Schlagwort: trials of mana

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Way back in the long long ago of 1995, a new action RPG was released in Japan: Seiken Densetsu 3. A sequel to the classic Secret of Mana, it quickly won critical acclaim and a legion of fans. 

25 years later, a full remake has arrived on PlayStation 4 — Trials of Mana. And when we say remake, we mean it — this is a complete reimagining of that earlier game, designed for a modern audience.

The game launches in two days on April 24 and retains everything that made the original game so beloved in its native Japan — quirky characters, an imaginative world, fast-paced gameplay and memorable music. But it also includes brand new mechanics, deeper combat, beautiful visuals and so much more.

Here’s just a quick look at some of the things that are new and improved: 

What’s improved

Graphics

To say that the graphics are better in the new Trials of Mana is something of an understatement! The game has been remade with vividly vibrant visuals — from the characters to the world itself, everything bursts with detail and color.

But the legacy of the original game still shines through clearly. The team has taken great care to capture the unique look of the original characters, enemies and areas. For example, take a look at the skilled swordsman Duran here:

What was once (admittedly beautiful) pixel art has been fully modelled in 3D. All the details present in the original are there, from his proud stance to his lustrous mane of red hair, but he’s much more detailed and much better animated than before. I mean, his abs alone are a good showcase for how technology has marched forward in 25 years!

Combat

The new action RPG features a completely redesigned combat system that’s fast, fluid and tactical. It’s all about utilizing combos, controlling the battlefield and unleashing special attacks at the right moment to deliver maximum damage.

It’s a completely different combat system to the 1995 game’s — but then it has to be. The original Trials of Mana took place on a 2D plane, so you never had to worry about enemies getting above or below you. 

But 3D space is… well, 3D. Characters and enemies can move in all directions, and combat had to be retooled to accommodate that. For example, you can now jump, perform aerial attacks, flank enemies and more.

It’s particularly vital to consider your positioning in a fight. Enemies can assault you from all sides, launch attacks at range, and send powerful strikes towards you — if you’re in the way, it’s going to hurt. 

It all adds up to gratifying battles that only get more strategic and satisfying as you progress through the game. 

Music

The move to modern platforms like the PlayStation 4 means that composer Hiroki Kikuta’s incredible score sounds even better than before — and that’s saying something!

The latest game adds new instrumentation and arrangements that bring these unforgettable tracks to life like never before. But you don’t need us to tell you that — if you’ve tried the demo and spent any time in the Rabite Forest, that tune’s probably lodged firmly in your head by now!

What’s new

The developers of Trials of Mana didn’t just upgrade what was already in Trials of Mana — they also added loads of new features, from additional story to entirely new mechanics that deepen the game’s RPG elements. 

For example, the full game includes:

New Abilities System

Whenever you level up in Trials of Mana, you’ll earn TP (that stands for Training Points by the way, not what you’re probably thinking). You can then spend these TP on all kinds of new upgrades for your characters.

Some of these are useful passive boosts, such as increased attack power, or more health. Others can provide entirely new moves for you to unleash in battle — and that’s barely scratching the surface.

There’s more than 300 abilities to unlock in the game, and they allow you to build your character in the way you want.

New voiceover

As you’d expect from a 1995 RPG, the original Trials of Mana didn’t include any spoken dialogue. That’s not the case in the new game. It features fully acted scenes, which helps the characters’ personalities shine like never before.

New Story

When you start Trials of Mana, you have to pick three characters (from a selection of six) to form your party. The narrative you experience will play out differently depending on the heroes you choose.

Regardless of who you go with, the Trials of Mana remake features brand new story elements for you to uncover.

New Classes

We’re dancing round this to avoid super-spoilers, but at a certain point in Trials of Mana’s epic story, you’ll be able to change a character’s class. In essence, this changes their role in combat, giving them access to new strengths and new abilities. 

As in the original Trials of Mana, there are multiple classes available, but this new version includes even more.

When you complete the story, you’ll have the opportunity to seek out Class 4. Not only will it change your appearance, it will give you a whole new way to play the game!

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As you can tell, Trials of Mana is a thorough update on the original game. That’s just a small taste of what awaits and we hope you enjoy digging into this action RPG opus this Friday.

Website: LINK

Reading Time: 5 minutes

We recently sat down for a PlayStation Underground play session through a segment of Trials of Mana — an exciting new action RPG that launches April 24.

You might not be aware, but the game’s a full remake of a classic 1995 RPG that originally released exclusively in Japan — Seiken Densetsu 3. The new game has been built with an impressive degree of reverence for the 16-bit classic, alongside fresh new ideas — and there’s a part of the PS Underground playthrough that demonstrates that perfectly: the boss battle against Fiegmund, the Water Benevodon.

Meet Fiegmund — my how he’s grown!

