Incredible.
Trails in the Sky brilliantly sets itself up for the grander story that is to come in the following game, the Second Chapter. Many elements of this game are masterfully crafted: music, characters, side quests, and many in universe aspects as to how the world functions.
The tools of engaging the player with the world did a lot to immerse me in the world. Countless days I've played where I couldn't put down the game due to how engaging and beautiful the game is. Despite a large portion of the game being optional; the Bracer Guild board postings and the occasional hidden quests that you seek out yourself, with absolute certainty I can say I participated in almost every side quest and a handful of hidden quests. The gratification of stumbling upon a hidden substory is unparalleled. Often times, the side quests, hidden and publicly known alike, offer so much knowledge into the world whether it relates to the history, different branches of society, or relationships between characters. Trails has an amazingly realized world that delves into some truly unique territory. Purchasable newspapers, books, and other various outlets for in world authored texts is truly something I heavily appreciate in the game.
Being a PSP game, it should come to no one's surprise that the soundtrack is fairly limited. Exploration of the world can only be so grand, combat has many hardware limits inflicted upon it, and NPC dialogue can only go so far. That being said, the game utilizes all of these aspects to their fullest.
The soundtrack is about an hour in length, yet throughout the +40 hour duration of the game it ceases to wear itself out. Not once was I able to find myself annoyed with the choice of music or even the existence of a track altogether. I absolutely adore when and how the developers chose to use certain tracks for cutscenes, locations, and events. Sound design is, simply put, superb, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Standard battle music, boss music, and any music played during specific fights always land. I can very easily recall moments where the game uses music to its advantage. The most notable and memorable being a scene in specific where a character snaps, eliciting a reaction from an opposing person, then eerily creeping back into their ominous foreboding song. Contextually, this scene is absolutely fucking loaded with emotion and intense story significance. Typing it this way to avoid spoilers absolutely does it zero justice, you have to witness it firsthand. Music in this game carries a LOT of emotional weight, the use of music to fit regardless of tone or setting is also shown in how music environmentally consistently matches the mood throughout the entire main story. For what it's worth, given the length of the game and the length of the soundtrack, I have an utmost level of appreciation for how expertly crafted the music and environments are built in tandem.
Exploration and visual flair is definitely one of the biggest aspects in my adoration with the game. Areas are beautifully crafted, with each space having such uniqueness to it. Each of the main explorable cities and their outskirts are all uniquely interesting and a blast to explore & learn about their history upon reaching them for the first time. Bracer Quests are equally one of my favorite mechanics for this reason. Should you not feel compelled to explore the lands of your own volition, Bracer Quests act as one of the supporting reasons to explore and familiarize yourself with your surroundings. The 1.3 GB file size for the original PSP release still absolutely blows my mind. I love the unique style in how the world is designed and how it presents itself, that early 2000s JRPG aura is super emphasized, and I'm here for it.
I don't want to delve into the specifics of the combat much to be honest. I enjoyed it for what it offered and that's about the most I can put into words about it, I'm willing to excuse its simplicity for it being the first game in the series. Though I can safely say I'm not the biggest fan of sepith farming, I do however like the payoff. It grants the complexity of crafting your “perfect” orbment loadout for your characters, adding just another layer of strategy to the base combat that I'm definitely a fan of.
Trails in the Sky brilliantly sets itself up for the grander story that is to come in the following game, the Second Chapter. Many elements of this game are masterfully crafted: music, characters, side quests, and many in universe aspects as to how the world functions.
The tools of engaging the player with the world did a lot to immerse me in the world. Countless days I've played where I couldn't put down the game due to how engaging and beautiful the game is. Despite a large portion of the game being optional; the Bracer Guild board postings and the occasional hidden quests that you seek out yourself, with absolute certainty I can say I participated in almost every side quest and a handful of hidden quests. The gratification of stumbling upon a hidden substory is unparalleled. Often times, the side quests, hidden and publicly known alike, offer so much knowledge into the world whether it relates to the history, different branches of society, or relationships between characters. Trails has an amazingly realized world that delves into some truly unique territory. Purchasable newspapers, books, and other various outlets for in world authored texts is truly something I heavily appreciate in the game.
Being a PSP game, it should come to no one's surprise that the soundtrack is fairly limited. Exploration of the world can only be so grand, combat has many hardware limits inflicted upon it, and NPC dialogue can only go so far. That being said, the game utilizes all of these aspects to their fullest.
The soundtrack is about an hour in length, yet throughout the +40 hour duration of the game it ceases to wear itself out. Not once was I able to find myself annoyed with the choice of music or even the existence of a track altogether. I absolutely adore when and how the developers chose to use certain tracks for cutscenes, locations, and events. Sound design is, simply put, superb, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Standard battle music, boss music, and any music played during specific fights always land. I can very easily recall moments where the game uses music to its advantage. The most notable and memorable being a scene in specific where a character snaps, eliciting a reaction from an opposing person, then eerily creeping back into their ominous foreboding song. Contextually, this scene is absolutely fucking loaded with emotion and intense story significance. Typing it this way to avoid spoilers absolutely does it zero justice, you have to witness it firsthand. Music in this game carries a LOT of emotional weight, the use of music to fit regardless of tone or setting is also shown in how music environmentally consistently matches the mood throughout the entire main story. For what it's worth, given the length of the game and the length of the soundtrack, I have an utmost level of appreciation for how expertly crafted the music and environments are built in tandem.
Exploration and visual flair is definitely one of the biggest aspects in my adoration with the game. Areas are beautifully crafted, with each space having such uniqueness to it. Each of the main explorable cities and their outskirts are all uniquely interesting and a blast to explore & learn about their history upon reaching them for the first time. Bracer Quests are equally one of my favorite mechanics for this reason. Should you not feel compelled to explore the lands of your own volition, Bracer Quests act as one of the supporting reasons to explore and familiarize yourself with your surroundings. The 1.3 GB file size for the original PSP release still absolutely blows my mind. I love the unique style in how the world is designed and how it presents itself, that early 2000s JRPG aura is super emphasized, and I'm here for it.
I don't want to delve into the specifics of the combat much to be honest. I enjoyed it for what it offered and that's about the most I can put into words about it, I'm willing to excuse its simplicity for it being the first game in the series. Though I can safely say I'm not the biggest fan of sepith farming, I do however like the payoff. It grants the complexity of crafting your “perfect” orbment loadout for your characters, adding just another layer of strategy to the base combat that I'm definitely a fan of.
Reviewed on Apr 09, 2023