Write what you are looking for and press enter to begin your search!
Live News
KKP Best Of 2020: Game #22
For more Best of 2020 stuff, head here.
Trials of Mana (2020) is a textbook example of a wemake remake done right, except within the constraints of a budget. Unlike another Square Enix remake that was highlighted by us previously, the folks at Xeen do not have that same luxury of making it more epic than the sum of its parts.
Admittedly they botched the cutscenes and storytelling – the English dub range from passable to terrible, with the exception of Faerie who is actually doing a damn good job. The key cutscenes look cheap and its tale isn’t a huge improvement over the original. And why does every woman in the game look like they belong in a Dead or Alive volleyball title? Thankfully, Xeen focused on what mattered: making a 3D action-adventure hack-and-slash that balances between simple and complex.
The class system is more flexible than before, which each of the six characters being able to switch between dark and light type classes instead of getting locked with what was picked. Most of the boss battles from the original are more realized and feel like actual fights than RPG leave-it-to-chance-and-stats affairs. The jump and dodge abilities do help with widening your offensive and defensive repertoire. The ring menu system and UI get a 2020 overhaul that makes it a breeze to switch between spells and curatives, as well as upgrading your band of adventurers.
Let’s also not forget the amazing remastered score from the original game’s composer Hiroki Kikuta, who basically just used the appropriate instruments to modernize what the synths were trying to replicate back then. Honestly, I got goosebumps at hearing this version of the iconic theme here.
True, it does get easy the more you get accustomed to the controls, the character-switching, and the combat engine. And the bonus endgame dungeon gets way too repetitive and wears out its welcome. But all things considered, Square Enix and Xeen made the Mana series relevant and enjoyable again for both a new breed of JRPG fans and old-school SNES gamers who waited 20+ years for a faithful remake of an underrated classic. We call that a critical hit two-fer that paid off big time.
By Alleef Ashaari|September 5, 2022
Cars On The Road is an upcoming spinoff series set in Disney Pixar's Cars franchise, which starts streaming on Disney+ Hotstar on 8 September 2022. ...
By Mr Toffee|June 11, 2019
One of the most popular mods for Dota 2 is going to be a standalone game on the Epic Games Store. Hooray for those people, I guess. Dota Auto Chess, ...
By Team KKP|July 4, 2019
Samurai Shodown is getting some plays and some online tournament love since its release. So will this game wow fans at EVO 2019 and beyond? Hopefully;...
By Team KKP|May 10, 2024
By Mr Toffee|February 2, 2024
By Team KKP|July 1, 2023
By Alleef Ashaari|August 2, 2021
By Alleef Ashaari|February 9, 2022
By Team KKP|May 10, 2024
By Mr Toffee|February 2, 2024
By Team KKP|July 1, 2023
By Alleef Ashaari|May 24, 2024
By Team KKP|May 10, 2024
By Mr Toffee|February 2, 2024
By Team KKP|July 1, 2023
Copyright @ Kakuchopurei 2024