The second and last recreation within the ‘Crossbell’ saga, Trails to Azure executes on the whole lot that Trails from Zero meticulously constructed up. It instantly goes with out saying that you just should play Zero earlier than leaping into this direct sequel — however do not let the daunting prospect of taking part in two 60-hour RPGs put you off. When seen as two components of 1 huge story, Zero and Azure make for a brilliantly engrossing expertise.
We would go as far to say that it is a close to excellent sequel. Whereas Azure does reuse quite a bit of Zero’s belongings — there are solely a handful of recent environments to discover, for instance — the storytelling hits some unimaginable highs right here, taking plot factors and character-driven developments from the primary recreation and operating with them. The narrative payoff is genuinely excellent at instances.
As soon as once more, you fill the well-worn sneakers of the Particular Assist Part (SSS for brief) — a ragtag staff of not-quite-rookie cops. Following on from the occasions of Zero, the SSS discover themselves in excessive demand, however their newfound fame hasn’t modified the way in which that they function. Protagonist Lloyd Bannings and his buddies are nonetheless absolutely dedicated to safeguarding their beloved Crossbell — a technologically superior city-state that is sandwiched between two supremely highly effective nations.
Political tensions are at an all-time excessive all through Azure, and the sport does an incredible job of setting the scene. It provides you glimpses of the broader world from Crossbell’s distinctive perspective, and with an all-important commerce convention scheduled to quickly happen on Crossbell soil, you simply know that town’s relative peace is not going to final.
Regardless of the looming threats, the SSS are nonetheless readily available to unravel native points. From slaying pesky monsters to investigating lacking individuals, the sport retains the standard Trails construction. Every chapter begins with an introduction to imminent story beats, earlier than letting you crack on with elective missions. A few of these aspect quests do lean into considerably tedious territory, however the whole lot that you just resolve to interact with helps additional set up the title’s already spectacular world constructing. You will get to know an enormous solid of secondary characters via your elective excursions, and that feeds proper again into all the political and societal themes of the principle plot.
However as alluded, it is the segments of core story that push Azure above and past. Notably within the recreation’s latter half, the plot’s impactful pacing is excellent. From particular person moments of character improvement to seismic occasions that assist form Trails lore, it is a number of the property’s very best storytelling — and that is excessive reward.
Even higher is that Zero and Azure add a lot context to the Trails of Chilly Metal sequence. Whereas it is completely attainable to play and revel in that four-part saga with out having touched the Crossbell duology — as many Western followers already know — really seeing how issues unfold for Lloyd and the gang enriches the finer particulars of Chilly Metal’s equally dramatic occasions. Typically we expect developer Falcom have to be mad for creating such an intertwined narrative that stretches throughout so many various video games, however the emotional impression of the bigger story arcs merely cannot be denied.
By way of gameplay, Azure does not do a complete lot to distinguish itself from Zero. The turn-based fight system stays largely unchanged by way of mechanics, however it does really feel higher balanced general. For example, late-game enemies aren’t fairly as spongy, and boss battles are usually higher designed with some surprisingly distinctive mechanics including a welcome layer of technique.
That mentioned, the system as a complete does nonetheless really feel like a step again from what the Chilly Metal video games have to supply. Utterly comprehensible, provided that the unique Crossbell titles predate the adventures of Rean Schwarzer by just a few years, however for followers right here within the West, who could be rather more accustomed to the ‘fashionable’ Trails video games, fight can appear a bit primary.
However there’s nonetheless a rewarding sense of tactical tinkering in Azure. An expanded choice of quartz — stat-boosting and ability-granting objects — means you could customise your occasion in a great deal of alternative ways. Discovering efficient quartz mixtures is all the time nice enjoyable, and coming dangerously near breaking the stability of fight — a Trails staple at this level — is one thing that’ll hold you invested.
Throw stuff like tremendous robust elective bosses and lengthy, demanding dungeons into the combo, and there is rather more room for strategic expression right here than there ever was in Zero. That is form of like Crossbell’s fight system unchained, and we’re actually not complaining.
We should always in all probability complain about Azure’s visuals, nonetheless. For many who could not know, each Crossbell titles originated on the PSP over a decade in the past, and boy does it present. Regardless of being a ‘remaster’, a number of the graphical high quality on show right here is woeful — and it is an actual disgrace that, like Zero’s PS4 re-release, Azure does not boast the visible upgrades that the newly ported Nintendo Swap and PC variations do. Nonetheless, graphics should not make or break a compelling RPG, and we might be mendacity if we mentioned that inferior visuals on PS4 did a lot to detract from our general enjoyment.
Conclusion
Trails to Azure is an incredible sequel. Alongside an expanded fight system, it takes each storyline that Trails from Zero cultivated and delivers a sequence of unimaginable conclusions, each for particular person characters and the franchise’s overarching narratives. By way of impactful plot factors, Azure is up there with the best of Trails titles — a twisting, turning, gripping RPG that ought to actually be thought-about a basic.