The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky marks the first game in this strategy role-playing series to see a stateside release. Plenty of tactical elements keep combat interesting and often challenge you to outmaneuver foes in unique ways, while a high difficulty level encourages you to stay one step ahead of your opponents. Though the gameplay of Trails in the Sky is rewarding, it's the twisting plot of love and deceit that really draws you in.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, known as Eiyū Densetsu VI Sora no Kiseki FC (英雄伝説VI 空の軌跡FC, Eiyū Densetsu Shikkusu Sora no Kiseki FC?) in Japan is a role-playing video game produced by Nihon Falcom. The game is the first of a trilogy known as Sora no Kiseki. The game was released on Microsoft Windows in Japan on June 24, 2004. The game was re-released on December 23, 2005 at a lower price and in DVD format only. The game was ported to the Sony PlayStation Portable in Japan on October 28, 2006, retitled Eiyū Densetsu: Sora no Kiseki FC, which included voice acting during battles.[3] The game was re-released twice for PC, on March 29, 2007 (for Windows Vista), and December 24, 2009 (Windows 7, which includes the voice acting from the PSP version). The game was re-released again in Japan on November 27, 2008 for the PSP in a bundle called Eiyū Densetsu: Sora no Kiseki Set, which includes the trilogy of Sora no Kiseki games. This version was re-released in the Super Price Set line on December 10, 2009. On May 14, 2010, XSEED Games announced that they will be bringing over the Sora no Kiseki trilogy as The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky starting with the release of the first game in 2011.
| Developer(s) | Nihon Falcom |
| Publisher(s) | Nihon Falcom
Xseed Games (PSP)
Ghostlight (PSP) |
| Artist(s) | HACCAN, Yuu Shiina |
| Composer(s) | Hayato Sonoda, Wataru Ishibashi, Takahide Murayama |
| Series | The Legend of Heroes |
| Engine | Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim engine |
| Version | 1.0.4.7 [1] (PC) |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable |
| Release date(s) | Microsoft Windows
PlayStation Portable
- JP October 28, 2006
- NA March 29, 2011
- EU TBA 2011
|
| Genre(s) | RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | |
| Media/distribution | CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, UMD |
System requirements 550 MHz Pentium III, 192 MB RAM, 1.9 GB hard disk space, 32 MB VRAM, DirectX 8.1 (Minimum)
800 MHz Pentium III, 384 MB RAM (Recommended) [ |
Gameplay
A field map
This game's constructed by a series of maps that make up the world. Generally maps are made up mainly of two types: field maps and town maps. Most maps are 3D rotatable. Field maps consists of mainly monsters roaming around, which on touch will engage into combat screen. The background field for the battles will be determined by where the battle was engaged. These field maps often contain treasure chests that may just lie around or hidden, requiring the player to rotate their screen or see a "!" mark which indicates an object. Town maps are more loaded with NPCs and shops. Shops generally have their own buildings and logo on the minimap which can be toggled within the town. Players start off in the district of Rolent and travel around the world as the game progresses. The game has a main storyline and heaps of sidequests that can be started at the Bracer's guild or just by talking to NPCs. Sidequests are well-rewarded and will assist in the main story severely.
Interesting bracer missions enrich exploration, which makes investigating the game's simple mazes much more fulfilling. Each town has its own unique scenario that advances the story, creatively blending plot elements with dungeons. In one job, you escort a clueless photographer through a monster-infested tower so she can snap the perfect photo; another has you staging an undercover rescue operation in a heavily guarded villa. You also trigger a decent variety of side quests, including monster-extermination jobs and treasure hunts. Though most of the game's dungeons amount to little more than mazes, their hidden corridors and optional bosses keep them enticing.
Good enemy variety and clever bosses should keep you on alert. Monsters wield a diverse skill set that rivals your own, and they're crafty enough to adjust their tactics, depending on your actions. Enemies frequently surround your healers or inflict you with such status ailments as confusion if you get too close, which sends your dazed teammates after your mages. Bosses also cast strong area spells or use inventive tactics, calling for backup or exploding upon death to get the last laugh. Despite these numerous challenges, the game's difficulty remains very player friendly by automatically adjusting itself if you experience problems. This handy tweaking covers everything from standard battles to missions. For example, in one segment, you're required to sneak around a town while avoiding enemy soldiers. The game gradually reduces the number of patrolling guards if you're caught, limiting any potential frustration while still prompting you to think.
Detailed 3D environments highlight the game's charming atmosphere, spanning towering architecture and a lush wilderness that is thick with forests and meadows. Towns feature intricate buildings, cute sign posts, and tiny food stalls that add to the picturesque scenery. The game's short characters look a little strange at first, but their detailed outfits and cute portraits quickly grow on you while boosting their personality. A good soundtrack sets just the right tone, supplying a haunting harmonica melody for romantic scenes and peppy Celtic tunes for exploration. Battle effects look and sound good, with S-breaks and advanced spells adding enough flair to keep you interested, although the minimal voice acting is a disappointment.
Combat
A combat screen
Combat is held in a separate screen with square tiles (default camera position at 45degrees to the squares). Each character and enemy takes their turn when their AT bar is full (on the left of combat screen). Options for characters are: Move, Attack, Arts, Craft, Item and Retreat. You are allowed to move before you do any other action except retreat, but all other actions will terminate the turn immediately after.
