Funny that this game can be abbreviated as “Tits” cause I like it as much as tits (I am asexual)
You know, I wasn't originally going to get into this series so soon with me having several games I wanted to get into beforehand, but I had this sudden craving for an adventure story and just couldn't help myself. I have heard massive amounts of praise about this game and franchise, and then one day I was just convinced to give this game a try. This as I look back on it after finishing this game for a little over a week now, may have been one of the best and worst decisions I have made in a long time. Best because I got to experience one of the most comfiest adventures I've had the pleasure to witness. On the other hand, worst because well I started this game during a time when I was supposed to be studying for my Finals that were coming up, but I instead decided to spend a little over 50 hours of my time on this game.
When you think of games that fall under the title the quintessential adventure video game, you may think of games such as: Final Fantasy X, Shadow of the Colossus, Death Stranding, or maybe just any Zelda game.
Well, what if I told you this game, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC, rivals those aforementioned.
It has everything you could ask for in a JRPG with minimal flaws that is left to be desired. I mean this from the story, world-building, OSTs, gameplay, characters, and most especially the dialogue.
The attention to detail and love that is poured into this game is astounding. The amount of text in here is mind-boggling. NPC dialogue refreshes after EVERY story event and treasure chests have a pun or just a line of dialogue after you open it.
The world-building is one of the game's strong suits without a doubt. Since this game is what I would like to call an "intro game", due to it being not only the first Trails game, but also it being the introduction to a world that is now at about 11 games long with Kuro no Kiseki II: Crimson Sin getting its English translation relatively soon and the recent announcement of the 13th game, Kai no Kiseki - Farewell, O Zemuria.
Each chapter you travel to each region of the country of Liberl, and you're introduced to the cast as you progress effortlessly. It's impressive at how effortlessly brilliant this game can be.
The character interactions are also one of my favorite aspects of this game as each character has their quirks and how their personality changes towards one another. This aspect gives the game its unique charm and just makes the game feel more vibrant and alive.
Every game has a hooking point and it may be different for everyone, but I believe during Chapter 2 or 3 of this game was where I was like, "Yeah it's over I'm invested now." Especially whenever you fight a certain someone and THIS SOUNDTRACK STARTS PLAYING I was for sure invested until the end credits.
The length may be something that catches your eye because this franchise has a trend of having its games go easily up to 50+ hours. Luckily those hours fly by playing this game, however.
If you want a comfy adventure to experience or just to start on a legendary franchise such as this, I cannot recommend it enough. Trails in the Sky is a worthy investment.
When you think of games that fall under the title the quintessential adventure video game, you may think of games such as: Final Fantasy X, Shadow of the Colossus, Death Stranding, or maybe just any Zelda game.
Well, what if I told you this game, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC, rivals those aforementioned.
It has everything you could ask for in a JRPG with minimal flaws that is left to be desired. I mean this from the story, world-building, OSTs, gameplay, characters, and most especially the dialogue.
The attention to detail and love that is poured into this game is astounding. The amount of text in here is mind-boggling. NPC dialogue refreshes after EVERY story event and treasure chests have a pun or just a line of dialogue after you open it.
The world-building is one of the game's strong suits without a doubt. Since this game is what I would like to call an "intro game", due to it being not only the first Trails game, but also it being the introduction to a world that is now at about 11 games long with Kuro no Kiseki II: Crimson Sin getting its English translation relatively soon and the recent announcement of the 13th game, Kai no Kiseki - Farewell, O Zemuria.
Each chapter you travel to each region of the country of Liberl, and you're introduced to the cast as you progress effortlessly. It's impressive at how effortlessly brilliant this game can be.
The character interactions are also one of my favorite aspects of this game as each character has their quirks and how their personality changes towards one another. This aspect gives the game its unique charm and just makes the game feel more vibrant and alive.
Every game has a hooking point and it may be different for everyone, but I believe during Chapter 2 or 3 of this game was where I was like, "Yeah it's over I'm invested now." Especially whenever you fight a certain someone and THIS SOUNDTRACK STARTS PLAYING I was for sure invested until the end credits.
The length may be something that catches your eye because this franchise has a trend of having its games go easily up to 50+ hours. Luckily those hours fly by playing this game, however.
If you want a comfy adventure to experience or just to start on a legendary franchise such as this, I cannot recommend it enough. Trails in the Sky is a worthy investment.
Zin carries. Whether you like him or don't like him, there's nothing you can do about it because he's number one.
Otherwise I have to say it's an epic adventure for the ages and fun to finish in the leadup to Drake's upcoming album "For All the Dogs" releasing October 6th. I will be thinking about this game quite a fair bit while I listen to his new music.
Otherwise I have to say it's an epic adventure for the ages and fun to finish in the leadup to Drake's upcoming album "For All the Dogs" releasing October 6th. I will be thinking about this game quite a fair bit while I listen to his new music.
A refreshing break from the god-slaying adventures of most JRPGS. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC really stands apart as a cozy and relaxing adventure. All aspects of the game work together to deliver a grounded and charming adventure that holds up almost 20 years after it's initial release.
Pros:
- A grounded, yet well paced story full of adventure
- Solid turn-based combat, enhanced by excellent battle systems
- A catchy and complementary soundtrack
- Awesome world-building and character development
- x6 TURBO mode on PC
Cons:
- Janky UI, difficult to navigate with little feedback
Overall:
The world of Trails in the Sky is always fun to explore, with a charm and coziness that really makes it standout. The standard turn-based combat is elevated by the supporting battle systems that allow for lots of customization and different strategies. The systems feel similar to Final Fantasy VIIs Materia. The art style remains timeless, but unfortunately the UI has aged quite poorly. After a few hours of gameplay you can navigate without too much pain, but it is a shame on an otherwise polished title. The delivery and pacing of the story are similar to a fantasy novel, but beautifully designed around letting the player explore at their own pace. The soundtrack is catchy, and really fits the theme of the game.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started playing. It has a really different pace to most games, but sometimes its nice to step away from non-stop action and spectacle and enjoy a more grounded and cozy game. I had fun playing this first chapter, of the first arc, of the Legend of Heroes games. Similar to One Piece the initial length of the series put me off, but immediately I understood why it's so popular. Now I'm glad there is so much to catch up on!
Pros:
- A grounded, yet well paced story full of adventure
- Solid turn-based combat, enhanced by excellent battle systems
- A catchy and complementary soundtrack
- Awesome world-building and character development
- x6 TURBO mode on PC
Cons:
- Janky UI, difficult to navigate with little feedback
Overall:
The world of Trails in the Sky is always fun to explore, with a charm and coziness that really makes it standout. The standard turn-based combat is elevated by the supporting battle systems that allow for lots of customization and different strategies. The systems feel similar to Final Fantasy VIIs Materia. The art style remains timeless, but unfortunately the UI has aged quite poorly. After a few hours of gameplay you can navigate without too much pain, but it is a shame on an otherwise polished title. The delivery and pacing of the story are similar to a fantasy novel, but beautifully designed around letting the player explore at their own pace. The soundtrack is catchy, and really fits the theme of the game.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started playing. It has a really different pace to most games, but sometimes its nice to step away from non-stop action and spectacle and enjoy a more grounded and cozy game. I had fun playing this first chapter, of the first arc, of the Legend of Heroes games. Similar to One Piece the initial length of the series put me off, but immediately I understood why it's so popular. Now I'm glad there is so much to catch up on!
