The ending puts a smile on my face
I think it's the most boring Falcom game I've ever played, the story isn't nearly as interesting as a trails game, in fact it's even bad, and the gameplay and level design isn't nearly as good as a YS, the only thing I can praise is the graphics, other than that it's just a very boring game that I had to force myself to finish
The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is a fantastic Spin-Off of the Trails/Kiseki series, and a truly great Action RPG.
I really liked the Story, characters, music and gameplay. Overall, I definitely had a lot of fun with this game and think it's worth checking out.
I really liked the Story, characters, music and gameplay. Overall, I definitely had a lot of fun with this game and think it's worth checking out.
Entertaining, good combat, good enough story and enough content. Had so much fun with it. Also, it's a Kiseki.
Is there anything more anime than a summer vacation on an idyllic tropical island built on the ruins of an ancient civilization, blue skies stretching to every horizon? Well sure, you could also be receiving training from a reclusive swordmaster, meet a floating fairy with a distrust for humans, and go on magical adventures on the other side of a portal that appeared by your house one day. These tropes, and more(!) are executed with Falcom’s typical virtuosity, striking a fine balance between familiarity and quality execution in The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails.
What’s a good way to describe the plot of Nayuta? Initially I thought of it as a season of original anime (as opposed to an adaptation), it introduces characters and concepts at about the same rate, and the rhythm of its levels echo the pace of weekly repetition, though I’ll expand more on that later. Nayuta himself is the Socratic Ideal of a shounen anime protagonist, a headstrong goofy boy who gets lost in his musings and investigations, sometimes literally losing sleep over them. His more grounded friend, Cygna, is an expert swordsman who does his best to keep Nayuta’s feet planted on the ground, and together they run a cute little handyman business in their hometown on Remnant Isle. Like any good anime plot, the two quickly stumble upon a magical portal, an expansive alternate world, and a couple of intimidating figures that threaten the balance of nature. It’s up to the two to battle through these wondrous locales and Save the World, all while keeping things under wraps from their friends and family.
Eventually the plot balloons in scale, adding a whole “second season”, and even what I’d describe as an OVA for the epilogue! By the end I found it to be a bit too long for my tastes, but it does a good job of mixing up mechanics and keeping things fresh, constantly introducing new stages with new music and challenges, and pushing the challenge further and in different directions. The plot also delivers on some strong emotional beats. You’ve probably seen these types of story points elsewhere, but they’re executed well with appropriate buildups and payoffs, and everything feels earned and consistent tonally.
Structurally, the game plays out like a traditional platformer, with an ever expanding world map and stages as dots you connect along the way. Stages in the first half of the game are made unique by their continent in the magical world of Terra, but also with the season applied to the biome they’re in, something you can change at will once unlocked. What’s really interesting about these stages is that there are requirements to meet to earn up to 3 stars per level, with every 6 stars unlocking some new training from your swordsman master. You get one star just for beating a level once, another for finding all hidden crystals and treasure, and another for completing a stage specific mission, like beating a level without falling in pits or defeating a certain number of monsters. These goals provide a structure that instills the kind of familiarity that, again, reminded me of a weekly show. I began to intuit that the chests are almost always between the 2nd and 3rd crystals, for example, almost like looking forward to things like transformation sequences in serialized episodes.
The combat can be a little mashy, especially early on before you acquire many of the various skills and weapons, but it’s still fun to meet new enemies and scour stages for all their hidden goodies. Around the midgame, the player has access to plenty of special moves and abilities that facilitate the main pillar of combat: combo chains. As your combo chain grows Nayuta will receive buffs to his physical and magical attacks, as well as extra money and increased drop rates, making for some rather thrilling sequences where learning when to block, dodge, or simply pace out attacks between long stretches to really drive up the chaining and snowball your advantage.
The familiar rhythm of the game made it easy to chip away at bit-by-bit over about a month, especially since there’s nary a difficulty spike or prolonged backtracking sequence in sight, though I did play on normal and there’s plenty of challenge to be had on the higher difficulties and in the new game+ mode. That said, it’s a pretty breezy game overall, and I had a great time coasting through the gorgeous locales and they’re fantastic accompanying scores.
The great music is also just a single component to the main reason I’d recommend Nayuta to just about anyone: its impeccable vibes. It’s a game composed of so many cool little bits and bobs and ideas that you can’t help but find joy in it no matter where you look. The blocky polygonal look, the bright colors, the way Nayuta and his fairy companion Noi’s character models change with the gear they’re wearing, the monster descriptions in the bestiary, the lunchboxes, the whole ass Animal Crossing museum that tracks treasures you found and features an aquarium for fish you pick you up, and so on and so on for like, 50 hours. The game is absolutely bursting at the seams with soul and cozy vibes and there’s nothing quite like sitting down with it after a crummy day and having your world brightened just a little bit. In that way it does what I think all good games, heck, all good art, should do: it makes the world a better place, even if just a little bit, simply by existing.
What’s a good way to describe the plot of Nayuta? Initially I thought of it as a season of original anime (as opposed to an adaptation), it introduces characters and concepts at about the same rate, and the rhythm of its levels echo the pace of weekly repetition, though I’ll expand more on that later. Nayuta himself is the Socratic Ideal of a shounen anime protagonist, a headstrong goofy boy who gets lost in his musings and investigations, sometimes literally losing sleep over them. His more grounded friend, Cygna, is an expert swordsman who does his best to keep Nayuta’s feet planted on the ground, and together they run a cute little handyman business in their hometown on Remnant Isle. Like any good anime plot, the two quickly stumble upon a magical portal, an expansive alternate world, and a couple of intimidating figures that threaten the balance of nature. It’s up to the two to battle through these wondrous locales and Save the World, all while keeping things under wraps from their friends and family.
Eventually the plot balloons in scale, adding a whole “second season”, and even what I’d describe as an OVA for the epilogue! By the end I found it to be a bit too long for my tastes, but it does a good job of mixing up mechanics and keeping things fresh, constantly introducing new stages with new music and challenges, and pushing the challenge further and in different directions. The plot also delivers on some strong emotional beats. You’ve probably seen these types of story points elsewhere, but they’re executed well with appropriate buildups and payoffs, and everything feels earned and consistent tonally.
Structurally, the game plays out like a traditional platformer, with an ever expanding world map and stages as dots you connect along the way. Stages in the first half of the game are made unique by their continent in the magical world of Terra, but also with the season applied to the biome they’re in, something you can change at will once unlocked. What’s really interesting about these stages is that there are requirements to meet to earn up to 3 stars per level, with every 6 stars unlocking some new training from your swordsman master. You get one star just for beating a level once, another for finding all hidden crystals and treasure, and another for completing a stage specific mission, like beating a level without falling in pits or defeating a certain number of monsters. These goals provide a structure that instills the kind of familiarity that, again, reminded me of a weekly show. I began to intuit that the chests are almost always between the 2nd and 3rd crystals, for example, almost like looking forward to things like transformation sequences in serialized episodes.
The combat can be a little mashy, especially early on before you acquire many of the various skills and weapons, but it’s still fun to meet new enemies and scour stages for all their hidden goodies. Around the midgame, the player has access to plenty of special moves and abilities that facilitate the main pillar of combat: combo chains. As your combo chain grows Nayuta will receive buffs to his physical and magical attacks, as well as extra money and increased drop rates, making for some rather thrilling sequences where learning when to block, dodge, or simply pace out attacks between long stretches to really drive up the chaining and snowball your advantage.
The familiar rhythm of the game made it easy to chip away at bit-by-bit over about a month, especially since there’s nary a difficulty spike or prolonged backtracking sequence in sight, though I did play on normal and there’s plenty of challenge to be had on the higher difficulties and in the new game+ mode. That said, it’s a pretty breezy game overall, and I had a great time coasting through the gorgeous locales and they’re fantastic accompanying scores.
The great music is also just a single component to the main reason I’d recommend Nayuta to just about anyone: its impeccable vibes. It’s a game composed of so many cool little bits and bobs and ideas that you can’t help but find joy in it no matter where you look. The blocky polygonal look, the bright colors, the way Nayuta and his fairy companion Noi’s character models change with the gear they’re wearing, the monster descriptions in the bestiary, the lunchboxes, the whole ass Animal Crossing museum that tracks treasures you found and features an aquarium for fish you pick you up, and so on and so on for like, 50 hours. The game is absolutely bursting at the seams with soul and cozy vibes and there’s nothing quite like sitting down with it after a crummy day and having your world brightened just a little bit. In that way it does what I think all good games, heck, all good art, should do: it makes the world a better place, even if just a little bit, simply by existing.
