The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

 PC
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. RPG Fan
    Sep 6, 2014
    90
    A slow-paced but charismatic RPG with an incredibly well-crafted world and characters.
  2. Digitally Downloaded
    Aug 13, 2014
    90
    The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky isn’t just a wholly brilliant example of the genre done justice – it goes the extra mile in crafting a lengthy game that also maintains its initial entertainment value right through to its end.
  3. Hardcore Gamer
    Aug 5, 2014
    90
    Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is one of the finest JRPGs in the history of the genre, and that still holds true for its Steam debut.
  5. RPGamer
    Sep 5, 2014
    80
    I didn't love this game with every fiber of my being, but I certainly had a good time throughout, which is more than I can say for some titles.
  6. CD-Action
    Dec 13, 2014
    75
    It’s a good game, but you have to remember that it’s a port of a 10-year-old PSP title. [Dec 2014, p.72]
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 311 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 259 out of 311
  2. Mixed: 26 out of 311
  3. Negative: 26 out of 311
  1. minneyar
    Jul 30, 2014
    10
    If you're looking for an oldschool, turn-based JRPG with a strong story, great writing, and wonderful music, you will love Trails in the Sky.If you're looking for an oldschool, turn-based JRPG with a strong story, great writing, and wonderful music, you will love Trails in the Sky.

    The game was first release for the PC in Japan in 2004; it later received a port to the PSP in 2006 that added some extra features, and the PSP version was released in North American in 2011. This is a release of the original PC version, but XSEED has added all of the new features in the PSP version back into it, so this is the definitive version of the game in North America.

    The story is set in the kingdom of Liberl and follows the adventures of Estelle and Joshua, two novice adventurers who want to become Bracers; essentially mercenaries who also serve as police and protect the people of the kingdom. The story starts off slowly and takes its time to establish the setting and develop characters, but over time it picks up the pace and they become involved in intricate political plots involving mysterious assassins and powerful ancient artifacts. The game ends with a shocking twist that will leave you pining for the sequel, which is scheduled to be out in English at the end of 2014. Don't let the existence of a sequel stop you from getting the game now, though; it's an entirely self-contained story in its own right. The Trails games are famous for the size of their scripts; the word count dwarfs any of their story-heavy contemporaries such as the "Final Fantasy" or "Tales of..." games. Almost every NPC in the game has their own unique dialog that changes after almost everything you do.

    While the story is the star of the show, the game shines in other areas, too. The combat system is a turn-based system that borrows a lot from JRPGs that were typical of the era, but it adds in a tactical, grid-based positioning system, and each character's abilities are fairly diverse and customizeable. The game also has multiple difficulty settings, and if a particular fight is too hard for you, there's a handy option to retry fights that also temporarily lowers the difficulty level. The game's soundtrack is also great; it's exactly what you'd expect from the same developer who created the critically acclaimed Ys series.

    Really the only complaint I could make is that the graphics are a bit dated by modern standards, but hey, it's a ten-year-old Japanese PC game. They still do their job as intended, and you're going to enjoy the game enough that you won't care.    … Full Review »
  2. Killerattacks
    Jul 30, 2014
    10
    If you're wondering why the game has such a bad user score: The main reason is that the game had some graphical and game crashing bugs the dayIf you're wondering why the game has such a bad user score: The main reason is that the game had some graphical and game crashing bugs the day it got released, which almost all got fixed within a day.

    This is an awesome JRPG and Xseed, the publisher, does an amazing job at support and they are going to implement even more features like a monster compendium and higher quality art assets of the PS3 version of the game in the future.

    So my recommendation: Do yourself a favor and buy this fantastic JRPG!    … Full Review »
  3. MissArya
    Jul 29, 2014
    10
    Great Old-School RPG
    Love it !
    Story: The characters are individual and have much Humor. The story comes slowly but in the end u will be    Great Old-School RPG
    Love it !

    Story: The characters are individual and have much Humor. The story comes slowly but in the end u will be very surprised.

    Graphic: Like a óld-school RPG. old-school but in HD. U can read everything really clear

    Sound: Awesome OST, every song is really unique but there are only a few characters who speak in a fight    … Full Review »
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