10 cool things in the new Trials of Mana trailer

The latest footage from the game reveals a ton of information. We explain what it all means.
By Duncan Heaney

A brand new trailer for Trials of Mana has just been released, and it gives you your best look yet at the upcoming action RPG.

For those just joining the party, the game’s a complete remake of the 1995’s critically-acclaimed Trials of Mana, which debuted in the West in last year’s Collection of Mana. It reimagines the game with beautiful new visuals, a new combat system and much more.

It’s a big trailer, with lots of detail to unpack. We thought it would be useful to highlight some of the coolest parts, provide a bit more detail and even point out some of the things you may not have noticed.


Who are the six main heroes?

Trials of Mana features six playable heroes - and they’re all very different in both personality and abilities.

You can play as:

  • Duran - a swordsman from the Kingdom of Valsena. He may be young, but he’s already respected as one of the strongest warriors around.

  • Angela - a princess and the daughter of the True Queen of Altena, the snow-covered kingdom of magicians. Though Angela is a renowned beauty, her weakness at magic is a source of embarrassment for her mother.

  • Kevin - heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Ferolia, the land of Beastmen. His upbringing as a fighting machine, and a lack of contact with humans, has affected his social skills, but a friendship with a wolf pup named Karl starts to melt his icy heart.

  • Charlotte - the granddaughter of Wendel’s Priest of Light whose elfin blood makes her seem younger than she is.

  • Riesz - a princess of Laurent, and the captain of the formidable Amazon Guard. A compassionate warrior with a deep love for her family.

  • Hawkeye - a quick-witted thief from the desert fortress of Nevarl. Despite a laid-back attitude, he’s very skilled and intensely loyal to his friends.

You can find out more about the cast here:

The story plays out differently depending on who you choose

When Trials of Mana begins, you choose which three heroes you want in your party.

Excitingly, the story will play out differently depending on who you pick as the protagonist and party members.

It means this is one of the most replayable RPGs out there!


A fast-paced, tactical combat system

The trailer reveals how fast and fluid Trials of Mana’s combat system really is. As an action RPG, everything plays out in real-time, but you’ll still have to apply thought and strategy to each battle.

For example, notice how positioning and defence is just as important as aggression, and how important skills are - particularly in the challenging boss fights.

To find out more about combat in the game, check out our full hands-on article:

Class changes really mix things up

At some point during your adventure, you will be offered an opportunity to change the class of your characters.

This can make a dramatic difference to how that hero plays. Some classes will increase their defensive or support capabilities, helping the heal and buff your party. Others will increase their damage output, giving them devastating spells or brutal physical attacks.

You’ll have a lot of choice over how you change up your party - there’s a tremendous amount of tactical depth to dig into.

Plus class changes also alter your character’s outfits - how could you not love Duran’s ostentatiously shiny gold armor?


The Ring Command Menu

If you watch the trailer closely, you’ll see the Ring Command Menu. This elegant, easy to use system is one of the trademarks of the Mana series, and lets you use items, skills and magic incredibly quickly.

It means you don’t need to constantly switch screens, and keeps combat in Trials of Mana feeling fast, fluid and fun.

Abilities and chain abilities make characters stronger

The ability system is a new feature added for the remake of Trials of Mana.

Whenever you level up, you get Training Points. These can be spent on stats like strength and luck and whenever these stats reach certain milestones, they’ll unlock valuable abilities, including some that can also be shared across allies.

For example, in the trailer, we can see the party unlock the HP Boost ability. Hawkeye uses it to raise his base HP by 30.

The full game will have more than 300 different abilities to experiment with - so RPG fans will have plenty to dig into.

Classic Mana series enemies are back - and they look better than ever

Just like classic RPG series like FINAL FANTASY or DRAGON QUEST, the Mana series features monsters that appear again and again throughout the series.

Eagle-eyed fans of the Mana series may spot a few in the trailer, including a Captain Duck, Tomatoman, and some Chobin Hoods.

Of course, no Mana game would be complete without the floppy-eared Rabites. Sure enough, these adorably antagonistic adversaries are present and correct in Trials of Mana.

Classic items return too

At one point in the trailer, Kevin uses a Cup of Wishes to pull Riesz out of a bit of a scrape. This classic item is a mainstay of the Mana series - but it’s not the only classic item you’ll find in the game.

For example, Candy is another series staple, and it’s an important one - particularly early on. If a character eats one of these tasty treats, they gain some HP. As opposed to us, who’d just gain weight. Sigh.

Expect to see other traditional fare too, like the Faerie Walnut - an item that restores MP. It demonstrates that while the game is modern, it’s been designed with total respect for the original game - and the Mana series as a whole.


The day / night cycle matters

Trials of Mana has a day night cycle, and it has a big impact on gameplay. For example, some things are altered by the time of day - Kevin turns into a powerful beastman at night, for example.

You can grow useful items with seeds

As you explore and battle across the diverse environments of Trials of Mana, you’ll collect different types of seeds. You can plant them in special boxes to get useful and valuable items.

We can see Hawkeye do exactly that in the trailer. By planting a seed, he gets a Bumpkin - a useful projectile that deals wood damage and absorbs MP. Plus it looks pretty scary - at least for the poor Wolfmahn on the receiving end of it.

The full game has multiple seeds and items to collect, so it’s well worth embracing your inner botanist.


There’s a lot of information in the new Trials of Mana trailer - and we don’t want to give away everything. If you’re interested in the game, it’s well-worth watching a few times to fully dig out those details.

The full game releases April 24, 2020 on Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Steam.

If you buy Trials of Mana before May 21, 2020, you’ll receive a special Rabite Adornment. This in-game item allows you to gain more experience from battles up to level 10.

As well as the Rabite Adornment, if you preorder on PS4 you’ll also get six PSN avatars inspired by the game. Alternatively, pre-purchase on Steam to get two exclusive wallpapers that showcase the game’s stunning art.

You can also preorder the Nintendo Switch version from the Square Enix Store.

To stay up to date with news about the game, make sure you follow on social media:

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