The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

An amazing beginning to an amazing story. The world, the characters, everything have been truly amazing and i cant wait to continue the story from here on out

This game is awesome, but probably not for everybody. It lacks a grand, world-ending plot thread and focuses more on the protagonists' journey and the dilemma of their kingdom.

But that's not to say the story is boring. You just have to remember this game came out, like 20 years ago. It's also being updated in a remake coming this year (2025), so it would be fine to wait for that...HOWEVER. This game's sequel is a direct continuation where you can import your save data from this game, so playing Trails in the Sky FC right now is still very much worth it.

The characters are amazing and there are lots of them. I'm the sort of person who has difficulty remembering characters and dialogue, but this game was SUPER easy to follow. There's not a ton of difficult world terms, every important character has a portrait and they come back often.

The game is NOT too wordy, despite having more text in this game alone than 10 novels. NPCs in every town will change their dialogue to reflect the current state of the game world. NPCs will remember you if you helped them for their quest. And all of this is optional. The game is probably an easy 30-hour playthrough if you skip sidequests. I believe I finished my playthrough in around 60-hours mostly 100%ing the game.

FOLLOW A GUIDE IF YOU WANT TO PERFECT THE GAME! There's missables, tight time-frames for some quests, hidden side quests, etc.

A lot of the tedium this game would have was taken out with a speed-up function. It works for dialogue, travelling, combat, etc. Very useful.

Some things are dated. Enemy designs are forgetable for the most part and blend in with the background, making them hard to discern.

Missable quests are always meh to me.

The beginning of the game can be on the slow side. I don't think it was boring at all, though. It's a comfy story.

The ending, no spoilers, had me absolutely buying the second chapter at full price to continue the story. It's also the reason I suggest just playing this now instead of waiting for the remake. You'll be left off wanting more of the story and realize it's going to take them a few more years to remake the sequel.

Josh and Estelle are lovable protagonists, the party members are fantastic too and have growth.

Finally, the combat. The game is fairly easy at the beginning. But by the end you'll be wanting to use specific strategies to win. Status effects, status buffs, timing your s-breaks (Think Limit breaks) to interrupt turn order, moving your characters out of AoEs. It gets difficult. But not TOO hard. The game has time to ramp up so you'll be able to master the systems and the combat isn't all that convoluted in the first place.

Most JRPG fans will love this game, but I can see why a lack of broader stakes might not be to everyone's liking. Now off I go to play the second chapter!

An absolute classic—and honestly, better than its successor in many ways.

Trails in the Sky nails the fundamentals: a deeply charming cast, a slow-burn political story that actually pays off, and a battle system that's both accessible and surprisingly strategic. The worldbuilding is second to none, with NPCs that feel like actual people and a setting that evolves as the story progresses.

Where SC (the sequel) leans harder into melodrama and bigger stakes, FC thrives in its grounded storytelling and tight pacing. It’s more focused, more cohesive, and ultimately more rewarding by the time the credits roll.

If you’re into JRPGs and haven’t played this yet, you’re missing out on one of the best in the genre.

incredibly charming game with fun characters, a great story, amazing ost and just a great vibe overall. Massive recommendation to any JRPG fan. The pacing can be very slow especially at the start, but once it gets going you will be hooked, and me personally i love slower paced stories if its done well, and i was having fun straight from the beginning

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - A Thoughtful, Slow-Burn JRPG Epic

-- Review --
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is a deeply engaging JRPG that delivers a rich, character-driven adventure with satisfying mechanics and a tightly interwoven story. While the dialogue can be overly verbose at times, it ultimately pays off by fleshing out its characters and crafting a meaningful journey that stays compelling from start to finish.

-- Gameplay --
The combat system in Trails in the Sky is one of the game’s standout features. The turn-based battles offer satisfying depth and strategic flexibility, with orbment customisation playing a central role in shaping your team’s abilities. Choosing how to slot quartz in order to unlock specific skills adds a layer of planning, and as the game progresses, the range of possibilities opens up, making experimentation rewarding and sometimes essential.

The game-play offers a strong sense of progression, not only in terms of your party’s strength but also in your understanding of how best to utilise each character’s unique strengths and roles in battle. It’s the kind of system that grows on you the more you engage with it.

The general game-play loop of exploration, combat, and storytelling is engaging, though it occasionally stumbles in pacing. Some combat sequences can stretch a bit too long, and extended dialogue scenes sometimes slow the rhythm down, particularly when they appear too frequently or linger on less critical moments.

