The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II continues Van Arkrides’ story. After the events that took place dealing with Gerard Dantes, and putting a stop to the destruction he caused throughout the Calvard region and more, the spriggan himself could finally note the mission as cased-closed.
Like any freelance worker, there’s always more to be done, bringing us to what could be one of the better sequels to the Legend of Heroes repertoire. In Trails Through Daybreak II. Van once again finds himself accompanied by many of his previous temporary hires in search of answers to a brand new threat to his existence and the region as a whole. Read more to learn about this fantastic addition to Van’s next assignment!
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II
Developer: Nihon Falcom
Publisher: NIS America
Platforms: Windows PC (reviewed), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Release Date: February 14, 2025
Price: $59.99
Once again, the story manages to ensure that the characters come before anything else. Any time a character gets introduced, or in most cases reintroduced from previous games, expect to observe a good display defining who they are, as well as a brief flashback monochromatic flashback as a good reminder to Veterans and new players alike.
Some characters will have one thinking they are just purely for side story shenanigans, then somehow manage to be weaved into the larger plot of the story. Trails Through Daybreak II can be predictable with the less dimensioned characters. Yet, there were many situations where I was completely shocked by where the story would take them, and in some lesser cases, I said to myself I have seen this millions of times in other games.
A new feature adds to this, which should be completely familiar to those who played Radiant Historia on the DS and its remaster on the 3DS, the feature to essentially rewind time and undo tragic events that would be either fatal or disastrous to the main plot. While it’s always fun to see what-if scenarios, ends up feeling more like a waste of time when choosing a bad path.
With the return of Swinn Abel, paths will split into choosing his path and Van’s path, further expanding the scope of the game’s plot from different sides. As fun as Swinn’s character is, it felt intrusive. I’d rather stick to the main protagonist’s detective-like style of gameplay.
When out of battles or story segments, expect to be running around the cities a lot as there’s always a side quest or a few to do. Unlike most games, they feel necessary and rewarding, but mostly because they add to your ranking score which goes up as you complete these “4SPG” tasks for people posted on boards.
When not doing those, shopping and improving your relationship with the other protagonists are some activities as well that pay respective dividends. Shopping itself is pretty straightforward, buying food is especially important, and eating meals for the first time increases your gourmet score which also improves your character, pretty much everywhere you look can provide a functional boon to your adventure.
Combat has never been better in a Legend of Heroes game. Every feature from the first part has made a return but in many cases, with brand new additions made to them. Through one of the many new optional systems such as the roguelike dungeon addition known as the “Marches Garten.” This completely optional content grants all forms of rewards, including costumes and a fantastic way to power up Van and his band of assistants.
One addition I enjoyed was being able to upgrade special attacks, or “Crafts”. These allow an extra level of tinkering as if there wasn’t already a lot to sink your teeth into using your orbments. Hybrid action and turn-based combat are truly a wonderful concept for JRPGs.
The new additions to the action portion also have seen some fantastic gameplay additions. Using a quick usable spell is also possible, which can be used strategically for elemental weaknesses, as well as being rewarded for perfect dodging into a team-based attack if executed with finesse!
During my playthrough, the DLC given to me was overpowered, to say the least. Utilizing the number of vertical upgrading droplets and consumables that could level me fast was unnecessary and jeopardized the commodity and challenge of the adventure. I spent around 20 minutes trying to throw them all away to better understand how challenging the adventure would be.
The boss battles, as in most cases for a legend of heroes game felt fairly balanced, as long as the prepared mechanics are utilized even on harder difficulties. Stun the enemy, apply damage toward their weaknesses, and use character placement to have them apply free passive bonuses when engaging in attacks.
Mini-games, as all successful JRPGs must have, come in great strides in Trails Through Daybreak II, unlike its predecessor having practically nothing. Fishing makes a triumphant return, yet another card game known as Seven Hearts that shares strikingly similar mechanics to UNO.
During exploration, a minigame involving MARE had her going to treasure chests, hacking their lock open by having her travel through a virtual maze looking for the cheese!… well not cheese but the technobabble that can open said locked chest. Surprisingly, there was also basketball.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II is a phenomenal JRPG that truly strives to be everything the genre has to offer. While the look still maintains a very generic and less-than-stellar graphical presentation, all of its other components truly are top-notch and should be celebrated by any JRPG enthusiast.
Trails Through Daybreak II has deep robust character tinkering, lots of joinable characters to use that are also all well written, an amazing collection of rewarding minigames, and satisfying high-energy music.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II has a list of content that is truly the stuff of JRPG legends. Aside from a few stale moments between the more important tidings of Van’s investigations, this is the single-player JRPG to play this month. Case closed.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II was reviewed on PC using a code provided by NIS America. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II is now available for PC (via Steam), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.
