Earnest and empowering, in short. Trails from Zero is an incredibly powerful game that feels like a battle shonen in video game form, mixed with the long term storytelling, ambitious world building, and the mind bogglingly deep lore of Kiseki that results in a video game that combines the best of both and works perfectly, primarily because of how every element from the two spectrums I mentioned are glued together seamlessly through Lloyd bannings. On the surface, Lloyd seems like a perfectly normal main character with a clear cut moral code, but what makes Lloyd so compelling are the small neat bits of characterization that hint at a deeper, darker side to him that he grapples with without even realising it. It kind of fits with Crossbell’s setting too, because in a way, much like Lloyd, Crossbell looks like a perfectly stable peaceful state, but is actually run by the absolute worst, corrupt politicians. In the same way, Lloyd puts on an unbreakable facade and tries to be an invincible hero with an unflinchingly optimistic attitude, but on the inside, he’s the same kid that lost his brother, hasn’t moved on, and is stuck chasing after his shadow even after he died.


This is something that I absolutely adore when it comes to world building, where it feels like the city is a breathing, living character who’s tied to the main characters leading it, and that applies to Crossbell where it’s all about exploring your own truth and finding meaning to it on your own terms, because in Lloyd’s journey of uncovering his truth, he began uncovering Crossbell’s identity as well, and that acted as a genius backdrop for Crossbell’s theme of truth. Going back to Lloyd for a bit, as I mentioned, the parts of him that make him stand out to me are the small bits of characterization that people who call him boring often times miss, the small bits that show how caught up he is in his own brother’s shadow, how they seep into his mundane day to day life events, and how self damaging that can be.


When it comes to trauma, we often times unintentionally bottle it up for our self preservation since they’re unexpected, yet in spite of that, they seep into our mundane day to day life no matter how much we sugarcoat it and spreads its disease into our social interaction, which is my favorite form of portrayal of trauma and is why I adore Lloyd so much. He tries to put on Guy’s persona of an unstoppable hero that everyone can rely on even when it comes at his own expense, yet the person he forgets to save is himself, and it’s never explicitly told that this is what he struggles with until the near end of Zero because up until that point, Lloyd’s struggles are portrayed through his behaviour and it’s up to the player to infer what he goes through in comparison to the cast. In this sense, we’re put into Lloyd’s comrades’ shoes, have our intelligence tested by trying to infer what he himself goes through despite his seemingly normal demeanour, and that’s what makes the eventual exploration of Lloyd’s issues and his admittance to his insecurities hit so hard, because we as the player already could infer what he goes through yet ignores and are simply waiting for him to recognize that part of him. It’s an incredibly effective yet unique way of telling a main character’s arc through perspective, and that goes well with Crossbell’s themes about perception and truth, because even if Lloyd seems normal when we first perceive him, he is the exact opposite of that and that plays well into what Crossbell is trying to tell about the concept of truth.


Time and time again, from start to finish, Lloyd’s insecurities are shown through his actions even from the get go, where he was prepared to throw his life away to save the SSS from the geofront monster before Arios came in to save the day, and that’s not just because of the goodness of his heart but because that’s what his image of Guy would do in a situation like this. In this sense, you can say that when Guy died, Lloyd’s sense of self split into two, the part of him that admires Guy and the part of him that feels worthless in comparison to him and chases a far fetched shadow of his, forever stuck in an endless whirlpool of insecurities and living on auto-pilot mode. To illustrate further, whenever Lloyd accomplishes something, or is praised for having a good trait, he always denies that praise and credits it to Guy, which might seem like its Lloyd being humble, but in reality, it’s much more complicated and sadder. The reason for this is that Lloyd doesn’t take credit for those accomplishments or traits of his because he views them as Guy’s, or rather, the traits/accomplishments of his image of Guy that he only inhabits because of his desire to be like Guy. As such, when he does a good deed, or embodies a good trait, it’s to chase after that image of Guy first and foremost, and since those traits and actions are motivated by his desire to catch up to Guy, not just his own good will, it feels wrong to take credit for that because it doesn’t truly feel like his. He disassociates from those good deeds because they were coloured by his unhealthy admiration towards Guy and while motivated by his good will, that good will is only a secondary reason. It’s why in chapter 2 after Lloyd gives Ellie a corny friendship speech and Ellie asks him how he can be so optimistic, Lloyd doesn’t take credit for that and instead thanks Guy for it. While that’s definitely because Lloyd loves Guy, it’s also because he doesn’t believe in himself to be great enough to be that capable and strong on his own. Lloyd’s arc is all about finding balance between his image of Guy and who Guy really was, it’s about repairing his sense of self after it was shattered by how much he revered Guy and attached his individuality to him, and that’s makes Lloyd such a sympathetic main character to me, because in his attempt to find meaning in Guy’s death, he forgot to find meaning in his self, and that’s what enabled him to connect with the SSS members on such a spiritual level. At their core, Randy, Lloyd, Tio, and Ellie, are all incredibly lonely individuals with no place to call home, and that’s what enabled Lloyd to guide them and be their leader.


All of what I said about Lloyd up until now has been purely analytical, but on a personal note, there are small bits and pieces of dialogue that Lloyd said that truly connected with me, the biggest of them being when he told Randy that as strange as it is, he can finally accept that he can be his own man, reach his ultimate potential, and be satisfied, as opposed to a few months ago. This sentiment rung true to me personally, because I have an older brother that I admire and feel the need to chase after as well, yet despite being told countless times that I just need to keep being me, it all felt like hollow garbage to me that meant nothing, until lately after years of practising self love and self care, where I’ve come to identify and appreciate my own worth beyond my brother’s. It made me feel seen, because with Lloyd, the truth of his being and his surroundings and their meaning started and ended with him. This sentiment is reflected in the concept I mentioned above with Crossbell being like a living, breathing character on its own, where by overcoming his own barriers and finding his truth, Lloyd was able to understand the ins and outs of what Crossbell’s conflicts pertain, break the status quo, and change Crossbell for the better, like the hero he had hoped to become after initially running away from the city he treasured. In the end, it was all about perspective.


Truth be told, I didn’t really plan on writing such a long form piece on Crossbell mainly cause I wanted to do that once I was done with Azure, but I couldn’t really stop myself once I started expressing my passion for this game and what it made me feel. I guess that’s what happens when you let your own words flow and come together to form a pattern of thoughts instead of limiting yourself, and maybe that’s what Trails has become to me. Something that allows me to be ‘’free’’, and that’s why I’ve come to adore it and adore talking about it so much. In a word, though, Lloyd’s earnest nature is what made Crossbell’s cast (and me) love him, and through that love, he was able to find meaning to himself and have several white women wanting to fuck him.