The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon Review (PS5, PS4, Switch 2, Switch, & PC)

Do take your time, at whatever point you may be in The Legend of Heroes: Trails series. There’s absolutely no reason to rush through Trails Beyond the Horizon when, in the end, keeping up with the story and characters of the overall franchise is what’s most rewarding. 

More so because the new game continues in the previous games’ footsteps, unraveling more of the series’ interconnected worlds and stories. 2004’s Trails in the Sky, 2013’s Trails of Cold Steel, and 2021’s Trails through Daybreak all offer up their main characters to the wrapping up of the Calvard arc storyline. 

But, is this truly the end of it? Given the myriad of questions left lingering post-credits, and pointing toward a possible future entry to the over two-decade-long-running series. Might we still be expecting more stories from the sci-fi, fantasy universe of Zemuria? 

For clarity on these and more, here’s my two cents compiled in our The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon review below.

Best of Three

It’s still unusual to follow three protagonists, their stories separate but interconnected through the larger continent of Zemuria. At the heart of The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon’s three protagonist stories is the build-up to the first human exploration of space. 

Yup, Calvard is that stage of technological development, after discoveries and innovation in everything from wheels to mobile phones and mechs. At long last, humans can finally discover what lies in the depths of space. 

There are, of course, several other story threads you’ll be slowly untangling. And welcome distractions at the spa and food courts, recounting the adventures you’ve been through with your lads.

Like previous games, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon absolutely nails strong writing and intrigue. It knows when to slow down, for you to take in the environment and visit places. For you to also stock up on resources and supplies.

In equal measure, it knows when to throw you for a loop. When to unleash a surprising twist that changes your entire perspective on the unraveling story. You might even form different perceptions on characters you’ve walked this ‘Trails’ endearing journey with.

In the Spotlight

The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak and Daybreak II’s protagonist, Van Arkride, takes the spotlight, still investigating strange Ouroboros cases and chasing other engaging mysteries. He has his Arkride Solutions Office buddies by his side, who make up your party.

While his story arc can be a drag at first, it does have the biggest payoff by its end. Throughout The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon, you have to keep in mind that this is a build-up of previous games’ stories and events. And thus, lots of reused assets.

Lots of places will be familiar to diehard fans. But also, thorough exposition, in what feels like a favor for newcomers, can grate on fans looking to discover new and fresh stories and connections. 

Meanwhile, Trails of Cold Steel I, II, III, and IV’s, Rean Schwarzer, and Trails in the Sky trilogy’s, Kevin Graham’s, stories have quicker pacing. Their stories quickly catch on, with Rean’s leaning more on vulnerable moments. 

I’ll say stick with it, and the build-up, all through to the cliffhanger, should prove well worth your time. In fact, it may very well leave you angsty over the possible scenarios the next game could take. 

Some narrative threads twist, intersect, and tie everything together nicely. But others go on to create more tangled webs that leave you scratching your head with peaked curiosity –a little too mockingly.

Quick Breather

You’ve probably heard how The Legend of Heroes: Trails games easily take 50 hours or so to complete. And if you’re thorough, you might even hit 100 hours. That’s largely from the cutscenes that can be pretty bulky with stuffed dialogue and filler. 

You can skip cutscenes (or fast-forward), especially when you’re keen on the engaging gameplay. And the world here does have quite a ton of things to keep busy with. Through exploration, you’ll discover side quests, dungeon-crawling missions, and upgrades.

Side quests are varied, from simple fetch quests to more hands-on monster-slaying quests. But even more importantly, side quests can be riddled with rich lore. They can be pretty eye-opening, revealing interesting stories and character personalities that further enrich your playthrough.

The Grim Garten main dungeon, on the other hand, can be pretty handy for leveling up. It helps narrow down your focus on combat and hostile enemies, reaping immense rewards for your efforts. As an optional endgame, there’s practically no limit to how often you can dive into this randomized, roguelite dungeon, which comes with the downside of it growing repetitive.

Out in the Open

Anyway, that’s where combat comes in to spice things up. Following in the footsteps of Daybreak, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon goes ahead to include both real-time and turn-based battles. 

Enemy encounters automatically kickstart in real-time, with players engaging enemies in devastating attacks and slick dodges. For the most part, combat remains similar to Daybreak. For fans, the strategy will remain striving to stun enemies, to jump into turn-based with an advantage. 

The combat in Daybreak was already smooth and satisfying. Now, you enjoy new mechanics that help add more depth. The Zone of Control (Z.O.C) mechanic will slow down enemies, giving you an added advantage to land more powerful attacks and stun enemies quicker. Tools like Awakening also unlock a temporary, more powerful state, though for specific characters.

Meanwhile, Shard Commands help buff your party members, whether increasing their damage, health, or increasing their stats. Keep in mind, however, that enemies have ZOC abilities and Shard commands, too.

Into Turn-based Mode

As soon as you’ve cleared out the pesky, weaker enemies and have stunned mini and stronger bosses, then, you enter turn-based combat. Yet, still involves a more strategic approach to defeating enemies. 

You have your returning wealth of abilities and tools, including Arts, Crafts, and S-Crafts. The previous Daybreak system works flawlessly, and honestly, there was little that needed changing in The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon.

Much appreciated, though, that Nihon Falcom went ahead to add a couple of new strategies. ZOC can still be effective in turn-based, this time giving you an extra turn. Shard commands will come most in handy, however, given the vitality of party position and synergy in turn-based combat. 

You’re juggling optimizing enemy positions with the greatest impact, but also AoE at the same time to take down several enemies at once. And Shard commands will have the most impact when synergy between party members and their positions is taken into consideration.

All of the moving parts of The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon then work together to create a deep and strategic system. One that easily entertains and rewards your skills and forethought with additional boosts during and post-battle.

First Time Around

There’s only one point of concern with The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon. It all boils down to whether or not you’re a newcomer to the series. Because the most rewarding experience feels reserved for fans who’ve long been returnees to the series. 

Veterans will better appreciate the connections and personal journeys of the characters as they evolve beyond their original roles. Even in the graphical aspect, character models have evolved in appearance and detail over the years. 

The same goes for the combat system, which can take a beat to fully maximize its multiple facets. But does this make Beyond the Horizon unworthy in favor of another JRPG?

Verdict

I’m just going to go ahead and ascertain that yes, indeed, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon might be unworthy of your time if you’re a complete newbie to the series. Perhaps I might suggest going back to previous entries, and starting with Trails in the Sky, Trails of Cold Steel, and Trails through Daybreak. At least before trying out Beyond the Horizon. 

This is how you can make the most of your experience and enjoy the most impactful playthrough. Otherwise, you’ll still enjoy a decent JRPG ride, but most plot points and even the cliffhanger at the end won’t hit as shockingly as with longtime fans of the Trails series.

It’s a lot to ask, I know, which is why I wouldn’t blame you if you deferred to other JRPGs. And whenever you have the time, do return to Trails. It truly is a rewarding experience, with a rich story, fun side-questing, and an engaging combat system. Your hours will be well spent here, serving diverse needs for exploration, adventure, or good, old hack-and-slash combat.