Review: Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

Relive a classic JRPG and the beginning of an epic saga with the remake of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky.

As someone who has played almost all of the Trails games, I often find myself in a difficult position when it comes to this series. While I absolutely love these games, I often find it hard to recommend it to someone, as the sheer size of the franchise and the way all the stories of the games are interconnected can be very intimidating to newcomers. Luckily, Nihon Falcom came up with the perfect solution, as they decided to remake the very first game in the series with Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter (and a remake of the other two are probably also on their way).

Back to the Beginning

While the Trails games themselves are part of a bigger franchise, namely The Legend of Heroes, Trials in the Sky was the start of a brand new story that takes places on the war-torn continent of Zemuria. Each arc, consisting of several games, would be named after the main region where these games take place and thus would Trails in the Sky give birth to the Liberl arc. While the game released on PC, and is still playable here, it was mainly available on the PlayStation Portable, Vita and PS3, which means that unless you have a PC, there was no way to experience this story. The original games are also isometric RPG’s with very rudimentary graphics, which is a far cry from what the series has to offer now. So this remake for modern consoles and PC is certainly a welcome addition, making it more accessible to a broader audience. And as a fan of these games, it’s of course wonderful to be able to play this game with full 3D graphics and many other Quality of Life improvements.

In Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, we meet Estelle Bright and her somewhat adopted brother Joshua. These two most people will know as Bracers from the Liberl Kingdom, who come to the aid of our other heroes in various games such as Trails to Azure, Trails of Cold Steel IV and Trails into Reverie. In Trails in the Sky, we discover their story as they train to become Junior Bracers. However, when their father mysteriously disappears after he got called away on a mission, they set out to find what happened to his missing airship and before long, uncover a dark conspiracy to overthrow the monarchy, under the guidance of an organizations most of us will be all to familiar with. The main story is still the same as in the original, but it has been expanded for the remake with new dialogues, new encounters and new side quests, adding a lot of new content to the game.

More than a Visual Upgrade

With this remake, Nihon Falcom clearly offers more than a fresh coat of paint for this classic JRPG. The isometric viewpoint has made way for a fully realized 3D approach similar to the more recent games, featuring explorable semi open levels that you can run through, even in first-person, a mode that was added in a recent patch. The combat has also been completely overhauled, offering a continuation of the systems the developer has been implementing with every new release. This means that the combat also incorporates some basic real-time mechanics, allowing you to hit enemies with normal attacks and some basic Crafts, as well as dodging enemy attacks. While smaller enemies can be easily defeated this way, you’ll mostly use these quick attacks to stun enemies in order to gain the upper hand in Command Battle, where you’ll use the more traditional turn-based gameplay.

It should be noted that the core mechanics of the combat are still more complex than many other JPRG’s and familiarizing yourself with the different aspects such as Orbments, Quartz, Sepith, Crafts and Arts is key to mastering the combat. But once you get the hang of it, you’ll find a lot of satisfaction in the tactical combat the game has to offer. If you prefer exploring and experiencing the story, the game also has some handy tools up its arsenal such as a lower difficulty and auto-equip feature that will automatically equip the best-suited Quartz depending on the builds you want to make. But even if you opt for a more laid back approach to the combat, you’ll still be treated to entertaining fights thanks to the many flashy moves your characters will pull off.

Aside from the combat, the gameplay offers a good balance between exploration and questing. As a Bracer, you’ll be tasked with various minor, sometimes time sensitive, requests that you can undertake and resolving these will further increase your Bracer Rank, giving you new rewards as you progress. Other things you can to while verturing through the world include cooking, collecting journals and books, fishing, an dmonster and treasure hunts. So there’s a lot to collect or partake in when you want a small break from the story and just want to revel in the lovely setting of the game.

A Wonderful Experience for Newcomers and Veterans Alike

Because the game is also fully realized in 3D, the setting of the game has of course truly come alive and those who have played the original game will find great joy in exploring these regions in 3D. The game has been rebuilt utilizing the latest version of the Daybreak engine, the new engine they used for the more recent Trails into Daybreak, and it has to be said that this is by far the best looking Trails game so far. Even if the graphics don’t match some bigger productions such as the latest Final Fantasy games, Tales of Arise or Granblue Fantasy: Relink, for a smaller studio Nihon Falcom sure made something impressive here. On PlayStation 5 the game also runs very smooth — contrary to the Switch versions it seems — with almost no frame drops or stutters. There is some pop-up visible and whenever you enter or leave a building, you’re treated to a loading screen, but these are rather minor issues.

Aside from the overhauled graphics, this remake also features a remastered soundtrack and spoken dialogues both in English and Japanese. Like previous entries, the game isn’t fully voiced however, as many side conversations and even occasional main dialogues don’t feature voice acting. But whether you chose the English or Japanese voices, they both pretty decent and appropriate for the characters. As a fan of the series who hasn’t played this first trilogy, it was also fun to see other characters such as Scherazard, Olivier Lenheim or Agate Crosner, who also made an appearance in the Trails of Cold Steel arc or Trails into Reverie. So it actually also works the other way around if we’re talking about familiarity. So whether the game serves as an entry point to the franchise or a means to discover how it all started, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a JRPG no fan should sleep on and it offers probably one of the best genre experiences in recent years.

4,5/5

Reviewed on PlayStation 5.
Download code provided by the publisher and PR agency.