Coming off the wild success of Trails in the Sky: 1st Chapter in 2024, Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo enjoyed his franchise’s recognition outside of his native Japan and niche JRPG communities, opening the door to more remakes and further games in the series. Kondo was a Falcom fan, running a fan website before joining the company and becoming president in 2007. As of this writing, the Trails series is set to become a household name in the RPG world with one of the highest average ratings on Metacritic for all games released in 2026. The question is: can Trails in the Sky: 2nd Chapter put the series on par with genre legends like Final Fantasy?
Set immediately after 1st Chapter, the game follows protagonist Estelle Bright as she searches for her adopted brother Joshua after a giant plot twist at the end of the previous game reveals the existence of a mysterious society named Ouroboros (they will be back, promise). Along the way, Estelle meets old and new friends who aid her journey, while pulling back the curtain on Ouroboros and what they plan to do to disrupt the peaceful Kingdom of Liberl. If you have a complete save file from 1st Chapter, you’ll get a few rewards and a bit of a change in the game’s dialogue.
Many old and new systems return, such as the orbment system, although you’ll have to start from scratch after the events of 1st Chapter. You can now upgrade your orbment slots, allowing you to equip more powerful quartz and unlock new abilities as you progress in the game. This remake adds a few new quests and new areas called caves, where you can find rare treasures or powerful enemies. While you’ll be initially confined to certain areas, the game opens up around the halfway mark, allowing you to explore Liberl as a whole.
Each character is unique, with a story to tell and their own combat strengths. One of my favorites is Olivier, who is half-mage, half-ranged, and very theatrical; he often serves as the comic relief for the other characters. Then there’s the serious Agate, the precocious Tita, the older sister-figure Scherazard (Schera), the dependable Zin, the kind-hearted Kloe, and a few brand new characters who join throughout the game. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses with a lot of customization, but be prepared to really grind if you want a full suite of weapons, armor, and accessories for all these characters.
The game rewards completionism with extremely broken quartz, armor, and weapons, so you’ll have to really grind to get achievements in-game. Many reward Sepith masses that can be turned into mira, but also reward powerful items that can really be useful if you’re stuck or playing on Nightmare Mode. While some are easy to get, others can be extremely grindy or require close attention to detail.
Minigames such as card games and fishing become more prevalent in this game. Fishing is a staple of the Trails series, yet it changes from game to game, which means learning it all over again. Veterans of the series may be more familiar with these minigames, and beating them can land you some pretty powerful items. Fishing can be an extremely difficult chore, and each fishing spot has its own set of fish, which can run out. You’ll have to circle through the many fishing spots in the game to collect not only fish, but also items and Sepith you can get from them.
Along with great worldbuilding and character development, the game’s music is amazing, and you can choose between the arranged edition of the soundtrack, the standard, and, for nostalgia’s sake, even the original version of the game’s music. Certain boss battles really get the blood pumping, pushing you to work against tough enemies. For replayability, there is a New Game+ mode that lets you go back and earn new achievements or make different choices.
Could this possibly be a Game of the Year candidate and put the series up there with Final Fantasy? Only time will tell. Kondo has announced working on the conclusion of the Calvard arc as well as possible remakes of future games, so come and stay for a (long) while and soak up all the game (and franchise) has to offer.
Developer(s): Nihon Falcom
Publisher(s): Nihon Falcom, GungHo Entertainment, Clear River Games
Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
Words by Jose Alvarez
Also published in GADGETS MAGAZINE Volume 27 Issue No. 3