Out this week is the latest entry in The Legend of Heroes franchise, The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie. This latest “trail” for players to follow is an epilogue to the Erebonia arc (which covered the Trails of Cold Steel Tetralogy) and the Crossbell arc (which consisted of Trails from Zero to Trails to Azure).
I have played all these titles, so to say I’m invested is something of an understatement. Also, having played all these titles I’ve noticed what has changed and what hasn’t changed in the franchise. That’s the main element I noticed while playing The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie, not a lot has changed gameplaywise.
New faces and a few new features
There are a couple of new enhancements to the combat. For example, the ‘Unified Front’ ability which allows you to unleash an ultimate attack, an ultimate arts or an ultimate heal brings the whole party together in one spectacular move. It looks phenomenal and seeing six playable characters unleash such a move is impressive. What makes this all the more amazing was the sensational roster of playable characters, over 50 fan favourites to choose from.
Apart from that specific game mechanic, the other major new gameplay element is the ‘Crossroads’ system. This gameplay mechanic allows you to switch between the three routes of story. Players follow Rean Schwarzer and Class VII, Lloyd Bannings and the SSS. Then we are introduced to the mysterious masked ‘C’ and his chaotic crew. With the first two groups, if you’ve been following their stories in previous titles, you know what you’re getting storywise and characterwise. Now, with C and the gang you are introduced to a whole new side of Zemuria. And this chaotic group are absolutely amazing to watch.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie, more like Trails to Grind
What I have weirdly fallen in love with is the strange ‘Reverie Corridor’. Within this strange space with the game you can grind to increase your levels. Not only that, within the Reverie Corridor is a ton of minigames and sidestories which further showcase the characters within the game. They range from telling untold stories in the lore to having absolutely bonkers minigames. One such example that comes to mind is ‘Magical Girl Alisa’. This is a visual novel mixed with shooting that is absolutely bizarre, but wonderfully endearing.
Also, to get further rewards within the Reverie Corridor (which can impact the game in positive ways) the game nudges you into playing as characters you might not normally play. It’s a refreshing way to keep the combat dynamics engaging.
I can’t really think of any negatives when it comes to The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie, save for one. Be sure to get a PS4 version of the game if you played and finished the previous entries in the franchise. The reason being that you cannot transfer PS4 Clear data to a PS5 version of Trails into Reverie. It’s unfortunate and a lesson I learned the hard way. Thankfully though, the game does give you an opportunity to fill in some of the gaps manually.
As I’ve said in previous reviews for this franchise what makes it so great is the story and its characters. I think this is a worthy climax to this part of the story. This has been a wonderful 4 years of gaming. Here is to many more.
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