Before we continue, I would like to clarify that this is not an official thread in any way, and is not endorsed by XSEED Games, nor do the opinions within reflect the views of XSEED Games or anyone affiliated with them. This thread is made by a fan that simply wants to inform people about the games and answer people's most frequently asked questions.

This spoiler free thread is intended for those who have never played this entry before and want to know more about it. If you find this post useful, feel free to link it if someone asks about the game. It is my hope that this will provide all the information needed for a newcomer to decide if this game is for them.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd is a traditional story-based RPG made by Nihon Falcom and translated by XSEED Games. It is the 3rd game in the ongoing Trails Series of RPGs. It is also the 3rd and final entry in the Trails in the Sky Trilogy. As someone who has played though this saga in the order it was localized, I’m making this thread to answer some of the questions new players may ask about the franchise as well as to inform players as to what they can expect from this entry.

I’ll start with the basics: This is a story-heavy, character-driven, turn-based party RPG. It is a slow-paced game with large amounts of text and has a focus on worldbuilding, lore, and dialogue.

This is a PC game developed by Falcom and localized by XSEED. This version has added features from the PSP port and Non-English PS3 port that were not in its original PC release. With the most up to date translations, and even some features that are exclusive to this PC release, this the definitive version!

Now I will try to answer what will most likely be the most asked questions, but the first 4 questions will be aimed at those who haven’t played the first two Trails in the Sky games: Trails in the Sky (sometimes called “FC” or “First Chapter”) and Trails in the Sky SC (Second Chapter), while all the other questions after those 4 will be aimed at those who already have beaten FC and SC:


A. The answer is: No, you cannot start with this game. Trails in the Sky the 3rd is a sequel to “Trails in the Sky” and “Trails in the Sky SC” and assumes you have already played those games. You will not understand the story or know who any of the characters are without playing Trails in the Sky FC and SC first. Playing this game before Sky FC and SC will also greatly spoil the first two Sky entries. Even the Store Page for this game has spoilers for the previous entries in its synopsis due to this game being a sequel.

Trails in the Sky the 3rd is the 3rd entry in the Trails in the Sky Trilogy and is also the 3rd entry in this extremely interconnected game saga that is currently 9 games long.

Please read the next 3 questions for additional information.


A. Here is a spoiler free guide I made that explains the franchise itself and details what games are in it: https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1189437869 It is spoiler free and is meant to explain the series, a little of its history, what games there are in this saga and what orders the games can be played in. If you want a link to the write-up in thread-form rather than guide-form, you can see here: https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/app/251150/discussions/0/1489992080521276228/

To answer the question in this thread: Trails in the Sky the 3rd is the third game in the Trails Series as well as the final entry in the Trails in the Sky Trilogy. The first game in the Trails Series is Trails in the Sky. The Trails Series is a sub-series of another RPG franchise called The Legend of Heroes.

The Trails Series is a highly interconnected saga of RPG games which take place on the continent of Zemuria and tell an overarching and continuous main story. These games are made by Nihon Falcom and are localized into English by XSEED Games.

Trails games are text-heavy story RPGs with a strong focus on characters, writing, dialogue, and world-building. Hailed as one of the largest, longest and most meticulously detailed turn-based party JRPG series of all time, the ongoing Trails saga has quickly become Ys developer Nihon Falcom's most popular and best-selling franchise in their entire 35+ year history. Introducing people, places, ideas, events and lore that rival in complexity those of even the most highly-regarded fantasy epics in literature, the care and attention given to each and every NPC, location and historical in-game event is what sets The Legend of Heroes: Trails Series apart from its contemporaries.

There are currently nine main entries in the Trails Series with more confirmed to be coming in the future:

• Trails in the Sky -- (Sometimes called Trails in the Sky FC)
  
• Trails in the Sky SC
  
• Trails in the Sky the 3rd
  
• Trails to Zero
  
• Trails to Azure
  
• Trails of Cold Steel
  
• Trails of Cold Steel II
  
• Trails of Cold Steel III
  
• Trails of Cold Steel IV: End of Saga

The games are divided into story "Arcs" with each Arc introducing a new nation and main cast. The entire saga tells one main overarching story spanning all the games, with each Arc telling a piece of that story.

