The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak

"Trails Through Daybreak" redirects here. For the subseries of the same name, see Calvard arc.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak
DeveloperNihon Falcom
PublishersNIS America
  • JP: Nihon Falcom
  • PAL: Clouded Leopard Entertainment
DirectorTakayuki Kusano
ProducerToshihiro Kondo
Designers
  • Koutaro Honda
  • Yoshihiro Konda
Programmers
  • Yuki Hirata
  • Toru Endo
  • Nobuhiro Hioki
ArtistKatsumi Enami
Writers
  • Hisayoshi Takeiri
  • Yuuta Miyazaki
  • Syunsei Shikata
Composers
  • Hayato Sonoda
  • Shuntaro Koguchi
  • Yukihiro Jindo
  • Mitsuo Singa
SeriesTrails
Platforms
ReleasePlayStation 4
  • JP: September 30, 2021
  • WW: July 5, 2024
PlayStation 5
  • JP: July 28, 2022
  • WW: July 5, 2024
Windows
  • CHN: July 28, 2022
  • JP: March 1, 2023
  • WW: July 5, 2024
Nintendo Switch
  • JP: February 15, 2024
  • WW: July 5, 2024
GenreRole-playing
ModeSingle-player

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak[a] is a 2021 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is the eleventh installment of the Trails series, itself a part of the larger The Legend of Heroes franchise, and is the first game in the Calvard story arc. It marks the second half of the Trails series and is the first to be set in the Republic of Calvard. The game follows Van Arkride, a young man working at Arkride Solutions Office as a Spriggan, a bounty hunter and problem solver for hire, and Agnès Claudel, a high school student who joins Van to find eight magical devices known as Genesis.

Trails Through Daybreak was released in Japan for the PlayStation 4 in September 2021. A port for the PlayStation 5 was released in Japan and other Asian regions in July 2022, along with a Windows port in Chinese and Korean. A Japanese Windows port was released in March 2023. An English version by NIS America, including a Nintendo Switch port, was released in July 2024. A sequel, Trails Through Daybreak II, was released in 2022.

Gameplay

Trails Trough Daybreak features both traditional turn-based combat with basic action combat, a first for the series.

The story follows a chapter format. In each chapter, the player spends a day in the city of Edith, where they are free to interact with characters and do side missions. When the story progresses, it sends the player to a different place where a new member joins the party. The game has no load times for entering or exiting buildings, and generally has a larger overworld than seen in previous games in the series. A first for the series, Trails Through Daybreak features an alignment system based on law, chaos, and mix of the two. While the system does not affect the main story or ending, it unlocks options that allow the player to ally with certain factions at a particular point in the game, triggering unique events and dialogues.

The game's combat may be played in one of two modes: real-time action battles similar to Falcom's Ys series and traditional turn-based combat featured in the series' past. The game encourages the player to use both modes, which can be freely switched between outside of boss fights, which are exclusively turn-based.[1]

Plot

The plot is centered around "Class VII" at Thors Military Academy in Trista, a newly formed class at the academy and the only one not segregated by social class (composing of both Erebonian nobility and commoners). The class consists of protagonist Rean Schwarzer (a commoner later adopted into a noble family), Alisa Reinford (daughter of the Chairman of an engineering company), Elliot Craig (the son of a famous commander from the Imperial Army), Laura S. Arseid (the daughter of a renowned warrior and noble), Machias Regnitz (the son of the Imperial governor), Jusis Albarea (the heir of one of the four Great Houses), Emma Millstein (a commoner accepted into Thors due to her exceptional grades), Fie Claussell (former member of a jaeger group called Zephyr), Gaius Worzel from the Nord Highlands, and class instructor Sara Valestein (a member of the Bracer Guild). They are later joined by Crow Armbrust (a second year who joins Class VII after failing to graduate), and Millium Orion (a member of Imperial Army's Intelligence Division).

Throughout the school year, Class VII undergo field studies that take them to various cities and areas across Erebonia. The primary purpose is for the class to witness first-hand the reality of the Empire, consumed in a power struggle between the aristocratic Nobles that command the Provincial Army, and the working class Reformists led by Chancellor Giliath Osborne, which threatens to lead to civil war. In the process, the students increasingly come into conflict with a terrorist group later known as the Imperial Liberation Front (secretly backed by the Noble Alliance), led by the masked charismatic leader known only as "C". They are also investigating their academy's old schoolhouse, which mysteriously grows and changes its layout every month. At the bottom of the old schoolhouse, after overcoming the final trial, they discover a mech known as a Divine Knight called "Valimar".