8/10.
Esse camarada aqui foi uma experiência curiosa.
Nayuta mistura o estilo de gameplay de ys da epoca onde ele era um rpg com plataforma. Exemplos ( origin, oath felghana, ys 6 e talvez ys v de ps2)
Eu procurei saber um tanto e aparentemente nayuta bebe de uma outra franquia da falcomm chamada zwei ( a qual infelizmente não joguei ainda).
Este jogo mescla a identidade de fases a la ys e simula uma estrutura narrativa e personagens similares a de eiyuu densetsu kiseki e ele faz isso de forma decente.
Esse jogo tem uma parcela mista de fases boas, padrões e uma parcela pequena de fases ruins de verdade, o que tornou a minha experiência bem razoável, so me irritando nos últimos chs e no epílogo pra true ending.
Esse jogo é de psp, mas sinto um charme bem afável da direção de arte, agradeçam a trilha sonora, pois ela é muito importante neste jogo.
Muitos elos aqui são insuficientes, ainda que a falcomm saiba o que esa fazendo num psp, a composicao da saki momiyama brilha pra valer em algumas fases e no cenarios da renmant isle, ajuda a manter bem o clima e o ritmo do jogo.
a ost do boss final e do true boss final sao excepcionais
https://youtu.be/p-HU_vbkoTY?si=Tn8OEpnW18r0IH6b
https://youtu.be/XDOKYZORmME?si=GBSpKl2_uoRIHrQt
O fator gameplay é absurdamente simples (igual a qualquer jogo da falcomm), porem eles fazem algo um tanto mais interessante aqui que ys 3.
Já que é uma jogo que mesclar um fator rpg e plataforma, a progressão se adapta a essa mistura, tendo uma forma de progressão bem bacana.
Cada estágio tem variações de climas e por sua vez novas recompensas, as estrelas que voce pega, apos ter um certo número podem ser utilizadas no mestre orbus da ilha, ele pode lhe fornecer ataques novos ou peças de armaduras, não é aleatório essa mecânica... amém!
Essa progressão sobressai o gameplay simples e torna a a exploração melhor.
As habilidades que você aprende com as criaturas te permitem ter uma nova gimmick para explorar novamente a area e alcançar um local que necessitava daquela habilidade para alcançar a recompensa ou acertar um cristal, o fator replay de estágios nem sempre é bom ou divertido, mas em alguns casos é bem recompensador ( no remaster com a funcao de high speed mode, isso fica bem melhor).
Em termos de mecanica e gameplay o jogo é bacana, o limite da falcomm foi alcançado em nayuta e ys seven, ainda que a ciencia deles perante a isso torne certas coisas mais engenhosas o suficiente pra manter um bom ritmo.
Quanto a narrativa e a história, ela é bem ok, é super clichê (tipico de qualquer história da falcomm,com exceções a alguns jogos)
É uma história que tem conceitos e elementos vistos em ys seven e ys 8, que por si só ja é algo de valor, porém a execução deixa a desejar pelo quão rapido é esse jogo.
Eu levei mais ou menos 17 horas para terminar nayuta, tendo feito quase todas as sides, epilogo e o true ending e pqp esse jogo é muito rápido, o texto não é tao efetivo, o drama também não, parecem ensaio de para algo maior e curiosamente em sua reta final ate o true ending o texto e narrativa ficam suficientemente bons, tornando o ato 3 bem memorável e emocionante.
Os personagens eu não tenho muito o que falar, a maioria funciona e a outra parte nao, a lyria mesmo..... triste o que fizeram com ela.
A creha faltou mais tempo de tela, pois o texto da personagem funciona, mas faltou tempo, o cyggna tbm.
Concluindo, nayuta foi uma experiência divertida e consistente,
gostei um tanto da ambientação.
Fico bastante intrigado por que a falcomm não faz mais jogos como nayuta, pois em futuros projetos poderia ser ótimos jogos.
Valeu a pena todo esse espetáculo, fiquei com gosto de quero mais no fim.
Esse camarada aqui foi uma experiência curiosa.
Nayuta mistura o estilo de gameplay de ys da epoca onde ele era um rpg com plataforma. Exemplos ( origin, oath felghana, ys 6 e talvez ys v de ps2)
Eu procurei saber um tanto e aparentemente nayuta bebe de uma outra franquia da falcomm chamada zwei ( a qual infelizmente não joguei ainda).
Este jogo mescla a identidade de fases a la ys e simula uma estrutura narrativa e personagens similares a de eiyuu densetsu kiseki e ele faz isso de forma decente.
Esse jogo tem uma parcela mista de fases boas, padrões e uma parcela pequena de fases ruins de verdade, o que tornou a minha experiência bem razoável, so me irritando nos últimos chs e no epílogo pra true ending.
Esse jogo é de psp, mas sinto um charme bem afável da direção de arte, agradeçam a trilha sonora, pois ela é muito importante neste jogo.
Muitos elos aqui são insuficientes, ainda que a falcomm saiba o que esa fazendo num psp, a composicao da saki momiyama brilha pra valer em algumas fases e no cenarios da renmant isle, ajuda a manter bem o clima e o ritmo do jogo.
a ost do boss final e do true boss final sao excepcionais
https://youtu.be/p-HU_vbkoTY?si=Tn8OEpnW18r0IH6b
https://youtu.be/XDOKYZORmME?si=GBSpKl2_uoRIHrQt
O fator gameplay é absurdamente simples (igual a qualquer jogo da falcomm), porem eles fazem algo um tanto mais interessante aqui que ys 3.
Já que é uma jogo que mesclar um fator rpg e plataforma, a progressão se adapta a essa mistura, tendo uma forma de progressão bem bacana.
Cada estágio tem variações de climas e por sua vez novas recompensas, as estrelas que voce pega, apos ter um certo número podem ser utilizadas no mestre orbus da ilha, ele pode lhe fornecer ataques novos ou peças de armaduras, não é aleatório essa mecânica... amém!
Essa progressão sobressai o gameplay simples e torna a a exploração melhor.
As habilidades que você aprende com as criaturas te permitem ter uma nova gimmick para explorar novamente a area e alcançar um local que necessitava daquela habilidade para alcançar a recompensa ou acertar um cristal, o fator replay de estágios nem sempre é bom ou divertido, mas em alguns casos é bem recompensador ( no remaster com a funcao de high speed mode, isso fica bem melhor).
Em termos de mecanica e gameplay o jogo é bacana, o limite da falcomm foi alcançado em nayuta e ys seven, ainda que a ciencia deles perante a isso torne certas coisas mais engenhosas o suficiente pra manter um bom ritmo.
Quanto a narrativa e a história, ela é bem ok, é super clichê (tipico de qualquer história da falcomm,com exceções a alguns jogos)
É uma história que tem conceitos e elementos vistos em ys seven e ys 8, que por si só ja é algo de valor, porém a execução deixa a desejar pelo quão rapido é esse jogo.
Eu levei mais ou menos 17 horas para terminar nayuta, tendo feito quase todas as sides, epilogo e o true ending e pqp esse jogo é muito rápido, o texto não é tao efetivo, o drama também não, parecem ensaio de para algo maior e curiosamente em sua reta final ate o true ending o texto e narrativa ficam suficientemente bons, tornando o ato 3 bem memorável e emocionante.
Os personagens eu não tenho muito o que falar, a maioria funciona e a outra parte nao, a lyria mesmo..... triste o que fizeram com ela.
A creha faltou mais tempo de tela, pois o texto da personagem funciona, mas faltou tempo, o cyggna tbm.
Concluindo, nayuta foi uma experiência divertida e consistente,
gostei um tanto da ambientação.
Fico bastante intrigado por que a falcomm não faz mais jogos como nayuta, pois em futuros projetos poderia ser ótimos jogos.
Valeu a pena todo esse espetáculo, fiquei com gosto de quero mais no fim.
