Product Info

Platform

Switch, PlayStation 4, Vita, PSP, PC

Publisher

NIS America

Developer

Nihon Falcom

Series

Legend of Heroes

Genre

RPG

Players

1

File Size (Minimum)

3.1 GB

Release Date (NA)

Sep 27, 2022

Release Date (JP)

Sep 30, 2010

Purchase From

Amazon

Best Buy

NIS America, Inc.

eShop

PSN Store

Steam

Epic Games

The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero was originally released in 2010 on the PlayStation Portable (PSP) and only in Japan. In 2012, the game was released on the PlayStation Vita with improvements such as voice overs. Over two decades later, Trails from Zero was finally released worldwide as a port for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. The game’s age might show with its underwhelming graphics, but the gameplay is still enjoyable for role-playing fans.

Behind the Scenes

Trails from Zero’s story is set three months after the events of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. The city-state of Crossbell is in a tough situation. The powers of the Erebonian Empire and the Calvard Republic both lay claim over the land. With corruption, organized crime, and political tensions running behind the scenes, Crossbell is in a fragile state where it could easily be taken over.

Meet Lloyd Bannings, a rookie police detective and one of the main protagonists of the game. He joins three others: Elie McDowell, heiress to a political family, Randy Orlando, a laid-back ex-soldier, and Tio Plato, a young girl and genius with a mind for electronics. These four are assigned to the Special Support Section (SSS), a special group under Crossbell’s police department that take on odd jobs, such as errand runs for medical herbs, but also tasks that will affect the future of Crossbell. Since the SSS is new and the police department itself has not been reliable to the people of Crossbell, Lloyd and team are walking on a tough path to gain people’s trust while facing the overwhelming odds against them. They are pretty much starting from zero.

The characters are entertaining and each person’s characteristics differ from the others. Lloyd’s commitment to be a top-tier detective makes him a serious character in the group. Elie’s political knowledge combined with her strong-willed attitude help Lloyd when he’s stuck in a problem. Randy’s attitude adds comical relief as he tries to impress women. Finally, Tio is quiet but will point out flaws in each character without hesitation. They’ll have to work together if they want the public to acknowledge them. As you follow these four go from zeroes to heroes, you’ll find yourself wanting to keep playing to see how their story unfolds. How many times will someone bail you out? Will they ever catch a break and gain some publicity? It’s an interesting tale.

If you enjoy reading, Trails from Zero has a lot of dialogue. Sometimes, it feels there’s more reading than exploring in some chapters. Once you get past the large storytelling piece, you’ll get a chance to explore and complete your missions. However, don’t be surprised if more dialogue interrupts your explorations.

No Case Too Small

In each chapter, you’ll be given missions to complete to earn money, gain detective ranks, and receive item rewards. Some tasks can be daunting, though, such as fishing five of the same kind of fish or running an errand for a medical herb.

No matter the task, you’ll want to take them on if you need money. However, these missions won’t last forever. If you take on a mission and end up completing the game’s story for the chapter, the mission will expire. Be sure to check the terminal at your base to accept and report missions.

At the end of the chapter, the game will report all missions you’ve completed. So if you forgot to report a mission and finish the chapter, the game will still recognize it as being complete and honor you with a reward. There’s plenty to do across Crossbell and you’ll easily put in 20 hours.

Outdated Look

Trails from Zero didn’t get the remake treatment or even a visual overhaul that fans may have wanted. Instead, the game looks like a straight port from the PlayStation 2. Polygon environments look outdated with their harsh shapes and flat textures. Some scenes look cheap such as the paper-thin audience in the auditorium. It’s not the prettiest but Trails and RPG fans can finally play this lost game.

Classic Gameplay

Although the graphics haven’t been updated to today’s standards, the gameplay makes up for it. Turn-based combat represents the main combat style, but the battlefield is laid out in a square-path plane like a tactical RPG or a chessboard. You and your enemies can move around to create attacks that can affect a group on the board.

There are many ways to battle enemies. Players can use their character’s craft abilities to create powerful attacks, heal, and create status ailments such as poison, by using your energy points (EP). These points are gained per character’s turn unless using craft attacks. If you want to use a large portion of your EP for better attacks, there are tag team and S-Break attacks. Tag team attacks use a large portion of your EP, while S-Break attacks use up all your EP. Whichever you use, carefully choose how and when to use them. 

There’s also a four-party battle attack that occurs randomly at the beginning of battle. However, certain conditions have to be met before you’re prompted to use it, such as your level compared to the enemy’s. This attack doesn’t use your EP, but it does give each party member a set of EPs in return.

Finally, there’s quartz, gems that have the power to use art, which many would view as magic. If you equip a certain type and amount, your party member will gain a new art attack to use, such as stealth. It’s trial and error regarding what you can do, though. The game doesn’t dive deep enough into what quartz players can combine. Having a handy checklist on what you have or could combine could be helpful.

The More the Merrier!

While your team is consistent with Llyod and the SSS team, you’ll have additional help from the outside. In those times when you have more than four party members, extras will be set as guest members. They’ll partake in battle once in a while, which can be a great help, but you won’t have any control over them. Some characters such as Zeit, a large wolf, can be summoned to aid you in battle for a turn.

Sometimes, you’ll run into a mission where you’ll need to prevent a guest party member from being wiped out. Early in the game, you’ll have to protect a couple kids from monsters. If one of them goes, it’s game over. So, you’ll need to draw the monsters’ attention and end them swiftly.

Classic Vibe Tunes

Those who grew up in the ‘90s on popular RPGs such as Star Ocean: The Second Story or Breath of Fire III had chiptune melodies that added harmony to the gameplay. Trails of Zero is no different. With the game looking and feeling like an older RPG, its music fits that same theme. Between whimsical chiptunes when exploring the city or tension-build moments when fighting a gang leader, it’s great and feels like you are back in the past playing classic RPGs.

The Last Mission

The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero may have outdated graphics, but it’s still a fun and entertaining game that role-playing fans should pick up. Grab your badge and report for duty!

A PlayStation 4 code provided for this review and played on the PlayStation 5.