The Legend of Heroesgames seem to have been around since time immemorial. It can be a daunting series for newcomers looking for a place to jump in. Starting from the beginning and playing all the games is naturally the best answer, but not practical for most situations. The series does go through story arcs and last year’sTrails Through Daybreakis a great starting point for newcomers. Not only is it the beginning of the Calvard story arc, but it was also a standout title in a year that was stacked with great games. Even with its lengthy completion time, fans wanted to continue the adventures of Van Arkride and his cohorts. And in just another week, they’ll be able to whenThe Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak IIis released.
Review: The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak
A reworked, rejuvenated approach to combat provides Trails Through Daybreak the bold next chapter this acclaimed series, fittingly deserves.
Vandelay Industries
Poor Van Arkride can’t ever catch a nap. Following the collapse of Almata, Elaine Auclair comes knocking on the door of Arkride Solutions at the crack of noon, rousing Van from his peaceful slumber. Van takes the job and he and Elaine are on the case to investigate a series of murders. This leads them to a man that can transform into a monstrosity, similar to Van when he transforms into the Grendel. The encounter ends poorly for them, but when Agnès Claudel arriveswith theEdge of Tomorrow MachineOct-Genesis, the Oct-Genesis activates, sending them back to an earlier part of the day, which allows them to make better decisions. Later on, Swin Abel and Nadia Rayne arrive at the Arkride Solution office, which allows Arkride Solutions to address multiple issues at once in different areas.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak IIincludes a large cast of playable characters, many of whom will be familiar to those who completed its predecessor. Van Arkride is still the main character, but there’s an interesting approach to ensure that all characters get their day in the sun. Chapters are split into two parts, which can be played in the order of the player’s choosing, as the two parts are meant to be happening concurrently in different areas. One of these parts has the player controlling Van and whichever of his colleagues are around at the time. The other part has the player controlling a party that could be described as substitute spriggans, which are a party composed of characters that do not include Van.
The Legend of Heroes games are known for being heavy on story development andTrails Through Daybreak IIshows no indication of breaking that tradition. Chapters begin and end with lengthy dialogue heavy cutscenes, bringing the player up to date on what is currently happening, often showing brief flashbacks. Fans of the franchise are used to this, and presumably enjoy it, but such an emphasis on story building may make this not the best game for those looking for something to complete over the weekend. This is especially true if the player is the type to seek out every event in the area, including the 4SPG quests (more on those later). After the initial cutscene starts the level, there could be a significant amount of time before the player wraps up everything they wish to do before they advance the story forward. It doesn’t make for a quick game, but it’s one of the more personally-enjoyable aspects of this franchise.
Action Or Turn-Based? Yes
Like its predecessor,The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak IIhas a battle system that includes real-time action and turn-based combat. The Field Battle system is there for fans of action games, allowing the party to run about freely, mowing down weaker enemies and seeking out treasure. A feature that has been added to the Field Battle is the Cross Charge, which is a powerful counterattack. To activate the Cross Charge, a prompt will briefly appear when a dodge is perfectly timed. Hitting this correctly will switch the active character after delivering a powerful attack.
For more powerful enemies, such as boss battles or tougher field enemies, a Command Battle will commence. This is a turn-based battle style, which allows the player to control all the abilities of their full party in an orderly fashion. This is the preferred approach for fans of turn-based RPGs and can also be activated by deploying shards when an enemy is stunned to gain a tactical advantage. Cross Charge isn’t available in Command Battle, but it does have its own team attack. Getting close to another character can trigger SCLM, and then by using a shard boost near a stunned enemy, the two characters can unleash a devastating EX Chain. Action versus turn-based has been a big debate in the RPG community lately and this is a game that successfully utilizes both.
Arkride Solutions is never too busy with the main story quest to ignore the various 4SPG quests posted on bulletins. These are optional quests that can entail any number of tasks that people need taken care of by someone between handling it themselves or going to the police. Sometimes it may lead to a battle, but usually it involves tracking down an item or person or perhaps trying to deal with a business rival. These activities can significantly increase the timer, but are worth doing as they can lead to some lucrative rewards and improve the overall grade of Arkride solutions. But most importantly, they tend to expand the world in an interesting way and are enjoyable uses of time. These can also shift Arkride Solutions' alignment in the direction of Law, Grey or Chaos, depending on how the player chooses to resolve a given issue.
Tending To The Garten
The Arkride Solutions collective has a lot going on in Edith in the real world, but that shouldn’t prevent them from stepping into the virtual world of the Märchen Garten. The Märchen Garten is a virtual space developed by Marduk, but unfortunately it has been hacked by an unknown enemy. It’s an optional dungeon, which can be challenged by all characters the player has encountered up to this point. They have a primary team of four characters and a reserve team of another four in case the primary team kicks the bucket. The Arkride crew will have to complete a series of dungeon floors with various objectives, such as defeating enemies, disabling devices or simply breaking objects. This is a place that can be used to grind experience, as well as collecting equipment, quartz and other items that can be brought back to the real world. Shard tokens can also be collected, and after analyzing them, can be used to obtain even more rewards from mystic cubes, such as rare costumes and music. The Märchen Garten’s primary function is to serve as a grinding dungeon, but the multiple paths help make it an interesting grind at least.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II Shows a Promising Return to the Arkride Solutions Office
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II builds on the groundwork laid by its predecessor.