The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is an interesting game, with somewhat dubious branding. I personally am a huge fan of the Trails series, but as a Trails fan, I was actually not all that interested in Nayuta, going into it. When you consider that Nayuta as a game is
1. a spinoff
2. a spinoff that plays differently from every other game in the series (featuring real-time action instead of turn-based combat)
3. a spinoff that has barely, if any, story connection to the Trails series at large (after finishing Nayuta, at most I have a couple vague theories as to how it could... maybe connect to the other games in the series. That's it)
...then it's not too surprising that I personally wasn't that interested in Nayuta, as a game. That said, I decided to give it a try regardless, while trying to accept that Nayuta is basically its own thing entirely.
I do think the best way to approach The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails, is as a standalone experience. It's not much of a Trails game, and it doesn't really need to be one. What this is, more than anything, is essentially the design philosophy and vibes of a 2D action-platformer... that just so happens to be 3D. It really has that classic feel to it (right down to the fact that you have a level-select screen to select each stage via), and as a fan of action-platformers, I really dug this! The platforming is satisfying, and the combat can be pretty engaging. There's a bit of a quirk with regard to how slowly the game unlocks new abilities & mechanics for the player (I don't know why it took several hours to be able to guard against enemy attacks... but once I finally learned that ability, it revolutionized how I approach every encounter from that point onward), but that's fairly minor. All in all, this is a blast to actually play. The great, upbeat music (as expected of a Falcom game) certainly helps, too.
Story-wise, this features a world and lore which seems mostly disconnected from the Trails series in general. Without going too into detail, I do think Nayuta does a fairly good job of gradually raising the stakes, while providing a certain degree of intrigue as to what exactly is going on, and what is going to happen next in the story. It's not the most thematically dense story Falcom has told, but it serves the game well, and kept me engaged. There's also an island town you can visit when not playing through stages, where you can upgrade your equipment or take on sidequests or talk to NPCs, which does feel a little bit more like a typical Trails experience. The fact you're returning to the same town over and over, actually reminded me of Xanadu Next more than anything. It's nice to gradually get to know the NPCs, and learn more about them and their stories and motivations over the course of the game - particularly as the main story progresses.
When it comes down to it... I like The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails a lot! Perhaps moreso than I was expecting, going into it. I could compare it to the Trails series at large (if I were to do so, it would maybe be my 4th favorite Trails game), but it still feels weird to me to do so. I kinda feel like judging Nayuta as a Trails game does it a bit of a disservice. Unlike nearly every other Trails-branded game, this is absolutely one that you can jump in at any time, without worrying about story connections or plot details related to any other game in the series. At the end of the day, just enjoy Nayuta for what it is - a fun action-platformer-RPG that reflects a lot of the best qualities of Falcom's other assorted series.
1. a spinoff
2. a spinoff that plays differently from every other game in the series (featuring real-time action instead of turn-based combat)
3. a spinoff that has barely, if any, story connection to the Trails series at large (after finishing Nayuta, at most I have a couple vague theories as to how it could... maybe connect to the other games in the series. That's it)
...then it's not too surprising that I personally wasn't that interested in Nayuta, as a game. That said, I decided to give it a try regardless, while trying to accept that Nayuta is basically its own thing entirely.
I do think the best way to approach The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails, is as a standalone experience. It's not much of a Trails game, and it doesn't really need to be one. What this is, more than anything, is essentially the design philosophy and vibes of a 2D action-platformer... that just so happens to be 3D. It really has that classic feel to it (right down to the fact that you have a level-select screen to select each stage via), and as a fan of action-platformers, I really dug this! The platforming is satisfying, and the combat can be pretty engaging. There's a bit of a quirk with regard to how slowly the game unlocks new abilities & mechanics for the player (I don't know why it took several hours to be able to guard against enemy attacks... but once I finally learned that ability, it revolutionized how I approach every encounter from that point onward), but that's fairly minor. All in all, this is a blast to actually play. The great, upbeat music (as expected of a Falcom game) certainly helps, too.
Story-wise, this features a world and lore which seems mostly disconnected from the Trails series in general. Without going too into detail, I do think Nayuta does a fairly good job of gradually raising the stakes, while providing a certain degree of intrigue as to what exactly is going on, and what is going to happen next in the story. It's not the most thematically dense story Falcom has told, but it serves the game well, and kept me engaged. There's also an island town you can visit when not playing through stages, where you can upgrade your equipment or take on sidequests or talk to NPCs, which does feel a little bit more like a typical Trails experience. The fact you're returning to the same town over and over, actually reminded me of Xanadu Next more than anything. It's nice to gradually get to know the NPCs, and learn more about them and their stories and motivations over the course of the game - particularly as the main story progresses.
When it comes down to it... I like The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails a lot! Perhaps moreso than I was expecting, going into it. I could compare it to the Trails series at large (if I were to do so, it would maybe be my 4th favorite Trails game), but it still feels weird to me to do so. I kinda feel like judging Nayuta as a Trails game does it a bit of a disservice. Unlike nearly every other Trails-branded game, this is absolutely one that you can jump in at any time, without worrying about story connections or plot details related to any other game in the series. At the end of the day, just enjoy Nayuta for what it is - a fun action-platformer-RPG that reflects a lot of the best qualities of Falcom's other assorted series.
how does this affect rean's legacy
Perhaps taking an offshoot route to play Nayuta in my not-for-the-faint-of-heart journey through the Kiseki series when I was and am admittedly dying to reach Cold Steel/Reverie/Kuro was a bizarre decision to make. End of thought.
Nayuta is a strange little game that, as someone who hasn't progressed past Azure and has only heard of things from this game's story loosely tying into the main Trails canon, there's really no set time or need to play it to understand the main Trails story. More of an "aha" moment if you see something in a future game that calls back to Nayuta, but doesn't feel like a major gap in the Trails experience if you miss out on it. I only really know this as many of my friends who are caught up with Trails skipped Nayuta and didn't enjoy the story of the games any less.
There's something interesting about how it's chronologically the next game in the series after Azure and before Cold Steel if you go based on release date, but that doesn't detract from the fact that Nayuta is largely its own thing and can be experienced anytime, whether that be before Sky FC or after Reverie if you really wanted to. I really had no clue what I was getting into other than a friend of mine (shoutout to @Stormowl0 for this recommendation and for drawing god tier Rixia Mao art) telling me it was really good.
Rather than being turn-based strategy on a grid, this is a full-blown action RPG with sword combos, magic spam, dodge rolls, and blocking galore! I could understand this as it is what Ys seems to be like (author's note: still need to play Ys), but what I was not expecting for it to be just as much of a platformer as it is an action JRPG. Turns out innovating the series by adding a jump button was done for more than show as enemies are often fought in a linear level-by-level format with precarious jump, traps, and pits you have to make your way around in the environments. I can't remember where I've heard this but I remember someone comparing it to Kirby 64 strangely enough, and I honestly find it very fitting for both games have a similarly whimsical worlds, a balance of combat and platforming in their level designs, and a silly little fairy girl that follows the protagonist.
Nayuta definitely isn't as easy as Kirby however and this is where I think some of its greatest gameplay strength lies: in how fast and frantic combat can get when you're in a pinch. It's not necessarily the most deep or thought provoking combat out there, you can spam magic quite a lot of the time to negate some challenges and swinging your sword mindlessly doesn't heavily punish you and is even encouraged at times. But playing on hard mode still required me to respect what enemies could do and at least know how to position myself and pull off timely dodges/blocks to not get obliterated by the high damage. Bosses were some of the most demanding parts of the game where magic spam was largely ineffective and you have to rely on playing aggressively to open up a weak point you can slash. The bosses in general were fantastic. While it may sound like average good video game stuff based on what I described, let me put it like this. Remember Twilight Fossil Stallord from the Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess and how, despite being another use-the-dungeon-item boss, the second phase had his head come off and you chased him down on your spinner in a thrilling, high-speed encounter? Imagine if nearly every boss had a cool twist like that, but was never gimmicky to the point where the base combat you know first and foremost isn't shafted (except in one boss which was the worst in the game because of this lmao).
The story while not connecting to the rest of a series as is often seen as a strength of the Trails series above other JRPGs, Nayuta has a similar general structure to its plot going from very, very, humble beginnings and then turning into Xenogears by the very end. It's much faster paced than even the shortest individual Trails game, so the characters don't quite the same level of screentime they would in Trails, but it was still enough to tug at my heartstrings and even get me misty eyed in some of the later scenes.
