HIGH Fantastic combat system that is both modern and an homage to classic RPGs.

LOW Sluggish pacing in the middle chapters.

WTF “How about a hundred smacks on the ass?”

About a month ago I started seeing buzz online for Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter.

The Trails/Legend of Heroes series, despite its vast library, is one I knew very little about, but this remake of the first in the series seemed to check a lot of personal boxes — realtime combat that transitions into turn-based, a captivating art style, and a high fantasy setting harkening back to classic JRPGs. So, I booted up the free demo, and by the end of its generous eight-hour playtime, I was completely hooked and thirsty for more. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a beautiful RPG with top-notch combat, memorable characters, and also serves as a perfect entry point into the long-running Trails series.

1st Chapter follows the story of sixteen-year-old Estelle and her adopted brother Joshua as they aim to become top notch Bracers — people who help protect the citizens of Liberl from monsters, thieves, and any threats to the kingdom. Over the course of their journey, they will travel across the kingdom to aid as many people as possible while balancing each other out perfectly — Estelle is captivatingly optimistic and reactionary, while Joshua is more reserved and calculated. As they blossom into powerful bracers, so do their feelings for one and other.

The story Falcom weaves is a complex one commencing with Estelle and Joshua’s hunt for their missing father, which eventually matures into a struggle for military power, treason from within the government, and other powerful forces at work behind the scenes. When firing on all cylinders, Trails is captivating and engrossing, simultaneously balancing the intimate and personal story of two kids trying to find their dad, and the larger, more sophisticated political drama. However, I found myself disengaged in the middle chapters because the focus shifted off both these potent storylines, and more into side characters that are ultimately important to the overall plot, though they feel gratuitous during their runtimes. 

Besides the sluggish middle section, another issue is that each chapter tends to focus on two characters that will join in battle with Estelle and Joshua, but their residence in the party is short-lived as they always depart at the end of each chapter, leaving Estelle and Joshua effectively starting from scratch. Each of these side characters are memorable — from over-the-top traveling musician Olivier, to the mysteriously powerful swordsman Agate, the cast is top notch. However, it felt like just as soon as I got to know the characters on a deeper level, they would set off on their own journey.

That said, all of the intermittent party members reappear in an epically-bombastic final act that ties everyone’s stories together quite well, but the thickness of the middle chapters does lessen the overall experience. Also puzzling was that some of these itinerant characters have voice acting while Estelle and Joshua do not, which did occasionally pull me out of the immersion. 

What does remain engaging throughout 1st Chapter’s runtime is the phenomenal combat system. When approaching wandering enemies, players can enter into a basic, but effective real-time battle complete with normal attacks, dodges, and a special meter that charges over time. Once the enemy’s stun meter is full, the player will have a huge advantage when they enter into turn-based combat, which they can slickly switch into with the press of a button.

In the turn-based combat, characters will have a range of options at their disposal, with different resources for each. The key to successful battles is knowing how to balance spells and abilities, and also knowing how to correctly position party members. For example, some buffs and healing spells are only effective when party members are positioned near each other, but certain enemies might abuse this proximity with powerful AOE attacks. Understanding both party strengths and enemy attack patterns is crucial. 

In addition to a traditional level-up system and equipment management, Trails adds a deeper level of preparation to combat with the orbment system. Each playable character has the ability to equip an elemental quart into a total of six slots. Depending on the element of the quartz and its proximity to other quartz, the character can obtain varying spells to use in battle. For example, equipping a water-based HP quartz will give the character healing spells, while a water-based mind quartz will give the character an offensive aqua attack. As the adventure progresses, players will obtain more powerful quartz to create incredibly powerful offensive and defensive spells. The level of customization here is high, and finding the correct quartz for each character is enticing. (There’s is also an auto-equip for those who want to enjoy battles without too much experimentation.) 

The world of Liberl is one brimming with history — it’s filled with collectable books that outline how the kingdom came to be, and mysterious towers hint at the many wars and struggles the country has endured. Trails does a great job at making the land feel lived-in and real, though I do wish the environments were a little more varied when exploring. The sun is always shining brightly over the samey-looking rolling meadows, with the occasional cave or forest thrown in.

