Trying to capitalize on the franchise’s growing recognition within the West, Nihon Falcom has been aggressively localizing the Kiseki video games we missed out on. In September, The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero was ported throughout utilizing the fan-made Geofront patch as a base. Lower than a 12 months later, its sister sport Trails to Azure has arrived and we obtained the possibility to assessment it.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure is a direct sequel to Trails from Zero. Its story picks up straight after the tip of Trails from Zero following the collapse of the D∴G cult. Having defeated the evil cult, the once-disrespected members of the Particular Assist Part are actually heralded as heroes of Crossbell.
Whereas Trails from Zero was a narrative all in regards to the SSS overcoming the chances to achieve the favor of the individuals, Trails to Azure shifts the main target to the bigger narrative. The occasions of Azure feed into the 4 newer Chilly Metal video games, particularly concerning what led to Erebonia’s later invasion and eventual occupation of Crossbell.
Screenshot by PC Invasion
Don’t begin with Trails to Azure
Trails to Azure‘s deal with the bigger narrative led it to grow to be a fan favourite within the Kiseki group. For many who are fascinated by compelling world constructing, there aren’t many different video games that may match as much as it. That is additional supported by Azure‘s extraordinary quantity of dialogue which provides even facet characters the chance to flesh out personalities and motives.
Even by Kiseki‘s excessive requirements Trails to Azure has one of the vital thrilling tales within the collection. A whole lot of key occasions happen within the second half of Azure’s story. Admittedly, the primary couple of chapters are sluggish and the pacing of Trails to Azure leaves so much to be desired. You must stick round and be affected person to get to the great things, however it’s definitely worth the wait.
Of all of the doable entry factors into The Legend of Heroes, Trails to Azure might be the worst to choose. The principle cause for that is that it assumes that you just already know all the things about Trails from Zero. There’s a plot abstract of the final sport within the menus, however realistically you’re nonetheless going to be very misplaced when you haven’t performed it.
Screenshot by PC Invasion
To compound that time, your social gathering members in Trails to Azure begin out at stage 45. I’m not an enormous fan of when video games do that, however the cause why is evident. Trails to Azure is much less so a standalone JRPG and extra so a full-featured growth to Trails from Zero. Pretty much as good as Azure‘s story is, you’d be losing your time enjoying it earlier than a minimum of watching a playthrough of Zero.
Premium localization
An enormous query about Trails to Azure is that if it justifies its pricing. Retailing at $39.99 USD, Trails to Azure is just not a full-scale remaster or a remake. Additionally, not like the newer entries, it has no English voice appearing which some individuals might discover problematic in such a dialogue-heavy sport. As an alternative, NIS America has constructed upon the Geofront fan translation that started off life as a Chinese language-only PC port launched in 2013.
Some followers might balk over it utilizing a fan-made translation, however I feel that’s unfair. The fact is that Geofront’s localizations of the Trails video games are probably the very best fan-made tasks in the entire trade. They characteristic extraordinarily high-quality translations with a variety of PC-specific settings.
Remaking the whole port from scratch wouldn’t have simply been a waste of time, it will have been a disservice to the prevailing Geofront model. It’s good to see a significant writer treating a fan challenge with respect given the growing pattern from massive corporations to threaten authorized motion each time one begins gathering momentum.
The brand new cameo appearances are a pleasant contact that feeds into the wonderful world-building. Screenshot by PC Invasion
It’s not as if NIS America has copied and pasted the code throughout, both. The official launch of Trails to Azure options improved texture high quality, 21:9 ultrawide help, tweaked dialogue, a number of quality-of-life enhancements, and enjoyable cameo appearances to raised tie Azure into Chilly Metal. If these adjustments are sufficient to justify the worth is tough to say. However I respect the hassle of everybody concerned for localizing an excellent sport that we as soon as thought would by no means see a Western launch.
A powerful exhibiting held again by its pacing
This localization of The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure does nearly all the things it must. Utilizing the wonderful Geofront fan translation has enabled the official launch to do a very good job of telling an iconic story. Though the sub-par pacing does considerably diminish the general expertise.
After all, a full-scale remaster would have been unimaginable, however that may have required an terrible lot of labor. And at simply $39.99 USD, Trails to Azure’s pricing appears honest. Had NIS America pushed its luck and charged $60 USD I’d have a major problem, however at $40 USD you’re getting a premium localization of an excellent JRPG. Simply make sure to play or a minimum of watch a playthrough of Trails from Zero first or else you’ll find yourself getting misplaced.
