Thank you NIS America for sending us the Ultimate Edition of this game to review!

The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon is the thirteenth entry in the long-running Trails series that has been releasing new direct sequels since 2004. It's also the first time in the history of that series that the West is finally caught up with Japan's most recent release, with no other missing entries. While now may be a great time to jump into one of the longest-running contiguous RPG series in gaming, this is arguably the worst game to start in. Each time a new Trails title is released, unless it starts a new story arc, that new game remains a bad game to start with. Please start with Trails in the Sky (original or remake) if you wish to see the full story from the beginning. If you refuse, then choose the first entry of one of the now four story arcs (Trails in the Sky, Trails from Zero, Trails of Cold Steel, Trails into Daybreak). Thankfully, despite some ups and downs, I personally find every game to be one worth playing, with a story and characters that you'll probably come to love just as I have.

Being the third game in the Calvard arc, there are many returning characters and settings from previous games. What's interesting here is that many of them are returning ones from previous arcs, or even a character that hasn't been playable since the original trilogy, Trails in the Sky. Trails beyond the Horizon also starts to pull back mysteries that has left many on the continent of Zemuria wondering since the story started so many years ago. Trails in the Sky started the story in their in-game date of S. 1202, while Horizon takes place in mid S. 1209. A whole lot has happened in just eight short years.

I should probably note that some spoilers from previous Trails games are inevitable from this point forward. You can't say I didn't warn you!

Trails beyond the Horizon takes place about two to three months after the end of Trails through Daybreak II. Project Startaker was announced right at the end of Daybreak II, and Horizon starts with a gathering of heroes for a training session that leads to preparations for Startaker's completion. Project Startaker is promised to be the moment Zemuria, as led by Calvard, can finally reach the stars for the first time through the rocket that Calvard is launching. The whole continent is watching and very excited as the first human being is announced to participate in the first-ever spaceflight.

The story is broken up into three different groups. The main story is progressed by Van and his crew at Arkride Solutions, as you would expect for the third Calvard game, and you spend the most time with them. There is also a group led by Rean Schwarzer and a small crew of Class VII friends. Seeing Rean's growth and maturity after all he went through in the previous arc is quite a sight, and he's just as overpowered as you might expect. There are references to what they did in the five games of Cold Steel + Reverie, so having played them is recommended. The other group is led by Kevin Graham, one of my favorite characters of the Trails in the Sky trilogy. Kevin does have a role in Trails to Azure, but he's not playable there. Kevin's group does reference some of what happened in Trails in the Sky the 3rd as well as Trails into Reverie a fair bit. All of that to say, knowledge of the entire series up to this point is strongly recommended for the full experience, as Van's group of course references Daybreak I & II quite heavily, spoiling what happens in those games.

President Gramheart is leading the charge on Project Startaker, pushing the mission extremely aggressively. So much so, that he's been surprising everyone by pushing up timelines rather than sticking to original schedules, sometimes even with really short notice. The pace of development is nearly unbelievable, and Rean and Crow are brought in as diplomats of sorts, to test the soon to be astronaut's skills. Meanwhile, the government is ignoring other strange things that are currently happening, leaving that to others like Arkride Solutions and the Bracer Guild. A lot of pieces are moving, often independently. Van, Rean, and Kevin each have their own own plans and motivations which don't always align.

The game starts with Van, Kevin, and Rean meeting each other in person at the Marduk Headquarters for a joint training session. This gives them a chance to get to know each other and exchange contact information. This also sets up the multi-arc nature of each chapter, where each team does different things in generally the same time period. You choose which order to play them, but not what order they happen in (that's predetermined). A similar system was first used in Trails into Reverie, returned in Trails through Daybreak II, and is used here once again.

And also like those other games, there is also an outside-reality gathering place. In Daybreak II it was called the Marchen Garten, though this time it's the Grim Garten. The Garten is a high-tech virtual reality space anyone granted access can login to. Ouroboros, the mysterious (and usually villainous) organization has made a return to the spotlight through the Garten by taking control of it, which Altina and the Epstein Foundation are working to assist Marduk in regaining control of once again. One nice thing is it's a great way for all three teams to socialize a bit without the challenge of being in the same physical space. It also helps that an all-protagonist powerhouse team makes defeating the many challenging opponents much easier.

The Garten is largely similar to how it operated in Daybreak II, with some changes. There are various currencies that you can spend in the Garten that helps you both there and back in Calvard. The most important one is Shard Tokens, which you can easily earn lots of if you explore and complete each level of the Garten as you go. There is also an augmented reality (AR) feature of sorts where you can explore the streets of Calvard while pressing the Shard Search button, and pick up Shard Tokens all around town. You spend the tokens by decrypting grimoires, which is a gacha-like system with semi-random rewards. They are quite generously given out. With that said, grinding for more generally pays off, as other things like skill stones and powerful item upgrades return, making gambling for more stuff worthwhile.

Outside of the Grim Garten, there are other new minigames as well to fill your time. You can play card games, one-on-one basketball, fishing, and other challenges. I really love that Rean is given his proper due as one of the world's greatest fishers.

Other aspects of Horizon are similar to its predecessor. Combat is largely similar to Daybreak II, with the seamless field and turn-based combat switching making a return. It's a great system, and I'm glad to see it's back. You can still use Arts (magic) on the field, as each orbment has a field use spell that takes some time to charge up, but is quite powerful. They also add two new features, ZOC and Awakening.

