The perfect JRPG remake just dropped – Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter threatens to put Final Fantasy 7 and Persona 3 to shame with its masterful approach to revitalizing a classic

Modern gaming leans heavily on remakes, but there's no one way to do things. Change little, like The Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion or Metal Gear Solid Delta? A lot, like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth? Or somewhere in between like Persona 3 Reload? I'm not sure how to quantify the perfect remake, but playing Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter makes me confident that Nihon Falcom does.

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a JRPG full of vibrant colors, stunning anime-style animation, and satisfying clobbering. A full remake of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky from 2004, this is the kind of epic adventure I only dreamed about while clutching our PSPs, and is an ambitious reminder that classic feeling JRPGs can still play in the big leagues.

The sky's the limit

The story centers on siblings Estelle and Joshua Bright, following in their famous father's footsteps. Cassius Bright, an elite Bracer – a sort of detective-mercenary that works for the people – has gone missing as old wounds begin to open between their country, Liberl, and the neighboring Erebonian Empire who attempted invasion a decade prior.

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Recently made Junior Bracers themselves, the pair set out on a tour of the kingdom to track Cassius down, and solve a whole host of problems for Liberl's citizens in the process. Each act of the game has them set out to another portion of the kingdom, exploring new towns and having other party members move in and out of the squad. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter has a peppy story with plenty of joy and fun faces to meet even as it handles serious politics in the background.

Back on PSP, this was presented from a top-down, isometric perspective with chibi-style character models and anime portraits alongside pop-up dialogue boxes. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter reimagines the game with more realistic and immersive proportions. Similarly to something like Genshin Impact, Estelle and Joshua now run around full 3D recreations of the spaces from the original game, with many key locations like towns being incredibly recognizable with only small adjustments to make the most of the shift.

Crucially, though, the graphical overhaul of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter isn't ashamed of its roots – quite to the contrary. It's not afraid to continue to use anime shorthand even on these larger character models to exaggerate character emotions from shocked, dead, perfectly white round eyes, to the classic anime sweat drop or forehead vein bulge.

It can make for some laugh out loud moments, like the opening flashback where Cassius brings Joshua home for the first time. In the original, young Estelle's sprite jumps up and down to bash Joshua when he's hesitant to give his name, but in 1st Chapter this becomes a full on wrestling-style drop kick with a whipping camera to sell the motion. Returning and wonderful voice actors like Stephanie Sheh (the voice of Sailor Moon herself) as Estelle help to build on that personality, with much more dialogue being voiced this time around – though I'd still like more of it.

Where the PSP game's textures could sometimes look a little overly detailed, Trails in the Sky 1st actually dials it back for a cleaner, crisper, almost flatter look that actually enhances the visual design by making it look more like an anime in motion. Likewise, flashy special attack animations that replace the original's more standard fare go heavy on dynamic camera angles and squash, stretch, and smear principles to spotlight motion rather than realism. This remake isn't just a throwback, but carves a path ahead that proves the bright adventures of the yesteryear like Skies of Arcadia or Baten Kaitos can still excite in modern day.

Playing Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter feels like looking at the bright colors of the original game's supplementary artwork finally come to life. Rather than simply using the ongoing series' newer tech to reimagine its first game in a newer house style, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter's rendering is different than, say, Trails Through Daybreak 2's – enhancing the way the colors pop to revive that blue skies, bright green grass look of the '00s JRPGs, and it looks wonderful.

Which doesn't mean nothing connects the two. Trails in the Sky 1st plays a lot like Daybreak 2, but it also speaks to how smartly core mechanics have evolved from 2004 to present that it still feels natural when applied to Estella and Joshua's first adventure. Equipping orbments – think Final Fantasy 7's materia – is much simpler than it used to be, but you're still thinking tactically about how each bit of gear's elemental energy will stack up and link together to grant different tiers of elemental spells just as we did in the original.

The biggest shift is that Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter carries forward (or should that be backward) the series' newer real-time and turn-based combat system that has you swiping and dodging on the field before diving into turn-based fights – a little like Metaphor ReFantazio, albeit a system Trails had been using before Atlus' JRPG released. Yet, care has even been taken here in how it's presented, the menus integrating the original game's cog-wheel based visuals right the way down to how the party and enemy turn timing sidebar has fights progress like a big ol' gear is turning. It's wonderful how it feels like it bridges the old and the new, all in service of making the original ideas around combat feel all the more punchy to play today.

New trails

It all makes Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter feel smartly modernized, while remaining incredibly faithful to the original from art style through to the story itself. Well-paced, the narrative keeps moving as the siblings travel from place to place, picking up sidequests in each area to learn more about the world. Personally, I love the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series so far, with how it completely upends expectation – but I can also completely understand those who wished the PS1 original was getting a fresh coat of paint itself. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is the kind of remake that doesn't just repaint a classic JRPG but polishes it up too, and throws in a free new dishwasher. The part of me that is also a Final Fantasy fan is a little jealous, frankly (even if I'm still on the fence for if Final Fantasy 9 remake is a thing that needs to happen).

The only real changes Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter makes to its lively worldbuilding are quality of life ones, making it clearer when NPCs have new dialogue, when you've exhausted them, and where special events remain to be seen on the map before you move on. Trails as a series is incredibly good at updating the dialogue of characters inhabiting the world as the story progresses, not simply to add color (though there's a lot of it), but in ways that inform the quests you undertake too – from a family run diner looking to expand their menu that eventually undertake you to seek out fresh new ingredients for them, to meeting upcoming antagonists a smidge early. It makes the world feel alive, and 1st Chapter wants to ensure you're aware of it.

On the other hand, while there is some new content, not a lot new has been added for Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter. The focus is on reimagining and presenting what made the original great, and I think it strikes a solid balance. Side quests are already technically optional (though I could never bring myself to skip them), and adding much more would run the risk of bogging down a surprisingly pacy adventure – despite what recent reports said.

Remakes often make me feel torn as a gamer who still loves to go back and revisit retro games in their original form. They can walk the tightrope of feeling too close to the original that they leave me wondering what the point is, something I struggled with in my Metal Gear Solid Delta review; or so different, like with Final Fantasy, that they're not really remaking the original at all. To me, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter walks that rope, does a somersault, pretends to stumble and fall but then it catches the rope as it descends twirling back onto the rope right afterwards. It's perfectly in control of how it's presenting itself, what it's doing, and how to play expectation to deliver what'll make the crowd of fans roar while also bringing in new players to see what all the hooping and hollering is about.

With a phenomenal demo out right now that allows you to play Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter's prologue, which took me 8 hours about a month ago, you may as well try it for yourself – then join me as my journey across Liberl continues.

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