The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak review

With its indulgent sense of scope and storytelling that nimbly scales between the personal and societal, you won’t want to miss Daybreak.

Undoubtedly, role-playing games are complex works, where a fusion of exposition, visuals, and an engaging combat system all aim to work in unison. But even more miraculous are the long-running franchises like Nihon Falcom’s The Legend of Heroes. Here, a patchwork of story arcs has been woven into a rich tapestry of geopolitical intrigue and lifelong bonds. The term, ‘epic’ gets tossed around often, but this is one of the medium’s best examples.

Across a thirty-five year-long legacy, the franchise’s sense of scope remains nearly unrivaled. Yes, the character designs and battle mechanics might have evolved, but the real feat is how thoughtful each entry feels. Unlike the often-clumsy retconning of many media franchises, personalities ripen convincingly, and it feels like Falcom reveals each new region of Zemuria without the contradictions and abrupt shifts of tone that can fracture immersion. There’s a sense of cohesion to this world that other publishers and even Hollywood studios could learn from.

Calvard, A Complicated Superpower

Following a buildup that spans back to the Liberl arc, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak finally lets us into the Republic of Calvard. As locations go, the setting certainly doesn’t disappoint, delivering a multitude of distinct cities and exotic technologies like Xipha, which are like future flip-phones with drop-in AI that make the ARCUS II look absolutely archaic.

But Falcom delivers more than mere sci-fi fetishism. Calvard’s economic success was boosted by reparations from the Erebonian Empire. As such, the Republic’s lifestyle and legislative decisions have attracted a significant population of migrants. Expectedly, not everyone is ecstatic about the influx of newcomers.

Although Daybreak’s writing team largely secludes politics to the back burner, the inclusion of a weighty, contemporary issue is both absorbing and commendable. The result is a script that’s reflective but never coercive, establishing a blueprint for contemporary RPGs. There are some really intriguing ideas at work too. While Calvard’s capital city boasts assets like a world-class transit system and a booming film industry, there’s also a seedy underbelly run by mafiosos.

Doing it for the Mira

Unquestionably, Trails Through Daybreak is elevated by a rich cast of personalities. At 24 years of age, protagonist Van Arkride might mirror the demeanor and maturity of the Trails fan who’s probably played through a few entries. Sure, his affinity for sweets ensures that he’s not the stereotypical hardboiled private detective/mercenary type – and there’s a relatable conscience underneath the toughened exterior. But as a seasoned ‘Spriggan’, he’s far removed from the squeaky-clean conduct of most RPGs and navigates Calvard with an intricate moral compass.

When 16-year-old academy student Agnès Claudel first visits the Arkride Solutions Office, Daybreak channels the tone of pulpy noir. While Van is initially reluctant to take the case and help Agnès track down a stolen orbment that once belonged to her great-grandfather, he eventually concedes. Although the main plot takes about eight hours to eventually get into gear, Trails Through Daybreak stakes eventually escalate. Like previous entries, the game is especially skilled at scaling from a small-scale story to a larger affair tied to the upper echelons of government.

However, one notable blemish is the game’s Law Grey Chaos mechanic, which evaluates your moral decisions, categorizing Van into three alignments. But this only comes into play during 4SPG, the game’s nomenclature for side missions. While the inclusion of mission branching and a payoff in the game’s penultimate chapter is welcome, this was more of an inconsequential litmus test than a component that could affect the storyline.

Calvard’s Very Modern Vernacular

Luckily, any shortcoming with the game’s storytelling is offset by the game’s colorful secondaries. While Agnès doesn’t quite shine as much as I had hoped, a few members of the game’s cast are undeniably remarkable. Judith Lanster is an actress, and her depiction feels like Falcom spiritedly satirizing the film industry. Meanwhile, Feri Al-Fayed might be of the elite Warriors of Kruga, but at thirteen years old, she views the world thoroughly through a lens of youthful inexperience.

Yes, some might complain that the central characters are rooted in trope. But witnessing all the different personalities bounce off one another remains one of Falcom’s strengths. That said, I do wish that the entire game had full voice acting. The abundant shifts between spoken and written dialog were persistently jarring. But the good news is that NIS America’s localization is commendable. Yes, there’s some English-language signage that has redundant subtitling and occasionally the cast speaks like they’re a bunch of online junkies. However, when examining the monstrously sized script as a whole, it’s evident that a lot of care went into Daybreak, so I’ll forgive the inclusion of terms like “asshat”.

Fight like Nep Nep

Unquestionably, the inclusion of action-driven combat to complement the traditional turn-based fights feels shrewd, potentially bringing in players with an aversion to turn-taking. While real-time combat certainly speeds up the pace of encounters, it streamlines battles too much, with players limited to attacking and evading. Certainly, it’s far too simplistic to drive a 60+ hour adventure. The alternative lets you utilize Arts and Craft and brings back the series’ timeline, where you’ll be manipulating initiative in the hope of stealing their critical hit perk.

One of the most interesting changes is the inclusion of a Hyperdimension Neptunia-like movement system. Here, party members can freely move around designated regions, and you’ll position them to dish out as much damage as possible. The change from the ARCUS to the Xipha means that you’ll now earn bonuses when team members are adjacent to one other. Naturally, you probably won’t take advantage of link bonuses when fighting the game’s bosses, since their attacks will devastate a bunched-up group.  While your support AI, allows Van to transform into an armored assassin, your Grendel form feels a bit too much like Neptunia’s Hard Drive Divinity (HDD) ability.

Conclusion

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak sustains one of Nihon Falcom’s more underappreciated strengths: the scalability of its storytelling. Yes, the banter between members of a varied cast is expectedly lively and the inclusion of a morally ambiguous protagonist provides customary charms. But the game sinuously shifts to the scheming of the political elite and reveals a sordid underbelly that sharply contrasts with the technological distractions. Whether it’s the romantic ambitions of an NPC or biting societal critique, The Legend of Heroes franchise still has plenty to say, 35 years on.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak
was reviewed on PC with code provided by the publisher.