Impressions - Legend of Heroes Trails Through Daybreak

 Available on Switch, PS4|5, & PC

Thoughts on the Story & Gameplay

This game is the newest installment (at least as far as North America is concerned) in the Legend of Heroes story from Nihon Falcom. In this game the setting is the Republic of Calvard. If you played the Trails of Cold Steel games then you heard about Calvard. This game revolves around Van Arkride who runs Arkride Solutions. He's a guy you come to for help when you can't go to the cops or the guilds. He works in the gray area between the good and bad guys which has earned him a sort of reputation. The story revolves around him and Agnes Claudel as they try to figure out the mystery of the Genesi and the connection they have to her family. 

The gameplay in this title is both familiar and new. Familiar if you have played any of the previous Trails games. In all honesty this is a great jumping on point if you haven't played any of the other titles in the series. This game actually has elements of both action RPG and turn-based RPG styles. Releasing "shards" in combat starts the turn-based style, its very easy to switch between both styles and there are perks for entering battle with certain timing effects. The system in this game is called Xipha and those are used to basically set up your characters buffs/debuffs, arts, accessories, etc. There is a lot to choose from and the variety helps to tailor characters to how you want them to play. This game clearly builds on what was done in the Trails of Cold Steel games and I think they did a great job with it and that aspect. I found the gameplay easy to pick up but to be clear I have played the Trails of Cold Steel series so that may have helped, however, I do believe that its not hard to get the hang of everything once you start playing. 

Thoughts on the Good

One of things that stood out to me is the gameplay. I was honestly hooked when I played the demo. Switching between action and turn-based once you get the timing down is fun and integral to however you wish to play. The other thing that stood out to me is the story and dialog are very good. They have some callbacks and even characters from other games show up. The music is very well done especially when traveling to different areas. The character interactions are also very well done. The game feels massive and there is always something to do.  

Thoughts on the Bad

My one complaint is the length of some of the cutscenes. Some of them approach Final Fantasy levels of length, with a couple in particular making my controller go to sleep. That is aggravating to me. Another thing that I found to be annoying is the odd times when the voice acting will cut out. For example, a character will say one sentence and then the rest of the exchange is reading. I don't have a problem with it but it can be annoying as to me if there is going to be speaking dialoge then do it for the whole exchange not just part of it.

For Parents

This game is rated T for Teen. There are some heavy themes in the game as well as some foul language, though nothing that's not in any PG-13 action movie. There is violence but nothing gory. There are some scenes of sexual situations and a couple scenes where some of the older characters meet in a nightclub that has some pole dancing. Nothing is to revealing as the ladies are in basically swimwear but it is there. The game is in the Trails series so it is a long game and it is single player. The game will keep the player occupied for a while. I honestly think it would be hard for someone to crank this one out in a weekend to be honest. 

Overall Thoughts/Is the Game FUN?

I am having a great time playing this game. While I haven't played every game in the Legend of Heroes series, I have become a fan since Trails of Cold Steel. For me this game is a FULL PRICE/DAY ONE purchase. Its a perfect jumping on point as it stands on its own from the rest of the series by putting the player in a new country. The characters are fun and interesting. The gameplay does a good job as well being interesting with each character feeling unique. The game is very FUN, 40 hours in and enjoying each chapter. Have you played The Legend of Heroes Trails Through Daybreak? What do you think? Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment and please share as it helps the blog grow.

Trailer