A long-running JRPG nearing its endgame.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails is different from other JRPGs because it has a unique history: Nihon Falcom spent more than 15 years writing a single, continuous plot. Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest are two of the most popular JRPG series. They tell stories in episodes, but Trails tells a single story that goes across arcs, places, and generations of characters. Its dedication to long-form storytelling is both its defining strength and persistent challenge.
From Trails in the Sky to Crossbell, Cold Steel, and now Calvard, Falcom has carefully built worlds, characters, and political drama into a whole that works. Trails Beyond the Horizon is the thirteenth game in the series and the third game in the Calvard arc. However, it feels like the whole Zemurian story comes together in this game.
That being said, this is neither a soft reboot nor a fresh start. Instead, Beyond the Horizon is more like Trails into Reverie, a game that brings together storylines, characters, and unsolved riddles to reward longtime fans. Falcom has made it clear that this is the last game in the series, and this one proudly bears that weight, for better or worse.
The end, not the beginning.
At its heart, The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon is about Project Star Taker, the Republic of Calvard’s ambitious plan to send people beyond Zemuria’s atmosphere. On paper, it’s a big moment in world history. In reality, it’s where plots, ideological clashes, and long-running disagreements finally come to a head.
The story is told from three different points of view: Van Arkride, the spriggan main character of the Calvard arc; Rean Schwarzer, the Divine Blade and main character of the Cold Steel saga; and Kevin Graham, the Heretic Hunter from Trails in the Sky who hasn’t been seen in a long time. This layout makes it clear right away what the game is trying to do—Trails is looking both forward and backward at the same time.
But, even though three similar points of view were promised, the truth is much more unequal.
The first two acts are mostly about Van and his crew, and the players are stuck with Edith for a long time. The stories of Rean and Kevin are forgotten for dozens of hours, only to return later. Even though their return is important in the end, the delay makes the pace feel off and can be annoying at times.
Still, for longtime fans, the sheer number of references, returning characters, and lore integration is amazing. Trails has always been great at keeping things going, and The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon might be its biggest try yet. Characters talk about things that happened in games that came out more than ten years ago, and the writers make it all seem like they did it on purpose instead of just to please old fans.
People who are new should stay away, then. In the initial few hours, players are bombarded with terms, groups, and people who think they know what they’re talking about. There are glossaries, timelines, and descriptions in the game during cutscenes, but they are more for players who already know how to play than for new players. This isn’t an opening; it’s a building game.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon uses the same hybrid fighting system introduced in Trails Through Daybreak. Real-time field battles and turn-based command fighting can be switched between without any problems. This duality is still one of Trails’ most unique features; it lets you move quickly against weaker enemies while keeping tactical depth for tougher fights.
Battles in the field stay easy and useful.
Characters use simple combos, block attacks, and control the space between moves. They can slow down time, make attacks stronger, and fast charge arts with a new feature called ZOC (Zonal Control). It’s a nice addition, especially when fighting enemies with a lot of health, but it doesn’t really change how field battle feels.
One bad thing about field fighting is that characters don’t stand out enough. Even though there are a lot of characters, most of them play the same way, with the only difference being whether they are ranged or close. This makes the action side feel thin compared to the other parts, which are richer.
On the other hand, The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon really shines in command fights. Characters can move around on the battlefield, attack in a wide area, and use link powers. ZOC is also important because it lets characters act twice, but it costs them a boost gauge. This makes risk-and-reward choices more meaningful.
The BLTZ method adds to the variety of strategies available by letting bench characters help with follow-up attacks or buffs. With shard commands and S-Crafts, fights can be hard to handle at first, but they’re very rewarding once you get the hang of them.
Trails has never been afraid of making things hard, but Beyond the Horizon might be the most difficult thing they’ve ever made. Character development is based on farming sapphires, customizing orbs, and managing quartz. The Xipha orbment system comes back, which resets advancement while keeping things familiar.
Quartz is like materia in Final Fantasy VII; they provide you with stats, arts, and passive skills. The SIFA system’s line-based setup (weapon, shield, holy, and extra) makes it easy to plan ahead. Stacking components unlocks shard skills, which makes players want to carefully construct and try new things.
Most of the grinding happens in the Grim Garten, which is a changed version of prior dungeon systems.
It looks like a board game, with both combat chores and rewards in the form of items and buffs. You can use the dreadful tokens you get here in a gacha-style reward system that gives players goods and quartz worldwide.
Later on, Grim Garten is mostly a choice, but early on, he feels almost necessary. Thank goodness it works well and gives out lots of rewards, though maybe too many. When rewards are given out so easily, buying equipment quickly becomes less important.
Without a doubt, the system is deep, but it’s also very big. Falcom often adds new features without removing old ones. This steepens the learning curve, which can be scary for even seasoned experts. Still, this is Trails at its most addictive for min-maxers.
Complex processes with well-known benefits.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon isn’t very good-looking. Even by anime-style RPG standards, the character models and settings look and feel old. The animations are stiff, the textures are simple, and the city plans don’t look as grand as they do in the story.
Still, Falcom has always put systems and stories ahead of graphics, and it shows. Even though the surroundings may not be perfect, the character designs are still cute and expressive. Characters who return often look a little older, which helps show how much time has passed in a way few JRPGs do.
Special attacks and S-Crafts add much-needed flair, giving the game a short visual spectacle in an otherwise simple way.
Fans of Trails can expect music with big orchestral tracks, tense battle themes, and emotional themes tied to characters and moments. It’s not a big deal, but it works well to support the story’s highs and lows.
Voice acting is still not reliable. A lot of the time, scenes start out fully voiced and then all of a sudden go silent, leaving only a few people talking while the rest go back to text. It’s been a problem with Trails for a long time, and the latest version feels increasingly outdated.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon doesn’t try to hide what it is. Fans should be the ones to play this game. They know Zemuria’s story from generation to generation and across countries. Its best features are the world it creates, the way characters grow, and the depth of its combat. Its flaws are oversized systems, sluggish progress, and a hostile attitude toward newbies.
Side quests and movies with a lot of background information make the first half of the game feel like the story is going around in circles. But when the story finally picks up speed, it has some of the most interesting parts of the whole series.
Falcom is clearly setting up Trails’ final story arc, and even though The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon has some problems, it does a good job of making that future feel exciting, emotional, and earned.