I really enjoyed this game, but it definitely won't be for everyone. Even as a JRPG fan, I felt like this game's pacing was a little slow at times, but it is worth it for the ending. Was a bit skeptical about this series at first, but now that I've finished this game I cannot wait to start the others.
Extremely charming game with a great cast, great story, good gameplay and a fully realized world that isn't a complete masterpiece due to some gripes with areas that blend together and some of the gameplay being a bit flat near the end.
Will eventually get to SC. But my biggest takeaway is that Olivier is absolutely my goat.
Will eventually get to SC. But my biggest takeaway is that Olivier is absolutely my goat.
Yeah it's a pretty good intro to a series with over a dozen games.
The ending will make you want SC immediately without question
The ending will make you want SC immediately without question
Excelente RPG com mecânicas bem legais e uma OST fantástica. É um jogo bem lento no começo e eu sinceramente adoro isso, a vibe pacata que tem ajuda muito a te conectar aos personagens e a apresentar e sentir esse mundo super interessante e bem feito
Trails in the Sky is a great RPG, the story is really nice, and I especially loved the characters. I think the characters were even one of the best parts of this game, along with the worldbuilding, which is fantastic. Estelle is also a great protagonist; I really loved her! Not to mention the wonderful soundtrack of this game. I'm really excited to play Trails in the Sky SC and the whole Trails series.
"just as the brightest light casts the darkest shadow"
the trails series is gonna be a series where i commit to long term, as the first trails game i've played in the series this did not dissapoint me at all. One of my favourite introductions to a series. The first trails in the sky game was so fun to play i was fully immersed in the whole time, the combat is fun to play with and I already love the cast, there's not really that much to say bad about this game apart from some pacing issues but that's ok because its the first game and i'm expecting that this game will be even better after i play the other 2 in the sky trilogy due to the buildup for the later chapters.
i love estelle as a character already and i have really high hopes for joshua, the last stretch and the final few scenes were so good for joshua and was a great twist, i really liked the build up regarding his backstory. im looking foward on how Loshua and Estelle improve as a dynamic later on.
overall amazing introduction to a series I enjoyed this way more than I should have, great game
the trails series is gonna be a series where i commit to long term, as the first trails game i've played in the series this did not dissapoint me at all. One of my favourite introductions to a series. The first trails in the sky game was so fun to play i was fully immersed in the whole time, the combat is fun to play with and I already love the cast, there's not really that much to say bad about this game apart from some pacing issues but that's ok because its the first game and i'm expecting that this game will be even better after i play the other 2 in the sky trilogy due to the buildup for the later chapters.
i love estelle as a character already and i have really high hopes for joshua, the last stretch and the final few scenes were so good for joshua and was a great twist, i really liked the build up regarding his backstory. im looking foward on how Loshua and Estelle improve as a dynamic later on.
overall amazing introduction to a series I enjoyed this way more than I should have, great game
Desde que me pasé este juego leo todos los dias el Liberl News por la mañana como si fuera mi padre leyendo el Marca
finished the game? no, this game finished ME
7/10.
(Refazendo essa análise, por que eu sou burro)
Olha sky first chapter é definitivamente algo.
Não consigo gostar tanto, mas aprecio o sentimento e jornada.
Esteticamente é um jogo charmoso por puxar um pouco de um gráfico carismático similar ao de harvest moon de ps1 ou 64 se você for um corno.
Sinceramente o trabalho de estética nesse jogo tá casado com a ost, falcomm fez um bom trabalho nessa mistura permea bastante a atmosfera e o ritmo.
Sobre dificuldade, é meio persona 2 de psp melhor, é fácil o suficiente pra um macaco como eu jogar, mas desafiador em X instâncias pra me fazer levar a serio o combate e mecanicas, a versão de psp é de fato a que menos indico.
Em suma embora o combate seja bem apesar de possuir numa complexidade que jogos futuros irão explorar mais, sinto que o sistema de orbments puxa muito o que vi em final fantasy 7 com as matérias ( odeio essa merda) por sorte é um sistema melhor e mais "experimental".
A trilha sonora do sky first chapter é boa, porém não tanto quanto seus sucessores, porém marcante, sinto que não consigo tirar da cabeça certas osts, é de certo um jogo com um charme encantador a longo prazo.
Em história, narrativa e a afins.... O que digo....
É Interessante, nem tanto, nem menos.
O prólogo é meio tedioso, mas a relação do joshua com a estelle é deveras bacana.
Capítulo 1 eu dormi.... sério quase nada de relevante acontece jujuba.
Capítulo 2 apresenta a kloe e Ruan, particularmente gostei um tanto de tudo que esse capítulo me proporcionou, um conflito final clichê mas bem orientado, uma exploração maior de liberl, nuances se estabelecem e um setting muito bom se localiza aqui para o second chapter. Em suma foi um capítulo ok, ainda não tava tão engajado, mas senti uma faísca.
Chapter 3 um pacing inicial pior que o do chapter 2... slow burn desse jogo dói, mas uma apresentação mais formosa, zeiss é uma cidade que me chamou a atenção em design e explorei bastante e desfrutei mais, da metade pro fim ficou um chapter bom, resumindo ganhou minha atenção.
Chapter final, porra que pacing inconsistente, mesmo sendo um ponto da narrativa mais tenso e direto, senti que se arrastou umas 2 vezes, no fim foi uma experiência boa, ótimo cliffhanger.
Não tenho muito a dizer.
Fiz todas as sides, uma quantidade média delas valeram a pena mesmo, mas foi mais do que esperava, o leveo design de 3 dungeons se é posso dizer assim, achei sono demais, a progressão ficou lenta, tava sem saco.
De resto a gimmick de diálogos com npcs sempre alterar ou atualização em pouco tempo e ser constante, cria um aspecto único e torna o mundo um tanto vivo, caso vocês de fato seja um maníaco tipo eu que não conversei com todos, mas bastante cabeças, me surpreendi que existe nuance e foreshadow do que vem a seguir em jogos posteriores, me recordo por one piece esse estilo de estrutura e afins, gostei!
Para concluir, eu gostei dos personagens, não me afeições tanto a todos, mas fizeram um trabalho ok em 85 horas de gameplay ( o tempo que levei pra zerar) em contextualizar mais eles com o mundo e pincelar eles para em secod chapter eles se tornarem ótimos.
Enfim é isso, trails in sky FC foi uma boa introdução, embora poderia ter sido muito boa, mas não foi é provável que nunca mais vá rejogar esse camarada aqui.
Um adendo, joguem esse jogo no pc com mod de dublagem, por que namoral irmão, eu não tanko tanto texto sem a porra de um voice acting num jogo que existe isso em X versões.
Tem bons dubladores nesse jogo, embora atuações tão melhores em suas sequências, dito isso i like this one!
(Refazendo essa análise, por que eu sou burro)
Olha sky first chapter é definitivamente algo.
