History VideoGame / TrialsOfMana

* '''Angela''' is the princess of the kingdom of Altena: It's GrimUpNorth, and only the magic of the True Queen keeps the ice away. Despite this, Angela cannot use magic, leading to a certain amount of tension with Queen Valda. She learns that Queen Valda, advised by the Crimson Wizard, intends to invade Valsena, activate the Mana Stones and gain the Sword of Mana -- with Angela as the HumanSacrifice to make it happen. Gaining access to her native magical talent, the newly-minted BlackMagicianGirl sets out for Wendel.

* '''Kevin''' is the prince of Ferolia, a nation of [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent beastmen]] who have retreated to the Duskmoon Forest in the face of FantasticRacism. His father, Gauser, founded the kingdom, but has been encouraged by the masked jester [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Goremand]] to seek {{revenge}} against the human kingdoms. Because EvilIsPetty, he forces Kevin's dog, Karl, to turn feral, unlocking Kevin's NighttimeTransformation; Kevin is also humiliated at the hands of TheRival, Ludgar. Kevin sets out for Wendel after Goremand suggests that the Priest of Light could bring Karl back to life. Kevin is a BareFistedMonk who, as a werewolf, can take advantage of the InUniverseGameClock.

* '''Hawkeye''' is a noble thief (JustLikeRobinHood) from the desert city of Nevarl. Unexpectedly, the guild master, Flamekhan, with his advisor Isabella by his side, declares himself King of Nevarl, and announces plans to invade the neighboring kingdom of Laurent. After HilarityEnsues, Hawkeye soon finds himself on a quest: Flamekhan's son, Hawkeye's best friend Eagle, must be avenged, and his daughter Jessica must be freed from an evil curse. Hawkeye sets out for Wendel to get help. Hawkeye hits with DeviousDaggers and has a variety of debuff abilities.
* '''Riesz''' is the princess of Laurent and foster mother to her younger brother Elliot. The kingdom is protected from outside harm by magical winds... But two interlopers, Bil and Ben, trick him into lowering the magic barrier and then kidnap him. Bil and Ben work for Nevarl, which succeeds at seizing the castle and killing King Joster. Riesz, a spear-wielding JackOfAllStats with a variety of party-buffing abilities, turns to the Priest of Light for help.

At the beginning of the game, the player gets a BigFirstChoice of which of these six will be their MainCharacter, and can pick two others to make up the total PlayerParty. The choice of lead character also determines which member of the Big Bad Ensemble you eventually take on: each pair of characters is the victim of an EvilChancellor, either because said Chancellor encouraged the invasion of their nation (Duran, Charlotte, Riesz) or because they are one of the invaders (Angela, Kevin, Hawkeye). The three you ''don't'' choose will still show up during the game when you visit their homelands as part of your efforts to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong.

* FakeDifficulty: the clumsy lock-on controls in the 2020 remake result in this. Bosses typically have a ChargedAttack that doubles as a BreakMeter and TimedMission: either you beat up certain things that have a distinctive dark blue HP bar over them within the appointed amount of time, at which point the boss Breaks, or it shoots off its attack. Towards the end of the game, the "certain things" start ''moving''... and are surrounded by enough other mobs, or are difficult enough to target because of cinematic switches to FixedCamera positions, that landing damage on them becomes a serious challenge.

* CameraScrew: The game's targeting system is rather poor in implementation. Pressing a button, typically the one under the right stick, allows you to designate a target, but at that point the function ''of'' the right stick changes from "Change camera angle" to "Change your target," meaning it's very easy to switch targets on accident when the camera clipped through a wall. The logic behind which target you switch ''to'' is hard to use, especially in a fight where enemies are switching places rapidly; this includes acquiring the enemy (the game thinks) you are trying to target, as [[ArtificialStupidity it might not be the only enemy that is actually onscreen]]. Sometimes the game will just not target anyone even if you press the button. And, once the foe in question is defeated, the game ''will not'' auto-switch to targeting someone else; you have to press it ''again'', at which point all these problems come back into play.

At the beginning of the game, the player is allowed to choose any of these three characters to make up the party; your first choice determines who is the MainCharacter. It also determines which member of the Big Bad Ensemble you eventually take on, as the characters (Duran and Angela, Kevin and Charlotte, Hawkeye and Riesz) are linked by acts of unjust national aggression. The three you ''don't'' choose will still show up during the game and interact with the PlayerParty when you visit their homelands.

* BalanceBuff: The original release gives you one point per level to balance between six stats. Points to INT or SPR (or DEX in Hawkeye's case) grant you new skills to work with. The remake give you one point (occasionally two) to balance between five stats, and you attain new skills and stat boosts based on how many points are put into each. Unlike the original release, you have to diversify if you want to learn skills of various elements e.g. Angela needs STR to learn Salamando's spells or STM to learn Gnome's spells.
* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: The Nevarl ninjas occupying Laurent are defeated using the same tactic they originally used to drive out Laurent's Amazon defenders - controlling the winds of the mountain to spread sleep-inducing pollen through the citadel, knocking most of the defenders out.

