Trails in the Sky Remakes Could Continue Beyond Second Chapter

Falcom CEO Toshihiro Kondo hints that more Trails remakes could follow if the upcoming Second Chapter continues the series’ strong momentum.

The Trails in the Sky remake may just be the beginning of a much wider endeavor to update the long-running RPG brand. In a new video published ahead of Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter, Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo talked about the idea of continuing to remake previous titles, hinting that the firm is actively thinking about what might be next.

Members of the development team have already been questioning whether the studio should remake Trails in the Sky the 3rd or Trails from Zero next, Kondo said. This is not an official declaration, but the comments offer interesting insight into Falcom's current thinking. The success of the original remake has certainly made the proposal much easier to justify internally.

The first Trails in the Sky remake did well enough that, supposedly, it was an easy call to greenlight the second volume.

If Second Chapter can produce similar results, then the prospect of yet another remake becomes a more conceivable one. With the second game on the horizon, it feels like Falcom is looking past that, rather than just treating the project as a one-off experiment. More importantly, Kondo explained why the company might want to keep remaking older entries.

For newcomers, stepping directly from Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter to one of the franchise's much newer titles can still be quite a jump. So continuing the remakes might bridge the gap for new players by letting them experience earlier parts of the story in a more modern, approachable form.

The proposal is predictably creating some discussion among veteran admirers. Or perhaps the fear is that too much focus on remakes could ultimately lead to fewer brand-new Trails titles. However, Kondo’s words don’t necessarily mean that Falcom plans to stop producing new projects and remake the entire series.

Instead, the business seems to be considering remakes as another strategy to grow the series’ viewership. Revisiting the previous games makes it easier for newbies to enter the series while giving Falcom a chance to continue expanding the franchise with new releases. The method could also be particularly effective for a series as interwoven and lore-heavy as Trails, as previous episodes often set up characters, events and concepts that become significant much later.

Falcom has also spoken about adjustments to its development process, like focusing more on finishing the writing for new games before moving further into production.

The lessons learned from building the remakes could inform future original entries, meaning the two techniques don’t necessarily have to compete. There’s a solid business case for keeping both techniques. Remakes can help get older games to an audience that might not want to go back and play things from decades ago, while new games keep the series going.

Other large publishers have shown that remakes and fresh entries can be popular at the same time, giving Falcom a viable roadmap for handling Trails similarly. This technique could be especially intriguing to new fans. If a player stumbles across the series through the modernized Trails in the Sky games, they might ultimately make their way through the older tale without having to contend with outmoded presentation or accessibility issues. At the same time, new installments might give players reasons to remain invested in the franchise.

Kondo’s words also allow for the prospect that Falcom might continue remaking games for a long time, rather than stopping after Second Chapter. Whether that happens will presumably depend heavily on sales. If the remakes continue to perform well, there’s not much evident reason for Falcom to walk away from a strategy that invites new gamers into the franchise.