Outside the main story and Märchen Garten, there are a few minigames to further distract Van from what he is supposed to be doing. Fishing makes its triumphant return, and speaking as someone who is never excited about going fishing in a game, this is actually one of the better fishing minigames out there. Taking control of the AI Holo Mare, hacking is one of the available minigames. Whether Van is trying to get into an orbal-locked chest or simply playiing the hacking game in the Garten, navigating a maze with traps and tricks can be a fun way to get some additional loot. Card games are popular ways to spend time, and Seven Hearts is the new four-person card game about passing the damage around, hoping it never ends on you. Lastly, the option to do some one-on-one basketball shooting can be found in some areas. None of these minigames are in danger of completely derailing the player from focusing on more pressing matters, but they can all be a fun way to kill some time.
Arkride Solutions Repeat Clients
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak IIis a wonderful follow-up to the original. As with any of the story arcs inThe Legend of Heroes,it’s recommended that the games are played in order, though there are flashbacks and recaps that give context for the sequel, so those who want to just jump in at this entry won’t be completely lost. Bear in mind, these refreshers give a condensed summary of a game that can run in excess of 100 hours to just a couple of minutes. But as lengthy as these games can be, they don’t have many issues with pacing and are enjoyable from start to finish. The 4SPG quests open up a lot of optional content, giving the player a chance to get more familiar with Van’s more investigative roles.
Playing a variety of characters throughout the chapters helps keep everything feeling fresh, and with so many returning characters from its predecessor, it gives the player a sense of getting to know them better. The main story, along with the intertwined substories, unravel more information at a satisfying pace, keeping things interesting until the conclusion. And like its predecessor, the hybrid battle system allows for fast-paced action combat during most of the game while switching to a more strategic turn-based approach for more challenging fights. In a nutshell, it checks all the boxes of what is needed for a great JRPG. Those unfamiliar with the franchise may consider the dialogue and story development excessive, but many consider the amount of depth to the story one of the franchise’s assets.
These factors makeThe Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak IInot only a great addition to the franchise, but make it an incredible JRGP in general.
The art direction ofThe Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak IIis the same anime style fans are used to seeing in their games, and appears nearly identical to its predecessor, which helps strengthen the sense of continuity. The addition of Cross Charges and Ex Chains adds more excitement to battles. Trying to do a detailed breakdown of all battle mechanics would look complicated on paper, but when it comes to actually playing the game, executing these techniques is simple and intuitive. Like many foreign games with English dubbing, the voice acting quality is inconsistent across characters and there are quite a few instances that seem to rely heavily on tropes. But even with these criticisms,Trails Through Daybreak IIis an outstanding game.
Closing Comments:
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II continues the Calvard story arc set by its predecessor and also reaches the standard of excellence set by it. Whether tackling 4SPG jobs from the bulletin board, grinding for gear or playing minigames in the Märchen Garten or trying to advance through the main story, things never get boring in Trails Through Daybreak II. The roster of characters is varied and interesting, and watching their own history and motivations play out in the context the main story helps make them feel alive. Progressing through the main story campaign is kept interesting through the combined force of a strong narrative and great battle system, but the player can always take a break and use the Märchen Garten as a playground. These factors makeThe Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak IInot only a great addition to the franchise, but an incredible JRPG in general.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II
Version Reviewed: PlayStation 5
No longer threatened by the mafia organization Almata, the people of Calvard have returned to their peaceful lives. But one day, a shocking series of murders involving a mysterious crimson beast sets the wheels of fate in motion once again. Various factions spring into action – both those who abide by the law to uncover the truth and those looking to capitalize on any new developments wherever possible, no matter how sinister.With chaos once again looming on the horizon, the spriggan Van Arkride receives an unexpected visitor, prompting his own investigation. Who is behind the murders, and what is their goal? The sands of time bring old and new faces together for this thrilling second installment in the Trails through Daybreak saga.STORYYear 1209 of the Septian Calendar.The threat posed by Almata has passed. Peace has finally returned to Calvard. And, for a time, that peace goes uninterrupted—until a CID special forces unit is slaughtered by an unknown assailant.With authorities working to contain the situation, criminal forces take the chance to make their own moves.Meanwhile, a spriggan by the name of Van Arkride begins his own investigation—after prompting from an unexpected visitor.Who could be responsible for this massacre? What was their objective? And how does it all relate to Agnès' search for the eighth Genesis?A crimson beast’s roar. A chance meeting with a boy and girl, both embroiled in a mysterious search. These are the circumstances that lure Arkride Solutions down the trail of an inescapable fate.
