The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - Sony PSP

I'm a half picky/open person when it comes to certain genres. RPGs are no exception. I mostly look for something that is equal in gameplay, story and fun. I wasn't familiar with the Legend of Heroes series until Andriasang started reporting on the current games in this series. One of those games had a plotline that perked my interest, but it would be a looong time before we see any of it in the West if it was possible. I ended up researching what other Legend of Heroes games are available in the West. Trails in the Sky was the game that caught my interest the most. It had a fairly good reputation and the characters/plot had the kind of mystery I was looking for.After some months of debating, ordered it off of Amazon. The price was reasonable so why not? (Although, fans would recommend people to order off of Xseed's site to drum up support. --- The series really needs support.) When the game came, a rush of excitement overwhelmed me, which I haven't felt in a long time for a game. Popped it in my PSP and couldn't put it down.STORY ---The story opens up in a small mysterious way, which I won't say here. Five years later, from the prologue, Estelle and Joshua Bright start their training to become Bracers, a guild that helps people out without interfering with politics, or so everyone thinks. However, things start to get a bit hairy when Estelle and Joshua's father disappears with an air ship he was riding on. The Bright siblings go on a semi-long journey to find out the truth behind this, which ultimately sets towards a bigger unexpected conspiracy that involves the royal family. Throughout the adventure, Estelle and Joshua will meet old and new friends, gain party members, and confront new enemies. By the time you, the player, reaches the "end" of the game, you'll start to crave more for the game, because........this is only the first part of the story! Even if there was closure within the game, the main gut of the story isn't done yet. We, in the West, is still waiting patiently for the second game to be localized.The story's pace went by smoothly without much filler in-between. The J-cliches (i.e. what you see in Japan real life/games/anime/manga) aren't so obnoxious or over-the-top, even though they're there. Even Estelle's constant yelling or eccentric "gentleman" Olivier's behavior aren't that annoying compared to Luke's beginning behavior in "Tales of Abyss" or Neku Sakuraba's personality in the beginning 1st week of "The World Ends With You".Text-wise, this game has a lot of text. Considering this is an RPG, this should be a no-brainer. There's a lot of character interaction between the playable characters and NPCs. It's not like Tales' skits, thankfully. I understand that there seems to be some people, who do not like a game with a lot of text. However, if you enjoy reading as much as I do, this shouldn't be a problem. :DGAMEPLAY ---What complements the amount of text and characters in this game is the gameplay.It's like a mix between strategy and turn base. Coming off of the Fire Emblem Awakening demo, the Trails gameplay was very refreshing. I like that I can move around without having to go one-by-one, do pre-emptive strikes on enemies, and still do the chess-like strategy when in battle with the enemy. Furthermore, you can expand your target from one enemy to a whole area of them depending on who's in your field of battle.Magic? Check. In the form of orbment arts that you can upgrade for stronger power. Normal attacks? Check. Upgradable armor? Check. Upgradable weaponry? Check. Recipe book to make a lot of different medicinal/healing stuff? Check x 100!!Like every RPG, there are quests in this game. Some of them are story-based so they're required, but others are optionable. If you're a completionist, definitely try to put off doing all of the required quests, because you can only do them while you're within a specific town/area. If you progress past that town/area, you cannot go back to that town/area. Upon beating the game, you'll get an NG+ so if you like second play-throughs, you'll have that chance to do whatever quests you miss. Furthermore, the air ships will be open to you in NG+.In terms of backtracking to do certain quests, it's not so bad. Well, compared to Tales of Abyss, it's DEFINITELY not so bad. You won't be going across the ocean to find something. That's for sure.Tired of seeing the word "Empty" every time you go back to a treasure chest you opened before? Well, this game changes that concept a little, although, not sure if this is Falcon's or XSeed's idea. Well, you'll see what I mean.MUSIC ---In my opinion, the music is good -> decent/okay to me, except for the OP and ED vocal songs. The OP and ED songs are awesome. They truly captured the feel of the game.OVERALL ---If I had to give a rating to my enjoyment level, it would be this many stars: ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆Trails in the Sky is pretty underrated (although, that may be an understatement online?--), which saddens me a little. If this was available on something like the 3DS and the PC, I think it would help boost its awareness in the West. Otherwise, it'll remain to be pretty well known in Asia, and just Asia. :0 So, to any of you guys reading this, and have played Trails, please spread word of this fascinating trilogy. Would you prefer to watch the other two games in Japanese online or play it in your hands/TV/computer? (Xseed isn't putting Trails on their priority list at the moment.)I wish Xseed good luck on tackling the localization and marketing for Trails in the Sky Second Chapter~!!

phenomenal game, wonderful story and soundtrack

Think Grandia. That's all I could imagine when I played it. The stories are nothing alike, just the character's innocence and excitement for their journey. For those who haven't been graced by Grandia, this a typical coming of age/adventure story that isn't directly involved in an ongoing war. There are wars going on in these games but your characters aren't fighting for any side. The exciting part is watching your characters grow as people and all the interaction with their excitement of seeing the world. On a separate note, try Grandia if end up loving this.I will warn everyone that this is a dialogue adventure, so if you don't like story or enjoying your character's development you will be bored through 50% of the game. I must mention the dialogue is excellent written, not entirely intelligent banter but gets its point across perfectly. I'm not one for stupid Japanese humor (bitchy girls, emasculated boys, furry sidekicks), and this is very light on stupid jokes, taking a rather serious tone at times.As for game play, you walk, talk, and fight. Luckily there are fun places to walk through to enjoy detail. Then talking, there's a lot. A nice feature is the NPC dialogue changes a lot so I actually talked to them repeatedly, which I never do. Then comes fighting. Sneak up behind your enemy for a preemptive strike to secure victory. Attack them directly or with spells/skills from your equipped materia... I mean quartz. Lots of combos and goodies to play with. Also, if you're beat up or attack enough, you build up your limit break... I mean special attack bar to release some cool attacks.Im sure you get the picture. It is fun, that's not sarcasm up there.I definitely suggest it! And I'm not going to say I have any more experience than you by saying "I've played most and am an expert". Sure both may be true... But it shouldn't affect your judgment. Let's just say after so many boring, tired, pointless, plotless, lifeless videogames this one surely will breathe life back into your love for RPGs. Because let's face it, sometimes its easy to forget why we loved them in the first place with all the trash we've played.Try it, you won't be disappointed. Thanks for reading.

Legend of Heroes Trails in the Sky sold little upon its release in the west. Which is a shame, because there is so much this game does well.The story of this game does a great job mixing and balancing funny, more lighthearted moments with a more serious plot. It also has its fair share of twists, and will keep you interested until the end. Most importantly, though, its filled with likable charecters that you grow to care about, none more so than the two main characters, Estelle and Joshua.Gameplay wise, this game is solid, employing a turn based battle system on a movement grid for its enemy engagements. It's not the most innovative battle system, but it keeps you busy and is satisfying enough, and only gets more fun and engaging as the game progresses. When you're not in battle, you are free to explore towns, paths, talk to NPCs, do side quests, or do the main quest, all as you desire.Among other things LOH:TitS does right, it has a catchy, beautiful soundtrack, an interesting Magic upgradeable system, and solid art design. The main story should take you around 40 hours. Really, there's not much I could say about the game's faults, because it has so few. If anything, the main plot takes a little too long to start developing, perhaps, about 5 hours or so. And that's all I can think of. Definitely a must have for JRPG fans, or for any of those looking for a fun, immersive, engaging story.