Não consigo gostar tanto, mas aprecio o sentimento e jornada.
Esteticamente é um jogo charmoso por puxar um pouco de um gráfico carismático similar ao de harvest moon de ps1 ou 64 se você for um corno.
Sinceramente o trabalho de estética nesse jogo tá casado com a ost, falcomm fez um bom trabalho nessa mistura permea bastante a atmosfera e o ritmo.
Sobre dificuldade, é meio persona 2 de psp melhor, é fácil o suficiente pra um macaco como eu jogar, mas desafiador em X instâncias pra me fazer levar a serio o combate e mecanicas, a versão de psp é de fato a que menos indico.
Em suma embora o combate seja bem apesar de possuir numa complexidade que jogos futuros irão explorar mais, sinto que o sistema de orbments puxa muito o que vi em final fantasy 7 com as matérias ( odeio essa merda) por sorte é um sistema melhor e mais "experimental".
A trilha sonora do sky first chapter é boa, porém não tanto quanto seus sucessores, porém marcante, sinto que não consigo tirar da cabeça certas osts, é de certo um jogo com um charme encantador a longo prazo.
Em história, narrativa e a afins.... O que digo....
É Interessante, nem tanto, nem menos.
O prólogo é meio tedioso, mas a relação do joshua com a estelle é deveras bacana.
Capítulo 1 eu dormi.... sério quase nada de relevante acontece jujuba.
Capítulo 2 apresenta a kloe e Ruan, particularmente gostei um tanto de tudo que esse capítulo me proporcionou, um conflito final clichê mas bem orientado, uma exploração maior de liberl, nuances se estabelecem e um setting muito bom se localiza aqui para o second chapter. Em suma foi um capítulo ok, ainda não tava tão engajado, mas senti uma faísca.
Chapter 3 um pacing inicial pior que o do chapter 2... slow burn desse jogo dói, mas uma apresentação mais formosa, zeiss é uma cidade que me chamou a atenção em design e explorei bastante e desfrutei mais, da metade pro fim ficou um chapter bom, resumindo ganhou minha atenção.
Chapter final, porra que pacing inconsistente, mesmo sendo um ponto da narrativa mais tenso e direto, senti que se arrastou umas 2 vezes, no fim foi uma experiência boa, ótimo cliffhanger.
Não tenho muito a dizer.
Fiz todas as sides, uma quantidade média delas valeram a pena mesmo, mas foi mais do que esperava, o leveo design de 3 dungeons se é posso dizer assim, achei sono demais, a progressão ficou lenta, tava sem saco.
De resto a gimmick de diálogos com npcs sempre alterar ou atualização em pouco tempo e ser constante, cria um aspecto único e torna o mundo um tanto vivo, caso vocês de fato seja um maníaco tipo eu que não conversei com todos, mas bastante cabeças, me surpreendi que existe nuance e foreshadow do que vem a seguir em jogos posteriores, me recordo por one piece esse estilo de estrutura e afins, gostei!
Para concluir, eu gostei dos personagens, não me afeições tanto a todos, mas fizeram um trabalho ok em 85 horas de gameplay ( o tempo que levei pra zerar) em contextualizar mais eles com o mundo e pincelar eles para em secod chapter eles se tornarem ótimos.
Enfim é isso, trails in sky FC foi uma boa introdução, embora poderia ter sido muito boa, mas não foi é provável que nunca mais vá rejogar esse camarada aqui.
Um adendo, joguem esse jogo no pc com mod de dublagem, por que namoral irmão, eu não tanko tanto texto sem a porra de um voice acting num jogo que existe isso em X versões.
Tem bons dubladores nesse jogo, embora atuações tão melhores em suas sequências, dito isso i like this one!
It's rare for me to get into a series or a specific subset of a series and play through the games in order from the beginning. My only knowledge of the Trails/Kiseki series before picking up Trails in the Sky was of the character Nadia who had intrigued me towards the series and the novel 3 & 9 which a friend recommended to me and it sold me on getting into the series properly. So without any real knowledge of the series played like and without modern expectations from recent titles colouring my viewpoint, I began my journey into the Trails/Kiseki series with The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky.
Trails in the Sky begins by introducing us to its charming protagonist Estelle Bright as her father brings home an mysterious injured young boy called Joshua who has little recollection of what happened to him at this point. There's no time wasted in presenting what a fun character Estelle is as she quickly demonstrates how rash and excitable she is by making sure Joshua gets rest, and throwing in witty remarks. The game uses wonderfully cute chibi models similar in style to the Golden Sun series which I adore so much. Dialogue boxes have well drawn 2D character portraits that have an excellent range of emotions shown off to further emphasise how a character is feeling in that moment. The game is adorable and it uses the combination of character models and portraits to detail its scenes very well.
After a timeskip of a few years we're reacquainted with the Bright family, seeing how well Joshua has fitted in and how close the family are. From here the real story loop begins as Estelle and Joshua decide to follow in their father's, Cassius Bright, footsteps and become Bracers, people who take on requests to help those in need and help maintain peace in the nation of Liberl with help of the army when needed. The story is very much focused on Estelle and Joshua and their quest to become full fledged Bracers and a good chunk of it is very cosy and heartwarming as they overcome the hardships they face along the way. It's what many would consider a slow burn, it does take a while to start getting into the big plot points and revelations but I think it's all the better for that. The game takes its time, making sure you get to know Estelle and Joshua, the world they live in and giving you the time to get attached to them so that the stuff that happens by the end truly impacts you. You go around visiting every city in Liberl, taking on missions from each guild, getting to know the citizens with the additional party members being rotated out from place to place. It's great because it gives you so much time to fall in love with its cast while keeping focus on Estelle and Joshua. Party members like Olivier and Tita get to shine in the chapters they're used in and because you have to use every character, you grow attached to their fighting styles and their personalities instead of benching newcomers because you're already taken with your current setup. Your travels see you meeting many people who Cassius has had an impact on and it gives a real sense of just how powerful this man is and how much he has done despite Estelle being unaware and seeing him as just her goofy dad. The fact that for the main story beats Estelle and Joshua often require help from more senior people really helps sell that they're junior bracers in training and as powerful as they are, they still have a long way to go to start solving missions on their own like Agate or Cassius. And I love that side quests are tied to the guilds! Doing sidequests gives you Bracer points which increase your rank so while you do a few simple ones like defeating certain monsters, you want to do them because you want to see Estelle and Joshua climb up the Bracer ranking, it's really neat. Unfortunately sidequests are time limited due to the structure of the game and it can be easy to miss some which is a shame. Everything is very well set up though story wise and they do an excellent job pulling you in.
While on the surface the story takes its time to get going, the game does a good job at adding intrigue to the seemingly simple scenarios that play out. Yeah you're stopping petty bandits but there's many signs of bigger things at play to keep you intrigued. By the time you get to the end a lot of things are tied together but then there's so many revelations that leave you excited for the next instalment.
