Review – The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon

The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon arrives as an important milestone for , consolidating twenty years of continuous history. Developed by and published in the West by NIS America, the game represents the studio’s ultimate ambition for bringing together legendary characters in a narrative that balances emotional depth with mechanical innovation.

A title that redefines what it means to evolve within one’s own limits, offering an experience that can be rewarding for the dedicated player, but creates a step that is too big for beginners. This is precisely because it continues Calvard’s arc, as a third chapter, and, simultaneously, as a narrative catalyst for the entire Trails series, with more than 12 games released in the last twenty years. This is a game that requires understanding the franchise, consolidating convergences of five distinct arcs into a single cohesive narrative and going in a different direction than isolated titles or spin-offs.

A long journey of 20 years

The most direct connection is with the two previous Daybreak games, with Trails beyond the Horizon starting exactly after the events of Trails Through Daybreak II, keeping Van Arkride, Agnes and the members of Arkride Solutions as central elements. The plot takes place just three days before the execution of Project Startaker, an ambitious scientific project that aims to launch humanity into space, and Van Arkride is invited by Marduk to participate in training with a new Shard technology, but quickly faces the emergence of the cult known as New Dawn, in addition to continental political conspiracies and the machinations of the Ouroboros Society.

Unlike its predecessors, the game adopts a structure of three parallel routes, in which these three perspectives converge on themes of politics, morality, personal sacrifice and the eternal question of what exists beyond the known horizon.

Van’s route constitutes the narrative heart, functioning as the fundamental part of the main campaign, in a progression with the classic Trails structure. Rean’s route represents the weakest point of the game, with missions and interactions that do not reflect the Gray Knight’s personality, all seeming to be very generic. Finally, Kevin’s route contrasts with the previous one and works as a justification for several events in Van’s route.

In the first act, The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon offers an experience very full of the characteristics of the Trails series, with a slower experience, extremely dense in narrative details and rewarding only for those willing to explore. NPCs have unique dialogues in practically every interaction, side missions offer secondary narratives with crucial development for the characters.

Evolution and refinement

Character development for Rean and Kevin offers satisfying completion to personal arcs that date back to the first games, while Van is kept in a position of evolution and continuity. This means that the game can answer many of the series’ questions, opening up new mysteries that prepare for the definitive ending, leaving the story open for the future.

To the delight of those who have been following the most recent games, Trails beyond the Horizon represents a refinement of the hybrid system introduced in Trails Through Daybreak. The game offers smooth switching between Field Battles, with real-time combat, and Command Battles, turn-based and strategic, with the new Nexus Tactical System, which increases strategic depth during fights.

The Awakening system allows characters to activate states of increased power using the Boost bar, resulting in significant transformations or amplifications, such as Van, who transforms into Grendel, or Rean enters into Spiritual Unification with Shizuna. Combined with Quick Arts, Field Battles finally managed to become more interesting.

We also have the return of the Orbment system, with a wide selection of Quartzes that offer attribute bonuses and passive Shard Skills, which are activated automatically. However, the most notable addition is ZOC (Zone of Control), which momentarily slows time in Field Battles and grants an additional turn. Shard Commands also add another layer of decision making, offering varying benefits depending on the character, while the new BLTZ system automatically activates on certain turns, allowing reserve members to contribute chain attacks.

Nihon Falcon brought the Grim Garten as additional content that may seem optional, but is absolutely essential for narrative and understanding the story, with a dungeon that has a roguelike feel and implements a board system in which the player moves their avatar turn by turn until they find the boss of each Domain. Additionally, the Grim Arena offers pure combat challenges, while poker and blackjack games add variety. Still new, the game maintains Turbo Mode and automatic saving to increase accessibility.

Visually, the game demonstrates clear evolution in relation to Trails Through Daybreak II, bringing character animations with new transitions for Crafts, greater variety of movements, refined 3D models, and more dynamic light and shadow systems, in addition to more elaborate scenes.

The soundtrack for Trails beyond the Horizon continues to evolve and position itself as possibly one of the most interesting in the series, creating a soundscape that is simultaneously emotional and energetic, with pianos, guitars and violins providing the emotional tone while synthesizers take turns in Field and Command Battles.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon is not perfect, after all we have a very slow first act, secondary routes that do not have the same level of narrative quality, and enemies with excessive hit points. However, you will also find polished combat, an extremely cohesive narrative, and moments of great emotion that recall previous stories. Nihon Falcom did not try to reinvent the franchise, as it was concerned with elevating what already worked and created the necessary path to end a two-decade saga.