Overall, I truly enjoyed my time with Estelle, Joshua, and their many companions in their quest to become senior bracers. Falcom does a commendable job creating a world and story that feels real for the majority of its runtime, despite a few occasional stumbles. As a newcomer to the series, the combat system captivated me from the first battle and never let me go. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter feels like a classic JRPG I might have grown up playing, yet produced in a modern and nuanced way at the same time. Thanks to the obvious pride and care put into this remake, consider me the newest fan of the Trails series. 

Rating: 8 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed by Nihon Falcom & Nihon Falcom Corporation and published by GungHo Online Entertainment America, Inc. It is currently available on Switch/Switch 2, XBX/S, PS5 and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PS5. Approximately 39 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There is no multiplayer mode.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T and contains Blood, Fantasy Violence, Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco. The official description reads: Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is rated T for Teen by the ESRB with Blood, Fantasy Violence, Language, Suggestive Themes, and Use of Alcohol and Tobacco. This is an action role-playing game in which players assume the roles of adopted siblings searching for their missing father. From a third-person perspective, players explore a kingdom, interact with characters, complete missions, and engage in battle with human and fantastical enemies (e.g., plants, robots, soldiers). Players use swords, staffs, guns, and magic spells to attack enemies. Players can use special moves that depict brief cutscenes of the attacks. Combat is highlighted by colorful light effects and impact sounds. Still-images sometimes depict bloodstains near bodies and on characters’ faces/clothing. One female character is designed with a somewhat revealing outfit (e.g., deep cleavage) and breast-jiggling effects; some camera angles focus on her chest. Story elements also allude to a romantic relationship between adopted siblings (e.g., struggling with their feelings, kissing). One scene depicts two characters under the influence of alcohol (e.g., flushed faces, slurred speech), with accompanying dialogue (e.g., “Come and drink with your big sister. You drink or I bring the whole place down”; “Wow, I really drank. Feels like it’s been forever since I last got to cut loose.”) One character is seen smoking a cigarette, and a side mission involves finding stolen cigarettes. The words “sh*t” and “a*sholes” appear in the game.

Colorblind Modes: There is no colorblind mode.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles, though they are not resizable. Audio cues are not needed for progression, making the game fully accessible. 

Remappable Controls: Yes, the game’s controls are remappable.

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HIGH The cast’s a largely enjoyable bunch of rogues with solid writing.

LOW The battle systems are somewhat unexciting.

WTF Feri’s (13f) father’s ominously-worded letter to Van (24m).

The Trails series has been around for a while at this point, and unlike many other major JRPG series on the market, it doesn’t simply ditch the storyline of the previous entries and start afresh with each new installment. No, they’re all interlinked, with cameo appearances from one arc popping up in the next.

Such a long-term structure sounds like it could be pretty uninviting for new players beginning with later games, but as someone who only occasionally dips into this IP, I’m pleased to say that Trails through Daybreak works extremely well as a starting point for newcomers thanks to its new core cast, fresh setting and just enough explanation about prior events peppered in.

This new arc in the Trails series takes place in the Republic of Calvard, a fairly major superpower. It’s a region and world filled with recognizable tech — they have televisions, laptops, mobile phones, cars and highways, which makes much of the setting feel immediately relatable. Of course, this region has its own share of woes and social ills, and this is where a new story begins as a school girl with a heart of gold requests help from a local fixer in recovering something known as the Genesis — a keepsake of her grandfather… which, by the way, might just be part of something that might trigger the end of world.

The characters in Trails through Daybreak are pretty great overall. Protagonist Van Arkride isn’t some wide-eyed kid, instead having plenty of life already under his belt as the story begins. He’s got a reputation as a dependable fixer (here termed a “Spriggan”) who can get things done for a fee, and often employed by clients who may not want to get involved with the law for various reasons. I was initially concerned he’d lean too far into the ‘cool dependable guy’ side of the spectrum to be interesting, but he has unexpected personality quirks that make him a decent lead.

