My first 10 hours with Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter have been enchanting, engaging, and utterly crushing – and I can’t wait to play more

I’m a huge role-playing game (RPG) guy. I’ve spent countless hours playing through the Shin Megami Tensei, Yakuza, and Final Fantasy games, to name a few. But recently, I was given the opportunity to review a title from a series I had no experience with at all: Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter.

Although I was aware of Nihon Falcom’s Trails series, I just hadn’t found the time to give it a shot. But I’m already feeling very glad that the opportunity came about. For reference, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a remake of the first game in the series, making it the perfect starting point for newcomers, like me.

But what makes it so special? Well, I’m gonna run through a couple of things that have stood out to me so far, after around 10 hours of play. My full review will be coming soon, but while you wait, we’ll go through some of my first impressions…

Talk about a facelift

This game’s a real beauty on PS5 – everything from the character models, through to the vibrant environments, looks fantastic, especially if you’re using one of the best TVs or best gaming monitors.

See, this game’s source material – The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky – made use of basic sprites during combat. Now, the game is fully 3D, which is not only a visual upgrade but also opens up more possibilities in battle while also enhancing in-game immersion.

There’s so much more new stuff to uncover, though, and it all makes this title way more accessible for first-time players like me. I’m talking about full English voice acting, fast travel, improved exploration, and a refined script. The core narrative has remained largely similar, though – no Final Fantasy VII Rebirth-style retelling here!

A revamped UI is also here to make menus easier to navigate – it’s not overly convoluted or confusing, and it's made for seamless switching of gear and organization of materials. A modernized UI may seem small, but in titles like this one and Persona 3 Reload (which is one of the best RPGs in my book), it can make the most basic commands feel effortless, just as they should be.

One option I also want to give a shout-out to is the ability to rotate between standard, arranged, or original background music. I’ve kept myself on standard, for the most part, and the tracks so far have sounded brilliant, complementing exploration and missions brilliantly. But that kind of free choice will please just about every player – hats off to Falcom for making all that effort!

Growing pains

I’ve not had it all too easy lately. The game I most recently finished was Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, and boy did that take some determination to beat (it’s a great remaster, by the way)! And in honesty, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter hasn’t exactly given me the chance to take things easy.

Yes, I’m playing on Normal difficulty, and there have been a few really tough moments so far. The boss waiting for me at the end of the game’s prologue, even, was no joke – they had an insane portion of HP, some team-crushing attacks, and a bunch of support from other units. Talk about being thrown in the deep end!

But even though there’s an Easy and Very Easy mode, I wasn’t about to give myself a free pass. Instead, I pushed myself to learn new skills, level up my characters, and play around with my equipped gear. And before I knew it, I’d finally beaten the pesky boss. The requirement to consider all of your options in order to obtain victory results in a highly rewarding gaming experience.

Beyond enemies, I’ve also found that it's taken a little bit of time to get used to the orbment and quartz systems, which are at the core of combat. I won’t venture into the weeds, but essentially, you’re required to pair a range of gems in a specific pattern in order to unlock new magical attacks and support abilities.

As a newbie, this system took a while for me to understand – if you don’t find a way to get skills like Earth Guard, for example, the early game is going to feel a lot harder than it has to. Again, though, after investing my time in the game’s unique combat, I’m so much more comfortable with it – and it's incredibly addicting, actually. I’ll speak more about the game’s mixed turn-based and action combat in my full review – but spoiler alert, that’s also handled very well.

The bottom line is this: I’m having an absolute blast with Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter so far. I’ve seen a lot of critics and returning players scoring it very highly indeed, and while I’m still weighing up my personal thoughts, it's good to see that this remake has struck a chord with so many. Anyway, I’m gonna go back to playing now!

Want to hear my full thoughts? Then keep your eyes peeled for my full review, which is coming soon. In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you – have you had a chance to play Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter yet? Do you have any thoughts about the game so far? Whatever the case, make sure to get chatting in the comments!

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