Hardcore Gaming 101: Legend of Heroes - Sora no Kiseki / Trails in the Sky

This trilogy has a somewhat unique and demanding expectation of its players - the story expects players to play them all in order, and it makes no concessions for anyone trying to dive into them any other way, as there's no Xenosaga-style database to use for reference. There's barely a break in the plot - the second game begins the morning after the night FC ended; same place, same characters, carrying on like before. This does have its benefits - your save data can naturally be carried over, and any NPCs you were helpful to in the past game will comment on your actions which is a nice touch. From a plot point of view it forces them to deal with that recurring plot puzzle - what happens to the characters after the credits roll. Far more than just "Hey gang, let's have more adventures!" they take the bull by the horns and show how these people have been shaped by their experiences and how they have moved on.

The plot is further expanded by taking on voluntary quests from the various Bracers Guild HQs dotted around Liberl. The extra money and items are certainly welcome, but it's the little tidbits you get from the characters that make them really worthwhile. They aren't necessary by any means, but failure to rise up through the ranks will result in some characters berating your lack of effort or offer up humiliating put downs when you boast of your unimpressive position within the guild. The game features an excellent quest journal for your Bracer jobs - notes are jotted down in it as you gather information on quests and it also contains a thorough guide on the Orbment system as well as logs of enemies defeated and similar data.

In addition to the excellent job they did creating the characters Falcom went a step further and made sure the world they inhabited was a place and not merely a collection of areas arranged for the sake of convenience. Take Rolent for example; this town is the first one you encounter and close to the home of the main cast members. You can learn if you wish that Rolent has two main industries - agriculture and septium mineral mining. Does that make any difference to the gameplay? No, none at all. What it does do is show the level of care and detail that went into creating the world as a whole, instead of creating a plot and fashioning bits and pieces around it. The Third is pretty much based around the concept of exposing you to fragmented little pieces of background info, as the game is filled with doors that lead to special character-specific events.

In terms of scale, the game world is "Suikoden sized" - the series is set entirely within the Liberl kingdom, although you are made aware of the surrounding areas and fed some small details about them. The next game in the series, "Zero no Kiseki, is set in the not-too-distant State of Crossbell, and yet another game is coming with that cast, so Falcom is hardly done with this nascent franchise yet. It does not, however, tie directly into the Gagharv Trilogy. It technically does not take place in the some world, although some have speculated it's simply on a different continent altogether.

Of course, the crux of any RPG is the battle system. There are no random battles, and all enemies are visible on the map. At heart, it's a turn based one, with turn order displayed at all times in a manner similar to Evolution/Final Fantasy X/Xenosaga. It's important to learn how to manipulate turn order through haste spells, stunning the enemy, and support items, because the enemy will try to use this system against you as well. The time spells take to cast must be taken into consideration too - it's possible for enemies to simply move out of the way of offensive spells if they have the time, and if you're trying to cast a group healing spell you have to make sure everyone stays within the area of effect. Battles play out on a grid system, with physical attacks having varying ranges and effects - certain skills can knock you back, cancel spellcasting or change your characters position on the field. In many ways, it's a bit like Lunar or the PSP remakes of the Gagharv Trilogy, with each character limited in how far they can move in a given turn. There are also flash special attacks executed once you've bulit up enough power. SC introduces "chain crafts" into the mix - a skill where multiple characters attack simultaneously, and The Third adds a support character option - rather than sitting idle, the player can choose a spare party member not participating in battle to offer set stat boosts to the others.

Magic is handled through a materia-like system. Falcom expanded upon it in several ways however - "quartz" (materia, for descriptive shorthands sake) isn't placed into equipment, but onto an item called an Orbment. This has a fixed number of slots and each character has a unique layout that cannot be altered; in addition to this some slots can only contain certain kinds of quartz forcing you to play to each characters natural strength and preventing any kind of perfect setup. The order you place them in also effects the spells you gain from them too - it's possible to equip the same character with the same quartz, but result in a different spell set at the end of it. Messing around with this Orbal system is very easy and you see the results instantly, so experimentation is straightforward enough.

As mentioned at the beginning, the Legend of Heroes series is known for being story heavy and Sora no Kiseki certainly doesn't disappoint. The main cast are a varied bunch, backed up by a strong group of supporting characters and adversaries. The writing doesn't allow the characters to sit within a lazy stereotype - there comes a time where your party are trapped within their own individual perfect dream worlds (you only ever get to see this from Estelle's point of view) and when asked what he dreamt of Olivier, the joker of the group with an eye for the ladies, simply says he dreamed he was with his elder brother when they were younger, and he never speaks of it again.

