Legend of Heroes, The: Trails in the Sky

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is the first entry in the sprawling Trails series, developed by Japanese studio Nihon Falcom, which over the years has become one of the most respected JRPG cycles of all. It arrived on the PSP as a port of the original game and tells the story of Estelle Bright and her adoptive brother Joshua, who, after their father disappears, set out on a journey across the kingdom of Liberl as fledgling bracers – members of an organization that solves both minor and major problems for ordinary people across the country.

The game is characterized by slow, thorough worldbuilding: extensive dialogue, an elaborately developed political system for the fictional kingdom, and characters who return in later entries in the series as part of a single, interconnected universe. The combat system combines turn-based battles with positional unit placement on the battlefield and the Orbment magic system, in which the player assembles magical effects using quartz set into characters' weapons and accessories, allowing them to build their own combinations of offensive and support spells. The pacing is deliberately unhurried, and the game takes its time revealing a larger conspiracy that gradually ties together seemingly unrelated side quests and detours into the lives of supporting characters.

For many players, Trails in the Sky represents the entry point into a saga that today numbers dozens of installments, and it is still considered one of the best-written JRPG stories of its generation, thanks in part to its carefully developed characters, who return in later games in both supporting and lead roles.

Why play it: The entry point into the legendary Trails series, with one of the most elaborate worlds and stories in the JRPG genre.