The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Beyond The Horizon Continues The Saga With A Sci-Fi Twist

The latest installment in the sprawling Trails series, The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon, has launched, continuing the Daybreak story arc by taking the franchise to its final frontier: outer space. This new chapter picks up immediately after the events of Trails through Daybreak 2, centering its narrative on the nation of Calvard's ambitious attempt at humanity's first manned spaceflight, a mission dubbed Project Startaker. The game presents a dense, sci-fi fantasy plot filled with political intrigue and conspiracy, all while continuing to iterate on the series' unique hybrid combat system. It tells its story from the perspective of three different protagonists, weaving together plot threads from across the franchise's extensive history.

Thanks to George Yang for his review on IGN, which details the game's ambitious structure. The campaign, which runs roughly 60 to 70 hours, is divided between three returning heroes: Rean Schwarzer, the protagonist of the Trails of Cold Steel saga; Kevin Graham, the lead from Trails in the Sky the 3rd; and Van Arkride, the mercenary hero of the current Daybreak arc. The game treats each character's route as a main story, which means this entry is not a suitable starting point for newcomers. A deep understanding of the previous two Daybreak games, the Cold Steel saga, Trails into Reverie, and the third Sky game is necessary to fully grasp the intricate plot.

The narrative itself is split into compelling, if unevenly paced, storylines. Rean Schwarzer's path involves uncovering the true, clandestine objective behind Project Startaker. Kevin Graham's story sees him resume his role as a "Heretic Hunter," leading him on a captivating investigation into his assassination target. Van Arkride's section, which is as long as the other two combined, initially feels slower as he and his allies fend off a mysterious new faction known as the Vestiges. However, the way all three narrative threads ultimately converge in the game's finale is described as a satisfying payoff. The game also manages its famously large cast effectively by focusing on a few key characters from each hero's past, avoiding the character bloat that has affected previous crossover titles.

Several systems from past games make a return, though not all have evolved. The roguelite dungeon, Marchen Garten, reappears as the Grim Garten, offering a similar board game-style progression of fighting monsters to reach a boss. While it provides valuable rewards like skill points and cosmetic items, it is a slight downgrade from its predecessor, as it is not available to play after the main story concludes. Side quests and "Connection" bonding events also return, providing rich world-building and character development. One quest even brings back a scheming character who first appeared sixteen years ago in the Crossbell games. The LGC morality system (Law, Gray, Chaos) also returns, but its impact on the story is minimal, a regression from its more meaningful implementation in the first Daybreak game, where it affected which allies would join the player.

Where the game truly innovates is in its combat. The hybrid action/turn-based system has been refined, making the real-time field battles more engaging. New ZOC abilities allow players to temporarily stop time for extra hits, while the new Awakening mechanic lets the three protagonists use their signature power-ups—Rean’s Spirit Unification, Van’s Grendel, and Kevin’s Stigma—in real-time to deal more damage before transitioning to a turn-based encounter. The core turn-based system has also seen significant improvements. A revised mechanic makes "stealing" turn bonuses from enemies more accessible. By activating a Shard Boost before an attack, players can grab an enemy's turn bonus and transform it into an enhanced "Plus" version for themselves.

"These minor yet impactful boons make the combat more strategic and engaging. They can mean the difference between victory and defeat, especially against the hardest enemies later on."

— George Yang

The largest addition is the introduction of Shard Commands, an evolution of the Brave Orders from past games. These powerful, party-wide buffs can now be used to overwrite a boss's own commands, adding a new layer of strategy at the cost of extra resources. These new options provide more strategic uses for the Boost Gauge, which was previously reserved mainly for ultimate attacks. The deep Quartz customization system remains largely unchanged, still offering a robust and flexible way to tailor a party's abilities. Ultimately, while the game concludes with a divisive cliffhanger, it serves as a strong entry that builds an exciting launchpad for the future of the series.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon is available to play as a demo-version on Steam, and will be released fully on January 15.