The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon

If reading this review gives you hives, it's no coincidence: that's exactly the feeling the author experienced for much of the time spent playing Trails Beyond The Horizon. It's high time for Falcom to have a wake-up call regarding its flagship series: by constantly offering the same structure (whether narrative, gameplay, or even exploration), even the most dedicated players will inevitably sigh at the inherent redundancy of this new installment, which simply rehashes an already worn-out formula. Boredom prevails over excitement, at least during the first long half of the game, and the multitude of characters paraded for the sake of fan service won't be enough (even for seasoned fans) to maintain interest in the long run. If you manage to get past the thirty-hour mark, a good game is hidden somewhere within. But this is a recurring issue that we wish we didn't have to point out anymore: once again, yet again, another Trails game only truly takes off after dozens of hours of gameplay. Perhaps it's time to return to the fundamentals: streamline this world and refocus the plot, and you'll have something worthwhile. As it stands, however, on the horizon of the Trails series, this is once again a bit of a slog, despite a story that is far more satisfying than that of its predecessor.