Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is the recreation of the original Trails game, which came out back on the PlayStation Portable. In its wake, a massive following would ensue with not only sequels but entirely different series that all take place in the same extended universe, starring different casts in many different scenarios.

The Trails of Cold Steel series boasts a total of four games. Predating Trails in the Sky, many are quick to forget that the “Kiseki” series itself didn’t begin with Trails in the Sky. While my personal first was Legend of Heroes on the PlayStation Portable, the IP itself began way back in 1989 with Dragon Slayer: Legend of Heroes.

Coming back to now, the remake has a lot of work to fill, not only to fulfill its legacy, but to introduce the series to a more refined look that even surpasses more recent titles in the series. How does the classic JRPG hold up? Join us as we review this remade classic in our Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter review!

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
Developer: Nihon Falcom
Publisher: GungHo Online Entertainment America
Platforms: Windows PC (reviewed), Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5
Release Date: September 19, 2025
Price: $59.99

The continent of Zemuria isn’t the safest place. Monsters sprawl and threaten transportation, crops, and travelers at every turn. Luckily, to help the less fortunate, the Bracer guild is always at arm’s length in every town. The guild is a group of civilians made into agents of battle, but not only that, also to investigate, rescue, and solve people’s problems.

This could even be as simple as finding someone’s cat if a person decides to file the paperwork. It’s a concept that even a young child could come up with, but realized in a more realistic way that fits perfectly into a JRPG. Need to do side quests? Look no further than becoming a bracer. Want to be a practiced fighter of monsters but can’t join the army? The bracer guild has you covered.

One asking how dangerous adventuring can be should request a bracer, or get caught up with army officials or law enforcement. Ultimately, a bracer is still a civilian, they are sanctioned by the government to operate. An organized, trained militia.

Estelle Bright, the protagonist of the story, dreams of following in her father’s footsteps and becoming a high-ranking bracer. Her legendary quirky one-liners and feisty attitudes still hold up well in this iteration of the story, too. This is one gal you really don’t want to mess with! Imagine combining Asuka from Evangelion and Justin from Grandia, and you get Estelle.

Her adopted brother Joshua, on the other hand, is more on the Shinji Ikari side of things. Quiet, somewhat stoic. Very anal about staying inside the lines, and generally, seems kind of distant from the world. However, he really does care a lot for Estelle, though they’re not directly related.

Any time Estelle begins her goofy or childish-like behavior, having fun with the situation, or runs into an ambush headfirst, Joshua is guaranteed to shake his head with silent frustration, followed by a quip.

There can’t be an Asuka/Shinji dynamic without a Misato. Enter Sherazard, or Shera for short. A whip-wielding, older, more mature mentor-like figure for the two, who were good friends with their parents. She wastes no time in most cases, making her personality known.

Shera’s obsession with drinking and suggestive behavior in front of other tavern patrons is what she’s known to do, which gives our two heroes a lot of concern for her. When she’s not acting like a total perverted wacko, she’s actually one of the most competent bracers the kingdom of Liberl has to offer.

After having been acquainted with some of the characters early on, along with some basic side quests and main missions, Estelle’s father will go off on a mission he receives, but the airship he travels on goes missing. With hopes of finding him, Estelle and crew embark on finding him. The story, however, begins to take turns constantly with nearly perfect pacing.

As one would expect after playing one of the previous games, the level of world-building is utterly phenomenal here. Not only do each of the towns and regions have lots of lore that is interwoven and connected to the game world, but so do the characters as well.

Every bit of dialogue always feels important; there wasn’t a single time when I was even remotely compelled to skip a cutscene, except for side quests. The voice acting from everyone involved is top-notch.

At times the game feels like an interactive anime thanks to the incredible performances, especially by Estelle’s and Schera’s actresses. Regrettably, like most of the other Kiseki games, there are sections with no voice acting.

A lot of cases will happen where characters will talk, but others will be completely mute during a conversation, only letting you read their chat box text.

This perplexed me a lot when I played through both Trails Through Daybreak games, and it continues to do so in this game. If it’s going to be an ongoing thing with these games, it might just be better to avoid voice recording dialogue entirely for those scenes, as it feels incredibly awkward.

Combat has been refined in a way that still feels as it did in the original, but with elements taken from some of the more recent Kiseki games. Primarily, combat is turn-based.

However, when exploring the large world, enemies are initially engaged in a full-on action RPG setting. The screen does not change to a predetermined arena either, where you fight is exactly where it will take place.

The combat itself is serviceable at best. It’s possible to dodge, perfect dodge, basic combo attack, and special attack upon filling a gauge. This system gets kinda repetitive, and I feel like they still haven’t gotten the Action Plus turn-based concept down quite right yet. In fact, you can’t even cast magic spells (except healing magic from the main menu) during action combat.

I was disappointed it was possible to do that in some of the more recent titles but not here. The best use for the action combat system is to simply keep spamming attacks strategically until you have stunned an enemy. This is where combat really begins by pressing a button that will turn the battle into turn-based mode.

With a stunned enemy present, the first turn will guarantee you the option to do a strike command, which is one of the most important new features added to this version of the game. Performing critical hits, or striking an enemy’s general weaknesses, is the strongest way to trigger these moments.

If you do them enough, the five-segment gauge will fill, allowing you to perform a free, tandem party attack, which hits multiple enemies for very strong damage. Using special weapon skills, or “Crafts,” is a very powerful way to trigger these. Stacking a lot of critical percentages via your armor is another way to increase the chance. In comparison, using magic feels very important.

One particular strategy that got me through Hard mode was actually utilizing how strong confusing your enemies can be. During an early-on boss fight, I was able to confuse 3 different enemies assisting a boss, which were essentially bringing her down for me, killing four birds with one stone.

In many role-playing games, it’s hard to strike a balance between using melee attacks and magic abilities together. Bracers are trained to be skilled in both, so don’t think specializing a character into just one or the other is necessary.

To get more powerful for the challenges ahead, there are several means of progression to keep track of. The standard equipment system allows the use of a weapon, chestpiece, boots, and two accessories. Weapon models never change, and gear progression itself isn’t the most exciting. Rarely will you take a look at your options and wonder which progression to go with.

When it comes to learning more “Crafts”, they can only learned from leveling up. But each craft is significantly useful; nothing is ever wasted between any of the joinable characters. Costume features are always a nice bonus to see in JRPGs. Though a lot of them are locked behind a paywall, especially the actual outfits. What would have been nice to see is maybe some weapon model changes.

The music is enjoyable and homey. The game even allows 3 different renditions of the soundtrack completely included in the game, even featuring the original scores, which I had on to satisfy my taste for nostalgia.

Other than the random anecdotes of minor nitpicks I had over my experience during the game, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter really feels like Falcom’s most accomplished product to date. I loved every second of Estelle being a goofball, Scherazard’s playful yet dangerous antics, and Joshua’s warm heart yet stoic balance. Several other characters later on also have their stakes in the fun too, and even though the game is rich in character and world-building.

The gameplay is very refined, balanced, and exciting to experience all the way through. The action combat portion, however, still isn’t quite there, but it’s getting close. But above all, the most mindblowing thing that made me happy was that the hardest difficulty available in the game rewards players with an achievement.

I pray more games take the initiative to follow Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter’s example in not only preserving difficulty and challenge, but everything else it promises. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is an unforgettable experience with great characters, an engaging story, and enjoyable gameplay.

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter was reviewed on PC using a code provided by GungHo Online Entertainment. Additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy is here. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is now available for Windows PC (via STEAM), Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PlayStation 5.