I'm very well aware at how disorganized and all-over the place these thoughts are, but it's honestly just kind of hard to sum up what kind of game Nayuta is. It takes so many elements from other games as it creates this fascinating JRPG-platformer hybrid with wild creativity and endearing characters and storytelling. It's something that, while not blowing me away quite to the extent that the Trails games all have so far with their jaw-dropping narratives at times, really clicked with me and carried the experience.
Nayuta is a strange little game that, as someone who hasn't progressed past Azure and has only heard of things from this game's story loosely tying into the main Trails canon, there's really no set time or need to play it to understand the main Trails story. More of an "aha" moment if you see something in a future game that calls back to Nayuta, but doesn't feel like a major gap in the Trails experience if you miss out on it. I only really know this as many of my friends who are caught up with Trails skipped Nayuta and didn't enjoy the story of the games any less.
There's something interesting about how it's chronologically the next game in the series after Azure and before Cold Steel if you go based on release date, but that doesn't detract from the fact that Nayuta is largely its own thing and can be experienced anytime, whether that be before Sky FC or after Reverie if you really wanted to. I really had no clue what I was getting into other than a friend of mine (shoutout to @Stormowl0 for this recommendation and for drawing god tier Rixia Mao art) telling me it was really good.
Rather than being turn-based strategy on a grid, this is a full-blown action RPG with sword combos, magic spam, dodge rolls, and blocking galore! I could understand this as it is what Ys seems to be like (author's note: still need to play Ys), but what I was not expecting for it to be just as much of a platformer as it is an action JRPG. Turns out innovating the series by adding a jump button was done for more than show as enemies are often fought in a linear level-by-level format with precarious jump, traps, and pits you have to make your way around in the environments. I can't remember where I've heard this but I remember someone comparing it to Kirby 64 strangely enough, and I honestly find it very fitting for both games have a similarly whimsical worlds, a balance of combat and platforming in their level designs, and a silly little fairy girl that follows the protagonist.
Nayuta definitely isn't as easy as Kirby however and this is where I think some of its greatest gameplay strength lies: in how fast and frantic combat can get when you're in a pinch. It's not necessarily the most deep or thought provoking combat out there, you can spam magic quite a lot of the time to negate some challenges and swinging your sword mindlessly doesn't heavily punish you and is even encouraged at times. But playing on hard mode still required me to respect what enemies could do and at least know how to position myself and pull off timely dodges/blocks to not get obliterated by the high damage. Bosses were some of the most demanding parts of the game where magic spam was largely ineffective and you have to rely on playing aggressively to open up a weak point you can slash. The bosses in general were fantastic. While it may sound like average good video game stuff based on what I described, let me put it like this. Remember Twilight Fossil Stallord from the Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess and how, despite being another use-the-dungeon-item boss, the second phase had his head come off and you chased him down on your spinner in a thrilling, high-speed encounter? Imagine if nearly every boss had a cool twist like that, but was never gimmicky to the point where the base combat you know first and foremost isn't shafted (except in one boss which was the worst in the game because of this lmao).
The story while not connecting to the rest of a series as is often seen as a strength of the Trails series above other JRPGs, Nayuta has a similar general structure to its plot going from very, very, humble beginnings and then turning into Xenogears by the very end. It's much faster paced than even the shortest individual Trails game, so the characters don't quite the same level of screentime they would in Trails, but it was still enough to tug at my heartstrings and even get me misty eyed in some of the later scenes.
I'm very well aware at how disorganized and all-over the place these thoughts are, but it's honestly just kind of hard to sum up what kind of game Nayuta is. It takes so many elements from other games as it creates this fascinating JRPG-platformer hybrid with wild creativity and endearing characters and storytelling. It's something that, while not blowing me away quite to the extent that the Trails games all have so far with their jaw-dropping narratives at times, really clicked with me and carried the experience.
This game fire until you get to a part with light bridge then its absolute dogshit
short and sweet, gave me my Action RPG fix while i wait for Ys X to get localized
A pretty nice and straightforward game. It's not doing anything complex in terms of story, characters or themes, but it's earnest and charming enough. Nayuta plays pretty differently from other Trails games, but it still retains some of the charm and vibe of them without needing to go all out in scope, which I think it benefits from. I think this game even stands on its own outside of Trails just in terms of content and gameplay. It's a nice game.
The Legend of Nayuta is a „stand alone“ game from Falcom, outside of Ys and the Trails series. You play as the 15 year old boy Nayuta, who is trying to find the secrets of his world. At the start of the game you return to Remnant Isles, your hometown, where periodically small ruins are falling from the sky which Nayuta observes. After the fall of a bigger ruin the adventure starts to unfold.
The games strengths are in its characters and story. The story is rather short for a JRPG title (20 hours) but has an amazing pacing and directly grabs you. There are beautiful twists and turns and the writing and dialog is peak. All characters feel alive, from the small side characters in the village to the main cast that grows on your heart super fast.
The gameplay here is a mix of action combat and platforming – which is also the weakest part. Combat is very repetitive, you learn a few more skills and tricks but they do not change the way you play. You also learn magic spells, but the same here: Take the one with the best damage/hitbox and roll with them. There is no real reason to switch the spells a lot.
The platforming on the other hand can be a lot of fun, but it also makes a lot of basic mistakes. Bad camera angles, that lead to a lot of falling and especially the last levels have some convoluted design which can confuse players that are not into those games at all.
Overall if you are looking for an amazing story with great characters – this is a game for you! If you are looking for great combat and platforming adventure – it might not be your game.
The games strengths are in its characters and story. The story is rather short for a JRPG title (20 hours) but has an amazing pacing and directly grabs you. There are beautiful twists and turns and the writing and dialog is peak. All characters feel alive, from the small side characters in the village to the main cast that grows on your heart super fast.
The gameplay here is a mix of action combat and platforming – which is also the weakest part. Combat is very repetitive, you learn a few more skills and tricks but they do not change the way you play. You also learn magic spells, but the same here: Take the one with the best damage/hitbox and roll with them. There is no real reason to switch the spells a lot.
The platforming on the other hand can be a lot of fun, but it also makes a lot of basic mistakes. Bad camera angles, that lead to a lot of falling and especially the last levels have some convoluted design which can confuse players that are not into those games at all.
Overall if you are looking for an amazing story with great characters – this is a game for you! If you are looking for great combat and platforming adventure – it might not be your game.
The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is a surprising and delightful departure from the traditional Trails series, offering a lighthearted yet engaging adventure. The game introduces Nayuta, a curious and knowledgeable adventurer, who sets out to uncover the mysteries of the unknown. The balance in his character, between reserve and curiosity, provides a refreshing perspective. The initial characters, including Cygna and Noi, start off somewhat shallow, but given the Trails series' history, there's a promise of more depth to come. The gameplay, while seemingly simple with basic combat mechanics, offers an addictive and satisfying experience reminiscent of Ys-style gameplay. The execution from a turn-based system to action-oriented combat is a welcome change for me personally. Visually, the game shines, with cel-shaded art making the models pop despite its origins on the PSP.
As the story progresses, the game's strengths become more apparent. The platform action combat feels satisfying, even if the control scheme takes some time to get used to. The level design is meticulous, with branching paths and backtracking feeling natural. Boss battles are a highlight, providing both challenge and spectacle, enhancing the overall gameplay experience. In terms of the narrative, the game's pace mirrors other introductory Trails titles, moving slowly but ensuring each chapter ends with a compelling hook. The characters, particularly Nayuta and Noi, undergo significant development, drawing players into their journey. While some plot points feel abrupt or lack proper foreshadowing, the overarching narrative is engaging and keeps players invested. The game's climax delivers on its promises, weaving together various narrative threads and character arcs with finesse. Themes of optimism, human spirit, and sacrifice are explored masterfully, leading to a satisfying and emotional conclusion. The addition of an extensive post-game content provides a surprising depth, exploring character relationships and adding layers to the overall story.
The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails surprises and captivates players with its charming characters, engaging gameplay, and a narrative that balances lightheartedness with emotional depth. While it may have a few pacing issues and abrupt plot developments, the game's overall experience is a testament to its impact as a Trails spinoff. For fans of the series and newcomers alike, Nayuta's adventure is a journey worth taking, offering a memorable and impactful experience.
