I was playing the SoM remaster just yesterday with the kids. It is a bit of a slog to stand there charging your weapon for several seconds only to whiff on what you were attacking. The magic leveling is also very grindy. I appreciated these more when I was a kid and didn't have many other options.

In Trials of Mana, they updated the gameplay while still keeping that Mana look and feel. I wished there was a little more depth to it, but I don't think they could have done much more without overhauling the entire thing. I also wished they included co-op.

I haven't played the Legends remake (or the original), but I am interested in what they did with it. I do think you can still keep the nostalgic feel of the series while learning from the 2+ decades of game design that occurred after.

What's funny is that when I play the old school action RPGs I appreciate the more modern ones that much more, opposite of you WK. Though the reverse is definitely true for turn-based RPGs.