The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon Review

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year since I reviewed the last entry into the The Legend of Heroes franchise. Us Trails fans have had it good for a while now, with consistently high-quality RPGs releasing fairly regularly.

Now, The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon is the next part of the adventure, continuing on from where The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II left off. However, this game actually seems to serve as a follow-up to multiple Trails titles, and actually features three separate stories! Having said that, it’s worth noting that this is incredibly story-driven and not recommended for newcomers to the franchise. So, series veterans, let’s jump into the review!

We find ourselves once again controlling the previous two games’ protagonist: Van Arkride, shortly after the events of Daybreak II’s conclusion. Continuing the Calvard arc, this time around, Van finds himself caught up in possibly the biggest event in Zemurian history: Project Startaker. The goal of this venture is to launch the first rocket into space, with the ultimate aim being manned space flight.

Exciting times, although, in this adventure, Van’s isn’t the only story you’ll be playing through. Much like The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie, three interwoven tales are told. We get to follow old favourites Rean Schwarzer and Kevin Graham, as well as a large cast of characters from previous games. Rean and Kevin’s stories aren’t quite as lengthy as Van’s, but they do provide some of the most enjoyable moments for long-time fans. Each of their plots serves to further Van’s, so everything comes together quite nicely by the time the credits roll.

It can feel slow at times, as most Trails games’ narratives do. But, with so many familiar faces to catch up with and new goings-on in Zemuria, it was nice that nothing felt rushed, and that every character had enough screen time. Playing the two Daybreak titles is a must, and at the very least, you should watch a recap of the previous games! If you’re all caught up, then this is the series at its best in terms of storytelling.

Whilst the Trails franchise isn’t best known for its graphical prowess, Trails beyond the Horizon is nonetheless a pretty good-looking title! The world and its inhabitants are as colourful and vibrant as ever, although nothing here holds a candle to Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter. Which shouldn’t be all too surprising, since this game was released in Japan in 2024, a year before 1st Chapter.

Cutscenes have seen significant improvements, though, particularly when focusing on the animations. There’s a much more fluid range of movements for characters, making some action-heavy scenes incredibly impressive to watch.

There were some noticeable frame rate drops when first entering certain high-density areas. It wasn’t constant, but it happened often enough to be noticeable. Aside from these hiccups, the rest of the game ran at a smooth 60 fps!

If you’re already familiar with Daybreak and its sequel, then there aren’t too many surprises in store when it comes to the gameplay mechanics. There have been several refinements to the combat, resulting in some of the best and most enjoyable fighting I’ve seen in an RPG!

The hybrid real-time and turn-based system returns, letting players deal damage on the field before transitioning to the more traditional battles. The new ZOC (Zone of Control) system is the biggest new mechanic for real-time combat, allowing you to slow down enemy movements and cause a lot more damage in the process!

You’re also now allowed to use certain characters’ Awakenings (Van’s Grendel, Rean’s Spirit Unification, and Kevin’s Stigma) to deal out some serious pain! Field battles are still relatively simple when compared to more action-focused titles, but it’s great to see them expanded upon.

That said, I’ve always been a lover of turn-based combat in RPGs. The Trails series battle system has consistently been enjoyable and engaging, and beyond the Horizon is no exception. There’s the usual Arts, Crafts, and so on, but let’s look at what’s new. ZOC is also available for use here, though its use is rather different. Instead of slowing down time (which would naturally be useless when taking turns to attack/defend), ZOC allows a character to immediately perform a second action. Similar to how using a move that inflicts Delay, or firing off a quick S-Craft, this lets you potentially snag a bonus queued up on the AT Bar. Beware, as certain bosses also have the ability to activate ZOC, leading to boss fights being tenser than ever before!

Brave Order’s make a welcome return, although this time they’re known as Shard Commands. Instead of being tied to each individual party member, they’re now universal, allowing you to buff stats by expending your S-Boost gauge. But, once again, bosses can also use this skill, and countering their Shard Command with one of your own will cost you an extra S-Boost. These new additions make an already outstanding combat system even better, without making it overly complex or bogged down with pointless gimmicks.

As is the case with most Trails games, the Orbment system is very much customisable, allowing players to mix and match Quartz to increase abilities and obtain new Arts. Veteran fans will know the deal by now, but the freedom to have certain team members focus on healing Arts, whilst others acquire Arts of the damage-dealing variety, is always something I find myself spending way too much time on in these titles.

When you’re not ploughing through the lengthy story or grinding out sidequests, you may be pleased to know that the Märchen Garten makes a return, this time known as the Grim Garten. It’s largely optional content, but those clamouring for any more content relating to Ouroboros will want to delve into its depths. It can be a bit grindy, but the roguelite elements keep it from becoming monotonous.

It’s almost unthinkable that the Trails franchise is still this good by its 13th mainline entry. But, The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon provides both incredibly fun gameplay and a captivating story in a package that is easily recommended. It combines elements from many previous games, as well as adding some new features, with a narrative that kept me hooked from start to finish.