I have made it known that I am a big fan and advocate for Falcom’s Legend of Heroes: Trails… series! The question many ask is: Where do you start? Well, I know that’s a complicated answer, but one I hope to explain in this article, as I explain the various series noted in the Legend of Heroes, which Trails you want to start with, and why.
Trails in the Sky
The easiest place to start, but the hardest game in the series to navigate, is Trails in the Sky. This game helps give you the fundamentals of the world you are in and how the location of Liberl plays into that. Trails in the Sky was originally made for PC in Japan in 2004. It wasn’t until 2011 that an English port was made available for the PC and PlayStation Portable.
The better port, in my opinion, was the PS Vita release that followed in 2015, but it’s a Japan-only title. However, it is easy to find an English patch to play on Vita once you get the game. If you can’t get a Vita copy, just play it on PC, as there are many mods that change the artwork and features to better align with the Vita version.
Trails in the Sky consists of three games:
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (PC, PSP, PS Vita)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC (Second Chapter) (PC, PSP, PS Vita)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky 3rd (PC, PSP, PS Vita)
Trails: Crossbell Arc
This is a small arc that is still impactful. Playing the Trails in the Sky trilogy before starting this arc is recommended, but it isn’t essential. It is recommended as the characters from Trails in the Sky will make appearances throughout the game, and it will be expected that you will know what happened in the previous trilogy. There is enough context to gather ideas of what is important to this arc. As the name suggests, this arc takes place in a city called Crossbell. You learn about the differences between Crossbell, and Liberl with this entry.
Trails: Crossbell arc consists of two games:
The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero (PC, PSP, PS Vita, PS4, Nintendo Switch)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure (PC, PSP, PS Vita, PS4, Nintendo Switch)
Trails of Cold Steel
The Trails of Cold Steel saga is a popular starting point due to the PS4 being a much more popular console than the PS3, PSP, and PS Vita. Note that the first two games have very few crossover points from the earlier entries in the series, so I usually think of Trails of Cold Steel as two different arcs. The first arc primarily consists of you learning about the main cast of this Tetralogy. You also learn about Thor’s Military Academy and the Empire of Erebonia. The second arc consists of learning the aftereffects of war and how it affects everyone involved.
Trails of Cold Steel Saga consists of four games:
Trails of Cold Steel (PC, PS Vita, PS3, PS4)
Trails of Cold Steel II (PC, PS Vita, PS3, PS4)
Trails of Cold Steel III (PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch)
Trails of Cold Steel IV (PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch)
Trails into Reverie
Trails into Reverie is a game hard to give an arc name to. It is the end of two arcs, namely Crossbell and the Trails of Cold Steel Arc. I do not recommend starting with this game in the series as it will confuse you due to its pacing if you do not know the other stories in Crossbell and Trails of Cold Steel. However, it is also the beginning of a new arc that I will discuss in the next section. Trails into Reverie is a love letter to the Trails series made by Falcom that includes most of the cast of the previous game arcs.
Trails into Reverie is the only game in its arc but is considered to be part of both the Crossbell arc and the Trails of Cold Steel Arc:
Trails into Reverie (Will release on PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch July 7th, 2023)
Calvard Arc
The next installment of the series is the ongoing one. The games take place in the Republic of Calvard. It is also stated to be the beginning of the second half of the overall Trails series. That is right, the previous three arcs only consist of half of what Falcom wants to build this ongoing series. This is known as Trails Through Daybreak.
These games follow Van Arkride and his experiences dealing with the underbelly of the Republic. Together with his part-timers, the police, and the bracer guild, he uses his skills with dealing with some of the city’s worst.
Currently, the Calvard Arc consists of two games:
Trails Through Daybreak (PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch)
Trails Through Daybreak II (PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch)
Nayuta
The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is not a part of the Trails saga, but it does take place in its world. It takes place in the world between the Crossbell arc and the Trails of Cold Steel arc, and It involves traveling between realms and worlds. It was more or less Falcom trying to find a good balance between the Trails series gameplay and the Ys series gameplay. You don’t have to play this game to understand the series’ continuity at all, but it is an enjoyable game to play.
Recommendations
Looking over the entirety of the series, the best place is still to do it from the beginning of the Trails in the Sky trilogy. If you have access to a PC, you are lucky enough to be able to amass the entirety of the Trails series in the library. Even if the port isn’t the best version of the games, there are mods do add most of the desired features like turbo and updated assets. If you are unable to start from the Trails in the Sky trilogy, I would recommend starting with the Trails of Cold Steel trilogy.
If you are a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 owner, this one is the easiest one to get. However, good luck with getting physical copies of Cold Steel one and two. They are still sold digitally and at discounts frequently. Now that Trails to Azure is released, starting from Trails From Zero is an easy recommendation. Especially if you get the port for Nintendo Switch or the updated PC English release.
If the pixelated graphics don’t look up your alley, but you still want to see a taste of what this game series has to offer, then starting with Trails Through Daybreak is a good place to start.
It is important to note that The Legend of Heroes Trails series is renowned for its world-building and its character-building. This is due to the scope of how much time you can spend with these characters and dive into their personalities from a vast amount of circumstances. Skipping a trilogy or arc is possible to understand the world, but you will still miss a lot of character moments and motivations that will make choices make sense in the grand scheme of the series. I would not recommend it, especially if you are someone who wants to understand the most you can about these characters.
