Impressions / PAX

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II PAX West Impression

by Sarah Ferries · September 10, 2024

Quick Arts can now be cast during the field combat instead of only during turn-based combat, which helps make it more engaging.

After getting western RPGamers started with a fresh arc in Trails through Daybreak earlier this year, NIS America wasted in announcing a western release for Nihon Falcom’s The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II. The game follows on shortly after the events of the first game, returning players to the Republic of Calvard as following the further exploits of Van Arkride. The capital of Edith once again acts as the main hub for the story, but the game includes a variety of new locations, including the virtual Märchen Garten.

In addition to the new content, it brings in improved and new battle mechanics. The PAX West demo opened up in the first dungeon of the game, with Van accompanied by the returning Elaine Auclair. Like the previous game, Daybreak II features a mixture of real time combat in the field and turn-based combat, players being able to switch between the two.

One of the new features are EX Chains, which are triggered by hitting a stunned enemy used during turn-based encounters. This allowed Van to team up with the nearby Elaine for a combo on the enemy. In addition, Quick Arts can now be cast during the field combat instead of only during turn-based combat, which helps make it more engaging. The Quick Arts were really helpful and that was probably my favorite thing about the combat system, so I could cast some fun abilities without having to go into turn-based combat, which made the battles quicker.

After being put on the backburner for the previous game, mini-games are also back in Trails of Daybreak II: fishing and basketball to name a couple. As is normal for the series, it’s hard to glean too much from a short event demo, but with the updated battle system I think it will be enjoyed and, despite not being a dedicated player of the series, once I got used to the controls, I rather enjoyed the demo. The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II comes to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC in early 2025.