Since many of our heroes in this title are extraordinary, many can Awaken both on the field and in shard combat. For example, while Van has his Grendel powers, Rean can perform Spirit Unification, and Kevin has his stigma. There are other characters with special powers as well. Awakening on the field allows you to attack with much more damage per hit until the S-Boost gauges run out. One interesting exploit I noticed is that you can Awaken, then immediately jump into Shard battles. You then keep the Awakened status for one round with no cost to the Boost gauge. You can then S-Craft (Rean, Kevin) or use Grandel attacks (Van) and wipe out powerful enemies very quickly and easily.

ZOC, or Zone of Command, is another new battle technique. On the field, it slows down time and gives the active player character the ability to do tons of damage very quickly, doing multiples of damage more than normal. If you properly time charge attacks, Arts attacks and regular ones, you can blast through foes really quickly, making field combat much quicker. The best part is that ZOC is its own charge meter, so it's in your interest to spam it as much as possible as there are virtually no downsides to using it. In Shard/command combat, ZOC allows you to use a meter of S-Boost to add in an extra action or attack. For example, if you need that powerful spell now and can't wait for the charge time, ZOC allows you to cast then immediately get the results. Or, you can just perform two normal actions in a row. The interesting part here is that enemies can also ZOC, so it goes both ways. It's a fun mechanic, and greatly welcome. Most other combat improvements from Daybreak II also carry over to Horizon.

It's kind of funny, but like in the Daybreak games, Van is still a 'Spriggan', a job he defines as someone willing to do whatever it takes to solve his clients' needs, even if it means bending or going around the law. He's become rather famous throughout Calvard; enough so that Rean's and Kevin's teams also become temporary Spriggans while in Calvard, completing 4SPGs just as Van does. It's also remarkable how Van and his friends have gained so much respect, as even the Calvard Police and Bracer Guild now respect him and often look to him and his band of Spriggans for support. And like before, Van will temporarily work with any group when their goals align, even if they might be enemies in a future conflict.

As before, Calvard, especially Edith, is still a major metropolitan area with lots of the latest technology along with a seedy underbelly with gambling, prostitution, and more. Culture in the form of movies has really taken off, and some trappings of our modern world unfortunately carry over, like homosexual characters, though they are rare.

One thing I really like about this game is that bonding events, a major staple of the Trails series, can all be seen in one playthrough for perhaps the first time. In the Grim Garten, you can earn Connection Pieces, which allows you to see any missed bonding events, and even still get bonding points from them. This means you can max out all character bonds in a single playthrough, which is unfortunately quite rare in the world of Trails games.

As hinted at before, there are plenty of moral issues to consider. Of course Van and crew still can deal with issues on both sides of the law, or using means not available to the law-abiding. This can be a major concern, especially when you can threaten people to get your way.

And that's not all of the moral issues players will run into. Gritty language is present, with words like 'd*mn', 'a*s', 'h*ll', 'b*tch', and 'sh*t' used. Fantasy violence is quite common, and blood is present in some scenes as well. Enemies range from fantasy creatures to undead, demons, and humans. Human-demon hybrids are present as well. The Geneses continue to play a major part, allowing things not otherwise possible. The goddess Aidios is once again a major part of the world, and the church largely resembles the Catholic church in architecture and stylistically. Some characters call her by another name Arusha, which seems to be a regional difference.

Alcohol and tobacco are present, though other than a few bonding events, they don't play a major role. The main characters (Van, Rean, Kevin) and several others are adults, and they drink on occasion. Another playable character drinks whenever responsibilities allow. When it comes to sexual content, there is a fair bit. Strip clubs exist, and there are a few scenes where the game takes you inside. Some women dress provocatively throughout the game, but there is a district the game calls the Blacklight district, and in there, some women walk around in lingerie, leaving very little to the imagination. Similar districts exists in several cities throughout the Calvard Republic. It's pretty obvious what services are on offer, with even some lines reflecting that. Homosexuality is shown as 'being true to yourself'. This is also the case with a person whose body can switch between male and female traits in a bonding event, though given the circumstances as explained in the game it makes sense in that unique case.

From a technical and graphical point of view, the PC version is fantastic, with the inimitable PH3 producing a port being beyond reproach. The game scales down quite well, and is perfectly playable on Steam Deck, and also scales up to look great on high-end rigs as well. The frame rate goes up to 360Hz, covering most high-end monitors with ease. The customization options are fantastic, and the PC version is highly recommended. Like with Daybreak II, PH3 added DLSS and TAA options to the anti-aliasing menu, making this game perform or look even better on many systems. I played about half of the game in my Linux install; it works perfectly and then some via Steam's Proton compatibility layer. Even DLSS works in Linux!

Graphically, I would say that Trails beyond the Horizon is by no means cutting edge, but it has a very appealing anime-style aesthetic that I personally find very agreeable. It looks largely similar to the previous Trails through Daybreak games, though perhaps some characters have improved body animations than before. Character animations are fluid with full-body movements, with them even dancing in the streets. Music is also excellent, and the English voice acting is absolutely top notch.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon is a great third entry to the Calvard/Daybreak arc, and maybe even one of the best games in the whole series. The cliffhanger ending is incredible, and while that makes the wait for the next game more difficult, Trails fans have kind of gotten used to difficult cliffhangers by this point. Whatever the case, if you are new to Trails, please don't start here. But if you aren't, and were wondering if it was worth continuing the series after the divisive Daybreak II, then I would say absolutely - you are in for a treat with one of the best games in the Trails series. The dreaded wait for Horizon II will be long and difficult, especially since it's already been confirmed that we won't see it until next year at the earliest. Though I suppose one benefit of all of this is there won't be any spoilers we can run into on accident, as Japan still has to wait for it too!