- Move: allows the character to go onto a different tile than the one he/she is currently on.
- Attack: uses equipped weapon to deal damage to the enemy. Different weapons have different ranges and areas of effect.
- Arts: different powers that become available basing on the combination of quartz you have equipped on that character's orbment. Requires EP and takes time to use.
- Craft: these are the character's individual special skills which developed from each of their unique equipped weapons. They are unique to each character and require CP to use. However they are instantaneous and take place immediately.
- S-Craft: A special type of craft that's categorized within it. When the character's CP reaches at least 100, the character's set "special" can be triggered on the press of a button that depends on the character's slot. After the current turn has finished, the character that was triggered will perform their special straight away, thus burning up his AT bar again. However it should be noted that the character can take their turn, then activate their S-craft straight after. Thus proving a useful tool for urgent needs. It is also very useful to steal bonus events (such as "critical" or "att up") with S-Craft to further enhance the damage output of the move..
Combat terminates when all enemies are destroyed and having your whole party wiped out will normally result in gameover, with a few exceptions in events.
Characters
Playable characters
Estelle Bright (エステル・ブライト, Esuteru Buraito?)
Japanese voice: Akemi Kanda
English voice: Stephanie Sheh
16, the main female character of the game, she is a rather naive and straightforward girl who's always energetic and positive. She was born and raised in the rural areas of Rolent, a quiet farming and mining town based just north of the Kingdom's capital. She is very boyish both in appearance and hobby, loving to fish and collect sports shoes (as a child she was also an avid insect hunter). She learned the ways of the staff directly from her father. She has a crush on Joshua but doesn't realize it for most of the First Chapter. In combat she's a well-rounded character that has somewhat above-average Orbment skills and one of the most powerful single character super moves. The downside to it is that her super move can only hit one enemy at a time. Her orbment has no elemental restrictions, unlike the rest of the cast.
Joshua Bright (ヨシュア・ブライト, Yoshua Buraito?)
Japanese voice: Mitsuki Saiga
English voice: Johnny Yong Bosch
16, the main male character, adopted 5 years ago by Cassius, is a quiet youth with black hair and amber eyes who's always there to keep the hot-headed Estelle from getting too deep into trouble. His special hobby is to play the harmonica, and in combat he wields dual swords. As the story rolls into the Second installment, it is revealed that his true identity was Enforcer # 13 code-named "Pitch Black Fang" (漆黒の牙) of the secret evil society "Ouroboros". He specialized in assassination and infiltration. Ever since he was young, his mind and heart was modified by Professor Weissman (by using suggestion) to be most proficient at performing those tasks. In the past, he has killed countless people heartlessly. He was assigned to assassinate Cassius Bright, but was instead defeated (even though Cassius, the "sword saint" himself admitted it was a difficult battle). In truth, the organization had already anticipated his defeat, and had his memory wiped after it. The true purpose of his mission was for him to become a mole to spy on Cassius. Through Professor Weissman's suggestion, Joshua was unknowingly passing information to the organization over the last 5 years. When his memory recovers at the end of the First Chapter, Joshua is shocked, and starts hating Ouroboros for the misdeeds they have done, and himself for having helped them. Soon after, Joshua leaves Estelle and works alone to try to take down Ouroboros, because of the promise he once made to Cassius to leave his family should he become a burden. After recovering his memory, he becomes exponentially stronger, enough to surprise the people he has met before. In several cutscenes in the Second Chapter, Joshua is capable of defeating several enemies in an instant, or infiltrating heavily guarded places without being caught. Even in the game, he is one of the most powerful characters especially in the first two installments. All his skills are very useful attacks and his two later super moves are all powerful attacks on all enemies, to the point that it deals even more damage than some of the supers that hit only one enemy. Having high stats, his speed is unrivaled in the game. His Orbment skill is also above average, but more offensively oriented.
Agate Crosner (アガット・クロスナー, Agatto Kurosunaa?)
Japanese voice: Takayuki Kondō
English voice: Bryce Papenbrook
24, he hails from a small village in rural Boss area but also spent most of his youth in the port city of Ruan as the leader of the Raven clan. He is one of the up-and-coming bracers in the kingdom, nicknamed "heavy sword" for his use of such weapons in combat. He always appears angry and grumpy on the surface but is in fact a caring youth who looks after newcomers like the Brights. As the story develops, he gets increasingly more connected to Tita Russell. In combat, Agate is a pure physical character that has little chance of developing useful Orbment skills. In the first installment he's relatively less useful due to his poor combination of Orbment skills and rather limited selection of combat skills. However, from the second installment on he becomes incredibly powerful as one of his skill's new level allows him to basically spam super moves indefinitely, along with a 3rd super move "Dragon Dive" that is a powerful attack on all enemies. He thus rapidly becomes one of the best combat-oriented characters in the game.
Tita Russel (ティータ・ラッセル, Tiita Rasseru?)
Japanese voice: Hiromi Konno
12, a female child residing in the city of Zeiss, she is the granddaughter of Albert Russell, the founding father of Orbment technology in the kingdom and a genius inventor. Thanks to her genes, Tita is also incredibly skilled in machinery and orbment technology. Despite her young age she's already an apprentice in the central workshop, the most important R&D facility in the realm. An adorable figure, she's beloved by all around her, though when she works with orbment she often becomes indifferent to her surroundings and starts bombarding others with excessive information on the subject (a trait that appears to run in the family). In combat she uses a modified orbment cannon, and in the 3rd installment she can also man a combat robot.
