The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC

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The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC
The Legend of Heroes Trails in the Sky Second Chapter.jpg
Developer(s)Nihon Falcom
Publisher(s)Xseed Games
  • JP: Nihon Falcom
Director(s)Toshihiro Kondo
Producer(s)Masayuki Kato
Programmer(s)
  • Hideyuki Yamashita
  • Noriyuki Chiyoda
Artist(s)
  • Haccan
  • Yuu Shiina
Writer(s)
  • Hisayoshi Takeiri
  • Shinichiro Sakamoto
  • Yoshihiro Konda
Composer(s)
  • Hayato Sonoda
  • Takahiro Unisuga
  • Ryo Takeshita
  • Yukihiro Jindo
Series
Platform(s)
Release
March 9, 2006
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC[a] 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 series, and serves as a direct sequel to The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. Initially released in Japan in 2006 for Microsoft Windows and in 2007 for the PlayStation Portable. The game did not see an English release until 2015 due to the large amount of text necessary to translate and localize. A high-definition port to the PlayStation 3 was released in 2013, while a remaster for the PlayStation Vita was released in 2015; both were only released in Japan. A sequel, Trails in the Sky the 3rd was released in 2007.

Gameplay[]

The game plays similarly to its predecessor, being a role-playing video game with turn-based battles. Several new features were added, most notably being the addition of chain crafts, attacks in which up to four members of the party may attack enemies in a simultaneous attack.

Synopsis[]

The game's story directly follows the events of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, immediately picking up the story following its ending.[3] As with the previous game, it is set in the nation of Liberl.

Plot[]

In the aftermath of the previous game's ending, Joshua has disappeared. After completing some training by the Bracer Guild to prepare for her new adventure, Estelle is ready to set out to find him. Meanwhile the secret organization that Weissman works for begins a new shadowy plot in Liberl, causing trouble all over the country.

Localization[]

In 2010, Xseed Games confirmed that they acquired the English localization rights to all three games in the Trails in the Sky trilogy.[4] However, the first game proved to be a massive undertaking, having over 1.5 million Japanese characters to be translated,[5] and did not meet Xseed's sales goals.[6] The unfavorable "large undertaking, low payoff" ratio, if continued, would put them out of business.[6] Technical issues also complicated release; the game's massive size necessitated a two disc release, which in turn caused issues releasing the game on PlayStation Network for digital download, and the decline of PlayStation Portable's presence in North America made it difficult to proceed with a multiple disc physical release (a rare occurrence for the system).[7] Xseed stated that while they weren't cancelling the English release of Second Chapter, they couldn't keep it as a main focus either, and needed to work on other games to maintain financial stability.[6] While Falcom eventually announced that the technical issues regarding putting the game on PSN had been solved in October 2012, little other news on the game's localization arose in 2012 or the first half of 2013.[8]

In September 2013, Xseed reconfirmed their intentions to release the game in English in North America.[9] With the issues concerning the digital version solved, and the company's success with releasing Ys games on Microsoft Windows, Xseed intended to release digitally for Windows and PlayStation Portable,[10] and on the PlayStation Vita via backward compatibility.[11] Xseed received assistance with the game's translation by Carpe Fulgur who had previously localized Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale and Chantelise – A Tale of Two Sisters.[12] The English localization was initially intended to release by mid-2014,[13] it was later revised to release by the end of 2014.[14] Carpe Fulgur head Andrew Dice said that progress in translating the game was slowed by struggles in his personal life.[15] Dice handed over his work for Xseed employees to finish up, delaying the game into 2015.[16] The script was edited by Xseed's Jessica Chavez. She noted that the English script came up to 716,401 words, which is roughly the size of 10 novels, longer than the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy (455,125 words) and War and Peace (587,287 words).[17]

Release[]

The game was released in Japan for Windows on March 9, 2006[18] and for PlayStation Portable on September 27, 2007. Japan later received a PlayStation 3 port on April 25, 2013. English localizations were released for Windows and PSP on October 29, 2015.[2] A remaster The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter Evolution was released in Japan for the PlayStation Vita on December 10, 2015.

