The release of the Crossbell Saga in English has been a long time coming for fans of the Trails series. And with The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero’s cracking debut last September, the wait for Trails to Azure has had us salivating. And finally, the missing gap in the series has been filled, and the conclusion of the Crossbell arc has reached us. We’ve already said that Zero makes a case for being one of the series’ best entries, and Azure takes that statement and runs with it.
Set a few months after the end of Trails from Zero, Trails to Azure once again follows the Special Support Section (SSS) as they help the citizens of Crossbell, which is enjoying a temporary period of peace. But as political turmoil looms around the corner, and multiple nefarious organisations begin to worm their way into the state, the SSS – led by Lloyd Bannings – also has personal stakes wrapped within the tangled web of Crossbell’s fate. One, the truth behind the murder of Lloyd’s older brother Guy, and two, the importance of a little girl the SSS saved in Zero, KeA.
That little summary doesn’t begin to even scratch the surface of what Trails to Azure has to offer. The game comes out of the gate swinging from minute one, and right up until the final hour. There’s barely a moment of reprieve. Crossbell becomes a hotbed of drama for the whole 60-hour runtime.
We really can’t talk about the plot any more than this, but we can say that it’s excellent, and quite possibly the series’ best. However, if there’s one aspect the story falters, it’s with the endgame villains and their associated reveals – some hit better than others, but one reveal in particular left us wanting a bit more.
Fortunately, everything else about the narrative is riveting. The pacing in general is among the series’ best, as Azure is just firing on all cylinders for a lot of the playtime. Each chapter is filled with dramatic moments, and even though the final chapter makes up perhaps 40% of the game, it never outstayed its welcome and really emphasises everything that the series is outstanding at. Where Zero got us familiar and attached to Crossbell and the SSS, Azure tests our love and loyalty to both the state and the characters in the best possible way, and the emotional payoffs, as a result, are astounding.
More than Zero, this is a game that rewards long-time fans of the series. We still think that Zero and Azure can be played without having experienced the rest of the series, but with organizations from the Sky trilogy entering the action this time around, and even more characters from previous games making an appearance, you will get so much out of this if you’ve played at least the Sky games – if only they were on Switch! It doesn’t require the narrative familiarity that Cold Steel III and IV do, but the treats become all the sweeter if you come in with the prior knowledge.
Something we can talk about, however, is the new additions to the SSS. Noel Seeker, a member of the Crossbell Guardian Force, and Wazy Hemisphere, leader of a gang in the Downtown district, are a fantastic pair of additions joining Lloyd, Elie, Tio, and Randy, and fit in perfectly. Noel’s dedicated, easy-to-fluster attitude and Wazy’s aloof, playful personality both slot into the dynamic perfectly, and it makes an already loveable cast even more wonderful.
It’s also impossible not to fall in love with the adorable KeA, a young girl at the centre of a huge mystery. She is the beating heart of Azure and brings a lot of emotional and personal stakes to the story. Don’t worry, though, the existing members of the SSS aren’t forgotten about — Randy in particular has an outstanding character arc with moments that had us on the edge of our seats.
Outside of the story, Trails to Azure is mostly more of the same. You help out citizens by undertaking quests, and eventually, you’ll need to undertake a major story segment or mission. The state of Crossbell opens up much quicker this time around, and you get a car towards the middle of chapter one, which enables fast travel much earlier in this game. Most of the locations are the same, with a few new areas peppered throughout the story. It’s a sequel for the fans in every single way and every bit as familiar and comforting as you’d expect — even the repetitive sidequests make a return, though as always, you're rewarded with more wonderful writing, more lore, and sometimes even a few tears and a laugh.
This familiarity manifests in the combat, too, though you have a larger party more consistently throughout Azure as opposed to Crossbell — six characters compared to four for most of the runtime, with a handful of guest characters joining temporarily. Pretty much everything, however, is the same as it was in Zero, and because characters start off at around level 45-50, you already have access to a wide array of Arts from the start, with others and upgraded versions to unlock as you level up.
The Orbment system — which enables characters to use magic — has received an upgrade from Zero, which will be familiar to Cold Steel fans. The ENGIMA combat orbments can now take a Master Quartz, a quartz that you equip in the centre of the orbment and that can level up and improve characters’ stats or give them special buffs. One, for example, gives a character a physical defense buff for the first three turns of the battle, but that increases as the quartz levels up. Because these Master Quartz come with elemental properties too, it’s also much easier to get higher-level spells earlier, making customisation a little easier this time around.
