Nihon Falcom announced a remake of Trails of the Sky: First Chapter (FC), the first game of the Trails sub-series of The Legend of Heroes franchise: The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the...
Nihon Falcom announced a remake of Trails of the Sky: First Chapter (FC), the first game of the Trails sub-series of The Legend of Heroes franchise: The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 1st.
I really loved the original game. Suspension of disbelief is hard for me in narrative-heavy games. There's something about the quality of the dialogue and the story telling in Trails of the Sky FC that broke through that wall for me in the introductory hours of the game. And my buy-in carried me all the way to ending cliffhanger that was so strong I had to immediately buy the sequel.
That being said, Trails in the Sky FC isn't the easiest recommend. Even though they eventually grow on you, the graphics look like they're from 2004 (because they are). And I'd have to assume that most people prefer action-based combat over turn-based combat, given how many more games are action based.
The remake looks like it addresses those concerns. The graphics are fully 3D, in line with recent entries in the series. And the combat looks like it incorporates some realtime elements.
(I linked to a Japanese announcement trailer, since the English announcement was only 5 seconds of footage during a montage).
Oooh! I loved Sky FC. This'll be an insta-buy for me if they release it on Steam. "Sky" has some of the best world building and character building I've ever seen in a JRPG, and I love the music too.
Oooh! I loved Sky FC. This'll be an insta-buy for me if they release it on Steam.
"Sky" has some of the best world building and character building I've ever seen in a JRPG, and I love the music too.
Nihon Falcom posted another trailer with a bit more footage, and a section where they compare the original graphics to the remake's graphics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vmMaTcluNo The end...
Nihon Falcom posted another trailer with a bit more footage, and a section where they compare the original graphics to the remake's graphics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vmMaTcluNo
The end card only shows the Nintendo Switch symbol, so there's a chance this is a switch exclusive :(
Well, regardless of people's opinions on which system of combat is better, as far as this trailer shows, it's probably the exact same turn-based combat system as in the currently available Trails...
And I'd have to assume that most people prefer action-based combat over turn-based combat, given how many more games are action based.
Well, regardless of people's opinions on which system of combat is better, as far as this trailer shows, it's probably the exact same turn-based combat system as in the currently available Trails in the Sky. I'm pretty certain that initial encounter shown with the plant monster is just the new representation of the encounter surprise mechanics. Only difference is instead of just sort of "ramming" the on-screen opponent, you whack it a la Hyperdimension Neptunia.
Very excited for this!! Something interesting I noticed in the trailer is that there's multiple times where, despite the player just running around, the UI shows all of the battle options (Arts,...
Very excited for this!!
Something interesting I noticed in the trailer is that there's multiple times where, despite the player just running around, the UI shows all of the battle options (Arts, Crafts, Attack, and Defend). For example, at 18 seconds in, this seems to be to be clearly taking place out of combat, as there's even a location title-card that appears. Later, at 30 seconds, a single attack seems to trigger turn-based combat - but the enemy attacks in a real-time manner! Very curious what this means for the real-time combat elements that were introduced in Trails through Daybreak... My initial theory is that you can press any of the four buttons to trigger turn-based combat mode, with your first turn being the selected option, perhaps? But in that case, would there be any real-time combat at all, since it looks like all the major buttons would be dedicated to that! So weird!
Anyway, there's other fun stuff to talk about. Those graphics!! Wow!! Absolutely LOVE the stylization here, it totally fits the tone and atmosphere of Trails in the Sky, and just looks great! Trails games, historically, have looked kinda "AA" to me, but the stylization here really helps smooth out the rough edges and makes this feel like a truly "current-gen" RPG.
The UI also looks super stylish! Love the 'classic clockwork orbment' feel to everything. The AT Bar looks great, and I especially love the battle transition (seen at 30 seconds) where it swoops in, and everyone's AT icons fall into place! Absolutely adore the gear shifting as you move between battle options, too! The UI of the menus of Trails in the Sky was very charming, so I'm glad to see them take lots of inspiration from the coolest aspects of it, while still apparently cleaning it up immensely.
I'm very curious to see how they handle things like the orbment quartz system. The orbments in Trails have actual, in-universe importance, with changes to the system mechanically always being justified in the story between games and arcs... but at the same time, they've learned a lot about the gameplay since they first started, and there's some pretty clear improvements that could be made to the system. I, at least, wouldn't be bothered by a small retcon in favor of better gameplay. But who knows?
