Happy Trails, Gang!

HIGH The cast’s a largely enjoyable bunch of rogues with solid writing.

LOW The battle systems are somewhat unexciting.

WTF Feri’s (13f) father’s ominously-worded letter to Van (24m).

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The Trails series has been around for a while at this point, and unlike many other major JRPG series on the market, it doesn’t simply ditch the storyline of the previous entries and start afresh with each new installment. No, they’re all interlinked, with cameo appearances from one arc popping up in the next.

Such a long-term structure sounds like it could be pretty uninviting for new players beginning with later games, but as someone who only occasionally dips into this IP, I’m pleased to say that Trails through Daybreak works extremely well as a starting point for newcomers thanks to its new core cast, fresh setting and just enough explanation about prior events peppered in.

This new arc in the Trails series takes place in the Republic of Calvard, a fairly major superpower. It’s a region and world filled with recognizable tech — they have televisions, laptops, mobile phones, cars and highways, which makes much of the setting feel immediately relatable. Of course, this region has its own share of woes and social ills, and this is where a new story begins as a school girl with a heart of gold requests help from a local fixer in recovering something known as the Genesis — a keepsake of her grandfather… which, by the way, might just be part of something that might trigger the end of world.

The characters in Trails through Daybreak are pretty great overall. Protagonist Van Arkride isn’t some wide-eyed kid, instead having plenty of life already under his belt as the story begins. He’s got a reputation as a dependable fixer (here termed a “Spriggan”) who can get things done for a fee, and often employed by clients who may not want to get involved with the law for various reasons. I was initially concerned he’d lean too far into the ‘cool dependable guy’ side of the spectrum to be interesting, but he has unexpected personality quirks that make him a decent lead.

The backup cast run the gamut from good to excellent. Feri in particular is a superb addition — a fish-out-of-water child soldier whose limited experience living on the battlefield couples with her boundless enthusiasm and desire to be helpful in weird and amusing ways. Main heroine Agnes is fairly likable, even if her personality slots neatly into the kind-hearted-but-determined trope, then there’s a host of playable and nonplayable characters who get involved like Judith, a movie actress with a shadowy side gig, or the Direwolf, a beast of a dude with whom Van’s had an obviously turbulent history.

The writing and world building are solid throughout, with plenty of amusing dialogue to keep things entertaining, even when the cutscenes run long with exposition. Handled badly, the pacing in Trails through Daybreak could have been an absolute bore, but it all goes down easy thanks to a decent localization and good character work, much of it shining when players are allowed to simply breathe in each environment and potter around with relaxing, non-critical tasks between more serious events.

There’s also a minor morality system at play during certain points where Van can choose between lawful, chaotic or morally questionable outcomes. This doesn’t change who he is as a character — he’s a hero, so he’s not going to suddenly start kicking puppies into wood chippers out of nowhere. It’s more that a chaotic choice will have him come to a different conclusion. A lawful choice will have him leaving a thug in the hands of the police, whereas a chaotic choice would lead him to the conclusion that the police might not prosecute the criminal appropriately, so he’ll blackmail them to ensure compliance instead. It’s a minor thing, but it does gently guide certain responses and outcomes throughout the narrative.

In terms of gameplay, series regulars will find an admirable amount of player customization. Battles can be made as easy or as challenging as desired with multiple selectable difficulties, text and movement speeds can be sped up or cut down, and more.

Looking specifically at combat, there’s a new dual battle system on offer.

The first aspect is a little like that found in Falcom’s other famous action JRPG series Y’s, though admittedly more limited in scope. It’s a simple realtime setup where players get to stab enemies in real time or roll out of the way of attacks, best used to eliminate weaker enemies and to shunt larger foes off-balance by stunning them before transitioning to the turn-based mode to finish them off. It’s not particularly deep, but it’s nice to have the option to clear riffraff in a speedy manner instead of having to knuckle down for a turn-based brawl every time a poxy slime gets too close to the party.

This second aspect is a more traditional turn-based approach where players give each character various commands like defending from attacks, casting magical arts or simply stabbing an enemy in the face. This is paired alongside a realtime battle system where dashing around field monsters, tumbling out of the reach of attacks and smashing them into a stunned state with special moves is the order of the day.

There’s a decent amount of strategy in this turn-based, including maneuvering around the field to catch as many enemies in an area-of-effect attack as possible, or synergizing with allies so that they join in on the assault, but the delay between selection and activation of certain special moves robs play of immediacy, and seeing enemies walk out of said AOE before activation sucks.

