Trails in the Sky: Sweet beginnings

Here it is: the retro-looking, story-driven, drama-laden RPG I was craving after clearing three first-person dungeon crawlers in a row. On top of fitting the bill perfectly, Trails in the Sky also provides me with a nice opportunity to give some love to my long-forsaken PSP and to confirm whether Nihon Falcom has the potential to become one of my favourite developers of all time. It's fair to say that things are shaping up nicely and that I may end up writing a passionate love letter to both the game and Nihon Falcom if they keep going that way. But I'm getting ahead of myself there; for now, let's concentrate on my most auspicious first hours of play.

We're talking about 15 hours of play there; and given the game's overall pacing, I guess that these 15 hours amount to no more than a fifth of the game's length, or maybe even less. Especially since I'm taking my sweet time and enjoying the trip to the fullest, lolling about rather than rushing my way through. Not that the game is forcing me to do so despite its slow pacing, mind you: I do this on my own free will in order to enjoy the surroundings and atmosphere to the fullest. Never before have I seen a game world so exquisitely and breathtakingly detailed and so amazingly alive; the closest thing to it I've seen was the game world in Legacy of Ys, which makes me think that an uncanny love for detail may be one of Nihon Falcom's trademarks. It certainly helps that the camera can be rotated full circle, allowing for the discovery of even more details and eliciting a pleasant feeling of being in control of the environment. Cherry on the cake, the retro aesthetics of the game are an endless feast to my retro-hungry eyes.

 

 

Although Trails in the Sky is undoubtedly a story-driven RPG, it is one that judiciously gives the player a lot of leeway. There are numerous places to explore as well as side quests that give a welcome opportunity to take a break from the flow of the main story and indulge in other activities. The art of creating compelling side quests is a delicate one indeed, and I must say that Nihon Falcom masters it to perfection: not only is the number of side quests available just right, neither too overwhelming nor too stingy, but the content of these quests is both varied and interesting and they yield interesting items and monetary rewards to boot. What more can an RPG aficionado who wants to do things their way ask for? Well, maybe a highly customizable fighting system that lets one modify the characters' abilities to good effect. Or maybe a flexible party with two fixed members, the titular duo Estelle and Joshua, and guests fighters that come and go as the story unfolds.

And talking about Estelle and Joshua, these two have the most amazing alchemy I've ever seen between party members in an RPG. It certainly doesn't hurt that they seem to be secretly in love with each other, which provides an ample amount of the relationship drama that I was craving after cruising as a solo runner for so long. I'm feasting on the convoluted developments of this duo's relationship while hoping that everything will end well, and I'm rejoicing at the thought that I will meet them again in Trails in the Sky SC.

To add to that long list of goodness, Trails is in Sky is decidedly user-friendly. We're talking about instant save (insert eyes teary with happiness), maps coming in various sizes, direction signs, quest and main adventure logs, deliciously fast walking speed à la Ys, little marks that point at objects that can be checked or collected and save one from the hassle of fine-combing the many nooks and crannies of that huge game world, possibility to sell the equipment of guest party members after they leave the party, and so on. They say hell is in the details, but so can be heaven, and it is definitely the case in that game.

 

 

Had I written this post a couple of hours ago, I would have expressed irritation at the slow pacing and the drawn-out battles as well as worry that they could ruin my fun on the long run. Since then, I've taken them in my stride and accepted them as part of the game's style. More than just accepted, in fact: I genuinely relish Trails in the Sky's placid pacing. The slow unfolding of the story makes me feel like I'm involved in a full-blown fantasy saga à la The Wheel of Time or Lord of the Rings; as for the long battles, I've embraced them after I realized that level-grinding is not mandatory in that game and have since learnt to make the most of them and enjoy them to the fullest.

The only two things I'm really not fond of are the washed-out colour palette, which is not always to my retinas' liking, and the cooking feature, which I deem superfluous and not worth the hassle. Cooking has never clicked with me in any RPG I've played and Trails in the Sky's brand of cooking won't do the deed either. I really don't see the point of buying myriads of ingredients that are sometimes hard to find and/or insanely expensive when I can just as easily replenish my HP by crashing at the local inn or stocking up with potions—or fully prepared dishes from the local restaurant, for that matter. Not that these two elements detract from my fun in any way, mind you; I love the game too much to be hindered by such mere details. The cooking feature can easily be ignored entirely, and I think that I may learn to love the faded colour palette on the long run.

This sounded like a love letter to the game all right, and I can only hope that my next posts about Trails in the Sky will ooze as much love as this one. See you in a couple of gameplay hours, fellow gamers! Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!