As mentioned throughout so far, Estelle and Joshua are the stars of the show. The two perfectly compliment each other, she's the sun to his moon, a true yin and yang pair. Estelle is this bright cheerful character, bringing light to everyone she meets but often acts before she thinks and is usually very open with her feelings. Joshua is a lot more reserved, holds a lot about himself back and is great a devising plans on the spot, knowing how to use his words to prevent escalation of situations. He often has to remind Estelle to hold back while Estelle knows she has to be patient with him and his innermost feelings. They compliment each other so well and know each other on a level that they are pretty quick to pick up on something when it feels off. There's so many lovely moments between the two of them that help build up affection towards the two as a pair and it makes it easy to relate to both of them and the things they go through. So yeah, on the story and characters front this game left a huge impression on me.
Gameplay wise this is mostly your typical RPG affair. Visiting towns, going through dungeons, and defeating monsters to level up your party is the bulk of the game. NPCs are all given names and their dialogue is constantly being updated to reflect ongoing story or quest events which is such a neat touch. Most areas have a full 360° rotating camera and maps are well detailed for navigation, with towns having colour coded buildings for stuff like shops and the guilds. For some reason there are no maps for the dungeons. It's not a big deal as they tend to be small enough to commit to memory through exploration but it can be easy to lose your way if you mess with the camera too much.
Battles are a pretty unique affair, blending traditional turn based RPG mechanics with strategy RPG mechanics. These take place in their own battle arenas and you have your characters laid out in a starting position with enemies usually on the opposing side of the map. You can move your characters in a grid like fashion and they all have their own ranges with physical weapons. Estelle uses a staff and has to be pretty close to an enemy to hit it while Tita uses a gun so she can attack from any range while also having an area of effect that damages nearby enemies. EP is used to cast spells from orbments that can hit from any range as well as better spells being able to hit an area of enemies instead of just one. These take time to pull off though with a turn to cast and a turn to fire and can be interrupted by certain attacks. Each character has a number of orbment slots that can be increased and by mixing and matching orbments of various elements you can gain access to more powerful spells. For example I had a mixture of water and wind orbments on Estelle giving her access to both powerful healing spells and heavy damaging wind spells. It's a cool system and one I enjoyed experimenting with once I got a better understanding of it.
Finally there's CP which is built up through attacking and being damaged by enemies. At 100 CP you can unleash a characters unique special move to do heavy damage and at 200 CP you can maximise that damage. Specials can be activated at any time, allowing you to fully strategise heavy damage outputs by jumping in just before an enemy gets its turn. CP is also used for craft attacks, special physical attacks that can interrupt an enemy casting or inflict various status elements. These usually use around 10~30CP and are great in a pinch. Overall it's a pretty fun and unique battle system that I really enjoyed. The game also features overworld encounters rather than random ones, allowing you to have a degree of control of whether you ambush enemies or they ambush you and enemies can be easily avoided if you don't want to fight. It's a very nice design choice that I wasn't expecting going in.
The Steam version of the game also includes a speedup option which is nice to have when there's no fast travelling and want to speed through easier encounters. Exp is also handled really well with dwindling results as you get closer to the recommended level for the area. Once you start getting 1 or 2 exp you know it's time to start avoiding enemies more which is really nice and stops you feeling like you have to grind while also maintaining a difficulty that isn't easy to breeze past
The soundtrack is a joy, featuring many catchy tunes from the standard battle music to my personal favourite for the city of Ziess that perfectly embodies PS1 era RPG music. Each town gets its own unique theme while there's little variance for overworld routes and such. The main theme, Hoshi no Arika (The Whereabouts of Light) is a beautiful theme that perfectly embodies the melancholy adventure this game is. It's a wonderful soundtrack to a wonderful game that gave me so many warm and cosy feelings throughout.
As my first experience of the Trails/Kiseki series, Trails in the Sky provided a wonderful and cosy experience with memorable characters that I've fallen in love with and can't wait to see how their story continues. Aside from a few minor issues, this game provides an excellent foundation both narrative and gameplay wise to build from and I'm excited to see where they take the series from this point as I continue playing the titles. Estelle and Joshua have left such a strong impression on me and I'm so happy that I've finally dipped my toes into the series after seeing so many people talk about it.
Trails in the Sky begins by introducing us to its charming protagonist Estelle Bright as her father brings home an mysterious injured young boy called Joshua who has little recollection of what happened to him at this point. There's no time wasted in presenting what a fun character Estelle is as she quickly demonstrates how rash and excitable she is by making sure Joshua gets rest, and throwing in witty remarks. The game uses wonderfully cute chibi models similar in style to the Golden Sun series which I adore so much. Dialogue boxes have well drawn 2D character portraits that have an excellent range of emotions shown off to further emphasise how a character is feeling in that moment. The game is adorable and it uses the combination of character models and portraits to detail its scenes very well.
After a timeskip of a few years we're reacquainted with the Bright family, seeing how well Joshua has fitted in and how close the family are. From here the real story loop begins as Estelle and Joshua decide to follow in their father's, Cassius Bright, footsteps and become Bracers, people who take on requests to help those in need and help maintain peace in the nation of Liberl with help of the army when needed. The story is very much focused on Estelle and Joshua and their quest to become full fledged Bracers and a good chunk of it is very cosy and heartwarming as they overcome the hardships they face along the way. It's what many would consider a slow burn, it does take a while to start getting into the big plot points and revelations but I think it's all the better for that. The game takes its time, making sure you get to know Estelle and Joshua, the world they live in and giving you the time to get attached to them so that the stuff that happens by the end truly impacts you. You go around visiting every city in Liberl, taking on missions from each guild, getting to know the citizens with the additional party members being rotated out from place to place. It's great because it gives you so much time to fall in love with its cast while keeping focus on Estelle and Joshua. Party members like Olivier and Tita get to shine in the chapters they're used in and because you have to use every character, you grow attached to their fighting styles and their personalities instead of benching newcomers because you're already taken with your current setup. Your travels see you meeting many people who Cassius has had an impact on and it gives a real sense of just how powerful this man is and how much he has done despite Estelle being unaware and seeing him as just her goofy dad. The fact that for the main story beats Estelle and Joshua often require help from more senior people really helps sell that they're junior bracers in training and as powerful as they are, they still have a long way to go to start solving missions on their own like Agate or Cassius. And I love that side quests are tied to the guilds! Doing sidequests gives you Bracer points which increase your rank so while you do a few simple ones like defeating certain monsters, you want to do them because you want to see Estelle and Joshua climb up the Bracer ranking, it's really neat. Unfortunately sidequests are time limited due to the structure of the game and it can be easy to miss some which is a shame. Everything is very well set up though story wise and they do an excellent job pulling you in.
While on the surface the story takes its time to get going, the game does a good job at adding intrigue to the seemingly simple scenarios that play out. Yeah you're stopping petty bandits but there's many signs of bigger things at play to keep you intrigued. By the time you get to the end a lot of things are tied together but then there's so many revelations that leave you excited for the next instalment.