The backup cast run the gamut from good to excellent. Feri in particular is a superb addition — a fish-out-of-water child soldier whose limited experience living on the battlefield couples with her boundless enthusiasm and desire to be helpful in weird and amusing ways. Main heroine Agnes is fairly likable, even if her personality slots neatly into the kind-hearted-but-determined trope, then there’s a host of playable and nonplayable characters who get involved like Judith, a movie actress with a shadowy side gig, or the Direwolf, a beast of a dude with whom Van’s had an obviously turbulent history.

The writing and world building are solid throughout, with plenty of amusing dialogue to keep things entertaining, even when the cutscenes run long with exposition. Handled badly, the pacing in Trails through Daybreak could have been an absolute bore, but it all goes down easy thanks to a decent localization and good character work, much of it shining when players are allowed to simply breathe in each environment and potter around with relaxing, non-critical tasks between more serious events.

There’s also a minor morality system at play during certain points where Van can choose between lawful, chaotic or morally questionable outcomes. This doesn’t change who he is as a character — he’s a hero, so he’s not going to suddenly start kicking puppies into wood chippers out of nowhere. It’s more that a chaotic choice will have him come to a different conclusion. A lawful choice will have him leaving a thug in the hands of the police, whereas a chaotic choice would lead him to the conclusion that the police might not prosecute the criminal appropriately, so he’ll blackmail them to ensure compliance instead. It’s a minor thing, but it does gently guide certain responses and outcomes throughout the narrative.

In terms of gameplay, series regulars will find an admirable amount of player customization. Battles can be made as easy or as challenging as desired with multiple selectable difficulties, text and movement speeds can be sped up or cut down, and more.

Looking specifically at combat, there’s a new dual battle system on offer.

The first aspect is a little like that found in Falcom’s other famous action JRPG series Y’s, though admittedly more limited in scope. It’s a simple realtime setup where players get to stab enemies in real time or roll out of the way of attacks, best used to eliminate weaker enemies and to shunt larger foes off-balance by stunning them before transitioning to the turn-based mode to finish them off. It’s not particularly deep, but it’s nice to have the option to clear riffraff in a speedy manner instead of having to knuckle down for a turn-based brawl every time a poxy slime gets too close to the party.

This second aspect is a more traditional turn-based approach where players give each character various commands like defending from attacks, casting magical arts or simply stabbing an enemy in the face. This is paired alongside a realtime battle system where dashing around field monsters, tumbling out of the reach of attacks and smashing them into a stunned state with special moves is the order of the day.

There’s a decent amount of strategy in this turn-based, including maneuvering around the field to catch as many enemies in an area-of-effect attack as possible, or synergizing with allies so that they join in on the assault, but the delay between selection and activation of certain special moves robs play of immediacy, and seeing enemies walk out of said AOE before activation sucks.

While these systems are decent enough, I did find myself wishing the frequent battles would be over faster, so I could get back to continuing the story — a feeling I rarely have when encountering a genuinely gripping JRPG battle system. The lack of impact during battles is noticeable, with fairly stiff animations and no real oomph to each attack. As a result battles feel a little more mundane and perfunctory than they could be, and playing Daybreak right off the back of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, it’s hard not to expect a little more from modern-day battle systems.

As a side note, Daybreak is full of “points of no return” where players will be warned that the storyline is about to advance and that if they haven’t done everything they’ll lose the chance forever. As someone with a completionist mindset, this left me in a near-perpetual state of anxiety. Did I talk to everyone? Did I do everything? Did I doublecheck that I talked to everyone and did everything? I’m sure I did, so let’s continue… okay, we’re now past the point of no retu — SHIT, I FORGOT TO FEED THAT F****** CAT MY PLAYTHROUGH IS RUINED GODDAMN IT!!!

Well, it’s maybe not that extreme, but I spent a lot of time doublechecking that I’d crossed everything off my list before daring to progress.