-- Story --
As the first chapter in a much larger saga, Trails in the Sky takes its time laying the groundwork. The early hours move at a deliberate pace, gradually introducing the world, the cast, and the political undercurrents that simmer beneath the surface. While this slow start might feel typical for a JRPG, it pays off later with impactfull narrative climaxes and surprising moments of tension and intrigue.

The storytelling is both personal and political. Through a journey that spans nearly every major city in the country, the game slowly reveals the region’s culture, history, and social dynamics. What begins as a simple guild job loop turns into a wider tale of power, trust, and manipulation, often catching the player off guard with unexpected twists.

The world feels alive, thanks to the detailed writing and the effort put into making even side characters and towns feel distinct. The political intrigue adds layers of realism and depth to what could otherwise be a straightforward fantasy setting. Estelle and Joshua serve as compelling emotional anchors, with the world’s responses to their actions and their own personal growth lending meaningful weight to the narrative.

-- Art --
Trails in the Sky may show its age visually, but its isometric art style retains a distinct charm. The sprite work and environmental design, while modest by modern standards, effectively convey the personality of each town and character, and the game’s overall presentation holds up well for a title of its era.

The soundtrack is a highlight—emotionally resonant and diverse, with tracks that complement everything from quiet town exploration to climactic battles. The music helps elevate key moments, drawing you further into the world even when the visuals might not be cutting-edge.

The user interface and menus get the job done, though not without a few frustrations. Navigating orbment setups and certain menus can be a bit clunky, especially when managing multiple party members. The lack of voice acting also stands out, especially given the sheer volume of dialogue—you’ll be doing a lot of reading.

-- Conclusion --
Trails in the Sky is an epic adventure made for fans of slow-burn, text-heavy RPGs with deep characters and a narrative that blends fantasy with political realism. It rewards patient players with a world rich in nuance, strategy, and emotional depth.

Rating: 9/10 – Recommended for fans of character-driven turn-based JRPGs that are willing to go down a long coming of age journey with plenty of political intrigue and social critique.

Not recommended for: Players seeking fast-paced action, minimal dialogue, or a short runtime.

Trails through Daybreak was my introduction to the Trails Series and I liked it enough to give the first game, Trails in the Sky FC, a try. I did not expect that I would enjoy this game so much and I would recommend any fan of jrpgs to give it a try too. The gameplay is simple but fun and gets more interesting on higher difficulties. The characters, story, and world are what truly sets this game apart. Estelle is an amazing protagonist and combined with Joshua, they make an iconic duo that's difficult not to love. I would agree that the beginning is slow, but it has its own charm and serves to build up the plot instead of rushing into things. Even with the remake of this game on the horizon, I would still urge anyone to still play this version of game not only to fully grasp all of the improvements between versions, but also to experience the unique charm this underrated jrpg.

A warm nostalgic JRPG with inspired gameplay systems and a beautiful 2D on 3D aesthetic. Flirts with serious political themes but leaves room for it to be explored in sequels. And that ending! Really recontextualises the whole game for the better.

(my actual playtime on the in-game clock at completion was somewhere over 40 hrs)

The Sky Trilogy is one of the best experiences in gaming.

FC does a fantastic job setting up the world and introducing you to its characters.

For the first entry, the gameplay was introduced very well. You can build your characters however you want and building characters in this game (and for all games in the trilogy) is an exceptional experience.

It has an ending that will make you want to play SC immediately.

Really good entry point to the series, highly recommend.

This game is actually peak, the OSTs were amazing.
Also, good luck reading the dialogue for nerds who cannot read for some reasons.

Truly one of the best games I've played and i'm moving on to the 2nd one with my 100% clear data, this game is worth it especially on sale

A very special game, top tier JRPG and peak Falcom. Go play this.

One of my favorite rpgs of all time. Great story and characters

slowest paced game ever but its pretty good i recommend it

be warned, its very grind heavy.

One of the greatest JRPG's I've played in a quite a while.

The Trails series has always been a game series I've wanted to play for the longest time, especially with how people compare it to One Piece for its immensely detailed world-building and long-form storytelling. You'd be hard-pressed to find a series out there with a huge overarching narrative spanning 13+ games... and while they're all broken up into arcs to make it more approachable, many fans still recommend starting from the very beginning to fully appreciate the callbacks, foreshadowing, and depth of the overarching plot. So that's exactly why I started with this game.

