Where you should start playing the Trails series
The Legend of Heroes ties together into an epic saga with over 30 years of history. You might know it by its most popular sub-series, Trails.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie is the latest game to launch in North America, releasing in English in July. More and more Trails games have been popping up overseas in the past few years because of the new English localizations. If you’re into deep worldbuilding and turn-based battles, then the series might appeal to you.
Unfortunately, that also means you'll need to decide where to start in the long list of games. It can be overwhelming for new players, especially if the Trails game they’re looking for isn’t available on their platform of choice. Thankfully, you can play the Trails series from multiple starting points—including the “purest” one and more casual alternatives.
What is Trails?
Trails games are narratively distinct from other Legend of Heroes games, even if they share the same title. All of them take place in a sci-fi fantasy world, in the middle of a technological revolution on the continent of Zemuria. Zemuria is split into different locations including the Liberl Kingdom, the Crossbell city-state, the Erebonian Empire, and so on. The Trails series as a whole tells a story about political conflict, class struggle, and other socio-economic issues within Zemuria. Also, all of the Trails games are interconnected, so characters from past games appear in future ones.
Trails is a turn-based RPG series where players control teams of up to four characters at a time. Each character manages the standard HP bar along two other meters: Energy Points and Craft Points. Energy Points are similar to the mana bars used in other RPGs, and are especially important for mages. Meanwhile, Craft Points are used for Trails’ equivalent of special attacks. You gain Craft Points as you fight, eventually building up enough to unleash powerful attacks. Depending on the Trails game, you might also have other combat systems (like Combat Links in Trails of Cold Steel) to consider.
In short, Trails especially values tactics and worldbuilding. The Epic Games Store has five Trails games available for purchase:
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie
EGS also has many bundles filled with consumables and cosmetic sets. You might not need a swimsuit bundle or a magical girl one, but it could help spice up your 60-plus hour playthrough.
But in this guide I won’t be talking about the bundles. Instead, I’ll go over where each of the games fit in the ideal order and what each is about.
What order to play Trails (Hardcore)
If you want to play the Trails series from top to bottom, then you should start with the Trails in the Sky series and play in the order that the games were released in Japan. Each game, even if it’s in a different arc than another, builds off the last. For instance, you could possibly learn about events from Trails in the Sky in Trails from Zero, which might mean light spoilers if you haven’t touched the earlier arcs yet. If you play chronologically, then you avoid references to past games you haven’t played and get to enjoy the series’ progression as you encounter recurring characters (and witness the evolving UI).
There are currently 10 Trails games translated into English. This is the order they were released in Japan, and the order you should play in if you intend on playing the entire Trails series spoiler-free:
- Trails in the Sky
- Trails in the Sky SC
- Trails in the Sky the 3rd
- Trails from Zero
- Trails to Azure
- Trails of Cold Steel
- Trails of Cold Steel II
- Trails of Cold Steel III
- Trails of Cold Steel IV
- Trails into Reverie
There’s also The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki and its sequel, Kuro no Kiseki II: Crimson Sin, already available in Japan. However, Nihon Falcom has yet to confirm a North American release date for the Kuro no Kiseki games.
Beware: The Japanese release order isn't the same as the North American one. Nihon Falcom asked XSEED Games to prioritize localizing Trails of Cold Steel before its earlier games, which led to discrepancies like the entire Trails of Cold Steel arc launching in North America before Trails from Zero or Trails to Azure. The localization team also switched from XSEED to NIS America, delaying some projects longer than expected.
What order to play Trails (Casual)
Some RPG fans might just want to try Trails without committing to finishing the series. That’s okay! Some places are still better to start from than others, even if the thought of playing through 10 games is too much.
The Trails series has separate arcs led by different protagonists:
- Liberl Arc: Trails in the Sky, Trails in the Sky FC, and Trails in the Sky the 3rd are all set in the Liberl Kingdom, even if the characters travel through different regions. Thus, the name of the arc. The story follows Estelle and Joshua Bright’s journey to become members of a peacekeeping organization called the Bracer’s Guild.
