The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero

 PC
The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero Image
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90

Universal acclaim - based on 10 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 34 Ratings

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  • Summary: The 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    The 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 political disputes, the mafia and underground criminal organizations are preparing to start a war.

    In the midst of all this chaos, the Crossbell Police Department has lost the trust of its people.

    Among them are Lloyd Bannings, a rookie agent,
    Elie MacDowell, granddaughter of Crossbell's mayor,
    Tio Plato, a young sorcereress who wields an orbal staff,
    and Randy Orlando, a former security guard.

    The foursome are assigned to a new department, the Special Support Section, where they are left with no choice but to join forces in the face of adversity.

    This is a story about four unlikely heroes fighting to overcome the walls defining their way of life.    … Expand
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The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero - Story Trailer

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. PC Invasion
    Oct 4, 2022
    100
    Trails From Zero is a wonderful game that offers the very best story telling and world building that gaming has to offer. Its presentation and dialogue heavy gameplay won't be for everyone, but if you love a good story and are looking to get immersed in a brilliant world, look no further.
  2. Gamer Escape
    Sep 28, 2022
    100
    Just like the rest of the franchise, Trails from Zero won’t be for everyone. While it starts up faster than other entries in the series, it’s still a slow burn compared to most other games. There’s also just such a ridiculous amount of dialog, so reading-averse gamers aren’t going to find much to enjoy here. But for JRPG fans, especially those like myself who fell in love with the Sky games, Trails from Zero is an absolute must play. Seriously, just flat out: go play it.
  3. The Mako Reactor
    Sep 20, 2022
    95
    The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero on PC gives one of Falcom's best games the superlative PC conversion it deserves. PH3 has outdone itself once again with this release that plays like a dream across the board and shines on Steam Deck.
  4. GameSkinny
    Sep 20, 2022
    90
    Trails from Zero might be missing a few features it could, and maybe even should, have had, but if you've never played it before, don't let that hold you back from giving it a try. This decade-old RPG lost none of its potency as time wore on and remains an essential experience. In short, Zero is a remarkable feat of RPG storytelling and worldbuilding; even 12 years after its original release, little else like it exists.
  5. God is a Geek
    Sep 20, 2022
    90
    The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero is a sensational JRPG from top to bottom, and one that fans can’t afford to miss.
  6. RPG Fan
    Sep 20, 2022
    90
    The title Trails from Zero is particularly apt because the Special Support Section literally starts from nothing and has to work hard to rise to prominence in a city where police are seen as incompetent and corrupt. They face many barriers as they struggle to justify their existence, and in true Trails fashion, the road is long and slow at first. But if there’s one thing Lloyd and his friends are good at, it’s overcoming the seemingly impossible odds stacked against them. They even managed to beat the incredibly low chances that the Crossbell games would ever come out in the West. It’s been a long time coming, but to answer the question I posed at the start of this review, the wait has definitely been worth it.
  7. COGconnected
    Sep 21, 2022
    70
    All in all, The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero is a unique experience. If you love worldbuilding, modernizing fantasy worlds, and urban fantasy, you should check it out. If you’re allergic to long cutscenes and extraneous infodumps, you should avoid it. Love it or hate it, Trails from Zero clearly knows what it is and what it’s doing. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go buy all of Trails of Cold Steel so I can find out what happens in Zemuria next.

See all 10 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Sholva
    Oct 25, 2022
    10
    One of the best Trails games finally gets the treatment it deserves, with this spectacular PC version.

    If you’re a fan of the Sky trilogy,    One of the best Trails games finally gets the treatment it deserves, with this spectacular PC version.

    If you’re a fan of the Sky trilogy, continuing directly with Trails from Zero just feels right, and completely explaining why would involve heavy spoilers, so I won’t but…know that when you hear people say “this game is best enjoyed after the Sky series”, they’re not wrong.

    That said, if you do not care about strong references and plots from the Sky series and want to jump straight into the Crossbell saga (maybe to then continue on to the Cold Steel games), that’s okay too, as a JRPG, Zero is a great game, very complete with a really amazing story that keeps getting more and more intense and interesting with each chapter.

    When it comes to performance, this game is pretty easy to run on a wide array of PC setups. Visually speaking, the work done on the textures it’s amazing, compared to the original PC release and other earlier iterations for other consoles.
    The game looks pretty clean and runs very smoothly at 120 FPS, on my R5 3600 and RTX 3060 Ti, of course, plenty of power for such game, including max MSAA and all.
    This game does not require a strong computer, so if you prefer to play at locked 60 FPS, a relatively mid-range PC like mine will run at a very low power consumption and very chill, and that’s fine, no need to waste energy, but 120/144 FPS feels quite smoother over 60, if you have a high refresh screen, even when browsing in game menus, so I would recommend that if you can.

