The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky: Difference between revisions

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The story details the adventures of Estelle Bright and her adopted brother, Joshua. They set out to be a pair of "Bracers", wandering adventurer-types who do good around the kingdom of Liberl, much like Estelle's father Cassius was in his prime. Soon after their adventure begins, however, they begin to get pulled into a series of events that could change the face of Liberl, not to mention answer certain questions about Joshua's past... even if they are answers Joshua might not want to hear.

 

 

A side effect of the game's bifurcated nature is that this is one of the few JRPGs in which choice ''matters''. While the choices are (generally) not quite as sweeping as those in, say, ''[[Mass Effect]]'', since you can carry save files forward between chapters, choices you make in one chapter can affect quests and dialogue in a following chapter and affect how quickly you rise through the ranks of the Bracers Guild. The games are also a bit more open-ended than most JRPGs, with ''lots'' of Bracer sidequests available alongside the main storyline (and, in fact, neglecting these can leave you a bit weak for the showdowns which await you at the end of the second chapter).

Each of the three chapters technically tells their own story, although the second chapter follows ''directly'' on from the first chapter (as in, it literally starts on the day after the end of the first) and if you dive right into SC you are likely to end up a bit lost and confused. There are sixteen playable characters over the course of all three games, plus dozens of other secondary characters.

 

 

Do note, this page has a ''lot'' of marked spoilers; this is because talking about most of the tropes related to the game requires talking about the revelations the game makes later in its narrative (particularly in the second chapter, which America sadly won't see until at least 2012), and some of these are [[Wham! Episode|legitimately amazing]] and shouldn't be casually ruined. '''Highlight spoilers at your own risk''', and beware of spoilers on other sites, to boot.

Last but not least, the soundtrack for the series is ''awesome'', especially once you get into Second Chapter and The Third. [[Crowning Music/Ys|Falcom's JDK Band]] pretty much hit it out of the park again, and some of the songs included with the game have been hailed as among the best game themes ever, through ''vote'', on places like 2channel.

 

 

The aforementioned sequel is ''[[Zero no Kiseki]]'', which follows a new set of protagonists a few years after the events of ''Trails''. ''That'' title was followed up by ''Ao no Kiseki'', which continues the ''Zero'' story in the same way ''Trails SC'' continued the ''Trails FC'' story.

* [[All Powerful Bystander]]: Cassius Bright, he's the strongest Bracer in Liberl, an ex-[[Master Swordsman]], a resident [[Mary Tzu]], he managed to {{spoiler|[[Curb Stomp Battle|Curb Stomp]] the final boss of FC}}, the earth trembles when he spins his rod, second strongest character in the trilogy after Loewe according to [[Word of God|the author]], in fact he's so broken the [[Big Bad]]'s plan is to set up a disaster in a different ''country'' so Cassius wouldn't disturb his plan.

** Interestingly, though, {{spoiler|he doesn't see ''himself'' this way; as far as he's concerned, he's a gigantic fuckup who deserves to live [[The Atoner|the life of an outcast because of what he failed to do]]... namely, [[The Lost Lenore|save his wife]].}}

* [[All There in the Manual]]: If the in-game universe wasn't complete enough, there are multiple drama-cds, comics and game guides which expand on the universe further. Recently released was a whopping 800-page Scenario Book for the second chapter.

* [[Aloof Big Brother]]: {{spoiler|Loewe to Joshua.}} They are not related but the dynamic is the same.

* [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]]: In The Third's sub quest to open the Star Door, one of the Star Door shows us the meeting of Ouroboros leaders meeting and their conversation regarding the events in Liberl and revealing that this is all just the beginning. After the meeting, Campanella laughs finding this would be interesting, then...

{{quote| '''Canpanella''': By the way...i know i'm not the one to talk, but...*looks into the screen* i don't know who but can you please stop peeping?}}

** Of course, this all serves as a bit of a [[The Stinger|stinger]] later on {{spoiler|when Joshua openly abandons the Bright name once he considers himself no longer worthy of being called by that name, and takes the name Joshua Astray}}.

