4.5/5 ★ – Elesh's review of The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak.

The Legend of Heroes Trails through Daybreak marks the start of a new chapter in the Legend of Heroes series, taking us out of the familiar western portions of the Zemurian continent and moving, for the first time in the series history, into the nation of Calvard. This is important, because it makes this entry an uncharacteristically good starting point for the series - the first legitimately good starting point for new players since Cold Steel 1. By moving to a new nation and moving forward a few years, they're able to avoid having too many large-scale references to older games and thus remove the barrier to entry. It isn't a perfect starting point, as this is all one world and there are definitely some crossover characters and references to shared history - especially as the game approaches its climax - but it is the best starting point to come out in a long while. Falcom clearly saw it as such as well, as they decided not to continue trying to polish the combat system perfected in the Cold Steel games and Reverie, but instead took a big gamble and attempted to make major revisions to the tried and true. It is still, at its core, a turn-based combat system with the series hallmarks of arts and crafts present but it also features a real time combat system for minor battles that allows you to soften up enemies and get an early edge before switching to the turn-based combat known in this entry as 'shards'. The real time combat was overall a fun system, but it had some pretty big drawbacks such as odd hitbox issues, inconsistencies with how certain mechanics work, and a vast imbalance between ranged attackers and melee attackers. Similarly, the adjustments to the turn-based system were mostly positive but there was one major hiccup that made strategizing a lot more frustrating: The turn order timeline was extremely obtuse and hard to read. These drawbacks are clearly a result of the experimental nature of the changes, and I am hopeful that future entries using the same system will refine it and make it more fun. That all being said, even with these downsides, it is still one of the best turn-based combat systems out there, and while it is easy to nitpick, it is undeniably incredibly fun to engage with. One thing that really makes Trails through Daybreak unique is the mature storytelling enabled by having an adult protagonist. Exploring topics such as racism and prejudice, the realities of life for many exotic dancers, abuse, trauma, and others... this story really doesn't pull its punches and is not just your average coming of age story. And it does this without abandoning the series' greatest claim to fame in having some of the most intricate and well written NPCs around. Sadly, this game also features one character I really can't say much positive about. He's unlikable and not even in a way that makes him interesting... he's just your stereotypical freshly adult male bar hopping, drinking, and sleeping around. But aside from him, all of the characters are top tier. And the game's overall writing is simply masterful. There are a few hiccups to the story as it approaches its climax, but aside from that nearly start to finish I was enthralled by the game's intricate tale and fantastic characters. On a similar positive note, the game's visuals are a clear step forward from previous entries, and their art style has continued to evolve a distinct look that stands out as truly their own. The graphics aren't going to win any awards, but the art style is very pretty, the characters look like they belong in the world and the animations are fun to watch. But as a counterpoint to that, this game's soundtrack and voice acting absolutely deserve to win awards. Every region theme, every battle theme, and every cinematic track... they were all spectacular. Additionally, the voice acting was top tier and the characters I wasn't super fond of had stellar performances. The one downside I will say regarding the voicework has nothing to do with the voice actors themselves, but rather the design. And I want to be careful here, because I don't want it to sound like I'm asking Falcom to spend tons more money on the game - I wish they could afford to, but I understand that's not realistic and a game this long can never be fully voiced start to finish. But I really wish they'd pick where to put their voice lines differently - I wish they put a focus on making sure complete conversations were voiced rather than spreading out the voiced lines evenly. I don't mind unvoiced conversations, but what really bothers me is conversations where its 75% voiced and just a few lines aren't voiced or where you have an unvoiced conversation across the board except one sentence in the middle. Its interesting, because I have a lot of small gripes with the game... but the bones are just so incredibly good. Van is such a great main character and the surrounding cast, both playable and not, are such fantastic foils for him. The overall tone of the storytelling is marvelous and the voicework is great. The soundtrack is gorgeous and even the visuals are pretty damned good. And as a result, this is still one of my favourite games of all time and absolutely deserving of everyone's time - even if you've never played a game in the series... this is a great time to step in and get started.