GamesRPGTrails through Daybreak’s cozy sense of place delivers more of what makes The Legend of Heroes RPGs greatWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesRPGTrails through Daybreak’s cozy sense of place delivers more of what makes The Legend of Heroes RPGs greatWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
My favorite moments inTrails through Daybreakwere, somewhat ironically, all set at night, when frosty protagonist Van Arkride would slip away from the boisterous party of teens and young adults growing under his wing to get some quiet—and drop the act. He goes to the movies and bumps into an old friend, now flourishing after he helped her find a new family years ago. He drops in on his old flame and they dance around their desire to spend more time together. He does a sidequest for the ghost of a long dead child.
For as much as The Legend of Heroes’ Trails series is a sprawling epic with dozens of characters and ballooning geopolitical conflict, all that grandiose world building matters to me only because Nihon Falcom is a master of place making. For all the action and drama, I’ve always returned to the series to get cozy in my chair and hang out in the fictional world of Zemuria. And now, as a new day dawns in the series’ 11th mainline game, everyone has a little room to breathe.
It’d be easy to say Trails is formulaic at this point, but here I’d call itroutine. Daybreak takes us to the Calvard Republic and its capital, Edith, an anime Paris where Van spends early autumn days taking on clients as sidequests and getting roped into the bracers, mobs, and police’s arsenals. Yet at the start of every chapter, I walk across the street from Van’s apartment to a hole-in-the-wall shop to buy candy and read the newspaper. Like in past games, the hundreds of words of in-universe reporting reveal outside perspectives on your actions and color in the economic and political movements in other parts of the world. Epic science fantasy is happening, just far away right now. I have to go see what’s up on Station Street.
What makes Trails special is that most of my time in each 50+ hour game is spent reading instead of fighting or exploring (which you will still do plenty of). There are newspapers, books, and now films that speak to culture, history, and propaganda around Zemuria, but the bulk of all that reading is still dialogue. And beyond your party members and other voice-acted characters making their way into the series’ ever-expanding ensemble, there’s all the background characters around Edith and the other towns Van visits. Each has a name, relationships, and reactions to the events around them as time progresses. A familiar NPC may eventually summon my spriggan for help hours after I’ve met them.
Image1of4(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
Image1of4(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
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(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
I’m particularly invested in the trio of childhood friends living together down the block: Raymond, who runs the flower shop in Old Town and likes to share his baking with Van, a connoisseur of sweets; His sister Carol, who works at a dress shop in the Seiden district and has a crush on their third roommate; and Jess, an amateur musician on the up. One day Jess ends up hiring Van to deal with a blackmailer, exploiting his precarious reputation as an up-and-coming artist with pictures of him at a gay club. Van assures Jess that that’s not really a big deal anymore around Edith, but Jess doesn’t want to jeopardize things with his friends—or his crush.
After I track down and scrap a black book full of dirt on city residents, Jess’s story continues in the background. He performs at the local venue (you can dip into the show), gets signed to a label, and encourages Raymond to pick up his old brush and make an album cover for his first release. Sixty hours into Daybreak and I still haven’t seen how this love triangle will resolve—nor have I seen the dozens of other side stories unfolding in the background of Calvard come to their end.
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Zemuria comes alive through more than just writing, though. Falcom’s composers deliver on hype and ambiance, with original compositions and familiar melodies draped over the game like a warm blanket. Architecture and environmental design showcase the breadth of Calvard’s locales (ranging from European farmland to wealthy Arabian cities to secluded Asian hot springs). And the many new character designs stand out, especially new gralsritters (an order of elite holy knights) who make their first cameos.
Image1of3(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
Image1of3(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
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(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
(Image credit: Nihon Falcom)
Daybreak is using a newproprietary engine, and it’s definitely the best-looking 3D Trails game yet. You can even flip on HDR if you want! But while I can see a solid foundation has been laid there are compromises that diminish Falcom’s otherwise ambitious vision for making these games feel “current-gen.” 3D busts in dialogue boxes remain lifeless compared to the illustrated portraits of prior games Sky and Zero. Character models are also rarely animated with bespoke movements, which are reserved for brief moments in combat and more than one dance number. They look good, but they’re rare.
And the number of NPC models is similarly economical in a way that detracts from the scope of the world Falcom’s writing establishes. I can literally see that improving in future games (Daybreak’s sequel already arrived two years ago in Japan), but here it lends a certain B-movie quality to the game.
I’m here to hang, and it’s a good time.
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