History YMMV / TrialsOfMana

** The gameplay, music, and graphics of the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom]] version were highly-regarded at the time of its release, with the latter two being some of the finest quality work ever produced for the console. ''Trials'' also has replay value, since it requires three playthroughs to see even most of its content, and due to the almost limitless number of parties and class changes, it'll likely take more to see all of it. (Character interactions do change depending upon who's in your party, and the characters who aren't in the party will still appear from time to time as {{NPC}}s.) Though it remained obscure to general audiences for decades due to its lack of official translation and release, it was something of a CultClassic among fans of the ''Mana'' series, and it could be found on more than a few "best action [=RPGs=]" lists, particularly those focusing on [[UsefulNotes/The16bitEraOfConsoleVideoGames the 16-bit era]].

* MisBlamed: No, the game was not [[NoExportForYou kept in Japan]] because of ''VideoGame/SecretOfEvermore''. The amount of work needed to fix the bugs and prepare the game for an international release would have been too costly, and likely put the game's release date well after the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 and UsefulNotes/PlayStation hit shelves.

* CompleteMonster: Besides the return of [[YMMV/DawnOfMana Stroud]], [[MonsterClown Goremand]] is [[TheDragon the right hand]] of the [[BigBad Masked Mage]]. A [[VillainousHarlequin sadistic jester-like being]], Goremand convinces the beastmen of Ferolia to start a war with humanity, seemingly turning prince Kevin's beloved pet Karl into a monster to trick Kevin into killing him. Goremand later attacks and kidnaps Heath in front of Charlotte right when the two have just gotten reunited, and over the course of the story, kills others to [[SoulEating reap their souls]], intending on taking the Masked Mage and using him to create a world of war and death so Goremand can glut himself on souls forevermore.

** The 2020 remake has a bug with the game's hardest BonusBoss, the Black Rabite. After the Black Rabite [[TurnsRed enters its "Hard Mode"]], the enemy may suddenly freeze in place after a class strike, not doing anything else for the rest of the fight but sit there and let your party wail on it. This turns what ought to be the hardest battle in the game into a complete joke.

** The expressive sprites as well, thanks mostly to SeinfeldIsUnfunny. What made this game unique was the amount of custom animations present, as well as the overexaggerated sprites. They come off as goofy and cartoonish, despite being quite impressive in 1995... but you probably won't care, many viewed this as part of the charm.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: Given that the game is treated as a SacredCow of the fourth generation of video game consoles, it was a given that this would happen:
** In 2019, when Collection of Mana ''finally'' gave westerners a legit way to play the game, some people who had never played it back when you had to emulate it expressed confusion at ''why'' the game had such hype for what it was. Of course, many of them were spoiled by games released after - which were held to a higher standard and much more polished.
** And in 2020, the game released in late April... after the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'', which was delayed from its March release date. A ''very'' ToughActToFollow, ''especially'' for a remake. Cue disappointment from players who felt the game still played like a game made in the late nineties and felt that as a game made in TheNewTwenties, it was SoOkayItsAverage at best. And that's not getting into the dub....

** The obsessive-compulsive will lament that there is no way to distribute exp to single members of your party, as this game follows the rules of only active combatants receiving exp. This becomes all the more apparent during the ghost ship chapter where one of your members becomes cursed and cannot fight, as well as the postgame DuelBoss fights for three out of the six playable characters that must be defeated to gain access to the artifacts used to unlock Class 4.

as it prevents you from getting damage exactly where it needs to go.

* CameraScrew: The 2020 remake's targeting system is poorly implemented. It allows you to focus the camera (and your character) on a single target, but in practice it acts like a "Lock the camera" button because you can no longer change the camera angle, instead changing your target. This is a problem if you've managed to get the camera to clip through a wall. You can change targets to any enemy on the screen by tilting the right stick, but you cannot switch to an enemy you ''cannot'' see -- which is a problem when that's the enemy that's killing you -- and you cannot change your camera angle, because that functionality is suspended when you're locked on. (PausableRealTime does not help: the camera is locked while a Ring Menu is open. Yes, this means you cannot target Ring Menu options at enemies which you are not currently looking at.) 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. The system's lack of functionality can actually ''lose boss fights for you,'' as choosing your targets must be carried out while a ChargedAttack is ticking away.

* CameraScrew: The 2020 remake's targeting system is poorly implemented. 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 there are lots of targets; 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. All of this can actually ''lose boss fights for you'', such as the fight against Zable Fahr: when it uses its ChargedAttack there can be up to ''eight'' targetable entities on the screen at a time, and you don't have time to pick the right one: either you set yourself up to destroy the charging nodes immediately, or you TotalPartyKill.

* CameraScrew: The 2020 remake's targeting system is poorly implemented. 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 there are lots of targets; 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. And, of course, you have extremely limited ability to change targets while the game is paused; you have to use a Ring Menu item that is targeted. All of this can actually ''lose boss fights for you'' as it prevents you from getting damage exactly where it needs to go.