Despite completion anxiety and combat that was just a little bit lacking, I still had a great time with Trails through Daybreak — it offers an interesting world coupled with plenty of likeable characters, ultimately delivering an enjoyable journey filled with plenty of good times.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed by Nihon Falcom and published by NIS America. It is currently available on PS4/5, Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PC. Approximately 35 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed. Still playing though!

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T and contains Blood, Drug References, Fantasy Violence, Language, and Suggestive Themes. The official description reads: “This is a role-playing game in which players assume the role of a hero hired to find a stolen heirloom. As players explore a fictional republic, they can complete missions/quests, interact with characters, and battle human enemies and fantasy creatures (e.g., giant insects, demons, robotic turrets). Players use swords, machine guns, and magic spells to defeat enemies in turn-based combat. Battles are highlighted by gunfire, impact sounds, and cries of pain. Some sequences depict blood-splatter effects as characters are attacked; a handful of scenes show blood on characters’ faces and underneath a corpse. The game contains some suggestive material: a gentleman’s club depicting female characters in lingerie dancing on poles; red-light district signage (e.g., “Show Girls”); innuendo/sexuality in dialogue (e.g.,“We’ve got a nice room out in the Entertainment District…[W]e’ll give you more girls…”; “Just don’t get too naughty, all right?”). The dialogue also references drugs (e.g., “…laced with illicit substances”; “hard drugs”; “…[I]f he’s going around selling drugs to children, he won’t be on the streets for long.”). The word “sh*t” is heard in the game.”

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. Audio isn’t required to play. All dialogue is subtitled, few mechanics are aided by audio cues, and the few that do have visual accompaniments. It’s fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.

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HIGH: At times sweet, earnest, and a little bit inspiring. Bunny ears.

LOW: Endless, unnecessary dialogue. Meaningless sidequests.

WTF: Spoiler alert: Rean’s sister might be in love with him??

How does The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel begin?

It’s September. A bunch of teens are thrust into the invasion of the Garrelia military base. Very little context is given other than go get the bad guys!

Our hero is Rean, a black-haired teen with a determined look in his eye. Rean and his military school cohorts battle machine “monstrosities” that have begun to take over the base until they’re faced with the unthinkable — two massive guns are about to shoot across the border to Crossbell. Is that bad? One can only assume!

The guns are about to go off. Rean turns to screen and screams STOP! …and suddenly, it’s five months earlier.

Trails of Cold Steel is a turn-based RPG set in that particular kind of psuedo-European world that crops up in Japanese videogames where everyone has names like Rufus, Machias, and Schwarzer. Their country, Erebonia, is undergoing an industrial revolution of sorts. Something called “Orbal power” has been discovered and fuels everything from battle moves to airships, lightbulbs, and sweet motorcycles that characters will often refer to, unselfconsciously, as being like “metal horses”.

Orbal technology has brought Erebonia and its neighbors closer, but has also vastly increased their capability for war. Rean and his classmates exist in this time of tension, when Erebonia is torn both between nobles and commoners and on the brink of conflict with neighboring nations. There’s also a group of terrorists called the Imperial Liberation Front–the main baddies.

The battle system is uncomplicated. Rean and his friends each have an Orbal communicator called an ARCUS. The ARCUS not only operates as a cell phone, but also has slots for orbs that can be used in battle — put an orb in a slot and use that power. As such, any character can be outfitted with any Orbal power, making the entire party both versatile and somewhat redundant. There’s little discussion of where the orbs come from, so I’m left wondering exactly what they are. Apparently, it’s not very important.

There are also skills that are tied to weapons, and an aspect of the ARCUS called battle linking. If Rean performs a critical hit on an enemy and he is linked with Fie (a sleepy, lazy girl) or any other playable character, then Fie can perform a follow-up attack.

While the combat benefits from simplicity, battle can also be boring and one of its primary issues is the animation. Basic combat animations are rote, no more than swinging a sword or firing a gun, and don’t vary much from character to character, even if more powerful arts can sometimes be flashy. Much of the animation in Trails of Cold Steel is lackluster and there are no impressive cutscenes to make up for it.

