Topic: 2020/05: Trials Of Mana / Seiken Densetsu 3 (J) (Super NES) - xyzbilliu

[JonLeung]

Trials Of Mana / Seiken Densetsu 3 (J)

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to xyzbilliu's Trials Of Mana / Seiken Densetsu 3 (J) (Super NES) maps.

Eight powerful beings - the Benevodons - were sealed into the Mana Stones by the Mana Goddess long ago.  Now, the Mana Stones are sought by those who wish to unleash the Benevodons and take over the world.  Six characters - Angela, Duran, Charlotte, Kevin, Hawkeye and Riesz - three of which are playable in any one playthrough - face one of three different antagonists in their journey that will involve seeking out the Mana Sword and defeating the Benevodons to save the world.

Like its immediate predecessor, Secret Of Mana, Seiken Densetsu 3 is a beautiful top-down action-RPG that supports multiple players (though only two instead of Secret Of Mana's three).  With multiple combinations of characters and multiple storylines across a huge world, this adventure is one of the biggest that can be experienced on the Super NES or Super Famicom!

There's an interesting thing about this game's name.  Seiken Densetsu 3 was a Japanese exclusive until the first three games in the series were rereleased together in a bundle called "Collection Of Mana" for the Switch in 2019.  As it would now need a title in English, by following the convention of all the Mana games being titled "_____ Of Mana", this was rechristened as "Trials Of Mana" (with the "tri" in "Trials" being an intentional reference to the number three).  The Switch (as well as PS4 and PC) also received a complete remake in the spring of 2020, built as a modern game.  Though it is an entirely different engine, comparing many maps between the old and new versions show that there are quite a lot of similarities.  We can thank xyzbilliu for traversing this world and mapping it all out.

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this massive Mana game (the other Square original to receive a remake this spring), xyzbilliu's Trials Of Mana / Seiken Densetsu 3 (J) (Super NES) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for May 2020.

[G.E.R.]

What level map was placed on the background on the main page in May?

[JonLeung]

Thanks for asking, G.E.R.  You might be the first person on the forums to even ask me about the background images since I started doing them in February (and the second person ever (the first being John Sesia who emailed me about them shortly after I put up the first one)).

The background images are not related to the Maps Of The Month, and are meant to be related to the season or a holiday in the month more directly.  So far, this is what I've used:

February - Virtual Boy Wario Land - Level 6 by Trebor Almasy (red (after I applied redscale), hearts, begins with the letter V, all relating to Valentine's Day, also used on the Virtual Boy page)
March - The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past - Lost Woods (Shade) by Tropicon (green, relating to St. Patrick's Day, also used on the Super NES page)
April - The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX - Koholint by Osrevad (egg, relating to Easter, also used on the GB/GBC page)
May - Little Nemo: The Dream Master - Dream 2: Flower Garden by Chiasm (flowers, relating to the rhyme "March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers" - first one not also used on another page)
June - Soul Blazer - Grass Valley Highlands by Rick Bruns (nice summery sort of area, but not too much like summer just yet)

Not sure if I will reuse them all every year (Easter will be in March in 2024, so that definitely changes things there) or find new ones.  Well, now that I think about it, most likely I will reuse the ones that I really like and replace them if I find something better.  If I end up having a pool of a few options that I really like, I could see about randomizing them.