All these Trails games take place on the same continent of Zemuria with the Sky games taking place in one country (called Liberl), the Zero-Azure games in another (called Crossbell), and the Cold Steel games in yet another country (called Erebonia). So far the titles that have seen an official localization in English are:

• Trails in the Sky -- (Sometimes called Trails in the Sky FC)
  
• Trails in the Sky SC
  
• Trails in the Sky the 3rd
  
• Trails of Cold Steel
  
• Trails of Cold Steel II

All 5 of these titles are also available on PC right now. Trails to Zero, Trails to Azure, and Trails of Cold Steel IV have not been localized yet. Trails of Cold Steel III was announced to be localized by NISA and is set to release Fall 2019.


A. Cold Steel III was announced to be localized by NISA and is set to release Fall 2019. Cold Steel IV was only recently released in Japan and since it takes around 2-ish years to localize a Trails game, it'll probably be a little while before we hear an announcement regarding that entry.

The Zero-Azure games (often called the Crossbell games after the name of the state they take place in) have not been announced for localization yet. XSEED only recently localized Trails in the Sky the 3rd in 2017, finished porting Trails of Cold Steel I and II to PC in 2017 and 2018 respectively, and are now localizing the PS4 ports of Cold Steel I and II for an early 2019 release, so let’s give them time; these are very difficult games to localize after all.


While Trails in the Sky First Chapter is often considered the most recommended and ideal starting point, there are two other “entry points” that you may prefer over starting with that entry: Trails of Cold Steel is one of them, as is the currently unlocalized Trails to Zero. I will list what are essentially the “pros and cons”, so to speak, of starting with each entry so you can see which you prefer to start with:

Trails in the Sky FC: The first game in the series and starting point of the whole saga. This game is widely considered to be the best place to start.

• Pros: No spoilers for other games. No missed references from other entries. More unique main protagonist. Gives some of the most in-depth explanations for several core elements of the series that later games may not give. English voice acting. Has Turbo Mode feature on PC. Does a great job of introducing the series, world, and setting up the main story of this saga.
  
  
• Cons: Dated gameplay and 2D graphics. Common old-school RPG setting. Slowest paced game in the series. One of the shortest entries in the series. Generally considered to have the least memorable soundtrack. Has very little voice acting, only being present in battle. No Japanese voice acting. Uses more old-school tropes.
  
  
• Other: The game uses common old-school RPG tropes and settings. The game has the oldest graphics out of all the games, but while it is a bit dated, the game has for many of its characters numerous face portraits that ooze personality. The game has the slowest overall pace out of the three games listed here, but it is also by far the shortest at around 40-60 hours on average.
  
  This game has the most simplistic gameplay overall, which can make it harder to get into than the other entries. This can either make it so you will want to play a newer entry first to get more invested in the series before going back to this game, or you may prefer starting here so that all the games afterwards will be further improved. This game is also the most difficult out of the three entry points.

Trails to Zero: The fourth game in the series and second game designed as a sort of entry point. This game is widely considered to be the least friendly entry point out of the three.

• Pros: Generally considered to have the least-used and most interesting setting out of the three entry points. Has a great soundtrack. Currently has Japanese voice acting. Improved gameplay and 2D graphics. Is a longer game. A bit faster paced.
  
  
• Cons: Well... it hasn't been localized yet. Contains a few moderate spoilers and one big spoiler for the Sky Trilogy. Some moments will lose their intended impact if you haven't played through them first. Current lack of Turbo Mode and English voice acting. Very slow start.
  
  
• Other: This entry probably has the most balanced gameplay out of these three games and is a little easier than FC and a little harder than CS I. The game is slow to start, but does pick up its pace and is around 60-80 hours on average, which is a little longer than FC and a little shorter than CS I.
  
  Zero has a number of spoilers and references to the Sky Trilogy along with a big spoiler for those games. Though it is also often considered the least ideal jumping on point out of these three entry points mostly due to particular plot moments expecting the player to have played the Sky Trilogy for, which leads to some scenes losing their intended impact if you haven't.

Trails of Cold Steel I: The sixth game in the series and third game to be considered an entry point. This game is widely considered to be the second best place to jump into the series.

• Pros of starting with this game: Large and varied cast. Further improved gameplay. Has large amount of great voice acting. Has English voice acting. Has Japanese voice acting on PC and PS4. Has a great soundtrack. Is a longer game. A bit faster paced. Has Turbo Mode feature on PC and PS4.
  
  
• Cons of starting with this game: Common modern RPG setting. Dated 3D graphics. Uses more modern tropes. Contains one big spoiler for Trails in the Sky SC and many minor spoilers and references to the Sky Trilogy and Crossbell Duology.
  
  
• Other: The first game in the series to have 3D graphics. The easiest of the three. This entry's setting is that of a military academy. This game uses more modern tropes. The game is a bit faster paced then FC, but is also much longer at around 80-100 hours on average.
  
