Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter scratched my JRPG itch in the best way, and is easily one of 2025s greatest remakes

Date:
Sun, 12 Oct 2025 20:00:00 +0000

Description:
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is an exemplary remake with exceptional quality of life upgrades, visuals, and combat.

FULL STORY ======================================================================

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a remake of the classic Japanese role-playing game (JRPG), The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky , which was first released 21 years ago. Developer Nihon Falcom has modernized its 2004 title with full English voice acting, an overhauled combat system, and multiple quality of life improvements, bringing it to just about every modern platform you can imagine. Review info Platform reviewed: PS5
Available on: PS5, Nintendo Switch (physical and digital); Nintendo Switch
2, PC (digital only)
Release date: September 19, 2025

Now, Ill put my cards on the table. Im totally new to the Trails series.
Sure, I predominantly play role-playing games (RPGs), but I simply hadnt
found the time to sink my teeth into it. But Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter appeared to be the ultimate entry point. Why? Firstly, its a remake of the very first part of the Trails story but it's also got a smooth, up-to-date
UI and graphics, making it very easy to get into for new players like me.

And after hours and hours exploring the Liberl Kingdom, I have to say, Im so happy that I got the opportunity to dive into a Trails game. Yes, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a very apt remake, with addictive combat, an engaging plot, and brilliant visuals. Heres a rundown of my experience with the game, and why I think it's among the best RPGs of 2025. Brace yourself for an epic journey (Image credit: Nihon Falcom, GungHo)

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter follows the journey of Estelle Bright and her adopted brother, Joshua Bright, as they aim to track down their missing
father and become Senior Bracers essentially protectors of the peace.

As the tale unfolds, Estelle and Joshua find themselves embroiled in
something much deeper than a simple search and rescue. I wont spoil whats to come, of course, but the game isnt short on twists and turns. Although things take a while to get going the opening is pretty lengthy the narrative remains intriguing throughout. Cutscenes never feel overlong or convoluted, either, so rest assured, youre in for an engaging adventure.

Estelle and Joshua make for interesting dual protagonists Estelle is the explosive, fiery, energetic type, whos all action. Meanwhile, Joshua appears more measured and introverted, resulting in some humorous conflicts, especially earlier on. Best bit (Image credit: Nihon Falcom, GungHo) Without question, my favorite moment was defeating the boss in the games prologue yes, really! I lost a fair few times here, which forced me to get a better understanding of the games combat and orbment system. After some learning, levelling, and restrategizing, I finally got my victory. If thats not a good example of rewarding combat, I dont know what is.

I will say that a few characters Estelle included do have that
stereotypical over-the-top anime energy. This can be a little intense in moments, and may wear some players down, but it rarely bothered me, personally.

And the English voice acting is delivered to a high standard every
characters personality is communicated with genuine passion and care. This adds so much texture to the various individuals you meet throughout the game, and it's a very welcome improvement from the 2004 original.

However, there are some segments even in the main story where scenes arent voice-acted, or bizarrely, only partially voice-acted. For instance, I encountered a non-player character (NPC) whose lines were voiced entirely, while those of Estelle, Joshua, and company were not. This resulted in a kind of awkward viewing experience, slightly reducing my immersion in the scene. A Liberl dose of upgrades (Image credit: Nihon Falcom, GungHo)

It's not only voice acting that elevates the Trails in the Sky experience, though. Just about every other area has been significantly upgraded, making the game a lot more appealing than its original counterpart.

Perhaps the most obvious thing is that the visuals have received a major revamp. And Im a huge fan of this new look.

Character models looked fantastic on the PS5 version of the game,
environments are bursting with color, and elements such as shadows appear natural. Thats not to mention the fact that the game ran just about
flawlessly for me, with a smooth frame rate and short loading screens throughout my playtime, even when fast-traveling or playing in the handy high-speed mode.

I massively appreciated the graphical quality here especially when you consider that the original game used chibi-style sprites in combat and cutscenes, rather than fully fledged 3D models. (Image credit: Nihon Falcom, GungHo)

Something else I loved about this remake was its revamped original
soundtrack. The music in Trails 1st Chapter is a beautiful mixture of funky, emotive, and invigorating, with almost every track complementing your battles or exploration down to a T. I also adore the fact that you can cycle between standard, arranged, or original background music that sort of optionality is seriously commendable.

One more thing I want to shout out is the improved UI. I found the various menus in the game to be extremely easy to navigate through, whether I was equipping new gear, cooking up a new dish, or viewing my status. Everything about this game is silky smooth; it really is a joy to play.

The only aspect that Id argue couldve been improved would be the
localization. There are some grammatical and translation errors littered throughout the text displayed throughout the game. Ill admit that this is a small issue, especially as the voice acting is ultra-clean and the story has been faithfully re-created. Chainfollow-upI just cant stop (Image credit: Nihon Falcom, GungHo)

Ive been excited to discuss this games combat because it seriously impressed me. There are two ways to battle through Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter :
quick battle, real-time action-based combat; and command battle, a
turn-based, more slow-paced approach.

