The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd
Japanese PSP cover art
Developer(s) Nihon Falcom
Publisher(s)
Director(s) Toshihiro Kondo
Producer(s) Masayuki Kato
Composer(s) Hayato Sonoda
Wataru Ishibashi
Takahide Murayama
Series Trails in the Sky
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita
Release Microsoft Windows
  • JP: June 28, 2007
  • WW: May 3, 2017
PlayStation Portable
  • JP: July 24, 2008
PlayStation 3
  • JP: June 27, 2013
PlayStation Vita
  • JP: July 14, 2016
Genre(s) Role-playing
Mode(s) Single-player

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd[lower-alpha 1] is a role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom, serving as the final entry of a trilogy in the Trails in the Sky series of games. The game is also a part of Falcom's overarching The Legend of Heroes series, taking place in the same fictional universe as other Trails-related titles. The game was first released in Japan on Microsoft Windows in 2007, and later for the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita. The game saw an English release in 2017, localized by Xseed Games and released for Windows.[1][2]

Gameplay

The game plays similarly to its predecessors, a role-playing video game with turn-based battles, but this time enemies have affinities to the three higher elements of time, space and mirage. Other additions are the turn bonuses of "rush", allowing the player to take two actions at once, "guard", which nullifies any damage, "vanish", which makes a target disappear for a few turns, and "death", which gives the attack the effect of an instant death. Throughout the games' dungeons the player will find doors engraved with symbols of the moon, stars and the sun, which trigger, respectively, long story scenes, short story scenes, and mini-games. Those scenes usually tell the story of past events and may feature battles.

Plot

Taking place six months following the ending of Trails in the Sky SC, Kevin Graham finds himself on board a luxury airship located somewhere above Erebonia, doing a recovery mission for the Septian Church, of which he is a high-ranking member. After a successful completion, he returns to his ship and immediately receives another request, now to investigate an artifact recovered from the bottom of Valeria Lake in the Liberl Kingdom. There, he meets Ries Argent—an old friend—and they both get caught up in an incident that leads them into Phantasma, the Land of Shadows, a place that seems to follow its own otherworldly rules. Thus, they begin their investigation, which leads them to unearth their own past.

Development

Creation and release

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky was initially planned to be released as one singular game, however, the size and scope of the game grew so much that Falcom had to either pare down the game, or split it up.[3] They chose the latter, and eventually split into two parts: First Chapter and Second Chapter. Later they started development on an epilogue to those games, which became The 3rd.[3] While the first two entries focused on the more upbeat adventures of Estelle and Joshua, The 3rd shifts its story-telling into a darker direction.[3]

The 3rd was released on a number of different platforms since it original Windows release. A PlayStation Portable port was released on July 24, 2008. A high definition PlayStation 3 port was released in June 2013.[4] It was also released on PlayStation Plus on January 2014.[5] It has received an HD Evolution remake for PlayStation Vita on July 14, 2016. An English localization by Xseed Games was released for Windows on May 3, 2017.[6]

Save data from Second Chapter from the PC, PSP and PS3 releases unlock bonus content when present on the console (or PC) playing The 3rd.[4] Additionally, The 3rd saved data is transferrable from the PSP to PS3 release, allowing the player to continue the game on PS3 where they had left off on the PSP copy.[4]

Localization

After First Chapter's successful launch on Steam and GOG.com, Xseed has shown renewed interest in localization of The 3rd, contingent to the success of the Second Chapter. In 2013, Xseed teamed up with a third party translating company, Carpe Fulgur, to translate Second Chapter; The 3rd's release largely hinged on its success.[7] Ken Berry, Vice President of Xseed Games, stated that despite having the right to release The 3rd, they would be willing to allow others to translate them as well due to them being such large undertakings.[8][9] Xseed announced on April 7, 2017 that The 3rd would be released on May 3, 2017.[1][2]

In 2011, publisher Aeria Games announced they would release a mobile version of the series in North America, with additional social interactions features. However, no details have been released since the initial announcement.[10] Xseed stated that they have no connection to the potential Aeria Games release.[11]

Reception

Upon release in Japan, the PlayStation Portable version received a score of 30/40 from the video game magazine Famitsu.[12] It received generally favorable reception, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[13]

Notes

  1. ↑ The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd (Japanese: 英雄伝説 空の軌跡 The 3rd Hepburn: Eiyū Densetsu Sora no Kiseki The 3rd)

References

  1. 1 2 One PR Studio (11 March 2016). "XSEED Games Celebrates Five Years of Nihon Falcom's Trails Saga with Plans for Trails of Cold Steel II and Trails in the Sky the Third". Gamasutra. UBM. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 One PR Studio (7 April 2017). "XSEED Games Reveals Plans for Trails of Cold Steel PC Version Alongside Launch Date for Trails in the Sky the 3rd". Gamasutra. UBM. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 "Hardcore Gaming 101: Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky". Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the Third HD Edition Set For June On PS3 - Siliconera". Siliconera. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "Falcom Will Put The Legend Of Heroes: Trails In The Sky The 3rd On PsPlus In Japan – Siliconera". Siliconera. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  6. ↑ Chalk, Andy. "The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd is coming in May, Trails of Cold Steel to follow". PC Gamer. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  7. ↑ "Xseed Games Bringing Trails in the Sky Second Chapter to Steam, PS Store – EGMNOW". EGMNOW.com. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  8. ↑ "XSEED Games — The Legend of Heroes: Trails Series - Localization Blog #1". Tumblr. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  9. ↑ "RPGamer > Feature > XSEED Games Fall 2013 Interview – Part 1". Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  10. ↑ "The Legend Of The Heroes: Trails In The Sky Series Soaring To Smartphones... In English! - Siliconera". Siliconera. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  11. ↑ "RPGFan News – The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Trilogy Goes Mobile". Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  12. ↑ http://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=944
  13. ↑ Metacritic
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