The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero is a truly special JRPG. Its focus on characters and worldbuilding set up a smaller, far more personal story. Its highly customisable skill system meant that combat never felt stale. I haven’t felt this way about a JRPG in a long time, and I cannot wait to catch up with Crossbell and its cast of characters again when the sequel launches in 2023. It’s not just one of my favourite games of 2022; it’s among my favourite games of all time.
The missing piece in the Legend of Heroes franchise finally makes its way west. Trials of Zero is a great addition to the franchise featuring a great cast of characters and a fantastic strategic combat system. It's just unfortunate that the PS4 version of the game didn't get the same upgrades that it did on other platforms.
This is a great game, first time in the trails searies we leave libera, story is great. Great evolution of the battle system from prior games. Story is gripping. You can really find your self caring for the charcters in this game. It is a great start to the crossbell arc of the trails series of games. Loved my time with this game.
Game was very good it was slow at the start but picks up at chapter 3, sound track is amazing and characters are actually pretty deep for an anime JRPG it made me want to try out the rest of the series.
Despite being a basic port of a title that lays smack-bang in the middle of a gargantuan series, Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero manages to be both approachable and thrilling, resulting in a classic 2D JRPG that shows up some of the latter 3D entries in both story and design, and has me excited to play the Trails series again.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero is another great Falcom JRPG and well worth your time. The port could have done with more care, similar to how other formats have been treated, but the game underneath shines through.
Trails has a fanbase with drastically differing opinions everywhere you look, so my advice is to let your heart dictate your perceptions of these games without letting outside interference impede prospective enjoyment. If you’re a newcomer to Crossbell or Trails as a whole, I hope my review can at least act as a sturdy bridge for what you can expect from this highly anticipated Western release, my critiques aside.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails From Zero is a very bad remaster of a very good game. While the story of the SSS and the journey through Crossbell must be played by any fan of the series and the gameplay holds up surprisingly well even today, the PS4 version leaves so much to be desired that it is only recommended for those who can't afford to play it on another platform.
Pros
- great main cast that I loved from the very beginning to the end
- fantastic ost, featuring tracks that will make you nostalgic hearing them couple of months after you finish this game
- Crossbell is a fascinating location within the Trails story that just **** you in
- even though this is largely a set up for Azure, this game does not suffer from the boring beginning as the other set up games in the series
Cons
- some very important character details are locked behind the newly introduced bonding system, which seems kinda bad for a series where the main draw is the story
The fourth game of the Trails series has finally arrived in the west. So did the most hyped arc by fans deliver? Yes, in fact it is surprising how true the fandom was on this arc.
Zero has the monumental task of introducing a new location and getting the fans to love the new characters, as well as having the task of continuing the fantastic story set up in the previous Sky arc. And it executes all of those flawlessly.
The main cast of the SSS as well as all the supporting characters are wonderfully written, making you fall for them almost instantly. Loyd, Ellie, Tio and Randy are brought together in a ragtag team to help the citizens of Crossbell and restore some popularity to the often overshadowed police department.
Not just that, the game pulls from the first arc and pays off on one of the most tragic stories from those games in a conclusion that had me in genuine tears.
And it is the city of Crossbell that becomes its own character with its own problems. Thanks to its unique political situation it delivers the player an intriguing location with some stellar mysteries to solve and opponents to beat. All that accompanied by the heart-pumping OST that allows the epic moments to shine through.
What is also fantastic about Zero is that unlike Sky First Chapter and Cold Steel, it doesn't feel like a set up while being one. Both Sky and Cold Steel were a slow burn that got interesting in the last couple of hours. Zero hits the player with the interesting stuff from the beginning and does not stop serving until the very end.
Overall, Zero was a massive surprise. After many times being overhyped on a product by an over eager fandom, Zero became one of my favorite games in the series. Fantastic time for anyone looking for a beautifully told story.
You'll know immediately after chapter 3 why the Trails series is such a fan favorite and why this and Ys carried on their backs, the stock of Nihon Falcom (TYO: 3723) on the Tokyo stock exchange since 2013. Trails has to be in running for longest on-going series with the highest entertainment value, if there was one
SummaryThe Crossbell State, located in western Zemlya--
Once the site of fierce territorial battles, it has since developed into one of the continent's leading trade and financial centers.
However, pressure from the Erebonian Empire and the Calvard Republic is steadily increasing. While corrupt officials from both sides remain locked in polit...