While these systems are decent enough, I did find myself wishing the frequent battles would be over faster, so I could get back to continuing the story — a feeling I rarely have when encountering a genuinely gripping JRPG battle system. The lack of impact during battles is noticeable, with fairly stiff animations and no real oomph to each attack. As a result battles feel a little more mundane and perfunctory than they could be, and playing Daybreak right off the back of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, it’s hard not to expect a little more from modern-day battle systems.

As a side note, Daybreak is full of “points of no return” where players will be warned that the storyline is about to advance and that if they haven’t done everything they’ll lose the chance forever. As someone with a completionist mindset, this left me in a near-perpetual state of anxiety. Did I talk to everyone? Did I do everything? Did I doublecheck that I talked to everyone and did everything? I’m sure I did, so let’s continue… okay, we’re now past the point of no retu — SHIT, I FORGOT TO FEED THAT F****** CAT MY PLAYTHROUGH IS RUINED GODDAMN IT!!!

Well, it’s maybe not that extreme, but I spent a lot of time doublechecking that I’d crossed everything off my list before daring to progress.

Despite completion anxiety and combat that was just a little bit lacking, I still had a great time with Trails through Daybreak — it offers an interesting world coupled with plenty of likeable characters, ultimately delivering an enjoyable journey filled with plenty of good times.

Rating: 8 out of 10

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Disclosures: This game is developed by Nihon Falcom and published by NIS America. It is currently available on PS4/5, Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PC. Approximately 35 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed. Still playing though!

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T and contains Blood, Drug References, Fantasy Violence, Language, and Suggestive Themes. The official description reads: “This is a role-playing game in which players assume the role of a hero hired to find a stolen heirloom. As players explore a fictional republic, they can complete missions/quests, interact with characters, and battle human enemies and fantasy creatures (e.g., giant insects, demons, robotic turrets). Players use swords, machine guns, and magic spells to defeat enemies in turn-based combat. Battles are highlighted by gunfire, impact sounds, and cries of pain. Some sequences depict blood-splatter effects as characters are attacked; a handful of scenes show blood on characters’ faces and underneath a corpse. The game contains some suggestive material: a gentleman’s club depicting female characters in lingerie dancing on poles; red-light district signage (e.g., “Show Girls”); innuendo/sexuality in dialogue (e.g.,“We’ve got a nice room out in the Entertainment District…[W]e’ll give you more girls…”; “Just don’t get too naughty, all right?”). The dialogue also references drugs (e.g., “…laced with illicit substances”; “hard drugs”; “…[I]f he’s going around selling drugs to children, he won’t be on the streets for long.”). The word “sh*t” is heard in the game.”

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. Audio isn’t required to play. All dialogue is subtitled, few mechanics are aided by audio cues, and the few that do have visual accompaniments. It’s fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.

Wikipedia page – Official site – Official microsite

I love how the store credit system works on the Nintendo eShop. When you purchase games, you get golden coins that you can use as a discount for other games. If you have enough coins, you can even buy the game outright. One of the games I have bought with this system is Trinity Trigger. From the description, it sounded like an interesting and unique action JRPG, and I’m always interested to play new and unique games. Especially since key staff on this game worked on amazing games like Chrono Cross and the Mana series. Now, is it any good and should you pick up this game, or is it a game that you should skip? Well, in this first impression I have after playing 1/4th of the game, I want to tell you my opinion so far. I’m also curious to hear your opinion on the game and/or the content of this article in the comment section down below. And with that said, let’s dive right into Trinity Trigger.

Just A Bit More

In this game, we take on the role of Cyan. Cyan is an average boy from a small village. He is also a treasure hunter that one day learns he is chosen by the God of Chaos as his Warrior of Chaos.

In the fantasy world of Trinitia, there are two main Gods. The God of Order and the God of Chaos. In ancient times, they used to wage war for control of the lands. Now, they chose a warrior each to represent them and fight the other warrior to the death for dominance. Cyan doesn’t know what that even means, but it might explain why he has amnesia, those weird dreams and that special glowing mark in his eye. In search for answers, he sets out on a journey, and that’s how this game starts.

When this game was originally teased, the main setup for this game was to create a game and story that was nostalgic to those who played old school JRPG’s. A lot of talent who worked on other big titles like Xenoblade, Pokémon and Bravely Default II were working on this game as well. I always find it dangerous to mention these things, since it might set the expectations of players way too high. What if this isn’t going to work out or when the story just doesn’t hit the mark?

