Developer: Nihon Falcom, PH3 GmbH
Publisher: NIS America
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch
Tested on: PS5
The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak – Review
Having already featured eleven The Legend of Heroes titles on our platform, it’s easy to say that we’re quite the fans of the series. Even so, with this many titles in the franchise, it’s hard to know where to start, and what platform is the best for these expansive JRPGs. We loved the Trails of Cold Steel story arc, but we were quite happy to see older titles finally being localized for Western audiences. Today, however, we have got you covered with our review of Trails through Daybreak. This newest entry serves as a great starting point for new fans, while also pleasing veterans who have been playing these games for years. For us, this felt like a proper next-gen title, albeit with toned-down visuals.
Story
The story starts with a shady deal in a big city’s underground network, which goes south. Not much of an explanation is given at this point until we get to meet the protagonist of this story, Van Arkride. Van is a so-called Spriggan who works as a private eye and a bounty hunter. While he doesn’t always respect the law to the fullest, he is good at his job and always gets the job done. Agnès Claudel, a high school student of the local prestigious academy, approaches him to ask for his assistance. Van is to locate an object that once belonged to her great-grandfather. What first seemed to be a search for a valuable trinket soon became the start of something a whole lot bigger. The shady deal at the beginning revolved around the item in question, and it’s actually one of the Oct-Genesis, which are orbments of legendary proportions. Locating not only the one Agnès hired Van to find will become increasingly important, but they will also have to locate the others to prevent a huge catastrophe from happening.
For a series that started all the way back in 1984, it’s impossible for newer titles not to have references to old material. This is also the case with Trails through Daybreak, as events from previous titles are referenced, some familiar faces appear, and sometimes the game does expect you to know a bit of the history of what happened before this title. Even so, there’s a glossary you can consult in the title menu that explains a lot of the world’s history and significant other events. This content is completely optional. Even so, it does serve as a great way to read up on the series as a whole or as a refresher for those who have played previous titles. As a whole, we found the story easy to get into, and you do not really have to have played any of the previous entries.
Graphics
Graphically, Trails through Daybreak looks good, but we felt it never pushed our PlayStation 5 to its limits. It does make sense, however, as Trails through Daybreak is a multi-platform release and it’s even available on Nintendo’s aging Switch hybrid console. Nonetheless, the character models hogged the limelight in this newest release, and the sheer diversity of the many characters is quite impressive. An honorable mention also goes to the expressive character portraits during conversations, as they added quite a bit of charm to the entire experience. There is also a lot of visual variety when it comes to the different environments, and it’s quite fun to explore your surroundings. Sadly, the overall layout of the dungeons felt like a blast from the past, as they felt somewhat empty and often were interconnected square rooms with the same textures repeated ad nauseam.
Sound
For the most part, the sound design is superbly handled. We were enamored by the overall cinematic soundtrack, the SFX during combat, and the great voice acting. The soundtrack is varied, and the music knows when to set the mood when the situation requires it to. The SFX provide adequate audio feedback, and especially the special moves pack an audible punch. The voice acting was what stood out for us, as the somewhat cheesy way of delivering many of the dialogues added a lot of charm to the mix. Sadly, the voice acting is a bit weird at times, as some dialogues are fully voiced, others are not, and then you have a few awkward ones where only one or two characters are voiced during the entire conversation. The latter was a bit annoying, as it broke the general immersion more than often.
Gameplay
The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak is a fairly traditional JRPG with a reasonable learning curve. While the offset is straightforward, as you basically explore your surroundings, battle enemies, and manage your party, you’ll also spend a big chunk of time going through the game’s different tutorials. You’ll quickly notice that the gear system is more complicated than you’d think and that you’ll have to keep track of quite a bit if you want to see all Trails through Daybreak has to offer. Don’t fret, however, as the game still has different difficulty modes, allowing you to cater the game towards your playstyle.
If you’re looking for a fast-paced experience, you probably won’t like the overall pacing here. While the game offers a great JRPG experience, the introduction is a bit slow, and depending on what quests you decide to tackle first, you might go for lengthy periods without any combat. Combat itself is also quite straightforward, as you have the option between basic hack-and-slash combat or turn-based battles. The latter has to be activated if you would prefer a turn-based approach to your battles. Some enemies are very easy to dispose of via the hack-and-slash formula, while others require you to play through a turn-based battle to access more skills and abilities. During turn-based combat, you’ll be able to control every party member individually, and each character has its own strengths and weaknesses. Depending on the position of your party members, you’ll be able to dish out combo attacks or just gain other boosts.
Some parts of the gear system in Trails through Daybreak are fairly straightforward, and if you’ve already played a few (J)RPGs, you’ll quickly get the hang of the basics. Further customization, however, feels a bit daunting at first, as there are many different menus to keep track of, and there are seemingly many options as to how you can customize your gear and add new skills to the mix. While the overall depth here is impressive, you’ll quickly get the hang of things, and there’s even an auto-equip mode for some parts of the process if you simply want to enjoy the story on a lower difficulty. If you have already played through the Trails of Cold Steel games, you’ll feel right at home here.
The world around you gradually opens up as you progress, and you’ll also be able to clear optional quests as well. We enjoyed sinking our teeth into the optional content, as it also allowed us to learn more about the world and the characters as a whole. There are fewer side activities than in some other entries in the series, but you’ll still have your work cut out for you. As Trails through Daybreak remains a grindy experience, we did enjoy the inclusion of fast-forwarding the gameplay. With the press of a button, you can basically speed up the movement and dialogues in the game, which is great if you’re backtracking or just exploring a few rooms in a dungeon-like area.
Conclusion
The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak is one of the best JRPGs we have played in recent years. Even though the visuals may look a bit dated here and there and the voice acting should have been fleshed out slightly better, you’ll still be treated to an amazing experience. The story is captivating, the combat mechanics are solid, it’s fun to explore the world, and above all, the characters are extremely likable. If you’re a fan of prior entries, you’ll certainly see an improvement and some modernization in all aspects. We can easily recommend this one for longtime fans but also for newcomers to the series.
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