The thrilling conclusion of an amazing JRPG story - Trails into Reverie Quick Review
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PLAY IT OR SKIP IT?
Play it if you’re a big Legend of Heroes fan, but newcomers to the series are better off starting elsewhere. The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie is a sprawling epic that serves as a conclusion to both the Cold Steel and Crossbell story arcs. It doesn’t waste much time on recaps or exposition, so if you’re not familiar with previous games, you’ll probably feel pretty lost. If you’re curious about the game, but don’t want to jump in at the end of the story, Trails of Cold Steel and Trails from Zero are both great places to start.
TIME PLAYED
I played a little over seven hours of Trails into Reverie, which got me through the introductory prologue and gave me a taste of each of the game’s three main storylines. While I didn’t get too far into the narrative, I had plenty of time to meet characters, collect party members, and battle enemies. I’ve missed a few games in the series, so there were times when I felt like I was missing something, but overall, my experience was engaging and rewarding. I’d love to play through the entire series from start to finish; I just need to find the time!
WHAT’S AWESOME
• Massive cast of characters. There are more than fifty playable characters, and every single one of them is customizable. Sometimes, huge character rosters are overwhelming, but Trails into Reverie makes it easy to switch between characters and try out different party members. Most characters had a high level when they joined my party, so I didn’t have to do any grinding to get them up to par. I could only have four characters in my party during battle, but other characters could serve as support, providing extra help from the sidelines. I was even able to swap out characters during battle, letting me use a wider range of characters during long fights. I absolutely loved building teams and testing out the synergy between different party members.
• Highly strategic combat. Like other games in the Legend of Heroes series, Trails into Reverie has a fantastic turn-based battle system. Party members can freely move around the battlefield, so I could move weaker characters out of the range of enemy attacks. Lots of abilities changed character turn order, letting me delay enemy turns while giving my party members additional attacks. While every character has a wide range of attacks, my party members could also assist each other in battle, which made every encounter feel a little more interactive. Battles can be pretty tough, especially on higher difficulties, but if an enemy wiped out my party, I could restart the fight without losing any progress. Other quality of life features, like the ability to speed up battles, made fights more exciting. This is turn-based combat at its very best.
• Addictive dungeon crawling. One of Trails into Reverie’s best features is the Reverie Corridor, a randomly generated dungeon that’s filled with incredible treasures. Not only is this dungeon a great place to experiment with different teams and combat options, but the sheer range of content you can unlock here makes every trip to the dungeon worthwhile. It’s a great place to pick up equipment and other character upgrades, but dungeon crawls are also a way to unlock additional party members, story content, and even minigames. I had a hard time tearing myself away from the dungeon, and I would have been happy to play a game that consisted of this dungeon and nothing else.
• Three exciting storylines. Trails into Reverie has three main characters, each with their own storyline. Once I got through the prologue, I was free to jump between stories at any time. This system made it easy for me to get to know all of the characters in the cast, even though my playtime was limited. My favorite storyline involved a new character known only as C. Everything about C is shrouded in secrecy, from his name to his identity to his face, which he keeps covered with a mask. I found C and his friends to be incredibly intriguing, but if I needed a break from all the mystery, I could instantly switch over to someone else. Being able to swap between different plotlines kept the story feeling fresh. I occasionally ran into roadblocks that required me to make progress on another part of the story, but for the most part, I was free to play the game the way I wanted to play it.
WHAT SUCKS
• Awkward camera. Trails into Reverie gave me full control over the camera outside of cutscenes, which was nice, but the camera controls were a little sensitive. I frequently found myself pushing the camera to odd angles when I was moving around on the map. It was an easy issue to fix, so it wasn’t a major annoyance, but I was constantly moving the camera away from the floor or out of corners.
• Some performance issues. I primarily played Trails into Reverie on an undocked Switch. Most of the time, it ran perfectly, but there were a few occasions where I had major framerate drops. Sometimes, they were so severe that I struggled to move my party forward or interact with the world around me. These issues mostly occurred when I was visiting Crossbell City, a location that’s bustling with activity. I’m hopeful that these issues will be patched so that other players can enjoy the game without any issues.
💬 Are you ready to experience the thrilling conclusion to an RPG saga, or do you need to catch up on older Trails games first? Let us know in the comments!
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