The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie Launches On Nintendo Switch July 2023

This and Trails to Azure both coming in 2023 is fantastic. Definitely getting both.

This is one very revered series I feel it's only a matter of time before I finally get into it.

Rean will save the day again and again and again

And I still need to play through the rest of Cold Steel (middle of III), Sky (only played the first one), and the Crossbell Arc (haven't even started there). I love what I've played in this series but hoo boy is it an investment.

another must-buy

Trails from Zero was probably my GOTY, so yeah i'll be getting Azure and this <3

We need the sky trilogy on Switch. Do it you cowards.

I understand that, in order to fully know what's going on here, you need to play before this game the Trails of the Sky trilogy (which in NOT on Switch), the Trails of Cold Steel quadrilogy (only half of them are on Switch), and the two games fron the Crossbell arc (fully available on Switch).
They're doing a Marvel/Kingdom Hearts thing here, and it's fine, but oh man, they NEED then to release ALL the games on Switch asap, if they want us to jump into this series!

I was just looking up this series yesterday! Never played any games from this, but was definitely intrigued. I noticed that Cold Steel 1 & 2 don’t appear to be on the Switch though. Any word on those coming?

I started with Zero, I'm sold for Azure. Anyone have advice if I should hold out for Cold Steel 1/2 (assuming localization is actually coming) or just get on with it already? I hear the end of 2 and the Crossbell duology have a bit of an intersection but wanted to avoid spoilers.

I'm excited for Reverie but it seems like an odd choice to be so dependent on the NINE PRECEDING GAMES and not yet having them all available in the west. I'm hooked, now shut up and take my money!

@Divide_and_Wander

Those were published outside of Japan by XSEED before NIS took over publishing duties so it's unlikely.

@shineget64 - That’s a bummer. I see they are available on PC, so I wonder if my laptop can run them adequately. Maybe by the time I work through my backlog they’ll be on Switch. 😋

im curious to see who is working on the switch port this time since unfortunately i dont think its Ph3 again.

its unfortunate since Zero was by far the best port of a falcom game weve got on the system and while i wouldn't expect another 60fps game like zero/azure it would be nice to at least be able to get a consistent 30.

Those are the character designs and voices they went with, alright.

@the_beaver That's not all of them they still need to release the Gagharv Trilogy too which includes A Tear of Vermillion, Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch, and Song of the Ocean and while they are released as Legend of Heroes 1, 2, and 3 respectively in the west, Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch is actually the first game in the trilogy while A Tear of Vermillion is the second game, and Song of the Ocean is the third and final chapter. In the actual Legend of Heroes/Dragon Slayer series Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch is the third game in the series whereas A Tear of Vermillion and Song of the Ocean are the 4th and 5th game respectively. These are the chapters the series end with before they took different trails. They aren't going to be able to re-released all these during the Switch/PS4's lifetime, some of these will probably be remake again for the Switch 2 and PS6, they're not on Steam either so you can't play them on PC or consoles unless you got a PSP or the emulator PPSSPP to work on Switch, Wii U, GPD Win 3, and Steam Deck.

The Legend of Heroes: A Tear of Vermillion

The Legend of Heroes II: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch

The Legend of Heroes III: Song of the Ocean

So is this the first on a series of LoH?

Do I need to play previous games or I can jump straight in this one? I know that there was a story in previous entries, so I'm wondering if that would affect.

@JeanPaul Here's a basic rundown, but first? The short answer is NO. Reverie would be one of the worst places to start.

Generally speaking, the Trails series is divided up into multiple story arcs consisting of duologies, or pairs of games. Most duologies feature a (mostly) new cast of characters in a different region of the Zemuria continent, (often) in a slightly different time period. The first part of any duology is intended to introduce new players to the world and be a good jumping-on point, and for the most part they function well as such.

In addition to the duologies there are "gaiden" games — think of them as (very) extended epilogues for the preceding duology that also work to set up some stuff for the next duology. Gaidens can be considered optional, but many fans consider them to be among the best games in the series, so ignore them at your own risk.

(There are also spin-off games like Nayuta, but we don't need to get into them here).

So, to map everything out:

• Liberl Duology: Trails in the Sky & Trails in the Sky SC.
• Liberl Gaiden: Trails in the Sky The 3rd.
• Crossbell Duology: Trails from Zero & Trails to Azure.
• East Erebonia Duology: Trails of Cold Steel & Trails of Cold Steel 2
• West Erebonia Duology: Trails of Cold Steel 3 & Trails of Cold Steel 4.
• Erebonia/Crossbell Gaiden: Trails into Reverie
• Calvard Duology: look, it's complicated, and I haven't played these so who knows... but from what people have said, it's Kuro no Kiseki and Kuro no Kiseki 3, with the second game somehow being more like a Gaiden. Currently unavailable in English, though, so no need to worry about 'em.

On Nintendo Switch, you have two (unequal) options for entry points into the series: Trails of Cold Steel III and Trails from Zero. The former is a fine place to start the series, but far from ideal. The closest analog would be if "Infinity War" were your first MCU movie. Sure, it'd be a fun film, and you wouldn't have any trouble following it... but you also would really be able to appreciate the COPIOUS fanservice.

