Our reappraisal of The Legend of Heroes : Trails to Azure , NIS America ’s official localization of a legendary JRPG .
Looking to take advantage on the franchise ’s increasing popularity in the West , Nihon Falcom has been sharply localizing theKisekigames we missed out on . In September , The Legend of Heroes : trail from Zerowas ported across using the devotee - made Geofront dapple as a base . Less than a year subsequently , its babe gameTrails to Azurehas arrived and we produce the chance to reexamine it .
The Legend of Heroes : Trails to Azureis a direct subsequence toTrails from Zero . Its story picks up straight after the end ofTrails from Zerofollowing the collapse of the D∴G cult . Having defeated the evil cult , the once - disrespected members of the Special Support Section are now acclaim as heroes of Crossbell .
WhileTrails from Zerowas a story all about the SSS overcoming the odds to arrive at the favor of the people , Trails to Azureshifts the nidus to the large narrative . The consequence ofAzurefeed into the four newerCold Steelgames , especially regarding what run to Erebonia ’s recent intrusion and eventual occupation of Crossbell .
Don’t start withTrails to Azure
Trails to Azure‘s focal point on the larger narrative led it to become a fan front-runner in theKisekicommunity . For those who are fascinated by compelling public building , there are n’t many other games that can match up to it . This is further brook byAzure‘s extraordinary amount of dialog which turn over even side persona the opportunity to flesh out personalities and motives .
Even byKiseki‘s high standardsTrails to Azurehas one of the most exciting stories in the series . A lot of key effect take lieu in the second one-half ofAzure’stale . avowedly , the first couple of chapters are slow and the pacing ofTrails to Azureleaves a lot to be want . You have to stick around and be patient to get to the good stuff , but it is worth the wait .
Of all the potential entry period intoThe Legend of Heroes , Trails to Azureis plausibly the worst to pick . The primary understanding for this is that it assume that you already know everything aboutTrails from Zero . There is a plot of land summary of the last plot in the menus , but realistically you ’re still going to be very turn a loss if you have n’t play it .
Screenshot by PC Invasion
To deepen that point , your party penis inTrails to Azurestart out at horizontal surface 45 . I ’m not a big buff of when games do this , but the reason why is vindicated . Trails to Azureis less so a standalone JRPG and more so a full - featured expansion toTrails from Zero . As effective asAzure‘s write up is , you would be wasting your clock time playing it before at least watching a playthrough ofZero .
Premium localization
A big question aboutTrails to Azureis if it free its pricing . Retailing at $ 39.99 USD , Trails to Azureis not a full - scale of measurement remaster or a remake . Also , unlike the newer entrance , it has no English voice acting which some people may find problematic in such a dialogue - leaden game . Instead , NIS America has built upon theGeofront fan translationthat started out living as a Chinese - only microcomputer port resign in 2013 .
Some fans may balk over it using a fan - made translation , but I consider that ’s unjust . The reality is that Geofront ’s location of theTrailsgames are possibly the best lover - made labor in the whole industry . They feature exceedingly high - quality translations with a wide cooking stove of PC - specific preferences .
Remaking the entire port from scratch would n’t have just been a waste of time , it would have been a ill turn to the existing Geofront translation . It ’s nice to see a major publishing house treating a fan project with obedience given the increasing tendency from braggart companies to threaten legal action every metre one set out gathering momentum .
Screenshot by PC Invasion
It ’s not as though NIS America has copied and pasted the codification across , either . The official release ofTrails to Azurefeatures improved grain caliber , 21:9 ultrawide support , tweaked dialog , several lineament - of - living improvements , and fun cameo appearance to full tieAzureintoCold Steel . If these changes are enough to justify the damage is difficult to say . But I appreciate the endeavor of everyone involved for localizing a great game that we once thought would never see a westerly liberation .
A strong showing held back by its pacing
This localization ofThe Legend of Heroes : trail to Azuredoes almost everything it needs to . Using the excellent Geofront fan translation has enabled the official vent to do a good job of telling an iconic taradiddle . Although the sub - par pacing does somewhat lessen the overall experience .
Of naturally , a full - scale remaster would have been incredible , but that would have call for an horrific destiny of study . And at just $ 39.99 USD , Trails to Azure ’s pricing seems fair . Had NIS America pushed its fate and charged $ 60 USD I ’d have a serious problem , but at $ 40 USD you ’re getting a premium localization of a great JRPG . Just be certain to play or at least follow a playthrough ofTrails from Zerofirst or else you ’ll cease up getting lost .
The new cameo appearances are a nice touch that feeds into the excellent world-building. Screenshot by PC Invasion
