Trinity Trigger is a brand new action role-playing game by Japanese developer FuRyu for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows. The game was self-published in Japan on September 2022 and has had its debut with the Traditional Chinese version earlier this January.

For the purpose of this review, I’ll be looking at the Global version of the game which was released today. Trinity Trigger is a title that features an all-star team of developers that includes:

• Yuki Nobuteru (Trials of Mana) – World Building
• Raita Kazama (Xenoblade) – Character Designer
• Yura Kubota (Octopath Traveler) – Scenario Writer
• Hiroki Kikuta and Yuki Nobuteru (Trials of Mana) – Composers

The game also aims to combine the look and feel of iconic RPGs from the 90’s, most definitely through its story, visuals and sound design. With that being said, is Trinity Trigger worth pulling the trigger for? Read on to find out.  

A Tale Worth Telling

The game is set in a forgotten age where the Gods of Order and Gods of Chaos compete with one another for complete dominance of the heavens. The resulting fallout from the conflict spilled out from the heavens to the continent of Trinitia, that lead to huge weapons being left as towering monuments in Trinitia. Your character, Cyan has been chosen as the “Warrior of Chaos” which he wholeheartedly disagrees with. He then sets out with his two companions Elise and Zantis to save the world and defy the Gods.

While the premise is nothing new to what we have seen in an RPG be is Western or Japanese, I believe that the world building helps separate it from the rest of the titles we have on the market right now. The world building in Trinity Trigger is one of the best I’ve experienced so far with everything just clicking into place and is intriguing enough for me to read on and understand further about it.

Content such as side-quests and stories that are outside the main story which would have normally been brushed over in other titles by myself, were given more attention as all of them felt like they interconnected with each other and helped gave the world more depth and served more than just basic filler quests.

While I could not say much in regards to the overall story in hopes to avoid spoilers, as this game’s narrative is definitely something one should experience at least once, it can be best summarized as a familiar story done great. The characters and their nuances all felt genuine and true to the world they are in and everything that happens throughout the journey definitely felt impactful and meaningful.

Getting Trigger’ed

The weapons in this game are called Triggers (fairly-like creatures) which players will be introduced very early on in the game, and through these Triggers, players will then be introduced to the combat mechanics of the game which is what a majority of the time will be spent dealing with as there are a lot of battles to be fought and won.

The combat of the game is fairly straightforward, you have one normal attack and one special attack as your attack actions. Normal attacks come in a variety of forms and players can select different options to get slightly different action and effects. Not only that, both attack actions can be upgraded using TP (obtained by levelling).

Players can also equip weapons and armor that are looted throughout your journey to boost your overall strength/power and this allows you to mix and match a build that is best suited to your playstyle. Weapons and items are easily swappable and results in a game pause whenever the select option pops up. I personally think this was a good feature and it allows players to be more in control during the situation as battles can some times get pretty hectic during those scenarios.

The different weapons will also carry different normal attacks and special attacks that results in a huge plethora of attack types that definitely helps break the monotony of some classic RPGs which would normally result in you using the same spell or attack move throughout the entirely of the game. Unfortunately, that variety only extends to normal attacks and special attacks are limited to only one per weapon which I personally feel is a missed opportunity to really double down on the variety in the combat encounters.

Furthermore, they also carry different functions, like smashing a big rock or solving puzzles which definitely encourages players to be a Swiss army knife of sorts. This also plays a part in targeting a monster’s specific weakness, which has players using different weapons for greater effect on the monsters. For example, the boss fights in Trinity Trigger will have these bosses with armor gauges, each armor gauge comes with its own different set of strengths and weaknesses that players will need to deplete before being able to cause damage to the boss itself.  

A Fantasy Game Without Magic

Due to the absence of “mana” in this game, Trinity Trigger is definitely one of the first few medieval fantasy type games that I have played which did not include magic as part of its gameplay mechanic. Instead, in it’s place, there is something called a Synchro Gauge. The gauge acts like a stamina bar which reduces every time you use an attack action.

This encourages players to be more careful when performing attacks as an empty Synchro Gauge will result in a huge reduction in damage. Luckily the Synchro Gauge does regenerate automatically when players stop attacking as well as getting perfectly timed dodges. Special attacks are independent from the Synchro Gauge but instead have extremely long cooldowns as a form of balancing. There is also an ultimate move called the Trinity Impact which has the three main character’s Triggers come together and make a huge damage attack. This powerful skill can only be cast when the yellow gauge at the bottom right of the UI is full which can be filled up by targeting enemy weaknesses or taking damage.

