WITH nearly every JRPG getting the remake treatment or a game that utilitises high end graphics, sometimes it’s nice to just go back to the simpler times and dig into that 90’s nostalgia.
Trinity Trigger is definitely that game. Developed by FuRyu and Published by Marvelous Europe for its Australian and European release, Trinity Trigger was originally released as a Japan exclusive September 15, 2022 but is now making its Western release as of April 25, 2023.
You play as Cyan, a young man who was raised in a small town by his adoptive parents along with his adoptive sister. Unbeknownst to Cyan, a marker that keeps appearing on his eye is the mark for ‘The Warrior of Chaos’.
One day while Cyan goes out to do his daily duties as a Scavenger at the town’s Arma, he comes across Flamme, a weird little creature known as a Trigger. As a Trigger, Flamme can change himself into a weapon and fight by Cyan’s side.
After meeting Flamme, you meet your first human companion Elise who tells you about the mark on your eye and what it means. Now knowing you are the Warrior of Chaos, and your destiny is to fight the Warrior of Order. You go out into the world to learn more about yourself and if there is a way to stop the impending battle.
The mechanics are to be expected of this style game. As you traverse the wilderness between towns, each area has your general environments. Lush earthy green plains, desert, stormy/wintery area and don’t forget your volcanos. Each area has its own Arma which is like a temple full of monsters but they also contain altars of a certain element where you can say a prayer and your Trigger will acquire the ability to change into a new weapon.
Each of your companions and their Triggers are allocated to a particular element. Zantis, who is essentially your lovable, goofy brute and his Trigger Rai are under the element of Lightning. So the altars for them are always yellow.
The bit which differs from a lot of games is the main character Cyan and his Trigger, Flamme is fire element but their colour is blue. And in turn, Elise with her Trigger Oise are water elements but their colour is Pink/Red. Which is a departure from Fire -> Red, Water -> Blue. Which I admit is a nice change.
When it comes to the combat system, it is pretty simple. Standard attack is the X button on PlayStation, attack boost is assigned to Square; which temporarily allows you to hit with an added kick and then there is a mini-ultimate attack assigned to your Triangle button.
You do get a team attack that is accessible after Zantis joins your team. Like most team attacks, it takes a while to build up but it is great for crowd control when you hit those large mobs of monsters or for taking a good chunk of health from boss fights.
As players, you can switch between the available members of your party and you’re not locked to playing just Cyan which is nice as each character doesn’t always have the same weapon. Some characters will unlock the same weapon around the same time, others might have to wait a few Arma runs before a particular weapon is available to them.
Monsters for the main part aren’t too hard. They have a small health bar. Some are weak to particular weapons. Yes, weapons not elements. Once your characters have been to the altar and unlock the weapon, it’s time to take those monsters out with ease.
With bosses, the difference besides the massive health bar is that bosses also have a stagger/shield bar beneath their health bar. To make things harder, the bosses don’t take damage until you stagger them by emptying that gauge. And it doesn’t stay depleted very long.
When it comes to each new environment and weapon, the game does bring additional challenges. To be able to access certain areas, you need to have a certain weapon to break boulders or hit switches to progress.
The game is really a lot of fun but there is no game that doesn’t have some short falls. This being no exception to that.
For your attacks, your character has a stamina ring and it doesn’t last very long. Yes, it does teach you to be tactical but unfortunately, you can’t always be trying to dodge your way out of trouble so your gauge can refill when you have monsters actively following you.
As for the AI, it’s not the most intelligent. The amount of times your partner characters will actively run directly into an attack and get themselves killed is too often. There is 2-3 player co-op but unfortunately it is limited to local co-op so I could not test that out.
The other downside which comes from your self sacrificing companions is that you find yourself frequently in the menu during battles as it’s the only way to heal despite the amount of unused buttons on your controller.
Overall, the game is a fun number that you can lose hours in and it definitely scratches that nostalgia itch. And just as the game says; “If you start feeling like you’ve over prepared. You haven’t prepared enough”
The game is available on PC, PlayStation 4 & 5 as well as Nintendo Switch from April 25th, 2023
**Thanks to Marvelous Europe for the free copy of Trinity Trigger**
