Parents' Guide to Trials of Mana

This is a simple Japanese RPG that remains faithful to the game upon which it's based. Trials of Mana's battles are fast paced and relatively basic, with players hammering buttons to hit foes and evade enemy attacks, calling on gradually unlocked abilities to unleash more powerful moves once an energy bar fills. The dungeons and country areas between towns are fairly linear, so it generally doesn't take too long to find your way to your objectives. Towns are also pretty small, with only a handful of important conversations to be had with key people marked by star icons, meaning players won't get sucked into seemingly endless pointless dialogue. And everything is presented in an arresting anime style that helps give a bit of added personality to the main characters, who otherwise might seem a tad shallow thanks to some pretty generic writing.

The simplicity of it all might be refreshing for some, but others are likely to feel a little underwhelmed. The combat, for example, isn't particularly strategic -- even in boss fights. It demands more in the way of patience than serious thought. The leveling system, weapons and armor, and character growth are also on the basic side. Players simply assign earned points to attributes whenever they level up, and there's really not much variety in weapons, armor, or accessories. More powerful gear gets doled out at shops on a regular basis, and it's rarely too expensive to afford the instant you find it. That said, this simplicity is clearly meant to be part of the game's retro appeal -- a change of sorts from the endlessly complicated systems and hyper realistic presentation that have become the norm for modern blockbuster role-playing games. If you're looking for a little blast from the past in handsome anime packaging, you could definitely do worse than Trials of Mana.