Platform(s): PC (version reviewed), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Genre: JRPG, anime, Falcom

2024 is truly the golden year of Japanese role-playing games. From Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth to the best version of Shin Megami Tensei V, the JRPG-loving masses are truly blessed with so much to play and get invested in for hours on end. Hell, we didn’t even get to the upcoming titles like the Romancing SaGa 2 remake and Atlus’ Metaphor: ReFantazio, which have the potential to sweep this particular genre and category in many game awards write-ups and features.

I’m bringing this fact up because JRPG makers Falcom is throwing its hat into the ring with the English dub/localization of its new The Legend of Heroes entry. Despite the Japanese version of The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak being a few years old (the original came out in 2021), this title can still hold its own against 2024’s heavyweights thanks to its story and gameplay.

A Grand Cool Adventure

A bit of context: The Legend of Heroes is a long series of JRPG titles taking place in the fantasy world of Zemuria that is kinda similar to Earth, but with magic, monsters, and steampunk in-between. Oh, and a lot of anime tropes fleshed out to a great degree. Starting in 2004 on PC and eventually on PlayStation Portable, the niche series helped keep developer Falcom afloat for years. This is due to the series’ plot, and consistent world-building that tie into one another, with characters from the first game Trails in the Sky popping up in future entries like the Trails of Cold Steel series. Think long-running fiction novels like the Dune or Song of Ice & Fire/Game of Thrones series, but scifi/fantasy/anime and JRPG turn-based combat shenanigans.

Fast forward to this generation, and we have a new storyline in Trails Through Daybreak that takes place a few years after the past Trails of Cold Steel tetralogy with an all-new cast of characters, all taking place in the game’s most-referenced country: Calvard. Trails Through Daybreak’s plot revolves around Van Arkride, a mercenary-type fellow who handles odd jobs that skirt above the law when needed under his company Arkride Solutions Office. One day, he ended up accepting a contract work with a student named Agnès who needed to get a treasured heirloom back. From then on out, Van gets embroiled in a conflict against Calvard’s mafia group, waylaid by sci-fi magic nonsense that’s part and parcel with the series, and makes a lot of friends along the way despite his lone wolf tendencies.

Also, he’s a fan of sweets, hot baths, and his souped-up car. Even if you may not like one or more of those topics, he talks eloquently about them at times in an entertaining fashion. The fact that the English VO for Van is Damian Haas of Delicious in Dungeon fame just adds more character to an already-interesting main protagonist with an already mysterious past that I can’t bring up due to spoilers.

If anything, The Legend of Heroes games excel at taking their time building up its world, bringing in new characters bit by bit and making you root for them, or even feel emotional about them at times. While a number of the main cast may lean towards familiar archetypes (chirpy-yet-naive go-getter, child soldier, arrogant hothead), they have enough quirks and colour to make an impression from start to finish. My 50+ hours with the game just made me appreciate the love and writing put in the exploits of Arkride Solutions and its ever-growing headcount, much to our hero’s hilarious chagrin. There are also a ton of sidequests and free time activities (ie: bonding with your teammates and new friends) to help flesh out the world, add context to Van’s job, and even tug at your heartstrings or two. Some of these side missions do have surprising outcomes, and are arguably more emotional than some of the main game’s plot points. One sidequest that stuck to my mind involved a thief who wanted help returning a lost item to someone in the past; the outcome was quite a tearjerker. There are also points of levity; apart from Van’s obsession with sweets and desserts, we also have a running gag involving the world’s version of Catwoman and young child soldier Ferri learning the ways of the world through the group and their wild ways.

While some chapter’s plot resolutions could use some room to breath, I feel that the overall pacing works just great and just takes its time making Calvard and its many locations very rich to discover and explore. Probably the most noteworthy trait in its narrative flow is that you really don’t need to know much about the previous entries (Crossbell arc, Erebonia arc) to get invested in Trails Through Daybreak’s new storyline. True, there will be a few allusions to past games and guest characters from past titles popping up, but their introduction is framed in a way that they might as well be new characters. If you already did your homework, then more power to you. You’ll love all the cameos, references, and guests coming in and making themselves part of the main storyline, but not to an absurd point where you need to look up wiki entries to keep up.