As mentioned throughout so far, Estelle and Joshua are the stars of the show. The two perfectly compliment each other, she's the sun to his moon, a true yin and yang pair. Estelle is this bright cheerful character, bringing light to everyone she meets but often acts before she thinks and is usually very open with her feelings. Joshua is a lot more reserved, holds a lot about himself back and is great a devising plans on the spot, knowing how to use his words to prevent escalation of situations. He often has to remind Estelle to hold back while Estelle knows she has to be patient with him and his innermost feelings. They compliment each other so well and know each other on a level that they are pretty quick to pick up on something when it feels off. There's so many lovely moments between the two of them that help build up affection towards the two as a pair and it makes it easy to relate to both of them and the things they go through. So yeah, on the story and characters front this game left a huge impression on me.
Gameplay wise this is mostly your typical RPG affair. Visiting towns, going through dungeons, and defeating monsters to level up your party is the bulk of the game. NPCs are all given names and their dialogue is constantly being updated to reflect ongoing story or quest events which is such a neat touch. Most areas have a full 360° rotating camera and maps are well detailed for navigation, with towns having colour coded buildings for stuff like shops and the guilds. For some reason there are no maps for the dungeons. It's not a big deal as they tend to be small enough to commit to memory through exploration but it can be easy to lose your way if you mess with the camera too much.
Battles are a pretty unique affair, blending traditional turn based RPG mechanics with strategy RPG mechanics. These take place in their own battle arenas and you have your characters laid out in a starting position with enemies usually on the opposing side of the map. You can move your characters in a grid like fashion and they all have their own ranges with physical weapons. Estelle uses a staff and has to be pretty close to an enemy to hit it while Tita uses a gun so she can attack from any range while also having an area of effect that damages nearby enemies. EP is used to cast spells from orbments that can hit from any range as well as better spells being able to hit an area of enemies instead of just one. These take time to pull off though with a turn to cast and a turn to fire and can be interrupted by certain attacks. Each character has a number of orbment slots that can be increased and by mixing and matching orbments of various elements you can gain access to more powerful spells. For example I had a mixture of water and wind orbments on Estelle giving her access to both powerful healing spells and heavy damaging wind spells. It's a cool system and one I enjoyed experimenting with once I got a better understanding of it.
Finally there's CP which is built up through attacking and being damaged by enemies. At 100 CP you can unleash a characters unique special move to do heavy damage and at 200 CP you can maximise that damage. Specials can be activated at any time, allowing you to fully strategise heavy damage outputs by jumping in just before an enemy gets its turn. CP is also used for craft attacks, special physical attacks that can interrupt an enemy casting or inflict various status elements. These usually use around 10~30CP and are great in a pinch. Overall it's a pretty fun and unique battle system that I really enjoyed. The game also features overworld encounters rather than random ones, allowing you to have a degree of control of whether you ambush enemies or they ambush you and enemies can be easily avoided if you don't want to fight. It's a very nice design choice that I wasn't expecting going in.
The Steam version of the game also includes a speedup option which is nice to have when there's no fast travelling and want to speed through easier encounters. Exp is also handled really well with dwindling results as you get closer to the recommended level for the area. Once you start getting 1 or 2 exp you know it's time to start avoiding enemies more which is really nice and stops you feeling like you have to grind while also maintaining a difficulty that isn't easy to breeze past
The soundtrack is a joy, featuring many catchy tunes from the standard battle music to my personal favourite for the city of Ziess that perfectly embodies PS1 era RPG music. Each town gets its own unique theme while there's little variance for overworld routes and such. The main theme, Hoshi no Arika (The Whereabouts of Light) is a beautiful theme that perfectly embodies the melancholy adventure this game is. It's a wonderful soundtrack to a wonderful game that gave me so many warm and cosy feelings throughout.
As my first experience of the Trails/Kiseki series, Trails in the Sky provided a wonderful and cosy experience with memorable characters that I've fallen in love with and can't wait to see how their story continues. Aside from a few minor issues, this game provides an excellent foundation both narrative and gameplay wise to build from and I'm excited to see where they take the series from this point as I continue playing the titles. Estelle and Joshua have left such a strong impression on me and I'm so happy that I've finally dipped my toes into the series after seeing so many people talk about it.
A slow burn in the absolute best way possible. Amazing characters, story, writing.
I've seen Trails called both the "MCU of RPGs" and the "One Piece of RPGs" and whether you see both, one, or none of those comparisons as favorable is a good indicator of how much you're going to enjoy the series
For me, Sky FC is "the JRPG of all time" other than the final boss and literal last 10 minutes of the game. This is partially due to it being a "setup game," (of which I've played next to none, but have seen this often done in visual novels, and it's infinitely worse with an actual videogame due to gameplay losing tension) and as such is automatically an underwhelming part of the story. The combat system is probs my fav JRPG one from what I've played here and the 2 hours I played years back in Cold Steel I, especially later on when both you and enemies can cancel Arts (spell) casting before the attack is delivered, very strategic. The gameplay is fun, the worldbuilding is already good and this is just the first game in the series, true, and the music is good (though a popular JRPG having good music is a given), and it certainly has... soul, but it just felt like an okay experience most of the time for me. It was episodic for most of its story with okay characters and okay plot and okay pacing until it got better near the end. Although it's strange how the overwhelming majority of FC's thematic value is from that last part alone, and before that it feels more focused on worldbuilding and slice-of-life or something? The low points were Tita, Dorothy and Olivier (when he's a walking trope and/or stereotype) being annoying, as well as the stealth missions. I didn't care for the romance either.
I was feeling a little burnt out in the penultimate dungeon, too, which isn't a good sign when it's the first game in the 500+ hour series known for the "trust me bro, it gets peak" effect, with a coin toss on whether a specific player will like a particular game/arc. Additionally, it already feels bloated (it feels like I got 10 hours' worth of actual content out of my ~30 hour playthrough with how one-note some things, especially characters, were), so that's concerning.
In any case, the trailer for SC near the end looked very hype, so I'm excited to play that sometime this year.
I was feeling a little burnt out in the penultimate dungeon, too, which isn't a good sign when it's the first game in the 500+ hour series known for the "trust me bro, it gets peak" effect, with a coin toss on whether a specific player will like a particular game/arc. Additionally, it already feels bloated (it feels like I got 10 hours' worth of actual content out of my ~30 hour playthrough with how one-note some things, especially characters, were), so that's concerning.
In any case, the trailer for SC near the end looked very hype, so I'm excited to play that sometime this year.
This review contains spoilers
Copy pasting a little gush i did when i finished this game (it's very messy and kind of embarrassing but whatever it was my real thoughts at the time lol). Check out my list for more concise thoughts on the series.
Okay so going into the game I had my expectations in line, based on the amount of times I'd heard from others that FC and SC should really be considered 1 game and no one should ever play FC on it's own. So I had it in my head it would be kinda like Great Ace Attorney in that regard, potentially slightly worse since at one point I'd heard someone was actually worried that a friend would quit the series after FC, kinda made me make up in my head that it was gonna be a bit of a slog.
For the first two chapters (inc prologue) I guess I got that experience that I was expecting, and I do think that they were overall the weakest chapters in the game in retrospect, but I understood that it was all in the nature of setting up a world and not throwing too many things at you at once, so it didn't bother me too much. As far as story and world building goes, they did a fine job.
