The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

I'm some ~5 hours in and finding the game really boring. There is no arch or story as of yet, the protagonists are new Guild recruits just running around completing quests to earn higher rank. And even those are just mediocre RPG fair - rescue kids lost in a tower, exterminate monsters on a farm, deliver a package from a mine (which invariably gets swarmed with monsters). There's hints of something looming on horizon and character past, but nothing to drive the story forward. The writing/dialogue also falls into the overly long and cutesy JRPG fare, so I see myself quickly skipping through chunks of it. Shame, since the Orb/Quarts character customization and battle mechanics seem to have potential later on. Although right now the battles are tedious, fighting similar generic monsters that are just tad too difficult (having to use rest stops or healing items after nearly every battle). Lastly, the game is buggy - sometimes the item descriptions will not show up, and the game launches with no audio at random times until you restart. I will give it a bit more time (I am completing the last guild quest now so hopefully SOMETHING happens after), but so far not too impressed.

I loved it, it was an outstanding jrpg. It's a love or hate game since it's plot heavy. It's a slow burner but passing hours it gets better and better. Estelle and Joshua are two of the best characters ever written. Music was amazing by the end and catchy before. Turbo mode makes the gameplay a pleasure to play. Game has depth. The ending is a treat and probably will make you jump on second chapter asap. The plot is still going, if you like this you can also play the other two skies and the trails of cold steel games.

This game is definitely in my top 3 favorite jrpgs of all time. It is almost tied with FFIX, which I thought would be impossible. The thing that makes it better than FFIX is the continuation saga. I love the combat system and a way to steal bonuses from your enemies if timed correctly. The characters are deep, and the story is great. I usually have a bad habit of dropping games after about 20 hours of game play, but i played this for nearly 50, and I still wanted more. I can't wait until the second chapter come out. All of the characters are likeable, and the story is funny, entertaining, and can be sad at times. There is a lot of narrative and story to it, so when I wasn't playing, it was like watching a great anime, getting sucked into the story. For the game play, I love how you can easily avoid enemies if you want, or the fact that you can get a preemptive strike on them charging them from behind. The orbment system is easy to follow and understand, and there are so many different combinations you can use to gain different spells. Doing some of the missions can be a bit of a pain, but they weren't horrible. I wish there was a little more challenge in the towers- they were just straightforward. I wish there was a way for transportation other that walking. I understood the lesson of walking, but it was real hard to get to a town you were previously in. There is really no looking back. I wish there was a bit more freedom, like in the FF games, to travel in an airship and visit all of the towns again if you wish. Maybe the second chapter will have that. The time will really fly by if you play it.

This is hands down one of the best games I've ever played. The care that went into the story building is phenomenal. The characters are alive and ful of personality, and the chemistry between the characters is very well written. Almost every NPC even feels like a person with a real story of their own outside of the game's plot. I enjoyed the characters and the story so much that I talked with everyone everywhere I could multiple times to get as much of the story as possible--I've only played it once, and it was a 100+ hour affair, most of which was spent uncovering story, rather than just grinding at levelling (though to be fair, I spent a good deal of time fighting too, probably more than I needed). The books inside the game where another nice touch. They have the kind of writing that you don't see in games, written in a literary style, even taught me several words I didn't know. This is truly a game for those who enjoy reading. There could have been less back and forth between locations in order to get all that story--certainly would have cut down on my play time--but all and all, a small price to pay for the enjoyment that I had playing this game. Falcom are truly masters of their craft. I've been a fan of theirs for over 20 years (the Ys series, and the first Legend of Heroes for the Turbo Grafx) and have seen both their design and story-telling craftsmanship continue to improve. Few developers can do this type of character building--by the end of the game you can even see some of the characters mature and grow, though it happens subtly throughout the game, the way it should be. I look forward to the second chapter. So glad to see Falcom's games finally coming to the US again!

I'd give it a 4.5 but since that's not available I'll grant the extra half star. Trails reminds of the great JRPG games of old because of the focus that is given to storytelling and dialogue. This is a game with massive character development that adds depth to an already intriguing story. I was very surprised at the amount (and quality!) of dialogue this game contained between characters. It is exceedingly well done and very well translated. You won't find any "All your base are belong to us" in this game. Trails is a labor of love to be sure. Artists can either spend a day on a painting or months or years and I would surmise that trails falls under the years category given the richness. Aside from that which is most striking, the game plays very well and the battles are enjoyable however also very easy. It's very traditional focused turn based battle with HP/MP/Special attacks but also puts it's own spin on it with the magic system being rather unique. If you're a fan of the genre I believe you'll like this game very much. Perhaps the only complaint I would render would be the repetitiveness of some of the "jobs" you're assigned to complete. After a time it did start to feel more like busywork than something adventurous. Minor beef though. The last chapter of this game is without a doubt the most enjoyable and challenging. It also contains some really well done boss music as well. The song "Silver Will" was really quite epic and I think touches the essence of the fight between the party and one of the main antagonists with the right touch of sadness. I'll be anxiously awaiting the sequel. From what I can discern it should be released in December 2015.