Release date:
PC: 24/06/04 (Japan)
PSP: 28/10/06 (Japan) 29/03/11 (US) 04/11/11 (EU)
Editions:
Standard Edition - $29.99 (US)
Limited Edition - $39.99 (US) £39.99 (EU)
PSN Edition - $29.99 (US)
Limited Edition Contents:
- Bonus Soundtrack CD with 30 tracks.
- Poster - 13 x 19.5 Inches.
- 1.5 Inch Bracer Guild replica badge.
Official Website:
http://www.trailsinthesky.com/ (Warning: Flash intensive, contains auto-starting music and sound effects)
Plot Synopsis:
Ten years after the end of the Hundred Days War, the small country of Liberl is at peace. Supported by the region's plentiful Septium resources, the diplomatic prowess of Queen Alicia II and the efforts of an organisation of neutral peacekeepers called the Bracers Guild, Liberl's people live comfortable lives. In the town of Rolent, two young siblings, Estelle and Joshua Bright, prepare to take their final exam to become trainee Bracers. With their father being the legendary Bracer Cassius Bright, one of only a small number of S-Class Bracers on the continent, they have quite a lot to live up to.
But unknown to them, a conspiracy has already begun that threatens to shatter the peace of Liberl, and the continent of Zemuria as a whole, and Estelle and Joshua will end up right in the middle of it - and once the wheels of fate have begun to turn, nothing can stop them.
Key Countries on the Continent of Zemuria:
The setting for the first and second games in the series, Liberl is a small country on the western edge of Zemuria. It is currently ruled over by Queen Alicia II, an extremely popular monarch who excels in her diplomatic ability and has been instrumental in maintaining peaceful relations between Liberl and Erebonia since the Hundred Days War ended.
Connected to Liberl from the north, Erebonia was defeated by Liberl in the Hundred Days War, and relations between the two countries have been tense ever since. Ruled over by Emperor Eugent and Chancellor Gilias Osborne. Erebonia's pride is its railway network, which has been a key aspect of Osborne's national policy ever since he came to power.
Connected to Liberl from the east, and governed by President Rocksmith. Calvard's relations with Erebonia can hardly be called peaceful, either, particularly concerning the State of Crossbell, which both countries want ownership of. Readily accepts immigrants from further east, leading a number of problems within the country, including the creation of radical factions and outbreaks of terrorism.
There are naturally more, but these three are the only ones of real significance in the first game.
Key Terms:
The Hundred Days War - A conflict in which the Erebonian Empire attempted to conquer Liberl ten years before the start of the game. While Erebonia initially had the advantage, managing to conquer all but the capital of Grancel with little effort, the Liberl army managed to turn the tide with the use of Orbal airships, and the tactical genius of Cassius Bright, and successfully forced Erebonia into agreeing to end the conflict.
Bracers - Bracers are individuals attached to the Bracer's Guild, an organisation which seeks to protect the safety of Zemuria's citizens and uphold the peace of the land from a neutral position. They take care of a number of tasks from monster extermination to searching for lost property, and are frequently called on to mediate in international matters. Bracers are roughly divided into two types - after completing a training process, new recruits will begin as a trainee, and go around the land getting letters of recommendation from each of the country's guilds. After getting a recommendation from each of the Guilds, the individual will become a fully fledged Bracer, allowed to move between each of the Guilds at will and gain increased respect and responsibility. Citizens can go to the Bracer's Guild and submit tasks that they would like completed, and the guild will then post these tasks on their notice board, allowing any of the Bracers in the area to complete it in exchange for reward money.
Orbment - A mechanical device powered by a mysterious energy which, when fitted with processed Quartz, can be used for one of a number of functions. Orbment have become an essential part of the lives of Zemuria's citizens, and are used in lighting, heating, communications, weaponry and transport amongst other things.
The Orbal Revolution - A technological revolution brought about by the research of Professor Epstein into ancient Artifacts fifty years before the start of the game. As a result of this research, Epstein found a way to mass produce what came to be called Orbments, and the technology quickly spread throughout the land. In particular, Liberl quickly became one of the most advanced nations on the continent thanks to the efforts of Professor Russell, one of Epstein's disciples.
Zemuria - The continent upon which the series takes place. Liberl is located on its west side, and the series has slowly begun to reveal the rest of the continent starting from here. As of the latest game in the series there's never been a map of exactly what the continent looks like in full, any indication of just how many countries are on it, or any mention of a world beyond the continent.
The Septian Church - A creed which is widely adhered to across the continent, and was responsible for allowing Zemuria to recover from its dark ages. It promotes the worship of the Sky Goddess Aidios. The Septian Church is centred in the Holy Nation of Alteria.