There's still plenty of time for the big events too - ancient secrets are discovered, a dragon lands in the middle of a shopping district and an invasion is narrowly avoided, but the plot never loses sight of the people that are forced to live through these decisions and never takes the easy road of painting the opposition as pantomime-level evil. Even the soundtrack is a departure from the fast paced guitar-laden tracks of Ys - it's more melodic and instrumental, with several tracks such as "Silver Will, Golden Wings", "Whereabouts of the Stars", and title track "Sora no Kiseki" often remixed as everything from a heart-pumping boss fights to slower, more thoughtful tunes.

Although the first game was released in 2004, it wasn't until 2010 that a publisher was finally willing to commit to localizing the truly epic amount of text in each game, and take the risk required to bring the games to Western markets. XSEED released FC on March 29, 2011 for the PSP (with statements indicating that they'd like to put the PC version on popular digital distribution networks like Steam, as well), with SC's release dependent on the success of FC, and coming in 2012 at the earliest. Happily, however, they are committed to bringing the entire franchise over, so long as it is even marginally successful. Meanwhile, as noted, Falcom is up to the fifth "Kiseki" game, with indications that they may still continue the franchise further, since the first three games together have sold well over a million copies just in Japan at this point.

This game-cum-series-cum-franchise has been one of Japan's best kept secrets for years. It brought Falcom back to fore-front prominence in Japan, and inspired a wave of independent PC RPGs, many of which still have not left that country. It's been a long road, but the West can finally see what all the fuss is about.

Links

XSEED's Trails in the Sky Page - With more information, and links on where to buy FC. This is the place to watch for announcements about any future game localizations!

Endless History - A fansite devoted to Falcom's releases, particularly the Trails series. An excellent source of news and updates.

	Estelle Bright Our protagonist for FC and SC. Estelle is a hotheaded sixteen year old tomboy who's not afraid to blurt out the first thing that pops into her head. People who to get past all the shouting and fighting find out she's actually a very loving and positive person. She strives to live up to the example her father, Cassius, set as a Bracer.
	Joshua Bright Joshua has amnesia, a mysterious past, a dark secret and a plot-relevant tattoo. In spite of all this, he's a calm, considerate person who goes through the whole trilogy without a single emo-like breakdown. He was brought into the Bright family home battered and bruised, and ended up an adopted son.
	Olivier Lenheim Olivier is, by his own claim, a wandering bard from Erebonia. He acts like a bit of a klutz, getting drunk and flirting with the ladies, but when he needs to be he surprises everyone with the keenness of his mind.
	Scherazard Harvey As a child, she worked in a travelling circus, but eventually found herself under the wing of Cassius Bright, Estelle and Joshua's father. Likes to get drunk with Olivier, but he can't handle it as well as she can.
	Agate Crosner He's the impatient, fiery type and known throughout Liberl as an excellent Bracer. He frequently (and sometimes to his embarrassment) shows his softer side to Tita, who he eventually treats as his little sister.
	Kloe Rinz ("Klose" in the original Japanese) Kloe is a student at the Jenis Royal Academy in Ruan. She has a thing for helping orphans and the like, and joins Estelle's party partly due to her attraction to Estelle's altruistic ways (and, well, partly for her overt attraction to Joshua). Always accompanied by Sieg, her faithful white falcon.
	Tita Russell Even though she's only twelve, Tita is an natural with all forms of mechanics and wields a massive chaingun in battle. She still has childlike innocence about her, and looks on Estelle and Joshua as her siblings.
	Zane Vathek ("Zin" in the original Japanese) Martial artist extraordinaire, and one of the highest ranking Bracers in the land. He's a big cheerful guy famed for his strength and dedication. Originally from Calvard, he came to Liberl to compete in the big yearly tournament in Grancel.
	Kevin Graham Kevin is introduced in SC, and becomes, essentially, the leading man for the final game in the series. He's a traveling priest who, despite a jovial exterior, does seem to be concealing some scars... and seems to have an odd amount of clout for someone of his rank.
	Renne Renne is a young girl Estelle and company meet in SC. At first she seems like little more than a kind, if slightly odd-tempered, girl who has golden eyes similar to Joshua's. As one might suspect, though, there is far, far more to her than meets the eye...
	Alan Richard Colonel Richard is the head of Liberl's intelligence service. He has a major role in FC that ends up being... somewhat reduced in SC. He finally joins the party in Third.
	Julia Schwarz Distinguished and loyal officer of Liberl who learnt the ways of the sword under Cassius Bright.
	Josette Capua Although this rough tomboy would like to see herself as Estelle's rival for Joshua's attention the reality is he really doesn't think of her that way. Lives onboard the "Wildcat" with her sky pirate brothers Keel and Doln.
	Analace Elfead She may look cute and love ice cream, but this chirpy Bracer takes her responsibilities very seriously.
	Muller Vander Olivier's childhood friend, although Olivier's irresponsible behavior frequently irritates him. Within the Ebronian Empire the Vander family are famed for their military expertise.
	Ries Argent Ries is only in the final game, but she has strong ties to Kevin. She appears quite reserved, but she's always quick to reach for her segmented sword at the earliest opportunity.