The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon Review

When a bid specified arsenic Trails lasts arsenic agelong arsenic it has, sometimes things commencement to get weird. We’ve seen elephantine mechs, supernatural beings, and adjacent multiversal clip travel. After each of that, wherever other is determination to go? Oh yeah, outer space! The vast, chartless territory of the last frontier is filled with possibilities, and The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon breaks done the ambiance successful bid to archer a compelling sci-fi phantasy communicative filled with deception and intrigue. It besides continues to refine the Daybreak saga’s hybrid action/turn-based combat system, with battles that are much engaging than ever before. The cliffhanger ending could marque for a rocky re-entry for some, but erstwhile the particulate settles, Trails beyond the Horizon manages to safely interaction down arsenic different enthralling RPG.

Picking up wherever Trails done Daybreak 2 near off, Trails beyond the Horizon sees the federation of Calvard effort humanity’s archetypal manned spaceflight, called Project Startaker. Like Trails into Reverie, the astir 60 to 70-hour run is divided betwixt the perspectives of 3 characters: Rean Schwarzer, the Trails of Cold Steel saga’s protagonist, Kevin Graham, the pb of Trails successful the Sky the 3rd, and Daybreak’s mercenary leader Van Arkride. Trails beyond the Horizon manages this equilibrium well, but (unsurprisingly) it does mean this isn’t a bully starting constituent for caller fans – Van is the star, but it treats each of the 3 arsenic a “main” quality successful their ain way, truthful you’ll request to person played the 2 erstwhile Daybreak games and beryllium acquainted with the Cold Steel saga, Reverie, and the 3rd introduction successful the Sky trilogy to truly get everything that’s going on.

That said, this communicative is inactive bully connected its ain merits. Rean’s way kept maine glued to the surface arsenic helium uncovered the existent nonsubjective of Project Startaker and the conspiracy surrounding it. Kevin’s storyline is conscionable arsenic captivating arsenic helium picks up the mantle of “Heretic Hunter” erstwhile again,learning much astir who his assassination people is and however to travel to grips with it. Surprisingly, Van’s conception is the astir boring of the 3 (at slightest astatine first) arsenic helium and his unit combat disconnected a mysterious caller faction called the Vestiges. Van’s way is arsenic agelong arsenic the different 2 combined, and portion that makes consciousness since Trails beyond the Horizon is his story, the archetypal fractional of his way takes excessively agelong to physique up, making the faster pacing of the different protagonists’ tales overmuch much breathtaking by comparison. However, the mode their stories necktie successful with Van’s towards the finale yet redeems it.

Trails beyond the Horizon besides successfully manages the quality bloat that plagued immoderate erstwhile Trails crossovers. It lone includes a fewer cardinal formed members from Rean’s Thors Academy days arsenic some pupil and instructor, specified arsenic the lively pupil assembly president Towa Herschel and the calm but calculated Altina Orion. Kevin has Reverie’s Rufus, Nadia, Swin, and Lapis successful tow, and caller additions to some his and Van’s casts are smartly kept to a minimum arsenic well.

Don’t hole what ain’t broken

If you played Daybreak 2, this reappraisal mightiness dependable acquainted successful spots, arsenic Trails beyond the Horizon sticks rather adjacent to that look extracurricular of combat. For instance, the Marchen Garten roguelite dungeon returns successful the signifier of Grim Garten, and it’s the aforesaid drill arsenic usual. You navigate it by playing a minigame, moving crossed a committee and warring monsters until you scope a floor’s boss. Only the archetypal fractional of the dungeon is required for communicative purposes, with the 2nd being wholly optional, but it’s a shame that Grim Garten isn’t disposable to proceed playing done aft the credits rotation similar Marchen Garten was. That’s a flimsy downgrade, arsenic Marchen Garten gave a satisfying “post-game” feeling to Daybreak 2, letting maine cleanable up different tasks arsenic I prepared to leap into New Game Plus, that’s present missing.

Thankfully, Grim Garten inactive has the aforesaid worthwhile incentives to research it periodically passim the story. You tin gain invaluable accomplishment points to level up your party’s attacks, arsenic good arsenic unlock cosmetics and utile items (all of which are earned successful game, with nary microtransactions progressive whatsoever), and adjacent larn much astir the backstories of definite characters, which was peculiarly absorbing for immoderate of the antagonists.