As the story develops, she becomes increasingly close to Agate Crosner, a relationship that draws much snickers from other PCs (mostly directed toward Agate), as well as dread and anger from Tita's parents.
In the game, Tita is the only character that has an area of effect attack as her normal attack. Her moves are limited but all very useful in general. Despite her appearance, she's a very physical attacker. She has below-average Orbmential abilities, as well as one of the lowest amount of hp and move points in the game. However her attack points score high and she is especially useful in dealing with numerous enemies. In the 3rd installment her Orbmental Gear ability also transforms her into a super high HP/defense/attack character (double HP, +20% STR/DEF, clears status and buffers positive or negative, gains several status immunities) with new and exclusive crafts, at the cost of casting Orbment, chain crafts or S-breaks.
Scherazard Harvey (シェラザード・ハーヴェイ, Sherazaado Haavei?)
Japanese voice: Yuka Shioyama
English voice: Michelle Ruff
23, a female Bracer with silver hair and dark skin, nicknamed "Silver Flash". She is a sisterly figure to the Brights, and looks after them through much of their journey. She is also a student under Cassius. Born in the slums of a foreign realm, she was picked up by a traveling circus as a child, and after the circus disbanded she stayed under Cassius and became a bracer. She is well versed in dancing, cards and thief skills. Her hobby is drinking, and she's often seen drunk during the game. Her favorite drinking partners are Anna Howell, the guild's Rolent branch attendant (and a woman that never gets drunk), and Olivier Lenheim. In combat, she wields a whip which allows her a little distance to avoid getting too close and is mostly a Orbment-oriented figure. She scores very high on Orbmential attack and cans easily construct high-level Orbment skills. Her physical attack scores on the lower half with only somewhat useful combat skills, except one that allows her to boost the attack order of all other PCs (Heaven's Kiss). Her original super move only hits one enemy at a time, and she only gets a second area-effect move late toward the second installment.
Olivier Lenheim (オリビエ・レンハイム, Olibie Renheimu?)
Japanese voice: Takehito Koyasu
English voice: Travis Willingham
26, a handsome blond man from the Erebonian empire who claims to be a traveling musician. He is indeed blessed with great music talents on almost all instruments, but is also extremely carefree and has peculiar tastes. Some of his antics include drinking an incredibly expensive wine after giving a performance at a local restaurant (which gets him in jail) and making several passes at all other attractive characters, including Joshua (in his eyes, he is the Hunter of Love). His childhood friend Muller Vanders is a military officer stationed in the Kingdom, and is often seen trying to stop Olivier from becoming an even bigger embarrassment. In reality, he is the prince of the Erebonian empire, and while not in line for succession, he is plotting his own power struggles back at home, and is seeking the help of Cassius Bright. He is also used in his travels in Liberl Kingdom as a popularity ploy back at home. In the second installment he organizes a scheme with Cassius that defuses a potentially explosive situation between the two nations.
In combat, Olivier is probably the best Orbmential character in the first two installments, only topped by Renne in the 3rd. He has very little limitation to his orbment, he wields an Orbment pistol in combat, his skills are limited but still generally useful enough for support purposes.
Kloze Rinz (クローゼ・リンツ, Kurooze Rintsu?)
Japanese voice: Yuuko Minaguchi
English voice: Cristina Vee
16, a female student in the Royal Jenis academy in rural Ruan area. She is a calm and sensitive figure who looks after kids in foster homes. She has a pet white falcon named Giku and is also the school's fencing champion. Her name is changed to Kloe in the localized PSP release and Giku is changed to Seig. She is in fact Claudia von Ausleze, the granddaughter of Queen Alicia II, and as the plot unfolds she ends up becoming the crowned princess, due to be the next Queen of the kingdom. Like many of the similar aged female PCs in this game, she also has a crush on Joshua Bright. During the First installment, her uncle tried to get her married to a Prince from the Erebonian empire, and it is revealed in the second installment that the Prince of that ill-fated marriage was in fact Olivier.
In the game, she is a very strictly Orbmential character. She has one of the lowest physical damage rating, but also one of the top Orbmential attack skills. Her orbment however restrict her to a support oriented caster focused on healing. Her super move is also a healing move (in the later installments she also gets a pretty powerful Orbment attack move). She also has a very good move where she can summon Giku and lower enemies' defense and physical attack power.
Zin Vathek (ジン・ヴァセック, Zin Vatekku?)
Japanese voice: Tetsu Inada
English voice: Patrick Seitz
30, a giant of a man hailing from the Galbaad republic, he is a skilled martial artist and one of the highest-ranking bracers in the entire world. (Level A, he claims that there are only a couple dozen level A's in the world, and 4 level S, including Cassius Bright), nicknamed "the Unmovable" a reliable figure that gave the Brights a great deal of support. Originally he traveled to the Kingdom to participate in a martial arts competition; however, it was actually a cover, since he was asked by Cassius to help Estelle. He is also an old friend with the Zeiss branch Bracer guild attendant. However his participation in the game soon gets much more personal in the second installment. His name is changed to Zane in the localized PSP release. As a character, he is obviously very physically oriented. Having almost always the highest HP and defense in the game, as well as the ability to vastly boost his personal defense and attack attributes, he is a "tank" character.