- Crossbell Arc: Trails from Zero and its sequel, Trails to Azure, make up the Crossbell arc. The two games star Lloyd Bannings and the Special Support Section, a division of the Crossbell Police Department dedicated to odd jobs.
- Erebonia Arc: All the Trails of Cold Steel games take place in the Kingdom of Erebonia. The four games follow Rean Schwarzer, who enters Thors Military Academy as a part of an experimental class including both commoners and nobles. He starts a new chapter of his life when he graduates from a student to an instructor in Trails of Cold Steel III, which is why some argue that the third installment is a fine place to start. (More on that later.)
Trails from Zero and the first Trails of Cold Steel are two popular starting points for beginners because they have more quality-of-life improvements than the older Trails games. You might feel the age of the Trails in the Sky games because they were originally released in the early 2000s. However, Trails from Zero and Trails of Cold Steel are closer to the kind of quality you’d expect from modern turn-based RPGs like Persona.
If you’re still trying to go in chronological order, then play Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure before picking up Trails of Cold Steel. If you care more about catching up to the latest arc, then pick up the first Trails of Cold Steel and play through to Trails of Cold Steel IV before going back to Trails from Zero.
Of course, the story behind each of the arcs might also help you make your decision. Trails from Zero has more of a buddy cop feel because of the occupations of its main cast. Lloyd Bannings returns home to follow in his brother’s footsteps as part of the Crossbell Police Department. However, they assign him to lead the Special Support Section, the department’s band of misfits. Lloyd and the SSS do their best to serve the city-state of Crossbell despite public mockery. In the process, they unexpectedly find dark mysteries hiding in the shadows. Trails to Azure takes place a few months after the end of Trails from Zero, when the SSS has earned the respect of the community and is on its way to solving another big bad mystery.
Meanwhile, the Trails of Cold Steel arc takes place in a school setting and incorporates more social sim elements like Persona. You have to ace class, help the student council, solve schoolhouse mysteries, and bond with your classmates. It’s a lot of work! This dynamic shifts a little bit in Trails of Cold Steel III because protagonist Rean isn’t going to school anymore, though.
Can I play Trails of Cold Steel III first?
Yes, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Nihom Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo famously said that Trails of Cold Steel III would be a good entry point into Trails as a whole. “It is perfectly fine,” Kondo told the PlayStation Blog, regarding players starting from Trails of Cold Steel III. “There is a comprehensive encyclopedia in-game that contains story summaries, character bios, and explanations of game terms and major organizations. Furthermore, Rean has progressed from being a student to becoming an instructor, and as this title shows, he is starting a new chapter of his life.”
“I think this is a great chance for people who are interested in the series to start playing,” he continued.
Still, Trails of Cold Steel III is a starting point that comes with a warning. As mentioned, Rean is a student in the first Trails of Cold Steel and its sequel before becoming an instructor in Trails of Cold Steel III. However, Trails of Cold Steel III assumes that the player has intimate knowledge of the series already, even if the characters in it are starting a new chapter in their lives. Many of the characters from past games, including Trails from Zero and Trails in the Sky, also appear in the story. You will get spoiled on some plot points if you ever plan to go back.
If you’re interested in starting from Trails of Cold Steel III, you can buy it right now on the Epic Games Store. Trails of Cold Steel IV is right behind it.
Save Reverie for last
No matter where you decide to start, Trails of Reverie is currently the best game to save for last.
All Trails games take place in the same universe, which eventually come to a clash in Reverie. In that sense, you’ll ideally want to play through the entirety of Trails from Zero, Trails to Azure, and the Trails of Cold Steel series before you dive into Trails of Reverie. It’s the epilogue to both the Crossbell and Erebonia arcs, and you can find it on the Epic Games Store once you're ready.