A friend of mine who’s a big fan warned me that this first entry, Trails in the Sky FC, is an extremely slow burn-- a setup game that can feel like a slog but ultimately pays off. So I went into it expecting a bit of a grind.

But I was pleasantly surprised. The pacing felt just right to me and I genuinely enjoyed almost every moment of it. While I can see why some might find the early hours slow, I personally loved the time it gave me to sink into the world and connect with its characters. The sense of adventure, warmth, and charm is second to none. I absolutely loved going on this adventure through Liberl with Estelle and Joshua..

📜 Story, Writing, and Characters

First of all, I wanna give props to this game's story, world-building, and overall writing. Concepts, ideas, and historical context introduced to you early on about the world and the setting stay consistent and relevant all throughout the game. The foreshadowing of plot points and character motivations is so extremely well thought out since they all manage to have great payoff. As someone who likes to pay attention to all the subtle details, it's extremely rewarding.

The game's story especially shines in the second half. That final stretch of the game was an emotional rollercoaster that ends with probably the craziest cliffhanger I've ever witnessed in a story-- shi left me so stunned it makes me wanna fire up the next game immediately just to find out what happens next. That twist near the end genuinely messed me up in the best way.

Secondly, the cast and the dialogue. I absolutely adore this game's main cast. The slower pacing of the first half really gave these characters space to develop naturally. Everyone is characterized so well, that when we find out more things about the characters that give them more depth, it's IMMEDIATELY engaging because you love the characters already. I was always invested seeing all the characters interact with each other and go through the situations they did in this game (be they happy or sad). The dialogue and banter between the characters is also so well-written and charming it legit makes me enthused to see what each character had to say. The characters' personalities really shine through with how well-written their dialogue is. My favorite characters so far are Estelle, Joshua, Olivier, Kloe, Lorence, and Agate.

If I had one TINY gripe, it would be with the lack of detail in the power system. For a game with such detailed world-building, I wish the mechanics behind Orbments and character abilities were a bit more fleshed out. It's not always clear whether Crafts-- especially those with magical-looking effects-- are powered by Orbments or something else. For example, are Agate and Zin's Crafts or Kloe’s S-Craft drawing from the same source as her Orbal arts, or is it something innate? It’s a small thing, but more clarity would’ve added even more depth to an already rich world. I do recognize this is a nitpick though but I had to mention it.

⚔️ Gameplay & Combat
First, the pros. I really like the Orbment System! Finding the right combinations of Quartz to unlock the right Arts or get the best stats for that character adds a strategic layer that rewards players who engage with it. Each character's orbment layout is different too so it encourages a lot of experimentation and it feels satisfying to tweak your loadout and see it all come together.

My main gripes with the combat however, is that the game is horribly balanced towards Arts. You almost always wanna use Arts that it almost feels as if a good majority of Crafts are useless (outside of buffs/debuffs). It's a little boring to just spam Clock EX / Earth Wall / White Gehenna all the time and win the game. Mind you, I played this game on Hard and once you got the right Arts, the combat was a breeze. I also wish movement didn't consume a character's full turn/action.

🎶 Music & Visuals
The soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal. Sophisticated Fight, Silver Will, and Whereabouts of Light in particular have been stuck in my head that I'm humming the songs rn as I'm writing this review.
Visually, the game's overall art style is really charming. Character portraits are extremely expressive and I fw the early 2000s anime aesthetic. The world design is also just extremely vibey and cozy.

Overall, I absolutely loved this game and I'm very excited to get play SC next. I rate this game a 9/10 critically-- but a 9.5 to a 10 in terms of personal enjoyment.