Clearly, they'll have to make a remake of SC as well... but Trails in the Sky the 3rd is kinda the oddball, and I'm left wondering what they'll do with that. It's clearly disconnected from the Estelle-Joshua arc of FC and SC whIch are what makes them so compelling to remaster, BUT there is a lot of great story material in the 3rd, and it's similarly difficult to play on modern platforms. Who knows?
Overall, though, I'm just so excited! Very eager to return to Liberl in 3D!!
I think I read a comment somewhere that this remake is being done in the Trails into Daybreak's engine. I haven't played it, but my understanding is the combat in that game has two phases:...
Something interesting I noticed in the trailer is that there's multiple times where, despite the player just running around, the UI shows all of the battle options (Arts, Crafts, Attack, and Defend). [...] My initial theory is that you can press any of the four buttons to trigger turn-based combat mode, with your first turn being the selected option, perhaps? But in that case, would there be any real-time combat at all, since it looks like all the major buttons would be dedicated to that! So weird!
I think I read a comment somewhere that this remake is being done in the Trails into Daybreak's engine. I haven't played it, but my understanding is the combat in that game has two phases: realtime action combat that leads into turn based combat (Article, Video).
This might be how it works in Trails in the Sky the 1st. At 0:27, we can see Estelle dodging a ranged attack from an enemy on the field. But at 0:32, we see UI that looks like an Arts menu during turn-based combat.
Absolutely LOVE the stylization here, it totally fits the tone and atmosphere of Trails in the Sky, and just looks great!
This is what I'm the most iffy about. I really like sprite-based artstyles in JRPGs, and the art from the Liberl arc especially grew on me.
But at the same time, I can only imagine how much better this'll make the in-game cutscenes and the anime cutscenes. I was wowed by Cassius and Julia's duel even when it was just a bunch of goofy looking sprites.
Clearly, they'll have to make a remake of SC as well... but Trails in the Sky the 3rd is kinda the oddball, and I'm left wondering what they'll do with that.
I'm guessing they'll probably do all three. Remaking the original trilogy makes it an easy recommend to people new to the franchise. And the Liberl Arc is currently only playable on PC, so getting it to Switch would be a big win given the JRPG audience on that platform.
Weirdly, the thing that initially struck me about the remake was the name. "Trails in the Sky the 1st" feels like it's borrowing from "Trails in the Sky the 3rd"'s naming scheme... So what do you call the remake of the 3rd?
Longtime lover of the Trails in the Sky series here. What this trailer shows, so far, just looks like a 3D version of the same combat system from the original, with no other mechanical changes at...
Longtime lover of the Trails in the Sky series here. What this trailer shows, so far, just looks like a 3D version of the same combat system from the original, with no other mechanical changes at all.
So for those unfamiliar with the game, in TitS (aha) there are three modes: town mode, world mode, and combat mode. In world mode, you run around an environment, and you can see single-monster representations of potential encounters ahead. You will only see one at a time, but the actual encounter itself could be 2 or more enemies of varying types.
So if you run up to it from behind and initiate the encounter on the own, you get a surprise round or two to kick butt and hopefully cream your opponent. But if you try to run around the icon and it chases and gets you first, then the bad guys surround you and get a surprise round instead. In either case, the game moves to battle mode, which is turn-based. This mode has the same character-order-tracker thingy seen in this video after Estelle whacks the plant.
This looks like the same thing to me, I don't see any evidence of any kind of real-time combat in this video. Instead, it looks a lot more like they took a page from the Neptunia / Compile Heart style of games, where you have the same basic combat initiation setup (surprise goes to who strikes first), but with an actual physical button you have to press to "whack" the encounter's representation while in exploration mode. Seems to me that's exactly what is happening here.
Oh, and Town mode is like World mode, but there are no monsters.
Truly exciting! Had no idea Falcom were working on something like this. I have a soft spot for the old 2D sprites but the 3D world looks beautiful. The cel shading on the characters really brings...
Truly exciting! Had no idea Falcom were working on something like this. I have a soft spot for the old 2D sprites but the 3D world looks beautiful. The cel shading on the characters really brings out their personalities. As though the full screen character art in the old menu screens was brought to life.
Related, Falcom's president Toshihiro Kondo gave an interview with Anime Herald last month. Talked about the evolution of Ys and Trails series, through Ys X and Trails Through Daybreak. Kept this entry a secret though! Supposedly the young blood in the company are given plenty of leeway and autonomy in game designs, adding whatever looks cool and will make the game fun and fresh, and it certainly shows in the newer entries. (At least from what I've seen in trailers and clips; sadly haven't gotten around to the newest games myself yet.)