My biggest issue with the game just ended up being the communication of battle systems in the game. Half of it is fine because they learn it, it is simple and you can only really learn it with experience, once you've figured it all out it's good. Half of the stuff isn't explained that well because it's just thrown into the book and sometimes I hadn't fully understood some things until halfway through the game (like what an s-break is and how it's related to an s-craft, how exactly quartz translate into arts). But once it's all figured out, the orbment system is really cool, it gives you a lot of freedom to really dig deep into how you want your team to be built, while also restricting it per party member in a way that matches their battle style and character within the game. Which is way cooler than just anyone being able to use anything.
Anyway no more bad stuff (cos really there wasn't any more). This game found a way to tackle three difficult things in one go and it kind of amazes me how well it's all executed. Those things being:
1. Setting up facets of the universe (continent?) that the series takes place in, orbment history, country relations, cassius' past
2. Building Estelle as a protagonist
3. All while making you really feel the same things that she does throughout the journey, making for a very engaging story
You start from zero in her hometown and you basically have the same knowledge as her when it comes to the point 1, facets of the universe. Well, she has some knowledge, but the game's writing does a fantastic job of re-explaining those things to her (you) without it feeling like an awkward almost 4th wall-y kinda thing. This journey around the country is so masterfully done. When you're done with it, you look at the map and go "wow, i really walked all that" and you believe it, because of how much time you spent in each region, the impact you made, the people you helped, the things you learned from those people. Things that it only makes perfect sense for people from that region to have tell you (Bose - hundred days war/conflicts with erebonia, Zeiss - orbment history, Grancel - a bunch of fucking stuff, etc).
Points 2 and 3 are both done at the same time thanks to the exponentially increasing stakes in the story, that never feels like too sharp an increase. Everything is perfect difficulty level for Estelle and Joshua to handle, just their enthusiasm and determination only barely making them trustworthy enough for the bracer guild to let them carry it out. And the best part of this is in Grancel, where they are assigned in charge of the final missions. She starts out as a country bumpkin and she remains that way, but learns so much through her experiences, and you really feel like you see every part of her development because of the structure of the game.
After Bose, in my opinion, the game just takes off. (Don't get me wrong the sky bandits were entertaining, and I can't wait to see more of them.) The school festival and play is adorable, you may not like how long that whole section is, but you have to admit that because of that, when they announce their giving the money to the orphanage it's just so heartwarming. It only makes it more cruel when they're harrassed and the money is stolen, then the whole thing is so intense when those sneaky spec ops guys get away, and i feel like that being one of the first times agate in your party, his fury is contagious and really makes you out to get those guys, it being the second time youve seen them sneaking around. Then the whole thing with the mayor and the boat chase it just keeps going and going, spectactular. That was the best time for them to introduce the royal guardsmen to you aswell, since Kloe is so well connected (great foreshadowing btw). This chapter also introduced the most under-appreciated character, butler phillip, my god he's a champ for dealing with all the duke's bullshit, and his voice actor does an amazing job.
getting into gush territory here i cba to keep up the structuring
Agate was awesome in Ruan, Tita was so adorable in Zeiss and then the relationship those 2 had was so good, I shed a tear when Agate took the bullet for her, and then she felt extremely bad and took care of him!! I really felt for everyone in that chapter, Russell was brilliant and saving him and seeing him deny richard and amalthea in front of them bceause he found their evil despicable was great, this + everything in zeiss, all the inventiones he made, that let you understand how much he really just cares for the people of the country and how he wants it to prosper. He's really a great man, and a great grandfather. The family dynamic is amazing there.
Zin is a chad, not much else to say, clearly just a big bloke that loves to help people, maybe he's got more of a story 👀 but obviously i dont know too much since he's not from Liberl. Same goes for Olivier, funny how they're two foreigners that are extremely different from one another, but they manage to get on very well haha.
It's also really cool how they had this "backup" group of bracers in grancel that they developed not too mcuh where they take away from the main cast, but enough to give you a slightly deeper look into the innergoings of the guild.
I also just have to say that when the royal guardsmen and the bracers took back the villa and the castle, it just felt amazing and it gave me goosebumps knowing that they'd had to hide, but were able to just go balls out, reappearing and showing their true strength.
My favourite song from the game has to be recapture. the entire journey around the kingdom, conspiracies becoming larger and larger, and this playing at the turning point where you begin to overthrow the overthrowers!
OH and not to mention the insane amount of effort put into npc dialogue
it's so unncessary
but so incredible
Okay so going into the game I had my expectations in line, based on the amount of times I'd heard from others that FC and SC should really be considered 1 game and no one should ever play FC on it's own. So I had it in my head it would be kinda like Great Ace Attorney in that regard, potentially slightly worse since at one point I'd heard someone was actually worried that a friend would quit the series after FC, kinda made me make up in my head that it was gonna be a bit of a slog.
For the first two chapters (inc prologue) I guess I got that experience that I was expecting, and I do think that they were overall the weakest chapters in the game in retrospect, but I understood that it was all in the nature of setting up a world and not throwing too many things at you at once, so it didn't bother me too much. As far as story and world building goes, they did a fine job.
My biggest issue with the game just ended up being the communication of battle systems in the game. Half of it is fine because they learn it, it is simple and you can only really learn it with experience, once you've figured it all out it's good. Half of the stuff isn't explained that well because it's just thrown into the book and sometimes I hadn't fully understood some things until halfway through the game (like what an s-break is and how it's related to an s-craft, how exactly quartz translate into arts). But once it's all figured out, the orbment system is really cool, it gives you a lot of freedom to really dig deep into how you want your team to be built, while also restricting it per party member in a way that matches their battle style and character within the game. Which is way cooler than just anyone being able to use anything.
Anyway no more bad stuff (cos really there wasn't any more). This game found a way to tackle three difficult things in one go and it kind of amazes me how well it's all executed. Those things being:
1. Setting up facets of the universe (continent?) that the series takes place in, orbment history, country relations, cassius' past
2. Building Estelle as a protagonist
3. All while making you really feel the same things that she does throughout the journey, making for a very engaging story
You start from zero in her hometown and you basically have the same knowledge as her when it comes to the point 1, facets of the universe. Well, she has some knowledge, but the game's writing does a fantastic job of re-explaining those things to her (you) without it feeling like an awkward almost 4th wall-y kinda thing. This journey around the country is so masterfully done. When you're done with it, you look at the map and go "wow, i really walked all that" and you believe it, because of how much time you spent in each region, the impact you made, the people you helped, the things you learned from those people. Things that it only makes perfect sense for people from that region to have tell you (Bose - hundred days war/conflicts with erebonia, Zeiss - orbment history, Grancel - a bunch of fucking stuff, etc).
Points 2 and 3 are both done at the same time thanks to the exponentially increasing stakes in the story, that never feels like too sharp an increase. Everything is perfect difficulty level for Estelle and Joshua to handle, just their enthusiasm and determination only barely making them trustworthy enough for the bracer guild to let them carry it out. And the best part of this is in Grancel, where they are assigned in charge of the final missions. She starts out as a country bumpkin and she remains that way, but learns so much through her experiences, and you really feel like you see every part of her development because of the structure of the game.