Excellent, but flawed. This was my first game in the Trails series- a series I've desperately wanted to try out for quite some time- and it has definitely made me keen to keep going.
Trails in the Sky excels at one thing above all others: its world. Liberl, the game's setting, has such rich worldbuilding and hundreds of named NPCs that react to in-game events as they happen, and all the while, the game manages to really bring forward that this is only a *tiny* slice of the entire world.
Combat is pretty standard JRPG fare- though the grid system makes it feel like a nice blend between turn-based RPG and strategy game. The party member system is a bit weird, admittedly- you essentially have two persistent party members are get between one and two guests at each point in the game. Not very typical, and it gets a little frustrating sometimes, but this system *does* mean that you have to spend time with each of the party members- and there wasn't a single one I disliked, even if their character development is pretty minimal.
The one thing you'll hear constantly about this game is that it's 'slow-paced'; to which I agree, in part, but if you go in with that in mind, you're probably not going to notice. Ironically, I only became tired at one point in the game- the final chapter, which should be the climax of the game, and it *does* have those big plot moments, but the first half of that final chapter grinds to a screeching halt in terms of pacing, and gave me that feeling of 'just let me finish this'. Meanwhile, I enjoyed the slow drip-feed of story and characters in the early chapters, because they were underpinned by that aforementioned great worldbuilding.
The music is good, but not quite up there with the best of the genre. The visuals... are an acquired taste, but once you get past the initially jarring low level of quality, they're really charming- the environments feel like dioramas, and despite the chibi characters, I didn't find them to take away from more serious moments.
I would recommend this game to anyone wanting to try Trails, because by what I've heard, this is the best starting point for the whole series. I will say, though, that this game does not have a standalone story, and the ending very clearly leads into the sequel- so don't expect all the questions you have to be answered; though I really struggle to believe that anyone who sees this game's ending wouldn't want to play the sequel.

A fantastic addition to my RPG Library. I don't go for the newest games, preferring the old school RPGs that are being remade and remastered. But I needed a new game to play and this one was fabulous. I don't know why I kept it on my wishlist for so long.

Giving this review after finishing 1, 2 and 3.

No spoilers, but will be a collected review of the 3 games, as they are directly tied together.

1 was amazing, nice pacing, nice story(its only the beginning of a rly interesting story)
Fun characters, comedy, action, abit of.. romance.

2 was just as amazing, directly tied together with 1, i instantly jumped into it to keep going through the story.
Same as 1, fun characters, comedy, but this time more action, more suspense. Very nice.

3 felt alittle slower, but still very good once it got going. It also follows the events of the first 2 games, alot of backstory for the characters we love aswell as setting up future story lines. So very good to go through.

Overall Trails in the Sky as a trilogy, very solid, It is is a long one, but its a good one.

Now onto Crossbell(Zero and Azure)!

I love Estelle Bright from The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky.

(Great story, great characters, decent gameplay with a life-saving turbo button)

((Get SkyInstaller for the JP voice acting it's incredible))

(((Thank you Chair)))

the way this game handles the characters is so awesome like yesss dude thats a big found family right there

This is one of the greats and i can't wait to play the rest and the rest of the games in the series

Great game, perfect starter to a classic series. 10/10 Oliver is the goat

Peak game I’m afraid. I sat here for 65 hours and loved every second. High recommend and become addicted to the series like me

Trails in the Sky prioritizes making its townsfolk feel like real people. Everyone is named, everyone reacts to recent story events, and everyone has their own problems.

The storytelling also reflects this, having a large amount of the cast be relevant in each area's story. The story's scope stretches beyond our two primary protagonists, but it doesn't leave them in the dust either. In that way, the storytelling reminds me a lot of Hunter X Hunter. Our protagonists are important, but they're also little fish in a vast ocean.

That said, the game is very slow to start, and I personally find the ending to be frustrating. Even so, everything in the middle has good moments along with character-driven political intrigue. At its best It feels simultaneously like a saturday morning cartoon, a slice-of-life anime, and a mystery novel. Childish adventure, relaxing aesthetic, and engaging mysteries.

If that sounds good to you, I doubt there's any problem you could have with the gameplay or anything else that'd turn you sour. You'll likely find yourself enjoying the grid-based combat, so long as you make generous use of the fast forward button.
Look into modding in the Japanese voice lines, they really level up the experience.

This game brought me into the fold of not just JRPG games, but the entire trails series! Story, sound track, characters ect are just simply amazing!! 10/10 and highly recommend all to give this a shot ay. As I write this, I'm playing the whole series starting from this to get all their achievements ay :)

Alright this games took 3 attempts for me to finish, but once you get past the greater introducing it just takes off, its a fantastic ride and a love filled one at that some much care was put into every facet of this game. I'm looking forward to all the future games in the series.