Kevin Graham (ケビン・グラハム, Kebin Gurahamu?)
Japanese voice: Ryouhei Nakao
22, a young traveling priest of the church with green pointy hairs, he appears to be a positive, light-hearted figure that often gives great advice. In the second installment he helps Estelle many times. It is later revealed that he is actually a knight of the church, in charge of finding and collecting lost ancient artifacts. However, it seems like he has other hidden agendas as well. He wields a crossbow as his weapon. His true identity is one of the Dominion, the group of 12 Knights of the church, #5 code-named "Heretic Inquisitor". His job is to assassinate dangerous figures that threaten the church and society in general. His true mission in the second installment was to assassinate Professor Weissman, the main plotter behind the events in the kingdom and also a defected priest from the church.
He becomes the main character of the 3rd installment of the series, and his dark past is revealed then.
As a character, Kevin is another well-rounded character. In the second installment he is more of a Orbmential and support-oriented character that's more Orbmentially oriented. In the 3rd however his physical ability increases dramatically as more combat-oriented skills show up. His super skill both in the second and 3rd installments, "Grail Sphere", is one of the most powerful support skills in the game, as it can block two attack from any sources with impunity (it is often seen as the best possible move to use in a boss fight).
Anelace Elfead (アネラス・エルフィード, Anerasu Erufiido?)
Japanese voice: Masako Okōchi
18, a young female bracer that's only a couple years senior to Estelle, she's a skilled swordsman that helped Estelle in plan during the first mission and trained with Estelle in the beginning of the second installment. However she's often absent-minded and very childish, an obsessive collector of cute objects such as teddy bears, ice-cream (and Tita Russell), her slogan is "Cute is Justice!", her nutty remarks and actions often dumbfound her colleagues in the same way as Olivier Lehiem. she only played a minor role in the first couple of installments (you can only use her a few times) but becomes a full time character in the 3rd. Her grandfather is a famous master swordsman and also the teacher of Cassius Bright, their style the "eight leaf 1 sword style", runs deep in the game, with almost all light sword character either directly or indirectly belonging to the style.
Another physical oriented character, her stats are only average, below Estelle's. However, her craft are very powerful and versatile. In the 3rd she becomes the best physical attack character throughout half of the game if you finish a certain side quest at the very start that allows her to get a very powerful sword that is only equip-able to her.
Ries Argent (リース・アルジェント, Riisu Arujento?)
Japanese voice: Houko Kuwashima
18 a newly appointed squire in the Church's knighthood, the young sister of the church that is assigned to work under Kevin Graham, the two of them had known each other for most of their childhood, spending years together in the same foster care center ran by the church along with their older sister. on appearance she seems to resemble Kloze Rinz in her calm demeanor, but her thought process often put violent solution up front. she is also obsessive in eating food. being capable of devouring large quantity of food without gaining much weight. Only appearing in the 3rd installment, she's a well rounded character that focuses more on physical attack, her weapon is a special whip-sword.
Alan Richard (アラン・リシャール, Aran Rishaaru?)
Japanese voice: Hiroaki Miura
35, in the first installment he was the colonel of the Kingdom's army, and the head of the newly founded espionage agency. a rising star in the army that use to work under Cassius Bright before he retired. it would soon be revealed that he was plotting for a coup and also tried to attain a powerful relic before he was stopped the Brights and their friends, it turns on that he was being manipulated by Ouroboros. In the second installment he was held in prison for most of the story until the end when he was pardoned on the condition that he and his old crew help fend off attacks from the secret society. afterward he officially retired from the army and founded a detective agency in his home town Ruan.
He becomes a playable character in the 3rd installment. He is a calm and patriotic figure. he learned swordsmanship from Cassius Bright during his youth.
As a character he's probably the most powerful 1 on 1 combat figure in the game, having an incredibly short cooldown on almost all combat skills (aside from being powerful to begin with) a lot of players consider him a bit rigged, especially when properly equipped, against bosses.
Renne (レン, Ren?)
Japanese voice: Kumiko Nishihara
11, a young girl that appears to be traveling with her parents (who claim to be merchants from the Republic) she's quiet a prankster and a strange mix that both appears to be childish at times and well beyond her age at other times. during their time together she became a good friend with Tita Russell. it would be revealed soon that she is in fact Ouroboros Enforcer # 15, "Annihilation Angel" and not only is she an incredibly powerful figure on her own, she also controls a massive combat robot Patel-Matel that's advanced way beyond known technologies.
However, after she was defeated by Estelle towards the end of the Second installment, she flew off with her robot and didn't return to Ouroboros. Estelle and Joshua went on a voyage to find her.
In the 3rd, she ends up joining the crew in their quest to free themselves from Phantasma, her dark past in which she was taken from her parents by an evil cult and used as a child prostitute in a place run by a cult trying to gain influence over important politicians by blackmailing them is revealed.
In Zero no Kiseki all of her past is revealed. She learns that what happened with her parents was a misunderstanding, and settles things with the D∴G Cult when she drops out of the sky with Patel-Matel during the final battle and shoots the final boss, Joachim Gunter with its double buster cannon, thus allowing the main characters to finish him off. She tries to run away with Patel-Matel again after the final battle but the robot, now having gained sentience, instead sets her down in front of Estelle and Joshua. In the ending they return to Liber together, to live as a family.
