RPG Site reports that Nihon Falcom wants to re-release the Trails In The Sky series eventually.

Thanks Couchpotato!

Could a PC release be in the future for the second arc of the Legend of Heroes series? Trails to Zero and Trails of Azure have appeared in Chinese on Steam Greenlight, fueling speculation about the long-awaited Crossbell Arc coming to our desktops.

The same developer, Joyoland, is also seeking Greenlight support for the ARPG hit Ys: Memories of Celceta, as well as Ys Seven.  Hopefully XSEED is paying attention and will deliver an English localization (and hopefully others).

FuzzicalFighter sent us a fantastic editorial about world building and the enjoyment of video game worlds, focusing on Trails in the Sky as a shining example.

Thanks, FF!

RPGamer gave The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky a score of 4/5 in a new review, and in the end seems to have enjoyed playing the JRPG. Here is a small sample.

As it originally hails from 2004, Trails is unlikely to tax any computer made in more recent years with its graphical complexity. The game is pleasing to the eye though, and certain effects accomplished with lit objects that cast shadows on the character sprites are still interesting to behold. Not everything in the game is visually resplendent, but the presentation is never ugly.

 Falcom's music team is renowned for top quality work, and this title is another demonstration of why that is so. Music heard early in the game is pleasant to the ear and often quite catchy, yet the themes heard in later scenarios show off excellent compositional flair. The variety of tracks heard is also wide enough to keep repetition to a minimum, ensuring a feast for the ears. Characters say a few things in battle, but not enough to really gauge their performance quality.

 The cliffhanger on which this first installment of Trails in the Sky ends served its purpose of getting me to eagerly await the next chapter, which makes sense when the story was originally conceived as a single massive title. Japanese developers may not use the PC much even now, but Falcom is the exception to prove the rule, and hopefully more of its output will become accessible for the rest of the world soon. I didn't love this game with every fiber of my being, but I certainly had a good time throughout, which is more than I can say for some titles.

I rounded up three new reviews for The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky.

Chalgyr's Game Room - 8/10

In all seriousness, though, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is a wonderful title. While it has a number of fairly big bugs, the gameplay and story as rock solid and bring out the best in a genre that needs more attention. I may be the target audience that Nihon Falcom had in mind, with their use of well-known voice actors to fans of anime / certain types of video games, and the emphasis on grinding, captivating combat, a wonderful crafting (cooking) system, and an engaging story, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, with a little work will be one of the better JRPG releases of 2014. The problem is the bugs are just too prevalent in the game and the workarounds (not fixes) are simply not acceptable in this day in age. For all of its faults, though, I am deeply attached to The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky.

Capsule Computers - 8/10

Trails in the Sky snuck up on me, albeit very slowly. It’s a traditional JRPG that does nothing new, but executes the tropes and mechanics of the genre to a very high standard. The game has been translated cleanly and works like a charm. The story and characters benefit from the slow burn in the end, and the lovely soundtrack and solid battle system make for an engrossing experience. With two more parts to go it is certainly a great investment for gamers looking to dive into another universe for many, many hours. Bring on part two.

Hardcore Gamer - 4.5/5

Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is one of the finest JRPGs in the history of the genre, and that still holds true for its Steam debut. Even as it revels in nostalgia for its forebears, it forges ahead on its own path. Trails offers a thrilling adventure through one of the most complete and enthralling worlds ever rendered, and lets you take it alongside a cast of charming, affable heroes. Anyone looking for their RPG fix, be they fans of western or eastern design, will fall in love within seconds.

Legend of Heroes is a classic of sorts that has been released on GoG.  Turn Based, 2D, Linear Story.  Its worth checking out if you are a GoG only type purchaser.

- Classic JRPG with over 50 hours of gameplay, strategic turn-based combat, and countless side-quests.

- A vast world where every NPC has a name and personality, every town has its own unique politics and economic concerns, and no detail is ever trivial.

- Widescreen and USB gamepad support, selectable difficulty and new game+ features.

XSEED Games has finally announced the release date for The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is July 29th. The game will be available on Steam and GOG.

Hailed as one of the largest, longest and most meticulously detailed turn-based JRPG series of all time, this first chapter in the ongoing Trails saga sets the stage for what's quickly become Ys developer Nihon Falcom's most popular and best-selling franchise in their entire 30+ year history.

Thanks Joxer for the news tip.

Siliconera has news fom XSeed about the PC release of The Legend Of Heroes.

Xseed got in touch with us to let us know that the game is “definitely not delayed to Summer,” and is still planned for release in “Winter 2014″.

RPGamer interviews Ken Berry the Executive Vice President of XSEED Games about the release of The Legend Of Heroes on Steam.

Michael A. Cunningham (RPGamer, Editor-in-Chief): Greetings, and thanks for taking the time to chat with us. Let's jump into the big news, Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC is coming to Steam. How did this localization partnership come about?

Ken Berry (XSEED Games, Executive Vice President): Well, after the very long and arduous localization process to get the first one out, sales were a bit disappointing at first considering how much effort and expense went into the project. Falcom wasn't sure they could commit to another gargantuan localization programming effort that was almost double the size and scope of what we had just done, and to be honest we weren't sure we could handle it on our end either. As we were continuing to debate for months what to do, Andrew at Carpe Fulgur offered to take over the translation and editing duties, freeing us up to continue working on all the other projects we already had. That was over 2 years ago, and Carpe Fulgur's been working on it ever since.

As for the Falcom side, thankfully sales of the original Trails has had a long tail and the fans have also been very vocal in their support of the series. That coupled with the great success that Falcom's Ys titles have had on Steam made their decision easier from a financial standpoint.

MAC: I know the amount of text is massive, but other than that what challenges did you face during the localization process?

KB: The main thing has been from a business point of view, especially with the very long localization time needed and the PSP market fading quickly. Should we just concentrate on a PC release despite all the fans hounding us for over 2 years for the sequel having played it on the PSP? Keep in mind that at this time Falcom had publicly stated that Trails SC could not be sold digitally on PSN due to the 2-UMD game being programmed in a certain way. Luckily, this technical issue got solved on their side and we are still able to release the game on PSN for the original PSP fans in addition to the PC version.

MAC: I know initially there was some concern with the original Trails in the Sky coming to Steam due to the content differences between the PC and PSP versions. How did this end up getting worked out?

KB: This is still a work in progress, but if you've played any of our Ys releases on Steam then you'd know that our programmer did some amazing things by combining the best features from multiple past releases into a single "ultimate" version, so fingers crossed the same magic can happen again so that the PC version has all the added features from the PSP release.

XSEED announces The Legend Of Heroes: Trails In The Sky SC. The game will be coming to PSVita, and digitally to PC this winter.

XSEED Games, the independent-minded console publishing brand of Marvelous USA, Inc., is pleased to announce a partnership with Carpe Fulgur LLC to bring the much anticipated title, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC, digitally to PC and the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system (including compatibility with the PlayStation®Vita handheld entertainment system) in 2014. The first chapter, previously released for the PSP system as The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky,will also be released for PC this winter.