First of let me start by saying in the year 2020 I binged all 8 games that were currently available of the Trails series from the beginning of May to the end of August, putting over 800 hours of playtime between all the games. I played only these games and nothing but these games for that entire period of time. I even went the extra mile to get every bit of extra NPC dialogue I could get and platinum CS I-III. I waited until October for CS IV to release and then I played that and platinumed it as well with another 200 hours of playtime.

Well the TL;DR of it is this series became my all time favorite video game series and just one of my favorite pieces of fictional media in general after this binge. I strongly consider every single game to be a masterpiece and it's hard to even rank the games since I consider them all almost like 1 whole, but the series has yet to disappoint me in any way. Honestly this list is less about the ranking and more about having a place to gush about how much the series means to me. So if you're curious to hear exactly why the series is my favorite I will now go into great depth to explain just how much this series has come to mean to me over the past year in the following paragraphs.

What started out as a recommendation from a close friend that I thought would just be a good way to kill time ended up becoming more than I could have ever dreamed of and while going through this entire series I have come to a realization and that is nothing and I mean NOTHING will ever compare to Trails in the realm of video games for me now and hell even in all of fictional media in general I just think it's one of the best story sagas I've ever witnessed. I can't stress this enough, but these games are some of the absolute most immersive, unique, ambitious and realistic I've ever played and a big part of that is due to the worldbuilding that is just on a whole different level of ANYTHING else out there that I've experienced.

The fact Falcom have created a massive continent of a world that Zemuria is with tons of fully fleshed out countries (Liberl, Erebonia, Crossbell, Calvard, Remiferia, North Ambria, Arteria etc) and they all have their own detailed militaries, governments, political systems, struggles and relationships with each other is impressive enough on its own, but that's not even the tip of the iceberg when taking into account that every country in the world even has their own unique trade routes and this world has its own detailed measurement systems in selge, rege and arge, Zemuria has a massively detailed history, including its own version of the real world industrial revolution and modern technological advances, its own religion and a version of the Vatican and to top it all off almost all individual NPCs have their own fully fleshed out stories that you can choose to experience if you decide to go back and talk to them every time a new event plays out in the story because the NPCs will have new dialogue (And not just pointless story exposition, but things about them as a character) and they don't just say the same thing as last time you talked to them, so it makes the world feel so much more alive. Essentially every little minuscule area or character in a Trails game has some form of intricate detail to it.

NPCs and minor details aside, every main character in the series is written with the same amount of detail and depth as you'd expect from a series that is so focused on detailing every thing in its world, since all the protagonists, antagonists and party members are featured in multiple games it gives them a lot more time to develop and they end up feeling so much more realistic than many other series cast of characters due to developing over the course of multiple games instead of trying to cram all that into one game like almost every other series does. I'd also like to point out most of the antagonists and villains in the series are morally grey and relatable in their goals and reasonings, hardly anyone is just evil for the sake of it or just wants to take over the world just because, there's almost always a method to their madness.

I personally love character driven series and Trails has so many characters that it puts even Wheel of Time and Song of Ice and Fire to shame. There's hundreds of cool and interesting characters that draw you in right from the start. You have a secret Illuminati like organization that's built up of legit super villains with inhuman powers, you have a secret order of Templar like church knights with divine powers that are locked in a struggle between the illuminati super villains, you have elite mercenaries and assassins, crime syndicates, police detectives, rebellious princes and princesses, bad ass military generals, intimidating high ranking government officials, scientific and technological geniuses, and a guild of peace keeping, civilian protecting adventurers among others. If you can think of a character archetype Trails probably has it and yeah some of them start off kind of anime trope-y, but as you progress through the story arcs they develop and overcome their struggles and flaws feeling more and more like realistic people.

That of course isn't even mentioning probably the biggest draw of the series to me which is how all the games together have an overarching interconnected story that is told across the span of about 5 years total (so far) through 3 separate story arcs (so far) that are, in order, the Trails in the Sky trilogy (Liberl arc) Zero no Kiseki/Ao no Kiseki (Crossbell arc) and the Trails of Cold Steel saga (Erebonia arc) and it features reoccurring characters and locations from previous games and sometimes even old plots and themes are expanded upon as well, I really can't think of another series in video games that does this approach to storytelling. It's so tightly interconnected that it feels like the same as going from season to season of an anime or TV show, complete with a cliffhanger to reel you into next "season".