Graphics-wise, the Trails isn’t well-realized. The characters and their environments are blocky and their textures repetitive. Interiors often look the same. Dungeons are bare and colorless, with unchallenging and uninteresting puzzles and maps, while homes and dorm rooms are unadorned and rarely cozy, showing little of the personality of the inhabitants. There’s no environmental storytelling, and little of the inventiveness that I have become accustomed to from my time playing hundreds of hours of Final Fantasy and various other JRPGs.

In fact, much of Trails of Cold Steel lacks inventiveness, and the character tropes are immediately recognizable to anyone who’s ever watched an anime series. Rean is particularly bland and fits neatly into the determined hero role. The steely-eyed, reticent snob Jusis has a cold, forbidding father with whom he has a terrible relationship. There’s Gaius, a foreigner who is largely inconsequential and has zero character development. The sleepy girl is a former child soldier. Thankfully, some DLC allows the player to make them all far more interesting by equipping bunny ears and a tail.

However, about five chapters into Trails of Cold Steel (and post bunny ears) I found myself starting to like these crazy kids because they’re just so young and sincere. They all seem to really care about each other. However, that is a lot of chapters to go through before feeling endeared to the cast. Had I not been reviewing Trails,I doubt I would have finished it — it also doesn’t help that the narrative going is slow, and the story is unveiled in fits and starts.

In each chapter, Rean and friends are sent on a field trip to a town in Erebonia where they’re tasked with completing menial work like battling a monster or finding a lightbulb. However, things pick up when each visit reveals more about the political tensions between the factions. Unfortunately, every time the stakes seemed to be raising, the kids manage to sort things out in the nick of time, tie things up in a bow, and are returned to the torture of classroom life and a school management system derivative of the Persona games, but not as interesting. The player will be asked questions in class on Erebonian history, graded on the amount of quests completed, and have to take a midterm. Grades are then posted in the hallway for all to see — a source of shame for many a student.

The progress in Trails is bogged down even more because every member of the class needs to chime in on every decision. You guys want dinner? I sure do! Me too! Characters espouse high-minded ideals and earnest hopes for the future constantly, and the sheer amount of unnecessary dialogue is astounding. Furthermore, characters will describe other characters in ways that could be left to the player to decipher. Instead of giving me the impression that Jusis has a bad relationship with his father, Rean will to chime in and say “Jeez, they really don’t seem to like each other.” Remember, kids – show, don’t tell.

Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel lacks vibrancy, the animations lack imagination, and the characters are a bunch of bores. Not having played any other games in the series, I can’t say whether this series is suffering from sequelitis exhaustion, but this installment just lacks so much. It’s an excruciating play that I cannot recommend.

– Gabriella Santiago-Vancak

Disclosures: This game is developed by Nihon Falcom and published by Xseed Games. It is currently available on PS3, Vita, PC, and PS4. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PS4. Approximately 60 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T. It contains Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco. The official ESRB description reads as follows: This is a role-playing game in which players assume the role of students as they uncover evil plots against a country. Players explore dungeons and battle human soldiers and fantastical enemies (e.g., robots, dragons, giant insects) in turn-based combat. Players use swords, bows, spears, firearms, and magic spells to defeat enemies. Battles are accompanied by realistic gunfire, large explosions, and cries of pain. Cutscenes also contain acts of violence and depictions of blood: a man shot through the chest and bleeding; dead soldiers lying in small pools of blood. During the course of the game, characters sometimes engage in suggestive dialogue (e.g., “Show dem t*tties,” “It’s not like I spend all my time on the prowl for beautiful maidens to deflower,” and “That makes your boobies look even bigger!”). Players occasionally encounter characters who smoke cigarettes and consume alcohol (e.g., “Nothing hits the spot quite like a cold beer!” and “*hic* Drink! Bring me another drink!”). The word “sh*t” is heard in the dialogue.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available in the options.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game is easily played without sound. All dialogue is visible on screen. Font is large but not changeable. This title is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: The game has limited remappable controls.  

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