Seiken Densetsu 3 / Trials of Mana

For a whole decade this game was the Holy Grail for Western players, one you could only taste thanks to a fan translation. Seiken Densetsu 3, officially released in the West only much later as Trials of Mana, is the sequel to the beloved Secret of Mana and long ranked among the most eagerly awaited imports of the entire SNES era.

Its biggest draw is a structure built on choice. From a sextet of heroes you pick three at the start — and that choice fundamentally transforms the whole game. It changes not only who you lead, but also the story line, the available paths and even who your final opponent will be. The result is enormous replayability: you can play through the game several times, assembling a different party each time and experiencing a different angle on the same world.

In terms of play it builds on the series' action roots — combat unfolds in real time and characters can also develop through a class system, where you choose a light or dark specialization and gradually unlock stronger classes and abilities. Added to this is a dynamic day and night cycle that affects the world around you and gives it a sense of life.

Visually it's one of the high points of pixel art on the console. Detailed character animations, richly colored environments and grandiose bosses show what Square's artists could squeeze out of 16-bit hardware when they were at the top of their craft.

Its long unavailability in the West turned the game into a semi-legend known mainly to the initiated. That has changed — Seiken Densetsu 3 was released officially as part of a collector's collection, and in 2020 it received a full-fledged 3D remake that finally introduced it to a wide audience. But the original remains a gem worth discovering even today.

Why play it: For character choice that changes the entire story and finale, huge replayability, and the gorgeous pixel art of one of Square's high points on the SNES.