For so long, I have been interested in the Trails series and so often, I never cross the threshold because the entire series seems daunting.

One of the reasons for this is the lengthy narrative that runs across four different story arcs each with multiple games you must play in order. I often see people vehemently saying you need to start from the beginning to fully understand the story.

That beginning is 2004’s Trails in the Sky and its two sequels.

The problem is those games have limited availability. They didn’t reach the West until 2011. The trilogy is available via Steam but not everyone enjoys playing on PC.

That is why I believe releasing the games in at least a remastered format would help the situation, at least for those who want to play the entire series as intended.

That said, I am aware of many suggesting that Trails of Cold Steel is a good starting point and is often the best entry point given that not all games are in the West. It’s likely the route I’ll eventually take, but there are so many who oppose this path that it gives me pause every time I’m about to start.

It’s not just the narrative either. NIS America seems to be working overtime to bring many of Nihon Falcom’s games to the West, particularly the Ys and Trails series. The publisher took over localization in 2019 and a deluge of games have come westward.

With so many game getting English localizations, having the opening arc missing on consoles feels like a big oversight. It keeps many like me nervous to jump into the series because we don’t want to experience the story out of order.

Of course, there are many that would say it really doesn’t matter and I’m sure there is some truth to that. Nihon Falcom, however, has put a lot of effort into building an expansive story and world that it almost feels like a disservice to the effort to skip the opening bit.

I want to experience a story as intended. Sometimes, that intention is to have it out of order. I firmly believe the best way to watch Star Wars for the first time is to go in order of release not episode number because that was the intention.

It’s the same idea here with the Trails series except the intention is to do so in order. I would love to experience this story from the start and watch it build out to the later arcs. I also believe it’s best to do this in a format that is comfortable to the player.

I could set up a PC play session but it’s definitely not the most comfortable approach for me. Having a console release would help more people enjoy the trilogy.

I have no doubt that NIS America will eventually bring this trilogy back to the West but there seems to be no indication of that happening anytime soon.

Still, the publisher seems committed to bringing more of Falcom’s games to the West and that’s been a welcome sight. Ys X is on the way as is Trails Through Daybreak, which is set to start the next arc in the story.

Maybe I’ll eventually just crack and play it on Steam or just skip ahead to a later arc. Either way, having the Trails in the Sky trilogy in any remastered format would be a great sight and I know many would welcome it with open arms.

What about you? Would you like to see a remaster or remake of the Trails in the Sky trilogy? Do players have to start with this arc to grasp the story or can they play out of order? Let us know in the comments below or head over to our Discord channel to join the conversation.

Featured Image: NIS America (via GOG)

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