** The really hilarious part to all this is that [[Everyone Can See It|a ton of incidental characters in the Rolent area]] [[Lampshade Hanging|are surprised this isn't happening]] at the start of FC; meanwhile, Estelle and Joshua are ''both'' oblivious and wonder what the hell everyone is going on about. {{spoiler|This doesn't really become an issue until Joshua tosses away the Bright name and leaves to take his revenge, forcing Estelle to examine how she feels about him.}}

* [[Disney Death]]: {{spoiler|Walter and Blueblanc actually survived the collision of Liberl Ark, as revealed in Star Door #14.}}

** {{spoiler|Lucciola actually survived too, as revealed in Ao. The fortune teller in Michelam? It's her.}}

* [[The Dragon]]: The Black Knight, AKA {{spoiler|Loewe back from the dead}}, serves this role to the king of Phantasma in the third installment.

* [[Dual-Wielding]]: How Joshua prefers to fight.

* [[Dude Looks Like a Lady]]: Joshua can ding this at times; his Japanese VA being female does not exactly help. {{spoiler|Less prominent after he embraces his identity as the Black Fang.}}

* [[Dysfunction Junction]]: The game does manage to avoid treading into [[Wangst]] territory, but good ''grief'', the party has some issues. When all is said and done, let's see: {{spoiler|we have ''two'' nigh-superpowered [[Tyke Bomb]] assassins, one of whom constantly wrestles with the happiness he experienced with the Brights versus what he's done and is capable of doing and the other of whom is [[Ax Crazy|coming unglued]] under the constant pressure, even in her ''own mind'', to kill; an imperial prince who is utterly disgusted with his family and, by extension, himself; another, local princess who absolutely wants nothing to do with the responsibility thrust upon her; a woman who wants nothing more [[Bottle Fairy|than to bury her past in alcohol]]; a man who is driven [[The Atoner|by the loss of his entire family]] and the guilt he feels over being unable to prevent it; a priest who has problems with his faith and serious doubts about his place in the world; a girl with a massive [[I Just Want to Be Badass|wannabe-hero complex]]; and an aristrocrat-turned-sky-pirate who has rather serious entitlement issues}}. Estelle is lucky Tita and Zane are around in all three games, or she'd find she's the [[Only Sane Man]] among this cast of nutters.

* [[Elegant Gothic Lolita]]: Renne, good lord Renne. {{spoiler|This is notably played for ''creepy'' factor later on.}}

* [[Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors]]

* [[The Empire]]: Perhaps not too surprising for a Japanese RPG. Their being billed as fairly obvious villains and an external threat is not very surprising at all. {{spoiler|The fact that, ultimately, you have to save them from full-scale slaughter alongside everyone else, however, may be rather more surprising!}}

* [[Enfante Terrible]]: {{spoiler|Renne}}.

** Olivier is a guns-and-devices using, blond-pony-tailed, blue-eyed [[Handsome Lech|ladies man]] {{spoiler|who happens to be royalty and uses the lechery partially as a coping mechanism}}. This draws a number of comparisons to [[Final Fantasy VI|a certain King of Figaro]].

* [[Eyes of Gold]]: Joshua. And Renne. {{spoiler|We learn in [[Zero no Kiseki|Zero]] that this Means Something with Renne, causing ''no end'' of speculation about Joshua's family and early history.}}

* [[Hero of Another Story]]: A lot of the other bracers, particularly Team Kurt (Kurt, Carna, Grant and Anelace) come across this way. {{spoiler|Kurt and Anelace join the party for a bit in SC, and Anelace is a somewhat more permanent fixture for Third.}} Cassius ''definitely'' comes across this way. {{spoiler|Hell, half of Weissmann's plot in FC is to create a whole other crisis for Cassius to be the hero of so that he doesn't jam up the gears in Liberl.}}

** Also, this game takes its NPC dialogs seriously. If you take the time to [[Talk to Everyone]] as often as possible, you will find a ''lot'' of recurring NPCs all having their own stories going on in parallel to yours. It's quite fun really.

