When Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter got a confirmed release date last week, news also broke that Japanese players would be treated to a nice little bonus in the form of a download code for Trails in the Sky FC — a remaster of the very first Trails title.
Since then, western fans have been eager to know if that same bonus will apply to overseas purchases — but it sounds like western publisher GungHo Online Entertainment has no plans to sweeten the deal.
To be fair, this kind of decision is likely outside of the company's control. Developer Falcom publishes the series in its home country, and we assume that process has very little crossover with what its publishing partners get up to here in the west (beyond syncing up worldwide release dates).
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Still, GungHo has issued an official statement on the matter to Gematsu, in an attempt to clarify the situation:
"We are aware that in some regions, pre-ordering Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter on certain platforms will grant users access to a remastered version of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. However, GungHo Online Entertainment America is not involved in these releases, and we have nothing to announce regarding the pre-order bonus in question at this time.”
It strikes us as a weird pre-order bonus anyway. Just to be crystal clear, the bonus game is a remaster of the original Trails in the Sky — the very first Trails game. Not the highly rated remake of said game, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, from last year.
Still, we suppose it's a bit of a shame for diehard Trails fans. The original Trails in the Sky is not currently available on modern consoles, which does make us wonder whether this sudden remaster will end up being sold separately at some point.
How do you feel about this? Get ready to whack someone with your big stick in the comments section below.