As the story progresses, the game's strengths become more apparent. The platform action combat feels satisfying, even if the control scheme takes some time to get used to. The level design is meticulous, with branching paths and backtracking feeling natural. Boss battles are a highlight, providing both challenge and spectacle, enhancing the overall gameplay experience. In terms of the narrative, the game's pace mirrors other introductory Trails titles, moving slowly but ensuring each chapter ends with a compelling hook. The characters, particularly Nayuta and Noi, undergo significant development, drawing players into their journey. While some plot points feel abrupt or lack proper foreshadowing, the overarching narrative is engaging and keeps players invested. The game's climax delivers on its promises, weaving together various narrative threads and character arcs with finesse. Themes of optimism, human spirit, and sacrifice are explored masterfully, leading to a satisfying and emotional conclusion. The addition of an extensive post-game content provides a surprising depth, exploring character relationships and adding layers to the overall story.
The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails surprises and captivates players with its charming characters, engaging gameplay, and a narrative that balances lightheartedness with emotional depth. While it may have a few pacing issues and abrupt plot developments, the game's overall experience is a testament to its impact as a Trails spinoff. For fans of the series and newcomers alike, Nayuta's adventure is a journey worth taking, offering a memorable and impactful experience.
This was a title I was curious about after getting into the Trails series. It was something I saw listed on the Wikipedia page of releases but yet for a large series of interconnected games with one long continuous plot thread, this one seemed to be passed over by a lot of the fans in discussion and was even named differently.
Well that's because The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is a spin-off that seems to be at this moment (having played the first 5 Trails games) something that has a couple of references to Trails more than anything else. Mishy can be found as a strange creature and the Herschel surname of Nayuta and his family is reused for another character from the Cold Steel games from what I'm aware of. Basically, what I'm saying is despite this carrying the Trails name, it is very much an independent spin off and it's narrative should probably be judged without the expectations of it possibly maybe being intertwined with the mainline Trails series as a whole.
As a spin-off game, The Legend of Nayuta takes the opportunity to change up the gameplay and mix and match a few different elements. You have the RPG elements of leveling up and getting stronger etc with Remnant Isle being your core base of operations where most of the traditional Trails elements can be found. You can cook, take on requests including hidden requests, and meet a bunch of characters whose dialogue changes throughout the story to react to the different events that happen. It's a nice quaint place that feels very homely but it is also the whole of the traditional RPG side of things.
The bulk of the game is actually spent in this mysterious other world where things have gone haywire due to Zechst taking the gears needed to keep this place functioning correctly so Nayuta and Terra's administrator Noi team up to stop him by visiting each of the four continents and freeing the trapped guardians. It's here where we place the action stages where you run through stages taking on platforming challenges and fighting enemies through action based combat. Nayuta fights using his sword and can jump and dodge roll out of the way or guard while Noi has arts that can be used and swapped through as you unlock more equipment slots. For me, despite having a decent amount of things to unlock for the combat, it always felt very shallow, like it was lacking a punch to it. A lot of the enemies felt like I was cutting through paper and once I unlocked the gear spin ability I was literally steamrolling through enemies. The stages themselves are also very short and can be blasted through in a minute or so. They're designed this way on purpose because you can earn 3 stars through multiple objectives so if you miss anything it's quick enough to replay it and find what you're missing. The 3 objectives will always include finding the 3 large purple crystals, the hidden chest (or two chests in the larger two part stages) and a specialised objective different for each stage (defeat X enemies, fall less than X times etc). These stars can be used to further expand Nayuta's abilities through training on Remnant Isle. The other reason these stages are so short is because each stage has four variants - one based on each season. Two can be played through in the main story, one in the after story chapter and the final one unlocks on new game plus. The different seasons vary the stages up slightly but when you're playing through these stages multiple times trying to 100% them, it does start feeling awfully repetitive and draining.
Boss fights are the highlight here. Aside from a couple of really simple ones, boss fights will actually require a little bit of strategy to find when a weak point is available to be hit. The final boss and one of the after story bosses in particular are really cool and spectacular and were more like what I was hoping for from the game. Once the guardians have been freed, each one gives Noi an ability to help Nayuta out and explore previously inaccessible areas of stages. You get stuff like being able to swing to floating gear points or use a shield to traverse through harmful areas and they're pretty fun to use.
The story itself is alright. The characters believe the world is flat and random parts of large debris fall from the sky and people believe that's from Lost Heaven so there's some good stuff that ends up explaining what all that is actually about. I really enjoyed Noi's character growth going from hating humans and being extremely wary of them to growing alongside Nayuta and coming to love people and wanting to protect. It's pretty simple but also effective. Everything else kinda fell a little flat for me though. Like I liked Cygna and Lyra and Eartha but I can't really say I was ever truly attached to them in a meaningful way which was unfortunate. With bouncing between the two worlds so often and neither side having a lot of depth to it, I don't think the game manages to build a deep connection between the player and the characters, definitely not in a way like the namesake it borrows from does.
I don't think The Legend of Nayuta does anything I would call outright bad but I think it lacks the depth to reach the potential it has. It's an enjoyable experience with an incredible soundtrack, and is probably one of the most this is alright games I've played.
Well that's because The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is a spin-off that seems to be at this moment (having played the first 5 Trails games) something that has a couple of references to Trails more than anything else. Mishy can be found as a strange creature and the Herschel surname of Nayuta and his family is reused for another character from the Cold Steel games from what I'm aware of. Basically, what I'm saying is despite this carrying the Trails name, it is very much an independent spin off and it's narrative should probably be judged without the expectations of it possibly maybe being intertwined with the mainline Trails series as a whole.
As a spin-off game, The Legend of Nayuta takes the opportunity to change up the gameplay and mix and match a few different elements. You have the RPG elements of leveling up and getting stronger etc with Remnant Isle being your core base of operations where most of the traditional Trails elements can be found. You can cook, take on requests including hidden requests, and meet a bunch of characters whose dialogue changes throughout the story to react to the different events that happen. It's a nice quaint place that feels very homely but it is also the whole of the traditional RPG side of things.
The bulk of the game is actually spent in this mysterious other world where things have gone haywire due to Zechst taking the gears needed to keep this place functioning correctly so Nayuta and Terra's administrator Noi team up to stop him by visiting each of the four continents and freeing the trapped guardians. It's here where we place the action stages where you run through stages taking on platforming challenges and fighting enemies through action based combat. Nayuta fights using his sword and can jump and dodge roll out of the way or guard while Noi has arts that can be used and swapped through as you unlock more equipment slots. For me, despite having a decent amount of things to unlock for the combat, it always felt very shallow, like it was lacking a punch to it. A lot of the enemies felt like I was cutting through paper and once I unlocked the gear spin ability I was literally steamrolling through enemies. The stages themselves are also very short and can be blasted through in a minute or so. They're designed this way on purpose because you can earn 3 stars through multiple objectives so if you miss anything it's quick enough to replay it and find what you're missing. The 3 objectives will always include finding the 3 large purple crystals, the hidden chest (or two chests in the larger two part stages) and a specialised objective different for each stage (defeat X enemies, fall less than X times etc). These stars can be used to further expand Nayuta's abilities through training on Remnant Isle. The other reason these stages are so short is because each stage has four variants - one based on each season. Two can be played through in the main story, one in the after story chapter and the final one unlocks on new game plus. The different seasons vary the stages up slightly but when you're playing through these stages multiple times trying to 100% them, it does start feeling awfully repetitive and draining.
Boss fights are the highlight here. Aside from a couple of really simple ones, boss fights will actually require a little bit of strategy to find when a weak point is available to be hit. The final boss and one of the after story bosses in particular are really cool and spectacular and were more like what I was hoping for from the game. Once the guardians have been freed, each one gives Noi an ability to help Nayuta out and explore previously inaccessible areas of stages. You get stuff like being able to swing to floating gear points or use a shield to traverse through harmful areas and they're pretty fun to use.
