The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (known as The Legend of Heroes VI: Sora no Kiseki in Japan) is a role-playing game developed and published by Nihon Falcom in 2004. It is the first chapter of the Trails series. A sequel, called The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC (short for "Second Chapter") was released in 2007.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The game's universe and setting is extremely well-written and complex. Every single character is named and has some backstory, which you can learn more about or even have a hand in developing through sidequests. Your decisions also carry over to the game's sequel, engrossing the player in the story and making them feel a part of the universe.
 * 2) * The series'story is styled like a manga, and all games share one common universe and overarching storyline. However, you can play each arc individually, since each of them does its best to help new players catch up.
 * 3) The game's story is very good, and it's so vast that it required a whole extra game to be told (that game being Trails in the Sky SC).
 * 4) Plenty of sidequests are available, some accessible via job boards, others by speaking to the right people or going in the right places. This encourages the player to take their time, explore and get to know the game better. The sidequests are also very varied, ranging from basic tasks like escorting people or finding items to investigating dungeons, hunting monsters and solving puzzles.
 * 5) * As you complete quests, your Bracer Points (BP) will increase, allowing you to rise in the ranks of the Bracer Guild. Doing so will unlock very powerful items, both in this game and in the sequel.
 * 6) ** In some quests, you will be called to make particular decisions. Picking the right option will increase your Bracer Points, encouraging skepticism and out-of-the-box thinking.
 * 7) The game lets you save at any time you want from the main menu, and you have unlimited save slots, so, provided that you save often and in different slots, missing an item will not be a big problem, as you can reload and get what you missed.
 * 8) * The game also has an autosave feature that triggers whenever you change your area or win a battle, which adds an extra layer of security.
 * 9) The combat system is very good.
 * 10) * The combat is based on the Tactical Orbment system, based on Final Fantasy VII's Materia system. You can insert Quartzes inside your Tactical Orbment, which will increase your Orbment value. As your value rises, you will unlock new spells, which are your primary means of attack. Inserting Quartzes will also give you special abilities and increase your stats.
 * 11) * However, there is a fixed number of slots for Quartzes, some of which must be unlocked first. You can do so with Sepith, one of the game's two currencies, which you can also use to craft new Quartzes and change into Mira, the game's primary currency, used to buy items from shops, meaning that resource management is crucial to success.
 * 12) * Some characters also have Orbment types, which corresponds to one of the game's seven elements (Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, Space, Time and Mirage) and locks some slots to Quartzes of the same element.
 * 13) The game has two currencies: Sepith, which is obtained from monsters you kill, and Mira, which can be obtained by completing quests, selling items and changing Sepith. However, as stated above, Sepith is used to manage your Tactical Orbment and craft Quartzes, while Mira is used to buy equipment and items. Overall, the player must strike a balance between Mira and Sepith to maximize their profits.
 * 14) * The exchange rate between Sepith and Mira also changes at some point in the game, which is a nice gimmick.
 * 15) Aside from sidequests, there are lots of activities, such as cooking, completing the Monster Book, and collecting books. There are many places which are optional to visit, but the player is rewarded for going above and beyond and exploring those, too.
 * 16) The Bracer Notebook details all the quests you have done or completed, and even includes other useful things such as a count of your total Bracer Points, a list of all spells in the game and the corresponding Orbment values, a diary to remind you where to go to continue the story, and a tutorial to ease new players into the world without interrupting the game's pacing.
 * 17) The music is very good.
 * 18) The PC version adds Turbo Mode from the Trails of Cold Steel games, which makes backtracking and battles much less tedious.
 * 19) During battles, you have three stats to take care of: HP (your health), EP (Energy Points, used to cast Orbal Arts) and CP (Craft Points, used to cast physical attacks). While EP are fixed and can only be restored by sleeping or through items, CP increase each time a character deals or takes damage, which adds to the strategy.
 * 20) * While EP increase whenever you level up, CP are fixed at a maximum of 200, which makes managing them crucial for physical attackers, which adds some variety to your attacks.
 * 21) * When a character has 100-200 CP, they can cast a powerful attack called an S-Craft. Otherwise, they can cast an S-Break, which does less damage, but can be used at any point in battle and causes the user to take the next turn, meaning that it can be used to steal a turn from the enemy.
 * 22) The turn system is very similar to the one found in Final Fantasy X, where each character has a set turn displayed on a line and can alter the turn order by performing an action. In this game, however, some turns will provide special bonuses (such as increased Sepith, or a free heal for HP, EP or CP). Orbal Arts are cast in two turns, so managing them is important to obtain the edge in battle.
 * 23) * Critical hits aren't random, unlike many RPGs; instead, they can be obtained as turn bonuses in battle, making management more important.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Although the game is based on exploration, some content is highly missable, and there are no ways to have a second shot at obtaining it. The game also doesn't tell you when some content stops being available, which is very tedious.
 * 2) The prologue in Rolent is very long, especially if you don't do all the sidequests (which is extremely discouraged, as they allow you to obtain powerful items such as an Impede 2 quartz, extra levels that will be very helpful, and the reward from your first rank increase as a Bracer). Obtaining all the Bracer Points can also be tedious, as while there aren't any hidden quests to find, there are 53 BP only in the prologue, some of which are locked behind checks that you must pass (and if you don't, you'll have to reload from the last save file).
 * 3) The PC version doesn't have some features introduced in the newer games in the series, such as experience bonuses after battle or pawn shops to buy back missable items.
 * 4) The PC version has no controller support - the only way to control the characters is with the mouse, which can take some time to get used to. While the controls are very intuitive and easy to master, they can put some players off, as they do not follow the W-A-S-D control scheme that is used in most PC games. While it is possible to revert to the latter, this control system is a bit clunky and takes more time to get used to than simply using the default mouse controls.
 * 5) Your party members follow you in a line, which makes the game feel more realistic, but it's also impractical, as enemies will obtain an advantage if they start a battle by hitting the party leader from behind or any of the other party members.
 * 6) The game doesn't let you remap the controls from the main menu, you must do it from the launcher, which is in the game's folder. The worst part is that the game never tells you that, leaving you to figure it out on your own or check a guide.