As a character, she's has a perfectly set up orbment that allows you to construct Orbment completely at will, while also being pretty powerful in physical attack, and her combat moves all comes with chances for instant death. along with a very powerful supermove. the only downside is that like Tita, she's also a low HP character that is sometimes prone to being knocked out quickly.
Julia Schwarz (ユリア・シュバルツ, Yuria Shubarutsu?)
Japanese voice: Yuka Komatsu
28, a female captain in the army, she's the top new generation officers in the army, a great swordsman, she was the commander of the royal guard, also being in charge of the royal air flagship. She taught Kloze her fencing skill, and the two have been close for a long time, she often see herself as her guardian, and was somewhat troubled that as her station grew she became increasingly distant from Kloze.
As a famous female officer that shows a good deal of manliness, she has a group of rabid female fans within the kingdom that often stalks her after work, (including Tita Russell's mother, Alica) needing once to disguise herself as a nun to sneak pass these crazed fans and also used a similar disguise to fool enemy agents.
You can only use her briefly in the second installment, but she becomes a full character in the 3rd.
She is surprisingly balanced figure, a mix of powerful physical and balanced Orbment skills, her combat ability lacks an area of effect move as her normal move, but otherwise she's very balanced, good both in 1 on 1 and group fighting situations.
Muller Vander (ミュラー・ヴァンダール, Myuraa Vandaaru?)
Japanese voice: Hiroshi Isobe
29, a major of the Erebonian Empire army, he hails from a famous noble family who's tradition is the act as the guard of the royal family, having known Olivier since childhood, he has followed him around the world in his power struggles, trying to keep his showboating and/or nutty act from getting out of hand. he is mostly a stern figure, with some rare exceptions (particularly against Olivier, and occasionally Josette Capua) In combat, Mueller is another physical oriented figure that also wields a heavy sword, however he's also swift and well rounded, while not quiet as dramatic as Agate in terms of his super move.
Josette Capua (ジョゼット・カプア, Josetto Kapua?)
Japanese voice: Umeka Shōji
16, the only daughter in the family with two elder brothers, they were originally a noble family in the Erebonian empire, before they were tricked by deceiving merchants and lost their wealth and status, all that was left were their servants and their modified airship, the Mountain Lion. So they became highway bandits operating off the airship, mostly working out of Liberl Kingdom. at the beginning they were low profile and only robbed the rich. however in the first chapter their eldest brother was mind controlled. and decided to rob a commuting air-ship. They were eventually defeated and caught by the Brights because of this. and was imprisoned. during the later coup however, they escaped with the help of Joshua Bright and traveled together.
Josette has a lot in common with Estelle, both appear to be boyish and optimistic and energetic girls, she also has a huge crush on Joshua. because of this, the two girls were always at odds with each other. with Josette usually referring to Estelle as "the brainless one"
Josette however also has a much more feminine side than Estelle, being a great cook and housekeeper, she was able to keep the otherwise all male air-brigade relatively clean.
Another person that Josette doesn't get along with is Muller Vander, who always picks her out and calls her a little brat.
After the second installment, the family was pardoned by the Queen who also help repaid their debt, they decided to start running an air-transportation company instead, shipping goods in need of fast delivery across the world, she acts as the company's manager.
Josette joins the party in the late part of the second installment and becomes a full character in the 3rd
As a character, she's really rather all around below average. wielding an Orbment gun in combat, she's neither that good physically nor any good Orbmentially, the only positive you can really say is that some of her skills are pretty useful, including a Super move that hits everyone and the ability to steal items, and later on a pretty solid normal AOE move as well, and the ability to lower enemy defense.
The Russells
Albert Russel (アルバート・ラッセル, Arubaato Rasseru?)
70, 50 years ago, Dr. Epstine made a great discovery that started the Orbment era. during this short span of time, the technology has transformed every aspect of life in the world, upon his death some 30 years ago, his pupils founded the Epstine corporation in his home country. but their hope to promote this new technology was originally met with many obstacles, and progress was slow, so many of his top students decided to travel abroad in their hope of promoting this brand new breakthrough. Albert Russell is the most successful of the bunch, and is now the most famous orbment scientist in the world. upon his return to Liberl Kingdom, he was able to found a small workshop , and in a couple of years time received tremendous amount of government grant, this along with the Kingdom's plentiful clocksmiths and ore supply, they were able to establish the kingdom as the leading technological country in the world.
Albert played a major role in the war 10 years ago, when he successfully converted a large fleet of airships for military purpose that completely reversed the wars' outcome, he's also been a close friend of both Queen Alicia II the Cassius Bright.
He has been officially retired for a long time now, but is still the primary inventor of most of the kingdom's latest breakthrough. He is among the most well respected and influential figure in the world.
Albert has just one daughter, Alica, who he has a rather poor relationship with, and a granddaughter Tita. who lives with him in the city of Zeiss.
During the first two installment, Albert played a major role in helping out the party's quest. Afterwards with the return of Alica, the entire family shifted their focus to developing new robot military machines to combat Ouroboros.
Erika Russel (エリカ・ラッセル, Erika Rasseru?)