The story itself is alright. The characters believe the world is flat and random parts of large debris fall from the sky and people believe that's from Lost Heaven so there's some good stuff that ends up explaining what all that is actually about. I really enjoyed Noi's character growth going from hating humans and being extremely wary of them to growing alongside Nayuta and coming to love people and wanting to protect. It's pretty simple but also effective. Everything else kinda fell a little flat for me though. Like I liked Cygna and Lyra and Eartha but I can't really say I was ever truly attached to them in a meaningful way which was unfortunate. With bouncing between the two worlds so often and neither side having a lot of depth to it, I don't think the game manages to build a deep connection between the player and the characters, definitely not in a way like the namesake it borrows from does.
I don't think The Legend of Nayuta does anything I would call outright bad but I think it lacks the depth to reach the potential it has. It's an enjoyable experience with an incredible soundtrack, and is probably one of the most this is alright games I've played.
Como juego fuera de Kiseki es disfrutable y más como un descanso al Cold Steel. Sistema de combate diferente con escenarios cambiantes según la estación del año es lo que me ha gustado.
En cuánto si tiene relación con la historia de Kiseki, bueno yo me he montado aquí mis teorías en relación al Kai no Kiseki así que está por ver.
En cuánto si tiene relación con la historia de Kiseki, bueno yo me he montado aquí mis teorías en relación al Kai no Kiseki así que está por ver.
Really enjoyed it. ♥
So the most important thing to say about this game is that it is a Trails game in name only. The lore, the world, the characters, it's all so far removed from the main line Trails games that I think I'd actually have enjoyed it more if they just didn't have the Trails name on it.
That said... as a big Falcom fan, this is the only one where I just wasn't enjoying the experience. The very start and very end I enjoyed. But everything in the middle felt like such an insane slog. And since it's such a short game, it feels like a lot of the side missions are SUPER bloat-y, and the characters feel very flat.
If you're going into this for Trails content... I don't recommend it unless you are very bored. It won't enhance your Trails experience. It won't really enthrall you with it's gameplay. But it's a decent weekend killer for like $20 if that's what you're looking for.
That said... as a big Falcom fan, this is the only one where I just wasn't enjoying the experience. The very start and very end I enjoyed. But everything in the middle felt like such an insane slog. And since it's such a short game, it feels like a lot of the side missions are SUPER bloat-y, and the characters feel very flat.
If you're going into this for Trails content... I don't recommend it unless you are very bored. It won't enhance your Trails experience. It won't really enthrall you with it's gameplay. But it's a decent weekend killer for like $20 if that's what you're looking for.
Great diversity of music, and the landscapes are beautiful too. The levels on their own wouldn't be as good, their main strength comes from being remade multiple different times per season, which is a concept I love to see (Zelda Oracle of Seasons!)
I had my frustrations with bits of the story, but it was mostly alright
I had my frustrations with bits of the story, but it was mostly alright
Waited a solid minute for this to be released in the West. Probably would've rated it higher if I had played it on release. Fun characters, a solid OST and a cool story. Need Falcom to drop more spin-offs like this.
This is a really weird comparison but this game reminded me a lot of Kirby's Return to Dreamland and I mean that in the best way possible. There is a particular vibe that I have only ever felt playing that game as a kid and this one now. Kinda peak ngl.
Honnêtement je m'attendais à mieux, c'est pas un mauvais jeu mais c'est euh... à mon avis c'est trop "meh". Le combat c'est real-time et j'aime ça mais il y a pas vraiment de skills alors c'est chiant, en gros on peut qu'évader, sauter et attaquer. Le scénario est très prévisible et pour débloquer le true final boss on doit faire BEAUCOUP de grinding pour atteindre le niveau maximum (je déteste ça alors j'ai utilisé cheat engine pour éviter le grinding...). Au moins les graphismes / artstyle sont sympas et l'OST aussi
Ah et c'est toujours mieux que cold steel 4
Ah et c'est toujours mieux que cold steel 4
Genuinely one of the best games in the series
Nayuta no Kiseki was a game that i've been looking forward since i've caught up to trails (Kuro 1 back then) and something was always strange of why this game took more than a decade to get localized and after NISA announcing Nayuta is coming to west, nothing could've prepared on how much i've loved.
It's so crazy knowing Falcom releasing games every single year, but something is very different in this one game especifically. For a example that really took their own time to create an story than doesnt really rely in the other games, and that's the biggest strength of this game, it gives a sense of identity while pleasing the veterans like me. Also it's not a game that was forced to be the next game for whatever means, like Tokyo Xanadu was released to give more dev time for YS 8 or Kuro no Kiseki 2 for YS X in the same reason.
So coming from after Kuro 2, i'm so glad Nayuta felt like a complete fresh of an air, chibi sprites, old falcom soundteam soul, immaculate art direction and a simple but touching story while maintaining a bit of the Trails series is everything i wished for. It's safe to say that it meet my expectations by a long shot, playing an trails game late a night and having me dialed makes this game an another special to me. Especially considering the struggle of being an Trails fan.
The last thing i wanted to mentioned is how i geniuely missed the old comfy and insane tracks that Falcom is very known for, especially Saki Momiyama (Zero/Azure composer) was insane in this game, it geniuely stole the spotlight for me and makes me miss the cohesion and the passion of every sound team composer and making an special game for as long they can remember.
It's so crazy knowing Falcom releasing games every single year, but something is very different in this one game especifically. For a example that really took their own time to create an story than doesnt really rely in the other games, and that's the biggest strength of this game, it gives a sense of identity while pleasing the veterans like me. Also it's not a game that was forced to be the next game for whatever means, like Tokyo Xanadu was released to give more dev time for YS 8 or Kuro no Kiseki 2 for YS X in the same reason.
So coming from after Kuro 2, i'm so glad Nayuta felt like a complete fresh of an air, chibi sprites, old falcom soundteam soul, immaculate art direction and a simple but touching story while maintaining a bit of the Trails series is everything i wished for. It's safe to say that it meet my expectations by a long shot, playing an trails game late a night and having me dialed makes this game an another special to me. Especially considering the struggle of being an Trails fan.
The last thing i wanted to mentioned is how i geniuely missed the old comfy and insane tracks that Falcom is very known for, especially Saki Momiyama (Zero/Azure composer) was insane in this game, it geniuely stole the spotlight for me and makes me miss the cohesion and the passion of every sound team composer and making an special game for as long they can remember.
A neat little game from Falcom, made in a simpler time. It does feel rough around the edges here and there, plus it overstays itself for far too long, but still it is a good game.
One of the most rewarding ‘pretty good’ games I have ever played.
Original Score Before Backloggd Rounding: 7.5/10 (Good)
Whoever is reading this review is probably seeing it and going, “you loved the game but only gave it a 3.5?”. And while yes, I did thoroughly enjoy the game, and subjectively had a great time with it, from a more objective standpoint the game is far from perfect. That being said, if there was a spectrum, this is one of the highest 3.5 star reviews I’ve given, and is closer to a subjective 8 or even 9.
The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is so unbelievably cute and charming on every level. The characters, the setting, the theming, all of it is so earnest, wholesome, and fun. Every time I booted up the game, it was always a delight to join Nayuta and Noi on their journey. The art direction is impeccable, and still holds up today, even all these years removed from the original PlayStation Portable release. The music is absolutely top notch, and features some of my favourite pieces out of any Falcom title in relatively recent memory. The story, while pretty standard for the majority of it's run time, goes off the wall at the end of Chapter 4 and for the rest of the game, possibly even rivalling the excellent final third of Trails to Azure. The game is just a delight to spend time with.
Most of why I think Boundless Trails in the end warrants this score is the gameplay. There’s no real overworld or dungeons to speak of, and the game is instead divided into levels or stages, like any traditional platformer. This means while they do some interesting things with stage conditions, and adding collectibles and replay value to each stage, it also has this disjointed nature to it which disconnects the world. This is especially noticeable when one of the things the Trails subseries is most renowned for is it's worldbuilding. The combat I believe could have also used some tweaking. Falcom’s other flagship series, Ys, also used to have a single playable character, but those games were much faster paced. The games lost a bit of that pace switching to a party formation, but The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is trapped in some weird in-between where it has the design of Ys: The Oath in Felghana and Ys Origin, but pacing more similar to Ys Seven. With a party system implemented, the levels would have had to be redesigned entirely to accommodate, so making the gameplay faster and smoother probably would have been the ideal fix here. It doesn’t always feel the most pleasant to play as is, and can slow down the experience, which is especially frustrating combined with some of the stage conditions required for 100%. Enemies can also hit you as you ascend on platforms, remaining out of sight, or through barriers that you can’t jump over, with you being unprepared to block or evade the attack. That being said, the combat and additional skills and abilities you can learn do keep the gameplay loop interesting, and there's some real fun ones and gems in there.