** Olivier is voiced by none other than [[Takehito Koyasu]]. You know, [[Gundam Seed|Mu La Flaga]]. Among a billion other roles. This is one you really ''can't'' unhear once you hear it.

** Joshua is voiced by [[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann|Rossiu]]. Once you hear it, you can't unhear it. Alternately, he's [[.hack|Elk]].

** Oh yeah, listen closely. Agate? He's [[Ace Attorney|Ryuichi Naruhodo]]. You know, JAPANESE PHOENIX WRIGHT. Once you hear it, you keep expecting him to object to everything (except Tita).

** And Estelle? Sounds like a certain other [[Mahou Sensei Negima|twin tailed Action Girl]]

* [[Hikaru Midorikawa]]: Because Lowe wasn't awesome enough already. And what do you know, [[Takehito Koyasu|Takehito]] [[Relationship Voice Actor|Koyasu]] is in the game too...

* [[Huge Guy, Tiny Girl]]: Agate and Tita have a dynamic like this, especially since Agate is pretty much the second most physically-imposing party member in the game, behind Zane.

* [[Impossibly Cool Clothes]]: Most of the cast. Joshua and Estelle are by far the most sensibly-dressed, and the latter has a tendency to wear a ''bomber jacket'' with cut-off sleeves as everyday wear.

* [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]]: Gilbert, Gilbert, and Gilbert.

* [[Interface Spoiler]]: Josette, Anelace and Kurt are all voiced when you face them in combat in FC, despite their compatriots ''not'' being voiced and despite them not joining the party proper. {{spoiler|Three guesses as to what happens in SC, and the first two don't count.}}

** When Renne joins you as an NPC, you will probably notice that she somehow has a whooping 10202 HP (compared to the 3-4k that your party members are likely having at the moment). {{spoiler|It all makes sense at the end of the chapter.}}

* [[The Maze]]: A ''lot'' of dungeons are like this.

* [[Meaningful Name]]: Loewe's real name is "Leonhardt" which means "The determination of the lion", hence why he is called "Loewe" which means, of course, "lion" in German.

*** This gets especially crazy (awesome) with the vocal theme song to SC, "Silver Will, Golden Wings": ''every single time'' the word "kiseki" is said in that song, it can mean either "trail/path" or "miracle" and the song will still make perfect sense.

** Estelle's surname is ''Bright'', everyone thinks she is as bright as the sun that shines through the darkness. She is even called the ''Sun Girl'' by Kevin in 3rd.

* [[The Omniscient Council of Vagueness]]: Ouroborus's headquarters

* [[Ominous Floating Castle|Ominous Floating City]]: {{spoiler|The Liberl Ark}}.

** Third, meanwhile, sparked [[Mission Pack Sequel|rather different accusations]].

* [[One-Winged Angel]]: {{spoiler|Weissmann in SC and the Lord of Phantasma in Third}}

** First is {{spoiler|Joshua and Renne. Joshua even acknowledges this openly; to him, Renne represents everything he ''could'' have been had he not lost to Cassius and met the Brights. This is largely what fuels his ardent desire to help her; her behavior is so radically different from his own, but he could have been just like her - even fighting at her side! - had his life turned out even a little differently.}}

** The second is {{spoiler|Estelle and her own father, Cassius. This one isn't obvious at first, but by the end of SC it's become clear that the two are in some ways mirror reflections of one another - they both have the same job, the same skills, and even end up facing similar dilemmas and quests, but Cassius was willing to mortgage his ideals and morality in order to accomplish his goals. This makes him quite a bit different from Estelle, who is determined to save ''everyone'' she can, regardless of the cost to herself.}}

** In the English version, during the ending walkabout sequence in Grancel, one NPC is taking a picture of his daughter and says "Okay, say [[Earthbound|"fuzzy pickles"!]]"

