There has never been a better time to get into the Trails series

My introduction to the Trails series was… unorthodox. I had heard great things about the series, and– oh look Cold Steel IV is about to come out so I may as well review it. As you can probably guess, that was a bad idea and you shouldn’t read that review. Despite reading the included recap, it wasn’t nearly enough to really catch me up on the story and I had no idea what was going on. I liked the characters and the combat was excellent, so I erred on the side of it being a great game for fans of the series. 

After that, I decided to just go back to where it all began with The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC. The game is very old, originally releasing in 2004 for PC before being ported to the PSP. It would finally release stateside in 2011 after an arduous localization process by XSEED. Thanks to our friends at GoG (you rule), I covered and thoroughly enjoyed Sky FC and its sequel SC. In fact, since then, I’ve grown even more fond of the games with some of my initial cons turning into pros; they’re just that charming. I’ve played most of the rest of the series since then (except, ironically, Cold Steel), but nothing has really enraptured me like Sky did. Zero and Daybreak 1 came very close, but they’re missing something intangible Sky FC in particular had. It was a cozy slow burn to an explosive ending that expected you to take your time and soak in the world and characters. 

That’s what I love about Trails. Not the ongoing Ouroboros story or the Sept-Terions – I love spending time with fully realized characters, seeing how the various political struggles affect them, and watching them overcome their personal demons. With Beyond the Horizon just on the… Horizon (for non-Japanese players anyway), I think now is the perfect time for the series to go back to basics with this remake of Trails in the Sky FC. No need to tell players they need to play 12 other JRPGs which are each at least 80 hours long to understand what’s happening in the latest title. We’re going back to where it all started, bringing the much improved combat systems and visuals of Cold Steel and Daybreak for good measure. Back to the western edge of Zemuria, to the Kingdom of Liberl.

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter (the first game in the series to ditch the The Legend of Heroes supertitle) follows adoptive siblings Estelle and Joshua Bright as they become Bracers, essentially a continent-wide organization of helpful heroes for hire. To become full members of the Bracer Guild, they need to get recommendations from each branch in Liberl. It’s a good excuse to make a loop around the kingdom, see the sights, meet and help new people, and of course discover a sister plot that ties everything together by the end. It’s a fun story with some phenomenal characters, particularly Estelle and Joshua.

The moment you press new game, you’re introduced to their unique dynamic. Joshua is quieter and more sullen, but Estelle’s infectious positivity brings him out of his shell. In turn, Estelle’s flights of fancy are grounded by Joshua. They compliment each other in a really nice way that makes them consistently fun to watch. There is, however, the elephant in the room. Joshua was adopted into the Bright family at 11 years old, meaning the two grew up as siblings for a decent chunk of time – about 5 years – yet the game is very clearly going to make them a romantic couple. I complained about this in my reviews of both FC and SC… but honestly now I think it’s a really well done romance. So while, yes, it is a little weird, I’d recommend players keep an open mind just this once. Every other time Falcom has done it since is just gross though. Stop it.

After a fairly lengthy introduction, you’re finally introduced to Trails’ evolved combat system, which somehow feels even better than it did in Daybreak. You have two methods of engaging enemies here: action and turn-based. Yes, similar to Metaphor, but Trails actually did it first. In action combat, you mash the attack button to deal damage and build up two meters. Landing attacks will build up your Crafts meter, which has two segments, and you can spend one of those segments to perform that character’s field craft. Hitting an enemy with attacks or crafts will build up their stun gauge. While you can finish off normal enemies in action combat if you want, you’re encouraged to switch to turn-based once you stun a foe or two.

Initiating turn-based combat while an enemy is stunned will begin the battle with advantage. Any stunned enemies will be unable to act for their first turn, and you’ll be able to execute a Brave Attack, similar to those from the Cold Steel games. From here, you actually have two options: either having a party member perform a follow up attack on a single foe, or spending 3 Brave Gauge points to have two characters team up for a coordinated attack in an area around the stunned enemy. Properly strategizing with stuns and Brave Attacks can let you take out entire groups of enemies before anyone takes a single turn. It’s incredibly satisfying.

If you don’t immediately take everyone out, you can get into the meat of turn-based combat, which the game refers to as Command Battles. The basics systems haven’t changed too much since the original Trails in the Sky, but everything’s been tightened up, rebalanced, and made much, much faster. On the left side of the screen you can see the turn order, and how your currently selected action will affect it. Turns may also come with special bonuses that are key to take advantage of, such as instant, 0 AP cost spellcasting, critical hits, or free healing. Critical hits are especially crucial as you can use them to trigger more Brave Attacks.

On their turn, you can move the current character around the battlefield within a circle determined by their Mov stat. You can perform a normal attack, use an item, defend, or prepare an Art or Craft. Arts are essentially spells, and the ones you can cast are determined by that character’s Orbment setup, which we won’t get into here. Unless you’re utilizing a 0 Arts turn bonus, casting an art will take up the current turn to charge, a later turn to cast, and then move your next turn after that further back. It may sound like a lot, and in other Trails games it may not be worth it, but here Arts are so powerful that you’ll want to make use of them frequently.

While just about any party member can learn any spell with the right setup, Crafts are unique to every character. For example, Joshua’s Flicker Craft will hit enemies in a straight line, delaying their next turn in addition to dealing damage. Meanwhile, Estelle’s Hurricane Craft hits enemies in a circle around her and deals 30% more damage from the side. Crafts aren’t always attacks, however, such as Estelle’s Morale Craft which buffs the entire party’s physical attack and defense while also providing CP regeneration. By making smart use of Arts and Crafts, you can absolutely devastate anything unfortunate enough to cross your path. Enemies may be able to kill you just as quickly in retaliation, but only if you give them room to do so. The deep combat has always been one of the best parts of Trails, and it’s absolutely at its best here.

This battle system is also something of a greatest hits for the series – the only mechanics it’s really missing are some from the Crossbell arc, such as Team Rushes and Burst. So, if you really enjoy a specific part of the battle system, you can go and get more of it in the different arcs. Like Brave Attacks? Play Cold Steel. Love the action/turn-based dynamic? Check out Daybreak. It feels like a celebration of the series in the best way possible. Most of the franchise is readily available on modern platforms, save for the Sky trilogy and the first two Cold Steel games. If you don’t feel like going back to the older games, most titles have handy recaps so you won’t be too lost. Just don’t start in the middle or right at the end of an arc. Daybreak, the most recent arc, is also something of a new start for the series. There’s still ongoing plot threads and returning characters, but it’s another good starting point for new players.

I’d still recommend anyone looking to get into the series wait for this remake as a starting point, but thankfully we don’t have to wait long as Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter releases on September 19th, 2025 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch with a Switch 2 upgrade pack for only $1. I’m not the biggest Trails fan out there, but I genuinely hope this is finally the moment the series finds a bigger audience in the west. 

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