Trials of Mana, also called Seiken Densetsu 3 in Japan, is an action role-playing game created and sold by Square for the Super Famicom in 1995. It follows the story of three heroes in a fantasy world filled with magic and mythical creatures. The heroes aim to obtain the legendary Mana Sword and stop the Benevodons from destroying the world. The game includes three main storylines and six possible main characters, each with their own unique journey. Players can play with two people at the same time. Trials of Mana improves on the gameplay of its 1993 predecessor, Secret of Mana, by adding features such as a time system that changes the game time from day to night and from weekday to weekday, and a variety of character classes that give each player special skills and ways to grow stronger.
The game was designed by Koichi Ishii, the creator of the Mana series, and directed by Hiromichi Tanaka, a longtime Square designer. Tetsuhisa Tsuruzono produced the game. Nobuteru Yūki, a famous manga and anime artist, created the artwork, and Hiroki Kikuta, who also composed the music for Secret of Mana, wrote the soundtrack. Although the game was only released in Japan at first, English-speaking players could play it through an unofficial fan translation released in 1999.
Reviewers praised the game’s graphics as some of the best for the Super Famicom and its improved gameplay compared to its predecessor. However, opinions on the story were mixed. Some critics found the overlapping stories interesting and helpful for replaying the game, but others thought the characters and plotlines were simple and unoriginal. Overall, the game is seen by many as a classic title for the Super Famicom.
In June 2017, the game was included in the Seiken Densetsu Collection for the Nintendo Switch in Japan. The collection was released in North America and the PAL region in 2019 as Collection of Mana, with Trials of Mana as its title. A 3D remake of the game was announced at the same time and released worldwide in April 2020 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4. The remake was later released for Xbox Series X/S in 2024.
Gameplay
Trials of Mana has gameplay similar to its earlier game, Secret of Mana. Like many role-playing games from the 16-bit era, the game shows a top-down view, where three player characters move across the environment and fight enemies. Players can switch control between characters at any time. The other characters not in control are directed by the computer. Two players can play the game together, unlike the three-player option in Secret of Mana. There are six possible characters. At the start, players choose three characters to control and select one to begin with. The other two playable characters join the group later. The remaining three characters are non-playable (NPCs) when encountered.
Each character can use one type of weapon and cast magical spells. The power of spells depends on the character’s magical ability and how the spell’s element matches the enemy. During battles, attacking enemies fills a meter that lets players use special attacks unique to each character. When characters earn enough experience points, they level up, improving traits like strength and evasion. Options like changing equipment, casting spells, or checking status are accessed through the Ring Commands—a circular menu that appears over the controlled character. The game pauses whenever the Ring Commands are used. The Ring has nine slots for storing items, and extra items are kept in a separate storage that cannot be used during combat.
Players decide how to improve character traits when leveling up. A "class" system is also included. When a character reaches level 18, players can visit a Mana Stone to choose between two classes for each character: one linked to "Light" or one linked to "Dark." Each class gives different skills and improves character traits. A second class change is optional at level 38, but it requires a rare item. Class changes do not affect the story, only gameplay.
Trials of Mana includes a calendar system. A week in the game passes much faster than a real week, with each day taking only minutes. Each day of the week is tied to a different elemental spirit. On that spirit’s day, magic related to that element is slightly stronger. Each in-game day is split into daytime and nighttime. Some events happen only at certain times, like a nighttime-only black market selling rare items. Enemies also change based on the time of day, and some may be sleeping at night. Kevin, one character, becomes a werewolf at night, increasing his attack power. Using an inn’s services lets players skip to evening or the next morning.
Story
The story takes place in a fictional world where Mana is a special, but limited, energy source. Long ago, the Mana Goddess created the world by making the powerful Sword of Mana and defeating eight dangerous monsters called the Benevodons—"God Beasts" in some translations. She sealed them inside eight Mana Stones and then turned into the Mana Tree, where she fell asleep. The game happens during a time when Mana is disappearing, and peace has ended because some people are trying to free the Benevodons from the stones to gain great power. The game is not a direct follow-up to Secret of Mana. According to the game’s creator, Koichi Ishii, the Mana games take place in different worlds, and characters or items that appear in different games are better seen as different versions of each other. The connections between the games are more general than based on story. However, the 2007 game Heroes of Mana is a direct prequel to Trials of Mana, happening 19 years before its story.
The characters and their stories are divided into three main parts. Duran and Angela fight the Crimson Wizard and the Dragon Lord. Hawkeye and Riesz fight Belladonna and the Dark Majesty. Kevin and Charlotte fight Goremand and the Masked Mage. The main story depends on which character is chosen first, but there are more interactions and dialogue if both characters in a pair are in the party.
Duran is a mercenary swordsman from Valsena, a kingdom of the plains. His father, Loki the Golden Knight, died in battle with the Dragon Emperor, and his mother died of sickness. One night, while guarding the castle, the Crimson Wizard attacks and kills soldiers. Duran fights him but is defeated and left for dead. After recovering, he vows to become the greatest swordsman and seek revenge on the Crimson Wizard.