Slow start but a fun and in depth JRPG

Nihon Falcom first instalment of the Trails Series, really capture that adventure feels of old school JRPG. Charming character, the world that moving forward with the stories, and stories that made you care about the character and wanting more of them. Though parts of the gameplay and story feels like you just touching the water, i felt the first chapter is a big set up for the Second Chapter, and i'm looking forward to play it quickly.
Really Recommended if you like old School JRPG that feels really Anime-y and a bit grindy. Just because it has "RPG" in it, it's not for everyone. JRPG is a niche genre especially the old school one which is bit more niche than the modern JRPG.

The graphics are literally amazing for their time, and the ambience is so well done. I’m also obsessed with the music that intoxicates me all the time and would instantly feel a wave of nostalgia when I just played a short sample. On top of that, the gameplay and battle mechanism are genuinely entertaining; Tho the battle could be repetitive from time to time, you can press “alt” to speed it up, y’know.

The story in the Trails games is top-notch. Tho I’ve been playing only 17.5 hours and haven’t finished the FC for now, I had already spent over 100 hours watch people go through it, and more than 200 hours on the entire trilogy. I highly recommend these games to everyone, and I consider it mandatory to play them in order for the full experience.

And just so you know, basically, I love every character because all of them are all unique and likeable, but Estelle is my favorite and it'll never change.

Can’t wait to see the FC remake that is going to release, yeah!!!

Well, I did it. I completed Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter. I don't really know what that means for the rest of the series, because in a lot of ways it really felt like a chore for me to get there.

First and foremost, it's a wonderful game, with a vibrant world and lively interesting characters. Every NPC you talk to his unique dialogue after each story beat, which can lead to immersion if you're into that kind of thing. The world obviously has a lot of lore going on, and this is just the prologue to the main series, or the 2nd game.

The gameplay is serviceable, but I do think I'll have to ramp up my understanding of the Quartz systems and food systems in 2nd chapter. It's pretty standard Turn Based Stuff except on a grid. There are some difficulty spikes, but these are mitigated by the game making itself easier if you continually lose battles.

Let's be honest, I played this game so I could move onto the rest of the series. It's a fine introduction and I enjoyed my time with it mostly. I do have one problem though and it occasionally the characters will just not shut up. They will comment on absolutely everything, and then repeat it, and then continue to talk about something. If anything burns me out on this series is just going to be that it's mostly a visual novel, you just have battles in between.

But anyways, I beat this one, I did it. I'm stoked, time to move the heck on. As if I need to get myself involved in a long running series with tons of games already.

Trails in the Sky FC is the beginning of a massive and epic story spanning different story arcs in a lush and vivid world and it shows. FC takes its time to flesh out its characters and world and, as such, causes the game to take quite a while to actually get to the point. Nevertheless, FC does a somewhat satisfactory job of introducing us to all things Zemuria. For better or worse, Trails in the Sky is a game of its time and shares a lot of the idiosyncrasies of games of its time. Still, this version of the game provides a few quality of life that I think are essential to keep the game moving. All in all, FC takes a while, a long while, to hit the ground running but when you reach that point the story and plot will most likely have taken you captive and will force you to take on the next game almost immediately. Put bluntly, this game is mandatory if you want to see what the Trails series is all about and why a lot of people put this series in high regard.

No matter how hard I try, I just can't get into this game. And since this series has historically been so interconnected that if you don't start here, you're really kind of hosing yourself, I ended up throwing away a *lot* of money on this series.

Don't believe the hype. This is boring and a slog. And after nearly 9 hours of playing a game I can still confidently say it's the definition of mediocre. There are a lot of fan boys who gush over this one and it's the reason I gave the stupid game a chance. Should have just passed.

After almost exclusively playing Trails in the Sky over the past two weeks, I *just* finished it after 57 hours of play time. I am sitting here, stunned.

I thought all the posts I had read about this game were simply over-enthusiastic hype. I was wrong. The entire game is fun from start to finish. It respects your time, and the challenge level is just right. However... this ending... *it's something else entirely*.

You ever finish a game and feel an empty feeling, as if no other game could fill that hole? That is what I feel right now. Fortunately, there is the sequel to play!

This is the gateway into an AMAZING series. The more you learn about the setting and each characters that live there, the deeper you want to dive. Many of the characters introduced in this game stay relevant in future games. I'm very fortunate that a friend suggested I go all the way back to this game when i decided to take my first steps in this series.

Known for being one of the best JRPG stories of all time, Trails in the Sky is the first of many in a series and it doesn't entirely disappoint. Besides a dated combat system and user interface, the story holds its own especially in the second half of this first chapter. Can't wait to see whats next. If you truly can't stand to play older games, wait for the remake.