During a speech by Osborne regarding Crossbell's recent bid for independence from Erebonia and the neighboring Republic of Calvard, he is assassinated by "C", revealed to be Crow. The assassination starts a civil war between the Noble Faction/Provincial Armies and Reformists/Imperial Army. Trista is invaded by the Provincial Army and Imperial Liberation Front. During the attack, Valimar offers to form a covenant with Rean, making him an "Awakener", one who can summon and pilot a Divine Knight, which Rean accepts. Rean uses Valimar to drive back the Provincial Army and Imperial Liberation Front, but Crow, revealed to also be an Awakener, arrives in Trista and challenges Rean with his Divine Knight, Ordine. After Rean is defeated, the rest of Class VII engages Crow, allowing Valimar to escape with Rean.

Development and release

Trails Through Daybreak marks the start of the second half of the series' narrative, and the beginning of a new story arc that continues with its sequels Trails Through Daybreak II and Trails Beyond the Horizon. It features a new proprietary game engine, known as the Falcom Developer Kit (FDK), that replaced the PhyreEngine used in the Trails of Cold Steel series.[2] Trails Through Daybreak was released for the PlayStation 4 in Japan on September 30, 2021.[3] A port for the PlayStation 5 was released in Japan and other Asian regions on July 28, 2022, along with a Windows port in Chinese and Korean.[4]

A fan translation group released a spreadsheet and overlay program for the game; however, it received a cease-and-desist removal order by NIS America in August 2022 after an unofficial patch that could directly insert the English text into the game was made. NIS America later released a Japanese Windows port on March 1, 2023.[5] Trails Through Daybreak was released worldwide in English on July 5, 2024, in addition to a Nintendo Switch version.[6] A Japanese Switch version by Falcom was released on February 15, 2024, followed by a Chinese and Korean version by Clouded Leopard Entertainment the following month.[7]

Reception

In Japan, the PlayStation 4 version was the highest selling physical game of its release week, selling an estimated 50,100 copies.[8] It remained on the weekly top 30 sales chart for another two weeks, reaching a total of 58,300 physical copies sold.[9] The PlayStation 5 version debuted at the bottom of the chart, selling 2,400 copies.[10] The English release was received well by critics, with it being cited as a good place for newcomers to the series to begin.[11][12][13]

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: 英雄伝説 黎の軌跡, Hepburn: Eiyū Densetsu: Kuro no Kiseki

References

  1. ^ Galizio, James. "Kuro no Kiseki ushers in a new dawn for the Trails series". RPG Site. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  2. ^ Stenbuck, Kite. "Nihon Falcom reveals The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki, set for release in 2021". RPG Site. Archived from the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  3. ^ "The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki launches September 30 in Japan for PS4". Gematsu. May 25, 2021. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  4. ^ Romano, Sal (April 28, 2022). "The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki coming to PS5 on July 28 in Japan and Asia, PC in Asia". Gematsu. Archived from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  5. ^ Vitale, Adam. "NIS America announces PC release for Japanese version of The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki". RPG Site. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  6. ^ Romano, Sal (March 5, 2024). "The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak launches July 5 in the west". Gematsu. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  7. ^ "The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak for Switch launches February 15, 2024 in Japan, in March 2024 in Asia". Gematsu. November 2, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  8. ^ "Famitsu Sales: 9/27/21 – 10/3/21 [Update]". October 7, 2021. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  9. ^ Romano, Sal (October 21, 2021). "Famitsu Sales: 10/11/21 – 10/17/21 [Update]". Gematsu. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  10. ^ Romano, Sal (August 4, 2022). "Famitsu Sales: 7/25/22 – 7/31/22 [Update]". Gematsu. Archived from the original on August 22, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  11. ^ Fuller, Alex. "The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak Review". RPGamer. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  12. ^ Vogel, Mitch. "The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak Review". Nintendo Life. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  13. ^ Yang, George. "The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak Review". IGN. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
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