Operation Backlog Completion 2024
Mar 062024
 

(I will, of course, not be caught up in time.)

After previously announcing its localization for Summer 2024, NISA has now announced that Trails Through Daybreak will be out on July 5.

Since I’ve still only finished the first Trails in the Sky, that means I’ll want to play nine games ahead of this one… so even if I stay true to my claim that this will be the “Year of Trails,” there’s no way I’d ever catch up in time.

But that’s okay! A long series like this is one to be savored, not rushed through.

Even though I won’t be ready to play it, that’s just one more game that makes 2024 amazing for RPG fans, so it’s exciting to have a solid release date at last.

So in the span of a month, NISA has announced Ys X localization, Reynatis localization, and the Trails Through Daybreak release date. I’m surprised they didn’t have their own little showcase for these announcements.

(On an unrelated note, I just finished watching the Xbox Partner Preview, and Kunitsi-Gami looks really cool. I’m looking forward to seeing more of it in the Capcom Highlights stream tonight.)

Are you planning to get Trails Through Daybreak? Will you still be catching up on the series like me? Let me know in the comments!

Jan 142022
 

Trails from Zero is one of my most-anticipated games of the year, so I was excited to see NISA teasing news for today.

That news turned out to be the reveal of the Limited Edition.

The Trails from Zero Limited Edition is available to pre-order from NISA’s store, and it contains an artbook, 10-track soundtrack selection, a poster, and an acrylic stand, along with the steelbook and collector’s box (and the game, of course).

That sounds pretty good to me for a Limited Edition, so I might go for it. There’s also a plushie and puzzle available to order, too.

I was hoping for a release date so I’ll know how long I have to catch up by finish the Trails in the Sky games, but “Fall 2022” is still all we have. I’d better not wait too long, or I’ll run out of time…

What do you think of the Trails from Zero Limited Edition? When do you think we’ll get a release date?

Jun 252021
 

The Falcom 40th Anniversary live stream news turned out to be huge… although it was leaked ahead of time when the Epic Games Store decided to put all of the games’ store pages live in the morning.

Anyway, I decided to check it out after all.

The live stream was primarily a concert, and I avoided actually watching the concert parts after seeing warnings that spoilers were being shown on the screen behind the band. The music was great, though, with some excellent songs from both Trails and Ys.

But let’s get straight to the announcements.

Yes, the Crossbell games are being localized! Yes, Hajimari is being localized, too! And yes, even Nayuta is being localized!

(It would have been even more exciting if it wasn’t leaked ahead of time, since they casually followed up their performance of a Trails from Zero song with the English logo appearing on the screen before leading into the announcements.)

NIS America revealed the following release schedule: Trails from Zero will be released in Fall 2022, Trails to Azure will follow in 2023, The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails will also be released in 2023, and Trails into Reverie (the localized name for Hajimari) is coming out in 2023 as well.

That’s right, we got four localization announcements, and 2023 is going to be packed with three of them coming in the same year.

All four games will be available for PC (Steam/Epic/GOG all confirmed; they’re not EGS exclusive), PS4, and Nintendo Switch.

What makes this news even more incredible is that NIS America officially partnered with Geofront, the team behind the Crossbell fan translations, to make this possible.

For someone getting into the Trails series like me, this is fantastic news. If you’re a bit confused by all the games, Zero and Azure are the Crossbell arc and come in between the Trails in the Sky and Trails of Cold Steel arcs. Trails into Reverie is the most recent game, set after the Cold Steel arc.

So what about The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails? You’ll notice that the title is structured differently and I didn’t list it above. Well, Nayuta is an action RPG spin-off that is not canon to the Trails series.

…Probably. Apparently it’s officially non-canon, but some fans feel there might be connections that could lead to it being retconned into the Trails series. We’ll see.

I’m thrilled by the recent Trails news (and looking forward to catching up ahead of Zero’s release), although a lot of fans are upset that Reverie won’t be out until 2023. Personally, I think it’s worth it to have official releases of the Crossbell games – and how can you argue when you get four localization announcements all at once?

(And since three of them only got a year, I’d say it’s not certain that Reverie will be late in the year and/or after Nayuta like most people assume.)

In news completely unrelated to Falcom, Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse localization was announced last night, too. All of my video game hopes seem to be coming true! What’s next, Yakuza Ishin?

Are you excited for the Trails announcements?