Long ago in a fantasy world, behemoth gods had a war and their giant weapons were scattered across the land.  These weapons could affect their surrounding areas, which is how they explain a desert area right next to a snowy place.  Eons later scavengers explore these huge weapons like dungeons, extracting any relics they can find for money.  You play as Cyan, one of these scavengers who ekes out a living with his sister.  One day a mysterious assassin tries to kill you, and you learn that you have some connection with the giant gods of yore.  Now with your newfound adventuring friends, you’ll go on a globe trotting adventure to explore all the giant weapon dungeons to learn about your past and save the day in Trinity Trigger.  This game is an action RPG that plays a lot like Secret of Mana (three can even play at the same time), with graphics and presentation that reminds me of the GameCube days.  And that’s not a bad thing here.  It definitely does the throwback thing well, and it’s available on Switch, PlayStation consoles, and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.

The game is viewed in a top down fashion, and you use the buttons to dodge and swing your weapons.  When a meter is full, you can press another button to temporarily power up, and another button to do a devastating attack while powered up.  You’ll explore all sorts of areas to find the giant weapons you can venture into like maze-like dungeons.  You’ll recruit two other people into your party early on, and other players can even pick up a controller and play as them, just like Secret of Mana.

Another aspect that’s like that classic is how many weapons you can use.  Each person in your party has a Pokemon-like critter companion.  These creatures can transform into weapons for you to use, and each one works best against certain monsters.  You can use swords, axes, spears, bows, and more.  Certain weapons also have other effects.  Swords can slash plants, axes smash rocks, and bows and arrows hit long distance targets.  You’ll spend a lot of time in the game exploring those god weapon dungeons finding new transformation for your critters and powering them up.  You’ll also visit towns where you can upgrade your moves and skills, and gather clues and items.  Switch out weapons and use items via a ring menu, just like Secret of Mana as well.

My only problems with this game are pretty minor.  The way you upgrade things feels a little cumbersome after a while, and I wish it was a bit streamlined.  Also the game doesn’t really offer anything new or innovative.  But it is a nice throwback kind of experience and I wish more games were made like this.  I certainly enjoyed my time with it anyway.

Kid Factor:

Trinity Trigger is rated E-10 with ESRB descriptors of Fantasy Violence, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Mild Suggestive Themes, and Language.  You swing weapons at monsters that disappear or explode when defeated, and most of the other stuff is just in the text only.  I grew up playing games like this and I think I turned out OK.  Since strong reading skill is required, I’d say this one’s best for older kids only.

Tags: Game Reviews