To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the series, developer Nihon Falcom has announced a complete remake of one of their flagship titles, Trails in the Sky: First Chapter, or Trails in the Sky: The 1st, depending on your region. Fans of the franchise are already celebrating, and it’s the perfect time for new ones to jump in. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
Introduction to Trails in the Sky
The Trails series, otherwise known as the Kiseki series, is an ongoing franchise of JRPGs. Unlike other long-running titles like Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, however, the Trails games are all interconnected. For example, Trails in the Sky: Second Chapter begins just hours after Trails in the Sky: First Chapter. With the story divided into arcs, players can jump in at the beginning of any one of them. However, most players recommend that new players start at the beginning: Trails in the Sky: First Chapter.
FC is the beginning of a three-game arc set in the kingdom of Liberl and focused on two young Bracers, Estelle and Joshua. Although the story is known to start slow with low stakes, by the end of the second game, it has really picked up. A slow pace is actually one of the charms of the series, as the developers really use the ongoing format of the games to take their time and develop the characters and world. Estelle and Joshua continue to appear in later games, whether as cameos or fully playable party members.
What the Remake is Doing
Nihon Falcom chose not to do a simple remaster for the series’ anniversary, but rather a ground-up remake. As such, fans can expect several modernizations to the game. For starters, the original Trails in the Sky: First Chapter came out in 2004, and it certainly shows. The pixel art is certainly beautiful, but it also limits the audience, along with its lack of voice acting. Furthermore, although the battle system has improved over the years, the earliest games in the series could feel quite slow.
The Trails in the Sky: FC remake has already been shown to have crisp 3D graphics, and while not on par with the likes of Final Fantasy VII: Remake, for a small studio, they have really done their duty. It has the same visual charm as the original game, but now with a much more modern presentation. Full voiceovers are also sure to be a part of this game as they have been since Trails of Cold Steel.
Without a doubt, though, the biggest mystery is what the remake will do with the battle system. In the Trails in the Sky: FC remake trailer, we can see Estelle running around the field swinging her staff, this is going to be a way to get an advantage against enemies going into battle. Currently, it looks as though Nihon Falcom will be keeping a turn-based battle engine for this release rather than using the one from the most recent entry, Trails Through Daybreak, which is more action-oriented, but it remains to be seen what innovations it will have.
Looking Forward
Although Nihon Falcom is no stranger to releasing remakes of older titles when the need arises, it’s also unclear if this remake project will be ongoing. Trails in the Sky is composed of three full games, and it would be a shame if they didn’t all receive the same treatment. It should be every fan’s sincerest hope that not only the Trails in the Sky trilogy is remade, but also that the Crossbell duology is, as well, thus bringing the entire franchise firmly into modernity.
Even though Trails in the Sky has aged like wine, it has still aged. A remake offers the chance to keep everything that made the original wonderful: the story, the characters, and even interactions with random NPCs, but replace what little detracted from the game and add new features to make it more engaging. Watch for more news over the coming months leading up to the Japanese release in 2025. Expect the Western release to be significantly delayed, as the amount of dialogue in the Trails series has presented a problem in the past.
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