After The Latest Announcement, One Of My Favorite JRPG Series Will Finally Be Complete In English
I am a huge fan of JRPGs, so much so that I have at least dabbled in as many series and franchises as I can. With most series, I find myself getting overwhelmed, swamped by the sheer number of releases, complex naming conventions, and the length of each game. When I find myself reaching that point, I'll abandon it altogether, likely having had a good time but feeling content that I no longer need to invest hundreds of hours in it. This happened with the Tales series and later with Shin Megami and its spin-off, Persona.
However, there was one series that it never happened to, at least not to such a degree that I felt the need to take a step back. This JRPG series has been one of my all-time favorites, with several of its entries remaining some of the best RPGs ever made. The only problem is that, until recently, I had to wait years for it to get localized, and even, at least in the past, the localization wasn't always great. Fortunately, that's seemingly changing, as this unbelievably good JRPG series is almost completed in the West.
Trails Beyond The Horizon Completes The Trails Series In English
We're Finally Caught Up With Japan
The Legend of Heroes franchise - practically known as Trails now - is one of the most complex JRPGs ever made, in large part thanks to having such a storied history and being one of the longest-running JRPG franchises. It started as a spin-off of the Dragon Slayer games before becoming its very own series, not unlike the Persona games. Now, it reigns supreme as one of the best and most unique JRPG series available, spawning multiple arcs across its 21 games, culminating in the current arc, Calvard.
While many people in the West, myself included, thoroughly enjoy the Trails series, we've always come second in the release schedule, and by quite a considerable margin. Trails Through Daybreak launched in 2021 in Japan, but it wasn't until 2024 that we got it here. Similarly, its sequel, Trails Through Daybreak 2, was released in 2022 in Japan and 2025 in the West. This staggered release schedule has almost been enough to get me to learn Japanese just so I could import a copy, but the knowledge that I'd get it eventually satiated me.
10 Must-Play JRPGs To Try If You Love Open-World Games
For the open-world enthusiast hoping to dip their toes in the deep JRPG well, there are a handful of amazing worlds waiting to be explored.
Still, it has been frustrating knowing that a game in one of the greatest JRPG series is playable but not accessible. It is especially difficult when they don't announce the release date of the English localization, so we're sat twiddling our thumbs waiting for years. The same can be said of the Yokai Watch series, with its developer, Level-5, announcing an English localization of the fourth game many years ago but never delivering on that promise. Fortunately, after decades of being behind, the latest Trails game is coming out in the West before the next one releases in Japan.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon is releasing in 2025, potentially less than a year after it came out in Japan. It is one of the shortest periods of time we've waited between releases, and I couldn't be happier. More importantly, it means that both the West and Japan are caught up with the Trails release schedule. Considering there are so many more Trails games coming, it is possible that this could finally signal global releases for future entries rather than separate ones like we've had for so long.
The Trails Games Are Standout JRPGs
They're Seriously Underrated
There is no other series quite like Trailsin video game history. While there are a lot of long-running JRPGs and even RPGs, none are as interconnected and deeply reliant on past entries to deliver such compelling, lore-rich, emotionally resonant, and, for a lack of a better word, epic narratives. This level of commitment to a wider universe is both the series' greatest strength and weakness. It makes it simultaneously impenetrable to a newcomer but immensely rewarding to dedicated fans. That's a tough approach for a series, but it pays off.
When I first started getting into the Trails games, I was also a tad lost and confused, unsure which entry to pick - always go with the first, or the first in an arc, such as Daybreak or Cold Steel - and how best to approach this series. However, once I got stuck in and followed the guidance of the game's very welcoming community, I understood why people love it so much. Not unlike Falcom's other series, Ys, the Trails games don't have the best visuals or even the most unique combat, but their narratives, characters, and worldbuilding are undeniably exceptional.
Each entry expands upon the last, both mechanically and visually, with some of the latest games offering a level of graphical fidelity and mechanical depth that JRPG fans have come to expect. The very latest, Beyond the Horizon, has to be one of my most-anticipated RPGs of 2025, not just because it's a continuation of an arc I'm heavily invested in but because it looks like a drastic improvement over the previous games. That's not to say that the earliest Trails games are bad, but rather they serve as a strong foundation from which the later games innovated upon.
JRPG Localization Has Come A Long Way
The Genre Is Being Taken More Seriously
It is a relief to discuss Falcom's localization efforts improving, as, not that long ago, English localization was rarely at the forefront of Japanese developers' minds. JRPGs, rather shamefully, weren't the most popular or well-respected genre in the West throughout the early 2000s, so getting new entries from Japan was a gamble. Famously, it took the efforts of an extremely dedicated fanbase and the Operation Rainfall movement to convince Nintendo to localize Xenoblade Chronicles in the West. Now, every Xenoblade game is on Switch globally, something that I am over the moon about.
Even when we did get a localization, it often wasn't great. At best, it would be grammatically sound but lack character and meaning; at worst, it was an incomprehensible mess that ruined the story entirely. Games like Breath of Fire 2, Legend of the Dragoon, early Tales games, and even some Trails titles, to name a few, all had poor English localizations, but fans just had to put up with it. Of course, all of that is changing now, with the genre having significantly increased in popularity over the years, and I couldn't be happier.
Metaphor: ReFantazio's Success Proves We Need More JRPGs
Metaphor: ReFantazio’s enormous success could be the beginning of a JRPG revolution, ushering in bigger-budget JRPGs for a modern audience.
Not every Japanese developer is aware of the West's growing admiration for JRPGs, and I think that's largely due to some series, like Trails, being so impenetrable. That's why they'll often remake earlier titles, such as with the Star Ocean series, reboot the series, like with Like a Dragon, or, if they can afford to, create new IP, like with Square Enix and its endless slate of amazing JRPGs. However, with Beyond the Horizon finally closing the gap in the Trails' release schedule, it is starting to feel like even Falcom understands how important JRPGs are to fans like me.
Source: NIS America/YouTube
- Created by
- Masayuki Katô
- First TV Show
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
- Latest TV Show
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel – Northern War
- First Episode Air Date
- October 28, 2011
- Cast
- Ryohei Kimura, Yui Horie, Hiroshi Kamiya, Aya Endo, Jun Fukuyama, Ami Koshimizu, Tetsuya Kakihara, Aoi Yuki
- TV Show(s)
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel – Northern War
- Video Game(s)
- Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd, The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero, The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure, The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III, Trails of Cold Steel IV, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II