Despite criticism from many people saying this game only serves as a prologue, thus having limited potential, I still see this as one of the best game in the series with how how it introduces characters and the world of Zemuria. I also like that each chapter is much more memorable (like chapters in Zero and Azure) compared to other games.

Slow in the beginning due to having to build the world of all of Liberl but a great story and some of the best world building in a game I've played that immediately pays off at the end and leading into the next game. Characters are great and unique. Side characters are more than just random NPCs with names and some even have full on story lines you can follow by talking to them whenever you see them in various locations around the world. Combat is fine but the Orbment system is a really cool.

Didn't know what to expect but was very pleasantly surprised!
Pros:
- Combat is fun and the boss fights are challenging enough without being frustrating
- Story is really well done and stays interesting throughout
- Characters are fun and I love the orb system for customising their moves

Cons:
- Quest timeout system is frustrating and I'm so annoyed I missed out on a couple because of this
- Some dated views, mild homophobia played for laughs (Very brief)

Overall 7/10 game and I'm excited to play the second one!

Trails in the Sky FC is your typical classic JRPG, from the characters to the settings and the story -- they've pretty much been done before and will be done again because cliches and tropes work, particularly when well-executed like in Sky. Estelle and Joshua plays off each other nicely and is a nice duo to follow through the whole game. Other characters, be it playable or non-playable are also quite memorable, particularly Olivier imo, because when you see him on-screen you know you're about to see some amazing dialogues. The story so far is not one of a kind nor exactly mind-blowing but it's solid and, once again, executed nicely.

If you're thinking of playing this game, do keep in mind that Sky FC is a slow-paced game. Usually 80 hours of gameplay in JRPG would net your characters around level 70-80 but here I finished the game at just level 40, which shows just how much non-combat content in the game is (granted I spent maybe 5-10 hours total afk but the same works for 70 hours of gameplay). However this seems like an intentional design for one purpose; world-building. Sky FC wants you to immediately hop into Sky SC because the story is continued right off FC's ending. And seeing the important plot reveal at the end of FC, it would make sense if the resulting world-building is used as the base for SC so you can dive right into the plot without worrying about new regions. Still, this is just speculations on my part so take it with a grain of salt.

All in all, if Sky FC still intrigues you, then I absolutely recommend it. It is a nice classic JRPG that does its characters and world really well and has quite cheap of a price tag. It doesn't require your undivided focus 24/7 to completion and is quite easy to pick up again by just reading the plot summaries and having an easy battle system to follow. A solid 7.5/10.

Ah sim, a lenda dos heróis rastros no céu, da subsérie a lenda dos heróis rastros no céu, da subsérie a lenda dos heróis rastros, da subsérie a lenda dos heróis, da serie matador de dragão.

This is my first JRPG game so there's not much to compare it to, but I finally finished the whole Trails in the Sky trilogy to the end and im very grateful for the time spent on this masterpiece...
The story, the music in this game... it's criminally good.
Even after a while, I can't stop listening to the soundtrack and thinking of this series over and over again...

Hopefully Falcom will hear the pleas of the Russian-speaking community to add Russian localization to the upcoming remake of the first chapter of Trails

This was recommend to be my a friend, and figured I'd give it a try (I know, I'm very late to the party).

While some of the mechanics are interesting, overall, after about 15 hours, the dialogue in this game completely turned me off the game. It was just painful to read through some of these interactions. There are plenty other games of this genre out there, I'll go try one of those.

While this is not my favorite game of the trilogy (FC, SC, and 3rd), this gets a recommend purely for leading through to both SC and 3rd.

The writing is stellar if very slow due to the first chapter designation, it is a fairly slow story until you start getting into chapter 3, and speeds up very rapidly by there.

Battle system is a little constrained by the lack of equipment choices. The orbment system, or this game's version of magi-tech, is where most of your customization will come from.

All in all, it's a recommend if only because you'll be immediately wanting to play SC right after. I promise, it's that worthwhile.

