You Need to Stop Sleeping on The Trails Series

Warning: The following article about The Trails series contains spoilers.

Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, and Dragon Quest… These are considered some of the biggest RPG franchises in the world, but I’m not talking about them today. No, I’m here to talk instead about a series of games that I believe needs more love. I’m talking about The Legend of Heroes franchise, in particular the Trails series.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky released in 2004. With it began a phenomenal battle for the soul of a world. My journey with this franchise, though began in the middle. In 2019, I received review code for The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel. I was with my then-girlfriend, and she’d come to enjoy watching me play through the stories of RPGs. Since then, I’ve played each entry I could get my hands on, with her as both my now-fiancée and enraptured audience.

Where Would You Like to Start Your Trail?

The Trails franchise is a fascinating one. It brings with it enough subgenres that it can entice any gamer. Are you interested in living in a world where every decision you make has an outcome? The Crossbell duology might be of interest to you. Or are you someone who wants to fall into a school/dating sim with light RPG elements? The first entry in the Cold Steel quadrilogy will be up your alley.

What if you want more though? What if you want all of it? In that case, you need to begin your journey with the first Trails in the Sky and proceed through each sequel in turn. I’ll tell you now, it’s an incredible experience to see all the players fall into place as they make new friends and birth new rivalries.

Each game is similar in combat style, but it’s the personal elements of each entry that I love. The Crossbell duology has an excellent detective element that allows you to get to know the citizens of Crossbell. I’ve never felt more in touch with a community in a game. It’s exceptionally charming and something I feel few RPGs do these days.

Intimate and Epic

What made the first Trails of Cold Steel so engaging was how it flipped from charming high school shenanigans to you becoming a mythical pilot to a Gundam-style knight. It comes out of left field, and we stay in that lane as twist after twist is thrown at us. You go from being a relatively humble high school student to a mythical figure foretold of in a prophecy.

These games even have a Darth Vader moment that is executed extremely well. Then, just when you think you can catch your breath, a death occurs and the game cuts to black. All this culminates in an Avengers: Endgame-style climax in The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV.

Through it all, my fiancée has been something of a fun barometer. She’s a relative layperson to the RPG genre, though she fell in love with the Tales titles. Her first one was Tales of Graces F. For a long time, Tales was her go-to RPG franchise. Then we played The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel and she almost instantly became a fan. Now, whenever I ask what her favorite franchise is, she answers without skipping a beat that Trails is her one and only.

For me and for her, it’s the worldbuilding. These people, these countries, this continent are so well-developed. They leap off the screen and into your heart. With the 20th Anniversary of the Trails series, I’ve been reminded of the wonder of this decades-long epic. With a scope rarely seen — even in the RPG space — these games are a must-play for RPG gamers.