The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
| The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky | |
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| Developer(s) | Nihon Falcom |
| Publisher(s) | Nihon Falcom Xseed Games (PSP) Ghostlight (PSP) |
| Artist(s) | HACCAN Yuu Shiina |
| Composer(s) | Hayato Sonoda Wataru Ishibashi Takahide Murayama |
| Series | The Legend of Heroes - Trails in the Sky |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita |
| Release date(s) | Microsoft Windows
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| Genre(s) | RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Distribution | CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, UMD, digital distribution |
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (Eiyū Densetsu VI Sora no Kiseki 英雄伝説VI 空の軌跡, Eiyū Densetsu Shikkusu Sora no Kiseki) is a Japanese role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. It is commonly referred to as Trails in the Sky First Chapter to distinguish itself from the rest of the games in the Trails in the Sky series. The game is the first game in trilogy of titles, which also includes Trails in the Sky Second Chapter and Trails in the Sky Third Chapter, and collectively, the titles create the sixth entry in the larger The Legend of Heroes series of video games.
First Chapter was first released in Japan for Microsoft Windows in 2004, and later ported to the PlayStation Portable in 2006. North American video game publisher Xseed Games acquired the rights to push the game from Falcom, but did not release it until 2011 due to the game's massive size and amount of text necessary to translate and localize. An HD port to the PlayStation 3 was released in Japan in 2012 as part of Sony's PSP Remaster line of games, while an HD remake for the PlayStation Vita has been announced for 2015; both Japanese-only releases.
Gameplay
The game's structure consists of a series of maps, most of which fall into two categories: field maps, which have roaming monsters that initiate combat on contact, and town maps. Most maps are 3D and fully rotatable. The background field for the battles is determined by where the monster was engaged. Field maps often contain treasure chests that may be obvious or hidden, sometimes requiring the player to rotate their screen or look for a "!" mark which indicates an interactive object. Town maps are more loaded with NPCs and shops. Shops generally have their own buildings and logo on the minimap which can be toggled within the town.
Players start off in the district of Rolent and travel around the world as the game progresses. The game has a main story line and many side quests that can be started at the Bracer's guild or by talking to NPCs. Side quests offer rewards and flesh out the main story.
Combat
Combat is held in a separate screen with square tiles (default camera position at 45 degrees to the squares). Each character and enemy takes their turn when their AT bar is full (on the left of combat screen). Options for characters are: Move, Attack, Arts, Craft, Item and Retreat. You are allowed to move before you do any other action except retreat, but all other actions will terminate the turn immediately after.
- Move: allows the character to go onto a different tile than the one he/she is currently on.
- Attack: uses equipped weapon to deal damage to the enemy. Different weapons have different ranges and areas of effect.
- Arts: different powers that become available basing on the combination of quartz you have equipped on that character's orbment. Requires EP and takes time to use.
- Craft: these are the character's individual special skills which developed from each of their unique equipped weapons. They are unique to each character and require CP to use. However they are instantaneous and take place immediately.
- S-Craft: A special type of craft that's categorized within it. When the character's CP reaches at least 100, the character's set "special" can be triggered on the press of a button that depends on the character's slot. After the current turn has finished, the character that was triggered will perform their special straight away, thus burning up his AT bar again. However it should be noted that the character can take their turn, then activate their S-craft straight after. Thus proving a useful tool for urgent needs. It is also very useful to steal bonus events (such as "critical" or "att up") with S-Craft to further enhance the damage output of the move..
Combat terminates when all enemies are destroyed and having your whole party wiped out will normally result in gameover, with a few exceptions in events.
Plot
Story
The game takes place in Liberl Kingdom, 10 years after the great invasion of Erebonian Empire from the north. Currently it is being governed by the old queen Alicia II and restored back to its peaceful state before the war. Currently the kingdom thrives of materials and high technology which is eyed closely by the Erebonian Empire.
The main character is Estelle Bright, daughter of Cassius Bright who is a legend within the kingdom. During the great war, Erebonian managed to break their way through to the capital city. Here, under the direction of Cassius, Liberl launched a counter-attack that forced the opponent to retreat back to the borders within a few weeks. After the war, Cassius gave up his sword and left the army, joining the Bracer's guild and enhancing it to its glory state and was given the S ranking.
Estelle is completely unaware of her father's past and history but settles comfortably in the house at Rolent. When she was at a young age, her father was assaulted by a young child of amazing combat abilities but loses his memory in the fight and becomes adopted by Cassius. This child was named Joshua Bright and is the main male character of the story. From there Estelle was taught the usage of staff and starts off the story on the day when she is going to join the Bracer's guild with Joshua.
