Even if you happen to’re a longtime fan of Falcom’s Kiseki or Trails collection, there’s a lot to consolidate with every new entry. You would ignore its roots in Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes from 1989, which had a sequel and a complete trilogy earlier than even embarking on the present timeline of titles set in Zemuria, and nonetheless be confused. Don’t even get me began on how The Legend of Nayuta matches into all this. Even for these with a passing curiosity within the collection, the Erebonian saga, Crossbell arc and Trails into Reverie are nearly a should.
That’s why The Legend of Heroes: Trails by Dawn arrives at such a pivotal level. It’s not a reset – removed from it – and doesn’t draw back from the numerous, many connections to earlier Trails titles. Nonetheless, it’s a clear slate when it comes to the setting, characters and conflicts, setting the groundwork for a brand new story present throughout the better framework of the franchise. There’s additionally the brand new engine, lastly bringing the collection right into a extra modern graphical period (circa 2021), and revamped fight that includes real-time motion into the standard turn-based instructions with some twists and turns.
“These world-threatening circumstances that the collection is understood for will emerge, however Dawn does a terrific job setting the muse, making you care about its new characters, and telling its story.”
Whereas it’s not going to utterly change your thoughts on every little thing you want and even dislike in regards to the collection, Trails by Dawn is a brand new frontier, yet another grounded and initially much less epic than its predecessors. With a touch of Kamen Rider, historic mysteries within the arms of youngsters and Cyber Elf-like beings, after all.
The story picks up two years after the Nice Twilight and Operation Jormungandr. The Erebonian Empire, Crossbell State and the Calvard Republic are at relative peace with one another, with the latter particularly thriving below the newly elected president Roy Gramheart. The underbelly of Edith, Calvard’s capital, is a very totally different ambiance, swelling with illicit offers, mafiosos and murders.
In the meantime, Aramis Excessive Faculty scholar Agnes Claudel arrives at Arkride Options Workplace to enlist the assistance of a Spriggan, Van Arkride, to recuperate her late nice grandfather’s lacking orbment. In contrast to the Bracer Guild or police, Spriggans usually skirt the sting of the legislation to get issues accomplished. Van is very noteworthy because of his manifold connections (in each the Guild and authorities, no much less) however is in any other case easygoing. Issues take a flip, nevertheless, when he embodies the highly effective type of Grendel, and he chooses to “bear the Nightmare” on the behest of his AI, Mare, who mysteriously involves life.
I’m glossing over many different plot factors to keep away from spoilers, however Trails by Dawn takes a gradual strategy with the pacing. Edith and its inhabitants, like Van’s landlord and “diva” of the Montmart diner Paulette to CID agent René Kincaid, who shares a historical past with Van, are launched and obtain sufficient time to shine with out bogging down the lead forged. The overall setting and its present occasions progress evenly, permitting gamers to study extra in regards to the world with out utterly overwhelming them.
“There’s an altogether totally different dynamic between Van and Agnes – half business-minded, half camaraderie, and it definitely feels refreshing in comparison with what we’ve seen earlier than.”
The temper can really feel slice-of-life earlier than deftly switching to political intrigue and crime drama. Don’t get me mistaken – these world-threatening circumstances that the collection is understood for will emerge, however Dawn does a terrific job setting the muse, making you care about its new characters, and telling its story. The truth that it’s doing all this whereas slotting in returning characters and advancing the general plot of the franchise is very noteworthy.
A lot of this wouldn’t have been attainable with out robust leads, and Falcom has kind of knocked it out of the park. Van has his previous, like Joshua Vibrant, however lives within the second and proceeds with a cooler, extra tactical strategy than, say, Rean Schwarzer (with sure, much less motivational speeches). Agnes is equally compelling, because the in-over-her-head-teenager with a powerful will to pursue her great-grandfather’s legacy.
Whereas nowhere close to Estelle Vibrant, her manners (which belies her pushy habits) and willpower finally assist her stand out. There’s an altogether totally different dynamic between Van and Agnes – half business-minded, half camaraderie, and it definitely feels refreshing in comparison with what we’ve seen earlier than. In fact, the robust performances by Damien Haas and Amanda Lee reinforce the characters all of the extra.
