Nihon Falcom Game Reviews
Review Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter (PS5) - This Is How You Remake a Classic RPG
Bracer yourself
The Trails franchise presents one of the biggest time commitments in modern gaming. Spread across a total of 13 (thirteen!) interconnected games at the time of writing this review, the series' density is both its greatest strength and its most talked-about curse. And so it makes a lot of sense for developer Falcom to revisit the...
Bear the nightmare
Taking place mere months after the events of Trails through Daybreak, its sequel — simply titled Trails through Daybreak 2 here in the west — often feels like a character-driven epilogue rather than a full-blown follow-up. The first Daybreak told a complete tale; the kind of storyline that Falcom usually splits across two...
Review Trails through Daybreak (PS5) - A Strong Step Forward for Falcom's Fantastic RPG Series
The Van with a plan
Kicking off a whole new saga in Falcom's storied Trails series, Trails through Daybreak represents a step forward for the franchise in so many ways. Boasting an updated game engine, fairly significant gameplay additions, and a completely new setting, this is probably the freshest that Trails has felt since the original Trails of...
Lost and bound
The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is an action RPG with platforming elements that started life on the PSP all the way back in 2012. And as is the case with so many of Falcom's lesser-known titles, it was never released outside of Japan. This new PS4 version, then, is a remaster of what some would consider to be a bit of a...
Review Trails to Azure (PS4) - Amazing Sequel Has Some of Trails' Best Storytelling
SSSpecial
The second and final game in the 'Crossbell' saga, Trails to Azure executes on everything that Trails from Zero meticulously built up. It immediately goes without saying that you simply must play Zero before jumping into this direct sequel — but don't let the daunting prospect of playing two 60-hour RPGs put you off. When viewed as two...
Review Trails from Zero (PS4) - Classic JRPG Finally Comes West, and the Wait Has Been Worth It
From Zero to hero
For the longest time, we thought that this review would never happen. Originally a 2010 title for the PSP, Trails from Zero never left Japan, despite plenty of campaigning by Western fans. Demand for Zero only grew following the Trails boom a few years back, when sequel series Trails of Cold Steel was localised on PS3, Vita, and...
Review Ys IX: Monstrum Nox (PS4) - Adol's Darkest Adventure Doesn't Quite Hit the Highs of Ys VIII
This cursed city
There's something dodgy going on in the foreboding stone city of Balduq, and seasoned adventurer Adol Christin finds that out the hard way when he's abruptly arrested upon arrival. Our red-haired hero escapes his captors with the help of a mysterious woman, but her assistance comes at a cost. Now saddled with a curse that prevents...
A Class VII act
Have you played through Trails of Cold Steel III? If not, take our advice and don't even think about trying Trails of Cold Steel IV. Apparently, the two games were originally meant to be just one big instalment in Falcom's long running The Legend of Heroes franchise — but the sheer scope of the saga forced them apart. Put simply,...
Sharpened steel
The story of Rean Schwarzer continues in Trails of Cold Steel III as the often obnoxiously nice protagonist finds himself back at school, only this time, he isn't a student. After graduating from Thors Military Academy following the events of the second game, Rean now leads the all-new Class VII as an instructor at a freshly...
Review The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II - A JRPG Sequel that Delivers on Every Level
Smile like you Rean it
Sequels like The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II are a rarity these days. This lengthy, incredibly in-depth follow-up to the first game is essentially the second half of the story. Most of the key plot points that were set up in Trails of Cold Steel are fully explored here, with an absolutely massive cast of...
A class of its own
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel, or just Trails of Cold Steel as it's more often referred to, is a turn based, character-driven role-playing title from Japanese developer Nihon Falcom. It's a story of friendship and war, all told from the perspective of Rean Schwarzer, a newly enrolled student at the prestigious Thors...
Total eclipse of the heart
Protagonist Kou Tokisaka stumbles into a parallel world, The Eclipse, while trying to rescue fellow classmate Asuka Hiiragi. From there, he joins Asuka’s quest to eliminate the evil lurking in The Eclipse, while working several part-time jobs at once and attending school. Kou seems to have an overwhelming need to help...
Review Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (PS4)
We’re going on an adventure
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is the follow up to Ys: Memories of Celceta. It’s an action RPG which at its heart is all about adventuring and exploration. Ys is a long-running series that has been around since the 80s, but you don’t need to be familiar with any of the previous games to understand what’s...
Ys not?
Some eleven years after its original Japanese release, Ys Origin has been brought to PlayStation 4 by publisher DotEmu (via a PC localisation by XSEED back in 2006). Set 700 years before the events of the main Ys series, Origin steers away from the series' familiar protagonist Adol Christin in order to focus on the background of the series'...
Review Brandish: The Dark Revenant (PlayStation Portable)
Resurrect an old friend
Brandish: The Dark Revenant was originally released on the Super Nintendo in 1991. Despite its rocky reception, it was eventually ported to the PlayStation Portable in 2009 in Japan. And, after six years, it's finally travelled overseas, with a full English localisation. The big question is: has it been worth the wait? The...
Review Ys: Memories of Celceta (PlayStation Vita)
Never forget
The Ys series has a peculiar past consisting of large gaps between sequels, a slew of different developers creating non-canon side projects, and an overall lack of localisation in Europe and North America. However, despite all of this turmoil, its refined mechanics and generally dependable quality has earned it a loyal following all...
