- AKA
- The Man, V
I know everyone’s still hyped over the FF7 remake, but is anyone picking up Square Enix’s other 2020 remake of one of their mid-’90s classics? For those unaware, Square Enix finally brought out an international version of Seiken Densetsu 3 (聖剣伝説３, literally translated as Holy Sword Legend 3), the 1995 sequel to Secret of Mana, in 2019. Before then, the only way to play it outside Japan had been a fan translation brought out in the early 2000s.
Then, this year, they’ve remade it. Fully. In 3D. It’s out today.
It looks fucking beautiful.
So did the original game, mind you – it was a masterpiece of sprite artwork, the likes of which have seldom been matched. The designers of this remake had a massive set of shoes to fill when updating the engine to 3D, and by all appearances, they’ve pulled it off.
Obviously, this isn’t as high-budget or as high-profile an event as the Final Fantasy VII remake, but TBH, I think I’m just as hyped for this, if not more, partly because it’s on a platform I can actually play today, and partly because Trials has been one of my favourite games since I first played it in 2002.
Part of the charm is the replay value. There’s an almost infinite number of party combinations and class changes possible, and the beginning and end of the game are different depending on who your lead party member is. Part of it is the spectacular music. Part of it is the charming world and cast of characters. And the game’s just a lot of fun.
(I will advise that you select the main party member’s foil as an additional party member. That is, if Angela or Duran is the main character, then both Angela and Duran should be in your party; if Riesz or Hawkeye is the main character, then both Riesz and Hawkeye should be in your party; and if Charlotte or Kevin is the main character, then both Charlotte and Kevin should be in your party. You get a lot more character development this way that you’d miss out on otherwise.)
Anyway, if this is as good as it looks, I’ll probably end up sinking at least 100 hours into it, especially seeing as I probably haven’t played the original in some 15 years. I’m curious if anyone else is picking it up, or if anyone played the fan translation of the original. I probably won’t be able to start playing this today, but I’m almost certain to pick it up and start it within the next few days.
(ETA: Due to a typo, I erroneously cited the release date of the original game as 1994; it was 1995. I regret the error.)
Then, this year, they’ve remade it. Fully. In 3D. It’s out today.
It looks fucking beautiful.
So did the original game, mind you – it was a masterpiece of sprite artwork, the likes of which have seldom been matched. The designers of this remake had a massive set of shoes to fill when updating the engine to 3D, and by all appearances, they’ve pulled it off.
Obviously, this isn’t as high-budget or as high-profile an event as the Final Fantasy VII remake, but TBH, I think I’m just as hyped for this, if not more, partly because it’s on a platform I can actually play today, and partly because Trials has been one of my favourite games since I first played it in 2002.
Part of the charm is the replay value. There’s an almost infinite number of party combinations and class changes possible, and the beginning and end of the game are different depending on who your lead party member is. Part of it is the spectacular music. Part of it is the charming world and cast of characters. And the game’s just a lot of fun.
(I will advise that you select the main party member’s foil as an additional party member. That is, if Angela or Duran is the main character, then both Angela and Duran should be in your party; if Riesz or Hawkeye is the main character, then both Riesz and Hawkeye should be in your party; and if Charlotte or Kevin is the main character, then both Charlotte and Kevin should be in your party. You get a lot more character development this way that you’d miss out on otherwise.)
Anyway, if this is as good as it looks, I’ll probably end up sinking at least 100 hours into it, especially seeing as I probably haven’t played the original in some 15 years. I’m curious if anyone else is picking it up, or if anyone played the fan translation of the original. I probably won’t be able to start playing this today, but I’m almost certain to pick it up and start it within the next few days.
(ETA: Due to a typo, I erroneously cited the release date of the original game as 1994; it was 1995. I regret the error.)
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