When it comes to Square Enix’s experimental Mana series, you’ll find no shortage of arguments over which entry is the best of the bunch. However, if there is one game that managed to achieve a cult following among Mana fans, it’s Trials of Mana. Now, almost 30 years later, there are two distinctly different ways to play the game. But which one is right for you?
Originally released on the Super Famicom in 1995, Trials of Mana (AKA: Seiken Densetsu 3) is a dazzling action-RPG that stretches the capabilities of its 16-bit hardware to its limits. Boasting six playable characters, an ambitious branching storyline with three different final bosses, and a multitude of character classes, few RPGs of the 90s offered as much replay value as this. It’s hard to live up to a game as beloved as Secret of Mana, but its direct sequel, Trials of Mana, delivered just about everything a Mana fan in the 90s would want.
… Or, at least, it would have, had it received a worldwide release. Trials of Mana unfortunately never debuted on the Super Nintendo in the West, presumably due to the sheer cost of localizing its ambitious script. The game instead owes its legacy in the West to a fan translation that was released in 2000. Truthfully, this bolstered the game’s reputation among SNES enthusiasts. Unlocalized games tend to develop especially devoted followings, especially when they come from prolific studios such as Squaresoft.
That all changed back in 2019, when Square Enix announced the wombo-combo of both a full-scale remake of Trials of Mana alongside a freshly localized version of the Super Famicom title via Collection of Mana for Nintendo Switch. Seeing an SNES game get localized nearly 25 years later is already an anomaly, but this presents an especially unique conundrum. Two distinct versions of the same game were officially released within a year of each other, each with notable pros and cons. Is the remake of Trials of Mana preferable to the original, especially following the controversial Secret of Mana remake?
The good news is that there’s no “wrong” way to play Trials of Mana. However, there are some profound differences between each version of this game that even casual RPG fans shouldn’t gloss over. To help you out, here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of each way to play Trials of Mana, followed by my personal recommendation of which game you should play.
Trials of Mana (1995)
Platforms: Super Famicom (Japan Only), Nintendo Switch (via Collection of Mana)
Pros: Let’s get the obvious out of the way: Trials of Mana is an exceptionally pretty game. By 1995, Squaresoft had mastered the art of aesthetically pleasing 16-bit games (see Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, etc.), and Trials of Mana nearly competes with PS1 games visually. It foregoes the bright aesthetic of Secret of Mana for more detailed and dark landscapes, but the character sprites and animations maintain the series’ trademark feel.
Combat in Trials of Mana contains some notable refinements when compared to Secret of Mana. Attacks now connect with satisfying striking sounds, which conveys their impact. Charged attacks are replaced by more powerful strikes, executed by filling a meter after using normal attacks. Magic spamming is also less prolific here, effectively preventing a single spellcaster from carrying your team to victory.
Speaking of party variety, the 16-bit version of Trials of Mana also provides one of the best co-op experiences in the Mana series. Thanks to the roster of six playable characters, it’s easy for two buddies to each pick melee fighters that are more fun to play as and contribute equal damage. There unfortunately isn’t native support for three player co-op, which is technically a downgrade from Secret of Mana. However, this opens up the option of building a third party member that can play a dedicated support role, which is also conducive to co-op play.
Finally, while this will only matter to retro enthusiasts, the original version of Trials of Mana is dripping with vintage Squaresoft nostalgia. You can choose to give your characters funny names, the menus feature ornate designs, and you can choose the design of the textboxes that appear during dialogue. This doesn’t objectively matter, but 16-bit Trials of Mana just has that soul that’s unique to “golden age” SNES RPGs. It’s hard to pin down, but you know it when you see it.
Cons: While the updated combat system does support multiplayer pretty well, it’s not without issues. Despite the updated design, battles still feel basic in practice. It’s hard to dodge attacks since you move more slowly in combat, and you’ll predominately just attack whenever you can, while sprinkling in specials as you can use them. Rinse and repeat until the credits.
And yes, as another departure from Secret of Mana, you do “enter” combat in Trials of Mana a la Chrono Trigger. And because of this, any group of enemies will impede your progress, even if you intend to skip them. Once your weapon is drawn, you have to either fight to the finish or take the time to manually “run” from the battle. Either way, this takes a decent chunk of time.
The story progression here follows a decidedly more old-school approach, even in ways that were becoming out of date by 1995. The critical path you should follow isn’t always clear, leading to some potential backtracking and confusion at times. Meanwhile, while you’re in towns, story objectives are typically locked behind talking to certain NPCs without any indication of who is necessarily important. Retro games often expect players to talk to everyone for clues and sidequests, but Trials of Mana is more rigid about this.
Trials of Mana is also, frankly, a bit buried by its own ambition. Characters can invest in one of six stats whenever they level up, but there’s no in-game description of what stats do or what each character should invest in. Making matters worse, stats like Agility and Luck are glitched, so they don’t affect your hit rate and critical hit rate the way they’re supposed to. Realistically, you’ll want to look at some guides before you build your party if you decide to play this version.