  When CS I and II where first announced for localization, Xseed wrote a localization blog which you can read here: http://xseedgames.tumblr.com/post/120804314195/the-legend-of-heroes-trails-series-localization where the President of Falcom, Toshihiro Kondo, explains that Cold Steel I is intended as a jumping on point, where people who are new to the series and who are interested in the newest game, can play through and, if they enjoyed it, can go back and play the older ones.

I feel it is important to note that while some of these are more generally recommended that others, each of these games are viable entry points that any newcomer can start with. None of the spoilers or references in these entries will outright ruin your experience of any other game in the series.

It is usually most recommended to start with FC as it is the first game and most intended starting point in the series. CS I is often the next most recommended as it is easy to get into and doesn't contain that many spoilers and references. Zero is often the least recommended due to having the most spoilers and references of the three. That being said, all three games are intended to be entry points and you may find one of them more appealing for various reasons (For example: Zero's setting or Cold Steel's gameplay) then another. And if that's the case, feel free to start with the one you prefer and if you end up enjoying CS I or Zero, you can always go back to FC afterwards.

Anyway, for jumping into Trails there are really two places you can start with right now:

https://steamhost.cn/app/251150/The_Legend_of_Heroes_Trails_in_the_Sky/ This is the first game in the entire Trails Series. You can start here and play through the rest of the Trails in the Sky Trilogy before getting into Trails of Cold Steel I and II if you want to better understand the story of all the games. If you want to know more about it, I also made a Spoiler Free F.A.Q. for that game which you can find by clicking this link: https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/app/251150/discussions/0/1480982338965272722/

https://steamhost.cn/app/538680/The_Legend_of_Heroes_Trails_of_Cold_Steel/ This is the first Trails of Cold Steel and it was made as an entry point for newcomers to the series. If you want to know more about it, I made a Spoiler Free F.A.Q. for that game which you can find either pinned on the first game’s Discussion Boards or by clicking this link: https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/app/538680/discussions/0/2592234299559789411/

Also, as I mentioned earlier, you really won't want to start with any of the sequel games as they will completely assume you have played at least one of the games that came before it. The sequel games being: Trails in the Sky SC, Trails in the Sky the 3rd, Trails to Azure, and Trails of Cold Steel II, III, and IV; you won’t want to start with any of those entries. Hopefully this will help you to decide which entry to start with if you choose to jump into this series.

With all that said, the rest of this F.A.Q. will focus on answering questions that players who have beaten the first game may ask regarding this sequel.


A. Nope! As long as you’ve played and beaten FC and SC, you are ready to start this game!


A. The reason this game is called "the 3rd" instead of "Third Chapter", “TC”, or “Final Chapter” is because the main story in this game does not directly continue the main story in the previous two games. This game has its own story that, while not a direct continuation of the story in FC and SC, still requires you to have played FC and SC. This game also stars a different protagonist then the first two games. This game follows returning character, and priest of the Septian Church, Kevin Graham and a new character, a Squire of the Church, Ries Argent.

Trails in the Sky the 3rd isn’t just a spin-off even though it is very different in various ways compared to the previous two entries. This game has more dungeons and less towns and NPCs than the other games, however, this game also provides massive amounts of lore and world-building. This game serves to be both an Epilogue to the story in the first two Sky games and a Prologue for future stories yet to come. Trails in the Sky the 3rd will be the game that every future entry refers back to in some way.

While Sky the 3rd does not directly continue the main story of the first two Sky games or the overarching main story of the series, this game introduces into the series world-building and lore that will be present in every future game in the entire Trails franchise. With a focus on the Septian Church, this game is arguably the most important game in the series as it sets up and explains a lot of things in the overarching plot of the series that no other entry does. Some entries later in the saga will even assume you have knowledge that is only given in this game.


A. When you go to start a New Game or New Game + on the 3rd, the game will automatically detect any Clear Save Data you might have from the second game. All you have to do then is select your Clear Save File.

Only one thing carries over from SC:

• Your Bracer Rank: If your Bracer Rank was high enough in SC, it will determine which of 3 rewards you are given towards the start of 3rd:
  
  1. If you reached Rank C, you will receive 100 sepith of each type.
     
     
  2. If you reached Rank B, you will receive a 100 sepith of each type and the Lunar Seal accessory, which gives you ATK +5, DEF -5, and CP Recovery Up.
     
     
  3. If you reached Rank A, you will receive 200 sepith of each type and the Solar Seal accessory, which gives you ATK + 10, DEF -10, and Auto-CP Up.

