Title (EN): The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon
Title (JP): Eiyuu Densetsu: Kai no Kiseki -Farewell, O Zemuria- (英雄伝説 界の軌跡 -Farewell, O Zemuria-)
Genre: RPG
Platform: PS4, PS5
Developer: Nihon Falcom
Publisher: Nihon Falcom
Release date: 26th September 2024
Official website: https://www.falcom.co.jp/kai/ (JP)
(This review was originally published on 29 Oct 2024 based on the Japanese release, before the English title of the game was announced. The title was edited to reflect the English title, but the main body of the review preserves the Japanese names)
Kai no Kiseki is the thirteenth game in Nihon Falcom’s long-running Trails series, and the third in the latest sub-series which started in 2021 with the first Kuro no Kiseki/Trails Through Daybreak and was followed up with Kuro no Kiseki II in 2022.
Kai no Kiseki takes place just three months after the end of Kuro no Kiseki 2, during which president Roy Gramheart’s space program has been announced to the public, and a test flight which launched a satellite into orbit has already been carried out successfully. One of the first things to happen in the story is the success of the second test flight, and the game takes place in a relatively short period of time – the days leading up to the world’s first manned space flight.
Unsurprisingly, the entire country of Calvard is gripped by the excitement of this unprecedented feat for mankind, and this makes for a very unique setting not commonly seen in video games, with everyone excited for the upcoming launch, space and rocket-related merchandise being sold everywhere, and even the astronaut peddling smartphones on TV commercials.
But of course, nothing is as it seems. The space program seems to have suspicious motives and unclear elements, many marginalized or disenfranchised people start to disappear, and Kevin, representing the church, comes to Calvard to investigate something else which is not initially revealed.
And yes, the protagonist of Trails in the Sky the 3rd, Kevin Graham, returns in Kai not just as a playable character but as one of the three protagonists. Kai brings back the multi-route system first introduced in Reverie which was also used in Kuro 2, this time having three distinct routes that do not intertwine, with three protagonists and their parties: Van and his usual crew; Cold Steel series protagonist Rean accompanied by Altina, Fie and Crow (as well as Towa, though she is not a playable character in battle; she does however provide some support abilities); and Sky 3rd protagonist Kevin who makes his first playable appearance for the first time since that game, who is accompanied by Rufus, Swin, Nadia, and Lapis who he has hired as mercenaries for a job he needs done (like Towa, Lapis is a support character not playable in battle) – Kevin’s companion Ries Argent being noticeably absent is due to certain plot reasons which are touched upon.
While Rean and Kevin’s teams mostly stay fixed due to their small numbers of members, all three routes do also get occasional guest characters joining up, sometimes as fully playable party members, and sometimes as a computer-controlled fifth party member.
While Kevin and Rean go to towns from Kuro 1 not seen in Kuro 2, Van mostly stays in Edith, but also visits one new town, Anchorville, originally mentioned in Cold Steel, which is also party member Judith’s hometown.
Outside of the main story, the side content dungeon from Kuro 2, Märchen Garten, makes a return as well, this time taken over by Ouroboros and renamed to “Grim Garten”. While characters from the three routes initially take on parts of the Garten separated, they eventually meet up there allowing players to mix and match members from the three routes.
Notably, the Garten does not have any postgame content this time: All extra content found in it has to be cleared before fighting the final boss. Its structure is also simplified, with each area being shown as a game board with the player being able to choose a route across and only having to do a short dungeon floor if landing on a space that dictates it – one can easily clear an entire area doing only one such dungeon floor, or sometimes even none at all. The bonuses the player gets from the dungeon are also huge this time round, with it being extremely easy to get encounters with poms that drop exorbitant amounts of rewards, meaning that the player will never be wanting for money or sepith.
Like in Kuro 2 and Hajimari/Reverie, the majority of the rewards obtained from the Garten are randomized through a gacha system which uses a currency that is mostly obtained by clearing areas (some can also be picked up via scans in the real world, or from certain spaces on the Garten game board), and many of these, such as costumes and BGM tracks are exclusive to the gacha. This can become annoying for completionists who want all of them: Even after clearing the entire Garten, this writer had to grind for another three hours just to get five remaining costumes. As the currency used for the gacha has no link to real-world money, there is certainly no obligation on Falcom’s part to include a system to eventually guarantee obtaining certain items, but having one would certainly save the player a huge amount of potential frustration.
The Grim Garten can be accessed at almost any point in the game once unlocked shortly after the prologue, from special terminals found in each town area, or from certain save points within dungeons. The Garten also gives players access to special party members not from any of the three teams who are only playable as temporary guests otherwise.
The battle system mostly remains the same, but with more improvements and features. Field Battles get the new “awakening” system in which certain characters can use a gauge filled up from breaking objects on the field to activate their powered-up mode or form, which stays even when transitioning into an AT Battle. AT Battles, on the other hand, get the new BLTZ system which has support characters not in the party, including some who are not playable at all like Lapis or Towa, help out by throwing in an additional attack or powering up certain moves. Both Field and AT Battles get the ZOC system, which consumes its own gauge to slow down time for enemies in Field Battles, and consumes two Shard Boost pips in Field Battles to give the character activating it an extra turn.
