A look back at: Seiken Densetsu 3

I often wonder just how did the Mana series become such a cult classic? The gameplay for action RPG-style stuff is more unique than others before and after it, and the games are usually pretty good in terms of how much you have to endure before you decide to go on a grinding segment or so.

Wouldn't say the same thing for Seiken Densetsu 3, now known as Trials of Mana. Before that remake of Sword of Mana came by Seiken Densetsu 3 gave us the utilization of class changes, and even said it was a mechanic in-game. The battle system was more in-line, allowing for actual waiting periods. Although sometimes in the heat of battle my controlled character gets into it and somehow waits longer. The controls do need some work. There were quite a lot of grinding moments too, but thankfully enemy experience is done well. Still, the way some characters gain new spells, plus the maximum stat gains, and perhaps the worst of all, the enemy item drops (because you need specific ??? seeds in order to get the final class change and you want to get a very specific item for a very specific class) make this one way more trouble than it could be worth. Getting the right classes at the end game made the bosses a cinch though.

The enemy AI is surprisingly smart, making this game one of the harder ones I've actually played. It's enticing to smash enemies with your special moves and magic, but hitting them hard enough will cause them to attack with their own specials, and many can do loads of damage. This makes some areas a pain to grind, especially the full-screen attacks that stop all the action (to be fair, the character's special attacks offer that kinda thing too). Also you can't stop a caster unless you kill it outright, casting is uninterruptible here. Sometimes the game's delayed reactions to things also causes enemies to use their special right upon death. Frustrating moments were had in spades.

With the way the game is set up, they tried for replayability and all, but the grinding wore me out and I'll only play the game once. I can tell they wanted to go for six differing stories, although two characters will inevitably share similar plots and final bosses, not to mention arch-nemeses at times. The game definitely throws curveballs with how specific villains get screwed over depending on who your main character is, while plot-wise, they basically let you do all the hard work then screw you over. Some typical, some not typical. Seiken Densetsu 3 was a game that tried, but mostly managed to be around the same level Secret of Mana was.