A. Trails in the Sky the 3rd is still turn-based, yes, as are all the Trails games. This game has stronger focus on combat than the previous two games and features an expanded battle system with multiple new Arts, Crafts, S-Crafts, and Quartz, and new party members throughout the game!

Allow me to briefly go over the new additions to the battle system:

• Turn Bonuses. This game introduces several new and more chaotic turn bonuses that can be very dangerous or very beneficial and will make you think on your feet. Some of the new bonuses range from Guard, which nullifies any damage on that turn, to Deathblow, which will instantly kill a targeted enemy. Manipulating the AT Bar and the turn order to keep bonuses out of enemy hands has never been more important.
  
  
• Higher Elements are introduced to us in this game. Before, most enemies were weak or resistant to Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind, but the 3rd introduces Time, Space, and Mirage as elements that enemies can be weak or resistant to. New Arts were added for the elements, as well.
  
  
• Remote Abilities. For characters not in your active party, you can place them in a support slot. You can only have one person in this slot at a time. This reserve member, however, can give your entire party an increase in stats or benefits at the expense of certain other stats. For example, one party member will grant you an increased SPD/DEF by 5%, for a decrease in AGL by 10%.

As for the general gameplay: This entry has very different gameplay then the first two entries:

• Structure, Linearity, and Freedom: This game has a more rigid structure than in the previous game, which followed a “Town~> Town” structure for most of the game, follow by changing the structure often for the later portions of the game. While this game’s structure follows a more “Dungeon~> Hub Zone~> Dungeon” format, however you are allowed to revisit nearly every area that you’ve left. You are also able to fast travel between the main hub and certain points in dungeons. There are also numerous cutscenes available between the transitions, and Doors that can be accessed throughout the dungeons that will allow them to be experienced at the player’s leisure.
  
  Aside from certain moments when one or two party members are mandatory, you are granted a very large amount of freedom with your party composition. This game has a large roster of characters and you have a lot of freedom to bring who you please for most of the battles and throughout most of the dungeons.
  
  
• Dungeons, Combat, Towns, and NPCs: This game has a more dungeon crawler-esque structure to it than most other Trails entries. This game features many more dungeons and bosses than FC and SC, less towns and NPCs, and has a stronger focus on combat and world-building. While the game has less NPCs and towns, 3rd focuses strongly on introducing lore and world-building through its main story and many side-stories.
  
  
• Doors: Doors are essentially the side-quests/side-content in this entry. They contain mostly side stories that serve to further develop the characters, world-building, and lore of the games. Upon completing a Door for the first time you will get an item reward. There will usually be certain conditions that need to be met before you can open a Door, such as defeating a boss, having a certain character in your party, or winning a certain amount of battles, etc.. There are three types of Doors:
  
  1. Star Doors: These Doors contain short stories and are the most common to be found.
     
     
  2. Moon Doors: These Doors contain long stories. You’ll want to save your game before doing these as some of them may have long cutscenes where you won’t be able to save for awhile.
     
     
  3. Sun Doors: These Doors contain minigames. Some of these Doors can contain multiple levels or difficulties each, which may, in turn, net greater rewards.
  While the Doors, aside from the first one, are made “optional”, this is mostly to allow the player the freedom to do them at their own pace. You will have to explore to find each Door in the various areas of the game, but once you find a Door you will be able to fast travel to it and almost any time and you have the whole game, barring entering the Final Dungeon, to complete them all. The game will warn you of when you won’t be able to return to do the Doors anymore.
  
  While some of the Doors, like one or two of Sun Doors, contain less important content, there are some that are very important to the story and world of Trails as a whole. There is even one especially important Door that only becomes accessible after completing all other Doors (You must fully complete all other Star and Moon Doors, but you will only have to complete the first level of each Sun Door on any difficulty.). For these reasons, it is highly recommended to complete all the Doors; despite them being “optional” most of them are very important.*

*If you’re wondering how important these Doors are: At one point Falcom decided to make Trails to Zero after Trails in the Sky SC. While they were working on Zero, however, they felt they needed to introduce more lore and do more world-building before that. They actually stopped work on Zero and went back and made Trails in the Sky the 3rd.

So Sky the 3rd, and the many Doors in it, have a large amount of lore and world-building that is very important for the series. They also provide a lot of backstory for some of the series' characters as well as introduce plot points for later games in the saga.