* ConvectionSchmonvection: The lava surfaces in Fiery Gorge will only hurt you if you stand on them, and even then they only do around 15 damage per second, which is easily healed.

* CrapsaccharineWorld: Trials of Mana is an incredibly colorful game: The Ice sections almost looks like cake frosting. Almost all of the enemies are unbearably cute: Ghouls have large eyes and practically define UglyCute and the dragons are little pudge-pops. However, as cute as they are, they'll still eat you, and the world is full of BloodMagic, HumanSacrifice, and plenty of violence.

* '''Charlotte''' is the only character who doesn't have to leave for Wendel, because she already lives there, with the Priest of Light as her adoptive father.[[note]]We find out later that Charlotte is a HalfHumanHybrid; the Priest of Light opposed his son marrying an elf, but as TheAtoner resolved to raise his granddaughter, Charlotte, in his son's stead.[[/note]] Her friend, the young priest Heath, is sent to defend the stronghold of Jadd, which the beastmen are planning to invade; he is captured by the beastmen and then ensorceled by Goremand, and Charlotte resolves to rescue him. A ChildMage WhiteMage, Charlotte also has the VerbalTic of "[=uwu=]" ElmuhFuddSyndwome in the official translation.

* '''Duran''' hails from the nation of Valsena, led by Hero King Richard, best friend of Duran's DisappearedDad Loki. When Valsena is attacked by the mysterious Crimson Wizard, Duran sets out to defeat the villain and redeem himself as a (self-diagnosed) FailureKnight. He is advised to seek the guidance of the Priest of Light in Wendel, who can [[PaintingTheFourthWall teach Duran]] how to take a PrestigeClass. A MagicallyIneptFighter, HeroesPreferSwords.

* '''Kevin''' is the prince of Ferolia, a nation of [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent beastmen]] who have retreated to the Duskmoon Forest in the face of FantasticRacism. His father, Gauser, founded the kingdom, but has been encouraged by the masked jester [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Goremand]] to seek {{revenge}} against the human kingdoms. Because EvilIsPetty, he forces Kevin's dog, Karl, to turn feral, unlocking Kevin's NighttimeTransformation. Goremand taunts Kevin that the Priest of Light could bring Karl back to life. Kevin is a BareFistedMonk who, as a werewolf, can take advantage of the InUniverseGameClock.
* '''Charlotte''' is the only character who doesn't have to leave for Wendel, because she already lives there, with the Priest of Light as her adoptive father. Her friend, the young priest Heath, is sent to defend the stronghold of Jadd, which the beastmen are planning to invade; he is captured by the beastmen and then ensorceled by Goremand, and Charlotte resolves to rescue him. A ChildMage WhiteMage, Charlotte also has the VerbalTic of "[=uwu=]" ElmuhFuddSyndwome in the official translation.
* '''Hawkeye''' is a noble thief (JustLikeRobinHood) from the desert city of Nevarl. Unexpectedly, the guild master, Flamekhan, with his advisor Isabella by his side, declares himself King of Nevarl, and announces plans to invade the neighboring kingdom of Laurent. Flamekhan's daughter, Hawkeye's friend Jessica, still believes in her father's noble intentions; but Isabella puts an ensorceled necklace on her, with the result that if Isabella dies, so will Jessica. She then hypnotizes Hawkeye's best friend and Jessica's brother, Eagle, into attacking Hawkeye, leading to Eagle's death. Hawkeye sets out for Wendel to get help. Hawkeye hits with DeviousDaggers and has a variety of debuff abilities.

Every character then winds up in a forest where they meet a faerie. The Mana Tree is dying (''[[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed again]]''), so the Mana Goddess has sent out faeries to find someone worthy of restoring it. [[SoleSurvivor All but one]] perished en route due to the steady loss of magic, and the remaining Faerie [[TheChooserOfTheOne settles for the first schmuck it can find]]. Naturally, it's the PlayerCharacter and the latest incarnation of the Mana Knight. They then meet the other two chosen characters and reach Wendel, where they are told that, to save the Mana Tree, they must win the allegiance of the eight Mana Spirits, one for each element. Failure will spell TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: there are eight SealedEvilInACan [[BeastOfTheApocalypse Benevodons]] that will break free if the Tree dies.

At the beginning of the game, the player is allowed to choose any of these three characters to make up the party; your first choice determines who is the MainCharacter. It also determines who in the BigBadEnsemble you eventually take on, as the characters (Duran and Angela, Kevin and Charlotte, Hawkeye and Riesz) are linked by acts of unjust national aggression. The three you ''don't'' choose will still show up during the game and interact with the PlayerParty when you visit their homelands.

