The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak centers on a new story for the Trails series that will change the fate of the world. Read our spoilerless review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak Review Overview
What is The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak?
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak centers on Agnès Claudel and her search for her grandfather's mementos. Due to the troubling circumstances that surround them, she has no choice but to enlist the help of Van Arkride, a spriggan who isn't afraid to skirt the boundary between the illegal and the questionable in order to get things done. Together, they embark on a long partnership that will ultimately decide the fate of the world.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak features:
⚫︎ Seamless transition from real-time to turn-based combat
⚫︎ A karma system that influences events
⚫︎ Improved graphics from its original 2021 release
⚫︎ Various playable characters that join you on your journey
⚫︎ Formation control for field combat
⚫︎ Dozens of hours of playtime
 Steam |
$59.99 |
 Nintendo eShop |
$59.99 |
 PlayStation Store |
$59.99 |
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Polished Turn-Based Combat Seamless Combat Transition Nice Lack of Loading Screens Substantial Character Development |
Unwieldy Real-Time Combat Low-Effort Animations |
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak Overall Score - 82/100
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak is a great entry point to the storied series, offering a brand new arc for new players to get engaged in. For older players, the game is a welcome and familiar experience that’s a marked improvement over the previous titles. It has a great combat system, good audiovisuals, and an excellent story that anybody can enjoy.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak Story - 9/10
Like many of its fellows in the series, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak has a substantial and powerful story to tell. While some may be put off by the abundance of many of its narrative sections, it’s an entirely necessary aspect of the game that you won’t regret taking the time to read.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak Gameplay - 8/10
The game features familiar RPG mechanics which anybody can easily understand. Its affection and karma systems also work to engage you into the world and the actions you take. But while its combat system, which allows you to transition in and out of turn-based and real-time combat seamlessly for most of its fights, should have been its crowning aspect, the experience is instead a mixed bag due to the clunkiness of the latter’s controls.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak Visuals - 7/10
While the English version came with a slew of visual improvements to the 2021 title, the overall result is still just about above average. The only remarkable thing about it is the quality of the character models. On the other hand, the animations, special effects, interface, and level aesthetics are pretty lackluster.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak Audio - 8/10
Sporting an incredible array of background tracks and voice acting, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak certainly isn’t a slouch when it comes to atmospheric buildup through its audio. However, the sound effects lack the kind of impact action RPG fans would enjoy. Another issue is that while many of its dialogues are voiced, there are some sections that lack it. Some of these instances come quite abruptly, which makes the experience pretty jarring especially during the first few hours of the game.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak Value for Money - 9/10
The game’s entire scenario takes quite a long time to finish, without even factoring in all the side objectives you can do. There are also multiple difficulties and branching events, which further increases the game’s replayability. While, sure, the game costs a cent short of sixty bucks, it will still easily consume dozens of hours of your time if its aesthetics and gameplay clicks with you.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak Review: A Good Trailblazer To A New Era
The Legend of Heroes is a series with a storied history that stretches back to the late 80s (or in the early 20s if we only consider the Trails series). While it certainly didn’t achieve the popularity that it, in my opinion, deserves, the game has continued to get new titles all the way to today in 2024, further expanding its lore.
But for any series with such an expansive list of titles, one problem persists and becomes more significant as it grows: how can it attract new players? The fear of missing out isn’t a fictional problem, after all, and you can’t expect the average joe to hop into the series starting from the beginning.
Ignoring the fact that it took Nihon Falcom three-odd years to localize Trails Through Daybreak since its original release in 2021, the game serves as an excellent entry point to the series. It picks up after the conclusion of the Trails of Cold Steel and Crossbell arcs of the series and introduces us to an entirely fresh plot. In other words, players interested in the franchise can now test the waters with Trails Through Daybreak without having to worry about having to play through several more titles just to get in the loop.
Though it may just be a hindsight kind of thing since Trails of Daybreak 2 will be releasing in 2025.
Like many of its predecessors, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak has an impressive story to tell that ends with just the right amount of openness to insert a sequel later on. The character models are also high quality, and it even features a combat system where you can seamlessly transition from real-time combat to a turn-based one (for most fights, anyway).
However, the game does also suffer from much of the same problems as its predecessors, such as its lackluster animations and below average special effects. This is true even if you compare it to similar titles that are also released in 2021.
Its story is more than enough to carry it, though. Even if its narrative sections take up most of its actual gameplay (which excludes the time you’ll spend grinding), it’s worth taking the time to read every single line. The series is famed for its character development and worldbuilding, and Trails Through Daybreak is no exception.
The game takes little to no shortcuts when it comes to painting its world. Each character takes their time delivering their ideas for you to enjoy, and each of them adds color to the world Trails Through Daybreak painstakingly forms through its prose.
This story is accompanied by a cast of characters voiced by excellent talents and a set of background tracks that never feels dry. As a bonus, many of the characters develop in interesting ways as the story progresses.
In terms of gameplay, it uses a somewhat unique system that allows players to engage most enemies in either real-time combat, or a turn-based one. However, the game makes an explicit effort to make the latter as good as it can be, which is a given since many scenarios don’t give you the option to fight enemies with the former.
