Oct 16

Oct 16 Review | The Legend Of Heroes: Trails From Zero - PSP Perfection

The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero is a part of the long-running Trails series. Originally this game was released only in Japan on the PlayStation Portable in 2010 and never made it to the western market. Until now.

I’d played Trails In The Sky back in the early 00’s on the PlayStation Portable and enjoyed not only the combat system used in this JRPG, but the story as well. To me, playing this JRPG series holds a special place in my heart like other classic JRPGs like the Tales, Persona, and Shin Megami Tensei series as well. What makes the Trails series stand out from other JRPGs though is the fact that throughout the entire three-decade run of the series the story is one linear and interconnected saga.

Other JRPGs either create new universes that run on different principles, different planets and different rules so that newcomers don’t get lost. While other games would just give a small cameo to protagonists in the way of a secret boss in a universal wormhole that just so happens to be a dungeon. (I am looking at you, Tales' series.) Or have them become an optional fight that can only be unlocked once you are purchased a DLC. (I am looking at you, Persona 5 Royal). However, the characters within the Trails universe all either meet up and cross paths at different times within the same world. Sometimes characters will even have a small cameo that only makes sense once the next game is released. The events of the series have been told through 14 games with the 15th one on the way in Japan soon.

The story being told in Trails From Zero continues three months after the story Trails In The Sky 3rd left off, meaning for a long time this chunk of time was left blank for anyone outside of Japan (or unwilling to go down the rabbit hole of fan translations). You start off in the town of Crossbell and play as Lloyd Bannings, a new detective that was assigned to work for the Special Support Section (SSS). The SSS is a branch of the Crossbell Police that does odd jobs that the CP wouldn't bother doing themselves. You quickly meet your co-workers, Elie McDowell, Randy Orlando, and Tio Plato. With them, you come across these weird problems happening in Crossbell. During one of your requests, you start to realize there is a crime syndicate trying to overthrow the religion in their world and your grand noir adventure begins.

The combat in Trails From Zero uses a classic turn-based system with a nice twist of having tactical elements. The overworld of the game is like many modern JRPGs where you can choose the fight ahead because the enemies appear in the overworld with you. The elemental magic system in this game is called “Art” while special techniques are called “Crafts”. Crafts are skills that are unique for each character. S-Crafts are the ultimate form of Crafts that can change the tide of the battle completely in your favor. To use either of these skills, you will need to fill your Craft Points meter by either attacking the enemies with a specific character or just getting hit and surviving the attacks. A great part of the combat system is the Craft Points carry over from fight to fight. That means you can save up those points into a boss fight and have the whole party ready with Crafts or S-Crafts to use at any time. It is a nice way to feel like your party is tactically choosing when to use their most powerful attacks rather than just rushing to use them before the end of each fight because they won’t be there for the next one. However, the moment that a character dies, the meter will go directly to zero. A way to fill the meter fast is by using the magic-like spells named Arts. The wonderful thing about Arts, is that it takes time to activate the skill and you really must plan out your route of battle and make the right choices to keep you away from wiping out the party. The Arts are acquired through Quartz that vary in element and can be equipped to any character’s Orbment device called the Enigma. Each Quartz comes in assorted flavours of Attack, Defense and Movement buffs and debuffs. These Quartz can either be made with shards that are acquired through battles, bought at different shops, or discovered in chests in dungeons throughout your journey.

When you think about this game starting life on the PSP this really does look very nice.

The music - from the battle themes to just travelling from one area to the next - is really compelling. I listened to the Crossbell theme music so much that I have been humming it every day since I started playing, it makes some of the more repetitive moments easier to manage purely because the music is so good. Though, my one complaint is that when it comes to having to either grind for levels, grind for shards to make quartz or just doing side-quest assignments, I wished that the battle music were different from one another. The song is great but there is only time you get a change in music is during boss battles and at some point, it went from getting me through the grinding to grinding on my ears. I did find myself getting pumped at every boss fight because the music supports the whole atmosphere of this fight. The good news is you will get to hear plenty of the boss themes as you will usually be in those fights for 10 to 15 minutes because you are busy keeping party members alive or just planning out the attack for each rotation of battle.

When it comes to the story of the game, it is hard not to recommend that people play the first three instalments of the Trails series before playing this one to fully grasp the events that are unfolding in the continent of Zemuria. Yet, it is only a recommendation and is not meant to scare away newcomers to the series. Playing Trails From Zero before Trails In The Sky will not hurt the gameplay, but it might leave you confused on both the personal and political events that are happening during your journey in Crossbell.

Even after waiting a whole decade for it, Trails of Zero feels completely worth it. The game helps bridge the gap between Trails In The Sky and Trails of Cold Steel. The story on its own still engrossed me into playing for hours wanting to do more. Doing the side-quests even gives plenty of more lore about your party to help you feel closer to them throughout your journey. The graphics may seem a bit dated, but to me, it felt like a pure reminder of how this game really existed in its era updated for modern players and as a result feels like an amazing remaster. The game is still worth the price tag 12 years after its original release and it fits great on the Nintendo Switch giving me that feeling as if I’m playing the game on the PSP only on a bigger screen. Trail From Zero is everything you could ask for from a remaster and localisation of a cult classic and I am glad it finally made its way into my hands.