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How does the day-night cycle work? - Trials of Mana

Trials of Mana features a detailed day-night cycle. But how does it work?

Ozzie Mejia

April 23, 2020 11:15 PM

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Trials of Mana is a robust action-RPG, one where it's pretty easy to get lost in the story and the various combat systems. But there are a lot of detailed mechanics that operate within the world, one of them being a detailed day-night cycle. But how does that day-night cycle work? Shacknews is here to help explain it.

How does the day-night cycle work? - Trials of Mana

Whether a player opts to spend time exploring a town, venturing out into the world to level up, or progressing the story forward, time is passing. In fact, day will turn to night and vice-versa every couple of minutes. Players can expect to see different enemies lurking around different areas whether it's day or night. Daytime creatures might attack while the sun is out while zombies can pop out of the ground whenever night falls.

Meanwhile, some story events can only be pushed forward depending on the time of the day. For some characters, their stories can only get past the introduction by sneaking away from the feral Beastmen at night, when they're easier to elude. Certain shops will only open at specific times of the day, such as an underground Night Market containing special items.

If you need to change the time of day for any reason, there are a few items that can help. The Dream Reed will immediately change the time from day to night and vice-versa. Likewise, it's possible to just stay at a town's Inn and sleep until the desired time. The latter option may cost lucra, however, and lucra is a precious currency near the end of the game. Save it if you can.

Beyond what time of day it is, you'll also want to pay attention to the seven-day calendar. Depending on the day of the week, your elemental attacks may inflict greater damage to enemies. Here's the full calendar:

• Luna Day: Moon magic damage is greater.
• Salamander Day: Fire magic damage is greater.
• Undine Day: Water magic damage is greater.
• Dryad Day: Wood magic damage is greater.
• Jinn Day: Wind magic damage is greater.
• Gnome Day: Earth magic damage is greater.
• Mana Holy Day: No elemental boost.

Pay attention to your elemental magics, especially if you're using a magic-wielding character like Angela. You'll also find certain items that inflict elemental damage, so be sure to use those on their corresponding days for a little boost.

That's how the day-night cycle works in Trials of Mana. Be sure to keep it on Shacknews for continuing Trials of Mana coverage.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?