If you get the Master Quartz to level 5, your character learns an extremely powerful Master Art, which is a huge spell that can either do tons of damage or provide some excellent buffs, which are incredibly important for the endgame challenges. There are some very tough boss fights in Azure that deliberately appear unbeatable but are absolutely not impossible. With Azure’s wide array of orbments and customisation, it’s immensely satisfying to crack the battle system wide open and struggle through these challenges. The high we got from beating a few particular bosses is unmatchable.
The other new addition in combat is the Burst Gauge. During key story moments and the entirety of the final chapter, a blue gauge appears in the top-right corner of the screen, which fills up with every attack you make and every hit you take. Once it's full, you have a limited amount of time to 'spend' the gauge, which allows you to make six consecutive turns, cast spells instantly, recover CP quicker, and also remove negative status effects instantly. We really like how this is implemented and adds another wrinkle to your combat arsenal — particularly in those tougher challenges again. With the right execution, it might even be a little bit busted, but it takes a bit of time to build up the gauge again in a boss fight, meaning you can't constantly abuse it.
All of NIS America and Geofront’s efforts return with the same high quality from Zero, from a message log to high-speed modes and another excellent localisation. This is more of the delicious same, but with lashings of juicy story and character moments layered on top. 'More of the same' is often a a negative, but this is absolutely the case where that was exactly what we needed, and Trails to Azure almost always delivers. There’s more excellent music from Falcom Sound Team jdk (the final boss music is quite possibly one of the best in the entire genre) and the same cosy visuals as before, and it all just wraps together to make a jam-packed JRPG gift.
Conclusion
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure takes everything that’s excellent about Zero and runs a marathon with it. It’s one of the best-paced games in the series, with some of the best characters, best music, and easily the best setting. The Crossbell Arc is a hugely compelling two-parter that captures everything that makes the Trails series what it is perfectly, and Azure in particular deftly balances high-stakes drama, political intrigue, and poignant character moments. This is one Switch RPG we won't be feeling blue about anytime soon.
Comments (58)
Does this have any English VO?
I think the Trails in the Sky series does, but Trails from Zero didn't.
One of my favorite video game stories ever. Glad to get to play it again without having to patch a weird Chinese copy I had to buy.
Man, i wont play this without playing Trails in the Sky. And i wont play Trails in the Sky sitting in front of my pc. I hope the release the trilogy for the switch.
I cannot WAIT for this! I loved Trails from Zero so freakin much. It was a contender for my favourite game last year, it was such a shock to me just how much I enjoyed it! The story and gameplay were just fantastic, and I am so eager to spend more time with these characters. I hope they hurry up and bring trails 1 and 2 quick time after this I have 3 and 4 ready and waiting to go as soon as they get their butts in gear and bring them over (and the sky games too while they're at it, pretty please)
This month is absolutely jam packed for me what with this, Ryza, void terrarium 2 (which I'm currently playing) and Sixtar Gate.
No doubt Ill pick up Mato Anomalies, paranomosight, Cereza, Little Witch Nobeta and have a nice death as well. Can this year just chill please XD
I was lucky enough to get my copy last week already! I've been having a blast; the Crossbell crew is probably my favourite of them all; Not that I dislike Class VII or the Bracers, but the SSS just has this certain charm that either of these other groups don't have (Estelle is still awesome though, and so are Ash and Crow).
Nice review. Though you referred to the game as "iTrails to Azure" near the end and then "Trails from Azure" right after that.
@iDidSomething Do you have a PlayStation Vita? Or are you willing to buy one? The Trails in the Sky games have Vita Evolution versions which actually came out after the upgraded versions of Zero and Azure, so they have some quality of life updates that even the PC versions are lacking. New quests, new items, updated spell mechanics, new art, new music, animated portraits in normal dialogue, anime cutscenes, etc. They're Japanese only but the fan translations were very easy to patch in and it's now I played the Sky Trilogy and it was amazing. That or grab a Steam Deck.
@iDidSomething This!!
I was thinking of getting a PSP for Trails in the Sky.
Hopefully they will just do a simple port to the Switch of all the missing pieces.
I really want to play these games, but come on, bring on the Sky trilogy to Switch already!!
@Mauzuri How does it (overall) compare to all the others in your opinion?
SOOOOOOON! Very keen!
