The Legend of Heroes is one of the longest-running JRPG franchises out there, but it really found its groove with the Trails series. The Trails games are all lengthy experiences that build a convincing continuous world, and we’re here to rank them.
Do note, however, that we haven’t included Trails of Cold Steel III and Cold Steel IV, as they’re not easily accessible to English audiences. We will be updating this list with Cold Steel III once it’s launched in the United States.
8. Nayuta No Kiseki (Trails of Nayuta)
Although it bears the Trails name, Nayuta No Kiseki is actually a spinoff that takes place in an entirely different world and bears no connection to the rest of the series. Also unlike other Trails games, Nayuta is an action-RPG in the vein of Falcom’s other franchise, Ys.
Although never localized for the West, Nayuta focuses on a young boy of the same name who lives in the Sciencia Sea, a vast area filled with countless islands.
The game sports a different feel due to taking place entirely aboard a ship or islands, and just like other Trails games there’s a ton of lore and backstory to dig into.
Nayuta’s combat may not be quite as tight and responsive as later Ys games, but there’s still an enjoyable, if a bit clunky, action-RPG underneath.
7. Trails in the Sky the 3rd
Trails in the Sky the 3rd is the most different game in the entire series, outside of Nayuta, of course. The game opens following Father Kevin Graham and Sister Ries Argent of the Septian Church.
Unlike the more traditional RPG design of the previous games, The 3rd is a dungeon crawler that traps most of the important characters from the Trails in the Sky games in an alternate realm.
Despite the change in style, The 3rd is still a great game, with some fantastic storytelling that helps tie loose threads together, give background on party members, and hints about the future. For example, this is the first game that we meet Gilliath Osborne, a hugely important character in the Cold Steel games.
The 3rd also has the best final dungeon of the franchise, forcing you to utilize each and every party member.
6. Zero No Kiseki (Trails From Zero)
The first game in the Crossbell arc, sadly Zero No Kiseki and its sequel were never localized for the West, although there are fan translations out there. The Crossbell games play a surprisingly large role in the continuous story of the franchise, focusing on a brand new area and set of characters.
You play as Lloyd Bannings, a detective in the Crossbell Police Force, who’s recruited into a new police organization called the Special Support Section.
Zero No Kiseki features really strong storytelling and characterization, and it even continues plotlines from the Trails in the Sky games, with Estelle and Joshua making prominent appearances.
There are a number of gameplay enhancements Zero makes as well, first and foremost being the ability to quick-travel around the city of Crossbell, something the series would use in every subsequent entry.
You also have support members in combat now, letting your inactive party members occasionally jump into battle with an attack or support move.
Zero No Kiseki is a fascinating new turn for the franchise that presents a much more technologically advanced area of Zemuria.
5. Trails of Cold Steel
The first Trails of Cold Steel finally introduced us to the Erebonian Empire, a nation we’d heard so much about before. The game takes some inspiration from other JRPGs, like Persona, while still retaining that trademark Trails style.
Cold Steel focuses on a group of students attending Thors Military Academy, who are chosen for an experimental Class VII, putting nobles and commoners in the same class.
Marking the first game fully in 3D, Trails of Cold Steel was a massive leap forward for the franchise. More voice acting, full character animations, and a huge world were just to name a few.
Combat also has been expanded with follow-up attacks and Orbal Links, letting characters link together for a variety of bonus effects. Outside of combat you can build these links by spending time with your party members.
Cold Steel still has all the strong characterization of past games, and it puts an interesting spin on the school life genre. It’s a seriously slow burn, even for a Trails game, but the meticulous way the game builds its world and narrative is seriously impressive.
4. Trails in the Sky FC
Trails in the Sky was where the Legend of Heroes franchise finally came into its own, crafting one of the most endearing narratives in JRPG history.
The story focuses on a young girl named Estelle, the daughter of the continent’s most famous Bracer, essentially a mercenary that works entirely for the good of citizens.
This is where the Trails series established its storytelling chops, with a narrative that slowly introduced you to different aspects of the world; the Orbal Revolution, the country of Liberl, the Bracer Guild, the Septian Church, the evil organization Ourobouros, etc.
The relationship between Estelle and her adopted brother Joshua is at the heart of the Trails in the Sky games, and a lot of that development comes from the first game.
Trails in the Sky also had some interesting ideas that it introduced with its combat system, putting a huge emphasis on character placement on the field of battle as well as random effects that would happen on turns, like restoring an ally or enemy’s HP.
There’s good reason Trails in the Sky FC is looked back on so fondly, and it’s the precursor to everything that would come next.
3. Ao No Kiseki (Trails of Azure)
The second game of the Crossbell arc, Ao No Kiseki basically doubles down on everything Zero did, while making the story bigger and more intense than before.
Ao picks up right where Zero left off, with Lloyd and the SSS investigating remnants of the DG Cult. This time around extra party members are thrown into the mix, with Noel and Wazy joining permanently, and characters like Rixia joining later on.
There honestly aren’t a lot of gameplay changes implemented in Ao, although the biggest one is an airship that lets you travel all around the state of Crossbell later in the game.
Still, Ao’s story simply manages to be more engaging throughout with tighter pacing, and the game raises the stakes to ridiculous levels later on.
2. Trails of Cold Steel II
Trails of Cold Steel II is an immense sequel that makes so many improvements, both in gameplay and narrative.
With the outbreak of Civil War in Erebonia, Rean and the rest of Class VII now have to find each other scattered across the country and figure out what their role in everything will be.
Cold Steel II really doubles down on emotional storytelling, using the meticulous world-building the first game did to drive home some emotional gut punches.
There are some really smart systems at play here too, as a big part of the game has your roaming Erebonia to recruit scattered Thors students to your airship, the Courageous.
This not only has a story purpose, but can also open up new shops or features aboard the airship. Combat also gets some changes with the overdrive system that lets two characters get a boost of three turns immediately during battle.
There are also Divine Knight Battles that play out as giant mech fights, with some unique mechanics.
Cold Steel II truly shows the ambitions of the Trails series, and it’s a sequel that simply improves on its predecessor in nearly every way.
1.Trails in the Sky SC
Much like Trails of Cold Steel II, Trails in the Sky SC simply improves on everything the first game did, and it easily has the best story out of the whole series, although admittedly it feels more like an extension of the first game rather than a whole new thing.
Picking up right after the end of the first game, SC sees Joshua striking out on his own to leave his life behind, and Estelle setting out after to him to drag him back, whether he wants to or not.
The dual storyline of Estelle and Joshua’s journey really works, and there are some fascinating new characters we get to meet, like the fan-favorite Kevin Graham.
Trails in the Sky SC is the pinnacle of the series’ storytelling, layering on emotion and strong characterization.
While gameplay remains mostly the same there are a few enhancements, like Chain Attacks that let all four party members attack simultaneously. It can be quite a challenging game too, especially in the later stages.
Trails in the Sky SC is the series at its very best, and evidence of why it has such enduring popularity.
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