Therefore if you only have a Switch, start with Trails from Zero, then play Azure. After that, play whatever you like, just know that as in most things your experience with the series will be better if you consume the media in production order.

Literally the WORST thing about Trails is how much explanation is required to introduce it to (potential) new fans. I mean, Jesus. Look at all that text. That's the SHORT version. And it omits so, so, so much.

Like I didn't even get into Dragon Slayer.

@Kestrel Hehe I actually heard that about this franchise, thay it was a lot of info for any new fan. But seriously, thanks a lot for this answer, now I understand better why some people found it difficult to follow regarding story.
I only have a switch so I'll start with Zero, just like you recommended. Thanks!

@JeanPaul Haha... yeah, it's a lot to get into. But very interesting, especially if you're interested in the history of the genre. Falcom is notable for being one of the oldest PC game developers on the planet, since it started in 1989 (IIRC) the Legend of Heroes series also winds up being one of the longest-running RPG series out there, right alongside your Dragon Quests and Final Fantasies. Basically, there's a ton of history here that's largely unknown outside of Japan for various reasons.

Anyway, yeah, Zero is an excellent starting point. It will spoil some stuff from Sky, but despite what some fans will loudly insist, I really think the main appeal of the Trails series in the characters, not the plot. So even if you know certain twists ahead of time, if and when you are able to go back to the Sky games, I'm certain you'll still enjoy them immensely, despite the spoiler.

Here is where Square Enix gets squared with its Final Fantasy series, the Legend of Heroes series IS THE serie, best of all series!

@Kestrel go back to Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy 6, these games are too much for you to play or understand. You need to focus a RPGs for kids between 6 - 10 years. Good luck.

@Lebest What is this inane, word salad reply? Are you drunk? High? Suffer a recent blow to the head?

@Kestrel Old post I know, but I wanted to thank you for the concise Trails explanation above. I've been interested in the series for years - ever since the Cold Steel III Switch announcement - but have found it to be intimidating by sheer length since everything ties together. At least I know where to start when I do (eventually) dive in; a friend gifted me Trails in the Sky FC on Steam this past Christmas.

@Tyranexx No shame in a belated reply (unless you're gonna be a weirdo like that one guy). Glad I could help. I love Falcom games but, man, they can be hard to recommend due to how intimidating they can appear to be. Even the pretty simple, straightforward, mostly standalone games like Ys can seem impenetrable to newcomers with the nonlinear timeline and various remakes and what have you.

Anyway, I hope I'm responding to this quickly enough — and that you'll see it quickly enough — that I can give you one piece of crucial advice for FC. Basically, there are a bunch of optional (sometimes easily missable) quests and dialog sequences. On your first playthrough? You don't really need to worry about 'em. Except for one. During the tutorial, you'll climb up a big ol' Zemurian Tower and meet a certain NPC at the top (Professor Alba, iirc). There are three other similar towers in the game, and you're not required to visit any of them — they're all optional. Further, if you climb to the top of them at the right time (usually as soon as you can first access them) you'll meet that NPC again at their summits. Those sequences will provide you with most of the "deep lore" worldbuilding stuff, and you'll get a LOT more out of the ending if you see all of those sequences than if you don't.

So I'd highly advise making an effort to see those. And maybe save often, in multiple slots, because sometimes those windows are very narrow and easy to miss.

Beyond that, don't worry about optional content. Trails in the Sky FC is one of the very few games — very few pieces of media in general, I'd say — where it actually gets better on a subsequent playthrough. Put simply, Trails in the Sky SC does a whole heckuva lot to recontextualize a lot of FC's content, imbuing what maybe at first seemed to be fairly innocuous characterization (or even padding) with layers of additional meaning and context. If you enjoy SC, I would highly recommend playing through FC again afterwards, only then aiming for 100%.

(EDiT: just for some further personal context... I can count on one hand the number of media I'd actually recommend playing/watching/reading/listening to more than once. It is not something I suggest often or lightly, especially for something that's as huge of a time commitment as a 60-hour RPG.)

(Also don't be too disappointed if FC doesn't immediately click for you. My experience with the duology was that FC felt like a 7/10 the first time through, then SC an awesome 10/10 that elevated FC to a 9/10 for me on my second playthrough.)

@Kestrel No worries; it'll likely be awhile before I get to Trails In The Sky FC. Not only because I'm almost midway through the Ys series and would like to finish it first - I'm following the story path laid out on Digital Emelas - but also because I just started a little game called The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Goodbye rest of spring + early summer). My stellar experience with Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is what roped me into the Ys series and kindled my interest in Falcom's other offerings.

I really appreciate the advice regarding the Zemurian Towers. I love deep lore and worldbuilding in RPGs, so needless to say I want to catch as much of it as possible. Saving often and in more than one slot isn't a new practice for me; I can thank Dragon Quest for that. XD Duly noted on playing and later, replaying FC; I've read mixed feedback regarding that game, but SC has near-universal praise across the board. If the latter re-contextualizes many events in the former, I'll quite like those brilliant "Oh!" moments.

Once again, I appreciate the response!