The story progresses as normal Bracer's guild quests unveiling the dark side of the government, a faction of the army that decides to overthrow the old queen. This eventually leads to the exploration of the ancient facilities in the Liberl Kingdom... and it turns out that the commander of the army faction was just being used by a mastermind who is adept at controlling people's minds. This also leads on to the second story, with Joshua's past unveiling in the ending.
Characters
- Estelle Bright (エステル・ブライト Esuteru Buraito) (Japanese voice: Akemi Kanda;[4] English voice: Stephanie Sheh): 16, the main female character of the game, she is a rather naive and straightforward girl who is always energetic and positive. She was born and raised in the rural areas of Rolent, a quiet farming and mining town based just north of the Kingdom's capital. She is very boyish both in appearance and hobby, loving to fish and collect sports shoes (as a child she was also an avid insect hunter). She learned the ways of the staff directly from her father.
- Joshua Bright (ヨシュア・ブライト Yoshua Buraito) (Japanese voice: Mitsuki Saiga; English voice: Johnny Yong Bosch): 16, the main male character, adopted 5 years ago by Cassius, is a quiet youth with black hair and amber eyes who is always there to keep the hot-headed Estelle from getting too deep into trouble. His special hobby is to play the harmonica, and in combat he wields dual swords.
- Agate Crosner (アガット・クロスナー Agatto Kurosunaa) (Japanese voice: Takayuki Kondō; English voice: Bryce Papenbrook): 24, he hails from a small village in rural Bose area but also spent most of his youth in the port city of Ruan as the leader of the Raven clan. He is one of the up-and-coming bracers in the kingdom, nicknamed "heavy sword" for his use of such weapons in combat. He always appears angry and grumpy on the surface but is in fact a caring youth who looks after newcomers like the Brights.
- Tita Russell (ティータ・ラッセル Tiita Rasseru) (Japanese voice: Hiromi Konno): 12, a female child residing in the city of Zeiss, she is the granddaughter of Albert Russell, the founding father of Orbment technology in the kingdom and a genius inventor. Thanks to her genes, Tita is also incredibly skilled in machinery and orbment technology. Despite her young age she's already an apprentice in the central workshop, the most important R&D facility in the realm. An adorable figure, she's beloved by all around her, though when she works with orbment she often becomes indifferent to her surroundings and starts bombarding others with excessive information on the subject (a trait that appears to run in the family).
- Scherazard Harvey (シェラザード・ハーヴェイ Sherazaado Haavei) (Japanese voice: Yuka Shioyama; English voice: Michelle Ruff): 23, a female Bracer with silver hair and dark skin, nicknamed "Silver Streak". She is a sisterly figure to the Brights, and looks after them through much of their journey. She is also a student under Cassius. Born in the slums of a foreign realm, she was picked up by a traveling circus as a child, and after the circus disbanded she stayed under Cassius and became a bracer. She is well versed in dancing, cards and thief skills. Her hobby is drinking, and she's often seen drunk during the game. Her favorite drinking partners are Anna Howell, the guild's Rolent branch attendant (and a woman that never gets drunk), and Olivier Lenheim.
- Olivier Lenheim (オリビエ・レンハイム Olibie Renheimu) (Japanese voice: Takehito Koyasu; English voice: Travis Willingham): 26, a handsome blond man from the Erebonian empire who claims to be a traveling musician. He is indeed blessed with great music talents on almost all instruments, but is also extremely carefree and has peculiar tastes. Some of his antics include drinking an incredibly expensive wine after giving a performance at a local restaurant (which gets him in jail) and making several passes at all other attractive characters (in his eyes, he is the Hunter of Love). His childhood friend Muller Vanders is a military officer stationed in the Kingdom, and is often seen trying to stop Olivier from becoming an even bigger embarrassment.
- Klose Rinz (クローゼ・リンツ Kurooze Rintsu) (Japanese voice: Yuuko Minaguchi; English voice: Cristina Vee): 16, a female student in the Royal Jenis academy in rural Ruan area. She is a calm and sensitive figure who looks after kids in foster homes. She has a pet white falcon named Giku and is also the school's fencing champion. Her name is changed to Kloe in the localized PSP release and Giku is changed to Seig.