Reception[]

Trails in the Sky SC received "generally favorable" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.[19][20]

RPGFan gave the imported Japanese version an 82% score, praising the gameplay, writing, and characters, but criticizing the dated presentation and cliché main plot compared to Crisis Core, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Xenosaga, concluding: "Those willing to see beyond the somewhat outdated presentation and cliché main storyline will find a slightly old school, yet incredibly charming RPG with solid mechanics, likeable characters and a well written story".[24] RPGFan later gave the English version an 88% score, praising the gameplay, story, writing, characters, and soundtrack. They stated it is "Robustly realized and populated by an endless stream of compelling characters, Trails in the Sky approaches the pinnacle of traditional JRPG design".[25]

Gamer.nl stated that the "story is epic, the localisation makes characters into persons and everything combined makes this game a must have for JRPG lovers and gamers that appreciate a good story".[22] RPGamer said that "Falcom's writers do a superb job of giving the many characters distinct personalities" and appreciated "the full scope of this series, which takes time to develop pieces of its world in detail", concluding that the "two Trails in the Sky games show how rewarding the series can be".[21] PlayStation Universe said it is a "superb second chapter with a fantastic storyline, great characters and compelling combat system".[23]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Japanese: 英雄伝説 空の軌跡 SC, Hepburn: Eiyū Densetsu Sora no Kiseki SC

References[]

  1. ^ "空の軌跡のセットパッケージ毎の違いについて-ふぁるコミュ". Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Crunchyroll - "Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky" Heads to PC in English Next Week". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  3. ^ "The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC, sequel to Gold Award-winning RPG, announced for PS Vita | The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC news | PlayStation Vita". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
  4. ^ Spencer . December 6, 2010 . 12:50pm (2010-12-06). "The Legend Of The Heroes: Trails In The Sky Takes Flight In March". Siliconera. Retrieved 2013-09-13.
  5. ^ Ishaan . February 12, 2011 . 3:02pm (2011-02-12). "The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Has 1.5 Million Japanese Characters". Siliconera. Retrieved 2013-09-13.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c Spencer (2011-10-14). "What's Going On With The Legend Of Heroes: Trails In The Sky Second Chapter?". Siliconera. Retrieved 2013-09-13.
  7. ^ Spencer . July 7, 2011 . 6:02pm (2011-07-07). "Xseed Interview Part 1 – How To Exceed In Today's Marketplace". Siliconera. Retrieved 2013-09-13.
  8. ^ Spencer . October 26, 2012 . 2:10am (2012-10-26). "The Legend Of The Heroes: Trails In The Sky SC Coming To PSN In Japan On November 8". Siliconera. Retrieved 2013-09-13.
  9. ^ Ishaan (September 6, 2013). "Xseed To Publish The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC On PC And PSP". Siliconera.com. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
  10. ^ "Xseed Games Bringing Trails in the Sky Second Chapter to Steam, PS Store". EGMNOW. Retrieved 2013-09-13.
  11. ^ Wrek, John (2011-04-18). "The Legend Of Heroes: Trails In The Sky's Second Chapter Coming Soon - The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC - PC". Game Informer. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
  12. ^ "The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter coming to PSP and Steam in 2014". Gematsu. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
  13. ^ "Expect The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC In Mid 2014 Says Xseed - Siliconera". Siliconera. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  14. ^ "The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC pushed to late 2014 - Polygon". Polygon. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  15. ^ "Depression Led to Trails in the Sky SC Delay, Developer Explains Why". 26 December 2014.
  16. ^ "Addressing Something Important – Der Dräkblög".
  17. ^ Schreier, Jason. "The Curse of Kiseki: How One Of Japan's Biggest RPGs Barely Made It To America".
  18. ^ "空の軌跡のセットパッケージ毎の違いについて-ふぁるコミュ". Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC for PSP Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b "RPGamer > Review > The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky ~ The Second Chapter ~".
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b "Gamer.nl - Nieuws, reviews en meer".
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Legend of Heroes: Trails In the Sky: SC - PS Vita Review".
  24. ^ "The Legend of Heroes Sora no Kiseki SC". RPGfan.com. 2008-03-26. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
  25. ^ "RPGFan Review - The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC".

External links[]

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