After many trials and tribulations, from the Azure Tree to the Great Twilight, Crossbell is finally on its path to independence for good. However, things are not all they seem on the surface or behind the scenes in Crossbell. Will this impede the progress, or will independence finally be earned? Let’s look at our final journey into Crossbell in our review of The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie!
- Game: The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie
- Platform(s):
- Nintendo Switch (Reviewed), PS4™, PS5 (Reviewed), PC (Retail & Digital)
- Release Date(s): July 7, 2023 (NA – retail, digital); July 7, 2023 (EU – retail, digital); July 14, 2023 (ANZ – retail, digital)
- Genre: RPG
- Publisher: NIS America, Inc.
- Developer: Nihon Falcom
- Audio Languages: English, Japanese
- Text Languages: English
*Special thanks to NIS America for Providing a Nintendo Switch and Playstation 5 review Key*
Intro/Story:
From the press release:
Three destinies are about to collide! Use the Trails to Walk system to switch between Rean Schwarzer, Lloyd Bannings, and the masked figure “C,” and determine the fates of key characters and locations within Zemuria. Dive into refined tactical combat with new features such as United Front, and discover new allies and challenges within the halls of the True Reverie Corridor!
A Trio of Trails: Experience three different story arcs and switch between them any time with the Trails to Walk system. Plus, discover side episodes to fully flesh out the characters and world of Zemuria.
Reverie into Reality: Enter the True Reverie Corridor, which allows you to encounter and recruit new characters from across Zemuria, enter randomly generated dungeons to test your mettle, and play a variety of mini games.
Paragons of Combat: Utilize Arts, Brave Orders, and cunning tactics to prevail in battle. Master the new United Front system and harness the power of your entire team to decimate enemies while empowering yourself.
Trails into Reverie is billed as the final game in the first three ARCs of the Legend of Heroes games. That is the Liberl, Erebonia, and Crossbell arcs. However, as one plays the game, they are quick to realize this game is more the conclusion that the Crossbell Arc deserved. Each path of the game dives into the mystery of what happens during the game and the fight for the independence of Crossbell.
Every Playable character from the previous games is playable in this game. While there are three different game paths, there is also the Reverie Corridor which every character is playable in this mode. This mode also has several minigames and modes to play outside of the main story. It is where about half of the game will take place. The other half will take place in Crossbell.
As a huge fan, I found the story in Trails into Reverie to be the best-paced story to date, but that serves a purpose. That purpose is to tie up the loose ends of the Crossbell saga once and for all and close the stories of the three arcs that have taken place already. I can say it does that job very well. The game sets out to accomplish this task and does it.
Gameplay:
Gameplay in Trails into Reverie is the same as every game previous to it. This game is not a standalone game. Once again it serves to close the arc of the three series before it, so do not think you can play it alone and get the gist of the story. Catch up to some degree before jumping in.
Load times on PS5 are next to non-existent. On Nintendo Switch, they are on par with previous Switch titles. The gameplay, as stated, is the same as previous games. There is a tutorial for every mechanic introduced, even the minigames get tutorials. The player should never find themselves lost at all as to how to play.
If you are a fan of the Trails game, this game will be no exception to it with the amount of content that is put into it.
Audio and Visual:
Audio-wise, every almost voice actor from the previous games returns in this game. They all reprise their original roles, except for one or two roles (which have wonderful replacements as well). This is for the English voice acting, which is what we played the game with. The Japanese voice acting was experienced as well and done well too.
It is wonderful to see how Rean’s voice actor, Sean Chiplock, has come so far from voicing Rean In Trails of Cold Steel 1 to this game. You can see the growth from the years of voicing Rean and it is easily his best role for Rean to date. The same can be said for several voice actors throughout the years. They all easily put their hearts into their roles in this game and it brings these characters from over so many years brought to life once again in Trails into Reverie, especially if you played each game.
Visually, the game is on par with every previous Trails game, so its nothing really out of the ordinary. It is done really well here.
The music in this game is on par with previous games, which is they are good. Each path has its battle theme as well which is fantastic. Also, the weird audio compression that was on the Nintendo Switch for previous titles is nowhere in this game.
Wrap-up/Conclusion:
Trails into Reverie is the conclusion that Crossbell deserves, as well as fans of the three previous sagas deserve. It does well to wrap up the story in a way that fans will love. This is with a well-paced story, fan service (not in a lewd way) approach, plus overall love put into the game. Fans of the franchise will adore this game. After 70ish hours, I find myself wanting to get back into it.
– Until Next time, Mgs2master2 out!
*Special Thanks to NIS America for providing a Nintendo Switch and Playstation 5 review key*