Another year has passed, which means another installment in the Trails series has released. Of course, now that us in the West are caught up with the series, the wait period until the next game comes out might be longer than usual. Which kinda hurts, given the dramatic way in which this one ends…
Regardless, my point is that Trails Beyond the Horizon recently came out, and it’s about as incredible as is to be expected with this series by this point. I hate to sound like too much of a broken record, but when something is good, I’m not going to pretend that it’s not. I’m just going to tell it like it is!
Suffice to say, the Calvard Republic storyarc of the long-running Trails saga continues to shine brightly.
A little bit of time has passed since we last left our heroes, though not too much. Enough time that our main crew has been invited to participate in a trial for some cool new battle tech from the ‘definitely-not-shady‘ Marduk Total Security Company. It’s an intro that doesn’t waste any time throwing you and your team right into the plot, establishing from the get-go that this tech trial is really just a front for something much more grand…the impending launch of the world’s first-ever manned rocket. And beyond that, an even more sinister conspiracy brews.
Almost as monumental? You won’t have to tackle the impending craziness as just main hero Van, main heroine Agnes, and the other members of your normal team. This game is actually split across three central POVs, and the other two are comprised of cold-hearted priest Kevin, and the one-and-only Rean Schwarzer.
The plot taking place across three distinct POVs is simultaneously one of the coolest things about this game, and also one of its shortcomings. Especially because of how the developers chose to write these stories. While I don’t necessarily disagree with the style they went for, they opted to pursue three individual storylines that more-or-less connect to the same grand whole, instead of three POVs that all build towards a single story.
That’s not to say that Trails Beyond the Horizon feels disjointed, as, again, the three POV storylines are all basically connected. But they are also all distinct enough that there’s a slight feeling of ‘oh, right, wait, what were these other guys doing’ each time you shift POVs. It’s not like the three POVs from Trails Into Reverie, which were each just a different side of the same three-sided coin. This game’s POV storyarcs have their own antagonists, character development moments, and plot twists wholly separate from the one another, while technically still linked.
I think the biggest reason why this style of storytelling falters a bit is because Van and his crew still get the most spotlight (as they should, being this overall Calvard Republic storyarc’s main protagonists). This means that his POV is easily the most fleshed-out and explored, while the other two get less-than-half of Van’s runtime each. So their stories end up feeling a little off when it comes to pacing, while Van’s feels basically perfect (if maybe setting up a few too many questions for the sequel rather than providing answers, but c’est la vie).
And I have to stress that these issues I’m talking about are more a big picture thing that you notice when the credits have finished rolling. None of this really impacted my minute-to-minute gameplay, as everything on that front is as phenomenal as it always is with this series. Tons of amazing twists, character moments, epic boss fights, and shocking revelations abound in this game, so it doesn’t disappoint in that regard.
The ending, in particular? Oh, geez, I’m still thinking about it over three weeks after beating the game. Extremely emotionally devastating in all of the best ways, and I love it when a game’s ending is able to wring some tears from me. The entire final two hours are some stellar (pun intended) stuff, with some of the most bonkers moments we’ve ever seen from a Trails game.
All of our favorite characters return, of course, and are as charming and delightfully written as always. I’ve said this before, but it’s remarkable how the Trails games can have a cast size in the hundreds, and yet each person still feels distinct and memorable. It’s a real testament to the quality of the writing that I find myself falling in love with nearly every single character who shows up, from the main party members, to the reoccurring supporting figures, to the random NPCs you can optionally talk to or do sidequests for.
Of course, my overall favorites of Feri and Agnes haven’t changed much from the very first Trails Through Daybreak game that kicked off this arc. I still adore both of them in terms of battle capabilities and story relevance. Van continues to shine as a non-standard JRPG protagonist with his less-refined and more morally-grey attitude. Rean is, of course, a joy to see again, and I quite liked Kevin (I actually had never played his debut game, which released on the PSP and is still only on that system). Risette gets some cool moments, and Nina continues to be fascinating in a really understated sort of way.
Also, while I’m still talking about the writing, I need to again shout-out how mature and engrossing the writing style has been since the start of the Calvard Republic arc. It’s a clear step above anything that has come before, and really appeals to the side of me that craves those deeper, darker, more complex stories. In particular, there’s a pivotal love confession scene half-way through the game that is probably the most well-written love confession scene I think I’ve ever experienced in basically anything…ever. It’s some really fantastic stuff, across the board.
Gameplay-wise…I mean, it’s a Trails game. You don’t play it for the gameplay. That doesn’t mean that the gameplay sucks or anything, it’s just also not something to write home about. The battle system is as fun as ever, though I’m a little less of a fan of the added emphasis to the real-time battling. They toss in a few new mechanics, but it kinda doesn’t solve the overall janky feel of fighting against enemies in that style. Turn-based is still strong, and it’s still fun to craft the best possible characters using your gear, accessories, and gem slot customization options. My Feri ended up basically unstoppable.
But let’s be completely fair here. I’ve mostly been talking about the combat, and that isn’t all there is to do in this game.
The Garten returns as another side mode like it existed in the previous game, although this time it’s somehow more and less relevant to the main story. That aside, it’s a decent diversion that encourages a bit of replayability as you run through these randomly-generated dungeons to pick up goodies. The loot still isn’t as good as Trails Into Reverie‘s take on this concept, and I found some of the clear conditions to be annoying (the ones that force you to engage with the real-time combat were the most tedious), but it’s fun enough.
The mini-games are quite limited this time around. Basketball returns, except they completely butchered it (and it wasn’t even great in the previous game to begin with). Blackjack and Poker are as fun as ever, but it’s kinda hard to mess that up. Fishing is still functional at best and a bit boring at worst. I’ll definitely give credit to the bonus memory scenes you can unlock, as those are super cool and give great worldbuilding and backstory. And it’s still super addicting to pull prizes from the magical-macguffin-vending-machine, like new costumes or rare gems.
And, of course, there’s a ton of side quests to complete when you’re out-and-about around town. Those are still really good. The party member interaction scenes are great too, and this game introduces an ability that lets you view all of them if you put in a bit more effort, which is super appreciated. Genuinely, these interaction scenes are some of the game’s best content.
To address another minor elephant in the room, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the visuals. Does Trails Beyond the Horizon look the most visually impressive out of any other Trails game? Sure, it does. Does it still look like a below-average PS3 game when we’re in the era of the PS5? Yes, and it’s starting to get harder to ignore that shortcoming from this series. Visuals don’t make or break a game (especially as far as I’m concerned), but they can be really immersion-ruining when the villain’s grand evil layer is made up of square rooms and hallways, or an epic cutscene is filled with janky animations and stilted choreography.
Again, to be full transparent, this game does try some new things with its dungeons, and also with its cinematic cutscenes. It’s greatly appreciated, and fun stuff. But it’s hard not to look over onto the Nintendo Switch and Xenoblade, a series which blows this game out of the water even from way back with the original 2011 release.
At least Trails Beyond the Horizon gets to continue to excel in the music and voice acting departments. The soundtrack in this game is as good as always, maybe even better than most other games in the Trails series. There’s some great tunes, especially in the latter half of the game. And the voice acting just keeps being phenomenal with this Calvard Republic storyarc. There really isn’t a single dud in the entire cast, and some of the characters (Van, Agnes, Elaine, and a certain returning villain) just have some truly fantastic performances.
All in all, another grand entry into the series, that mostly just loses points because for as much as I love Trails games, they could stand to try a little harder with the gameplay and the visuals. But it’s still awesome!
9/10
But hey, that’s just my opinion!
The Contrarian Corner 