The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie

Despite stumbling a few times in Lloyd’s route, Trails into Reverie is an impressive game that takes the series into emotionally and narratively deeper territory. The battle system might be familiar, but Reverie brings out its full potential – even if you aren’t patient enough to try and collect every character. The Trails series felt like it was stuck in a rut for a while, but Reverie imbues it with new energy and potential and promises a brighter future ahead.

While it may not be my favorite Trails game, Reverie is still a fantastic conclusion to the adventures of Rean, Lloyd, and the rest of their comrades and confidants. While the pseudo replacement of sidequests with side stories discovered in the Reverie Corridor doesn’t quite offer the same fulfillment, there’s no denying the sheer amount of things to do within this central hub area. It’s also very enjoyable to spend a couple hours with one group in one area of the continent and then shift over to a different group to catch up on how their mission is going. The stopping points where the game forces you to pick up another protagonist’s journey are natural and work well, and the combat and music are as engaging as ever. Any RPG fan who hasn’t played a Trails game needs to find time to remedy that glaring oversight, and know that you’ll have a captivating reunion-like experience waiting for you with Trails into Reverie. Even if it takes finishing a collection of 40-plus hour RPGs to get there.

Is Trails into Reverie a conclusion to Cold Steel? Is it a conclusion to Crossbell? Yes, and yes. Newcomers will want to stay well away from this one until they do their homework, but series fans will probably find this to be a refreshing chapter after the too-long Cold Steel saga, and a useful loose-ends tie-up before moving into the next major story arc. Some framerate dips and a few clear bugs that I expect NIS America to resolve soon dampen the fun a little, but overall this is another solid entry in the series and a nice bounce back from Trails of Cold Steel IV.

Trails into Reverie is a title that requires previous knowledge of the franchise to be enjoyed to the fullest. It doesn't work as an entry point for new fans, so I can only recommend it (and highly so) to those already fans of the saga who have experienced the previous games. While the Switch version of the game may not be the best, it's still an enjoyable experience.

Trails Into Reverie is a fantastic game. It might be a tough nut to crack for newcomers to the series, and probably isn't the ideal place to start, but as someone who has had no prior exposure to the series I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game and became more and more invested as I played. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for an epic and well-crafted RPG that will keep them entertained for a long time.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie on Switch is only worth getting if you exclusively play in portable mode, and have no access to other platforms. While the Crossbell games were best on Switch on the console side, Trails Into Reverie is the opposite. It is a magnificent JRPG, but the Switch version needed more optimization.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie is a game that long term fans of the series will love, but newcomers need not apply.

Reverie is an amazing culmination of so many stories and characters over multiple games. However, if you’re new to the franchise, it’s a slow, annoying, and lore dumping experience that can get really tedious, and ultimately, not fun at all.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie works best as a thank-you gift for fans of the series. It contains (and often enhances) everything turn-based JRPG fans loved about the previous games, but it’s unfortunately presented in a disjointed manner that may put off those who’d just like to continue with the story. And if you haven’t played a previous entry, do not start here.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie, ultimately, doesn’t feel like the most required game in the series. Despite pushing the world and its characters forward into a new direction, its scope is a bit too large at times. The gameplay remains as sharp as ever and the Reverie Corridor is a fun new addition, but it would have benefited more from a tighter story about C and his group.