Is it possible to play the whole series on switch? Can't honestly find much...
Pretty rare for the Switch port to beat Playstation....nice.
If only they would also port the Sky Trilogy from PC to Switch.
Maybe if the combined Switch Crossbell sales are good enough?
@AlanaHagues There are a couple of typos which @Lyricana has already pointed out but still, great review!
Further confirmation that I eventually have to play at least Zero and now this because I can't keep on missing out on such a good series!
I just jumped in with Cold Steel 3, and that worked just fine for me.
At some point you just gotta jump in. Read whatever story summaries you need to- you'll figure everything out as you go.
Cold Steel 3 has an excellent story summary feature in the main menu. Then from there, Cold Steel 4, then the Crossbell duology with Trails From Zero and Trails To Azure. And later this year, Trails Into Reverie.
Maybe one day they'll localize the first two Cold Steel games on Switch, but I doubt it. I'm not interested in the Sky Trilogy. Too old and dated at this point. Unless they got a Switch remaster that modernized them, I don't think I'll ever play those games.
Here's that question everyone loves, what games do I need to play first?
8 score is very high number. Well done.
@JohnnyMind @Lyricana Whoops! Thank you. They're gone now Totally blending titles and words together there.
@Lyricana I think most Sky fans will agree the Evolution versions are a downgrade - the art is a lot more generic (and half of the characters' facial expressions are straight up missing) and the redone music is... questionable, at best. Voiceover is nice but it can be patched into the PC releases too if you really want it.
If you literally have no other way to play the games it's a serviceable way to experience them but if you have to choose between getting a Vita for three games or a brand-new Steam Deck that'll be relevant for a while yet (and which could let you play the best version of every game in the series) the choice should be obvious.
@eltomo Release order remains the best. So:
Trails in the Sky
Trails in the Sky SC
Trails in the Sky the 3rd
Trails from Zero
Trails to Azure
Trails of Cold Steel I, II, III, IV
Trails into Reverie
Kuro no Kiseki 1 and 2 (Not localized yet)
Nayuta: Endless Trails is a spinoff that does not (currently) have any obvious link to the main series and can be played whenever.
I shall be downloading this off the wishlist. Cheers for the review.
Solid series.
hope kuro no kiseki 1 and 2 come west since they take place after trails of cold steel 4.
@Drake It's debatable whether they're an upgrade or a downgrade, based on preferences. A lot of people like the art more. The original art is really low quality, with goofy proportions and awkward inconsistenciew. I agree that the new art is more "generic" but that's only because it doesn't look so low quality and out of place. It's more normalized.
And the newer art matches the rest of the franchise better. If you can argue away the voiceover work because it can be patched in, then you can't really argue against the music, because you can easily patch the old music into the Evolution version as well. And I personally really like the animated portraits a lot more than the static ones. Plus the combat updates, new content, the cleaner battle UI and a few other things.
I can totally respect someone not preferring them, but it comes down to personal preference. And a little bit of nostalgia for original vs anything different.
Ultimately, that doesn't really matter because the person I commented to was saying they won't play these games until they can play them not on PC and the Evolution versions aren't common knowledge to people outside the fandom and if they happen to have a Vita, it's a quick and easy way to experience the games.
Also, a Vita is great for a lot of other gaming reasons anyway and even if they did have to buy it, they could get one for $100-$200 rather than $400-$630. And maybe they don't want a second PC when they already have a PC. Either way, it doesn't matter. I'm not recommending they do anything. Just mentioning some options.
@JaxonH The Crossbell games take place before the Cold Steel games.
But it's nice to know that there is a summary feature in Cold Steel III. Then I won't wait for the first two to be available on Switch here.
I've been wanting to get into Trails for awhile, especially since I've heard the Crossbell duology are among the best games in the series. Both this and Trails From Zero will have to be an "eventually" for me however. I've heard it's best to play the series in order, and I was gifted Trails In The Sky FC on Steam. Shame the barrier of entry + time involved is so high for many.
It still boggles my mind that Japan has all four Trails of Cold Steel games on Switch, yet the West only has III and IV.
@iDidSomething Trails in the Sky 1 & 2 are available on Vita. Not sure if that’s an option for you but I’m playing the first game now and really enjoying it. By the time I get to the third game I’ll either buy a Steam Deck to play it or maybe (fingers-crossed) we’ll have an announcement that the trilogy is being ported to modern consoles.
