#nihom falcom

Trails in the Sky is the first game in the Trails series, and has become a staple of the JRPG space and one of the longest-running modern JRPGs. As such, the series has spawned several sequels, remasters, and a dedicated fanbase. Now, after several decades, the game has been remade for modern consoles and PC through Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter. The remake serves its purpose phenomenally, as it…

2024 Game of the Year Countdown #1: The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC Sony PlayStation Portable, 2015

Replaying a Top 3 all time favorite game is never anything short of a great time, and during my 70 hours with this game, I was constantly reminded of why the Sky arc of the Trails series is so well regarded. I have enjoyed all the Trails games; even my least favorite is still a 7/10 in my mind. However, one-note characters have become a bit more common in recent games, and part of that is most likely due to how big the cast has gotten. In Sky, we have a much smaller cast and we get to see more facets of each character. It’s a much more intimate journey, and we see Estelle grow much more than other main characters. As Estelle is my all time favorite character from anything, I’m here for every snappy quote.

We get identical combat to FC, gaining only a combo attack, which is mostly worthless, and some enhanced arts. I love this setup and it’s a joy to have dozens of arts available to you at all times. That’s one change I really disliked in later Trails games: they simplified the arts system, but severely limited the number of arts you have at your fingertips. I really enjoyed having so many arts at hand, and especially setting up my quartz to get some really ridiculously powerful arts, too. 

Everything I mentioned in my FC review applies to SC as well. The character portraits, sprite animations, how music plays into the cutscenes, and especially the NPCs. Something big happens at the end of FC, and SC picks up the story immediately. When Estelle returns to her hometown, it’s so touching to see everyone thrilled to see her. I love how this type of worldbuilding makes the world feel so real and something we should care about. 

It’s actually really fun to come back and play this game after having played all the games that have been released in, literally, the 20 years since Trails in the Sky first came out. We get to see all the things that eventually come to be, locations we visit, and people we meet, many of which or who are mentioned in these early games.

Characters also have a lot of depth, with many supporting characters getting their time in the spotlight. FC introduced characters to us, but SC showed us what was inside. Incremental growth is something the Sky arc does well, and it’s nice to see characters grow slowly and organically. It makes them feel very real and gives us time to understand them and their paths through life. This game had me in tears numerous times as we get to see really emotional and moving things in characters’ pasts, as well as getting to see them work through it in the present, leaning on others for support.

Emotional moments are punctuated with a great score and perfectly chosen tracks for specific scenes. From new battle tunes that pump you up, like Fight with the Assailant and Fate of the Fairies, to the cheery sounds of Le Locle, the soundtrack to SC builds upon the base we got in FC. FC’s many location tracks return as well, and are welcome for when we revisit favorite locales, like Cat Relaxing in the Sun for slow-paced areas and your childhood home, or some of the standard route tunes like The Way They Walk in Liberl. Yet, SC adds so many new tracks that hit me really hard every time I hear them in context. Decision to Leave was used just once in FC, at the very, very end, but returns here and feels much more like an SC track than one from FC. We also get the harmonica version of Hoshi no Arika, a deeply important track to many of the characters. Hamel is also a very sad tune that fits many situations. This is the height of soundtracks from the Sky arc for sure.

It can be hard to put into words exactly why a game is a masterpiece to you, personally, and I’m going to stop myself from writing some 50,000 word essay on it. Trails in the Sky SC is the one game I wish I could erase from my memory just so I could replay it again for the first time. It requires playing FC first, but that game is amazing on its own and SC is well worth it. Play this game. What is stopping you?