30, the daughter of the legendary inventor Albert Russell, she inherits all of her father's geniuses, and is also a very willful and obsessive inventor herself. over the last 3 year she's been traveling abroad with her husband Dan, in their quest for promoting technology in remote areas of the world. upon hearing of the Kingdom's recent problems, they returned. She differs from her father in that she prefers implementation over innovation, and is often ridiculed by her father to not making any true breakthroughs. the two have a poor relationship on the surface, almost always descending into bickering quickly.
She's also very protective of her daughter Tita, despite leaving her for almost 3 years. she was furious in hearing about her close relationship with "the suspicious red-head" Agate Crosner. and in planned a hysterical array of tricks and traps to try and discourage Agate from Tita.
She's also a big fan of Julia Schwarz, and has a fondness of cute stuff much like Anelace Elfead. she can be a rather hysterical person and seems always on a path of getting herself into deep trouble.
Dan Russel (ダン・ラッセル, Dan Rasseru?)
33, he married into the Russells family, up until 10 years ago, he was still a well accomplished bracer in the kingdom, before injury forced him to retire and take up the career of a tech man, he instructed Cassius Bright on the basics of staff when Cassius first became a bracer. A calm and reliable figure, he acts as "the normal guy" in the family of crazy scientist that is the Russells.
Liberl Kingdom
Cassius Bright (カシウス・ブライト, Kasiusu Buraito?)
Japanese voice: Yukimasa Kishino
45, the father of Estelle and Joshua. He is a legend in both the Bracers guild and the military. Up until 10 years ago he was still a military officer in the kingdom, and was the key figure in corporation with Dr. Russell of turning around the 100 days war. and was known as "Kensei" or the Sword Saint for his unrivaled prowess with the blade. however during the war he lost his wife. and afterwards he decided to leave the military and take up the life of a Bracer. He soon achieved great prestige within the Brace guild as well, quickly becoming one of only 4 man across the world to hold the title of a level S. the highest possible level that is only given on very special occasions. he keep most of his past hidden from his daughter Estelle. including how he adopted Joshua.
In the first installment, he was forced by an Ouroboros plot to travel abroad, and during this time Alan Richard attempted a coup, he returned just in time at the very end.
After the coup, he decided that it was time to return to the military and try to fix the crumbling system. he was soon promoted to be the effective leader of the entire kingdom's military.
During the second installment he was the main plotter to fight against Ouroboros, often playing mind games and strategic decisions. rather than actually participating in the fight. toward the very end he saved his kids from sure doom when he flew in to the crumbling flying city with a dragon and saved Estelle and Joshua.
In the 3rd installment, the party will have to combat him, or rather the Shadow Kingdom's duplication of him towards the late stages.
He is set up as the game's strongest single character. with an unrivaled ability in martial arts. Zin said the "his greatest strength is his ability to see the truth, rather than just speed and power"
Alicia von Ausleze (アリシア女王, Arisia Joou?)
60, the ruling Queen of the kingdom for the last 40 years. she's been known as a great leader both domestically and internationally, a benevolent leader who's a loving and clam figure much like her granddaughter Claudia, but also very shrewd in politics. In the first installment, a coup try to dethrone her but failed. in the second installment she setup a 3 way peace agreement with the Kingdom's two major neighbors.
Duke Dunan (デュナン公爵, Dunan Koushaku?)
A the nephew of Queen Alicia, he is the only other royal family member of the Kingdom to appear in the game, apparently he's quite well known and politically influential, although he is an arrogant and often stupid person. with a matching appearance as a plumped man with weird hairstyle. In the first installment, he was manipulated by Alan Richard, who wanted to set him up as a puppet king, after Richard was defeated by the Brights, Duke Duran was put under house arrest by the queen.
He was obviously unhappy with the situation and took it out on Kloze, his niece and now heir apparent to the throne, however after he was pardoned and with the kingdom facing grave peril, he begun to change into a more reliable and respectable figure, working hard to help Queen Alicia and Kloze to run the country.
He is always followed around by his butler Phillips.
Butler Philippe (執事フィリップ, Shitsuji Firippu?)
Japanese voice: Tomohisa Asō
An elder who is the butler of Duke Duran, he had served him since the Duke's birth, and is often seen running around cleaning up the mess his boss gets into, he seem to take a lot of blame on himself for the way Duke Duran is turning out, and was relieved later on when he started to turn more responsible. He was in fact the former captain of the Kingdom's royal guard, nicknamed "Sword Fox" in the second installation he took on the 4 Ouroboros Enforcers when they attempted to assault the kingdom's castle. he was defeated but the Enforcers held him in high regard nonetheless.
in the 3rd installation, the PCs will have a few chances to face him in combat.
General Morgan (モルガン将軍, Morugan Syougun?)
An elder who is the head of the Kingdom's military force, he is an extremely stern and often stubborn figure, he has a serious grudge against the bracer guild, most likely triggered by the fact that his finest officer, Cassius Bright, left the army to join the guild 10 years ago. He is however, also a brave and honorable officer, the reigning champion of the Kingdom's martial arts competition for many years.
Ouroboros
Ouroboros (身喰らう蛇, Migurau Hebi?) is a secret society which also the one responsible on all events in the trilogy. The Ouroboros is led by a mysterious figure called The Leader (盟主, Meishu?), under her was a skilled agents called Angis (蛇の使徒, Hebi no Shito?), and under the Angisses are Legion (執行者, Shikkousha?). All of them are a persons with an extraordinary skills. The Leader (盟主, Meishu?)