After Bose, in my opinion, the game just takes off. (Don't get me wrong the sky bandits were entertaining, and I can't wait to see more of them.) The school festival and play is adorable, you may not like how long that whole section is, but you have to admit that because of that, when they announce their giving the money to the orphanage it's just so heartwarming. It only makes it more cruel when they're harrassed and the money is stolen, then the whole thing is so intense when those sneaky spec ops guys get away, and i feel like that being one of the first times agate in your party, his fury is contagious and really makes you out to get those guys, it being the second time youve seen them sneaking around. Then the whole thing with the mayor and the boat chase it just keeps going and going, spectactular. That was the best time for them to introduce the royal guardsmen to you aswell, since Kloe is so well connected (great foreshadowing btw). This chapter also introduced the most under-appreciated character, butler phillip, my god he's a champ for dealing with all the duke's bullshit, and his voice actor does an amazing job.
getting into gush territory here i cba to keep up the structuring
Agate was awesome in Ruan, Tita was so adorable in Zeiss and then the relationship those 2 had was so good, I shed a tear when Agate took the bullet for her, and then she felt extremely bad and took care of him!! I really felt for everyone in that chapter, Russell was brilliant and saving him and seeing him deny richard and amalthea in front of them bceause he found their evil despicable was great, this + everything in zeiss, all the inventiones he made, that let you understand how much he really just cares for the people of the country and how he wants it to prosper. He's really a great man, and a great grandfather. The family dynamic is amazing there.
Zin is a chad, not much else to say, clearly just a big bloke that loves to help people, maybe he's got more of a story 👀 but obviously i dont know too much since he's not from Liberl. Same goes for Olivier, funny how they're two foreigners that are extremely different from one another, but they manage to get on very well haha.
It's also really cool how they had this "backup" group of bracers in grancel that they developed not too mcuh where they take away from the main cast, but enough to give you a slightly deeper look into the innergoings of the guild.
I also just have to say that when the royal guardsmen and the bracers took back the villa and the castle, it just felt amazing and it gave me goosebumps knowing that they'd had to hide, but were able to just go balls out, reappearing and showing their true strength.
My favourite song from the game has to be recapture. the entire journey around the kingdom, conspiracies becoming larger and larger, and this playing at the turning point where you begin to overthrow the overthrowers!
OH and not to mention the insane amount of effort put into npc dialogue
it's so unncessary
but so incredible
it took a while for me to finish this one because of its slow start but definitely a great prologue to the series. My favorite part about the game was definitely the characters (shoutout agoat) but I really liked the soundtrack, combat, worldbuilding etc as well. I'm so locked in now, can't wait to dive into the rest of the series!
combat is a bit... *pulls collar* but its really really great at building up a world and really focusing on it bit by bit, feels like i only just finished reading fellowship of the ring. it's extremely thorough. that's like the best word i can come up with for it. even just having the normal jrpg protagonist dynamic switched is interesting from the get-go.
joshua maid dress mmm
psst.. wanna hear a secret... it's really not as long as everyone makes it out to be
joshua maid dress mmm
psst.. wanna hear a secret... it's really not as long as everyone makes it out to be
The Legend Of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC Review
Depth, Detail, and a sense that the world you're exploring is lived in.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in The Sky First Chapter had a reputation that intrigued me. I've heard that it's an incredibly slow game that's packed with text. That the purpose of this game was to serve as a 50 hour prologue to it's sequel, Second Chapter. And that it apparently has a brutal cliffhanger that justifies all of that. It does. I'm literally only writing this review in an attempt to stop myself from burning through the next game too fast. The reputation it has for being slow is very earned but being in the mood for a slow burn experience made that a lot less jarring. I can't recommend this game to people who don't want to read a lot though. It will kill the game for you.
In First Chapter you play as Joshua and Estelle Bright. Two 16 year old kids being raised by a legendary bracer named Cassius Bright. Bracers are a guild of freelance mercenaries with a very specific moral compass. Namely to help people. They'll get rid of monsters, save a cat from a tree, escort people from town to town, etc. They just can't intervene with the military or politics of any nation. Joshua and Estelle want to become full fledged Bracers just like their father but in order to do that they need recommendations from guild branches all over their kingdom.
You'll go from town to town picking up odd jobs from the local guild branch in order to complete enough work to earn that branches recommendation. All the while getting a familiarity with each town you go to and the people who live in it. A Bracer has a duty to the people after all. It may sound like pretty standard JRPG fair but this game does something incredible when it comes to talking to the townsfolk.
Minor advancements in the story will give EVERY person in a town something new to say, and this happens several times per town. A lot of these people have little storylines during your stay and may even pop up in future towns. Some will talk about what's going on in the story but others are absorbed in their own dramas. You don't have to go out of your way to talk to everyone but you will miss out on lore and flavor if you don't. There's a lot of fun stories and characters to discover. I've had entire play sessions just being talking to townsfolk because the story advanced a little. I really hope the sequel remembers these background characters.
The towns are gorgeous and they know it too. Every time you get to a new one you'll get this nice sweeping shot of the streets and points of interest. Each town has their own personality to them that keeps the game fresh but it goes beyond the aesthetic of the town itself. Each building feels intricately designed in a way that actually baffles me. Someone put thought into these buildings making sense in a way they genuinely didn't have to for a jrpg. There'll be rooms that you'll never have to enter for any reason but they'll be filled with props and purpose because THAT BUILDING would need that room. I remember being blown away that a weapons shop had an out of the way stock room that I never had to go into but was still decorated top to bottom. It makes the world feel so much more lived in. This game revels in detail on every level and it's easy to see the love that went into this world feeling like a real place with real people.
My biggest fear for future entries is that they stop this level of detail with the townspeople and their surroundings. I can understand them not doing some of this when we switch to a more traditional 3D view without the set camera angles but it would still be disappointing. Only time will tell if they can keep that up!
That said the main cast are so charming as well. Joshua and Estelle's bickering is hilarious and got several laughs out of me. Joshua being this calm and subdued rogue countered by Estelle being a rage tornado is so funny. There's a solid party to build in this one and they all bounce off of eachother in fun ways. They'll be swapped in and out as the story progresses and I liked that compared to just collecting them all. It makes it feel like they have things to do aside from hanging out with you. My favorite party member is easily Zin. He's this massive bear of a man who is also a monk. My favorite character is Nial though. He's basically just Spike Spiegel as a reporter and I adore him.
Despite this game having magic and ridiculous airships it all manages to feel VERY grounded because they explain the hell out of it. Orbments are the way you access magic and skills and you get a literal manual explaining how it all works. Depending on the combination of quartz you install you'll get certain abilities or stat increases. Every characters abilities can be customized to your liking but some have certain elemental preferences. I really like how customizable this system is.
The airships are these hulking technical marvels with all these cool moving parts and when you actually get inside and explore them you can see how thought out the vehicle is. There's so much technology world building like this in the game that kind of teeters on steampunk or something similar. They have these cute chunky designs that I like staring at.