During Trials of Mana, your party of courageous companions must face off against eight powerful beasts called Benevodons. These are creatures of pure destructive power that once brought the world to the edge of chaos. In other words, they’re bad news. Inside the labyrinthine caves of Frostbite Fields, a particularly nasty example lies in wait — Fiegmund.

Here’s how Fiegmund looked back in 1995:

This is what Fiegmund looks like now:

How far visuals have come in 25 years!

Of course, it helps that Fiegmund always looked great. The original Trials of Mana has some first-class sprite work, and that gave the team a fantastic reference point when recreating this fearsome foe. You can see how the new version successfully captures all the key elements, from its razor sharp fangs, to the unsettlingly spiky haunches.

However, adapting a 2D sprite into a 3D model has its challenges. In this concept art we can see how the team had to visualize everything from how the beast’s body would realistically look, to little details like the bottom of its feet!

Reimagining a boss fight

Of course, it’s not enough to make Fiegmund look better — it has to fight in a much more complex way too.

Back in the long, long ago of the 90s, Fiegmund leapt around the battlefield (with surprising grace for something so large). The key to victory was to take every opportunity to deal damage before the brutish Benevodon launched itself out of reach.

That’s still the case in this new version, but the battle also throws in additional complications. Unlike the original game, Fiegmund has three dimensions in which to operate — and it takes full advantage of them. It leaps to the ceiling and sides of the area, staying well out of reach of most of the team’s attacks.

It also throws new attacks into the mix — launching powerful icicles from above and attacking with painful ice attacks.

It’s another brilliant demonstration of how the developers have taken elements from the original Trials of Mana and reinterpreted them through a modern lens. The DNA of the original is there, but the execution is fresh and exciting.

It’s not easy beating green

In the PlayStation Underground footage, you can see the team handily beat Fiegmund — but how exactly did they do it? We’ll walk you through some of the tactics they used.

This frigid foe is equipped with many powerful attacks, but the deadliest by far is Frozen Crack.

Fiegmund leaps well out of harm’s way and drops a number of powerful icicles down onto the battlefield. If you fail to deal with these in time… well, let’s just say that you’d best have some healing items to hand (although at least the team shouldn’t have any trouble finding an icepack for their bruises).

Dealing with these powerful icicles should be your priority – and there are lots of ways to do it. In the video, for example, we see Kevin acting as Ice Removal Specialist, using brute strength to take them apart before Fiegmund can launch its brutal attack.

But that’s just one method. Trials of Mana features a lot of flexibility over how you develop your party. For example, you can choose different classes for characters, which let them take on different roles in battle.

In addition to the improved leveling system, there’s also a brand new feature that’s been developed for this version of Trials of Mana – Abilities. After each battle, you’ll earn Training Points, which you can spend on various upgrades to your characters, such as boosting HP or increasing strength.

In our game, Kevin has been built up as a very powerful front-line fighter, but you could choose to spec him very differently (if he’s even in your party at all).

If you were using less physically strong or lower level characters, for example, you could use the game’s tactics system to order your party to attack the same target as you. With their powers combined, your team should be able to whittle those icicles down to shavings in seconds.

There are other strategies you could use too — but we’ll let you work them out for yourself when the game’s out!

With the icicles iced, Fiegmund plummets to the ground. Now it’s stuck on his back, flailing pathetically. You’d almost feel sorry for the beast – at least until you remember it’s an evil entity of ultimate destruction.

Regardless, it’s vulnerable. The party now has a brief window of opportunity to pull out their awesome abilities and magic to deliver some serious damage. By coordinating their attacks, the team is able to send Fiegmund to an explosive end.

When is Trials of Mana out?

That’s just a very brief look at one of the brilliant bosses in Trials of Mana. Hopefully you can see how lovingly recreated it has been — and how the new mechanics and moves that make the battle even more dramatic. That mix of classic Mana series concepts with new ideas sits right at the heart of the whole game.

You’ll be able to experience it for yourselves on April 24 when Trials of Mana releases on PS4.

Preorder now, and you’ll get six exclusive PSN Avatars, as well as a Rabite Adornment — a special accessory that allows you to gain more experience from battles (up to level 10).

Website: LINK

Reading Time: 3 minutes

In Trials of Mana, releasing on PS4 April 24, 2020, players will be able to strengthen their characters, not just by leveling up, but also by switching classes. New classes allow characters to learn new class strikes and magic spells. Each of our six protagonists can become proficient in a variety of attacks, depending on if they decide to pick the Light or Dark class. For example, when Duran chooses the Light path, he can become a Liege who can equip a shield and use healing magic together. With the Dark path, he becomes an unstoppable Duelist with a ton of attack power.

In creating this full 3D remake, the development team knew we couldn’t just take the original pixel art from 24 years ago and stick it in the game. We’re proud to unveil some of the character class renders for you today. In translating the design from the original pixel art, to the full 3D models, we had to completely rethink how the classes looked and make sure that the designs fit the characters.

