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As the Trails series' ending is now in sight, Nihon Falcom prepares to tackle the impossible | RPG Site

We spoke with Nihon Falcom President Toshihiro Kondo about the development process of a series such as Trails, and what comes after

www.rpgsite.net

This is an excellent article about Nihon Falcom, where Toshihiro Kondo himself explains what the Trails series means for them as a studio and how they tackle the development of their games. It's really nice and well worth the full read. Here are some snippets:

Truthfully, when we first started the series 20 years ago - we had the impression that JRPGs, or at least the types of games we make, weren't as popular in the west compared to Japan. This last decade or so we've seen a level of appreciation and love of our titles from fans in the west - and it's gratifying to finally have all of our fans on the same page, no matter where they live.

At the end of the day, we have to consider the setting. It's Zemuria that comes first and informs everything else; [the way we've structured the Trails series] is that we have various countries in Zemuria, and our goal with each arc is to dig deep and explore the region in which it takes place. Zemuria as a setting, the core of it all - the framework for the story was decided from the beginning. Everytime we tackle a new arc, everytime we visit a new location, that's an opportunity for us to really explore what each region brings to the greater picture. What types of characters appear; if it's a later arc, which characters make sense to return, and when? Bluntly speaking, if we tried to put out [a game like Trails beyond the Horizon] at the start of the series, Trails would've never existed to begin with. The project would've collapsed.

If a person were to quit the company who has been working on the Trails series for so long, it would cause a great amount of damage to the team and our projects, having lost that invaluable knowledge. So it's not so much just resource management - maintaining records of key aspects of the series' lore, the game world, the encyclopedia of what the Zemuria is. At the end of the day it's more like personnel management. How can I keep staff motivated, and how can I keep them interested in their work? Sometimes I have to let staff move over to another project that isn't Trails, to give them some time to refresh their creative battery for when they're truly needed.

The Trails series won't continue on indefinitely, nor could it. So, we have to find the windows where we can start building up to what comes after. Opportunities for staff to create games and IPs that can build up to that day when Trails does end, so we're prepared. Games that maintain that balance between what our staff wants to make, and what players would want to play. Games like Tokyo Xanadu, and Ys of course - but also other existing IPs and new ideas we're considering. We have already planned the development of these projects, so that we can release them, build up a fanbase, and ultimately be prepared for the eventual day when Trails is finished.

Up until now, we've been running on inertia. Now, as we reach the end, we want to take things more slowly. If we ruin the ending, then it may as well become the worst series in the world. There's no coming back from that.

The devs are already thinking about the series ending and planning for that. In the interview, Kondo even says that the series might reach 20 games! Currently there are 13. The wish is to wrap up the series by the 30th anniversary (lol).

As for the ending, as long as it's not a train wreck it's gonna be fine. The best part about playing the Trails games is the journey, they really have to fuck it up really badly to sour the whole thing.

Trails in the Sky 1st, the remake of the original Trails in the Sky FC, is coming out this year on September 19th. It's going to be the perfect starting place if you haven't played a single Trails game yet.