- Zane Vathek (ジン・ヴァセック Zane Vatekku) (Japanese voice: Tetsu Inada; English voice: Patrick Seitz): 30, a giant of a man hailing from the Calvard republic, he is a skilled martial artist and one of the highest-ranking bracers in the entire world. (Level A, he claims that there are only a couple dozen level A's in the world, and 4 level S, including Cassius Bright), nicknamed "The Immovable" a reliable figure that gave the Brights a great deal of support. Originally he traveled to the Kingdom to participate in a martial arts competition; however, it was actually a cover, since he was asked by Cassius to help Estelle. He is also an old friend with the Zeiss branch Bracer guild attendant, Kilika. However his participation in the game soon gets much more personal in the second installment.
- Kevin Graham (ケビン・グラハム Kebin Gurahamu) (Japanese voice: Ryouhei Nakao): 22, a young traveling priest of the church with green pointy hairs, he appears to be a positive, light-hearted figure that often gives great advice. In the second installment, he helps Estelle many times. It is later revealed that he is actually a knight of the church, in charge of finding and collecting lost ancient artifacts. However, it seems like he has other hidden agendas as well. He wields a crossbow.
- Anelace Elfead (アネラス・エルフィード Anerasu Erufiido) (Japanese voice: Masako Okōchi): 18, a young female bracer that's only a couple years senior to Estelle, she's a skilled swordsman that helped Estelle in plan during the first mission and trained with Estelle in the beginning of the second installment. However she's often absent-minded and very childish, an obsessive collector of cute objects such as teddy bears, ice-cream (and Tita Russell), her slogan is "Cute is Justice!", her nutty remarks and actions often dumbfound her colleagues in the same way as Olivier Lehiem.
- Ries Argent (リース・アルジェント Riisu Arujento) (Japanese voice: Houko Kuwashima): 18, a newly appointed squire in the Church's knighthood, the young sister of the church that is assigned to work under Kevin Graham, the two of them had known each other for most of their childhood, spending years together in the same foster care center ran by the church along with their older sister Rufina ルフィナ. on appearance she seems to resemble Kloze Rinz in her calm demeanor, but her thought process often put violent solution up front.
- Alan Richard (アラン・リシャール Aran Rishaaru) (Japanese voice: Hiroaki Miura): 35, in the first installment he was the colonel of the Kingdom's army, and the head of the newly founded espionage agency, a rising star in the army that used to work under Cassius Bright before he retired.
- Renne (レン Ren) (Japanese voice: Kumiko Nishihara): 11, a young girl that appears to be traveling with her parents (who claim to be merchants from the Republic) she's a prankster and a strange mix that both appears to be childish at times and well beyond her age at other times. During their time together, she became good friends with Tita Russell.
- Julia Schwarz (ユリア・シュバルツ Yuria Shubarutsu) (Japanese voice: Yuka Komatsu): 28, a female captain in the army, she's the top of the new generation of officers in the army, a great swordsman, she was the commander of the royal guard, also being in charge of the royal air flagship. She taught Kloe her fencing skill, and the two have been close for a long time. She often sees herself as her guardian, and was somewhat troubled that as her station grew she became increasingly distant from Kloe. As a famous female officer, she has a group of rabid female fans within the kingdom that often stalk her after work, (including Tita Russell's mother, Alica) needing once to disguise herself as a nun to sneak past these crazed fans and also used a similar disguise to fool enemy agents.
- Muller Vander (ミュラー・ヴァンダール Myuraa Vandaaru) (Japanese voice: Hiroshi Isobe): 29, a major of the Erebonian Empire army, he hails from a famous noble family whose tradition is the act as the guard of the royal family, having known Olivier since childhood, he has followed him around the world in his power struggles, trying to keep his showboating and/or nutty act from getting out of hand. he is mostly a stern figure, with some rare exceptions (particularly against Olivier, and occasionally Josette Capua).
- Josette Capua (ジョゼット・カプア Josetto Kapua) (Japanese voice: Umeka Shōji): 16, the only daughter in the family with two elder brothers, they were originally a noble family in the Erebonian empire, before they were tricked by deceiving merchants and lost their wealth and status, all that was left were their servants and their modified airship, the Mountain Lion. So they became highway bandits operating off the airship, mostly working out of Liberl Kingdom. Josette has a lot in common with Estelle, both appear to be boyish, optimistic, and energetic girls. She also has a huge crush on Joshua. Because of this, the two girls were always at odds with each other, with Josette usually referring to Estelle as "the brainless one." Josette however also has a much more feminine side than Estelle, being a great cook and housekeeper, she was able to keep the otherwise all male air-brigade relatively clean.
