A beloved classic RPG recently got a hefty remake, serving as a reminder that blockbuster cinematics aren’t the end-all, be-all for game storytelling.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky originally launched in 2004 for the PlayStation Portable and PC. A continuation of the Legend of Heroes franchise, Trails in the Sky would actually serve as the « 1st chapter » of a new series, referred to collectively as Trails. Over the course of two decades, Trails has evolved from a humble but impressively detailed project to a multiplatform success, albeit one that has struggled to match the popularity of JRPG franchises like Final Fantasy and Persona. In an attempt to combat this disparity, developer Nihon Falcom launched 2025’s Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, a transformative remake that, while perhaps not quite as flashy as something like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, is nevertheless impressive and meaningfully iterative. More than anything, it’s a much-welcome reminder that classically paced, choice-influenced single-player campaigns should still be welcomed in the RPG space.
The Movie-Like Game Has Gotten Increasingly Popular, Both Inside and Outside the JRPG Genre
Production value for video games of all genres has increased exponentially in recent years. On the one hand, you have something like Death Stranding 2, whose photorealistic graphics, stunning cinematography, scoring, and editing give it the feel of a real movie. But even less visually ambitious titles, including JRPG-style games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, tend towards the spectacular and cinematic. In other words, more and more video games aim to adopt a movie-like style of presentation, dialog, pacing, and the like, and with development tech becoming both more accessible and more advanced, such lofty ambitions are relatively attainable.