I'm not going to sit here and tell you Trails is some deep philosophical masterpiece, but the series certainly explores many themes that you can truly take to heart and apply to your own life like redemption and understanding someone's past and mistakes and learning to forgive them, starting your life over and finding a new home while learning how to work as a team to overcome hardships, accepting the differences between people born of varying social classes and backgrounds, not carrying the burden of the entire world on your shoulders while trusting and relying on your friends to help during the hardest of times and never giving up on a family member or loved one no matter how dire the situation looks.

The depth the series goes into in basically every regard is just mind-blowing to me, I have not seen a single other video game series, in my 26 years of life (About 22 of those have been spent gaming) whether it be Japanese OR western for that matter, that have the same level of detailed depth in the world and characters as the Trails series does. It's truly J.R.R. Tolkien or Robert Jordan tier. However I think what blows my mind even more than the world of Trails itself is the fact that Falcom are a company of a mere 62 employees and they're releasing some of the most ambitious and unique games from a storytelling perspective that absolutely puts multi-million dollar corporations to complete and utter shame.

None of this would matter if I didn't like the gameplay though and I have to say to me the gameplay in the series is just as unique as everything else it has to offer. I see a lot of people call it standard or boring and I just don't get it, I'd really like to know what games they're playing because to me there's a lot of variety in the combat with all the special moves (Crafts) you can use and various spells (Artes), plus it has a nice little tactical edge being able to move your characters around on a sorta grid-based battlefield and effect the turn order by delaying enemy attacks. I never get tired of watching the flashy animations as well, especially every character's unique ultimate attack (S-Craft). The whole system is incredibly unique and I can't think of another J-RPG that plays quite like it. The customizable Orbment system which is how you change your spells and give boosts to different stats reminds me a lot of Final Fantasy VII's materia system but with its own little tricks and gimmicks and I never get sick of using it as well.

One more factor I must talk about is the MUSIC. Due to how much of a music enthusiast I am and how much music means to me, great music can certainly have a big impact on me and make me like a game more and I can not stress enough how AMAZING the music in Trails is. Falcom Sound Team JDK are definitely among some of my fave video game composers now. You have everything from shreddy guitar driven power metal tracks that hype you up for intense battles, to melancholic piano pieces that set the tone for an emotional scene, nostalgic and happy sounding town themes that set the mood for exploring or bombastic orchestral music for the "epic" moments among other things like swing-jazz or medieval folk. The music has so much variety and every track is super catchy and enjoyable to listen to and really helps create the atmosphere of every place in Zemuria.

It's safe to say that at this point in time the Trails series is my fave video game series and just one of my fave series in general across all mediums. It just checks ALL the boxes for what I look for in a series. Huge diverse cast of characters and personalities that are well written and lifelike with expansive backstories? Check. Crazy plot-twists that are subtly foreshadowed? Check. Multilayered plots with multiple protagonists and story scenarios? Check. Absurd amount of worldbuilding that makes the world around you feel realistic with a deep history behind it? Check. Beautifully composed OST that compliments the atmosphere of the world? Check. Enjoyable and unique gameplay? Check. Positive messages and themes that you can actually take and apply to real life situations? Check and checkmate.

In the end it's a massive time commitment, I mean catching up on the entire series is like the video game equivalent to One Piece (Especially considering the story is only about 60% complete and it took 15 years to reach this point), but I have enjoyed every single minute of my once in a lifetime journey through Zemuria and I can't wait to see what happens next in this land. If you are a fan of J-RPGs and still haven't given this series the time of day it deserves, you're truly doing yourself a disservice because it is, simply put, the best (and most underrated) the genre has to offer, especially if you just want to get completely immersed in a world and love detailed lore. This series is nothing less than a true artistic achievement in the realm of video games.

I understand this description is massive, probably the longest post I've ever typed up and I'm sure a lot of people won't read it, but if you made it this far I greatly appreciate you taking the time to do so because this series has become so special, so near and dear to my heart and I really just want everyone to understand why I believe it's so amazing and unlike anything else, there are few things I feel as passionate for and love as deeply as I do the Trails series at this point in time. I mean, I love this series so much that I typed up this entire 12 paragraph essay on it, that should honestly alone be a testament to how amazing it is. I don't care if I'm old and grey, if Falcom is still releasing Trails games by the time I'm 50, I'll still be playing them. Consider me a fan for life.