I actually thought that the character graphics looked great but the environments missed the je ne sais quoi of the original. The original looked super detailed but the modern graphics have higher...
I actually thought that the character graphics looked great but the environments missed the je ne sais quoi of the original. The original looked super detailed but the modern graphics have higher expectations so it doesn’t hit the same.
But I also feel that the close camera angle kind of makes it feel less real in ways that I can’t quite articulate. I guess I just preferred that some of those details were basically imaginary.
I think I get what you mean. The old isometric environments were both denser and played with space perception, like objects not always being rendered to scale, especially when entering buildings....
I think I get what you mean. The old isometric environments were both denser and played with space perception, like objects not always being rendered to scale, especially when entering buildings. It felt like they packed a lot in there. And the edges of maps being cordoned off meant you could imagine them extending vastly in all directions. Plus the top-down view made tall buildings feel that much taller when cut off by the viewport. Meanwhile 3D can suffer from a feeling of emptiness, wasted space; and structures feel smaller when they fit in the viewport from a distance.
Nihon Falcom announced a remake of Trails of the Sky: First Chapter (FC), the first game of the Trails sub-series of The Legend of Heroes franchise: The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 1st.
I really loved the original game. Suspension of disbelief is hard for me in narrative-heavy games. There's something about the quality of the dialogue and the story telling in Trails of the Sky FC that broke through that wall for me in the introductory hours of the game. And my buy-in carried me all the way to ending cliffhanger that was so strong I had to immediately buy the sequel.
That being said, Trails in the Sky FC isn't the easiest recommend. Even though they eventually grow on you, the graphics look like they're from 2004 (because they are). And I'd have to assume that most people prefer action-based combat over turn-based combat, given how many more games are action based.
The remake looks like it addresses those concerns. The graphics are fully 3D, in line with recent entries in the series. And the combat looks like it incorporates some realtime elements.
(I linked to a Japanese announcement trailer, since the English announcement was only 5 seconds of footage during a montage).
Oooh! I loved Sky FC. This'll be an insta-buy for me if they release it on Steam.
"Sky" has some of the best world building and character building I've ever seen in a JRPG, and I love the music too.
Nihon Falcom posted another trailer with a bit more footage, and a section where they compare the original graphics to the remake's graphics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vmMaTcluNo
The end card only shows the Nintendo Switch symbol, so there's a chance this is a switch exclusive :(
Well, regardless of people's opinions on which system of combat is better, as far as this trailer shows, it's probably the exact same turn-based combat system as in the currently available Trails in the Sky. I'm pretty certain that initial encounter shown with the plant monster is just the new representation of the encounter surprise mechanics. Only difference is instead of just sort of "ramming" the on-screen opponent, you whack it a la Hyperdimension Neptunia.
Very excited for this!!
Something interesting I noticed in the trailer is that there's multiple times where, despite the player just running around, the UI shows all of the battle options (Arts, Crafts, Attack, and Defend). For example, at 18 seconds in, this seems to be to be clearly taking place out of combat, as there's even a location title-card that appears. Later, at 30 seconds, a single attack seems to trigger turn-based combat - but the enemy attacks in a real-time manner! Very curious what this means for the real-time combat elements that were introduced in Trails through Daybreak... My initial theory is that you can press any of the four buttons to trigger turn-based combat mode, with your first turn being the selected option, perhaps? But in that case, would there be any real-time combat at all, since it looks like all the major buttons would be dedicated to that! So weird!
Anyway, there's other fun stuff to talk about. Those graphics!! Wow!! Absolutely LOVE the stylization here, it totally fits the tone and atmosphere of Trails in the Sky, and just looks great! Trails games, historically, have looked kinda "AA" to me, but the stylization here really helps smooth out the rough edges and makes this feel like a truly "current-gen" RPG.
The UI also looks super stylish! Love the 'classic clockwork orbment' feel to everything. The AT Bar looks great, and I especially love the battle transition (seen at 30 seconds) where it swoops in, and everyone's AT icons fall into place! Absolutely adore the gear shifting as you move between battle options, too! The UI of the menus of Trails in the Sky was very charming, so I'm glad to see them take lots of inspiration from the coolest aspects of it, while still apparently cleaning it up immensely.
