Nihon Falcom’s latest financial report has confirmed that the Trails series, known in Japan as Kiseki, has sold over 8 million copies worldwide.
A report from January 2024 had the figure at 7.5 million as the company began to celebrate the series’ 20th anniversary, but the western release of The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak in July has likely bumped up the sales since then, pushing it past 8 million, and putting it a step closer to the milestone of 10 million.
Though Falcom President Toshihiro Kondo has stated that Trails is reaching its end, that still leaves enough room for it to break through to 10 milion copies sold- especially as the series’ overarching story begins to reach its climax in The Legend of Heroes: Kai No Kiseki – Farewell O’ Zemuria later this year.
While Kai No Kiseki, roughly translated to “The End Of Trails,” will only be releasing in Asia for now, both Falcom and publisher NIS America have promised to speed up English localization for their games, meaning that it must be only a matter of time until it makes its way west.
And The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II is proof of their promise being fulfilled, as it is set for an early 2025 release in the west- a far quicker localization and release than previous games in the series.
Trails is an offshoot of the larger The Legend of Heroes series and a grand saga about the continent of Zemuria, with arcs dedicated to each of its four main nations of Liberl, Crossbell, Calvard, and Erebonia.
Trails in the Sky and Trails in the Sky SC cover the Liberl arc and were the first games in the series, but are both unavailable on modern consoles.
Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure comprise the Crossbell arc.
Trails through Daybreak and Trails through Daybreak II, alongside the upcoming Kai No Kiseki, make up the Calvard arc.
And Trails of Cold Steel I to IV make up the Erebonia arc.
Each arc references or honors the other arcs by mentioning events and bringing in characters from other games in the series. As such, to play games later in the timeline, such as Trails into Reverie– which leads into Trails through Daybreak- players need to have knowledge of and experience with the rest of the series.
Three games are usually singled out as the best starting points for newcomers:
Trails in the Sky, Trails from Zero, and Trails of Cold Steel I.
While neither Trails in the Sky nor Trails of Cold Steel I are available in English on Nintendo Switch, both Trails from Zero and its sequel, Trails to Azure, are- making the Crossbell arc the best choice for Switch players.
As the series marks 20 years and 8 million units sold, now might be a better time than any to see what Trails and the land of Zemuria have to offer.
Source / VIa
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