Trinity Trigger is a new action RPG that seeks to be a “revival of 90s-era RPG classics for the modern age.” I immediately jumped at the chance to review this game as a challenge to experience the nostalgia factor it claims to offer. Trinity Trigger provides a charming adventure that is worth sharing. Although I would suggest keeping your expectations at bay, Trinity Trigger harkens back to the simpler times of RPGs. It brings forth a nostalgic experience with its Secret of Mana-influenced combat style.
The narrative of Trinity Trigger revolves around protagonist Cyan, a young man burdened with the mantle of the “Warrior of Chaos” and his inevitable fight to the death with the “Warrior of Order” as the gods’ proxy. Approached by an oracle named Elise, Cyan learns that his Chaos Warrior status has marked him for death. Thus, players set out on a grand adventure to defy this fate and save Trinitia with Cyan and his new companions, Elise and Zantis. Cyan, Elise, and Zantis are also accompanied by strange Digimon-like creatures called Triggers. Triggers are magical beings who can transform into eight types of weapons that the party members can use. Throughout the game, players enter dungeons known as Armas, where they can find altars to turn one of the Triggers into a new weapon. I invested in the story due to the writing and voice acting. It’s the same standard RPG narrative formula. You have a main character who is the chosen one and must go on a grand adventure. Fortunately, this trope does not negate the strong character interactions and nostalgic vibes.
The moment I began the combat in Trinity Trigger, it took me a few minutes to remind myself that this was not one of the Mana games. Even though the characters on the screen looked completely different, the combat felt like a Secret of Mana game. Players can switch freely between the three characters, Cyan, Elise, and Zantis. Each weapon has a specific use, as the bosses and enemies in the game have various strengths and weaknesses against different weapons. Red numbers indicate a weakness to a firearm, while blue numbers indicate immunity to that weapon. Unlike the Secret of Mana series, Trinity Trigger has no magic system. Or rather, there is no magical system for the human characters to use. This made boss fights feel tedious as I became best friends with the menu, using potions, buffs, or elixirs to remove ailments and statuses from party members. Stamina was not an issue for me either. Stamina depletion never stopped me from attacking, but it nerfed my damage output. Unfortunately, the three characters eventually have the same weapons but different movement variations. I ended up finding myself negating the switch mechanic completely.
Local co-op is only available after you receive your third-party member. I was a little disappointed that the co-op is not online. Playstation and Steam players can bypass this through the remote play and share play options available. Hopefully, in the near future, we get online co-op as a feature for this game in a patch. Plus, the AI-controlled mechanics appeared underdeveloped as the characters never swapped weapons or dodged. I often found myself switching characters and changing their weapons to increase their damage output or in the menu using healing items.
I did not come across any game-breaking glitches. However, the map mechanic did appear to be strange at times. The marker wouldn’t appear at specific points unless I were in a specific area. Regarding accessibility, I miss having some sound indicator for a character’s low health. I could tell there was an effort to make voice lines an indicator. However, they were inconsistent due to the various grunts and groans during battle.
The art and graphic direction of Trinity Trigger were delightful. The world of Trinitia was filled with different, distinct biomes. The environment in each area felt complete for the most part. Overall, the graphics are a great blend of 90s RPG graphics with modern art. Graphics are one thing, but a soundtrack can contribute to nostalgia. With the release of Sonic Origins, many were concerned about playing through Sonic 3 & Knuckles and getting that nostalgic feel due to the soundtrack changes. FuRyu brings Mana composer Hiroki Kikuta to slap its players with that nostalgia sonically. This also makes the soundtrack as memorable as those classic tracks from well-loved RPGs.
If you’re an RPG fan like myself, you’ll find yourself blasting through this quicker than you’d like. Trinity Trigger is not a massive 40+ hour game like the others in this genre. It doesn’t do anything new to advance the genre or offer any surprises to RPG veterans. The game sells the nostalgic charm it advertises well. Trinity Trigger is the right choice if you enjoy this genre and would like a change of pace from intense grinding and heavy hours of gameplay time.