Double Indemnity

Of course, Trails Through Daybreak would be just an elaborate visual novel if it didn’t have any gameplay to back it up, and there’s a lot to love here. Combat in this Legend of Heroes title is a mix of real-time and turn-based fighting; when you’re on the field, you can attack enemies in real-time. You can then press the “Deploy Shards” button to go into turn-based combat mode, where you position individual party members to deal attacks as well as use your spells and special moves. Spells use Energy Points (EP) and need a turn or two to activate, while special moves/Arts use Combat Points (CP) and are usually powerful and instantaneous. You’ll need to balance between regular attacks, EP spells, and CP arts and techniques to deal with the many enemies and bosses in the game. On default difficulty, the bosses do give a run for their money, requiring you to use existing techniques and also some tinkering and additional mechanics for that edge in your favour.

See, all spells in the game are cast using Orbments and Xiphas (ie: the smartphones everybody’s using in-game), which have slots for runes and whatnot for customization purposes. You can tweak your character to either be speedy with casting and attacks, or more physical-based so that they have more passives that actual spells. For example, I always make sure Feri has fire and earth spells with some speed boosts with one Xiphas type, but will switch it with a Mirage/Time buff-heavy Xiphas if I need to fight against a speedy boss type. Hothead Aaron acts as my damage dealer, while Agnès is the resident healer. But you can always switch their roles around due to how customizable and flexible the Xiphas system is, making your own uber party for the eventual late game and gauntlet. And there’s the S-Line system, where you can use S-charges to power-up your individual characters to get specific bonuses based on the Xiphas you have equipped. Not only do they get a much-needed buff in their expertise -Agnès gets a massive healing and spell attack boost- but they get access to their Super Arts which usually deals big damage to all enemies in a big area, or just flat-out resurrect and heal the party.

With all these amazing options at your disposal, you’ll have fun playing around with the system and getting the most out of it. In fact, an upcoming Atlus JRPG may have taken the real-time-slash-turn-based combat cues from this game and its sequels. It just goes to show that if it’s worth copying and emulating, it’s probably worth its weight in gold. Trails Through Daybreak’s gameplay nails the fun factor and offers that great balance between real-time action hacking and cerebral turn-based fighting.

In fact, it’s hard to find a major flaw in Trails Through Daybreak, save for its arguably-dated presentation and few questionable user interface choices. While the former is due to the game staying consistent to its art style and framework but also not going beyond its means -a commendable effort and discipline since Falcom isn’t exactly Square Enix rich- the latter is quite perplexing. During combat, the turn order for enemies and allies do not seem very clear for the first few hours as it eschews the line turn order system from past games in favour of one where the characters closest to the centre of the line go first. It looks messy and the numbering for who goes first can be hard to read at first; why fix something that isn’t broken in past games?

To be fair, Falcom has made a few quality-of-life improvements that add up in the long run.Unlike the previous quadrology Trails of Cold Steel, Trails Through Daybreak sped up the animation in its default speed, so the game isn’t as sluggish. I didn’t have to use the Fast Forward button as much this time around. It’s a small touch, but it’s good to know Falcom knows that most of us would like to speed things up if they’ve seen enough of the game’s battle animations and whatnot.

Trailblazing

With an epic plot and a neat combat system that blends the best of turn-based and real-time combat, TTD is a welcome new entry in the long-standing Legend of Heroes series from Falcom. The best part? You don’t need to play through the past Legend of Heroes games as Daybreak is a great starting point, featuring new and likeable characters as well as a fun battle system to get into, to complement its world-spanning plotlines. Having said that, you may need to do some research as later moments in the game will start bringing in more characters and allusions from past games to the mix.

Granted, it can get anime as heck with its story resolutions, moreso than past series, but with so much charm and zest, it’s foolhardy to write this game off, even with 2024’s plethora of JRPG offerings. Besides, any game that has English VO work from Honkai Star Rail (March 7th’s VO voices Van’s smartphone, while Sushang’s VO voices Feri) in a game with a lot of dialogue and text is at least deserving of some attention.

Pros

• Great & addictive combat system that mixes real-time and turn-based gameplay in JRPGs.
• Lots of customization with party members and their magic smartphones.
• The best entry point in the Legend of Heroes series, with accessible plotlines & fascinating world.
• Lovely English dubwork.
• Loveable core cast, with a suitable and likeable lead.

Cons

• Weird user interface & menu design choices.
• May require some Legend of Heroes homework and catching up lore-wise.

Final Score: 90/100