Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, the upcoming remake of the first Trails came, is only a few weeks away now, due out on September 19.

It’s been pretty much assumed that a remake of Trails in the Sky Second Chapter will follow unless the remake’s sales are disastrous, and now it’s all but confirmed.

In a recent interview, Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo said, “If we didn’t follow up with a remake of Trails in the Sky SC, people would go, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.'”

(He’s right, especially because the first game ends on a cliffhanger that leads directly into the second.)

He went on to say that they “want to avoid such a long gap” compared to the original release. That’s interesting, because the original Trails in the Sky came out in Japan in June 2004, which SC following in March 2006. If he wants to avoid a similar gap, that suggests they’re hoping to remake SC next year.

He also said that the possibility of further remakes “depends on fan demand.”

Personally, I hope they at least remake Trails in the Sky the 3rd after that if they’re going to remake the first two.

I’ve still got a long way to go to catch up on the Trails series, having only finished the three Sky games so far. Still, I’m excited to see these remakes, because the first game’s remake looks fantastic. (And hey, at least the remakes give me a little more time to make progress before the next new game, even though I still won’t be caught up in time.)

Are you planning to play Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter?

As I continue to make slow progress through the Trails series, having just finished the third Trails in the Sky game, the remake of the first is just over a month away.

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, a full remake of the original game, is due out on September 19 for PC, PS5, and Switch, making the start of the series more accessible to new fans.

The remake looks beautiful, with additions like the hybrid action/turn-based combat introduced in the later games.

Meanwhile, a new interview suggests it might take quite a bit longer to beat than the original Trails in the Sky FC. According to the interview, translated here by RPG Site, the main programmer said it took 80 hours to finish.

The interview goes on to say that if you do all of the exploration-related elements, let the voiced dialogue play out, and do all of the quests, it could be twice as long as the original.

Now, some fans are worried that this might make the remake feel bloated. I understand the concern. Trails in the Sky FC has a pretty slow pace as it is, so extending that story to last even longer might make it feel like it drags on. On the other hand, it sounds like a lot of this added time might simply be a result of the remake having voiced dialogue, more elaborate scenes, and bigger areas to explore.

So it remains to be seen whether the story will actually feel longer, or if it’s simply a matter of the same events taking more time. I’m optimistic for the remake (even though I probably won’t play it for a while because of my backlog).

On the other hand, if being remake extends the length of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter by that much, I’m terrified to imagine how long the remake of Second Chapter will end up being…

What do you think about the claim that the Trails in the Sky remake might be twice as long?