Sprite
(He/Him/His)
So! Falcom's lovely little sub-series of sub-series has a few passionate fans on here, so I figured I'd make a general thread, as discussion of the series itself tended to bounce around between threads for the individual games.
What is Trails?
Trails, or Kiseki as it's known in Japan, is a sub-series of the Legend of Heroes series by Falcom, part of a long and confusing legacy going back to Dragon Slayer in the 8-bit days. Trails itself is basically an anime MCU-style universe of interconnected RPG sub-series, each taking place in a different country of the fictional continent of Zemuria. Like the MCU, each sub-series is designed as a jumping in point for new players, tying more and more into the overarching plot with progressive games.
The appeal of Trails, to me at least, is that it's anime comfort food wrapped up in surprisingly robust world-building. These games are very long, very wordy, and lean heavily on tropes, but they tend to execute those tropes well. They go back and forth between grandstanding, "this isn't even my final form" cataclysms, and characters just shooting the breeze over a cup of tea discussing the latest gossip or an upcoming trade conference. It's delightful.
Where should I start?
There are three different jumping-on points, though only two have official English releases: Trails in the Sky and Trails of Cold Steel. I personally think Sky has better writing and a better protagonist, whereas Cold Steel has more modern amenities and a crunchier (and more exploitable) battle system. Whichever you go with, prepare to be stuck in for quite a while. Trails is two 40-50 hour games and a 30-40 hour side story. Cold Steel is four 60-80 hour behemoths. Cold Steel also ties in pretty heavily with the games that don't have an official English release, though they do have fan translations. I haven't played those yet.
Anyway, these games. They are fun and good!
What is Trails?
Trails, or Kiseki as it's known in Japan, is a sub-series of the Legend of Heroes series by Falcom, part of a long and confusing legacy going back to Dragon Slayer in the 8-bit days. Trails itself is basically an anime MCU-style universe of interconnected RPG sub-series, each taking place in a different country of the fictional continent of Zemuria. Like the MCU, each sub-series is designed as a jumping in point for new players, tying more and more into the overarching plot with progressive games.
The appeal of Trails, to me at least, is that it's anime comfort food wrapped up in surprisingly robust world-building. These games are very long, very wordy, and lean heavily on tropes, but they tend to execute those tropes well. They go back and forth between grandstanding, "this isn't even my final form" cataclysms, and characters just shooting the breeze over a cup of tea discussing the latest gossip or an upcoming trade conference. It's delightful.
Where should I start?
There are three different jumping-on points, though only two have official English releases: Trails in the Sky and Trails of Cold Steel. I personally think Sky has better writing and a better protagonist, whereas Cold Steel has more modern amenities and a crunchier (and more exploitable) battle system. Whichever you go with, prepare to be stuck in for quite a while. Trails is two 40-50 hour games and a 30-40 hour side story. Cold Steel is four 60-80 hour behemoths. Cold Steel also ties in pretty heavily with the games that don't have an official English release, though they do have fan translations. I haven't played those yet.
Anyway, these games. They are fun and good!