Trinity Trigger: Deluxe Edition

JRPG fans can rest easy knowing that Trinity Trigger will meet their lofty expectations; this is a nostalgia trip worth taking. While not perfect, with beautiful art and music and a combat system that will feel both fresh and familiar, it is a strong contender for one of the best JRPGs of 2023 so far. The plot isn't anything to write home about and it's a tad on the easy side, but it remains engaging, especially for Mana series enthusiasts. Hopefully its proximity to the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom doesn't see Trinity Trigger overshadowed before it gets a chance to shine.

FuRyu returns with another RPG that tries to evoke the nostalgia of the classics of yesteryear, but Trinity Trigger's good music and character art cannot salvage a dull RPG that is middling at best, and broken at worst.

FuRyu can be quite hit or miss with their releases, and unfortunately I think Trinity Trigger is more a miss. That's not to say it isn't a worthwhile experience though, and I think its specific audience will enjoy what's on offer.

XSEED has a hit on their hands with Trinity Trigger. Everything about the game is enjoyable and in the case of the story and combat, everything perfectly gels together.

Despite the involvement of exceptional artists, the star of Trinity Trigger does not shine as brightly as one would expect.

Trinity Trigger has some really good ideas that sadly never get fleshed out. The story is quite unique and really could have been something if handled with a bit more care. What begins as a Legend of Mana-esque journey, soon delves into a mess of broken combat, poor directions for the player, and lackluster graphics. Which is really a shame, because with some more time in the oven Trinity Trigger might’ve been able to help differentiate itself from the sea of other RPGs out right now.

In conclusion, Trinity Trigger is a great game! The gameplay and soundtrack really make it stand out, and allow me to overlook the mediocre graphics and story pretty easily. I spent around 35 hours playing it, and that is while doing all optional content as I said earlier, which took up about a 1/3rd of that time. That number may sound low for an RPG, but seeing as the game is not sold at full price this is not a bad amount of content whatsoever. I only wish the game was longer because of the potential I see in it – I wanted more time to flesh out the gameplay, the characters, the world, everything. I wanted Trinity Trigger to be truly outstanding, but it sadly doesn't go far enough with its ideas and concepts to earn that label. Even so, I most definitely recommend the game to fans of action RPG gameplay – and I'll be wishing for a (spiritual) sequel in the meantime.

Trinity Trigger wants to recreate the experience of a PlayStation era JRPG’s while incorporating the lessons learned from the last 30 years.

It never manages to reach the mechanical and stylistic heights of its inspiration, due to its ordinary storytelling, generic art direction, and a predictable gameplay loop, but overall it's a decent RPG with a good amount of content, some likable characters, and an engaging tactical weapons system.

Smashing straight through the main story will take around 12 to 15 hours, though there are plenty of side quests and some post-game activities that can stretch gameplay by another 10 hours if you want to collect all of the treasure and fight some of the more difficult battles. The action battle system is definitely a highlight, mixing together the best elements of Secret of Mana (with none of the annoying charge/wait times) with Hades’ dodge-heavy movement. Overall, this is a game well worth the short time investment if you are looking for a smooth action-JRPG with beautiful presentation.