The Legend of Heroes series and its many spin-offs have always eluded me. The more that released, the more I say, "oh I should probably try it out.” Or I’d say, “I hear such great things about it." At the same time I feel "oh, there's so many, I don't know where to start." Then I end up getting analysis paralysis with trying to figure it out that I never do.

Finally, an entry that many consider as one of the best starting point not only gets a complete remake, but also a demo! What a time to be alive! 

Because of this, I wanted to take this chance to give my first impressions on Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter as a super Legend of Heroes noob.

First things first, here is what the Demo entails:

• Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter DEMO is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Steam (The Switch version will be available at a later date).
• Progress from DEMO carries over to the main game.
• If you plan to play them game using this save, make sure to update the full version of the game to the latest version.
• It concludes the prologue and several quests early in the game.
• Release date is September 19, 2025.
• Platforms: Nintendo Switch 1/2, PlayStation 5, Steam

The first thing you'll notice is that it is super PRETTY! Without even comparing it to its original PSP release on 2007, you can tell that presentation wise, they've treated this game as if it's a brand new release, remade from the ground up. 

The "game" starts extremely slow. There's some fun character introduction between the main characters, Estelle, Joshua, and Cassius. There’s also a myriad of read-only tutorials that will pop up before you finally get proper control of your characters and into the action. Now, don't get mad at me for this next statement. From the perspective of a person experiencing the story for the first time, let alone trying to recommend this to someone who may be new to JRPGs, this may be difficult to get into. This is especially true if you’re used to more modern ways of story telling early in game. It would be something that people will need to know before coming into this game. So that is what I will try to communicate to you. Heed this warning!

From what I've heard from its many dedicated fans, this is a heavily narrative JRPG spanning several regions. You never really get the full picture of each individual unless you play the other games. This is actually pretty unique to this IP, perhaps the only other IP that does this is the Suikoden series.

Without any spoilers, the game follows Estelle and adopted brother Joshua. These two strive to be legendary bracers, protectors of the country, just like their father Cassius. And in this demo, we see them take on their very first task. During this task, we are introduced to several of the game's mechanics. Unfortunately, the game's well beloved story is not what will sell me on this game yet. We only have the prologue to go off of, luckily, there are other things to be excited about.

The main stand-out mechanic Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter has is its dual battle system that they've implanted from their Daybreak game. You are able to play it in a semi-traditional turn based system while easily switching to a full action JRPG. I won't go into much detail regarding the action-RPG gameplay aspect as its what you would expect from the norm. However, the way they've seamlessly married it with their turn-based gameplay is where it truly shines. It will definitely be the way I will predominantly be playing it!

When you encounter an enemy on the field, you have the option of pressing a button (Square on PS) to enter Tactic mode. The game then puts turn based hud on the screen such as turn cards, normal ability menus, etc. However, what's different is the ability to move your character around when it's your turn! For many this doesn't seem like a big deal. But if you're familiar with games like Grandia, Arc the Lad (especially Twilight of the Spirits) or more active Strategy RPGs like Midnight Suns, this ability to move around is important. You and your enemies have movement range. This means if you are out of reach of enemies, you move away from them before it's their turn. Especially handy if you are casting a spell that won't take effect until later.

Your abilities can also have range. Joshua's Flicker ability has a line type range that will affect anyone in a line. So you are able to move him around and position him in a way where you can fit as many enemies as you can within that line! This is a great way to incorporate a more engaging turn based battle mechanic than just choosing abilities from a list. 

As someone who loves Grandia and Arc the Lad's strategic turn based battle systems (as well as having one of their installments in my top 10 games of all time), this battle systems is enough to have me extremely hyped for Trails of the Sky 1st Chapter!

Other neat features that Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter has:

•Quick access to menu items using face buttons & L1 combinations.
•Optional High Speed options for both traversal & combat.
•Auto Dialogue progression + Dialogue logs for better storytelling.
•A fantastically detailed map and easy Fast Travel System.
•Unique character progression system.
•Save from anywhere.

After having played the demo, this Trails of noob is extremely looking forward to this remake. They have done a great job at having fantastic and intricate gameplay mechanics as well as their well renowned story. Will you be joining me on this journey?

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter will be released on September 19, 2025 on Nintendo Switch 1/2, PlayStation 5, and Steam. Stay tuned to GSC for more updates on this upcoming remake and more!