This is a pretty solid game and money well spent. The graphics are well put together and enjoyable to look at (though I'm slightly bothered by the hand drawn images of the female protagonist vs her sprite. The drawn version looks like a normal, skinny, teenaged girl. The sprite looks like a sort of chubby little kid and I have not been able to Punky Brewster out of my head, between her clothes, the color of the clothes and her general shape. It's just sort of weird, as the male protagonits' sprite looks like his illustration. Other than than, everything is nicely integrated, nothing jumps out as jarringly out of place. The gameplay is pretty fun. There are a variety of commands to give characters, so the battles don't have to be total repetition. The combat is where the game really shines. The magic system seems pretty intricate and will probably be fun to play around with more once I've progressed further. It's rather fun now, even early in. The only real frustration I have with this game is how much the characters talk to each other. Obviously the game needs a plot, which has to be laid out through exposition and character development relies on dialogue too ,but they cold probably do with about half as much. Because I'm always ready to get back to killing monsters by the time the main character start quipping at each other.

Starting the Trails of series is quite daunting after you hear about how many games and how long it takes to catch up to the series, but after finishing Trails in the Sky FC, I can say with absolute certainty that this JRPG series is definitely worth the play. Memorable characters, a strong story and captivating gameplay, this game will definitely leave a lasting mark on your journey through the Trails of series. I actually spent my last 8 hours playing the game without leaving my seat and it was all worth it. I highly recommend this game to any fans in the JRPG genre.

Listen, for the longest time I was annoyed at Trails fans telling me that I needed to start from the very beginning of this long-running series to get the best experience. It took me about six years before I actually managed to finish this game from beginning to end because I found the story slow and boring.

Now, the story *is* a little slow, but it has this unique 'cozy' vibe that very few JRPGs have. Because it's the first installment, it doesn’t have the pressure to rush the plot or force anything dramatic to happen. Characters develop organically, and you’re able to immerse yourself in every area you explore. The world-building is meticulous and rewarding, with NPCs who feel alive and react dynamically to events in the story.

The combat system is a classic turn-based affair with a tactical layer that allows for satisfying experimentation with Arts and Crafts (the game’s magic and skill systems). While it may not be as flashy as modern JRPGs, it’s solid and enjoyable, especially once you unlock more abilities later in the game.

What really makes *Trails in the Sky FC* shine is its characters. Estelle and Joshua are so relatable and well-written protagonists. Their banter feels natural, their growth feels earned, and their journey is as much about personal discovery as it is about saving the day. By the time I reached the credits, I was completely hooked and eager to dive into *SC*.

If you’re looking for an epic JRPG with fast-paced action right out of the gate, this might not be for you. But if you want a game that takes its time to build a rich world full of heartwarming moments and unforgettable characters, *Trails in the Sky FC* is absolutely worth your time.

found this game on a whim. Reminds me of Honkai: Starbucks battle mechanics. story has been amazing so far (Estelle is Bestelle). i am excited to jump into the later games once i play this game into the ground.

Story, plot points, combat, Olivier. 5 stars

This was a game that people had recommended me for years now, and I eventually decided to give it a shot. That was one of the best decisions I've ever made, in terms of gaming.

This game immediately hooked me, with it's fun writing, world building, and characters. By the end of chapter 1, the story really started to pick up and I could not put the controller down. The story starts off fairly simple, and it takes its time to set up the world and characters before it starts expanding and getting bigger and bigger, up until the ending that will have you craving the sequel.

I cannot understate how fun and good the characters are, I love how they are written and I love every single character, even down to the NPCs which seldom feel like robots, and feel like actual people existing in this world. Speaking of, the world building in Trails is excellent, and I love how fleshed out it is (and it only gets better with every game).

The gameplay is actually really neat, and I love customizing my orbments and seeing the different combinations I could make for the characters in my party. The gameplay holds up excellently and my only real critique is the lack of dungeon maps, making me confused in areas like...sewers..ugh...lol. Also, I love to see older jrpgs with no random encounters, so that's a huge W.

Trails in the Sky is a great beginning to the Trails series, and one of the best video games I have had the pleasure of losing myself in. While not quite as grand as later titles, like it's sequel and onward, it plants all the seeds for future games and it is an excellent adventure.

Didn't think I would like the series so much but 500 hours later and every game in the series beaten this is now my favorite gaming series ever. Seriously give it a go.

Wanted to play a smaller and cozy JRPG while I wait for Expedition 33.
Little did I know I signed up for a whole series playthrough after that ending.

Simply the start to one of the greatest JRPG series of all time, it doesn't get much better than this. If you made it to the end, you are likely buying the second chapter.