@Tyranexx Yeah, I can already tell Tears of the Kingdom is gonna dominate a lot of my gaming time over the next few years... truly a monstrous game.

Anyway, yeah, that mixed feedback isn't entirely undeserved. FC is very much a slow burn, low-stakes story (which is something I love, but even as someone who loves it... it can be a bit too slow at times) and this was greatly exacerbated in the original (overseas) PSP release which also had very slow combat that took a while to load in and out of. Subsequent editions have sped things up quite a bit across the board, and even have a "turbo mode" that doubles the animation speed for combat. Makes the game faaaaaaar more tolerable.

But some of that mixed reception also comes from misplaced expectations. This isn't an RPG where you'll save the world or defeat some great evil... nor is it one where you'll spend much time diving into dungeons (apart from the final dungeon, the only proper dungeon areas are those 4 towers — of which, again, three are entirely optional).

As you might guess from my whole vibe here, the Trails series is a set of games I hold on very high regard. I even consider Trails in the Sky SC to be the finest JRPG ever made — but the first time I played FC? I bounced off it. Played for maybe a half dozen hours (at most) and then lost interest.

Couple years later, I came back, gave it another go. Then I finished it, and while I liked it, I didn't love it. A solid 7/10. But on the post-SC replay? More like an 8 or 9.

The point is: this series requires an enormous investment to get into — time, attention, money — and, especially at first, it can come across as... not that great. In light of my own comments here, you might think it underwhelming, or overhyped. But I think that if you keep going, there's a very good chance you could wind up thinking of the Trails in the Sky games as highly as I do.

@Kestrel On Tears of the Kingdom: Same. It's quite a monstrous game, and if there's any DLC planned....Goodbye non-work life lol.

"Slow burn" is a criticism I've seen aimed at some entries in the Trails series, particularly regarding the Liberl arc and some of the Erebonia arc. Sounds like FC especially will be a change from the usual JRPG norm, but I learned long ago that "different" doesn't usually translate to "bad" (Outside of some vocal internet minorities that try to convince readers otherwise). I'm certainly willing to give the first arc a try. I don't need to always save the world or constantly go on epic journeys that span continents. Though I likely will abuse that turbo mode you mentioned.

I really do appreciate you taking the time to give out pointers and explain why you hold the series in such high regard. I don't think I'm quite at a point where I want to make the investment yet - if I hadn't been gifted Trails In the Sky FC, I likely would've waited awhile before picking it up - but our discussion certainly has made me more eager for when that times comes. I do try to go into new games with an open mind, and this series won't be any different in that regard.

Thanks once again!

@Tyranexx Ahaha... no problem.

One very last thing for you to consider (or at least keep tucked away in the very back of your mind): the second game of each duology (all the way up to CS4) winds up reusing the vast majority of the assets from the first game (like 95%). And if you push on through to The 3rd... there's that same re-use. So it's generally better (IMHO) to put some space in-between the games to avoid burnout.

If you've played the Yakuza games, where nearly every one has you spending most of your time in a very slightly modified version of Kamurocho, it's kinda like that.

(And I should also hasten to add that you shouldn't feel the need to commit yourself to the series as a whole beyond the first two games. Everything after SC is increasingly YMMV, and the series takes a hard-turn after Azure from being primarily character-driven to primarily plot-driven. A lot of people really love the Cold Steel games regardless, and I do think the gameplay is an enormous improvement over the older games, and the character writing remains good, but the plot? Well, I'll just say that if SC is in the #1 spot on my list, none of the CS games would crack the top 50. (And yes, I am precisely autistic enough to have an actual list.)

The point is: well, despite my effusion of praise, maybe don't set your expectations too high for the series as a whole. Ah, well, I suppose that's applicable for everything in life.

Actually, the real point is TEARS OF THE KINGDOM IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN IT HAS ANY RIGHT TO BE, and it is going to devour our collective free time in the coming days to the point that every other game may as well not exist.

I mean, goddamn.

@Kestrel I agree on Tears of the Kingdom: IT IS LEAPS AND BOUNDS BETTER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE! And this is coming from a huge Zelda fan lol. BotW feels like a beta in comparison. I haven't made much plot progress at all since I keep getting gloriously sidetracked with Shrines and exploring.

Duly noted on the asset reuse and putting some space between each game. This is actually how I treat many series where the games can't be burned through in a couple of sittings and what I am planning with the Trails series. I learned the hard way that marathoning can put a damper on what is otherwise an excellent franchise. It's actually why I didn't replay BotW before TotK dropped, though my first playthrough was more recent (two winters ago) than many since I didn't pick up a Switch until a little beforehand. I will try to keep my expectations reasonable for the Trails series as a whole. I've found this approach works well for Nintendo Directs, so I think it could apply here too.

As for committing myself to the whole series, I only plan to take it one arc at a time. Jumping all in at once will overwhelm me, so I don't plan to play them all quite yet. I'm in no hurry; I have the rest of my life. Plus, if one arc just isn't resonating with me, if all else fails I'll find plot synopses that hit the finer points and move to the next one. Though I would like to get to both Crossbell games since they're on the Switch, and they seem held in high regard.