I'm very curious to see how they handle things like the orbment quartz system. The orbments in Trails have actual, in-universe importance, with changes to the system mechanically always being justified in the story between games and arcs... but at the same time, they've learned a lot about the gameplay since they first started, and there's some pretty clear improvements that could be made to the system. I, at least, wouldn't be bothered by a small retcon in favor of better gameplay. But who knows?
Clearly, they'll have to make a remake of SC as well... but Trails in the Sky the 3rd is kinda the oddball, and I'm left wondering what they'll do with that. It's clearly disconnected from the Estelle-Joshua arc of FC and SC whIch are what makes them so compelling to remaster, BUT there is a lot of great story material in the 3rd, and it's similarly difficult to play on modern platforms. Who knows?
Overall, though, I'm just so excited! Very eager to return to Liberl in 3D!!
I think I read a comment somewhere that this remake is being done in the Trails into Daybreak's engine. I haven't played it, but my understanding is the combat in that game has two phases: realtime action combat that leads into turn based combat (Article, Video).
This might be how it works in Trails in the Sky the 1st. At 0:27, we can see Estelle dodging a ranged attack from an enemy on the field. But at 0:32, we see UI that looks like an Arts menu during turn-based combat.
This is what I'm the most iffy about. I really like sprite-based artstyles in JRPGs, and the art from the Liberl arc especially grew on me.
But at the same time, I can only imagine how much better this'll make the in-game cutscenes and the anime cutscenes. I was wowed by Cassius and Julia's duel even when it was just a bunch of goofy looking sprites.
I'm guessing they'll probably do all three. Remaking the original trilogy makes it an easy recommend to people new to the franchise. And the Liberl Arc is currently only playable on PC, so getting it to Switch would be a big win given the JRPG audience on that platform.
Weirdly, the thing that initially struck me about the remake was the name. "Trails in the Sky the 1st" feels like it's borrowing from "Trails in the Sky the 3rd"'s naming scheme... So what do you call the remake of the 3rd?
Longtime lover of the Trails in the Sky series here. What this trailer shows, so far, just looks like a 3D version of the same combat system from the original, with no other mechanical changes at all.
So for those unfamiliar with the game, in TitS (aha) there are three modes: town mode, world mode, and combat mode. In world mode, you run around an environment, and you can see single-monster representations of potential encounters ahead. You will only see one at a time, but the actual encounter itself could be 2 or more enemies of varying types.
So if you run up to it from behind and initiate the encounter on the own, you get a surprise round or two to kick butt and hopefully cream your opponent. But if you try to run around the icon and it chases and gets you first, then the bad guys surround you and get a surprise round instead. In either case, the game moves to battle mode, which is turn-based. This mode has the same character-order-tracker thingy seen in this video after Estelle whacks the plant.
This looks like the same thing to me, I don't see any evidence of any kind of real-time combat in this video. Instead, it looks a lot more like they took a page from the Neptunia / Compile Heart style of games, where you have the same basic combat initiation setup (surprise goes to who strikes first), but with an actual physical button you have to press to "whack" the encounter's representation while in exploration mode. Seems to me that's exactly what is happening here.
Oh, and Town mode is like World mode, but there are no monsters.
Truly exciting! Had no idea Falcom were working on something like this. I have a soft spot for the old 2D sprites but the 3D world looks beautiful. The cel shading on the characters really brings out their personalities. As though the full screen character art in the old menu screens was brought to life.
Related, Falcom's president Toshihiro Kondo gave an interview with Anime Herald last month. Talked about the evolution of Ys and Trails series, through Ys X and Trails Through Daybreak. Kept this entry a secret though! Supposedly the young blood in the company are given plenty of leeway and autonomy in game designs, adding whatever looks cool and will make the game fun and fresh, and it certainly shows in the newer entries. (At least from what I've seen in trailers and clips; sadly haven't gotten around to the newest games myself yet.)
I actually thought that the character graphics looked great but the environments missed the je ne sais quoi of the original. The original looked super detailed but the modern graphics have higher expectations so it doesn’t hit the same.
But I also feel that the close camera angle kind of makes it feel less real in ways that I can’t quite articulate. I guess I just preferred that some of those details were basically imaginary.
I think I get what you mean. The old isometric environments were both denser and played with space perception, like objects not always being rendered to scale, especially when entering buildings. It felt like they packed a lot in there. And the edges of maps being cordoned off meant you could imagine them extending vastly in all directions. Plus the top-down view made tall buildings feel that much taller when cut off by the viewport. Meanwhile 3D can suffer from a feeling of emptiness, wasted space; and structures feel smaller when they fit in the viewport from a distance.