The leader of Ouroboros. Everything about this figure is a complete mystery, as nothing about him/her is known except that he/she holds a weapons made from The Outside Reason. The First Angis
Only appears during a conversation in the 3rd, this figure seems to be the leader of the Angises,
The Second Angis
Only appears during a conversation in the 3rd, she is a woman under the title The Abyss (深淵, Shinen?), she holds quite a liking towards Leonhardt and calls him Leon. George Weissman -The Faceless- (白面ゲオルグ・ワイスマン, Hakumen Georugu Waisuman?)
Japanese voice: Tanaka Hideyuki
The Third Angis and chronically the first Angis that appears on the trilogy, he is called "Professor" by his comrades. Not only he is the mastermind behind all events on FC and SC but he is also the one who is responsible for The Tragedy of Harmel which also the reason of why The One Hundred Days War occurred in the first place. He assumes the identity of Professor Alba (アルバ教授, Aruba Kyojuu?), during FC to complete his plans and also to watch over Estelle and Joshua. He possesses the power to manipulate people memories and hypnotize which he uses on many people to do his dirty job for him(One of the victim is Joshua and Richard). His wand was granted by The Leader and have the power to control space to attacks. At the end of SC he absorbs the Aureole and becomes a massive monster called Angel Weissman (アンヘル・ワイスマン, Anheru Waisuman?). After the last battle in SC he was killed by Kevin using The Stake of Salt (塩の杭, Shio no Kui?) to turn his body into salts. His wand which contains the Aureole was retrieved by Campanella. Because of his actions to fulfill his experiments and plans he was hated by his comrades to the point no one (except The Leader) seems to mourn his death.
Throughout FC and SC he is working to fulfill the Gospel Project (福音計画, Fukuon Keikaku?), and believes that it is a large-scale plan to force mankind to evolve and gain absolute knowledge and intelligence. However, he is actually being used by the Leader and the project is actually just to obtain the Aureole, and is just the first step of something called the Orpheus Final Project (オルフェウス最終計画, Orufeusu Saishuu Keikaku?). With it obtained, the Gospel project is a great success and the Orpheus Final Project is able to move on to its next stage. The Fourth Angis
Only appears during a conversation in the 3rd.
The Fifth Angis
Only appears during a conversation in the 3rd.
Doctor Novartis (ノバルティス博士, Nobarutisu Hakase?)
The Sixth Angis, he was also the head of The Thirteen Factories,the one responsible for Ouroboros robots. One of his creation was Renne's Patel-Matel. Arianrhod (アリアンロード, Arianroodo?)
The Seventh Angis, only appears during a conversation in the 3rd. Only in the newest installment of the series, Ao no Kiseki is she is revealed to be a woman wearing an armor with a big lance. She is skilled in every martial arts, possesses a strict moral code and shows no mercy to her enemies, she holds a high expectation for Leonhardt and expecting him to someday surpass her. Campanella -The Fool- (道化師カンパネルラ, Doukeshi Kanpanerura?)
Legion No.0, a young man with a tattoo under his right eye. Although he looks like a normal young man, according to Joshua, even after his days as a Legion Candidate(about 7 years ago) Campanella doesn't seems to change at all raising debate whetever he is a human or not. He serves as the watcher for Weissman's plan and ultimately retrieves Weissman's wand and give it back to The Leader. Leonhardt -The Sword Emperor- (剣帝レオンハルト, Kentei Reonharuto?)
Japanese voice: Hikaru Midorikawa
Legion No.II, known as Löwe (レーヴェ, Reeve?) among his friends. Joshua and Karin's childhood friend, and also a brother figure for Joshua. He once was a young man with a dream of becoming a Bracers. After The Tragedy of Harmel, he was the one that takes care the broken Joshua until Weissman comes and offers him to restore his heart in exchange for their services in Ouroboros. The Tragedy of Harmel has greatly changed his views in humanity, he starts to think that humans are a weak creatures that only seeks the truth that pleases them and abandons all sad truth in the pasts, so he choose to cooperate in Weissman's plan so he can see the true extent of the potential of humans. After the fight against Joshua he comes up with the answer "Even though humans are weak, together they are a strong beings". After granted the answer he chooses to stop Weissman's plan at the cost of his life. After entrusting Joshua to Estelle he took his last breath. Despite all his words about he would kill Joshua if he gets in his way, it is very clear that he always worries about him and feels guilty for not being able to save him, so he feels very grateful for Estelle who has saved him.
Just as his title The Sword Emperor, Leonhardt is an excellent swordsman surpassing even Richard. He can be described as one of the if not the most powerful character in Sora no Kiseki trilogy matched only by Cassius Bright. According to the Fifth Angis he may be the only one that can stands a chance against The Seventh Angis.
His sword Kernviter (ケルンバイター, Kernbaitaa?) is also granted by The Leader just like Weissman's wand, it holds the power to cut through anything for it was not made by this world's reason. Lucciola -The Enchanting Bell- (幻惑の鈴ルシオラ, Genwaku no Suzu Rushiora?)
