Last month, the release of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter launched Falcom’s Kiseki remake era, bringing the beginning of beloved heroine Estelle Bright’s Liberl-trotting quest to modern platforms with a slick presentation and revamped battle system. The game that kicked off an intensely interconnected series with 13 mainline games and counting was arguably overdue for a refresh, and what a wonderful refresh it is.
We know full well that 1st Chapter’s direct sequel is deep into development. Falcom straight-up gave fans a teaser video at the end of the first game. Trails in the Sky the 3rd, despite carrying that specific sub-series’ designation, is something of a spinoff; rather than starring Estelle like the first two games, it follows Kevin Graham. It’s more focused, even more character-driven, and a bit of a black sheep. The 3rd has its fans, make no mistake; it’s a good game. It’s just different.
As it happens, Kevin’s big adventure may be skipped, at least for now, in favour of Lloyd Bannings’ Crossbell duology: Trails from Zero and presumably Trails to Azure. Maybe. We’ll see. That’s not just my line – that’s the official line from Nihon Falcom’s very own CEO.
Even Sega Admits All Those Full-Priced Persona Re-releases Have Become A Problem
Or, “Some people do seem to be waiting for Metaphor: Utopia Edition.”
3rd To Zero
Speaking with Dengeki Online (and noticed by Automaton), the ever-reliably chatty Koji Kondo readily acknowledges the narrative importance of Trails in the Sky the 3rd, and doesn’t give us straight-up evidence that it won’t be remade, yet simultaneously reveals that the staff is presently split on whether to remake Trails from Zero beforehand.
“We’re not sure whether to do The 3rd or From Zero next – opinions are divided among us. Some of the members are saying that it would be better to do a remake of From Zero before The 3rd.” -Koji Kondo
In a sense, I sort of get it? Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter’s sales have been praised by Kondo himself, so there’s no immediate danger here that the remakes won’t deliver needed profits and get cut short from however many installments Falcom’s devs envision. But it’s never great to just assume that nothing will change, so if there’s a specific need to focus on certain remakes over others, it could be argued that the Crossbell duology is “more important.”
But still – like I said, Kondo keenly cites how Trails in the Sky the 3rd has its own impact on the ongoing storylines:
“Renne’s story is really important. Same goes for Kevin, and the name Crossbell appears for the first time in The 3rd. This is also where Erebonia’s Blood and Iron Chancellor Osborne makes his first appearance.”
Kondo says he “[thinks] we have to do a remake of The 3rd at some point.” Intriguingly, however, he adds that “there are many possible ideas for what form it could take.” Could Falcom be toying with the idea of a less straightforward remake? Something with added features, or massive changes to existing content?
One thing’s for sure: we shouldn’t expect Trails of Cold Steel I and II remakes any time soon. (III and IV are in full 3D, so it’s highly doubtful that Falcom is really looking at remaking them for a long time, or ever.) ““When we were developing Cold Steel, we were told to just do whatever we liked, so we packed the game with so many different elements. I think remaking it would be a rather difficult feat.” So, there you have it – Rean’s inaugural outings are just too dang big for his own graphical good.