While also unique in its implementation, Trinity Trigger’s combat style does feel like a double edged sword for me in some cases. While I do think the presence of the Synchro Gauge makes the combat feel more precise and not like a button-masher type of game, it does result in me normally just throwing out all my attacks in quick-succession and running around after that to replenish the Synchro Gauge. This hit and run style of gameplay did not sit right with me and it did get a bit boring at times while playing this game.

The game also lacks a lock-on feature so from time to time I definitely missed a ton of my attacks especially when using the bow. The combat gets frustrating as your attacks does not stagger the enemy or cancel their actions which will result in moments where me and the enemies were basically just hitting each other until one of us dies. 

While the use of weapon swapping is encouraged and a wide variety of normal attacks are available to the players, the lack of magic in this game does hamper it slightly as it lacks the spectacle that comes with these fantasy-type games. Seeing the same attack type over and over would never result in the same feeling as combo-chaining elemental spells that are just filled with more life and energy for me personally.

The Places We Can Travel

Cities
Represent one of the main parts of the game, this essentially acts as your hub area where you can save your game, level up Triggers and also fast travel to and from. Throughout your journey there will a wide range of NPCs for you to meet which can be interacted with for quests and information about the world. Sadly, the game only has partial voiceover work with only most of the main NPCs being given the gift of voice.

The cities also include shops that let you buy and craft basic items such as potions, as well as something called a “verte workshop” which allows you to create “Manatites” (orbs) that you can equip in your weapon to increase its overall power. The city also includes an inn which lets you rest to recover your health after a hard day’s work exploring and beating up monsters.

Dungeons
Dungeons in Trinity Trigger serve as simple EXP farming stages but also as a means to upgrade your Trigger to get stronger. Dungeons will have what is called an “Altar” which can provide you with upgrades for your Trigger. Getting to these Altars however are not so easy as you will need to face bosses and puzzles in order to reach them.

Sound and Visual Design

Aside from the great worldbuilding I believe Trinity Trigger’s visual and sound design are also one of its strongest points. The game is marketed as a game that combines the look and feel of iconic RPGs of the ’90s and throughout my time with Trinity Trigger, I must say it definitely delivers on that very well.

Every character art looks stunning and feels like they are hand-painted, the many vistas and scenery shown throughout the game are extremely beautiful to look at even on a Nintendo Switch. Lavaxia specifically was my favorite as the area just looked really great.

Certain key moments in the game also has animated cutscenes to give it more depth and importance, it definitely was a treat to view but unfortunately they are very much far and few in-between and I do wish there were more animated cutscenes in this game.

The overall sound design however, especially the BGM (which is very important in a JRPG game) was really nicely done by the team. The different places you explore and adventure at contain different BGMs that just matches with the events and what was happening on screen.

Verdict

Overall, Trinity Trigger definitely accomplishes what it set out to do, which was combining the look and feel of iconic RPGs of the ‘90s. The game has an enticing story with amazing worldbuilding, which are complimented with amazing visual art-style and great sound design. The different tracks for different towns definitely gets the nostalgia going and harkens back to games like Final Fantasy IX and Knights of the Old Republic. 

While the look and feel of the game should be commended, the gameplay does need some improvement however as it really needed more variation to help break the monotonous nature of the combat gameplay.  But despite that, there is some enjoyment to be had and the current variety while limited is also sufficient.

So who is Trinity Trigger actually for? Fans of old school JRPGs should definitely put this on their wishlist as it definitely captures the very essence of what a 90s RPG should be like. While it definitely cannot compare to Final Fantasy IX, the game is quite friendly for players who are looking for a new JRPG without a complicated combat system. Couple that with the local co-op feature, and Trinity Trigger can easily be enjoyed with friends who are looking for a new adventure to go on. The game is selling for USD 49.99 (MYR 221.46) on the Nintendo Switch store and is available now.

Trinity Trigger is on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC and Nintendo Switch. You may find further details regarding the game at their official website.

Trinity Trigger was reviewed on Nintendo Switch, review code provided by Publisher.