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

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd[lower-alpha 1] is a role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is a part of the Trails series, itself a part of the larger The Legend of Heroes franchise, and serves as final entry of the Trails in the Sky sub-trilogy. 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 for Windows in 2017, localized by Xseed Games.[1][2]

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
Programmer(s)
  • Hideyuki Yamashita
  • Noriyuki Chiyoda
Artist(s)Haccan
Writer(s)Hisayoshi Takeiri
Composer(s)
  • Ryo Takeshita
  • Hayato Sonoda
  • Takahiro Unisuga
  • Yukihiro Jindo
Series
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita
Release
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

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, the main protagonist of the 3rd is high-ranking Septian Church agent Kevin Graham. Kevin is dispatched on a mission to recover a mysterious artifact from the bottom of Valeria Lake in Liberl Kingdom, which was placed there following the events of SC. In the process, he is reunited with Ries Argent, fellow church knight and an old friend of his. Before completing their task, the two find themselves trapped in another dimension - Phantasma, the Land of Shadows, a place that seems to follow its own otherworldly rules. Thus, they begin their investigation to learn what Phantasma is and how they can escape it, which leads them to unearth their own past. Along the way, they meet a large number of returning characters from the previous two games.

The game also features a large number of Doors, optional areas the player may choose to enter. The doors contain supplementary story content that expands upon various plot points brought up in previous games, and introduced some elements expanded upon in later games.

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 transferable 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.[13] It received generally favorable reception, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[12]

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. 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. 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. "Hardcore Gaming 101: Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky". Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  4. "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. "The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  13. http://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=944
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