Having managed to catch this title in its complete state with all Chapters and Books available as of now, I've got to say that this experience was welcome in quite the unexpected. Putting it simply, what exactly would you be getting into with this game? The experience essentially boils down to an interactive book (or visual novel really) that tasks you with choices and (extremely light) gameplay elements to hold your attention at key moments. Obviously, these kinds of initiatives aren't necessarily new as Japan has been at the forefront of visual novels for years. What impressed me with this besides the awesome source material that this game is based on, was the technology or engine behind this game. Daedalic's Visionaire Studio tool set is quite the marvel to behold for this genre. The atmosphere of the game especially within the audio department including full Surround sound support is masterfully built. As is the Art Direction and voice acting that really sells you on the experience on offer. Clearly, from my experience this title comes through as a labor of love. The devs simply went through with adapting a great story based on the prolific writer Ken Follet's books and came out the other side with a great piece of work. Honestly more book series like this should be considered for self-publishing by Daedalic. If this team can be given something like the entire "Wheel of Time" series to adapt then we fans of narrative driven experiences may be in for quite the treat.
BUT.... The absolute tedium when it came to battle. The cookie-cutter story that doesn't seem to do much more than rehash old story beats from more famous JRPG greats. I got Pier Solar of a deal fairly recently after a LONG time of eyeing it on my Wishlist and have been quite disappointed. Especially coming off of something a tad similar like "The Legend of Heroes - Trails in the Sky" (I realize that this may not be a fair comparison but is the only one that comes to mind from the games I've recently played. Pier Solar has some good bits. The music both HDified and otherwise possesses a certain charm that is almost on par with the classics. The art style is actually pretty good when in HD visuals. Even the ambient sound design on FM or PCM are quite great. Again, sadly, that would be about it. When you have a lengthy adventure with a story that shows so many missed opportunities to shine. When your combat system is too tedious for its own good coupled with an atrocious random battle encounter rate. And when you're ONLY great characters are the main three that you meet early on (dependent on the flawed story of course).... Then there is a problem. Coming from a generation that enjoyed older JRPG greats like FFIV that Pier Solar was clearly trying to emulate, it's a great shame that it comes short at all.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (hereinafter referred to as simply "Trails") is part of a long established trilogy of titles that saw release from 2004 in Japan, a PSP release worldwide as of 2010 and now this lovely PC edition from Nihon Falcom (localized for English speakers by XSeed). Trails is a game absolutely dripping with meticulously crafted lore and detail. Every NPC has their own name, their own lines of dialogue and their place in the game world including a very distinct personality (I kid you not). In terms of overall story and without spoiling too much, let me leave you with the fact that this tale concerns a journey of self-discovery inflected with loss, betrayal, conflict, political intrigue and expertly placed twists. The game events do take place in one kingdom, but it readily becomes apparent that the stakes in Trails are too high for this virtual real estate. As per the game's description on its store page, you are in for a strategy JRPG with turn-based elements that take part on grids during combat and isometric traversal during routine travels on the map. The combat system here is very nuanced and EVERY MOVE COUNTS. Even simply selecting move to a tile without an accompanying combat action can spell the difference between stealing an enemy turn and making more moves than normally allowed or simply dying. Aurally, Trails has absolutely superb music all around that fits into every village, town and city you visit. However, the combat tracks are the real draw here. Then again, what else can anyone expect from Nihon Falcom? (for reference do take some time to listen to tracks of their previous work in the Ys series of games). When you get to the end of this very worthy game, you'll realize that this tale is far from over... And the resolution for this chapter is simply stellar. Localization for the last two should be ongoing, but for now, do NOT miss this chance to grab Trails right here on GOG. This is an essential JRPG purchase.