AT Battles have also been rebalanced so that EX Chains are less powerful and also more limited, with enemies automatically recovering after getting hit a certain number of times or even after a number of turns (including player characters’) have passed. S-Crafts are back to only requiring one Boost bar to be used like in Kuro 1, but keep the cooldowns from Kuro 2. Battles feel more balanced altogether as a result, but a player who understands the systems, especially the returning Shard Skill system, can easily find ways to make overpowered builds that can steamroll anything in the game.
The number of minigames in Kai is cut down significantly from Kuro 2. Fishing and hacking are used the most, and there are a very few points with drone minigames, some in the story. Trailing sequences also return, but are improved and used extremely sparingly. The terrible Seventh Hearts card game from Kuro 2 is completely gone, with no replacement – This reviewer wishes they would just bring back Vantage Masters. Blackjack and poker can be found in casinos, which are completely optional. It is in this reviewer’s opinion that they found the perfect balance for minigames in Kai: Most are completely optional, and the few mandatory sequences work well in breaking up the pace.
The scan mode introduced in Kuro 2 is also fixed: Kuro 2 made it feel like one should be constantly scanning every new location, but while scanning does make it easier to find things in Kai, spots where such things can be found have different lighting on the field so that it is clear where they are even without a scan, so that the player can just scan when they see such spots.
As for the L.G.C. alignment system, it again feels completely redundant, and it is also impossible to fill them all out in one playthrough, making it very annoying for a completionist. That being said, having it only unlock items (like in Kuro 2) is preferable to having it lock the player out of certain choices or events like in Kuro 1.
While Kuro 2 cut down on Connect events, only having them available at two spots in the entire game, Kai brings them back in full force, with them being available in almost every town exploration sequence, for all three routes. Furthermore, while the player still has to pick and choose between events meaning that they will miss out on some, Kai adds a new feature in the Garten where using certain consumables (of which infinite amounts can be easily obtained) allows the player to see Connect events they missed, meaning that all Connect events can be seen in one playthrough, a huge improvement.
Story-wise, Kai no Kiseki will without a doubt be divisive (and already is among Japanese fans) due to the story being very incomplete. More questions are presented than answers, many plot threads are left dangling for a sequel, and the game ends in the biggest cliffhanger in the series since 2017’s Trails of Cold Steel III. This is not to say any of this is bad: The story and characters are mostly strong, with the only notable issue being some odd pacing in the early game (the first Van sequence on a completionist playthrough can last around 15 hours). It should also be noted that, unlike Kuro 2, Kai no Kiseki does move the overarching plot of the entire series along, albeit without providing any real answers to many of the new questions, and is clearly a turning point for the entire series’ plot.
The game does feel a bit short, however, with this reviewer taking 95 hours on a completionist playthrough, roughly equal to the previous game (which also felt short compared to the previous few games in the series), especially when one considers the time spent grinding for the last few gacha items.
The Trails series’ transition to its new phase had a rocky start with technical issues and balance problems in the first Kuro no Kiseki/Trails Through Daybreak, and Kuro no Kiseki II managed to deal with technical issues but had its own new issues, with balance problems and some odd decisions regarding minigames and Connect events. Kai no Kiseki manages to solve the vast majority of problems, and we did not encounter any technical issues on the PS5. While many will undoubtedly be upset about the cliffhanger ending, given how the very first game in the series (Trails in the Sky FC) ended on one, these are clearly a series staple and one cannot help but wonder why a series fan would be making a fuss over another cliffhanger at this point, thirteen games into the series, especially when the cliffhanger is one so exciting. And besides, the sheer number of quality of life features, from the high speed mode to being able to skip animations in battles, to the game clearly telling you whenever you are hitting a point of no return, to even things as subtle as the names for NPCs in the text box being displayed in ways that correspond to their locations on the screen, make for an extremely satisfying experience.
The Good: Kai no Kiseki is a huge improvement over its predecessor both gameplay and system-wise, has a unique backdrop in the form of nation-wide excitement for the world’s first space program, brings back some fan favorite characters, and also moves the overarching plot of the series along.
The Bad: The game has some pacing issues, and Rean and Kevin’s routes don’t have much content compared to Van’s so that it feels like less having three protagonists and more like having one main and two side content routes.
Conclusion: Kai no Kiseki -Farewell, O Zemuria- gives players a refined gameplay experience that builds on past improvements and fixes issues from the last game, while keeping fans eager for what’s next, making it a very strong entry in the Trails series.
Score: 90/100
This review was written based on the Japanese release of the game, and may not reflect changes made to versions released in other regions.
Also see:
Kuro no Kiseki II review – A massive improvement in gameplay