A. Trails in the Sky the 3rd is generally considered slightly harder overall than the second game and is often considered the hardest game in the Trails Series. This game offers an increased number of skills and spells for characters allowing for a wider range of options to be available to the player. SC often had sharp difficulty spikes throughout the game and for many of its bosses, while 3rd is more consistent and balanced in its difficulty. In one sense it is easier than SC in that it doesn’t have as sharp difficulty spikes, but in another sense the game has many of the hardest boss fights in the series overall.

Overall I would say it’s best to play 3rd on whatever difficulty you played SC on if you felt it was satisfactory. Or just a level lower if you felt it was too hard or a lower higher if you felt it was too easy.

As always with Trails games, this game features experience scaling. Meaning you should always be around the expected level for wherever you are in the story, and managing your gear, such as armor, weapons, and quartz, will make a more noticeable difference than just level grinding.


A. This game has partial controller support. The mouse and keyboard controls and the controller buttons are fully remappable.

One interesting thing about these games, that isn’t possible in some of the later games, is that you can play through the whole game with just a mouse. You can’t do this in the later games that were originally made for consoles. The Sky Trilogy, however, was made for PC originally.


A. This version of the game is not censored.


A. Normally PC games do not need to be rated by the ESRB. FC and SC were also released on PSP which is why they received ratings. Since the 3rd was only released on PC it did not get an ESRB rating. While most entries in the Trails Series are very “T” rated, some feel this entry might have got an “M” rating if it was rated by the ESRB.

If you are a parent, I would not presume to know whether or not you should allow your child to play this game. But I would have to agree that this game would likely get a soft “M” or hard “T” rating if it was rated by the ESRB and would not personally recommend this game to anyone that is not a mature teenager.

As for what kind of content is in the game that would warrant a higher rating: Not counting the kind of content that was in the previous games, the new content that is in this game, and content that could possibly warrant a higher ESRB rating specifically, is as follows (Note: I will be as vague and spoiler free as possible):

A darker and more mature main story, references to sexual assault, brief nudity (no genitalia can be seen), and all-around more psychologically disturbing themes and imagery than in the previous two games.

I can elaborate a little more, but to do so would involve minor spoilers in regards to what form the content takes (like what kind of content, and is it implicit or explicit, etc.). In order to keep this F.A.Q. as spoiler free as possible, I will not elaborate on it in this write-up. I will leave a spoiler tagged comment on the first page of comments below this F.A.Q. for those who would like more details since there is no ESRB rating. (It is the 1st comment.)


A. The music is outstanding! The Falcom Sound Team JDK once again provided another great soundtrack. Sky the 3rd has a few returning tracks from FC and SC, but a large amount of new tracks too for battles, dungeons, atmospheric pieces, and story scenes.

That being said, be very careful if you look up the music for 3rd, as it is possible that the title of some tracks may contain spoilers. Also if you listen to the soundtracks on YouTube, be wary of the comment section, as there may be spoilery discussions being had there.


A. Trails in the Sky the 3rd was released one year after the second game, so there are no sweeping visual changes. However some of the environments have been improved and look slightly better. And there are several new dungeons and redesigned areas in this game. There are also new Arts and Crafts in this game, so there are definitely more visuals, but for the most part, the game looks about the same as its predecessor.


A. Yup! This game has all the additional features the last two games had, including Turbo Mode and HD textures.


A. Unfortunately not. The PC version of this game is not compatible with PSP save files.


A. This game comes with English audio and English text.


A. It does not. XSEED has stated that they were not allowed to use the Japanese voices. There is also no option for Japanese text.


A. The English voice acting in the game is good. It is hard, however, to give a great rating to them, mostly due to the fact that the voice acting is nearly non-existent when it comes to exposition as there are only battle voices in this game. Battles have voice acting, but outside of that: there is none. The battle voices were originally added in the PSP port of the game, thus it was more of an afterthought and don’t affect much of the game, despite being a nice feature to have.

As for the translation: XSEED Games is known for doing a great job of localizing games and this game is no exception! The Trails Series is renowned for the phenomenal writing quality of Falcom and the great localization by XSEED which brings the characters to life. The writing of the game flows naturally and is brimming with humor and life and the translation absolutely conveys that (and even adds to it in some cases).

This game also features the return of the chest messages*.

*For those who don’t know about the chest messages: Check the “Additional Notes” section for more details.


A. The game is available to purchase on Steam, GOG, and Humble Bundle.


A. There is no DLC for this game. Some optional DLC is available for a few of the later games, but there are none for this entry.


A. All of the Trails games are similar at their core in that they are slow paced with a strong focus on dialogue, world-building, and character interactions, and this game is no exception.