Japanese voice: Hiromi Nishikawa
Legion No.VI, a woman that uses fans as her weapons. She excels in using a combination of fire and wind Orbment, she also has a power to summons mythical creatures but what makes her a formidable enemy was her skill to creates illusion with her bell. She was once from the Harvey traveling circus like Scherazard. She is also respected as a sister by Scherazard but she mysteriously disappeared after the circus is disbanded. It's revealed that Luciolla holds a feeling towards the ringmaster but sadly that love was one-sided, after she realizes that the circus is going to be disbanded and she will never see the man he loves again she choose to kill the ringmaster under beliefs that he'd be her forever.
After she lost against Estelle and the others,she fell from the Ribel Ark and it is currently unknown whether she survives or not.
Walter -The Lanky Wolf- (痩せ狼ヴァルター, Yase Ookami Varutaa?)
Japanese voice: Takahiro Yoshimizu
Legion No.VIII a man with a black suit and sunglasses, uses his fists as his weapons. He was once from the martial artist dojo Calm Dip Flow (泰斗流, Taitoryuu?) just like Zin. As a martial artist Walter himself has a tremendous power as shown when he destroys the Grancell castle gate with one strike. He was Kirika's lover and the expected successor of the dojo, or that was supposed to be the case. The truth is the dojo master and also Kirika's father, Ryuuga decides to give the successor seat to Zin instead. After hearing this, Walter that can't accept this fact asked Ryuuga to let him fight against Zin. But Ryuuga said Zin will just let Walter win unconsciously both in martial arts and woman. Walter starts to go mad and so Ryuuga choose to fight him in place of Zin and ultimately gets killed by his own disciple. Unknown to him Ryuuga was in fact was deadly ill at the time, Ryuuga's intention all along was to teach Walter and Zin the way of life of a martial artist by choosing to die by the hand of his number one disciple, Walter.
Blblanc -The Phantom Thief- (怪盗紳士ブルブラン, Kaitou Shinshi Buruburan?)
Japanese voice: Hiroaki Miura
Legion No.X, a masked man with a white cape often seen with a rose. He was a famous thief from Semuria under the alias "Phantom Thief B". He is obsessed with beauty and saw Kroze as a charming woman, Estelle calls him "Pervert Mask". He cooperated with Weissman's plan as to steal "Hope", because he thinks that the faces of those that resist and cling into hopes are beautiful.
He goes to Crossbell in Zero no Kiseki and is part of one subquest where he steals a statue and hides it in the mayor's bedroom. Joshua Astray -The Black Fang- (漆黒の牙ヨシュア・アストレイ, Shikkoku no Kiba Yoshua Asutorei?)
Japanese voice: Mitsuki Saiga
See Joshua Bright for more details. Renne -The Angel of Extermination- (殲滅天使レン, Senmetsu Tenshi Ren?)
Japanese voice: Kumiko Nishihara
See Renne for more details.
Plot
The game takes place in Liberl Kingdom, 10 years after the great invasion of Erebonian Empire from the north. Currently it is being governed by the old queen Alicia II and restored back to its peaceful state before the war. Currently the kingdom thrives of materials and high technology which is eyed closely by the Erebonian Empire.
The main character is Estelle Bright, daughter of Cassius Bright who is a legend within the kingdom. During the great war, Erebonian managed to break their way through to the capital city. Here, under the direction and counter-attack planned by Cassius, Liberl launched a retaliation that forced the opponent to retreat back to the borders within a few weeks. After the war, Cassius gave up his sword and left the army, joining the Bracer's guild and enhancing it to its glory state and was given the S ranking.
Estelle is completely ignorant of her father's past and history but settles comfortably in the house at Rolant. When she was at a young age, her father was assaulted by a young child of amazing combat abilities but loses his memory in the fight and becomes adopted by Cassius. This child was named Joshua Bright and is the main male character of the story. From there Estelle was taught the usage of staff and starts off the story on the day when she is going to join the Bracer's guild with Joshua.
The story progresses as normal Bracer's guild quests unveiling the dark side of the government, a faction of the army that decides to overthrow the old queen. This eventually leads to the exploration of the ancient facilities in the Liberl Kingdom... and it turns out that the manager of the army was just being used by a mastermind who's an adept at controlling people's minds. This also leads on to the second story, with Joshua's past unveiling in the ending.
Trails in the Sky is a 50-hour epic that boasts plenty of side quests to undertake. There isn't much in the way of bonus content once you finish the adventure, but there is a new game-plus mode that lets you experience it all again after selecting which goods you want to carry over, including money and character levels. You can also unlock both hard and nightmare modes, boosting the difficulty level for an even greater challenge.
Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky features a good strategic focus and a plethora of fierce opponents, but its riveting narrative is where it really shines. The transformation of a simple rescue mission into a vast conspiracy against the throne should put you on the edge of your seat, while Joshua and Estelle's budding romance steals the show. The result is a heartwarming adventure that marks a welcome North American debut for the series.
Gears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was initially released as an exclusive title for the Xbox 360 in November 2006 in North America, Australia, and most of Europe and included a "Limited Collector's Edition" with added content and an art book titled Destroyed Beauty that detailed much of the game's back-story. Despite the initial statements of Xbox 360 exclusivity, a Microsoft Windows version of the game was developed in conjunction with People Can Fly and released a year later, featuring new content including additional campaign levels, a new multiplayer game mode, and Games for Windows LIVE functionality.
