when I will get around to this. Beautiful game for sure though.
Should I play seiken densetsu 3 or wait for the remake ?
Play seiken 3 first.
They even have reflections on the floor dude haha 14:39. Squaresoft ( Enix ) always going ambitious.
Lol hilarious Derek. You are looking trim btw
🎉im so hooked on the mana games🎉
Actually the combination of certain characters also enables different final boss fights. You can kind of see it as difficulty setting for a snes game.
Kevin + Carlie = The easiest boss
Angela + Duran = The middle ground
Hawkeye + Riesz = The hardest
Robbert van Loon well.....fuck... that explains why I have so much trouble....
Since Black Rabbit are only avaliable in Duran/Angela story, you can say that they have the hardest boss fight. More harder then both final boss.
09:58 There is no Kyle character in the game, did you actually mean Kevin?
How does it compare to Legend of Mana (PSX)?
Derek can you review The World Ends With You? It’s one of my favorite GAMES ever
Now that it's on Switch, I might be able to! Just gotta get a copy first. Might take a while though, I've got a LOAD of games lined up! :)
I preferred the DS to the Switch version, but still loved and went through them both.
The only reason I heard of this game is because I played that 3D remake of it
Holy carp Derek! Thank you for acknowledging the existence of the "emulation mental block". I also find myself less driven to play a game in emulated form (much to the detriment of my wallet).
Sorry i missed yur livechat.
hell yeah that remake is awesome
Of course the intro to this review is the final boss theme it's 2nd part :D
I played the remake demo. Then I beat the original twice and I'm working on the third run. Please help.
Sick.
Nice review and it's a good game, but I actually hated this when I played the ROM translation. Gameplay felt stiff, world felt small and linear. The menus were terrible, magic froze the game temporarily. I tried the fantrans more recently and I enjoyed it more but still never finished it.
It's a good game but I never thought it was great as everyone made it out to be. I just happen to be the guy with the dissenting opinion. Sorry! The gameflow of Secret of Mana falls apart after awhile but I don't think everything is better in Trials of Mana.
Secret of Evermore is soo good though it will always be an all time favorite.
Oh, imagine Secret of Evermore being remade in 3D like Trials was! My gosh!
Yeah sign me up for that impossibility of a Secret of Evermore 3D remake. I also forgot to mention that the music in Trails of Mana is really good too, it has its hits but hard pressed to say it is better Secret of Mana too.
Ok so you have to explain why you pronounced "Mana" differently when saying "Secret of Mana" vs. "Trials of Mana". I started noticing it half way through the video and it drove me crazy! :)
I was wondering about this too
My story is kind of like Superderek's oddly. I played the ROM of this at a friend's house but by the time I was considering getting the ROM myself there were rumors that Collection of Mana might come west. Since my policy regarding ROMs is to only play ones of games I've owned or games I never expect to come to the US I never downloaded the ROM.
My party is lead Hawkeye because ever since Robin Hood was the first book I read on my own I've adored the noble outlaw and noble rogue archetype. I have Charlie and Lise in my two and three slots. Charlie for her healing magic and Lise because I wanted one fighter type to balance my rogue, and magic types. I think I was debating between Lise and Durran but her weapon won the debate and her status as a fighter and mage hybrid made me glad she did..
I love the leveling system and class change system but I dis like how each character is limited to one weapon type. IMO they should have either given each character access to two or three weapon types from the start, preferably giving each at least one melee weapon and one ranged weapon or had each character start with one weapon but gain access to additional weapons whenever they change classes with the new weapon type determined by what class they become.
Also I've lost track of them number of times I've run right up to an enemy but neither of us has been able to act due to battle mode not having engaged yet.
Dude, I just did this game and man the combat system is such a pain in the long run. I don't believe it's an improvement over som.
Other than battle system, Trials of Mana kinda reminds me of Chrono Trigger
Dbz kakorot next?
Sadly, I don't have any friends on me so, only for so long.
One of the best SNES games, I'd even say it's as good as Chrono Trigger.
Why does this game have the Jurassic Park theme in it?
Emulating with an authentic console controller is the way to play (while also supporting the original publishers). Playing on a keyboard ⌨️ makes the game unplayable to me, which I am sure is the same for a lot of us.
it's the only version i can play, so yes, in my book. the remake looks amazing but i'll never be able to afford a nintendo switch it costs almost 2k in my country. No way Jose.
2000 US$ for a switch? That's insane.
I don’t think a single person would judge you for emulating it honestly
There is also a PC version which works fine. :)
Although maybe not official, its always going to be Hawk not Hawkeye for me
I am so happy ANYTIME Square Enix focuses on something OTHER than Final-Fucking-Fantasy....
Great Job! I think the short answer is..
YYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
lol.
I hated how in this game your character would automatically switch to battle mode and then you have to slooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowly walk away from the screen to disengage
Goodstuff
I want Legend Of Mana CLASSIC
Couldn't finish this one... did not captivate me other than the visuals.
Who are Kyle and Charlie?
Oof, looks like I flubbed "Kevin's" name. Well that's embarrassing. Anyway, Charlie is the name of Charlotte in the Switch release.