The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak

The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak is an RPG, originally released only in Asia (with the subtitle Kuro no Kiseki), but later localized into English and released on the PC, PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch. It was developed by Nihon Falcom.

Plot

In the year 1208, the Republic of Calvard is booming economically thanks to war reparations. Despite newfound prosperity, the state must also deal with the new president's radical decisions and unrest caused by an increasing number of immigrants. All this makes it the current country of choice for the spriggan - mercenaries, negotiators and bounty hunters for hire specializing in dirty work.

One such spriggan is Van Arkride, who's eventually hired by a student of an esteemed academy. Alongside his new client, he finds himself tangled up in a plot that could change the future of the entire republic.

Mechanics

The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak features two different combat systems - real-time and turn-based. The former system is more arcadey, the second is more strategic. Both let us switch between party members and use their special abilities. There's also a new major mechanic tied to the Xipha technology, letting us unlock powerful skills or add new traits to our equipment, such as elemental damage, faster spellcasting or counter-attacking.

One of the key mechanics of The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak is the reputation system - our choices sway our protagonist to Law or Chaos. This affects the available quests, dialogue options, the story and characters we can side with.