Optional activities similar this person ever been an important portion of erstwhile Trails games, and heavy broadside quests and amusive bonding events marque a instrumentality to Trails beyond the Horizon arsenic well. Not lone bash they reward you with utile and uncommon items, they besides supply a immense magnitude of penetration into the satellite and the radical who inhabit it. It was amusive to spot however Rean contacted Van, asking if helium could judge requests from the metropolis bulletin connected his behalf successful bid to acquisition the mercenary life. One of my favourite quests progressive busting an amerciable casino spot trade, with the culprit down it being a recurring quality who has been cooking up schemes since the Crossbell games, Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure, 16 years ago. It’s a nostalgic interaction that showcases however expansive this bid is.

The LGC morality strategy from the archetypal 2 Daybreak games makes a return, too: Sometimes erstwhile Rean, Van, and Kevin decorativeness quests, they person the enactment to determine the outcome, which increases their affinity to either Law, Gray, oregon Chaos. In the archetypal Daybreak game, your affinity determined which allies joined Van towards 1 of the aboriginal chapters. Disappointingly, similar Daybreak 2, there’s nary specified interaction successful Trails beyond the Horizon, which made maine erstwhile again question wherefore the LGC strategy inactive exists successful its existent iteration astatine all. It was initially a standout diagnostic that separated Van from different Trails heroes, truthful it’s disheartening to spot the mechanic has really regressed alternatively of evolved successful immoderate meaningful way, particularly since it’s present tied to different protagonists arsenic well. For example, what would a “chaos” aligned Rean look like, akin to his berserk “ogre” signifier from Cold Steel III and IV? Ideas similar this could’ve been chill to explore.

At slightest the bonding events, called Connections, stay consistently delightful and charming, letting you bent retired with different enactment members during large communicative beats. Not lone bash they connection fantastic quality development, but they tin besides summation a character’s parameters, specified arsenic their attacking stats oregon accidental that they’ll initiate a follow-up onslaught successful battle. A favourite bonding lawsuit of excavation was erstwhile Rufus reflected with Kevin astir wherever he’s astatine successful beingness – introduced each the mode backmost successful the archetypal Cold Steel game, Rufus was a high-tier noble astatine the precocious echelon of society, being recognized and revered wherever helium went. A autumn from grace and respective (in-game) years later, helium present spends his days successful the shadows with his hairsbreadth down looking aft kids, but is contented with himself. It’s a satisfying full-circle infinitesimal that had maine reminiscing astir my assemblage days erstwhile I started playing the Trails bid connected my PlayStation Vita.

Teaching a caller canine aged tricks

Like the erstwhile Daybreak games, Trails beyond the Horizon uses a hybrid turn-based/real-time enactment combat system. Out successful the field, you tin wail connected enemies successful existent clip successful bid to stun them. After successfully doing so, you tin past modulation to the turn-based conflict strategy with an advantage, dealing other harm close retired of the gate. This was an imperfect but breathtaking strategy I liked erstwhile it was archetypal introduced, and further refinements present marque the tract battles consciousness much fleshed out.

There are present ZOC abilities that fto you temporarily halt clip and get a fewer other hits in, but the biggest crippled changer is the Awakening mechanic. Van, Rean, and Kevin tin powerfulness themselves up to crockery retired much harm earlier going into turn-based combat. These Awakenings see Rean’s Spirit Unification, Van’s Grendal, and Kevin’s Stigma, which are clever ways of marrying a story-based powerfulness up and a antecedently turn-based exclusive-mechanic into a real-time enactment one. Even if the turn-based combat volition ever beryllium wherever Trails thrives the most, it’s admirable that developer Falcom is continually iterating connected the real-time elements to marque them arsenic engaging.

The bulk of the turn-based combat is the aforesaid arsenic erstwhile Daybreak and Trails games astatine large. At the apical of your surface sits a crook bid timeline that you tin program astir and manipulate. There are respective bonus icons that volition randomly align with either an state oregon force connected the timeline, which tin scope from bursts of healing oregon bypassing the casting clip for magic to fto a quality occurrence disconnected a spell close away. It’s important to wage attraction to the timeline bid arsenic these bonuses tin alteration the travel of battle, which makes for a compelling combat puzzle.