As mentioned, characters can change classes: Your teammates start the adventure in a default job, but have opportunities to pursue [[BlackAndWhiteMagic Light and Dark]] paths later on; every character has six classes beyond their original. This, plus the large number of playable characters, lends itself to replay value.

Every character then winds up in a forest where they meet a faerie. The Mana Tree is dying (''[[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed again]]''), so the Mana Goddess has sent out faeries to find someone worthy of restoring it. [[SoleSurvivor All but one]] perished en route due to the steady loss of magic, and the remaining Faerie [[TheChooserOfTheOne settles for the first schmuck it can find]]. Naturally, it's the PlayerCharacter and the latest incarnation of the Mana Knight. They then meet the other two chosen characters[[note]]Except Charlotte, who meets hers ''before'' meeting the faerie[[/note]] and reach Wendel, where they are told that, to save the Mana Tree, they must win the allegiance of the eight Mana Spirits, one for each element. Failure will spell TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: there are eight SealedEvilInACan [[BeastOfTheApocalypse Benevodons]] that will break free if the Tree dies.

''Trials'' revolves around six characters, of which any three can make up your party; your first choice determines who is the MainCharacter, and who in the BigBadEnsemble you eventually take on. The three you ''don't'' choose will still show up during the game and even interact with the PlayerParty on occasion. The six characters are:

* '''Kevin''' is the prince of Ferolia, a nation of [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent beastmen]] who have retreated to the Duskmoon Forest in the face of FantasticRacism. His father, Gauser, founded the kingdom, but has been encouraged by the masked jester [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Goremand]] to seek {{revenge}} against the human kingdoms. Because EvilIsPetty, he forces Kevin's dog, Karl, to turn feral, unlocking Kevin's NighttimeTransformation. Goremand taunts Kevin that the Priest of Light could bring Karl back to life. Kevin is a BareKnuckledBrawler who, as a werewolf, can take advantage of the InUniverseGameClock.
* '''Charlotte''' is the only character who doesn't have to leave for Wendel, because she already lives there, with the Priest of Light as her adoptive father. Her friend, the young priest Heath, is sent to defend the stronghold of Jadd, which the beastmen are planning to invade; he is captured by the beastmen and then ensorceled by Goremand, and Charlotte resolves to rescue him. A ChildMage WhiteMage, Charlotte also has the VerbalTick of "[=uwu=]" ElmuhFuddSyndwome in the official translation.

* '''Riesz''' is the princess of Laurent and foster mother to her younger brother Elliot. The kingdom is protected from outside harm by magical winds... But two interlopers, Bil and Ben, trick him into lowering the magic barrier and then kidnap him. Bil and Ben work for Nevarl, which succeeds at seizing the castle and killing King Joster. Riesz, a JackOfAllStats wielding a BladeOnAStick and a variety of party-buffing abilities, turns to the Priest of Light for help.

Every character then winds up in a forest where they meet a faerie. The Mana Tree is dying (''[[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed again]]''), so the Mana Goddess has sent out faeries to find someone worthy of restoring it. [[SoleSurvivor All but one]] perished en route due to the steady loss of magic, and the remaining Faerie [[TheChooserOfTheOne settles for the first schmuck it can find]]. Naturally, it's the PlayerCharacter and the latest incarnation of the Mana Knight. They then meet the other two chosen characters[[note]]Except Charlotte, who meets hers ''before'' meeting the faerie[[/note]] and set out to save the world.

The Mana Tree is dying ([[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed again]]), so the Mana Goddess sends her faeries to the world below to find someone worthy of restoring it. [[SoleSurvivor All but one]] perish en route due to the steady loss of magic, and the remaining Faerie [[TheChooserOfTheOne settles for the first schmuck it can find]]. Naturally, he/she happens to be the latest incarnation of the Mana Knight.

In a departure from the rest of the series, ''Trials'' revolves around six characters of which any three can make up your party; your first choice determines who in the BigBadEnsemble you eventually take on. Each comes with a unique set of skills, made more complicated by divergent class progressions: Your teammates start the adventure in a default job, but have opportunities to pursue [[BlackAndWhiteMagic Light and Dark]] paths later on.

* UnexpectedGameplayChange: Some areas of the 2020 UpdatedRerelease switch from a conventional Third Person 3D perspective to a 3D ''side scroller''. It first comes up at one of the ports (complete with a treasure chest obscured by the scenery in the background). However some parts of Wandara Woods turn into a ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros''-style platformer, complete with platform jumps either to advance or to reach treasure chests.