I’m like you, I just can’t bring myself to play games like this on a PC or laptop.
@GamerDad66
Falcom has been supporting the switch more lately and has apparently mentioned wanting to bring some of their older games to the system.
a port of oath in felghana (with some extras like the PSP voice acting) is coming to japan (and i imagine west later on) so seeing the sky games isnt off the table at this point.
A legendary game from a legendary series. Can't wait!
I'm sorry I don't see it listed anywhere (did CTRL + F): Is this fully voiced or not? I see some chatter about patching it in and stuff but it isn't explicitly listed if it's included or not. I've been able to sort of pull together that maybe some of it is but that little bit is not in English?
EDIT: Never-mind, I found the answer right after I posted: "Like its immediate predecessor Azure only offers Japanese voice acting - somewhat disappointingly - but it's still well acted..."
-Nintendo World Report
@iDidSomething You can play the Trails in the Sky trilogy via Steam Deck on the handheld, on your PC, or 4K or 1080p with raytracing on your HDTV. You got lots of choice there.
@a_brave_new_geek
I'm not too far in - 5 hours or so - but damn, this game gets really serious, really fast. Just strap yourself in and enjoy the wild, wild ride!
Very excited for this! After this can finally continue the other Cold of Steel games. Still need Trails in the Sky 3rd which I had to skip previously due to availability for me. Does anyone know how integral the Sky 3 is? Noticed what seemed like nods when playing Trails from Zero, but how much I’m “missing” out is unclear to me
@Drake, nice thanks! If I get through Skies and Zero I can jump straight onto this.
Time to dig out the PSP.
@eltomo Keep in mind only Trails in the Sky 1 & 2 on the PSP are English translated, the third game was never release outside Japan and thus was not translated into English. To play the translated version you must get the Steam version.
I'm hesitant on this title. I really wanted to like the first game, but it felt extremely repetitive by the end of it. If this one is more of the same gameplay with largely reused environments, I might have to pass.
For those looking to play Trails In The Sky not on a PC.
I’ve been using Steam Link on an Apple TV with my Pro Controller which has been great.
Steam Link isn’t perfect, I’ve had to use desktop mode as others didn’t work, and I have to uninstall Steam Link and reinstall now and then.
But it is well worth it.
Call me when every other game leading up to this one is available on switch.
I'm wrapping up Zero now, guess I can slide right into Azure
@DogDetective
That'd be a shame. You have to see this duelogy through, at least once. It'd be a massive shame otherwise.
Nice.
Still been meaning to hop into series now that several of them are on Switch now.
My favorite "new" JRPG series. Can't wait to pick up the sequel to 'Zero'
I want to get into this but have no clue where to really start. I’ve read Trails from Zero is an easy starting point. Anyone else have similar experience and have any advice?
@ATHFjman18 Im no expert on this but you can either Start with "Trails from Zero" or "Cold Steel 1".
If you start with "Zero", Then play "Azure" next...Then the "Cold Steel" series 1‐4.
Just know that the "Cold Steel" and "Trails" Series eventually Intervene and conclude @ "Trails to Reverie" Pretty sure that's the final game in both series.
I'm glad this reviewed well as I have had this preordered since January 6th.
@Bizzyb Thanks! At least I have somewhat of an idea where to start.
@Mauzuri
Thanks man! Looking forward to eventually getting to this.
It must be super good if the series is still going and has been across (multi) generation.
@ATHFjman18 Trails is one big interconnected series. Without going into any spoilers, it's a single continuing tale of the events happening between the various nations of a continent called Zemuria. The first three games, Trails in the Sky FC, Trails in the Sky SC and Trails in the Sky the 3rd, take place in the more rural Kingdom of Liberl. The main characters are Bracers, which are sort of international peacekeeping mercenaries who are devoted to helping the citizenry from an apolitical stance.
The next two games, called the Crossbell Duology, has Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure in it. It takes place in Crossbell City and the main characters this time are police officers working for the Crossbell State Police Department.
The third arc, Trails of Cold Steel, encompasses four games and follows a class of military academy cadets in Erebonia (one of the two super powers mentioned before).
Between all of these games, organizations, politics, schemes and happenings between these four nations (and a few smaller ones) are detailed in a background manner with more local events taking center stage. But the greater happenings of the world are always building and being developed and many characters from each game will appear in the future entries and the events of the previous games directly impact and set up the future games. Even with Trails from Zero, a number of the characters in the Sky trilogy will appear and the resulting storylines of Sky impact Zero, its characters and all of Crossbell. The same leading into Cold Steel.