The opposite get together members, from the tenacious Jaeger Feri Al-Fayed to the innocuous however scheming Aaron Wei, additionally add to the ambiance. Then you’ve the likes of varied factions, whether or not it’s Elaine Auclair of the Bracer Guild or Shizuna Rem Misurugi of Ikaruga (maybe top-of-the-line new characters). In fact, you even have all of the returning characters, from the villainous Walter the Direwolf from Ouroboros to Fie, Zin and Rixia Mao. This mixture of recent and outdated characters intertwining by the plot makes it all of the extra compelling, and whereas there are nonetheless moments the place characters could repeat particulars, they’re a lot fewer than what the worst of Chilly Metal has supplied.
“Whereas the fight has made important strides over earlier titles, the dungeon design nonetheless leaves one thing to be desired.”
The opposite main facet of Trails by Dawn is fight. For the primary time within the collection, gamers can assault enemies in real-time, rolling out of the best way and completely dodging sure strikes to retaliate. You possibly can shift to turn-based command battles and again to real-time at any time, offering extra impetus to mainline totally different characters throughout exploration since sure enemies are susceptible to particular harm sorts. It’s not fairly as fluid as, say, the modern Ys video games, however it works effectively, even when extra choices would have been nice.
It’s price touchdown some blows earlier than shifting to a command battle to benefit from the brand new Shards. These are passive results that come into play throughout the command battles, from an opportunity so as to add elemental harm to assaults to forged a barrier to closely cut back harm from some hits. The consequences range primarily based on the Quartz slotted into the Xipha orbment, which additionally impacts the totally different Arts you possibly can forged. It’s a singular strategy that provides extra depth to your general builds, accentuating the brand new move to fight with out utterly ripping away every little thing that makes Trails’ battles distinctive.
There are additionally mechanics like Increase, in which you’ll expend factors to quickly strengthen a celebration member, and get together members in proximity can profit from buffs and follow-up assaults. Nonetheless, you additionally need to take your positioning under consideration.
Will you stick near any ally for these buffs and probably danger each characters receiving the brunt of AoE assaults? Or reposition to mitigate the harm? Which you could transfer round in real-time throughout fight (albeit inside a restricted radius) can be a game-changer for extra dynamic methods. Then there’s Grendel, who can chain a number of assaults in a sequence for flashy combos, offering an additional harmful layer to the already compelling fight.
Whereas the fight has made important strides over earlier titles, the dungeon design nonetheless leaves one thing to be desired. They’re serviceable general, however the move and design don’t really feel like a serious step up, particularly when traversing sewers or underground areas. The sphere areas are higher general, however I’d have appreciated one thing extra advanced for the pivotal story-focused ranges.
“When you loved the earlier titles but yearned for one thing contemporary however acquainted, Dawn supplies this in spades whereas increasing upon the overarching world and venturing in compelling new instructions.”
On the intense aspect, not less than the requests and general decision-making are spruced up due to the LGC Alignment system, which permits for teaming up with totally different allies primarily based in your decisions. It doesn’t make any important distinction to the plot however supplies some good variance whereas becoming all of the conflicting factions operating round.
Presentation-wise, The Legend of Heroes: Trails by Dawn isn’t going to compete along with your Closing Fantasy 7 Rebirths – not that it has to anyway, given Falcom’s price range and sources. The brand new visuals are nonetheless noteworthy, particularly throughout the extra delicate actions in cutscenes, and the artwork model feels trustworthy to the collection as a complete whereas establishing its personal identification.
The efficiency can be strong throughout, although there have been some odd body charge drops when exploring underground. I’m a bit blended on the soundtrack, having fun with the music from wandering round Edith Outdated City and fight (particularly when Grendel awakens for the primary time), whereas the primary theme is great. It’s not my favourite Trails soundtrack by a mile, however the general vibe continues to be good.
Whether or not The Legend of Heroes: Trails by Dawn ought to be in your radar depends upon many issues, however that’s nothing new for the collection. Maybe the very best praise is that it’s not overwhelming for newcomers, embracing a extra private narrative whereas not sustaining its connections with previous video games. Nonetheless, if you happen to loved the earlier titles but yearned for one thing contemporary however acquainted, Dawn supplies this in spades whereas increasing upon the overarching world and venturing in compelling new instructions.
This sport was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.
