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The Legend of Heroes has quietly turn into one among my favourite JRPG IPs. Like many Nintendo followers, I hadn’t performed a single recreation within the sequence (there are round 20, relying upon whom you ask) till Trails of Chilly Metal III hit the Swap in 2020. I’ve since performed every of the Swap releases, and The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure is without doubt one of the greatest.
Initially launched in 2011 for PSP, Trails to Azure is the direct sequel to The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero, which was up to date for the Swap in 2022. In the event you skipped that, you should still acknowledge most of the characters from the Trails of Chilly Metal video games since they’re all set throughout the similar timeline. It’s a large universe of politics, friendships, heroics, and betrayals that’s fairly troublesome to maintain monitor of. Trails to Azure consists of loads of background info (each from the menu display screen and varied bookshelves scattered all through the sport) to convey you updated.
As such, I’m not going to bathroom down this evaluate with backstory; I don’t really feel like writing one other faculty thesis. You need to undoubtedly play Trails from Zero earlier than beginning Trails to Azure, however you’ll in any other case decide up most of what it is advisable know simply by taking part in the sport. Additionally, the story’s plot factors by no means stray too removed from the standard JRPG tropes. There’s a giant dangerous coming, and it’s as much as our rag-tag crew of upstarts (and numerous associates…and generally enemies) to save lots of the day.
That is dealt with throughout two important forms of environments. First, you have got quite a few, huge cities to discover.
These areas are the place you meet a lot of the recreation’s characters and get the narrative. The central location is Crossbell, the place the Particular Help Part (SSS) that you just kind-of lead has its base. Right here, you’ll settle for quite a few requests that both drive the story alongside or serve to only stage you up and get you great things. Most duties must be carried out inside an in-game day, so retaining monitor of what you achieved is essential. Transfer too far forward and also you gained’t have the ability to full your missions, thereby shedding out on their rewards.
The difficulty with that is that some duties require loads of city exploration. You possibly can shortly zip to the precise borough you need, however every is stuffed with a combination of shops, workplaces and residences to take a look at. These typically comprise bonus objects and hidden quests you may miss, so completionists will spend plenty of time revisiting areas and rechecking cabinets to verify nothing new has appeared. Fortunately, there are quite a few walkthroughs obtainable to information you alongside.
Additionally slowing down the journey are the necessity to play mini-games and gamble. I desire my video games not have video games inside them, and I prefer it much less when obtainable objects are primarily locked behind these video games.
Possibly it’s the Methodist in me, perhaps it’s simply that roulette and card video games bore me, however I’d somewhat be adventuring than sitting in a on line casino.
So, let’s journey. Your get together’s preliminary journey to a brand new city all the time occurs by foot, and people linear however lengthy paths offer you loads of alternatives to battle monsters, purchase the quite a few objects it is advisable stage up, and wrap up a number of of your assigned duties (monster management is all the time a urgent want). Enemies will be seen on the display screen, providing you with the choice to have interaction or keep away from. In the event you assault them from behind you get a slight bonus when going into battle.
The turn-based fight system itself is advanced, however we will boil it all the way down to the standard parts. Turns are assigned primarily based on pace, and every character can choose to maneuver, assault, use an merchandise, or use an artwork.
Arts are nice for concentrating on an enemy’s weak point, however they often can’t be solid instantly, giving the enemies an opportunity to get assaults in earlier than you. The humanities obtainable for every character are decided by the participant, so studying to optimize your get together with the assorted objects you’ve acquired and upgraded turns into the important thing to victory. You possibly can stability your characters to be sure to’re considerably lined it doesn’t matter what you’re going through, or you may go heavy with a selected kind of artwork (fireplace, earth, wind, and many others.) if you already know what you’ll be up towards. I tended to remain balanced for basic battles, and would solely get exact with character and talent administration after getting my butt handed to me in a boss battle…which occurred extra typically than I care to confess. Fight isn’t unfair, however the recreation does be sure to frequently handle your get together.
Fortunately, Trails to Azure provides you loads of particular fight skills to power your approach by way of the harder battles. Buying, optimizing, and equipping quartz supplies provides you entry to a wide selection of skills, buffs, and enemy debuffs. There are all the time new weapons and armor to seek out or buy. Saving as much as unleash highly effective S-Craft assaults could make issues a bit simpler, as can the Combo Crafts between particular characters. Timing these assaults within the greater battles will be tough to drag off, nevertheless it’s a rewarding system. The bosses and mini-bosses can typically take fairly a while to defeat, offering a pleasant change of tempo from the repetitive fights between cities.
Talking of being between cities, Trails to Azure has one thing I’ve by no means seen earlier than in a online game; the treasure chests are comedians. In the event you click on on them once more after retrieving their merchandise(s), they’ll let you know a joke—a few of which are literally fairly intelligent.
One of the best a part of The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure, nonetheless, is the story. Particularly, the characters who drive the story. The difficult plot generally provides us an excessive amount of to learn, however that permits the quite a few individuals you meet to have stunning depth. Many don’t see eye-to-eye regardless of having comparable objectives, and it’s intriguing to observe their relationships develop—for higher or worse. There will definitely be some you want greater than others, however I can’t think about anybody will play this recreation with out rallying behind Lloyd, Elie, Noel, Wazy, and (after all) KeA. Even the enemies are partaking…though some require you to simply accept a pair troubling character flaws.
I additionally fairly like the best way the sport seems and sounds. The up to date graphics are nonetheless a bit dated, however in a comforting sort of approach. They’re quaint, however detailed, and so they’re a incredible match for the Swap in handheld mode. A number of the assault animations are underwhelming, however that’s to be anticipated on a recreation this outdated. The music suits the visuals completely, and is surprisingly various—altering tone primarily based on the vibe of your present location.
All of this comes collectively to offer an expertise that rivals these of JRPGs developed a decade later. The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure might look cute and easy, however make no mistake; this can be a very difficult, very rewarding recreation that can take plenty of your gaming hours.
Simply be sure to begin from Zero earlier than heading to Azure.
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