Daughter of the legendary Bracer Cassius Bright, Estelle is the games protagonist. An endlessly cheerful girl who never gives up regardless of how grim the situation becomes, she is loved by all those around her. Technically the same age as Joshua, but insists shes his older sister regardless.
Estelles younger brother, who was adopted into the family five years before the start of the game. Picked up by Cassius while he was on a Bracer mission, Joshuas origins and history are a mystery, and he refuses to discuss them. He has a calm and collected personality, and frequently has to keep Estelle in check.
A travelling musician from the Erebonian Empire to the north, Olivier will hit on just about anything that moves. Skilled with a number of musical instruments, he seems to take his lute wherever he goes. He has a narcissistic personality, and when he decides to tag along with the party, he wont let anyone stop him.
Scherazard is a former disciple of Estelles father, Cassius Bright, and is frequently known by the nickname The Silver Streak. While shes like an older sister figure to Estelle, her love of drinking is rivaled only by the Rolent Bracer Guilds receptionist, Aina.
Granddaughter of Liberls foremost Orbal scientist, Tita is a loveable twelve year old girl who has a tendency to lose herself and go into a world of her own when it comes to machinery. Takes after her grandfather in talent, but also takes after him in stubbornness.
A stern-faced young Bracer, Agate wields a heavy sword and has built up a reputation for his strength. Every time he shows up in front of Estelle and the others, he always ends up criticising her for at least one thing she did wrong. For some reason he seems to have a weakness for Tita, however.
Zin in the Japanese version. A Bracer from the Republic of Calvard to the East, Zane is staying in Liberl in order to enter a tournament at Grancels Grand Arena. A martial arts master, he fights with his fists. Has a level-headed, cheerful personality and is like an older brother to the party.
Klose in the Japanese version. A student at the Jenis Royal Academy near Ruan, Kloe is a kind and caring girl who helps out at the nearby orphanage on her days off school. Shes always accompanied by her white falcon, Sieg, who seems far more intelligent than any bird should be.
The combat system:
Trails in the Skys combat system is something of a cross between a regular, turn based RPG and a small scale strategy RPG. Each battle takes place in a grid-based battlefield where you can move your units around, attacking enemies and avoiding attacks. The turn order is shown down the left hand side of the screen. There are three kinds of attacks regular attacks, Orbal Arts (which consume EP, which is restored with items), and Crafts (which consume CP, which is restored by dealing and receiving damage).
Thats the basic battle system, although there are a few other features that make it unique:
Bonus Icons - Next to the portraits showing turn order, there are often a number of other bonus icons. These show the type of bonus that whichever character takes that turn will receive sometimes this will be an increase in attack strength, or a guaranteed critical hit, or an increase in CP.
S-Crafts and S-Breaks - When a character has more than 100 CP, they can use a special move known as an S-Craft. These can be used at any time in the battle, even when it isnt that characters turn (and in this instance its referred to as an S-Break), and either do a significant amount of damage, or have one or more useful effects. However, when used they consume all of that characters CP if the character has the maximum 200 CP then the attack will either do extra damage or have an additional effect.
Guild Quests:
Throughout the game, there are a number of quests that can be done as a member of the Bracer Guild. Each quest you do gets you BP (Bracer Points), and when you earn a certain number of BP your Bracer rank increases. For each rank you advance, the Guild will reward you with an item, most of which are either unique or difficult to get elsewhere.
Quests generally come in two varieties some are listed on the notice board in the towns Guild, while others are secret and are only revealed by talking to people and offering to help them. As a result, if you want to get the maximum amount of BP then just doing the regular quests on the notice board wont be enough. Furthermore, if you get the maximum amount of BP, youll get a reward when transferring your save to the second game.
Quests also give you money, and are the main way to get money in the game. Monsters don't drop it after battle, so you either have to do lots of quests or sell Sepith for it in shops.
The Choice System:
During both the main story and while doing quests, you'll be given a fair amount of choices, testing Estelle's ability to make judgements as a Bracer. If you choose the right answer, you'll be given bonus BP at the end of the quest - so it's worth thinking about the choices as they come up, especially if you want the special items for the highest Bracer ranks. For example, the earliest choice I remember occurs when Estelle hears the voices of two children in trouble. You can either choose to run straight towards the direction the voice came from, saving time but potentially landing her in a situation that's too much for her to handle, or choose to quickly explain the plan to Joshua and act with him. The latter gets you the BP.
