In such a large quantity Hero Legend franchise is, Trail into Reverie has the difficult task of basically being the pinnacle of everything in the Crossbell and Erebonia arcs. Across three sub-series and nine main games, this game has pretty much done, and it does it in a way that’s almost as great on the Nintendo Switch version I’ve played.
Unlike previous games that focused on a single protagonist, Trail into Reverie there are three heroes at the heart of the story: Rean Schwarzer, Lloyd Bannings and C. The former two get the chance to perfect their plot, while the mysterious C is a brand new protagonist. The system of switching between the three heroes and their views is at the core of this game’s features and plot.
Screenshot of Siliconera
Usually, you have the opportunity to choose the character you want to follow, but this only lasts for a while. You will inevitably encounter a spoiler in their story or a puzzle that you cannot complete. This will then require you to watch another hero’s story to progress. This engaging approach makes the scope of this game enormous, which is a positive and negative in the end.
Each individual story barely gets the attention and love it deserves, even with the most playable characters in the franchise to date. Each route has its own team member, area, dungeon, etc. However, at its core, Trail into Reverie will be familiar to anyone who plays cold steel or two Crossbell titles. On that note, this isn’t the place to start this series fresh either, as you should honestly finish every other game before it to get a full appreciation of what it’s all about. can do; you will lose otherwise.
The game features dungeon exploration and interaction with the monsters you find to switch to a tactical turn-based system. You can control the characters in a limited space to avoid attacks and hit enemies. You have a combination of arts, crafts (physical skills) and S-Crafts (thinking Final Fantasy break the limit).
Screenshot of Siliconera
Trail into Reverie brings back some of the more recent gameplay components, such as the Brave Command and the battle link. One major addition is the new United Front. This allows you to frequently use a party attack with everyone in the party to heal or attack. This new addition isn’t too wild, but it’s enough to offer more strategic choices. Honestly, I’ve used it quite a bit, as it’s very readily available and can fire once at random mobs this way.
Ultimately, though, progress is starting to feel a bit stale in Trail into Reverie. The dungeons don’t feel very exciting, especially when you visit familiar locations from previous games. The same goes for the towns you visit, which are heavily limited in this title. Honestly, it’s a bit odd that there are almost no side quests and events in the story. You pretty much have the main storyline and any chests you find along the way, and that’s about it. Sure, you can talk to NPCs in Crossbell, Heimdallr, etc., but there’s hardly any reason to experience this surprisingly linearity.
Where Trail into Reverie lacking optional content and discoverability, it makes up for in one area: Reverie Corridors. This is a brand new, semi-optional slot that you access between chapters. This slot serves as most of your free time in this game when not doing the story, and there’s a surprising amount of stuff to do here. In addition to exploring dungeons, you also have many mini-games, optional events, and even some gacha mechanics to enjoy.
Screenshot of Siliconera
This is a new part of Trail into Reverie that excites me, but at first I feel it limits you too much. It encourages you to keep coming back and unlocking more exotic minigames (like the magic girl game above), quests, floors, and events, but it provides a trickle-feed of it’s almost too slow. Even so, this is the highlight of my time with this game when other aspects feel stale. However, it doesn’t quite make up for the traditional side quests and optional content.
The repetitive nature of Trail into Reverie even the case for the main story, doesn’t quite reach the climax of most other games in the series. This is partly due to its divisive point of view, and also because everything feels so familiar. For instance, is Lloyd’s plot all about getting Crossbell back for the fourth or fifth time? The same goes for Rean, whose story is rather thin and feels like just an excuse not to abandon him and the members of Class VII.
And don’t let me start missing the Estelle and Joshua plot, which is tragic. That said, new protagonist C and his new cast of characters are easily the best part of the main plot. This engaging and charismatic character has some impressive developments that some fans may not see.
Screenshot of Siliconera
It also helps that his team members Nadia, Swin, and Lapis are all equally memorable new characters. Route C almost makes me wish the entire game was about them, instead of trying to give Rean and Lloyd equal attention.
One side note is that I only got a chance to play the Nintendo Switch version. Despite having similar graphics to cold steel Game, Trail into Reverie runs pretty poorly on the Switch. In busier areas like Crossbell, the frame rate slows down considerably. It doesn’t happen everywhere, but it would be annoying to play in a more populated area.
Screenshot of Siliconera
Legends of Heroes: Trails to Reverie, in the end, doesn’t feel like the most requested game in the series. Despite pushing the world and its characters in a new direction, its scope is sometimes a bit too large. The gameplay is as sharp as ever, and Reverie Corridor is an exciting new addition, but it would benefit more from a more coherent story of C and his team.
Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie will release for Switch, PS4, PS5 and PC on July 7, 2023 in North America and Europe, and on July 14, 2023 in Australia.