Its great fun to dive headfirst into scuffs via quick battle. I had a blast slashing up my opponents, charging up almighty crafts, and weaving around incoming attacks. If you stun an enemy, you can even switch into command battle and fight with an advantage over your foes, making it easier to clean up normal encounters quickly and load up on exp.

Command battle is the default for boss and mini-boss encounters. Turn order
is displayed on the side of the screen, and on each turn you can decide whether to: cast an art, like a healing or attack magic; leather your
opponent with a craft a strong physical attack; use an item, shield, or
flee. Youll also get the chance to follow up or chain attack your enemies for huge damage. It took me a while to get used to this system, but when I nailed down the right arts, I was able to withstand harsh strings of enemy attacks and then launch a deadly counter-offensive.

Youll need to get used to the orbment and quartz system if you want to stand
a chance against some bosses, too there are some difficulty spikes that are punishing to say the least.

The orbment system essentially requires you to string a range of gems
together in a specific pattern in order to unlock new arts. Some, like Earth Guard, proved almost necessary for me to get through some tough battles in
the early game if youre struggling, Id suggest re-evaluating your build-out in this department, as well as purchasing better gear at an in-game shop. (Image credit: Nihon Falcom, GungHo)

If youre still struggling after re-stratagizing, dont fear! You can simply turn down the difficulty, which ranges from Very Easy all the way up to Nightmare. As an experienced RPG player, I went with Normal but this was by no means without its challenges.

Yep, I got my fair share of kickings during my playthrough. Sometimes, I was left dumbfounded as to how I could possibly survive such high-damage attacks and whittle down some imposing health bars. But the orbment system really
does encourage experimentation, and when you finally nail down the right strategy, victory is oh so satisfying.

Sure, the game is going to ask some tough questions of you but its also
going to give you the tools to find the right answers. And in the end? That makes for exceptionally satisfying gameplay.

As someone who was experiencing a Trails game for the first time, I wasnt entirely sure what to expect from this title. But truly, it blew my expectations out of the water. With a mixture of gorgeous graphics, addictive combat, a whimsical world, and a gripping plot, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a top-class JRPG.

But not only that, it's also a top-class remake. There are just so many improvements a new UI, battle mechanics, visual styleI could go on. And it rarely feels like Nihon Falcom takes any half-measures. There are some small localization errors and some offbeat partially-voiced segments, sure. And
some may find the difficulty spikes to be intimidating.

Still, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is one of the best remakes of 2025, and one of the best JRPGs Ive played this year, no question. If youre a fan of
the genre, this is an easy recommendation, and if youve ever wanted to get into the Trails series, now is the time to do it! Should you play Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter? (Image credit: Nihon Falcom, GungHo) Play it if...

You want to get into the Trails series
As a remake of the first chapter in the Trails series, this is the ideal
entry point for any new player. On top of that, the up-to-date visuals and user-friendly quality of life changes make this title highly accessible for modern players.

You want action-packed combat with a hint of turn-based goodness
Weve seen a few games combine turn-based and action combat systems lately think Metaphor: Refantazio , for example. And like Atlus masterpiece, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter does a great job of balancing action and strategy too. Mastering each battle type is highly satisfying, and the variation keeps battles fresh. Don't play it if...

Youre not a massive fan of the anime-inspired vibe
If you dont really dig the anime-inspired tropes youll find in a lot of
JRPGs, this title may not be to your tastes. Personally, Im accustomed to
this style, so it was no issue for me, but some may be turned off by aspects like the visual and comedic style of Trails .

You want something to play with a short runtime
As is the case with many JRPGs, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter requires a fair time investment if you want to complete the main story and a good portion of side content. Sure, its not the 100-hour-plus epic youll experience with
games like Persona 5 Royal , for instance, but if you want a quick game to
dip into, this wont be it. Accessibility features

You can adjust the subtitle language to English, German, French, or Spanish, and select either English or Japanese voice acting. There are a number of
ways to customize the cameras behavior, too, such as normal or inverted configurations, camera movement speed, and camera distance.

On top of this, there are difficulty options, including a Very Easy mode if you just want to focus on the games story. Unfortunately, there is no colorblind mode. How I reviewed Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter: (Image credit: Nihon Falcom, GungHo)

I spent more than 30 hours playing Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter , predominantly focusing on the main story, but also picking up a few side quests here and there. I played the game on Normal difficulty throughout my time with it.

When playing Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter on PS5, I had my console connected up to the Sky Glass Gen 2 TV and used the Samsung HW-Q800D soundbar. On occasion, I also dipped into the game via remote play on my Samsung Galaxy
S24 FE, but this was pretty rare.

On a personal note, Ive reviewed a variety of games here at TechRadar, including recent releases like Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army and Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles . I'm also a life-long fan of JRPGs, with some of my favorite games including Shin Megami Tensei
III: Nocturne , Persona 3 Reload , and Final Fantasy VII (the original, of course).

First reviewed September-October 2025



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/trails-in-the-sky-1st-chapter-review


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