Trails In The Sky 1st Chapter Review (PC) – A Definitive Start

The very first The Legend of Heroes: Trails game was released on June 24, 2004. It was titled The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC. Over 20 years later, Nihon Falcom has upgraded everything they have done with the series since that first release, and now they are revisiting it by remaking the original as Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter.

Game Name: Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
Platform(s): PS5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Reviewed)
Developer(s): Nihon Falcom
Publisher(s): Gungho Online Entertainment
Release Date: September 19th, 2025
Price: $59.99

Estelle Bright, the daughter of the world-renowned Cassius Bright, wants to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a bracer. Bracers are a guild of individuals who support the people and take on requests ranging from finding lost items to eliminating monsters. For Estelle Bright and her adopted brother Joshua Bright to become senior bracers, they must travel throughout their home kingdom of Liberl and earn recommendation letters from all of the guild branches.

The Road to Senior Bracer

You will mainly control Joshua and Estelle in Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter as they travel throughout the cities of Liberl. To advance, you must earn recommendations from the Bracer Guild branches of Rolent, Bose, Ruan, Zeiss, and Grancel. This requires completing requests posted on each branch’s bulletin board, ranging from simple item recovery to monster extermination. Some are required to progress the story, while optional quests reward you with Mira (the country’s currency), items, and BP (Bracer Points). BP allow you to increase your junior bracer rank, unlocking rare items or quartz as rewards.

Quartz can be slotted into orbments to boost stats and grant the ability to cast arts. At first, you only have two slots, but defeating enemies and collecting sepith allows you to unlock more. Your orbment setup is the best way to customize characters for your preferred playstyle.

One thing that made replaying the original The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC difficult was its balance. The game often overwhelmed you with large swarms of enemies, and when you only had Estelle and Joshua, it could feel punishing. The addition of real-time combat in the remake is a godsend. Smaller enemies can be dispatched quickly while dodging stronger foes. Once you stun a larger enemy and transition into turn-based combat, battles feel much more manageable and engaging.

Revisiting Liberl Kingdom

It feels like forever since I last played the Trails in the Sky series, when in reality it was about seven years ago. Compared to other games in the franchise, Liberl is a much smaller region, and unlike later entries, it lacks a central hub area. Instead, Estelle and Joshua must find lodging in each location they visit. This smaller scale makes the region easier to navigate and remember, as all the major cities are connected by footpaths leading through gates. The layout is nearly identical to the original game 21 years ago, but the remake’s new engine brings it to life. Grancel, in particular, feels vibrant and alive, truly embodying the capital of Liberl.

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter looks stunning in motion. The cel-shaded art style is more like a watercolor painting compared to the look of Trails through Daybreak. The vibrant colors, lush greenery, and detailed architecture are beautiful, and climbing to the top of Haken Gate to see the sweeping view below is breathtaking.

The Trails arcs were prototyped in the Sky trilogy. The first game in each arc serves as world-building, immersing players in its setting and characters. Estelle and Joshua’s journey through Liberl doubles as the player’s introduction to the region, its politics, and the balance of power between monarchy, heroes, the Bracer Guild, and the military. While the surface story is about two bracers growing up, it sets the stage for threats far larger. The second entry in each arc delivers the payoff, but that impact depends on how well the first game connects you to its world and characters. In that regard, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter succeeds brilliantly.

While the engine, art, and music are all refreshed, the heart of the original remains. Estelle and Joshua’s growth is still touching, and their development is one of the most heartfelt aspects of the game. The story continues to deliver emotional gut-punches, and the characters and world feel alive with history and humanity.

Translating Trails in the Sky To the Modern Era

Falcom’s fanbase in the West has long debated localizations of the Trails games. The original Trails in the Sky titles reached us late, and XSeed Games often added creative liberties to the script, giving the dialogue a unique flair. Once Trails of Cold Steel III shifted to NIS America, those liberties disappeared in favor of a translation truer to Falcom’s vision. Now, Gungho Online Entertainment has confirmed this remake’s script is designed to stay closer to Falcom’s intent.

Having played the full game, I can confirm the localization resembles NIS America’s approach more than XSeed’s. While this may divide fans again, it provides consistency with newer entries. The one loss, however, is the absence of the classic “treasure chest messages” that XSeed made famous. In the originals, revisiting an opened chest produced unique, often humorous lines. Here, they’ve been replaced by the standard “It’s empty,” which is a shame for longtime fans.

Definitive Start to the Best Series I Have Played

I can finally answer the question: where to start with the Trails series? Right here, with Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter. It blends modernized Falcom gameplay systems with the timeless story of Trails in the Sky FC. The customization is easier than Daybreak, the combat is tighter than Reverie, and the quality-of-life improvements make exploration more enjoyable than ever. The cooking and recipe systems are also the best the series has ever seen. This is a must-play for RPG fans everywhere. The Sky cast remains one of the strongest in JRPG history and seeing them revitalized in this remake gave me goosebumps more times than I can count.

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter will be released September 19th, 2025, for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The demo can be downloaded now on all platforms.

Review Disclosure Statement: Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter was provided to us by Gungho Online Entertainment for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy.

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