You can never predict how the chemistry is between people, and it’s possible that they are unable to work together. But, it’s also possible they hit it off big and make something extremely unique and special. I remember how a game like World’s End Club could have been so much more with two amazing directors behind it, Kazutake Kodaka from Danganronpa fame and Kotaro Uchikoshi from the Zero Escape fame. Yet, that game was decent but could have been so much more if it had more depth and polish.

If I’m honest with myself, Trinity Trigger falls into the same boat then World’s End Club. Take the story, for example. When I started playing this game, an amazing world was being setup and I started to get interested and immersed in this new world. But, it didn’t take long before I noticed that this game hits all the familiar story beats you expect from a JRPG. But the biggest issue in this story is that it doesn’t do anything special during its journey. I have already visited a couple of towns and each time it’s the exact same basic premise that happens.

The best way I can describe the story is that it’s unoffensively bland. It does what it’s supposed to do, but nothing more. It’s a shame, since the amazing voice cast behind this game brought this game to live so much. I have nothing to critique there. The only thing that can be a bit annoying is hearing the same grunts over and over again while you are fighting in the dungeons, but that’s part of the course in JRPG’s.

Playing it safe

For some people, having a bland story in a JRPG’s is a dealbreaker. But, I can handle that if the main gameplay loop is enjoyable. In this game, you go from town to town and explore the town dungeon to become stronger and get new unique abilities.

The battles in this game aren’t turn based like in other JRPG’s. This is an action JRPG, after all, so you have to dodge and time your attacks well. You can even choose to ignore battles if you want to, apart from scripted fights or boss battles, that is. The combat system is decent and does the job. The only complaint I have is that your stamina drains a bit too fast, making your attacks quite weak against enemies. So, you have to use other mechanics like having better damage when you dodge roll an attack in time.

After each dungeon, you unlock a new weapon that has a slightly different playstyle. You can choose between which weapon you use on the fly with a weapon wheel. It works quite well, and it’s fun to figure out which enemies are weak against which weapons. Especially the bosses, since hitting them with the right weapon creates even more damage.

During your exploration, you can find hidden chests with items. Underneath the mini-map, you can find a counter with how many hidden treasures are still left in the area. I find it quite enjoyable to explore the whole map to find these hidden treasures. Some of the hidden passages are hidden away extremely well, and finding them was a blast.

Something I also really enjoy is that you can easily choose between which character you control. Some characters have unique skills and being able to quickly switch between them is amazing. Since, some enemies have a long range attack, and then it’s a blast being able to switch to a character that can use a bow to take them out more easily.

Enemies also drop various items that you can use to craft items in shops or at special stations. And crafting these items actually cost in game money. The amount you have to spend for crafting is a lot lower, but this is a mechanic I’m hesitant about. It would have been quite a lot of fun to be able to craft healing items during your exploration. Maybe these healing items were less effective than the potions you can buy in the shops. But then again, it might break the balance of the game and make you a bit overpowered.

You can only carry so many potions and to be very honest, I never really had problems with a boss battle or a dungeon when I was stocked up on potions. When you don’t do anything crazy and keep your stock high and manage your stat boosting items well, this game becomes quite easy. So easy in fact that boss battles become an endurance test and extremely repetitive.

Each boss battle has the same basic premise. You have to dodge their attacks and use the right weapon to break the shield of the boss. In most cases, this is the newly unlocked weapon. After you have broken the shield, you can damage the boss. If you have broken the shield 4 to 5 times, and kept hitting the boss, you have beaten the fight.

Now, the dungeons play like your typical The Legend of Zelda dungeon to a degree. There is one main theme and puzzle mechanic for you to solve. Once you reached the final room of the dungeon, you fight a final boss and progress in the game. When I think about it, the structure of this game resembles 2D Zelda games here and there. And maybe, the structure of a Zelda game would have fit the game better than an action JRPG. Since, I wouldn’t be surprised if players drop this game and call it repetitive. Since, it really is. I tried to play this game in longer sessions, but I started to feel bored after playing it for an hour or two. Yet, I kept enjoying myself with the game while playing it on my 30-minute train ride from and to work.

Middle of the Road

The more I play this game, the more I feel like this game could have been so much more. The basic foundation of this game is rock solid, and I barely have anything to critique there. Like the controls and the UI for example. The controls are extremely responsive and a blast to work with.

Now, the other characters are AI controlled. Overall, the AI does an okay job following you and aiding you in combat, but it can do some brain-dead actions as well. One of the dungeons where it frustrated me to no end was the ice dungeon, where your AI allies slid into the spikes every single time.