Trials of Mana (2020)
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, Android
Pros: Unlike the treatment Secret of Mana saw, Trials of Mana received a much more ambitious makeover in 2020. The world is now reimagined in full 3D, and there’s a greater emphasis on exploration and uncovering secret treasure chests. That said, the remake of Trials of Mana remains remarkably faithful to its source material. The dialogue and story beats are virtually identical to its 16-bit counterpart, and town layouts are almost exactly the same despite the jump to the third dimension. The result feels fresh and familiar in equal measure, which is a welcome change following the Secret of Mana remake.
Arguably the biggest change to Trials of Mana is the combat. The quasi-turn-based battle system of the classic Mana games is now replaced with real time combat that feels closer to the Tales Of in practice. Characters can execute basic combos by mixing light and heavy attacks, and you now need to manually dodge telegraphed AoE attacks by using the dedicated Evade button.
Despite this huge change, battles in the Trials of Mana remake retain the pace of the original game. The action moves at a slower pace, which disincentivizes button mashing in favor of carefully timed attacks. You’ll still charge powerful attacks via a meter as battles progress, though they now feature elaborate attack animations. Also, magic spells are still issued via ring menu commands that pause the action, which allows you to engage enemies more methodically if you prefer.
Also, there is an absolute ton of quality-of-life improvements here. The leveling system has been revamped, giving players clearer indications of how their stats affect their characters. Cutscenes can be skipped, and objectives to advance the story have been made so obvious that you absolutely cannot miss them. There’s even an all new post-game quest, alongside a New Game Plus mode and extra difficulty options as of the game’s 1.1 update.
It’s clear Trials of Mana had an actual budget to work with this time around, and the developers stretched it for all it’s worth.
Cons: I know I just praised the game’s budget, but it’s still, undoubtedly, a budget game. Trials of Mana was one of the most visually striking games on the Super Nintendo, but the remake is best described as a “B-Tier” RPG. To be clear, I do not blame the developers for this at all. Game development has become so prohibitively expensive that Trials of Mana’s sheer existence is a small miracle in and of itself. Regardless, the remake is not striking in the way that its original version is.
On a similar note, the Trials of Mana remake only supports one player. Again, it’s hard to fault the developers here. The expanded combat system would have needed to be completely reworked to support multiplayer, and couch co-op doesn’t have the demand that it did back in the 90s. Still, co-op play was a defining feature of the classic Mana games, so it’s a bummer to see the series lose that identity. Fortunately, as per my own words on PC Gamer, co-op play is something that series producer Masaru Oyamada is open to in the future.
Getting into more nitpicky territory, the voice acting in Trials of Mana—while generally better than the performances in the Secret of Mana remake—sounds a bit awkward. Characters deliver their lines with inflections that don’t flow well from sentence to sentence, or their intensity doesn’t match what’s happening on screen. This likely stems from the game’s winding, interconnected script which is difficult to simply organize, let alone perform. In other words, I’d chalk this up to struggles with voice direction.
So which version of Trials of Mana is best?
This is a weirdly complex question to answer. By most objective measures, the Trials of Mana remake is the better overall experience and one of the best ways to get into the Mana series. Not only does it soften many of the original game’s rough edges, but it’s modernized to the point that it can appeal to those with no nostalgia for 16-bit RPGs. According to Mana series producer Masaru Oyamada when I spoke to him, 2024’s Visions of Mana builds off the foundation the Trials of Mana remake established. So in a way, Trials of Mana can be considered a rebirth of the Mana series as we know it.
Yet despite this, the 16-bit version of Trials of Mana remains the more impressive version of the game. By the standards of mid ‘90s RPGs, it’s truly incredible to see how high Trials of Mana aimed with its scope and replay value. And even without that context, the 2D artstyle still looks absolutely gorgeous, especially when you get to those screen-filling boss encounters.
If you play the remake of Trials of Mana, you likely won’t understand why this title built such a passionate fanbase. But if you’re at all familiar with SNES games, you can understand why the original version of Trials of Mana is so special within just a couple hours of playing.
Aside from that, the 16-bit version of Trials of Mana still has one major draw that the remake doesn’t have: co-op play. If you’re down for a retro couch co-op experience, the original version of Trials of Mana is still a great time. If you have fond memories of playing Secret of Mana with friends, then Trials of Mana will still be a treat, even with its rough edges. Or play both! It’s really fun to see just how similar the 2D and 3D environments wind up looking despite the different art styles.
Having said all of that, if you aren’t keenly interested in the history of the Mana series or SNES games, you can easily play the Trials of Mana remake and call it a day. It’s a fun action-RPG that’s easy to love, and you can typically find it on sale for under $29.99 USD. If you’re curious enough about the game to have read this far, then definitely consider giving it a shot.
.