As a self-proclaimed JRPG fanatic, I’ve covered a lot of ground in this genre over the years. From Final Fantasy to Xenoblade and everything in-between, there are few blind spots in the knowledge I’ve amassed of these oft gargantuan experiences. Still, though, there are blind spots. One such franchise that’s always eluded me despite its rapid growth is the Trails series.
Many of Nihon Falcom’s titles are sprinkled throughout my backlog and have been sitting there for some time, gathering dust in my Steam library. If there’s one thing I can say for sure after taking the plunge into the latest entry in The Legend of Heroes franchise, Trails Through Daybreak, it’s that I’m concerned about how much money and time the rest of this series is going to snatch away from me in the near-future.
For those unfamiliar with the Trails games, the general rule of thumb is that each arc stands separate from the rest of the series, so there’s no real required reading to jump into Trails Through Daybreak. Each one is set in a different region of Zemuria, so some of the world happenings and politics do have some crossover and there’s sure to be a few references to prior events that I didn’t pick up on.
Not having prior experience with the franchise didn’t feel like a detriment in the case of Trails Through Daybreak. Daybreak marks the first Trails arc to be set in the Calvard Republic, and follows the story Van Arkride, a bounty hunter and private detective who takes on gigs that are a bit more morally grey than usual jobs. It’s a unique role to be in given the Calvard Republic’s economic boom and public unrest surrounding immigration and governmental changes.
Van’s work at Arkride Solutions brings in Agnes Claudel, a bright-eyed and energetic high school girl who’s naivety lends a more positive outlook of the world when compared to Van. The two set out to find a type of machine or orbment, as they’re referred to in-universe, called Oct-Genesis. They’re eventually accompanied by many different people from all walks of life in the Calvard Republic as they enter conflict with a terrorist group known as Almata.Í
The thing that surprised me the most about Trails Through Daybreak is its willingness to delve into mature subject matter and themes, exploring them through the numerous perspectives of its characters and their outlooks on life. On the surface, the Calvard Republic is a melting pot of cultures that’s grown in the wake of post-war reparations. The truth of it is that many forms of malice bubble beneath the surface, big and small.
None of this is better explored than through Van Arkride himself. Van is a breath of fresh air in a genre full of prophesied chosen ones and would-be heroes. There’s nothing wrong with a good hero’s journey, but Van’s work leaves him ever skeptical of those around him and the situations he finds himself in. He’s always keen-eyed, is rarely blindsided, and exudes a charm and sense of comedy that makes him an endearing protagonist from start to finish.
Van’s life experience makes Agnes quite the fitting protege. His unwillingness to trust new people is immediately juxtaposed by Agnes’s more bubbly and easy-going nature. It makes for engrossing character development on both fronts and offers a relationship dynamic that remains engaging through Daybreak.
The surrounding cast of characters and the broader plot are similarly engaging. It goes far deeper than simply looking for the Octo-Genesis, pulling numerous groups into the fold as the core plot unravels. It slowly reveals new facets to each of its conflicts and the characters surrounding it, making for quite the rollercoaster ride once its all said and done.
As the first part of this new story arc within the Calvard Republic, Trails Though Daybreak spends a lot of time with its characters and world. A majority of the major plot happenings are in service of Van and the people who fall into his employ at Arkride Solutions. The way that each arc focuses on individual characters as they’re introduced gives them ample room to breathe and develop despite the relatively large size of the overall cast.
Daybreak is also unique in the way it handles combat, employing both real-time and turn-based elements for the first time in a Trails game. In the field, you can engage enemies in fast-paced real-time combat, combining quick combos with nimble dodges and heavy attacks to stun your enemies leading into turn-based combat. This not only damages them, but delays their turns on the battle timeline, giving you a significant edge in proper combat.
Once you’re in combat proper, there’s quite a bit to keep track of. You have standard attack and defend commands, consumable items and most importantly – Crafts and Arts. Crafts and Arts are governed by and EP respectively. is pretty readily available, so Crafts function as a nice bread and butter option to hit groups of enemies for decent damage. EP is generally harder to come by, which is made up for by the strength of Arts and their ability to exploit elemental weaknesses and dish out buffs.
You also have to think about your party composition and the way that you position characters when using Crafts and Arts to get the most bang for your buck. There’s a lot to think about, and I don’t feel the game does the best job of teaching you how it all works. There’s a good number of tutorials but not much of it shows you how things work when you put it into practice. There was a healthy amount of experimentation before I felt like I had a firm grasp on combat.
Once you get it, though, it becomes immensely rewarding in its complexity and nuances. Understanding how to make the most of your turns while delaying the turns of your opponents, maximising EP consumption, positioning properly and more becomes a puzzle in each battle. It becomes even more in-depth when you dive into character customisation and some of the other RPG elements in Trails Through Daybreak.
You have the usual gear system where different weapons and armour increase different stats, alongside accessories. Where Trails Through Daybreak is most distinguished is in its Quartz system. The Quartz system allows you to slot Quartz across four different lines. Some of these are locked and need to be opened as you progress through the game, some are element-locked to certain Quartz types.
This is arguably going to be the best part of Trails Through Daybreak if you enjoy building out your party and characters. It’s so rewarding to tinker with your party after being stuck by a boss and coming out on top through a careful combination of Quartz and thoughtful combat decisions. This does add onto the initial complexity of combat, though, so getting to grips with everything at once can feel overwhelming in the opening hours.
When you aren’t engaging in combat, you’ll spend a majority of your time exploring the different parts of the Calvard Republic and helping out the general public with their own requests. A good chunk of these are really enjoyable, often exploring the darker elements of Trails Through Daybreak’s world instead of opting for meandering fetch quests. There’s a healthy amount in each chapter, each one building up Van’s moral com based on your decisions.
While this moral com doesn’t have any drastic impact on the main plot or ending, it does open up unique dialogue and opportunities to side with certain factions. It goes a long way to characterise Van while also letting you have your own say on certain situations. They’re also often used to expand on side characters, which is nice given each arc of the main plot usually focuses on a few key players.
The only real issue I found with the navigation side of things is the pacing. There’s some pretty lengthy stretches of time where you’re railroaded into main story progression with little-to-no combat to break up the overall flow. It helps a lot that the characters are so multi-faceted and the plot is engaging, but I often found myself itching to get back into exploration and combat when the narrative takes the wheel.
One side system that I really dig is the Gourmet Rank. As a certified foodie and sweets aficionado, Van loves to eat. As you buy, cook, and eat new foods, you’ll gain points towards your Gourmet Rank. Ranking up nets party wide stat increases, imploring you to hunt down as many new foods and beverages as you can when exploring the Calvard Republic’s locales. It’s a neat twist on a system we see in many RPGs today, and feels fitting given Van’s affinity for food.
If there’s one thing that unites many of Falcom’s titles, it’s that they all share a striking visual style that’s immediately identifiable. Trails Through Daybreak is no different, sporting a gorgeously realised anime-like visual aesthetic that pops with colour and detail. The fact that this game released almost three years ago in Japan is testament to the idea that art direction will always trump raw visual fidelity.
While I can’t speak to its place in the broader scope of Trails games, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak is a great JRPG that surprises and delights in so many ways. It might present itself as unwieldy in its opening hours, but that initial friction gives way to a deeply nuanced gameplay experience coupled with excellent characters and narrative chops. If you’ve yet to dive into Trails, Daybreak might be your best opportunity to do so.