To say that the transitions between either is seamless is an understatement. Various strategic options are open for you to exploit changing between either systems. Unfortunately, though, Trails Through Daybreak’s real-time combat system isn’t as good as it can be, as it suffers from rather clunky controls and a lack of gratifying feedback.
But despite all of that, The Legend of Heroes, Trails Through Daybreak is an excellent game and is, without a doubt, a good entry point to the series.
Do note, however, that if you decide to start the series with this title, you will get a not insignificant amount of spoilers relevant to the previous arcs. So, if you want to experience the entire magic of the Trails series, consider starting with the previous games.
Pros of The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak
| Things The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak Got Right |
|---|
|
Polished Turn-Based Combat Seamless Combat Transition Nice Lack of Loading Screens Substantial Character Development |
Polished Turn-Based Combat
The more relaxed form of Trails Through Daybreak’s combat is an excellent system that makes use of very familiar terminologies and mechanics. But, at the same time, it improves upon the aspects that make it unique.
For example, on the higher difficulty levels, maintaining a proper formation with your characters is essential due to the vast difference in their bulk. However, the game also has a few systems that encourage sticking together, which will leave you vulnerable to area of effect damage. Hence, you’ll have to weigh your options when positioning mid-combat, particularly in battles where you start with a disadvantage.
My only gripe with its turn-based system is that movement isn’t limited by the distance a character has to walk, but by a set radius around their starting position. In other words, frontlines are nearly useless since both you and your enemies can simply bypass them and hit the more fragile rearlaners.
Seamless Combat Transition
If you’re worried that a game with both real-time and turn-based combat would be a mess, then you’ll be in for a treat. Trails Through Daybreak not only can transition between either seamlessly, keeping each character’s positions on the field as it was before the change, but it also has a number of features that make doing so appealing.
The most basic among these features is the ability to stun enemies with constant aggression or a charged attack while on the field. This is done much more easily in real-time combat than it is in its turn-based mode. And once you do so, you can swiftly change tack and pile on the damage in a coordinated manner using the game’s turn-based mode.
Nice Lack of Loading Screens
For those annoyed at loading screens gracing their screens every five minutes, Trails Through Daybreak will be an enjoyable title. Bar major changes in location, the game loads everything at once the moment you enter a new area. That, of course, includes the interior of buildings, which you can enter and exit without so much as a single throbber (yes, that’s what the rotating loading circles are called) appearing on the bottom right of your screen.
Substantial Character Development
The Trails series has always been a purveyor of excellent character stories and worldbuilding. Trails Though Daybreak also has the same great storytelling, albeit delivered through long and frequent narrative sections. But reading through every single line is worth it, as the game effectively fleshes out an entire world through its prose using the unique personalities of every character.
Cons of The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak
| Things That The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak Can Improve |
|---|
|
Unwieldy Real-Time Combat Low-Effort Animations |
Unwieldy Real-Time Combat
While it is true that the turn-based combat is great and that it somewhat relies on the real-time aspect as a setup, the latter isn’t as polished as it could be. It has several problems, such as the lack of striking indicators to confirm hits and the very heavy controls.
However, the most problematic aspect of its real-time combat is the way you can abuse it. See, enemies cannot go past a certain distance from where it was originally located. Once you aggro them outside that range, they teleport back to where they were, keeping all of their lost health with it. So, industrious players that want to have nothing to do with its much more polished turn-based combat can just continuously aggro enemies with a ranged character and slowly whittle their health away until they drop.
Low-Effort Animations
For a game with such good character models as Trails of Daybreak, you would expect that its animations would also be something special. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Its combat and even story cutscenes only have the very basics of animation work done on them, particularly when it involves mob characters. This is easily apparent when mobs exchange blows with someone, as their movements just involve them swinging their weapon blindly while accompanied by sound effects that don’t match the physical impact of the weapons.
Although the funnier one is probably the instances where soldiers are taking recoil from firing their rifles, but without any muzzle flash that indicates bullets actually leaving their guns.
In fact, the game actively recycles animations many times throughout the course of the series, with some mobs having the exact same positions if you pause (or alt-tab since the game stops when doing so) at the right time.
Is The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak Worth It?
Yes, especially if you’re new to the series
The Trails series has a lot of excellent titles to its name, and Trails Through Daybreak isn’t an exception. It has an outstanding story full of intrigue, dangerous themes (if you’re into that), and drama. Its voice acting is excellent as well, plus the background tracks are never dull and encourage you to keep on going. However, do note that the visuals may not be what you would expect if you’re entering the series for the first time, and that if you do get hooked with the story, then this game will spoil the previous titles.
You can check when its sequel will be released globally on the link below:
| Steam |
$59.99 |
| Nintendo eShop |
$59.99 |
| PlayStation Store |
$59.99 |
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak FAQ
Does The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak have a sequel?
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak 2 will have an English release within 2025
Are there any returning characters in The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak.
Yes. One of the main characters is one such character.
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The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak Product Information
 |
|
| Title | THE LEGEND OF HEROES: TRAILS THROUGH DAYBREAK |
|---|---|
| Release Date | July 5, 2024 |
| Developer | Nihon Falcom, PH3 GmbH |
| Publisher | Nippon Ichi Software America |
| Supported Platforms | PC, Switch, PS5, PS4 |
| Genre | Adventure, Action, RPG |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | Teen |
| Official Website | The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak Website |
