The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak
*Owners of the Japanese version of “The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak (Kuro no Kiseki)” will automatically receive English language support in an update scheduled for July 5, 2024.
After the war, Calvard is enjoying unprecedented economic prosperity. However, the public grows uncertain as the number of immigrants increases and political reform runs rampant. Follow Van, a young man and local spriggan, on a unique request that will prove more than he bargained for. Will the nation fall into chaos?
The AT (Action Time) battle system has been completely revamped, transitioning seamlessly from field battles to turn-based combat. The sixth-generation combat orbment, Xipha, offers a revolutionary combat experience unique to this iteration of the Trails series!
In addition, the Topic System allows players to gain an advantage in battle by using conversation topics as bargaining chips. These topics can be obtained by interacting with other characters throughout the city. The game also features the Alignment system, which allows players to change their character’s three unique attributes and influence characteristics such as their status, the forces they fight with (or against), and even how the story unfolds.
Dive into the dynamic adventure in Kuro no Kiseki!
About
The spriggan’s life is but one of many professions that has emerged from the Calvard Republic. Be it playing detective, negotiator, or bounty hunter, Van Arkride takes on the kind of work that can’t be taken to more legitimate sources. It could be something the police can’t handle, work that’s best left out of the public eye, or even a request from a criminal of organization in the underworld; so long as it pays and doesn’t cross too far over the gray line, he’ll accept near-any job that comes across his table.
The year is 1208. A prim-and-proper young lady dressed in the uniform of an esteemed academy visits a dilapidated, multi-tenant building in a downtown district of Edith, the nation’s capital. With a most dignified gaze, she looks upon the plague of the door before her. It reads: ‘ARKRIDE Solutions Office: Complicated Matters Only.’
Steeling herself, she knocks on the door three times.
“First thing in the morning…?” a relaxed yet surprisingly young voice grumbles with a yawn.
From the moment he opens the door to greet her, a new tale begins.
Key Features
The AT (Action Time) Battle system has been completely revamped, transitioning seamlessly from field battles to turn-based combat.
The sixth-generation combat orbment, Xipha, offers a revolutionary combat experience unique to this iteration of the Trails series!
In addition, the Topic System allows players to gain an advantage in battle by using conversation topics as bargaining chips. These topics can be obtained by interacting with other characters throughout the city.
The game also features the Alignment system, which allows players to change their character’s three unique attributes and influence characteristics such as their status, the forces they fight with (or against), and even how the story unfolds.
Game Discussion
Steam User 9
I will split the review for Trails fans and casual JRPG players
If you're not a Trails fan... what are you doing here??? Go back and play the damn series from the beginning. Albeit this was clearly intended as a jump point into the series please, do yourself a favor and ignore every recommendation of "where to start?" other than Trails in the Sky 1, in this series EVERY game has many references or are strict sequels to previous games in the series.
If you're a Trails fan...
Ok, let's begin.
I have to be sincere, the story is BAD, most of the new characters are one dimensional/pastiche of previous characters and the music is -for the most part- forgettable. The only redeeming quality are the gameplay (it's a nice evolution) and the writing (it goes back to a slightly more mature tone, still not at the level of Trails in the Sky but one can dream).
And now the question I always want to have answered first: Does it advance the metaplot in any way? Nope. I know it's hard to rate a game that's the first part of an arc and we all know Falcom develops the arc in pairs.
Do I recommend the game then? Yes, to Trails fans. If you have enjoyed/suffered the 10 previous games then you will find here enough to like. I'm not expecting miracles here -I know it's a shonen- but we know this team can do it, we have seen the sparks before.
Steam User 8
The soundtrack for this game is simply breathtaking. It does an amazing job of making you feel immersed, while also allowing you to understand other countries on the continent and significantly expanding the lore. Every single RPG enthusiast needs to experience the great Legend of Heroes games made by the masters at Nihon Falcom. Their games genuinely feel handmade, showcasing incredible care and detail. This franchise has undoubtedly cemented its place as my all-time favorite.
Steam User 7
Played both in English and 日本語版 (thus playtime)
I can't say enough how I'm glad I did know this beautiful seria, which cemented poor engrish of mine, but moreover, encouraged me to learn such a gracious language as moon-runes from Fairyland..
Reading all this connections/references to events and characters from previous entries, even after a bit of hiatus, 嬉しいです！
ファルコムが大好き！ でももっと素敵なこと、双方の想いとそうだ・・Devs love Their games, and it's so easy to fall into abyss of aspiration of them too!
だってまた会うわね、必ず！
Steam User 4
Coming off of what I felt was a mediocre game in Trails Into Reverie, I was hoping for Trails Through Daybreak to be a fresh coat of paint on the Trails series, and it delivered in the best way possible. Something I was hoping for was just a slightly darker/more mature arc, and right out of the gate you could tell that the maturity level was raised from the prior arc with the introduction of Van and how his job as a spriggon isn't exactly the most law-abiding profession. The characters were likeable, although some hit harder than others. Van, Agnes, Judith and Aaron were all really great, but Feri, Risette, Quatre, and Bergard took some warming up to. My only major complaint about the characters is that I felt like Bergard joined the party very abruptly, and it felt like he was a guest character from his entrance to the end of the game, to the point where I hardly utilized him. Speaking of characters, it was refreshing to see a few characters from (literally) 8 games prior that you haven't heard from since. That really adds to the world-building that the Trails series is so good at. And even Fie, who I wasn't a huge fan of in the Cold Steel games, was a great cast member in this game.
The combat is the best part of this game. There are some people who like action combat, and some people who like turn-based, but in this arc, you get both. While the turn-based combat is where 90% of the focus is, there is still a lot of satisfaction in knowing that you can stay in action-combat mode through underleveled trash mobs to keep the pace of the game moving. Having played the Sky FC Remake, the combat is definitely more refined in that game, but for a first crack at the hybrid-combat, Trails Through Daybreak delivers a fresh combat experience.
The story was nothing short of excellent. Falcom (as usual) does an excellent job of leaving several loose ends as you go through the story, but ties them up so well at the end of this game. I love it when Falcom keeps you guessing, and the guessing never stopped in this game. I've heard mixed reviews about the next installment, but regardless I'm excited to jump in, as some games that the community felt were sub-par, I've felt were superb, and vise-versa.
I'm sad that I'm almost caught up with these games, as I've found so much joy in this series that I feel like the world of Zemuria is a living-breathing place that's constantly going even when I'm not. After I finished this game, I said to myself that I would absolutely play it over again in a heartbeat, and while Sky SC holds the top spot for me still, Trails Through Daybreak is right below it. In order of least favorite to favorite I would say it's:
Zero < CS2 < Reverie < Azure < CS1 < Sky 3rd < CS4 < Sky FC < CS3 < DB < Sky SC.
Steam User 4
Took me a few chapters to get into it as much as previous Trails games, but by the end I couldn't wait to start Daybreak 2 the day after.
The UI/Menu's are such an incredible let down in this game coming from Cold Steel and Reverie though, glad they fixed a lot of it in Daybreak2.
Steam User 4
Honestly my favourite Trails cast so far, which is a high bar to meet. Also loved the integration of the 3d action gameplay, which makes dungeon exploration much more dynamic and fun
Steam User 4
My favorite arc opener, probably. Some pacing issues, predictable structure.
Most of the refinements are very fun and make the gameplay feel fresh.