Trinity Trigger Review

Game: Trinity Trigger
Genre: RPG, Adventure, Action
System: Nintendo Switch (also available on Steam, Windows, PS4, & PS5)
Developers | Publishers: FuRyu | Marvelous, XSEEDGAMES
Age Rating: US E10+ | EU 12+
Price: US $49.99 | UK £ 44.99 | EU € 49,99
Release Date: April 25th. 2023 (For PC via Steam) & May 16th, 2023 (For NS, PS4 & PS5)

Review code used, with many thanks to Decibel PR.

Trinity Trigger is an RPG adventure game that has an impressive group of RPG developers at the helm.

The game has been designed by artist Yuki Nobuteru (Secret of Mana), character designer Raita Kazama (Xenoblade), scenario writer Yura Kubota (Octopath Traveler), and composer Hiroki Kikuta (Secret of Mana). Let’s have a look at it and see what it’s about.

The Gods are at War

The storyline in Trinity Trigger is a standard affair for an RPG; the gods have been at war and have left massive, powerful weapons in the Arma’s, which are towers (think dungeons) made from the fallen weapons of the gods.

Cyan is a young man with a strange red mark on his eye that keeps reappearing; what could it be? He lives quietly with his sister Firn in the world of Trinitia in the village of Woodroost. Cyan is a scavenger and goes out to work each day.

Earthquake unleashes Monsters

After an earthquake rocks the dungeon where Cyan is scavenging, it is filled with angry monsters. Then, Cyan meets Flamme, a small rabbit-like creature with unique powers. Flamme is a Trigger; Triggers are magical creatures that can transform into eight types of weapons.

Unfortunately for Cyan, his peaceful way of life is shattered when Elise Quoise arrives and explains to Cyan about a proxy war that the gods fought and that Cyan has been chosen as the Warrior of Chaos. Gee, isn’t he a lucky guy?

The World of Trinitia

So begins Cyan’s journey throughout Trinitia, accompanied by his companions Elise and Zantis and their Triggers. The game’s direction is pretty linear; you can’t wander off the beaten path too often. However, there are a few hidden passages to explore in the diverse biomes of Trinitia, where you might find a treasure chest, but it’s mostly linear.

In addition, Trinity Trigger has different environmental areas, from forests to sandy deserts and snowfields. Along with towns to visit and NPCs to chat to get clues for how to proceed in your journey.

Step Back in Time

Trinity Trigger has the look and feel of an RPG from the 90s. However, it is also mixed with a more modern style emphasizing fast-paced action.

In your team, you have the three characters, Cyan, Elise and Zantis, each with their own Trigger. Furthermore, you can switch seamlessly between each character to control them individually at any time and during real-time action battles.

Eight weapons

Each enemy you encounter has its weaknesses, and it’s up to you to use the correct weapon out of your arsenal of eight to end their shenanigans and kill them.

As you progress through Trinity Trigger and visit various areas on the map, the Triggers gain more powers to change into various weapons. For example, Cyan starts the game with a sword, and then Flamme gets the ability to turn into a bow and so on. Ultimately, each character has an arsenal of eight weapons their Trigger can turn into. So overall, between the three characters, you have twenty-four weapons to rely on during battles and the boss battles.

Trinity Impact

During combat, you can dodge, and once your weapon auras bar fills up, you get a temporary boost to the power of the attack. Finally, there is a special move called Trinity Impact attacks; when the gauge is complete, all three characters join together to strike the enemy with a powerful attack.

Unfortunately, during the Trinity Impact attacks, the animation is a letdown. I expected sparks and the usual fanfare in the graphics to emphasize the power of the attack. But the way it’s animated, you don’t actually see the attack take place. When the screen returns to the fight, all that remains is a cloud of dust, so I was disappointed in how the Trinity Impact move is presented to the player.

Customise

You can customise your weapons and armour by crafting Manatite, and the Tigger attacks can be upgraded using TP, which you gain by defeating enemies.

Moreover, having the Triggers makes combat fun and engaging as you can switch between the characters and their Triggers, giving you plenty of weapons to choose from. Switching weapons is done pretty seamlessly as each weapon is on a weapon wheel (radial menu), so it’s a simple case of pulling the weapon wheel menu up and choosing your weapon on the fly.

Visuals, Controls and Tutorial

Graphically I like how Trinity Trigger looks. Though at the beginning of the game, when Cyan first appeared, I wasn’t sure the style of the character drawings’ suited the game’s overall appearance. Cyan’s character animation looked jagged and wasn’t as smooth as the rest of the game’s graphics. But in the end, the look of the game kinda grew on me.

Controls on the Nintendo Switch are pretty intuitive, and I had no problems with them. Aside from a little slowdown on-screen during battles with many enemies, the game mainly performed well on the Switch.

While the game doesn’t have a dedicated hold-your-hand tutorial, it does have to pop up info blocks that appear each time something new is introduced to the player, telling you everything you need to know.

Conclusion

Overall, I like Trinity Trigger. You can see the influence of the Secret of Mana from the development team in Trinity Trigger, but it is not a Secret of Mana clone. I also like the modern touches of gameplay mixed with the older styles. However, in the back of my mind, I can’t help but think that there are bigger and better RPGs already available, and it will be the prestige of the development team that attracts players to the game.

Final Verdict: I Like It