Remembering the Trails in the Sky!!

As gamers we get to play all sorts of games. Some are those which you play and as soon as you finish them you move on (and there are quite a lot of them). And then there are some which weave such magic that the memories of the game remain with you long after finishing. You always end up reminiscing about them, recommending them to your friends and generally praising them incessantly.  For me that game is the charming little PSP game called Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky.

Here's a game that is a throwback to those amazing JRPGs that used to populate the PS1 landscape. From the anime inspired plot, charming characters and a simple yet involving game play, Trails in the Sky had it all. While originally it was a PC game native to Japan, but the lovely people at Xseed brought the game in English in the spring of 2011. They had the daunting task of translating around 1.5 million Japanese words which made it one of the biggest translation gig ever for a video game. Not only did it pay big time for Xseed but among JRPG fans the company became a household name.

Man I still remember the game so fondly. Poured in around 60 odd hours into it and each and every second was cherished. For a long while that would be the only game I would be playing sometimes hours on end, hell my PSP started having battery problems around that time. I don’t want this small piece come off as a review of sorts but I will have to mention why the game made such an impression on me. The characters: Estelle Bright and Joshua Bright with their charming and engaging personality gave the game its main draw. And not just those two, but the entire cast had its moments. And all of this was achieved by not making them ansgty teenagers going through puberty or anything, rather having a good heart and soul which made their travels such fun to play.

Another aspect that struck me was the game world. The kingdom of Liberl was a joy to explore with different regions having a different feel to their surroundings. There were just a few cities to visit but boy were they diverse! At one stage we visit a boarding school during a cultural festival which was downright memorable. Or the studio city of Zeiss which had engineers running around doing their business (accompanied by a lovely OST). I could go on and on but I rather that you guys play the game yourselves.

So I am sure you must be wondering why I am making another post about the game since I already wrote a review for it. Well on 29^th July, the day of Eid incidentally, Xseed released the game on PC via GOG and Steam (can it be considered an epic Eidi of sorts then?!). The PSP version came out in 2011 so while it took a while to show up on PC but those gamers who haven’t played the PSP and have a passing interest should check it out. And while I won’t be playing the PC version, although I want to so much that it hurts, but I won’t as going through a game again and putting in 40-45 hours more is a bridge too far. Those who haven’t played it yet should consider themselves lucky as they are about experience an amazing JRPG!