In conclusion, The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is one of the most pleasant gaming experiences I’ve had in a really long time. It never really attempts to do anything crazy (minus some of the late game revelations, which could very well be key to the future of the Trails/Kiseki franchise), but it does everything with a smile on its face, honest and earnest, and I loved every minute of it. Though I might not have given the game a 4 or 4.5 star score, I do absolutely believe it is worth playing and experiencing, and it is a game I will remember fondly in times to come. This game is absolutely a classic of the PlayStation Portable platform, a celebration of the platform as one of its final games from it's twilight years, a final gasp of greatness before receding into the annals of gaming history.
Original Score Before Backloggd Rounding: 7.5/10 (Good)
Whoever is reading this review is probably seeing it and going, “you loved the game but only gave it a 3.5?”. And while yes, I did thoroughly enjoy the game, and subjectively had a great time with it, from a more objective standpoint the game is far from perfect. That being said, if there was a spectrum, this is one of the highest 3.5 star reviews I’ve given, and is closer to a subjective 8 or even 9.
The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is so unbelievably cute and charming on every level. The characters, the setting, the theming, all of it is so earnest, wholesome, and fun. Every time I booted up the game, it was always a delight to join Nayuta and Noi on their journey. The art direction is impeccable, and still holds up today, even all these years removed from the original PlayStation Portable release. The music is absolutely top notch, and features some of my favourite pieces out of any Falcom title in relatively recent memory. The story, while pretty standard for the majority of it's run time, goes off the wall at the end of Chapter 4 and for the rest of the game, possibly even rivalling the excellent final third of Trails to Azure. The game is just a delight to spend time with.
Most of why I think Boundless Trails in the end warrants this score is the gameplay. There’s no real overworld or dungeons to speak of, and the game is instead divided into levels or stages, like any traditional platformer. This means while they do some interesting things with stage conditions, and adding collectibles and replay value to each stage, it also has this disjointed nature to it which disconnects the world. This is especially noticeable when one of the things the Trails subseries is most renowned for is it's worldbuilding. The combat I believe could have also used some tweaking. Falcom’s other flagship series, Ys, also used to have a single playable character, but those games were much faster paced. The games lost a bit of that pace switching to a party formation, but The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is trapped in some weird in-between where it has the design of Ys: The Oath in Felghana and Ys Origin, but pacing more similar to Ys Seven. With a party system implemented, the levels would have had to be redesigned entirely to accommodate, so making the gameplay faster and smoother probably would have been the ideal fix here. It doesn’t always feel the most pleasant to play as is, and can slow down the experience, which is especially frustrating combined with some of the stage conditions required for 100%. Enemies can also hit you as you ascend on platforms, remaining out of sight, or through barriers that you can’t jump over, with you being unprepared to block or evade the attack. That being said, the combat and additional skills and abilities you can learn do keep the gameplay loop interesting, and there's some real fun ones and gems in there.
In conclusion, The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is one of the most pleasant gaming experiences I’ve had in a really long time. It never really attempts to do anything crazy (minus some of the late game revelations, which could very well be key to the future of the Trails/Kiseki franchise), but it does everything with a smile on its face, honest and earnest, and I loved every minute of it. Though I might not have given the game a 4 or 4.5 star score, I do absolutely believe it is worth playing and experiencing, and it is a game I will remember fondly in times to come. This game is absolutely a classic of the PlayStation Portable platform, a celebration of the platform as one of its final games from it's twilight years, a final gasp of greatness before receding into the annals of gaming history.
Really fun action RPG! Reminds me of the good old Ys games.
Was excellent. 👌
If you like Action JRPGs like Ys this will tick all boxes.
Holds up very well and the story is wholesome.
Great soundtrack and gameplay.
Maybe a little too padded could have done with being a chapter short perhaps but overall very enjoyable.
If you like Action JRPGs like Ys this will tick all boxes.
Holds up very well and the story is wholesome.
Great soundtrack and gameplay.
Maybe a little too padded could have done with being a chapter short perhaps but overall very enjoyable.
The Legend of Nayuta is a game I have been curious about for many years before I got to play it. I knew about its existence for a while and heard it was unconnected to mainline Trails but for a long time, only shoddy fan translations existed. So I was pretty excited back in 2021 when NISA announced they would be localizing Nayuta and considering it was the only Trails game I had not played yet at the time, I was the most excited for it despite my understanding of why localizing Crossbell or Reverie is a bigger deal (but that's another discussion for another time).
The wait was long but this month I finally got my hands on Nayuta and it's a great game despite there being a few things I was eh about. For starters, I just absolutely love the art style and direction. With upscaled textures and a sharp resolution, it felt like I was playing a remaster of an old Dreamcast game from 21 years ago with its HD low poly visuals. So it's even more impressive that Falcom managed to cram its visuals in a tiny PSP back in its original release in 2012.
And not only the visuals feel like I was playing a remastered Dreamcast game, but the gameplay complements that nostalgic feel. Nayuta is listed as an action RPG, similar to Falcom's other games like Ys and Zwei. But personally, it felt like one of those old action platformer games from the early 2000s. There are RPG elements like leveling up, increasing your stats, and doing side quests but the meat of Nayuta's gameplay boils down to playing the stages.
Each stage in Nayuta is when the titular character alongside a fairy named Noi must reach the "end point" to complete the stage. Along the way, there are various elements to attack either with Nayuta's sword abilities or Noi's arts (which are essentially elemental magic spells just like in mainline Trails). As the game progresses, Nayuta will also unlock craft abilities to help him progress the game's platforming challenges.
Speaking of challenges, each stage features three purple crystals to destroy, a treasure chest for new equipment or artifacts, and a mission objective, which is an additional goal to achieve such as defeating a certain amount of enemies or only taking a certain amount of hits or falling off the stage a certain amount of times. Doing these extra challenges will increase your rating for the stage with stars and the more stars you collect, the more abilities and boosts Nayuta will gain with his sword, platforming, and combo streak as well as new equipment.
Nayuta's gameplay is fairly simple in design but with the RPG elements as well as adding on new platforming abilities that even encourage replaying a stage to collect all of the stars, the gameplay never got stale once in my 40 hours within the game. However despite how different the gameplay is from mainline Trails, it certainly shares a lot of story beats with its structure and format. After all it is a Trails game and many people play Trails for the story.
Nayuta is a miniature version of what to expect in Trails and while it never reaches the highs for each mainline arc, it's rather grand considering it's a standalone game with currently no direct connections to the rest of Trails. The premise of the story is about Nayuta, a student studying astrology who goes home to Remnant Island for summer vacation and soon discovers a second world called Lost Heaven and unravels its mysteries that are tied to Nayuta's own world, including the belief that his world is a "flat earth" and it's possible to fall off from the "edge of the world".
Nayuta is formatted similarly to other Trails games with story progression, NPCs update frequently even if the amount of NPCs comes nowhere close to any other Trails game, there are quests to complete that you get from a mailbox and even quests you can only do in new game plus. And of course, talking to certain NPCs at the right time will advance the story.
The plot points, overall, while it's a fairly predictable story with no plot twists that are truly mind-blowing, it's still a very well-executed and focused narrative for the most part. Which may be a pro to some people as Trails games are often criticized for their excessive "bloat". It sets that grand multi-world adventure rather well without overstaying its welcome. That said, while Nayuta does a lot very well, there are a few things that could be improved.
For starters, I found some of the major characters lacking. One of Falcom's biggest strengths is character-focused narrative that especially shines in the Trails series. So it was rather a bit disappointing when not even the best characters (in my opinion of course) get a semblance of development, which is Creha, Signa, and Noi, pales in comparison to what Falcom has written in the past. Granted, it may be a bit unfair to compare a single game, which has far less text and character interaction than any other Trails game that is known for its interconnection (meaning you will see many of these characters in multiple games). However, it's a Trails game in name still, so serving that comparison may be difficult.