Here, we have two classes to highlight – Riesz’s Valkyrie class, as well as Hawkeye’s Ninja class, with a few notes from Mana-series producer Masaru Oyamada:

For Riesz, she has many classes based on Norse mythology, such as her third classes, Vanadis and Fenrir Knight. Her second Light class, Valkyrie, is no exception, and we wanted to depict her with a mighty and powerful Valkyrie design. In the 16-bit version of Trials of Mana, the class designs were directly tied to the weapon artwork. As such, we envisioned her equipped with the Valkyrie mail.

In the original release, her Valkyrie class pixel art was characterized with a dark purple armor. However, in this game, we limited the purple to the shadows of the design. I think this also helped capture her prim and proper nature very well.

For Hawkeye, his first Dark class brings an image of an assassin. However, his second class Ninja is more intermediary. As the game already has a traditional ninja design with the Nevarlan ninja forces, we limited the traditional Japanese-style feel, and went for a ninja design that incorporates more fantasy elements. Additionally, we wanted to make his second class design more of a low or mid-ranked ninja, since there is also a third class, Ninja Master.

In the end, while incorporating the green from the original pixel art, I think the final design came out very Hawkeye-esque, looking very slim and cool!

The team worked really hard to add in details and features fitting for each character in these upgraded models and are really happy with how they turned out! If you want to take a look at the rest of the class designs we revealed today, or learn more about the game, you can visit the class section of our official webpage. We hope you try out the game and test out all the various classes that are available when the game releases!

Website: LINK

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Trials of Mana, out on PS4 in 2020, is a remake of an RPG classic you’ve possibly never heard of. That is understandable, as the story behind it is over 20 years old. Let’s get you up to speed with a quick refresher.

A quick story from 24 years ago…

The short version is a game named Seiken Densetsu 3 came out in Japan way back in 1995. It retained certain elements of its predecessor, known as Secret of Mana in the West — high fantasy setting, lush visuals, an emphasis on real-time combat — while expanding on others. You still played with a party of three characters, but now you had a cast of six to choose from, with the storyline altering depending on who you selected as your core trio.

Yet despite Secret of Mana — receiving global critical acclaim on launch, its follow-up never released outside of Japan.

Fast-forward to June this year and Square Enix made a surprise announcement: it was hard at work on a Seiken Densetsu 3 remake. And with a new version comes a new name: Trials of Mana. Same characters, same world, but rebuilding everything else to make it look, sound and play like it had been created for today’s audience.

How a new game can feel so familiar…

And the idea works. I was overcome with a strange sense of deja-vu when playing the demo recently, like I was revisiting a classic game I’d loved but inexplicably forgotten. Nostalgia gripped me the moment the game’s gorgeous soundtrack kicked in and those vibrant visuals came into focus. Nostalgia for a game I have never played. Square Enix has achieved something special here. For gamers of a certain era, the experience might be disconcerting. Disconcerting, yet wonderful.

…and the challenges faced by the studio to achieve just that

That sensation is something Square Enix is well aware of. “A large part of putting out this remake was to capture the nostalgia for people who’d played it when they were younger,” explains producer Masaru Oymada when I talk to him after my half-hour play session. And even if you haven’t played the original, you should recognise the era this remake evokes.

The team knew it wanted to keep the general outline the same, but much needed to be rebuilt to make sure the game could “fit with the times.” The question then was this: what would this game be if it was made today?

Not that answering that was simple. From the start, there were big design concerns, ones without easy fixes. Not only did the studio have to reinterpret the game’s look as it jettisoned the original’s pixel art approach, it had to reinvent the battle system. Both proved challenging.

“With pixel art there’s a lot of extrapolation and imagination the user puts in to what they think the character looks like,” Oymada explains. ‘Filling those blanks’ for the Unreal Engine-powered adaptation, yet keeping the design consistent with the original was an uphill struggle.

Similarly, retaining characters’ personalities while removing the more “comical” aspects of their body language proved tough. “It was definitely something we struggled with, to figure out how to keep the characters’ personality and properly express it through their movements.”

You can switch between your three party members at any time. You can customize what actions your two other party members will perform during battle in a sub menu

Nor could the battle system remain the same. While an early prototype that mimicked the original had a “good vibe” going to begin with, the team soon “got the feeling that the battle system, with the way it looked, it didn’t really fit.” The decision was made to start afresh. The final system, which adds in modern touches such as evades, jumps and combos, was refined through multiple playtests.

In comparison, the switch from the traditional top-down view to a third-person perspective was relatively easy. “It really was just to make sure the player felt as immersed in the story as possible.”

When change is tradition

Yet change is not unusual for Seiken Densetsu. In fact, it’s tradition. According to Oymada, franchise creator Koichi Ishii was “always very keen to try new things” come every game in the series. A new take on a familiar legend.

With that philosophy in mind, it’s only fitting that Mana’s return is under a new guise. And from what I’ve played so far, it’s a story whose newer embellishments make it worth revisiting. Even if it’s for the first time.

Website: LINK