Trails in the Sky the 3rd’s story picks up a few months after the second game’s ending and has a more prominent focus on combat and dungeon crawling than the previous games did. Trails in the Sky FC and SC were a story about Estelle, while this game’s story is about Kevin. This game has less focus on towns and NPCs, but a larger focus on lore and world-building which it delivers largely through its Doors.

Story-wise: The story in this game is paced in a more “digestible” way. The game’s main story is told slowly, but over a shorter amount of time than the previous game, so it builds up faster, though the game still has its share of slow-paced moments. There are also many side stories in this game that shouldn’t be skipped that will have to be found, though you will be free to experience these stories at any point before entering the Final Dungeon. The game’s story is darker and more mature than the previous two entries as well.

Character-wise: Many of the characters that had less development in the previous two games get more development in this entry. The game also further develops many of the other characters’ backstories and shows what they’ve been up to since the last game.

Gameplay-wise: The game is more linear than the other games in the series, though you are offered more freedom when choosing your party members and more variety in the dungeons you visit. You do have less towns to explore and NPCs to talk to. This game also has the best combat in the Sky Trilogy with several additions.

Sky the 3rd is still slow paced, as also the rest of the franchise is, for a lot of the game, though it is presented in a more straightforward way. The game has less text then the previous two games, due to there being less NPCs, and the 3rd is also a bit shorter than most other entries (this game is around the same length as FC, at around 40-60 hours). If you enjoy more mature stories or dungeon crawlers, or want the story, lore, and world-building told in a more straightforward way than in FC and SC, you will probably find this game more enjoyable than the previous, though this game is still at its core the same type of game that the other Trails games are in terms of being very focused on world-building and character development and being overall slow-paced games.


A. If you played and enjoyed the previous games you should absolutely play this game.

Trails in the Sky the 3rd is a great game which provides a massive amount of lore and world-building for the series as a whole. The game also has, in my opinion, the best “raw” combat in the series.

Trails games can usually be put into one of two categories: “Build-up games” and “Pay-off games”. The build-up games usually focus on introducing the player to a new nation and characters, and tend to focus on world-building and setting up the story, while the pay-off games tend to focus on developing the characters and story while usually progressing the overarching main story of the entire series, due to this they are usually faster paced and have most of the story and character development in an Arc.

Trails in the Sky the 3rd is the only game that doesn’t fit snugly into either category. The 3rd acts as more of a “bridge game” that, in a way, links FC and SC to the rest of the series. Trails in the Sky the 3rd serves as an Epilogue for FC and SC as it further develops some of the characters and resolves a couple of the plot points that weren’t concluded in SC. However the game also serves as a Prologue for the rest of the series.

3rd is a great follow up to SC and further develops the characters and combat, and also greatly furthers the lore of the series itself. Though you may not like the game as much if you prefer the more open structure of FC and SC and exploring the towns and talking to NPCs; this game does have less of that. 3rd has a more rigid structure and is unique with its more dungeon crawler-esque gameplay. However if you enjoy the lore and world-building of this series, you may end up loving this game, as it delves into plot points that will come up in later games in the series. This game also has a darker and more mature main story than the previous two entries, so if you enjoyed the last two games, and don’t mind the increased amount of dungeons and combat in this entry, the 3rd will probably prove to be a treasure trove of emotional moments for you and a great introduction to the rest of the Trails saga.


A. If you’ve already played FC and SC, it is often recommended to play 3rd before continuing the series. That being said, some players may find themselves burnt out on playing three games in a row with the same cast and style and may want to jump ahead to another game, as a sort of refresher, before playing 3rd. The 3rd is very important for the later games in an Arc, like Azure and Cold Steel III and IV, where they expect the player to have played 3rd and are aware of all the events in that game. However, it is less important for the beginning games in an Arc, such as Zero and Cold Steel I and II.

There are a few world-building and lore references in Cold Steel I you won't understand without playing the 3rd first and Cold Steel II has even more references, though the only thing that is directly important to the story of CS I and II is a specific cutscene that you get after completing a New Game + exclusive quest in CSII. This scene will lose its impact and not make as much sense if you haven't played 3rd, so it's recommended to play 3rd before the event. Since it is a NG+ exclusive event, though, you can play through Cold Steel I and II's main story up to that point without too much worry.

For Zero, there is a plot point that will lose its impact if you play Zero before 3rd. If you already played FC and SC you should definitely play 3rd before jumping to Zero. At one point Falcom decided to make Trails to Zero after Trails in the Sky SC. And while working on Zero they discovered they needed to introduce more lore and do more world-building before continuing the series. So they actually stopped work on Zero and went back and made Trails in the Sky the 3rd. So if you completed FC and SC already, it’s recommended to finish 3rd before playing Zero.

