Review in Progress: The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure

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Less than a year ago, Trails fans finally got their hands on an officially localized release of The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero. Released for the PSP back in 2010, the game never made its way over the Pacific, robbing players outside Japan and China of the chance to experience the Crossbell Arc of the greater Legend of Heroes storyline. Zero would be the game that introduced me to the Trails series as a whole, and I found it to be a highly enjoyable (if super chatty) RPG.

Of course, as good as it was, Zero only covered the first part of the Crossbell Arc. And while it certainly didn’t feel like it was half a game, its ending did leave me clamoring for its 2011 sequel, Trails to Azure, which will release outside of Japan and China for the first time next week. Given how closely Zero ties into Azure, I’m glad NIS America didn’t make us wait too long to play it.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure (PC, PS4 [reviewed], Nintendo Switch) Developer: Falcom Publisher: NIS America Released: March 14, 2023MSRP: $39.99 (Digital) / $49.99 (Physical)

If you’re unfamiliar with the Trails series, join the club. While Trails from Zero made a great impression last September, I haven’t had nearly enough free time since then to try out the rest of the series — even if I own two Cold Steel games on my PS Vita. But I’ve happily made time for Trails to Azure because I really wanted to see how this whole journey wraps up.

Trails from Azure begins just a month after the events of Trails from Zero. Protagonist Lloyd Bannings is still heading up the Special Support Section (SSS) along with Elie MacDowell, though this time, they’re joined by newcomers Noel Seeker and the ridiculously named Wazy Hemisphere. If you played Zero, you will no