We needed some space
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon is the newest addition to long running Legend of Heroes series and sequel to The Legend of Heroes Trails through Daybreak II. The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon follows Van Arkride after the events of Trails through Daybreak II. With this being a sequel means that if you have not been keeping up with the Legend of Heroes series this is a game you will come into with no context at all, playing the previous Trails through Daybreak entries and Trails into Reverie and all Trails in the Sky and all Cold Steel games is needed for context here at a bare minimum, the game does offer up a course of backstory again much like previous entries but to get the full breakdown it is essential to play them fully.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon reintroduces the turn based hybrid action combat much like the previous two entries but with some new added extras in order to shake things up. The game takes place in Calvard where humanity looks to reach beyond the stars and launch its first unmanned flight into space. The story begins with Van Arkride who has been the centre piece of both previous games but switches up between the perspective of main protagonists Rean Schwarzer from the Cold Steel series and Kevin Graham from Trails in the Sky the 3rd.
The game plays out with three different perspectives of the story with Van Arkrides being the longer of the three but all ultimately leading to the games conclusion. If you’ve played through Trails into Reverie you know what to expect. With the campaign being 70-80 hours long it is similar in lengths to other games in the series so far but certainly shorter than others and with the high speed mode making a welcome return the game will feel less of a slog in certain sections.
Much like the combat almost every other mechanic returns to Trails Beyond the Horizon such as the L.G.C Alignment system that allows you to pick an outcome after finishing a quest which aligns to the affinities Law, Grey and Chaos however this system does not affect your alignment with any factions as it did with the original Trails through Daybreak game. Another returning feature is the digital option dungeon previously know in Daybreak II as the Marchen Garten, the Grim Garten that exists in Trails Beyond the Horizon, this time it exists as a small tile based grid defeating bosses and while a portion of it is needed to progress the story much of it is optional but definitely worth it due to the rewards including skill points to level up your attacks and permanent attribute boosting consumables. There are some optional story segments so if you want to get the very best experience with Trails Beyond the Horizon then the optional Grim Garten is definitely worth doing.
Side quests and Bonding events make a welcome return for some downtime between the large scale missions and as always are great for uncovering more about the world and the people around you. Bonding events will also allow higher stat boosts to your characters and the chance of follow up attacks being significantly increased.
The gameplay remains mostly unchanged with some new features, out on the field you can break open boxes and pots at the chance of currency and items, the map is easy to read and the menu simple to navigate, the core gameplay allows quick action combat which is borrowed from the Ys series and you can take down smaller foes quite easy without needing to enter turn based combat, however knocking your opponents around a bit allows you to get an advantage prior to the turn based battles when you switch into them, getting hit yourself too much though will give your opponent the advantage so it is best not to. Arts and Crafts need no explanation to any established Trails fan but essentially are the Magic and Physical Skills which your party has access to, Crafts work differently here not in execution but in upgrading as skill stones gained through defeating enemies and partaking in the Grim Garten will do this for you.
The combat feels more refined compared to previous entries thanks to some new welcome features, the ZOC Activation ability allows you to slow time and dish out big damage temporarily, other features like follow ups still remain. The turn order time line which is shown on screen shows upcoming attacks by both friend and foe and you can use this to your advantage, the bonuses will align with whoever’s next turn it is and can range from the usual healing boosts and quick cast magic, by delaying enemy attacks you can negate the bonuses they receive completely or delay it for some time.
Shard Boosts will also power up your moves, and attacking an enemy while your character is S-Boosted can steal their turn bonuses and make them more powerful. Shard Commands are a newer version of Brave Orders where you spend boost gauge, offering party-wide buffs for a certain amount of time.
All these new minor battle mechanics offer up a new variety to the combat in Trails Beyond the Horizon. Each main character can also enter their own Awakening which is a transformation into their own Strength manifestation which is part of the story for example Reans Awakening would be his Spirit Unification.
The Orbment system remains mostly the same with being able to set quarts into each Core, while this system has changed over time the it still primarily works to how quartz systems function in past Trails games. The boosts can be passive boosts to HP and Strength and once a lines attributes have been met it can unlock special passive or active bonuses that trigger in combat or even outside of battle.
Holo Cores are powerful core quartz that act as a character’s primary Orbment component in Trails Beyond the Horizon similar to the Master Quartz from older Trails games but with new mechanics and strategic depth. Each character having their standard Core but unlocking more as the game progresses.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon stands out as a perfect follow up to the The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II which was certainly a decisive entry. What I enjoy is the constant story arcs of all three main characters and many others we know and love coming together for a grand adventure, there is no time travel here only space travel and no unnecessary padding and retracing ones footsteps.
A PlayStation 5 Review Code was provided by NIS America. This review is featured on OpenCritic.
