All things come to an end at some point, and with the final arc making its mark in The Legend of Heroes series, the stage is set for one last adventure with Van Arkride and friends. Developed by Nihon Falcom and releasing on January 15, 2026, for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon is an upcoming RPG destined to take the series beyond anything it has done previously.
Bringing back all members of Arkride Solutions, Beyond the Horizon brings with it a new threat that poses a dire threat to the very future of the entire Zemurian continent, as well as the opportunity to do something new. For the first time ever, the people of Zemuria eagerly anticipate the launch of an orbal rocket that will take humanity beyond the horizon and into space itself.
This is all partly due to Project Startaker, spearheaded by Roy Gramheart, the 23rd President of the Calvard Republic, as the project intends to launch satellites into outer space via the orbal rocket, to establish better communication capabilities and allow for the observation of “environmental phenomena above,” with human space travel to follow after.
So, being as though this is a game where all diverged roads finally come back to fruition and to go beyond the surface, uncovering the darkest secrets of all, the time is now to properly celebrate the 20th anniversary of such an iconic series. As such, because of this fact alone, we’re happy to report that Trails Beyond the Horizon contains one of the biggest rosters to date, thanks to many returning characters, giving players the chance to finally bring their dream party to life.
But there is more to Trails Beyond the Horizon than just gathering allies, as new gameplay mechanics have been implemented to enrich combat all the more. This is due to shard commands, awakenings and time-freezing Z.O.C, which causes enemies to be slowed down and strengthen your party characters, resulting in even more combat options during Field and Command Battles.
Quartz is just as important as it has always been, and improving it at every opportunity can easily turn the tide of battle, but when in doubt, it’s time to rely on dual arts, which cost more Energy Points and are stronger than the usual orbal arts, or rely on the Blitz System. With this, the SCLM system has been expanded, and during Command Battles, by using the likes of normal crafts, attacks and arts, players can earn an AT Bonus Blitz, causing a BLTZ Chain and BLTZ Support to activate.’
During our time with the demo, we got to try out the numerous combat mechanics and experience first-hand how they can influence a fight and boy, do they make a difference. They take some getting used to, but when we tried a tough boss battle without them and immediately got owned, but by relying on Z.O.C, we were able to turn the tide of battle and get a victorious conclusion.
It is quite ironic, though, with the Trails series how the gameplay is always evolving. Every time you finally get used to it and feel like you know it inside and out, a new game in the series comes along to shake up the tried-and-true formula, giving us something new to learn. It’s your typical Trails, and more and having been as deeply invested as we have in this series for the last few years, we certainly owe it to ourselves and the developers to see this series through to the end.
Roll on 2026!