Angela is the princess of Altena, a cold, magical kingdom. Unlike others in the kingdom, she has little magic power. Her mother, Queen Valda, uses magic to keep Altena in a constant spring, but the spell weakens as Mana fades. To keep the spell working, the queen and the Crimson Wizard plan to take Mana Stones from other lands, though using the stone is deadly. When the queen forces Angela to use it, she flees and tries to become a powerful mage to earn her mother’s approval.
Kevin is the half-human prince of Ferolia. His father, Gauser the Beast King, is angry at how humans treat his people. Goremand helps the king by forcing Kevin to awaken his werewolf powers, which causes Kevin to kill his best friend. When Kevin confronts his father about this and the king’s plan to attack the human city of Wendel, he is exiled. He vows revenge and seeks to find his friend Karl and learn about his human mother.
Charlotte is the half-elf granddaughter of the Priest of Light in Wendel. She is an orphan cared for by a cleric named Heath. When the Priest of Light sends Heath to investigate evil in Jadd, Charlotte follows and sees Goremand abduct Heath. She decides to go on a journey to save him.
Hawkeye is a thief in the desert fortress of Nevarl. His guild leader, Lord Flamekhan, suddenly declares Nevarl a kingdom. Hawkeye investigates and discovers Flamekhan is being controlled by the witch Isabella. Isabella kills Hawkeye’s friend, Eagle, frames him for the crime, and forces him to flee.
Riesz is the princess of Laurent, a mountainous kingdom, and captain of its army. Two ninjas trick her younger brother into turning off Laurent’s protective winds, then kidnap him. Nevarl attacks Laurent with a cloud of sleep powder and kills its king. Riesz escapes and searches for her brother.
The story begins in different places for each character. Except for Charlotte, the main character is told or decides to seek help from the Priest of Light in the city of Wendel. They arrive in Jadd after Beastmen invade. Because of the Beastmen’s werewolf powers, they escape at night. On the way to Wendel, the main character (including Charlotte) stays overnight in Astoria and is awakened by a Faerie from the Sanctuary of Mana. The Faerie is exhausted and chooses the main character as her host, telling them to go to Wendel. There, the Priest of Light explains that the Mana Tree is dying, and the Sanctuary is in danger. If the tree dies, the Benevodons will return and destroy the world. The Priest says the Faerie has chosen the main character to retrieve the Sword of Mana from the tree’s foot, which can restore peace and grant wishes if used before the tree dies. However, the gate to the Sanctuary requires great power. The Faerie cannot open it, and using the ancient spell to unlock the Mana Stones is deadly. The spirits guarding the stones can open the gate if their powers are combined.
After traveling to gather the spirits, meeting other party members, stopping invasions, discovering the powers of the Fire and Water Mana Stones, and learning about the missing Darkness Mana Stone, the main character tries to open the Sanctuary’s gate with the spirits’ help. The first attempt fails, but the second succeeds because someone else released the stones’ power. The characters enter the Sanctuary and claim the Mana Sword. They learn their enemies—the Crimson Wizard and the Darkshine Knight for Angela and Duran; Malocchio and Isabella for Riesz and Hawkeye; or Goremand and a mind-controlled Heath for Kevin and Charlotte—have defeated the other enemies. The
Development
Seiken Densetsu 3 was created by Koichi Ishii, the person who started the series. The game was directed by Hiromichi Tanaka and produced by Tetsuhisa Tsuruzono. Tanaka had worked on earlier games, including the first three Final Fantasy titles, as a designer. Nobuteru Yūki, an artist known for manga and anime, designed the characters based on Ishii’s ideas. Development began in 1993, and the team spent a long time trying different designs before choosing the final ones. Because the next generation of console hardware was about to be released, the team could not delay production or keep the game a secret, as they had done with Secret of Mana. They also struggled to keep staff, as many were needed for other games like Chrono Trigger and Romancing SaGa 3. Programmers were especially in demand, and Tanaka said he had to "fight" with Hironobu Sakaguchi to keep them. A downloadable demo was released on July 1, 1995, for the Super Famicom’s Satellaview device.
The game was originally meant to be a follow-up to Secret of Mana, but the team scrapped all previous work and started over to make it more action-focused. They aimed to create graphics that looked close to 3D by using layered designs. Some monster designs from Secret of Mana were reused for Trials of Mana. The final game was very large, filling the Super Famicom cartridge to its full capacity. A planned boss in the volcano dungeon was cut due to time constraints.
The game’s theme is "independence," which Ishii explained as wanting characters to support each other through shared challenges. The story had a light tone, influenced by Tanaka and Yūki’s artwork. Each character was designed to fit both gameplay and story roles, offering variety. Duran was a serious hero, while Hawkeye was his opposite. Kevin was added as a character who could transform. Charlotte was similar to Popoi from Secret of Mana, as she was cheerful despite a difficult past. Angela acted selfishly because of her mother’s neglect, and Riesz’s story focused on her feelings of loss after losing her mother. The artwork used soft colors to look like a picture book. Tanaka created much of the story, but hardware limits reduced the differences between characters’ stories.