Not to mention, I especially found characters such as Lyra especially disappointing. Considering how prominent she's featured in key art of Nayuta, you would think she would have an important role in the game. But it turns out she has no agency or motivations on her own and practically exists only as an extension to Nayuta by simply being an immature love interest to him. I believe the story of Nayuta would play almost exactly the same without Lyra and that's rather disappointing to say for a Falcom game considering I never felt like this for any of the major Trails characters.
Plus, I found the ending of Nayuta to be rather sloppily executed. It just pretty much made the entire final chapter pointless in terms of stakes and sacrifices since Falcom really wanted to push for a squeaky clean perfect "happily ever after" ending. I think I would probably feel better about the ending if they combined the major plot events in the final chapter and the after-story as one huge finale. Because a second "ending" that is basically a reprise of the final ending just feels weird.
Besides a few weak characters who struggled to land the ending moments well, Nayuta is a game that has incited a lot of childhood wonder and memories in me from the PS2 and Dreamcast days, from its charming, vivid low poly graphics, the simple but yet always evolving action platforming gameplay and its concise but epic plotline. Whether or not Nayuta is connected to the rest of Trails, we can have plenty of discussions about that due to its many parallels to the series. However, it's an excellent entry as a standalone game without any requirement of playing the rest of Trails and it nails the balance between being simple and fun and complex and thought-provoking just right.
The wait was long but this month I finally got my hands on Nayuta and it's a great game despite there being a few things I was eh about. For starters, I just absolutely love the art style and direction. With upscaled textures and a sharp resolution, it felt like I was playing a remaster of an old Dreamcast game from 21 years ago with its HD low poly visuals. So it's even more impressive that Falcom managed to cram its visuals in a tiny PSP back in its original release in 2012.
And not only the visuals feel like I was playing a remastered Dreamcast game, but the gameplay complements that nostalgic feel. Nayuta is listed as an action RPG, similar to Falcom's other games like Ys and Zwei. But personally, it felt like one of those old action platformer games from the early 2000s. There are RPG elements like leveling up, increasing your stats, and doing side quests but the meat of Nayuta's gameplay boils down to playing the stages.
Each stage in Nayuta is when the titular character alongside a fairy named Noi must reach the "end point" to complete the stage. Along the way, there are various elements to attack either with Nayuta's sword abilities or Noi's arts (which are essentially elemental magic spells just like in mainline Trails). As the game progresses, Nayuta will also unlock craft abilities to help him progress the game's platforming challenges.
Speaking of challenges, each stage features three purple crystals to destroy, a treasure chest for new equipment or artifacts, and a mission objective, which is an additional goal to achieve such as defeating a certain amount of enemies or only taking a certain amount of hits or falling off the stage a certain amount of times. Doing these extra challenges will increase your rating for the stage with stars and the more stars you collect, the more abilities and boosts Nayuta will gain with his sword, platforming, and combo streak as well as new equipment.
Nayuta's gameplay is fairly simple in design but with the RPG elements as well as adding on new platforming abilities that even encourage replaying a stage to collect all of the stars, the gameplay never got stale once in my 40 hours within the game. However despite how different the gameplay is from mainline Trails, it certainly shares a lot of story beats with its structure and format. After all it is a Trails game and many people play Trails for the story.
Nayuta is a miniature version of what to expect in Trails and while it never reaches the highs for each mainline arc, it's rather grand considering it's a standalone game with currently no direct connections to the rest of Trails. The premise of the story is about Nayuta, a student studying astrology who goes home to Remnant Island for summer vacation and soon discovers a second world called Lost Heaven and unravels its mysteries that are tied to Nayuta's own world, including the belief that his world is a "flat earth" and it's possible to fall off from the "edge of the world".
Nayuta is formatted similarly to other Trails games with story progression, NPCs update frequently even if the amount of NPCs comes nowhere close to any other Trails game, there are quests to complete that you get from a mailbox and even quests you can only do in new game plus. And of course, talking to certain NPCs at the right time will advance the story.
The plot points, overall, while it's a fairly predictable story with no plot twists that are truly mind-blowing, it's still a very well-executed and focused narrative for the most part. Which may be a pro to some people as Trails games are often criticized for their excessive "bloat". It sets that grand multi-world adventure rather well without overstaying its welcome. That said, while Nayuta does a lot very well, there are a few things that could be improved.
For starters, I found some of the major characters lacking. One of Falcom's biggest strengths is character-focused narrative that especially shines in the Trails series. So it was rather a bit disappointing when not even the best characters (in my opinion of course) get a semblance of development, which is Creha, Signa, and Noi, pales in comparison to what Falcom has written in the past. Granted, it may be a bit unfair to compare a single game, which has far less text and character interaction than any other Trails game that is known for its interconnection (meaning you will see many of these characters in multiple games). However, it's a Trails game in name still, so serving that comparison may be difficult.
Not to mention, I especially found characters such as Lyra especially disappointing. Considering how prominent she's featured in key art of Nayuta, you would think she would have an important role in the game. But it turns out she has no agency or motivations on her own and practically exists only as an extension to Nayuta by simply being an immature love interest to him. I believe the story of Nayuta would play almost exactly the same without Lyra and that's rather disappointing to say for a Falcom game considering I never felt like this for any of the major Trails characters.
Plus, I found the ending of Nayuta to be rather sloppily executed. It just pretty much made the entire final chapter pointless in terms of stakes and sacrifices since Falcom really wanted to push for a squeaky clean perfect "happily ever after" ending. I think I would probably feel better about the ending if they combined the major plot events in the final chapter and the after-story as one huge finale. Because a second "ending" that is basically a reprise of the final ending just feels weird.
Besides a few weak characters who struggled to land the ending moments well, Nayuta is a game that has incited a lot of childhood wonder and memories in me from the PS2 and Dreamcast days, from its charming, vivid low poly graphics, the simple but yet always evolving action platforming gameplay and its concise but epic plotline. Whether or not Nayuta is connected to the rest of Trails, we can have plenty of discussions about that due to its many parallels to the series. However, it's an excellent entry as a standalone game without any requirement of playing the rest of Trails and it nails the balance between being simple and fun and complex and thought-provoking just right.
Nayuta is a really fun game which reminds me of classic Ys. Combat is simple to learn with only one combo string for the one handed and two handed swords. Many enemies don't have a lot of varied attack patterns either. Even then, it has a cozy arcade feel to the combat. The bosses is where combat really shines though and requires a lot more patterns to learn and has varied mechanics to deal with.
The levels are set up as stages where goal is to reach the destination at the end. In between are platforming elements and a few switches needed to open paths. Stages do have branching paths so there are some exploration involved especially when searching for optional chests and crystals.
Music is solid. Not quite as Rock heavy as some of the earlier Ys games, but it has a solid amount of them here.
The story isn't anything special and it's quite fairly predictable when it comes to its twists. It's enjoyable and kept my interest throughout nonetheless.
The characters are also nothing special. Most lack any real character development or depth. They are likable, but the writing for them is disappointing and wasted potential of what could've been.
It took me roughly 25 hours to beat the game on Hard while clearing everything that I could on a first playthrough. It does have a lot of replay value which is great on one hand, but annoying for those short on time because of life like me. Roughly half of the sidequests are locked in NG+ and the fourth variation on the stages are also locked. I would've greatly preferred that these were available on the first playthrough as well.
Overall, there's a lot of fun to be had with this game. For those wondering if it's connected to the main Trails series, it's not. It's just a lot of references and could be played as a standalone game.
The levels are set up as stages where goal is to reach the destination at the end. In between are platforming elements and a few switches needed to open paths. Stages do have branching paths so there are some exploration involved especially when searching for optional chests and crystals.
Music is solid. Not quite as Rock heavy as some of the earlier Ys games, but it has a solid amount of them here.
The story isn't anything special and it's quite fairly predictable when it comes to its twists. It's enjoyable and kept my interest throughout nonetheless.
The characters are also nothing special. Most lack any real character development or depth. They are likable, but the writing for them is disappointing and wasted potential of what could've been.
It took me roughly 25 hours to beat the game on Hard while clearing everything that I could on a first playthrough. It does have a lot of replay value which is great on one hand, but annoying for those short on time because of life like me. Roughly half of the sidequests are locked in NG+ and the fourth variation on the stages are also locked. I would've greatly preferred that these were available on the first playthrough as well.
Overall, there's a lot of fun to be had with this game. For those wondering if it's connected to the main Trails series, it's not. It's just a lot of references and could be played as a standalone game.