If you intend to play the whole series (especially the later games in an Arc), playing the 3rd is a must; it’s definitely not one you want to permanently skip, but if you wanted to jump ahead to Zero or CS I and II, while it isn’t ideal you can do so and still understand those games’ stories, for the most part. Trails in the Sky the 3rd sets up and explains certain aspects of the overarching plot that are present, however, in Azure, CS III, and CS IV. So it’s highly recommended to at least play 3rd before those entries.


A. One of the places to watch for Trails related news is all Social Media run by XSEED Games. That currently includes their Twitter and Facebook Page[www.facebook.com]. They even have a page dedicated solely to The Legend of Heroes: Trails Series[www.facebook.com]. Since NISA has localized Ys VIII and will be localizing Trails of Cold Steel III as well, here is a link to their Twitter as it may be a good idea to keep an eye on that in case of more announcements regarding those entries or future Falcom localizations.

The best place for news regarding The Legend of Heroes, Trails, and all other Falcom games is Endless History[www.esterior.net]. Endless History was created, is owned, and primarily handled by Omgfloofy. Endless History is a site dedicated to Falcom and has all the latest news, reliable sources, and even translated interviews! Endless History also hosts various fantranslations of some of the supplementary material that Falcom has made for a few of their IPs (intellectual properties). You can also follow Endless History and even Nihon Falcom themselves directly on Twitter. Here is Endless History's Twitter and Nihon Falcom's Twitter (It's important to note that Falcom will often promote their most recently released and upcoming games, meaning they might post pictures that can spoil you on previous games in the franchise).


A. Of course! Anyone and everyone is free to use portions of this post as they see fit. If you wanted to copy and paste this entire post and post it elsewhere, you are fully free to do so. You do not even have to credit me. I made this thread for the purpose of helping people to learn about this franchise. As long as it helps, that's good enough for me!

Well, with that, I think that's all of the questions and answers that I can think of.

There are still some additional notes, credits, and some closing words that may interest you below, but let me take the time to say this now: If you are reading this, then allow me to thank you! It is my hope that this thread will inform others about these amazing games!

Whether you read this whole post or just skimmed through it, I hope this thread proved helpful to you in some way.


One of the neat things Xseed Games added to the Trails in the Sky Trilogy, when they localized the games, is chest quotes! If you interact with an already opened treasure chest you will get a funny/amusing line of dialogue. In the original version of the game each treasure chest merely said “This chest is empty” for every chest, but since each “This chest is empty” message was its own line of text, Xseed decided to have some fun with it.

Almost every chest message is unique, though there are a handful of duplicate messages. So make sure you check every chest in the Sky Trilogy twice if you don’t want to miss any of them!

For Trails of Cold Steel, however, Falcom had improved their coding so there was no opportunity to insert the phrases in those entries. That being said, Xseed did find a way to slip them in, in an albeit more limited way, for Trails of Cold Steel II. ;)

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The timeline of the games so far are: Trails in the Sky FC comes first starting in the year 1202 of the Septian Calendar. Sky SC takes place shortly after FC during parts of 1202 and 1203. Sky the 3rd takes place a few months after SC during 1203.

Zero is set during 1204 and takes place shortly after 3rd. Cold Steel starts shortly after Zero begins and the 2 games happen at the same time but in different countries.

Azure starts shortly after Zero but also runs concurrently with CS I. CS I ends during Azure and Cold Steel II starts shortly after, also taking place at the same time as Azure. Azure ends in 1204. Cold Steel II ends in 1205 shortly after Azure.

Cold Steel III is set in 1206 about a year after CS II. Cold Steel IV starts shortly after Cold Steel III.

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Another fact worth mentioning: Originally Falcom's plan was to go straight to Erebonia after the Liberl Arc before going to Crossbell, but changed their mind and decided to make Trails to Zero after Trails in the Sky SC. While they were working on Zero, however, they felt they needed to introduce more lore and do more world-building before that. So they stopped work on Zero and went back and made Trails in the Sky the 3rd, which has a large amount of lore and world-building and provides a lot of backstory for some of the series' characters as well as introduces plot points for later games in the saga.

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As an added note for those interested: the Japanese release order of the games so far is: Sky FC 2004, Sky SC 2006, Sky the Third 2007, Zero 2010, Azure 2011, CS I 2013, CS II 2014, CS III 2017, CS IV 2018. There are currently more games in development as well with the next release likely being 2-3 years after CS IV’s release.