Visually, this game looks pretty decent. There is quite a lot of detail put into this world and the underused area exclusive mechanics are quite a lot of fun to play with. For example, I love how in the forest area the mushrooms can have different effects depending on the color. Especially the one that allows you to light up the area.

But then you have moments where some textures are bland and look like they are from an earlier generation, creating a mismatch. And on top of that, some battle animations can’t be canceled. And the final attack of the bow is just silly. Yet, if a certain attack is in progress, you can’t switch weapons. This is something that annoyed me quite a lot as well.

The soundtrack of this game is quite enjoyable. It fits the atmosphere of the game like a glove. Overall, this orchestral soundtrack is a joy to listen too. But, there are some tracks that are a bit too short and the rather repetitive melody isn’t it doing any favors. Thankfully, these tracks don’t appear to often so I don’t mind it too hard.

The sound effects are pretty good too. I’d recommend that you use the option menu to tweak the sound balancing to your liking, since the basic sound balancing is a bit off when it comes to the balance between sound effects and music. I had to lower the music a little bit so I could hear the important sound effects better during battles.

This game really feels like it’s walking the middle of the road here. My biggest complaint with this game is that it lacks depth in almost every aspect of the game. And it’s just that lack of depth that’s hurting this game. This game has a lot of great idea’s like how easy to read the UI is, but it barely does anything with the stat boosting items.

The game also has local co-op, but I don’t see a reason why to play this game in co-op. There aren’t enough elements to justify for me to have a friend over and play this game. It’s just too bland for that. It’s a shame, since if the combat system was more in depth, it would have been an amazing feature. Now, it’s just another ticked box of features this game has.

Just like how some of the monster design is amazing and sometimes even looks somewhat creepy. They also telegraph their attacks quite well, so you can easily dodge them. Dodging attacks in time is quite important, since you can do special attacks or even more damage. Now, you also have your typical enemies like your slimes and bees, but they look unique and fit their setting quite well.

To be honest, this game is the perfect entry game for young childern to get into roleplaying games. I think that if you have played other more expansive JRPG’s, you will notice the cracks this game has and feel mixed about the game like the whole reception is for this game.

This brings me to the price. To be honest, I wouldn’t pay the full price for this game. The asking price for this game is 40€. And if you want all the DLC, it’s even more. Around 50€. Now, I don’t recommend buying all the DLC apart from the one that comes with the Deluxe edition. The other DLC is just a one time booster pack you can buy to make the game even easier than it already is.

The asking price is too high for this game and it’s length. This game can be beaten in 15 hours and it doesn’t really have replay value. I personally feel that 25€ would have been a better price for the base game and Deluxe edition should have been 40€. If you are interested by this game, I’d buy it if it were on sale. While this game isn’t doing anything new or innovate, it still manages to be enjoyable.

I’m happy that I gave this game a chance. While I expected a lot more from it, I don’t think it’s a bad game. I can totally understand why people don’t like this game or drop it. Since, it’s a very basic middle of the road JRPG that could do something unique but doesn’t. Now, the Japanese publishers of this game FuRyu have developed a game that became the basis for another larger game (The Legend of Legacy feels like the basis for The Alliance Alive). Maybe this game is creating the basis for another larger and better game.

If that’s the case, I’d love to see more unique puzzles in the dungeons for a start. The dungeons were so easy to beat and didn’t provide too much challenge. Maybe some puzzles were only the unique dungeon weapon has to be used to progress or even exit the dungeon.

I’d also love to see more expansion on the armor and stat items. I felt they barely had any impact in this game and I often forgot you could change the stones in your equipement to increase the damage output in certain cases or decrease the taken damage in certain cases.

The biggest thing I’d love to see improved is more depth in the game. Develop the town more and make them more memorable, instead of just a stop to stock up on supplies to go to the next dungeon. The side quests were introduced too late into the game.

I could go on for a while giving examples of what they can expand or improve, but I want to avoid that you get the impression that this game is bad. This game is decent, but not great. That’s the best way to describe this game. I’d recommend it to younger players who want to give an action JRPG a try. If you are in love with the action JRPG games, I’d highly advice you to lower your expecations. I’d compare to that animated summer blockbuster movie that everybody forgets about in a few months. It didn’t do anything memorable but it a fun time while it lasted. It’s a great snack inbetween games for me and I’m curious to see what the developer does next. Since, the potential is there.

With that said, I have said everything I wanted to say about the game for now. I want to thank you for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article, but until then have a great rest of your day and take care.