While “stealing” bonuses was imaginable successful Daybreak 2, you could lone bash truthful erstwhile enemies were stunned oregon unconscious, and Trails beyond the Horizon somewhat revised this mechanic to marque it much accessible. If you activate a Shard Boost from your Boost Gauge to powerfulness up your adjacent onslaught and past onslaught an enemy, you’ll drawback immoderate bonus was aligned with it and alteration it into a much almighty “Plus” version, expanding the effectiveness of it for yourself. Steal a Zero Arts bonus? Not lone volition your adjacent spell beryllium formed immediately, but its powerfulness jumps up by 50%! This adds an other furniture of clever readying to an already well-thought retired conflict system.

Alternatively, you tin inactive usage skills that tin inflict Delay connected an enemy, pushing a bonus further down the timeline to hopefully onshore connected an ally. In fact, this maneuver has adjacent gotten an update successful Trails beyond the Horizon arsenic successfully delaying an force portion nether a Shard Boost volition besides spawn a “Plus” mentation of that aforesaid bonus connected the timeline during the adjacent turn. These insignificant yet impactful boons marque the combat much strategical and engaging. They tin mean the quality betwixt triumph and defeat, particularly against the hardest enemies aboriginal on.

Positioning, erstwhile again, is besides important to combat. Each accomplishment has a definite onslaught pattern, whether it’s a circle, cross, oregon a consecutive line. Maneuvering your characters truthful that you tin deed arsenic galore enemies arsenic imaginable ensures you get the astir retired of each enactment you take. Skills besides person secondary effects. For example, Rean’s Sixfold Gales accomplishment inflicts Delay, but besides gets a harm buff if the force is struck from behind. Even if Rean can’t get down an enemy, the accomplishment is inactive utile arsenic the Delay effect tin assistance propulsion a timeline bonus distant from it. Trails has ever had these mechanics, but the accordant prime and improvements betwixt each of the entries is impressive, and a large portion of what makes this combat strategy unique.

The biggest summation to Trails beyond the Horizon’s turn-based combat is the instauration of Shard Commands. These are fundamentally upgraded versions of Brave Orders from Cold Steel III, IV, and Reverie. By consuming portions of your Boost Gauge, you tin use party-wide buffs that past for a constricted fig of turns. They tin drastically crook the tide of battle, with effects similar reducing incoming harm down to 30% oregon decreasing casting clip for spells. Shard Commands are besides much flexible than Brave Orders. In erstwhile Trails games, bosses could enact their Brave Orders, called “Disorders,” to overwrite your own, but you couldn’t bash the aforesaid happening back. You’re present capable to overwrite brag Anti-Shard Commands with your own, but it’ll devour an other barroom successful your Boost Gauge connected apical of the mean cost. It’s a smartly implemented trade-off that levels the playing tract and feels fair.

Additionally, utilizing 2 bars of your Boost Gauge activates ZOC and lets characters enactment doubly successful a row. In erstwhile Daybreak games, you were incentivized to chiefly conserve your Boost Gauge to occurrence disconnected a character’s S-Crafts (ultimate attacks), truthful betwixt Shard Commands and ZOC, arsenic good arsenic the aforementioned caller bonus stealing mechanics, you person breathtaking caller choices for however to walk it.

Finally, the customization options stay mostly unchanged from the 2 erstwhile Daybreak games, but that’s not a atrocious happening since it provides the aforesaid benignant of amusive arsenic tinkering successful a toybox and getting mislaid for hours portion optimizing your party’s afloat potential. Slotting elemental gems, called Quartz, into 1 of 4 disposable lines for a assortment of perks is inactive a clever system. It’s amusive to experimentation with antithetic elemental combinations and values successful bid to unlock much potent Shard Abilities, including ones that tin assistance extracurricular of conflict – similar Golden Eye, which marks each treasure thorax connected your representation successful the area, ensuring that you’ll ne'er miss immoderate utile items. The Quartz strategy has been polished implicit the past 2 decades and has go 1 of the astir flexible successful immoderate modern RPG.