The English release order so far has been: Sky FC 2011, Sky SC 2015, CS I 2015, CS II 2016, Sky the Third 2017.

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If you are wondering whether it is okay to play the Cold Steel games before the Sky games since they take place after Sky: You can play Cold Steel I and II first, but it isn’t usually recommended as Cold Steel I has a major character spoiler for one of the Sky cast that is casually revealed in the game, while it is kept a secret until Second Chapter in the Liberl Arc. In Cold Steel II you have far more spoilers for Sky FC and SC as well, including a major story spoiler, along with many major character spoilers.

There are also some references to the Liberl Arc, although they are not important to the main story of Cold Steel I (Cold Steel II’s main story is less nice about this as it expects you to know certain things from the Sky Arc and won’t explain them). All that being said, CS I and II are able to be played and enjoyed even without the Sky games, and there have been times where a new comer to the series was motivated to play the Sky games after playing the Cold Steel games. I would recommend someone to start with Cold Steel if they were hesitant to play an older game, like Sky, or if they want to see if the series is for them before deciding to jump into the franchise.

So yes, while it's not ideal, you can play the Cold Steel games before the Sky games if you really wanted to and it might even help encourage you to play through the Sky games if you were having trouble getting into them initially. And while it's best to start with Sky, the first 2 Cold Steel games are still solid RPGs that can be enjoyed without the Sky games, although they are even more enjoyable after having play the Sky Arc. Also, this is in regards to Cold Steel I and II. Cold Steel III and IV will expect you to have played through both the Sky Arc and the Crossbell Arc and will spoil nearly everything about those two Arcs along with making constant references to all the previous entries.

If you are wondering whether it is okay to play the Cold Steel games before the Crossbell games since the games take place at the same time: You can play Cold Steel I and II before the other games and it will not ruin the experience of the Crossbell games. But it bears saying that the games do overlap each other at points where an event will happen in one country and will be talked about in the other, this is one of the things the saga is most known for and does best: creating an over-arching story taking place in a living, breathing world.

As for whether or not you will be spoiled on events in one game by playing another first, the games keep the details about what is happening in other countries to a minimum and is told in such a way that the characters of one Arc are just as curious about what’s going on as you are. It is told in a way that whichever Duology you play first will give you a different perspective on the events of the other games, so while it will be a different experience to play Zero/Azure after CS I/CS II then if you had played Zero/Azure before CS I/CS II, it is not a worse experience.

Falcom President, Toshihiro Kondo, has even stated, when they asked XSEED to localize CS I and II, that the first Cold Steel game was made knowing newer players may want to jump into the franchise with it. Thus it was intended as a sort-of ‘jumping in’ point for newer players. Here is XSEED's blog post about it: the blog that was written by XSEED when Cold Steel I and II where first announced for localization. [xseedgames.tumblr.com]

Though in the case of Trails to Azure, it will expect the player to have played through Trails to Zero and the Trails in the Sky Trilogy, and in the case of Trails of Cold Steel III and IV they will expect the player to have played through every previous game including Trails of Cold Steel I and II, the Sky Trilogy and Zero-Azure Duology.

For much more detailed explanations regarding this and how the franchise itself is structured, check out this spoiler free guide to the Trails Series: https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1189437869

It is spoiler free and is meant to explain the series, a little of its history, what games there are in this saga and what orders the games can be played in. If you want a link to the write-up in thread-form rather than guide-form, you can see here: https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/app/251150/discussions/0/1489992080521276228/



Thanks to Sara for all the work you do on making this game the best it can be and for making sure this game is always updated.

And of course, the highest thanks to Nihon Falcom and XSEED Games for the creation and localization of this amazing franchise. Please continue providing us with an enjoyment only you can bring.

All of you have this fan’s most heartfelt thanks. <3


Nihon Falcom has been around since 1981 and has made some of the best RPGs out there. Whether you’re a Falcom newcomer or a longtime fan, I hope you will enjoy this game as much as I do!

Apologies for any formatting errors in this thread. If any new information comes out I will try to update the info in my post, also if there is any inaccurate info or info I may have left out, please feel free to let me know in the comments. And if you have any questions about the game that I didn’t answer feel free to ask them in the comments. I will do my best to answer any that I can, and I’m sure others will be able to help you out, too. And for those who comment: remember to be polite in your discussions and no name-calling! Let’s make sure we can be there to help anyone who needs it. :)

Happy gaming all!