* [[Sinister Scythe]]: {{spoiler|Your first hint that Renne only ''looks'' cute and innocent.}}

* [[Smug Snake]]: Most villains. {{spoiler|The ones you should be afraid of are the ones who ''aren't'' this, at least when you initially meet them.}}

* [[Sorting Algorithm of Evil]]

** The game tends to feature a lot of R/L sounds, which of course cause contortions when trying to transcribe certain names. Liberl/Riber/Libel/Ribel, anyone?

*** Or how about Ries/Lise/Liese/Riese/etc etc etc? XSEED hasn't even ''announced'' what they're doing about her name yet.

*** "Olivier" also has it kind of bad... since his "masculine" name is phonetically spelled "Olivie" in katakana. (The soft r at the end is "implied" in transcription at times.)

*** Is it "Loewe" or "Löwe"? Even Falcom sources disagree at times. Both work, though (they're the same word in German). "Leo" is also quite close to the given katakana, and would probably be a bit clearer to English speakers. XSEED chose to go with "Loewe".

** The English version released by XSEED makes a few minor name alterations as well for pronunciation purposes - namely, Klose to ''Kloe'', Zin to ''Zane'', Keel to ''Kyle'', Doln to ''Don'', Kurz to ''Kurt'' and Rolance to ''Lorence''.

** Relatedly, in the original Japanese, the Goddess of the Septian Church was named "Eidos". [[wikipedia:Eidos Interactive|For fairly obvious reasons]], this was a problem in English, and so the name was changed to Aidios. Also counts as a [[Bilingual Bonus]], since in Spanish, Aidios, pronounced phonetically, sounds like the Spanish exclamation ''¡Ay Dios!'' (Translated as ''Oh God!'')

*** During the scene at the end of FC wherein {{spoiler|Joshua and Weissmann confront one another}}, the XSEED translation uses ''both'' "Enforcer" and "Legion".

*** Relatedly, the [[Red Baron|Ouroboros codename]] for Enforcer Fifteen runs into a problem as well. For all the other Enforcers, the "intended" English version of their codenames is given in secondary sources, particularly promo websites - "Sword Emperor" for 剣帝 (''kentei''), "Phantom Thief" for 怪盗紳士 (''kaitou shinshi'') and so on. With Fifteen, however, all we have is the kanji - 殲滅天使, ''senmetsu tenshi''. The "angel" part is obvious, but there have been some debates over the best way to render "senmetsu" (which, most literally, means "total destruction/slaughter/annihilation/etc; [[Apocalypse How]] in a can, basically). "Angel of Extermination" is one of the more common translations, though some fans feel this is a little awkward; others go with "Annihilation Angel" or "Angel of Slaughter". XSEED has not yet announced an official translation for the term.

* [[Standard Status Effects]]

* [[Stripperiffic]]: ''Scherazard''

* [[Very Definitely Final Dungeon]]: ''Several'', across multiple chapters.

* [[Wake Up Call Boss]]: The first boss of 3rd.

* [[Wham! Episode]]: The end of the First Chapter. {{spoiler|Joshua is the Black Fang of Ouroboros. He blames himself for the death of his sister, he's been an unwitting mole in the Guild of Bracers since the ''opening text boxes'' of the game and is/was a pawn of Weissmann. He leaves Estelle behind so that he can... settle things. At the very end, Estelle sets off after him.}} This one left people ''spinning'' when the game was first released, and marked the point at which the main narrative started to get a ''lot'' [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|darker]].

* [[Wham! Line]]: "Allow me to clear away your ''confusion''. *fingersnap*" Congratuations, Joshua, {{spoiler|you now remember your place and history as one of the Enforcers of Ouroboros.}}

** "Now, hurry and take off that disgusting mask of yours...Lord of Phantasma--No, {{spoiler|RUFINA ARGENT!}}"

* [[Whip It Good]]: Scherazard

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