    Gameplay wise, this game follows a similar structure to the Sky series, which is one of the reasons why it feels like the natural saga to jump in afterwards, but if you have already played Cold Steel I and II, the battle menu is also similar there, so your muscle memory will be there at least.

    One of the greatest features you may love from the Sky or Cold Steel sagas is here too, like the great interactions with NPCs: everyone has something to tell, their stories evolve along our four main characters as well, so doing the rounds talking to everyone we’ve met…it’s quite rewarding. You may even see certain little cameos if you played Cold Steel III, but I won’t spoil that, it’s up to you to find them.

    Soundtrack in Falcom games is amazing and Trails from Zero here…is no exception, it has some of the most memorable tracks in the whole franchise, so take your time and enjoy them.
    The track name feature is very useful to go and find that one song you keep remembering in your head.

    Finally, if you thought that Zero was a great game, you’re in for the journey of your life when Trails to Azure arrives: that game is absolutely incredible, it is all what Zero is, and then more, more and more, and it keeps going on with amazing stuff. Be hyped, because Azure is top JRPG moments, from beginning to end.

    If you discovered this franchise through the more modern Cold Steel games (like I did with CS I back in the day when it came out), you’ll be happy to notice and see how the Crossbell saga shaped and influenced a lot of the stuff we can see in the Erebonia saga, for sure.

    Thanks to Nihon Falcom, NISA, Durante and PH3 and Geofront for their hard work in this game and support to the community.
    Being a Trails fan has never felt this good, and it’s not gonna stop getting better, looking at the release calendar for next year.    … Expand
  2. Adalwulf
    Oct 12, 2022
    10
    Excellent port of an excellent game! Didn't expect any less from famous Durante. If you like story-rich games, extensive world-building andExcellent port of an excellent game! Didn't expect any less from famous Durante. If you like story-rich games, extensive world-building and classic jrpg-gameplay, this is a must-buy.… Expand
  4. Turius
    Jan 1, 2023
    10
    A hilarious buddy-cop JRPG that manages to tell a phenomenal story. It's world building and character development are at the top of the genre.
  5. Acro23
    Oct 18, 2022
    10
    The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero is one of the best JRPG experiences I've had this year. It is filled to the brim with charmingThe Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero is one of the best JRPG experiences I've had this year. It is filled to the brim with charming characters, any intriguing story, incredible OSTs, fun gameplay and a beautifully realized world.

    As a Kiseki fan, and someone who has been waiting for this game with bated breath for a while now, this was everything I wanted and then some. A truly great game, no scratch that, a truly great SERIES to get into if you're a fan of JRPGs.    … Expand
  6. GameforGamers
    Oct 8, 2022
    10
    one of the best experiences I've played this year so far, beautiful visual with the catchy art style and the writing is just fantastic
  7. Jt0429
    Sep 29, 2022
    9
    Good-
    Stellar writing and characterization with excellent English localization. Visual improvements go beyond a simple remaster and look    Good-
    Stellar writing and characterization with excellent English localization. Visual improvements go beyond a simple remaster and look gorgeously clean. Top-notch soundtrack. Tons of stuff to do and a meaty story. Combat is easy to get into but offers plenty of depth, especially with Support Crafts and Combo Crafts. Quality of life features like Message Log, High-Speed Mode, and so on work great.

    Bad-
    It takes some time to get rolling, and some exchanges could be trimmed. Backtracking between locations before fast travel is unlocked can be tedious. A few graphical glitches and oddly translated lines are present.

    Thoughts-
    Objectively, some things prevent Trails from Zero from being perfect, and it may not be to every RPG fan’s taste. But as a fan of Falcom and the series, this is pretty much it. A compelling story with great characters, backed by superb localization; a stunning port with great quality-of-life features and visuals; compelling combat with extensive depth; and much more. It’s a hallmark of the series and well worth the wait.    … Expand
  8. JayMalcolm
    Nov 9, 2022
    8
    The PC version of this classic game was delayed beyond reason, but here it is! It plays best with a controller. You will be listening to a lotThe PC version of this classic game was delayed beyond reason, but here it is! It plays best with a controller. You will be listening to a lot of Japanese conversation and reading the English edition, which is not an exact translation but an idiomatic one that is fairly sophisticated, as is the plotting. But there's a LOT of talk in this game. The drawings are comic-book style and the animations simplistic in the extreme. Of fighting there is plenty; I got an award for killing 20,000 enemies in 100 hours. The battles are slow and technical, with a myriad of details to be mastered as enemies keep shifting their vulnerabilities and strengths while difficulty increases. The dungeons are often maze-like to the point that a guide is needed to succeed. I found the game easy to master on the standard difficulty. It has a NewGame+ feature for those who can endure repetition. My biggest issue was the lack of opportunities to save and exit: some fights last a half-hour and that can be followed by another half-hour of scene after scene before saving becomes possible. At the end, there are literally hours of play with no chance to save your work. So this is very much a mixed bag but I'm glad overall I had a chance to experience it.… Expand

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