While Lloyd keeps talking about overcoming hurdles, Trails to Azure faces many hurdles before finally reaching the West. Nearly 12 years after the original PSP release, Nihon Falcom’s role-playing game follows Trail Zero, and NIS America licenses the popular fan translation. This is a major release ahead of the upcoming Trails into Reverie, which serves as the combined epilogue to the Crossbell and Cold Steel arc. Azure’s release has been a long time coming, but it’s a worthy follow-up that builds on Zero’s strengths.
If you didn’t beat the trail from scratch first, fix it now. Azure assumes familiarity with what’s come before – while it would be nice to jump in without playing the Skyrail trilogy, diving into such a large series can seem daunting. Across the Skies adds context to some scenes at first, but a plethora of returning characters fills in any critical gaps. I also recommend playing both games on the same console; cleared zero save files can be transferred to Azure with some added bonuses. EXP level carryover, fishing level, and detective points are all taken into account, while certain scenarios will vary based on previous selections. Don’t expect Mass Effect to offer any drastic changes, but it’s a lovely touch that helps maintain continuity between the two role-playing games.
Azure itself happened a few months after zero, and started by ironing out some loose ends. As before, we’ll play Lloyd Bennings, the leader of the charismatic group, and this time we’re welcoming two new recruits to the Crossbell Police Department’s Special Support Section (SSS). Crossbell retains the strong character we’ve seen in the city-state before, but new conflicts threaten the precarious peace beneath the surface.
Structurally, Azure is almost identical to Zero, and most chapters see the SSS handling public requests that the wider Crossbell police force has no time for. Choose these from your PC at headquarters, and everyday life is rarely as simple as finding lost cats, slaying monsters, and investigating address change violations. Mandatory requests advance the story, and while there are plenty of optional missions available, these need to be completed within the time limit. Some requests do feel tedious, and unlisted hidden quests on PC are still hard to find, so it might make you seek guidance.
However, Azure rewards your diligence with Detective Points and provides new accessories as Detective Lloyd levels up. Like Zero, these requests provide important insights into the everyday life of Crossbell, taking you from its sprawling central city to its suburbs and even a Disneyland-esque theme park. Crossbell isn’t as big a place as it is sandwiched between two bickering neighbors, Erebonia and Calvard, each claiming it, but it’s still a very interesting place.
If you’re impatient like me, use the high-speed mode to gain momentum through exploration and combat. Alternatively, you can use a new car from the special support department, greatly reducing travel time. I recommend going through each route first, mainly because there are treasure chests hidden in these roads, and the environment scenery is also good. Either way, fast travel is always good.
Unfortunately, monsters still plague these highways, so get your party ready and ready for battle with the standard equipment system. In grid-movement-based turn-based combat, each ally can make regular attacks at once. Arts deal elemental damage or support abilities like restoring HP, which cost time and EP. Finally, Crafts offer unique skills that cost CP, and at 100 CP everyone gets “Ultimate Attacks” called S-Crafts.
The fundamentals of combat are the same as in Zero, which is absolutely fine. You can scan enemies for weak spots and pick them out individually or destroy them with powerful S-Crafts. No matter what you choose, these victories are usually well deserved and still require a careful strategic approach. Nihon Falcom rarely misses its official soundtrack, and Azure’s battle theme is no exception; it’s one of my favorite games in Trails, and it really brings those battles to life.
That’s not to say the combat is exactly the same, but it’s a slight evolution that offers some welcome improvements. Like Cold Steel 2’s Overdrive system, Azure introduces a “burst” mechanic, where you fill up your “burst gauge” by attacking enemies. Burst isn’t always available, but this heals any adverse status effects such as paralysis, canceling enemy arts during spellcasting, and team arts with no delay. It’s helpful in a pinch and can turn the tide of battle.
And Quartz Master. Each has only one Master Quartz slot, offering different benefits compared to the standard Quartz, which provides stat boosts or new combat abilities. For example, Mirage restores EP with each enemy kill, and at level 3, this further restores after the fight. At level 5, you learn a powerful new art. It helps expand Zero’s significant battle customization for your team, letting you shape the SSS to your liking. I’ve always loved the combat in Trails, and this series delivers once again.
Otherwise, Azure isn’t all that different from Zero, and while the aforementioned changes are certainly welcome, you’ll find more of a direct continuation than a revolutionary sequel. However, thinking of it as an expansion pack would understate its value, I don’t think you can do without one without the other; the two games are part of a larger whole, and the action is still fun in this sequel.
Zero sets the scene beautifully with a brilliant introduction to Crossbell and this colorful cast, directly showing the city-state’s problems. That in itself offers a satisfying adventure, with a focus on corruption and religious fanaticism–those themes that haven’t quite gone away–but Azure builds on those foundations for an equally compelling story, better paced. The film explores Crossbell’s right to self-determination, his rejection of imperialist ambitions, and people’s reactions to this dramatic upheaval. It delivers important narrative payoffs, exemplified by the surprisingly thought-provoking ending.
Since the events coincided with the first half of Cold Steel, I already knew how the story would end, but that didn’t make the ending any less impactful. Like any good story, it’s about the journey, and Azure is full of strong world-building, great storytelling, and strong character development to match. The tension between the forces driving the new mayor’s initiative and the new faction making demands on Crossbell’s underworld does a good job of setting the tone.
Crucially, Azure never abandons the light-hearted sense of humor that Trails often excels at, despite the weight of the subject matter. Treasure chests still make you check them repeatedly, and silly puns like “Inigo Chestoya” made me laugh. SSS making fun of Lloyd leads to some great scenes, and he often forgets how to interpret his words romantically. Small talk at parties is always fun, and there’s a natural rapport with this motley crew that rarely feels stiff.
It’s also a good remake of the 10-year-old PSP title, though a few moments betray the RPG’s era, and the PS4 version’s textures could use a bit of a cleanup. An almost illegible boardroom sign in Orchis Tower, and the Mishelam Resort seen from afar in the intermission chapter stand out more than most. While I haven’t been able to independently verify this with Azure, Zero has improved textures and new usability features on Switch and PC that don’t exist on PS4. I don’t know if the same is true here, but the issues didn’t bother me too much.
Twelve years hasn’t diminished its overall brilliance, and Trails to Azure marks another fine entry in Nihon Falcom’s long-running series. It successfully builds on the premise of Trails from Zero with an exciting follow-up, delivering some compelling storytelling, strong world-building, and enjoyable combat that I’ll remember for a long time Live this ending. With the Crossbell arc fully localized, NIS America has laid the groundwork for Trails into Reverie and I’m ready for more.
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