Topic: Am I the only one that doesn’t like Trials of Mana?

Probably one of my favorite games of 2020, honestly.

@NintendoByNature I share that sentiment as well. It's nice to go through a classic RPG with many QoL improvements that isn't unbelievably long (for a change).

@Slowdive exactly. The combat was great. It just took a little getting used to. The graphics were great. The world was engaging. And it was all roughly 20 hours. I start losing interest in games after 25ish hours

Just bear in mind that (a) you're comparing SD3 to what is routinely regarded as one of the very, if not the, best jrpg of all time, and that (b) by the sounds of it, you've not even played Chrono Trigger but are prepared to beat ToM over the head with CT's story regardless.

@gcunit You're absolutely correct. I haven't played the original SD3, or Chrono Trigger, and honestly, I should probably go and play Chrono Trigger in the future (pun intended) IS Chrono Trigger's story good?

I recently bought the Mana collection on switch and was looking forward to playing Trials of mana on there. I heard it's better than Secret of mana but if i was gonna play it i think I'd prefer the original. I just like the 2D sprites better. I'm old school.

On the subject of the mana games can somebody tell me what is up with secret of evermore if you've heard of that one? I mean it looks exactly like secret of mana in gameplay but is it not really part of the same series?

I'm considering picking up the remake. I already have Collection of Mana and do plan on digging into the original SD3/Trials of Mana, but I highly doubt I'll finish it. I've read the combat system isn't the best and that the remake brings a ton of QoL improvements. After my experience with how weapon and magic leveling worked in Secret of Mana, I'm not up for more of that lol. SoM is a very good game, but it admittedly doesn't make it onto my "Best RPGs of All Time" list. Heck, I think I preferred Final Fantasy Adventure/SD1 over it.

The main draw for me will be the story I think, which I've read is very faithful to the original.

I love ToM, but maybe not as much as the Snes version, oddly, even though there are many improvements. I have put around 50 hours into the game against 115 for Collection of Mana. Just started another playthrough of ToM last night though! I like that they have the New Game Plus mode, which imports items, money, lil cactus finds, and character levels to a new game! Plus, you get the two harder difficulty levels too.

However, there is something more exciting about SD3, which I have played through 3 times on Collection of Mana. - Zelda Fan79, it was developed by the american side of Squaresoft, and used a lot of the same elements (though, no actual coding, I think) such as sprite design and ring menus. Despite the name, it has no thematic connection to the Mana series. I do think that they will either remake it or make it available on Switch at some point. My biggest disappointment about that game? Player 2 could not control the dog!!!!! I know clever people have made a patch for a rom to make it so nowadays, but it needed it at the time!