** Very early in the game, every playable character except Charlotte is stuck in a town. While there, Angela can be seen asleep in the inn if she is not the main character. [[AccidentalPervert Since Angela is implied to be naked in bed, she will get angry at you and call your character a pervert if you wake her up.]] However, if the main character is Riesz -- the only other female main character that could speak to Angela at that time -- Angela will only express annoyance at being woken up. This extends to the remake where a cutscene plays out if a male character approaches Angela, but she sleeps through any attempt by Riesz to converse with her.

** In the SNES version, when the party stays at an inn, they all shift into their respective "sleeping" animations. In normal gameplay, the only thing the player sees of these are the characters' heads peeking out from under the sheets of the beds. However, not only are the rest of the characters' bodies there, they're wearing underwear that changes color depending on the character's class.

** Riesz's TragicKeepsake is her mother's green ribbon. Before class changes, it's the bow in Riesz's hair. After class changes, the ribbon is tied on Riesz's left wrist, showing she's still wearing it.

** There is a hierarchy for certain cutscene reactions. For instance, when facing the Altenish mages in the Stoneslip Gap, they prioritize Angela first (the runaway princess who has a price on her head), then Duran (the knight of Valsena that the Crimson Wizard encountered); if neither are present, they declare the party to be Valsenan spies and try to kill them anyway.

** In the original SNES release, the battle with Karl in Kevin's opening is a HopelessBossFight that Kevin has to lose before transforming into a werewolf. In the 2020 remake, this could have potentially taken hours to clear, since the player has the option to carry over Kevin's level from previous playthroughs on NewGamePlus. So the battle against Karl was changed to Kevin's tutorial fight, and he now has to win.

** Charlotte's scene in the credits differs depending on who was selected as party members. Usually she runs into the Priest of Light, but if she was a party member, she runs into [[spoiler:Heath]] instead, as [[spoiler:Heath was resurrected by the Mana Goddess in Charlotte's ending]].
** Most of the party members must return to their hometowns to start the quest to find the sphere needed to reach Class 4. Charlotte, on the other hand, is directed to Dior instead, as the Priest of Light is still comatose before the ending scene, and [[spoiler:her maternal origins are from Dior]].

* TheGoodKing: Hero King Richard, the ruler of Valsena. Besides having a HundredPercentAdorationRating to his people, the Hero King is also helpful on your journey by telling you where the Mana Stones can be found. Duran greatly respects the Hero King, both as a leader and as a father figure, since Richard was a close friend of Duran's father Loki the Golden Knight.

* SquishyWizard: Charlotte and Angela, with an extra helping of [[BuxomIsBetter squishy]] in Angela's case. Both of them can't take many hits from enemies. Charlotte's a WhiteMagicianGirl and Angela's a GlassCannon.

** Angela never appears past her cameo in Jadd if she's not a party member (she may appear in Charlotte's intro, but this role is randomized). Everyone else at least makes some other kind of cameo past that point. If she's a party member outside the Dragon Lord timeline, she doesn't get her own monologue about continuing her adventure after witnessing the sudden downfall of the Crimson Wizard and the Darkshine Knight (though neither does Kevin make any comment should Goremand be reduced to a simple messenger).

* SpeedRun: Taking advantage of several bugs makes it possible to beat the game in about four hours.

* {{Gainaxing}}: Female characters in the remake have a little bit of bounce if they're showing cleavage (''especially'' [[MsFanservice Angela]]). And so does [[FanDisservice Sylphid]].

* CurbStompBattle: The first time Duran goes up against the Crimson Wizard, he gets curbstomped. Duran's never faced anyone who uses magic before, [[MagicallyIneptFighter he himself doesn't have any magic to use]], and the Crimson Wizard doesn't graciously let Duran get a few hits in for the hell of it; he teleports away every time Duran ''tries'' to strike him, just flattens Duran without a second thought when he's humored enough, then leaves the scene when he realizes the commotion caught the attention of the rest of the guards. Thanks to Duran's report, when Altena commences a full attack, it's a bloodbath; better-trained Valsenan soldiers and Altenish mages are strewn about the battlefield everywhere.

* DamnYouMuscleMemory: The default control scheme in ''Trials'' is the inverse of ''Secret of Mana''. While in the former game B was the Attack/Confirm button and A was Dash/Cancel, in ''Trials'' it's the other way around. Players coming right from ''Secret'' are liable to hit the wrong buttons when trying to attack.
* DamselInDistress: Belladonna fitted Jessica with a cursed necklace which will tighten and choke the life out of her if she learns the truth about Eagle. Once the cat's out of the bag, though, Belladonna has Jessica and her father thrown in jail as insurance against Hawkeye; Jessica's imprisonment is because the curse prevents any brainwashing.

* AlliterativeTitle: The books on the Ghost Ship's bookshelves are called Death Diary, Curse Column, and Blood Book.