The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

( PC – JRPG – 2014 ) + TRAILER

---

Putting aside my brief excursion into the Gagharv games with the maligned PSP remakes I've finally decided to check out the Legend of Heroes series in earnestness, and I can say Trails in the Sky did not disappoint. Will it appeal to everyone? Well, I'd say genre fans would be predisposed toward liking it, but even then there are matters to discuss here.

Game opens to a man bringing home a child he's come upon during his adventures much to his daughter's irritation. Man is Cassius Bright, a famous Bracer living in Rolent, and boy Joshua becomes his adopted son dealing with his sister Estelle's friendly shenanigan as two are polar opposites. Story skips forward five years as they're finalizing their own Bracer training just as Cassius seemingly gets caught up in an airliner disappearance. Knowing their father is beyond competent Joshua and Estelle decide to go along with their original plan – get all the recommendations from each of Liberl Kingdom's regions so they can graduate from Junior ranks and become full fledged Bracers in their own right. Thus the adventure begins set against the backdrop of a kingdom in turmoil that's about to celebrate the Queen's 60th birthday.

For a largely story-heavy genre it's refreshing the way Trails in the Sky keeps said story close to its chest. Don't misunderstand because each chapter does have its own arc dealing with new characters and local problems, but it also masterfully weaves in parts of the overall narrative and bits that [seemingly] go beyond this game as well. I can hardly remember many JRPGs where world itself plays such a major role in how it gets fleshed out or how it integrates setting defining elements into every aspect of the world. For example, Orbal Revolution began 50 years earlier and changed how technology works. Player gets to see this as Orbments with all of their technical explanations and real life applications now permeate Liberl. Makes you wonder what other kingdoms are like since they're apparently lagging behind with this new technology making it Liberl's sole edge in their post-war state.

There's one usually overlooked feature in most games – NPCs. I cannot even begin to fathom how extensive game script has to be when almost every single common NPC, almost all of whom are named, comments on unfolding events and even has their own little story going on. This is certainly where point-of-no-return chapter structure helps, I imagine. Sometimes they even have little exchanges with our protagonists, you come across them at a different location later on, discover more about their jobs/life through posted Requests, etc. Phenomenal addition you can entirely ignore and never talk to them, but I'd argue this is the main meat of the game that manages to flesh out the world of Trails in the Sky more than anything else and give the game some identity.

And lastly, leaning onto the above, there are the characters and make no mistake because they're what Trails in the Sky lives or dies by. I haven't mentioned it yet, but game is a slow burn that might put off some people. If you ask me that's almost a necessity to develop characters when so much rides on their shoulders. Estelle and Joshua with their sibling dynamic, comedic relief characters who obviously hide more under the surface, other Bracers on missions you come across who aren't necessarily the nicest of people, etc. If there's one thing I'd slight the game for it would be being too obvious with rubbing the mystery in your face at times. Or was it foreshadowing flying right over my head? Honestly, I was just surprised by how intelligent characters are at putting things together quickly and accurately.

Hope you're ready for some ULTRA violence.

Game dictates your companions until the very end, but combat remains straightforward without needlessly bogging you down.

Tried and true JRPG menu. You can hide on-screen buttons if they annoy you.

As far as the mechanics and systems go Trails in the Sky is my kind of turn-based JRPG – with transparent combat turns and visible enemies so you can avoid them.

Joshua and Estelle travel from region to region in linear fashion and getting Recommendations from each branch of the Bracers Guilde requires doing Requests. Seeing Bracers are a non-military organization this can be anything from keeping the roads clear from extraordinary monster specimens to helping someone recover their lost pocket watch. Completing these tasks is how you get paid in Mira and earn BP which determines your rank. I was never really starved for money because you can explore some optional areas in every region which lets you net some stuff you'd have to buy otherwise. There is no overworld to speak of as towns are connected by roads where monsters roam and you traverse across as combat zones in their own right. Particular design choice that might annoy some people is Trails in the Sky doesn't really let you customize your party roster until the final chapter and is content to just have our dynamic duo as party fixture with remaining two slots getting filled in by guest characters when story deems it necessary. Oh, you can also cook food as means of recovery/boosting from ingredients you procure as loot or buy.

I mentioned Orbments already, right? Well, unlocking slots with elemental Sepith you gain from combat, and slotting in some quartz is what lets your characters use magic aka Arts. Each character has their own limitations and inherent preferences with these slots, however. There's this entire interplay between slotted quartz and how they interact with lines multiplying their effects and enabling you to cast more advanced Arts. Game doesn't really have an organic way of teaching you this so you're stuck with looking at in-game instruction listing which combinations result in what. On Normal difficulty you can get away with your typical “get some healing, get some damage and minor buffs” to carry you through. On top of that there are character-defining Crafts and ultimate S-Crafts. These are essentially the determining factor for which characters you want in your party and range from AoE attacks, self-heals, debuffs, etc with their associated CP cost you recover through dealing damage and getting damaged. Don't sit on these.

When you boil it down to essentials combat is exactly what you'd expect to find in a turn-based JRPG. There are inclusions I personally like, such as visible turn meter where everyone's action order is visible so you can plan around it, and there's battlefield movement to account for. Not that it really matters beyond getting out of enemy's AoE attacks... which I did all of five times, probably. Attacks come in single, area and line variety which makes formations on both sides meaningful to a degree. Since I played on Normal I can only attest to that level of challenge which is alright. Probably airing on the easy side. Since the game is so finely tuned due to regulating who's in your party at all times it's appropriate only the final dungeon was somewhat tricky. One boss fight you're not supposed to win, but can, notwithstanding. That was pretty much the only fight in the entire game that got me re-thinking my setup.

Looking at Trails in the Sky as a whole I really liked it. Maybe because it really isn't a MODERN title considering original release puts it at 2004 and game wears its sensibilities on a sleeve. Addition of turbo mode is much appreciated and probably shaved off couple of hours for me. Production-wise we are talking about a game that's almost 20 years old at this point, but that's not a problem on its own. 3D levels are on the blocky side and pre-rendered sprites took a while to get used to which made me laugh because that look is back in style looking at some modern titles. Soundtrack? Great if somewhat on the limited side with re-use of emotional tracks, but location-based ones are upbeat. Combat theme was the only one that sounded perhaps a bit too... jazz casual?