I should probably mention the combat at some point! It's turn based with moves that can change the turn order of everyone taking part in the combat. Random effects like critical hits appear on the turn counter and if you delay someones attack someone else might get that random effect. It's pretty engaging because if you don't pay attention you could give that critical hit to an enemy. It's a solid system all around and I never got bored of it. There's some awesome special attacks too!
I loved this game and can't wait to play it's sequel. The world building is fantastic. The environments feel lived in and atmospheric. I love the people that inhabit them and all their quirks. The writing is genuinely funny and heartwarming at times. The politics and subterfuge were engaging. I love the party we've assembled so far and can't wait to see more of what they get up to. First Chapter felt like reading a REALLY good book or watching one of those anime that just suck you into their world. It's a fantastic experience that I recommend heartily to anyone that can stand a bit of reading and a slow start because this meticulous set up is clearly going somewhere incredible.
Depth, Detail, and a sense that the world you're exploring is lived in.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in The Sky First Chapter had a reputation that intrigued me. I've heard that it's an incredibly slow game that's packed with text. That the purpose of this game was to serve as a 50 hour prologue to it's sequel, Second Chapter. And that it apparently has a brutal cliffhanger that justifies all of that. It does. I'm literally only writing this review in an attempt to stop myself from burning through the next game too fast. The reputation it has for being slow is very earned but being in the mood for a slow burn experience made that a lot less jarring. I can't recommend this game to people who don't want to read a lot though. It will kill the game for you.
In First Chapter you play as Joshua and Estelle Bright. Two 16 year old kids being raised by a legendary bracer named Cassius Bright. Bracers are a guild of freelance mercenaries with a very specific moral compass. Namely to help people. They'll get rid of monsters, save a cat from a tree, escort people from town to town, etc. They just can't intervene with the military or politics of any nation. Joshua and Estelle want to become full fledged Bracers just like their father but in order to do that they need recommendations from guild branches all over their kingdom.
You'll go from town to town picking up odd jobs from the local guild branch in order to complete enough work to earn that branches recommendation. All the while getting a familiarity with each town you go to and the people who live in it. A Bracer has a duty to the people after all. It may sound like pretty standard JRPG fair but this game does something incredible when it comes to talking to the townsfolk.
Minor advancements in the story will give EVERY person in a town something new to say, and this happens several times per town. A lot of these people have little storylines during your stay and may even pop up in future towns. Some will talk about what's going on in the story but others are absorbed in their own dramas. You don't have to go out of your way to talk to everyone but you will miss out on lore and flavor if you don't. There's a lot of fun stories and characters to discover. I've had entire play sessions just being talking to townsfolk because the story advanced a little. I really hope the sequel remembers these background characters.
The towns are gorgeous and they know it too. Every time you get to a new one you'll get this nice sweeping shot of the streets and points of interest. Each town has their own personality to them that keeps the game fresh but it goes beyond the aesthetic of the town itself. Each building feels intricately designed in a way that actually baffles me. Someone put thought into these buildings making sense in a way they genuinely didn't have to for a jrpg. There'll be rooms that you'll never have to enter for any reason but they'll be filled with props and purpose because THAT BUILDING would need that room. I remember being blown away that a weapons shop had an out of the way stock room that I never had to go into but was still decorated top to bottom. It makes the world feel so much more lived in. This game revels in detail on every level and it's easy to see the love that went into this world feeling like a real place with real people.
My biggest fear for future entries is that they stop this level of detail with the townspeople and their surroundings. I can understand them not doing some of this when we switch to a more traditional 3D view without the set camera angles but it would still be disappointing. Only time will tell if they can keep that up!
That said the main cast are so charming as well. Joshua and Estelle's bickering is hilarious and got several laughs out of me. Joshua being this calm and subdued rogue countered by Estelle being a rage tornado is so funny. There's a solid party to build in this one and they all bounce off of eachother in fun ways. They'll be swapped in and out as the story progresses and I liked that compared to just collecting them all. It makes it feel like they have things to do aside from hanging out with you. My favorite party member is easily Zin. He's this massive bear of a man who is also a monk. My favorite character is Nial though. He's basically just Spike Spiegel as a reporter and I adore him.
Despite this game having magic and ridiculous airships it all manages to feel VERY grounded because they explain the hell out of it. Orbments are the way you access magic and skills and you get a literal manual explaining how it all works. Depending on the combination of quartz you install you'll get certain abilities or stat increases. Every characters abilities can be customized to your liking but some have certain elemental preferences. I really like how customizable this system is.
The airships are these hulking technical marvels with all these cool moving parts and when you actually get inside and explore them you can see how thought out the vehicle is. There's so much technology world building like this in the game that kind of teeters on steampunk or something similar. They have these cute chunky designs that I like staring at.
I should probably mention the combat at some point! It's turn based with moves that can change the turn order of everyone taking part in the combat. Random effects like critical hits appear on the turn counter and if you delay someones attack someone else might get that random effect. It's pretty engaging because if you don't pay attention you could give that critical hit to an enemy. It's a solid system all around and I never got bored of it. There's some awesome special attacks too!
I loved this game and can't wait to play it's sequel. The world building is fantastic. The environments feel lived in and atmospheric. I love the people that inhabit them and all their quirks. The writing is genuinely funny and heartwarming at times. The politics and subterfuge were engaging. I love the party we've assembled so far and can't wait to see more of what they get up to. First Chapter felt like reading a REALLY good book or watching one of those anime that just suck you into their world. It's a fantastic experience that I recommend heartily to anyone that can stand a bit of reading and a slow start because this meticulous set up is clearly going somewhere incredible.
Ahhh trails. The definition of a game I needed EXACTLY when I needed it. Moving cities, going to university, not having a single close friend nearby. Feeling isolated and extremely lonely and finding this game on sale for dirt cheap on GOG I decided to give it a whirl. During that period of time the cast of Sky 1-3 became a fill in for a lot of the loneliness I was going through to such a degree that whenever I replay the game the title screen is enough to reduce me to tears. Thanks trails for helping me get through one of the worst periods of my life.
If this is the weakest entry then I can't fucking wait to play the next 3 oh my fucking god
The Ideal entrypoint into the trails series as said by the Falcom Team and for good reason! God Bless Trails in the Sky FC! Some people say its too filler or boring but I think it does what it needs to do extremely well and then sets up an amazing hook for the next title.
"Game gets better after 20 hours guys I swear!!!!!"
Well, they were not lying.
Well, they were not lying.
Es un buen comienzo de franquicia, un juego entretenido, con un ritmo pausado que se agiliza en el tramo final, para cerrar con un plot que engancha de lujo para la secuela. No considero que sea brillante, pero sí un buen juego. Veremos el resto.
I want you to understand that I spent over six months on this game, I needed to be in the mood to play this, it was a good foundation and while I don't think there's one area where it excels the orbment system was fun to fidle with, and the cast was vibrant, but Joshua and Estelle's relationship is sooo... it chief.
This was certainly a videogame.
Such a great start to a great series. Yes it is very slow but honestly I don't mind. Going around Liberl meeting people, learning things and doing quests was so fun. The cast introductions just instantly made me fall in love with this world. Top it all off with an epic final boss and an insane cliff hanger and it we've got the perfect introduction to this series.
very excited for SC