Certain series never end, but the Trails games (which are now 20 years old) seem to be coming to an end point.
Speaking with GameSpot recently, Nihon Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo (who is also one of the key developers behind Trails) mentioned that the main story is now “about 80-90% complete” and while there may be “another arc,” whatever happens next would not Go on much longer and don’t expect a “30th or 40th anniversary”. Here’s the entire exchange:
We are currently in the Trails games on the fourth arc. Is the planned number of arches left? Is there a planned ending to the series?
Toshihiro Kondo: In fact, the series has progressed to the point where its main story is about 80-90% complete. And so, while there will be games coming out, and they might be in the form of a second arc after this one, it won’t continue for much longer. And you won’t see a bow as big as Cold Steel again. While we’re currently celebrating the 20th anniversary of the series, you won’t see a 30th or 40th anniversary.
As for the “direct successor to the Trails series,” according to Kondo, “there is nothing specifically planned” and the current focus is on “finishing Trails.” As for the “new IP addresses”, there are “actually several things” that are actively being done.
The team is also eager to explore some new projects, and the developer wants to see his younger team members “grow and experience new things”:
You see, the Trails series has been going on for 20 years, and as great as that is, the problem is that it means a lot of people have been working on the title for many, many years. They want to try new things. They have new ideas. There are new challenges they want to tackle.
Developing a series of games like Trails over this large period of time is like developing an online game where you’re constantly thinking, “What’s the next event or thing we have to do? What’s the flow of the game itself?” And what causes it, many times, is that the younger staff and their development stagnate for a while. But I want to be able to grow and experience new things that lead to new skills and new ideas.
So, in the background, we allow them to create and work on those new IP addresses – to talk about the things they want to do. I believe that this will make them even stronger developers and that they will have even better ideas that will contribute even more to our games.
This update to the Trails series follows the release of the turn-based RPG The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak on Switch late last month. There’s even a demo you can download and try on the Switch eShop.
Besides, it was officially confirmed last week Legend of Heroes: Paths Through the Dawn II would be localized for Switch in “at the beginning of 2025“.
