![]() ![]() Needless to say, things go south and the nations collide. are tasked with providing security at a meeting of dignitaries and national leaders. Crossbell, every bit an important character in this narrative despite being a mere location, plays host to a meeting of the bordering rival nations. ![]() While the initial chapter is very much about checking in with how these characters and this city have handled the scandals and disruption from the previous game, the story comes to a boil deep into its second chapter, leveraging Trails’ focused character narrative to deliver a surprise denouement to the Cold War simmering on the continent of Zemuria. Developers Nihon Falcom appreciate that players have already invested at least 40 hours in this saga already, so why not take that experience and have these characters reflect the prowess and powers developed during their journey thus far. Unlike other franchise sequels of the era, Azure makes no effort to nerf these characters as they begin their new chapter. There are no early hours spinning tyres and grinding before characters feel powerful and fights begin to get more dynamic than simply spamming basic attack commands to mow down turn-based monster encounters found on the highways orbiting Crossbell. Tails To Azure welcomes returning players with a warm embrace. It doesn’t hurt that the sharp graphical charm and chibi-esque character models evoke the best-looking isometric Japanese RPGs to grace the PlayStation One toward the end of its lifespan. Azure works best as a kind of ‘disc two’ companion to its predecessor, with the vast majority of locations, abilities, and characters shared between the two games of the Crossbell arc. The party composition rotates out steadily between chapters, with an emphasis on powerful and unique partner combos synergising between the changing faces of the party.Īzure picks up shortly after the previous game’s confrontation with a mysterious and malevolent cult operating in the shadows of Crossbell with vague political affiliations. As a result, infamous side characters like the effeminate gang leader Wazy join the cause, adding a welcome sardonic and indiscriminately flirtatious dynamic into the mix. Protagonist Lloyd Bannings’ core team from the previous game is much more fluid this time around, with familiar faces like Randy and Tio often going about their journeys outside of the party. A technologically advanced city-state that operates autonomously between two increasingly polarised bordering empires to the east and west. Come for the story, and stay for the challenging and varied turn-based combat that safely sits among some of the genre’s best.Īs a quick refresher, Zero introduced us to the SSS and the city of Crossbell. ![]() The closing of this newcomer-friendly duology within the broader continuity of The Legend of Heroes saga, Trails To Azure sets a gold standard for focused storytelling as part of a far greater and more ambitious meta-narrative. ![]() After last year’s pretty darn decent The Legend of Heroes: Trails From Zero, it is now time to close out the Crossbell saga of Lloyd Banning and the political conspiracies embroiling the Special Support Section of the Crossbell City police force. ![]()
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