After its release in Japan on September 30, 1995, the game was called Secret of Mana 2 outside Japan, even though a preview in Next Generation in 1995 used its original name. The preview noted the six characters, a larger game world, and a feature allowing three players instead of two. Square planned to release the game in North America in 1995, but a later preview in 1996 said the North American release was canceled due to programming issues. Before 2019, the game was not released outside Japan. Retro Gamer said localizing the game would be too expensive, and competition from other consoles made it less profitable. Nintendo Power also said the game’s technical issues made a North American release unlikely. Brian Fehdrau, a programmer for Secret of Evermore, said the game had software bugs that made it hard to release. In 2020, Masaru Oyamada, a producer, said the game’s size left no space for localization data.
Some fans thought Secret of Evermore was released instead of an English version of Seiken Densetsu 3 in 1995. However, Secret of Evermore was made by a new team in Redmond, Washington, and no one from that team worked on translating Seiken Densetsu 3. In 1999, a fan translation project led by Neill Corlett completed an unofficial patch for the game.
After the Seiken Densetsu Collection was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2017, Square Enix noticed interest from overseas fans. Western teams suggested including the original title in the remake. To localize the game, Square Enix revisited the Super Famicom’s development environment with help from Nintendo. The Switch’s larger storage made localization easier. Work took about a year. Koichi Ishii wanted the remake’s title to include the number "3," so Square Enix chose Trials of Mana because it refers to the characters’ trials and includes the prefix "tri," meaning three. The localized version, now called Trials of Mana, was released in 2019 as part of the Collection of Mana.
The music for Seiken Densetsu 3 was composed by Hiroki Kikuta, who had previously worked on Secret of Mana. Kikuta created all the sound effects, edited the music, and encoded the data himself. He worked almost 24 hours a day to make the soundtrack "immersive" and "three-dimensional." Instead of using standard MIDI samples, Kikuta made his own to match the Super Famicom’s hardware, ensuring the music would sound the same on the system. The soundtrack has been praised for its quality.
Reception
Trials of Mana was not available in English when it first came out in Japan, so most English-language reviews were published many years later. One English review from 1995 appeared in GameFan, a magazine that covered imported games and gave the game high praise. The Japanese magazine Famitsu also gave it high marks, but slightly lower than Secret of Mana. A Brazilian magazine called SuperGamePower gave it a positive review at the time, saying it had some of the best graphics on the SNES. Later reviews, after a fan translation patch was released in 2000, also praised the game. Many reviewers highlighted the graphics, with 1UP.com calling them "absolutely gorgeous" and noting that the game was made near the end of the SNES era, before developers began using 3D graphics. RPGamer’s Chris Parsons and Cubed3’s Adam Riley both praised the graphics as "awesome" and compared them to PlayStation RPGs. A preview from Next Generation magazine said the detailed graphics "put most other 32-bit RPGs to shame." Nintendo Life’s Corbie Dillard noted the game’s graphics as some of the best on the SNES and praised the unique visual styles of each area. The music was also widely praised, with Nintendo Life’s Dillard calling it "spectacular from start to finish" and Cubed3’s Riley saying it was "one of the most sonically pleasing" of any SNES game. RPGamer’s Parsons said the music was "well composed," and Next Generation praised the soundtrack’s quality and its connection to the Secret of Mana soundtrack.
Most reviewers praised the gameplay, though some had concerns about the combat system. Nintendo Life’s Dillard said the gameplay was as strong as Secret of Mana and had a more strategic feel. 1UP.com and Cubed3 reviewers noted the day and time system as an interesting addition, but 1UP.com said the combat was not as tight as in Secret of Mana. Next Generation’s preview acknowledged improvements to the combat system from Secret of Mana and praised the boss battles, but said computer-controlled characters lacked tactics, leading to chaotic fights. JeuxVideo.com also noted combat improvements but said battles could become overwhelming. RPGamer’s Parsons criticized the Ring system, saying it was frustrating because players couldn’t pause the menu during actions, making boss battles difficult. JeuxVideo.com’s reviewer also mentioned this issue.
The plot received mixed feedback. Some reviewers liked the option to choose different main characters, which increased replayability, but Cubed3’s Riley said the story could be confusing. RPGamer’s Parsons noted that unchosen characters’ motivations were unclear, leaving plot holes. Famitsu praised the branching narrative’s replayability. Next Generation’s preview called the multiple storylines an innovation but said the plot followed a "magic-and-monsters fantasy-formula." 1UP.com’s reviewer said the story was not very engaging and had clichéd characters.
Nintendo Life’s Dillard called Trials of Mana "easily one of the best RPGs of the 16-bit era," and 1UP.com’s reviewer said it likely would have become a classic if it had been officially translated into English.
Remake
A new version of the game, called by its official name for each region, was announced at E3 2019. It was planned to be released worldwide in early 2020 for the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC. The game was available in all countries on April 24, 2020. A version for Xbox Series X/S was later released in 2024. Production of the remake began in 2017. The goal was to keep the original game’s spirit while updating it with 3D graphics and more advanced gameplay features. The remake did not include the multiplayer mode from the original game.