It's true that the games start from a fresh enough perspective that you could sort of just hop in at Trails from Zero or Trails of Cold Steel I, but by Trails of Cold Steel III (and IV), the storylines come together in a big MCU Avengers Infinity War/Endgame scope storyline and you'll be pretty discombobulated by the plot and all the characters if you haven't played all the preceding games. Also following Cold Steel is Trails into Reverie which is essentially an epilogue and conclusion for the whole 10 game saga.
If you have a PC or a Vita and you want to get into the series, starting at the beginning is really, truly the best way, with Trails in the Sky FC. If you absolutely can't and won't ever be able and you just want to move on, then I'd at least recommend reading a summary of the first three games in the Sky trilogy and then starting with Zero. Though many people feel like the Sky games are the best in the franchise, so if you can play them, they're good games.
Anyway, I know that was long winded and probably way more information than you wanted or needed, but I hope it helps in at least some small way in making your decision!
I wanna try the Trails series, but it feels like such a high barrier of entry ... I really have no idea where to start.
@Lyricana Thanks! I appreciate the detailed response. I do also own an “altered” Vita, so I’ll see about Trails in the Sky as my starting point.
@Wexter I'd recommend reading my post directly above yours. But the only great starting place is the beginning. I don't know how much you game but don't look at it as 10 games you have to get through, just look at the first game as a game you're interested in checking out and then play it. The release cadence is slow enough that if you end up enjoying it, you're sure to catch up even if you only get through a couple of games a year.
@Lyricana Thanks! I completely forgot about Trails In the Sky. I don't think they have brought those games to current consoles yet, right? I think I might just stick with the "Cold Steel" and "Zero series.
@Wexter Jus start with the Zero series. Then, move onto Cold Steel series (1&2 are not on Switch.but available on PS store for about $20 each). Then lastly Trails to Reverie to see the epic conclusion
@Wexter
usually as long as you dont start in the middle of a story arc then it should be fine.
by this i mean its preferable to start at something like Sky or Zero than something like Azure since Azure is basically Zero part 2
with zero while there are some plot threads that carry over from the sky games it is a new location and new central cast.
it would be nice to see the trails in the sky games make their way to switch in the future but as of now if you are looking for an rpg on switch Zero and Azure are still very much recommended (there are quite a few people who started with later games and enjoyed them, including some who started at cold steel and became fans of the series)
I'm glad this one is in 2.5D ish style. All them 3D style trails games do not appeal to me at all.
@Bizzyb It's just on PC, PSP and Vita. The PC games are on sale right now in the US for basically the whole franchise. The Vita versions are a great option if you have a Vita. Even if you do skip them, just know they have a lot of very important characters, politics, concepts, organizations and plot lines introduced that you'll want to brush up on before starting Zero.
@Tyranexx It's actually a pretty simple rights issue. Cold Steel I & II were published by XSEED in the US, then Falcom switched entirely over to NISA for their English versions. I & II were already on PC and PlayStation so it didn't matter, but the Switch version hadn't been released yet. Now it probably never will.
I want to play Trails in the Sky so I can play all these games in chronological order. At this rate, that will be on Switch soon. I've got so much else to play, I'm I no rush.
@Lyricana
It does feel like a confusing rights issue regarding cold steel 1 and 2 since iirc werent they done by the same company (clouded leopard) that did the ports of the crossbell games in asia while the wester releases of the crossbell games were new ports by Ph3, then theres also the whole thing with Ys origin.
then again im far from an expert on these kinds of things but it does feel like since falcom are handling ports themselves nowadays that ports of those games would be handled by falcom similar to how cold steel 1 and 2 had a ps4 localization in the west by Xseed after the whole NISA thing.
then again as mentioned im not the most knowledgeable on this but will be curious to see what happens with something like the oath in felghana switch release since iirc its not CLE handling that.
feel free to correct me if im getting things wrong
@emj2010 Sky the 3rd is, imo, the best game in the series and has several things which not only tie into Zero (especially the conclusion of a certain character's arc) but also set up the rest of the series, including Cold Steel and beyond.
@Drake oh okay cool thanks! . I did as mentioned feel kind of that while playing trails from Zero, but didn’t feel like taking away from my experience. But I’ll definitely play it before continuing the Cold of Steel games.
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