Development
The game was initially released on Microsoft Windows in 2004 and then ported to the PlayStation Portable in the beginning of 2006. The PlayStation 3 port was released in 2012. The game's first English release only occurred in 2011, when Xseed Games released First Chapter for the PSP,[5] followed by a Windows version in July 2014. The PSP version features a number of additions, including a monster collecting book, which records all monsters defeated by the player, voice acting during the battles, and some minor graphics additions and alterations.
High definition versions of all three games were released on the PlayStation 3 in Japan. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC Kai HD Edition was released on December 13, 2012.[6] The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC Kai HD Edition was released on April 25, 2013.[7] The PS3 version of the game allows for players to also load save data from the PSP editions of the games and continue their game with the PS3 version. For SC and TC Kai HD, players can import clear game files from either the PSP or Kai HD Edition of First and Second Chapter.
In December 2014, it was announced that the games would be released with an "Evolution" subtitle for the PlayStation Vita in Japan.
Related media
The soundtrack was released as Eiyū Densetsu VI Sora no Kiseki Original Sound Track in July 2004 in Japan, published and produced by Falcom Sound Team JDK. It was composed by Hayato Sonoda, Wataru Ishibashi, Takahide Murayama and arranged by Kohei Wada. The album has two discs with 33 and 26 tracks, respectively. Tracks 24 to 31 comprise "The White Flower Madrigal" Suite. The song "Whereabouts of the Stars" was written by Hideaki Hamada, with vocals from u-mi. The soundtrack to the first chapter is also distributed with the Windows release in the form of Ogg Vorbis music files.
An OVA adaptation of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky was announced in 2011.[8] The first OVA was released on November 25, 2011 on DVD and Blu-ray. The second and final OVA was released on January 22, 2012.[9] In 2012, the OVAs have been licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America.[10]
Reception
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First Chapter was generally well received from critics. Review aggregator Metacritic gave the PlayStation Portable version a 79/100 rating, based on twenty two reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[13] Neilie Johnson of IGN generally praised the game, concluding with the sentiment that "Although this First Chapter is not the most original ever made, like any good JRPG it offers amusing writing, dynamic combat, interesting tasks, an absorbing narrative, and hours upon hours of gameplay. And while the game's 50/50 balance between combat and story may not be to everyone's taste, its charm and overall entertainment value make it well worth the investment."[15]
References
- ↑ "《英雄传说6：空之轨迹》简体中文版1月20日正式上市 _ 游民星空 GamerSky.com". Retrieved 8 September 2014.
- ↑ "온라인 영웅전설, 3월 17일 서비스 오픈 - 뉴스와이어". 보도자료 배포, 온라인 보도자료 등록, 홍보 대행 - 뉴스와이어. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
- ↑ "英雄伝説 空の軌跡 FC Evolution".
- ↑ Doi, Hitoshi. "Kanda Akemi roles". Seiyuu Database. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
- ↑ "XSEED Games Announces Wide-Ranging Partnership with Nihon Falcom".
- ↑ "Amazon.co.jp： 英雄伝説 空の軌跡FC:改 HD EDITION: ゲーム". Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
- ↑ "The Legend Of Heroes: Trails In The Sky SC Is Coming To PS3 With HD Graphics". Siliconera. 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
- ↑ "Eiyu Densetsu: Sora no Kiseki RPG Gets Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
- ↑ "Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Anime #2 Teaser Posted". Anime News Network. 2011-12-12. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
- ↑ "Sentai Filmworks Licenses Legend of Heroes ~ Trails in the Sky". Anime News Network. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
- ↑ "The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky". GameRankings. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
- ↑ "The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky".
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky". Metacritic.
- ↑ Heidi Kemps (April 4, 2011). "Review: The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2011-12-01. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Neilie Johnson (April 4, 2011). "The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Review". IGN. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
- ↑ Dennis Rubinshteyn (2011-03-29). "The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky". RPGFan. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
- ↑ "Derek Heemsbergen's Awards". Games of the Year 2011. RPGFan. 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ↑ "Dennis Rubinshteyn's Awards". Games of the Year 2011. RPGFan. 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ↑ "Best Traditional RPG of 2011: TIE: Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (PSP) & Radiant Historia (Nintendo DS)". Games of the Year 2011. RPGFan. 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ↑ Chris Kohler (2011-12-20). "The 20 Best Videogames of 2011". Wired.
External links
- Official website
- (Japanese) Official Sora no Kiseki portal
- (Japanese) Legend of Heroes VI: Sora no Kiseki official website
- (Japanese) Legend of Heroes: Sora no Kiseki official website
- (Japanese) Mobile phone version by Taito
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