The Orbment System:
Each character in your party has an Orbment, a device with a number of slots connected together via lines. In each of these slots you can put a Quartz, little gems of sorts that you buy from the workshop in each town in exchange for Sepith, even smaller fragments that are dropped by monsters after battle.
The 'device' on the right side of this image is an Orbment. Each character's has a different arrangement of slots and a different number of 'lines'. Each Quartz has a different point value for each of the seven elements, and the values are added up for each line, allowing that character to use certain spells. To take an example, the Curia Art (heals all negative status effects on one character) requires 1 Water point and 1 Phantom point in a single line. So if you equip a HP1 and EP1 quartz in the same line you can cast it in battle. The point values of every Quartz and every Art are all listed in the game's Bracer Notebook, so you can check them at any time and don't have to rely on experimentation, and you can view your current point values in the Orbment menu.
All the key terms:
Sepith - Dropped by monsters after battle. Can either be sold for money or, if you have enough, exchanged for Quartz at the town workshop.
Quartz - Generally acquired by exchanging Sepith at the workshop, but some are exclusive to certain quests or Bracer ranks. Set in Orbment slots to allow you to use Arts. Each Quartz also has its own unique effect, such as increasing the character's maximum HP by a certain percentage. These effects occur regardless of what line the Quartz is in - lines ONLY affect Arts.
Lines - A line is a set of Quartz slots going out from the middle slot in any direction. Whatever Quartz is in the central slot counts to the values of all lines. In the image above you can see a golden sky Quartz in the central slot, then one line going off to the left and up, and another going off to the right and down. As a general rule of thumb, characters like Olivier with only one line make the best spellcasters.
Slots - Spaces in the Orbment where you can set a Quartz. At the beginning of the game most of these are closed, and you have to use Sepith to unlock them so you can set Quartz. Depending on the character, some slots require a Quartz of a certain element to be inserted. For example, Kloe has two slots in which you can only insert water Quartz. These are indicated by the colour of the slot's outline.
So in conclusion, Kill monsters -> Get Sepith -> Exchange Sepith for Quartz -> Set Quartz in slots -> Use Arts.
Japanese PC trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjtxEygXcLA
Japanese PSP trailer (kind of spoilery):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mCuVzUaV4Y
English Trailer #1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWfSK9ZkDhY
English Trailer #2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mih0dfd27tU
Random battle system video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVovdu1psW0
RPGFan - 88%
Neoseeker - 8/10
GamePro - 4/5
IGN - 8.0
Q. Do I have to play the PSP releases of 3, 4 and 5 to understand this?
A. No, theyre not connected at all. 3, 4 and 5 make up the Gagharv trilogy, but Trails in the Sky is the start of a new series on its own, which is generally referred to as the Kiseki series.
Q. I did play the PSP releases of 3, 4 and 5, and I hated them. Is there any chance at all Ill like this?
A. You might well do. The Trails series has a completely different battle system, completely different graphical style, completely different story and setting, etc. So theyre really not that similar. It will also hopefully have a much better translation.
Q. Is there any chance XSEED will localise the PC versions?
A. Theyre considering it. When asked about the prospect in a recent interview their response was That does seem like a logical choice We would love to support the PC fans and the platform in general, so we will continue to discuss with Falcom on the possibility of making it happen sometime in the future. It wont be happening in the immediate future though, at least.
Q. Whens the second game going to be released?
A. We dont know. XSEED have said that they fully intend to release at the very least the full Trails in the Sky trilogy, although they havent committed either way on the fourth game, Zero no Kiseki. At the very least the release of SC wont be this year.
Q. Wait, fourth game? I thought it was a trilogy?
A. The series goes like this:
Sora no Kiseki FC (localised as this game, Trails in the Sky')
Sora no Kiseki SC
Sora no Kiseki the 3rd
Zero no Kiseki
Ao no Kiseki (to be released in Japan this september)
All of the games are all direct sequels to one another, generally taking place a few months after the previous game ends (except for SC which takes place the day after FC ends) but the first three are more closely connected. Zero has a new cast of characters, and is set in a different country to the Trails games, but theyre all part of one big story on the Zemurian continent which is still ongoing.
Q. Is SC definitely going to be localised, then? Because the PSP is going to be in a bit of trouble after this year...
XSEED have reaffirmed their commitment to localising the first three games a few times in interviews. At the very least there's always the possibility they might localise the PC versions, or any other console version Falcom may or may not publish in the future. We'll just have to wait and see.
SpaceDrake said:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Special Thanks:
NomadicTrooperGirl - For making all the banners and the header image.
Aveyn Knight - For hooking me up with the above.
