''The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure'', known as in Japan, is a 2011

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

developed by

Nihon Falcom is a Japanese video game developer, best known for their '' Ys'', '' The Legend of Heroes'', and ''Trails'' series. The company was founded in March 1981, making them one of the oldest active video game companies. They are credited with pioneer ...

. The game is a part of the ''

Trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

'' series, itself a part of the larger ''

The Legend of Heroes ''The Legend of Heroes'', known in Japan as is a series of role-playing video games developed by Nihon Falcom. First starting as a part of the ''Dragon Slayer'' series in the late 1980s, the series evolved into its own decade-spanning, interconne ...

'' series. ''Trails to Azure'' serves as a sequel to '' Trails from Zero'' (2010), forming the second and final part of the series' " Crossbell arc". ''Trails to Azure'' released in Japan for the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...

in 2011 with no release outside of Asia until 2023, when it was published by

NIS America is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was founded in 1991 and has developed several role-playing video games, most notably the ''Disgaea'' and ''Marl Kingdom'' series. Its mascot is the penguin-like ''Disgaea'' character ...

for

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, and

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. The English release was based upon the work of a

fan translation Fan translation (or user-generated translation) refers to the unofficial translation of various forms of written or multimedia products made by fans (fan labor), often into a language in which an official translated version is not yet available. ...

Plot

''Trails to Azure'' is set a few months after the ending of ''Trails from Zero''. The Special Support Section (SSS) are joined by new recruits – the Army sergeant major Noel Seeker and the former gang leader Wazy Hemisphere. Again, unscrupulous figures seek to use KeA as the sept-terrion of mirage, now adopted by the SSS and taking the surname of Bannings, for their own ends. They are led by the mayor, Dieter Crois, who declares Crossbell's independence and seeks to ensure it through the powers of KeA, and his daughter Mariabell, who seeks to use KeA to rewrite history. The SSS have to brave civil unrest and occult intrusions to foil their plans. Both Dieter and Mariabell Crois are defeated, the former is arrested and the latter joins Ouroboros and KeA relinquishes her powers, but all of these events lead to Crossbell's annexation by the Erebonian Empire, which leads into events seen in the second half of the ''

Trails of Cold Steel is a 2013 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is a part of the ''Trails'' series, itself a part of the larger '' The Legend of Heroes'' series. It was initially released in Japan for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vi ...

'' arc.

Release

''Ao no Kiseki'' was released in Japan for the

on September 29, 2011. It was later ported to

for release in China on March 28, 2013. It was also released for the

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...

in Japan on June 12, 2014, as ''Ao no Kiseki: Evolution''. This version features improved visuals and more

voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

. The ''Evolution'' version received a remaster for the

, releasing in Japan under the title ''Ao no Kiseki Kai'' on May 28, 2020. It was also released for the

in China and South Korea by Clouded Leopard Entertainment on April 22, 2021. ''Trails to Azure'' and its prequel, '' Trails from Zero'', were not localized in English by the time of the Japanese release of ''

'' in 2013. Falcom subsequently approached

Xseed Games Xseed Games is an American video game company founded by former members of Square Enix USA. It later became a subsidiary of the Japanese game company Marvelous, providing the localization and publishing services for video games and related mat ...

, who had previously localized ''

Trails in the Sky ''The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky'' is a 2004 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is the first in what later became known as the ''Trails'' series, itself a part of the larger '' The Legend of Heroes'' series. '' ...

'', and requested that a localization of ''

'' be prioritized instead, resulting in ''Trails from Zero'' and ''Trails to Azure'' being skipped. An English

was released in 2018, with another one by a team known as the "Geofront" released in May 2021. Geofront's release would serve as the foundation for an official English version by

for the

and

, released in March 2023 in North America, Europe and Australasia. That version was also released in Japan for the Switch by Falcom on August 31, 2023.

Reception

''Trails to Azure'' received "generally favorable" reviews according to

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. The game was listed as one of the best upcoming games of 2011 at that year's

Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. The ...

. Along with ''Trails from Zero'',

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

highlighted the game's "persistent overarching storyline, immersive and detailed settings, masterful character development ndunique battle system". They noted that despite the lack of an official localization at the time, the plot and characters were integral to understanding later games in the series.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure, The 2011 video games Fiction about invasions Japanese role-playing video games Nihon Falcom games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation Portable games PlayStation Vita games Single-player video games The Legend of Heroes

Trails to Azure ''The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure'', known as in Japan, is a 2011 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is a part of the ''Trails'' series, itself a part of the larger ''The Legend of Heroes'' series. ''Trails to Azu ...

Turn-based role-playing video games Video game sequels Video games about multiple time paths Video games about police officers Video games developed in Japan Windows games