The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II is another polished and enjoyable entry in the sprawling role-playing multiverse created by Y’s overlords Nihon Falcom. You see, unlike other franchises like Final Fantasy or The Legend of Zelda, which recycle well-worn motifs and themes across their not-interconnected titles (think: Cid), Trails is king of the RPG soap opera of sorts, a long running dynasty with continuing storylines and familiar characters.
Having not played the previous entry, I can assure newcomers like me that playing this one and going in blind in no way affected my enjoyment of the action. Released back in 2022 in Japan, legendary RPG publishing heroes NiS have provided this translated version, which puts us Westerners quite close to the actual timeline of the NTSC-J releases. It is an excellent translation, given the weighty, super-twisty plot.
You take the role of the superbly named Van Arkride, a smooth talking bounty hunter (or Spriggan, if you want to use the correct job title, in a nod to Cornish folklore). He is recruited by his ex-missus Elaine Auclair to investigate a murder mystery that involves an individual who eerily has the ability to transform into a monstrosity known as a Grendel (another cracking folkloric reference, cryptid fans). The irony here is that ol’ Van himself has the ability to shape shift into the form of….you guessed it – a Grendel. Things get wild. There is a crazy time travelling element that comes into play and flips things on its head. Returning characters and locations are revisited, and there is a tonne of dialogue, most of it very entertaining and full of familiar role-playing nonsense that we love.
But even if you don’t give a fig for what story the game is trying to tell, like recent bangers FF7 Remake, or the Xenoblade series, the actual gameplay – the combat – of The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II is absolutely sensational. If you are au-fait with the Y’s series, then the approach to 3D sword slashing action combat here will be instantly familiar. You hack and slash your way through a rogues gallery of foes, with crushing, spectacular special moves now on the menu, apparently a new addition moving on from the preceding entry in the series.
If you are more of a traditionalist, then The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II winningly lets you switch to turn-based combat – on the fly! I won’t beat around the bush, I absolutely adore the fighting system in this one, from the way it looks (the EX Chain attacks are particularly great) to the fluidity and the way it feels.
Another common activity in an PRG is pursuing side quests and extracurricular shenanigans and The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II has this kind of stuff in abundance. There are treasure hunting side hustles, a variety of surprisingly altruistic Spriggan jobs for the undeniably likeable Van, a spot of basketball, card games, even a bit of QTE hacking is on the agenda. There are a ton of unlockable items and costumes. Perhaps the best part of the game, or it was for me, anyway, is the Marchen Garten mode – a sixteen-level, combat-filled dungeon crawl that allows the excellent combat to take centre stage as you cut through swathes of beasties and hoover up all of the booty you can get your hands on, including the precious stones synonymous with Trails: Quartz. This coveted gemstone can be used to transform your arsenal, buff your party, and learn new Orbal Arts, some of which need to be seen to be believed.
There is plenty on offer in The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II for players to enjoy even if you decide to deviate from completing the main story. Everything looks and sounds incredible, and even if it is a bit meandering the plot and the characters have genuine warmth and heart and you will root for them. Above everything else, is that combat. That sweet, sweet, combat. Now please excuse me, I am back off the the Marchen Garten.