cross-posted from: https://atomicpoet.org/objects/3d9c9c3e-14e9-446f-9d5c-83af4227bbfc
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, a JRPG, just got released on Steam—and this is a big deal because this game is to PC what Final Fantasy VII was to PlayStation.
You play as Estelle Bright, a stubborn but big-hearted teen, and her adopted brother Joshua, calm and secretive, as they work as junior agents of the Bracer Guild—mercenaries who handle everything from lost pets to bandit raids.
What begins as simple small-town jobs in the idyllic kingdom of Liberl slowly peels back into a slow-burn political thriller about coups, ancient technology, and rival nations circling like sharks. The genius of Trails in the Sky is how it ties everyday people and personal stories into that larger web of conspiracies, making the upheaval feel like it’s your neighbours and your home on the line.
Some history is in order. The two most influential JRPG developers are Square Enix and Nihon Falcom. Square Enix gave us Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Nihon Falcom gave us Dragon Slayer and Ys. Square pushed the turn-based JRPG. Falcom’s big innovation was the action JRPG.
Dragon Slayer in particular was groundbreaking—without it, there’s no Zelda, no Hydlide, no Neutopia. It was the template for action RPGs to follow, and it was so successful it spawned spin-offs. One of them was The Legend of Heroes. That series was so successful it spun off again into Trails in the Sky. And yes—Trails itself kept spinning into more games, until it became a saga of its own.
So why haven’t you heard of it? Because Falcom wasn’t console-first like Square. Their heyday was the PC-88 and PC-98—computers that never came west. When Japan switched to Windows, so did Falcom. Trails in the Sky first arrived on Windows in 2004—but only in Japan. A PSP port followed in 2006. Still Japan only. North America finally got it in 2011… on PSP. By then, nobody here was playing PSP anymore.
It wasn’t until 2014 that the Windows version—better than the PSP one—was localized and released on Steam and GOG. It took more than a decade for Westerners to notice. But once they did, they realised this wasn’t just another RPG—this was a landmark.
The comparison to Final Fantasy VII is apt. Trails in the Sky is Falcom’s premiere JRPG. It cemented their reputation for long-form storytelling and kicked off a serialized epic that continues today. And if you think there are a lot of Final Fantasy games, Trails makes it look modest.
The difference is in the type impact each had. Final Fantasy VII was an atomic bomb. Trails in the Sky was a hurricane—starting as a whisper, then building into a storm. Westerners know the sequels like Trails of Cold Steel and Trails from Zero, but how many ever went back to the original?
Now they can. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a re-imagining of that first game. And “re-imagining” is exactly the right word. Same story, not a simple remake.
What’s new? A lot. The original was purely turn-based. This version lets you switch on the fly between the classic grid system and a new real-time action mode. Combat feels fluid and layered, and Falcom themselves estimate about 80 hours to clear—double the original’s runtime—thanks to extra quests and expanded exploration.
The graphics are completely redone. The old game was 2.5D isometric sprites—think Diablo with anime characters. The new one is full 3D, third-person, HDR-enabled, yet still faithful. Rolent, the first town, looks like you remember, just rebuilt in polygons.
Sound has levelled up. Fully animated cutscenes. Professional actors in both Japanese and English. Steam even lists French, German, and Spanish text, though only English and Japanese get full voice tracks. Most importantly, Falcom’s iconic music is intact—because unlike too many remakes, they didn’t dare mess with perfection.
Controls are flexible. The devs push gamepads, but keyboard and mouse works beautifully. Xbox and PlayStation controllers are supported natively, and thanks to Steam Input, just about anything—Logitech, 8BitDo, you name it—will work.
Steam officially says Windows-only and lists Deck support as “unknown.” But previews already note it runs smooth on Deck, looks gorgeous on OLED screens, and will almost certainly get the “Verified” badge. I tested it myself on Linux—it’s flawless.
Specs are reasonable: Ryzen 5 1600, 8GB RAM, GTX 1050, and 33GB storage will net you 60fps at 1080p.
The price is steep—C$77.99. Steam also launched it with a pile of optional DLC: costumes, boosters, items. Normally I’d balk at paying that much. But this is Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter—rebuilt so a new generation can see why it’s legendary. And if that’s still too much, the 2014 version is cheap: C$21.99 on Steam, or just C$11.00 on GOG.
Reception so far is glowing. Steam already shows a 96% positive rating across 233 reviews. Players love the balance of modern upgrades with old-school heart.
Either way—whether you buy today’s re-imagining or grab the older version—you owe it to yourself to play Trails in the Sky. Because if you care about JRPGs, even a little, this is the one you don’t skip.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3375780/Trails_in_the_Sky_1st_Chapter/
Too bad they botched the deluxe edition / season pass release.
Never bought the deluxe edition—so I don’t know.
What’s the whole purpose of them other than just giving devs more money?
The dlc is important to some, to each their own.
It is pretty shitty to fail to release something and then go radio silence about it with no real explanation, though. On top of the regional pricing issue too.
Question wasn’t rhetorical. I really don’t understand the purpose of deluxe editions nor their importance.
I always just assumed people spend the money because they like spending it.
Deluxe editions for games usually come bundled with DLC for a cheaper price than buying them and the game individually. Take older Call of Duty games for example, where buying the game and each DLC would cost a total of $120, but the deluxe edition with the same content would only cost you $100. So if you knew you were going to end up buying all four DLC, getting the deluxe edition was much cheaper.
In this particular game, I don’t know exactly what will end up in the deluxe edition but there’s already $72 worth of DLC so I imagine a lot of it is going to be included.
Follow-up question: how much does DLC actually tend to change the core game?
Are these just aesthetics or does it change things hugely?
For Trails games: not at all. Usually only cosmetic items like costumes, and then like item packs that give you x number of healing items or ingredients or whatever.
That would depend entirely on the game. For example, the game Cassette Beasts has multiple DLC. One adds a small amount of actual new content to the game, and the rest are all cosmetic outfits for your characters. None of these cosmetic DLC are worth buying unless you really like the base game and want to support the developers. Then there’s games like The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, where each of the DLC is a massive expansion to the base game, with the DLC having more content than the base game does at this point and are highly worth getting.
As far as Trails in the Sky is concerned, I know some of its DLC is cosmetic stuff and a lot of it gives you packs of in-game consumables. Doesn’t seem incredibly useful to me, but idk much about the game so I could be wrong.