The Trails / Kiseki series might be one of the biggest RPG franchises around right now — at least, in terms of size and scope.
This storied JRPG saga takes place on the continent of Zemuria and follows different interlinking arcs, characters, and stories. Everything is carefully interconnected, with events affecting other storylines and characters frequently reappearing in future games. And with a staggering 12 mainline games to follow — with a 13th coming out in Japan later this year — its reputation is nothing short of prolific.
The series has been steadily arriving on Switch since 2020, but which one is the best one? Well, we’ve decided to rely on you, the lovely readers, to rank each of the games. And with The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak — the 11th game in the franchise and the 7th title to release on the console in the West — coming out this summer, now is the perfect time to set a course and ride the Trails train.
Don’t worry, this list isn’t set in Cold Steel — you can click on the star next to the game title below and give the game a rating out of 10, and you may well influence the order. So if you’re not happy with the number one pick, then you might be able to change that. It’s all in your hands.
With that, let’s have a look at the best Trails / Kiseki games on Nintendo Switch:
6. The Legend Of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV (Switch)
Publisher: NIS America / Developer: Nihon Falcom
Release Date: 9th Apr 2021 (USA) / 9th Apr 2021 (UK/EU)
Trails of Cold Steel IV is the climax that fans of the series deserve, comprehensively delivering on its promise as the end of a saga while setting up future plotlines that are sure to affect the lore in all kinds of fascinating ways. That said, this is also a rather weird game to recommend. Newcomers absolutely should not play this game first, given that it’s a concluding chapter to an ongoing saga years in the making. Longtime fans, on the other hand, don’t need any convincing, as they’re going to get this game if they’ve already invested the hundreds of hours of legwork that set it up. Assuming that’s you, Trails of Cold Steel IV is a spectacular RPG experience that no fan of the genre will want to miss out on.
5. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III (Switch)
Publisher: NIS America / Developer: Nihon Falcom
Release Date: 30th Jun 2020 (USA) / 30th Jun 2020 (UK/EU)
Trails of Cold Steel III is another excellent addition to a franchise that gains so much of what makes it absorbing from the huge amount of background detail and world-building that’s been achieved in earlier entries in the series. Newcomers should be aware that taking the time out to play Trails of Cold Steel I and II is advised to get the absolute maximum amount of enjoyment out of this one but, even if you’re jumping in fresh, there’s still plenty to love here once you find your feet. With a massive cast of well-written characters and tons of excellent combat and exploration spread across its epic running time, this is a top-notch addition to the Switch’s library of JRPGs.
4. The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails (Switch)
Publisher: NIS America / Developer: Nihon Falcom
Release Date: 19th Sep 2023 (USA) / 19th Sep 2023 (UK/EU)
The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is a fun action RPG that takes elements of the wider series it’s based on and crafts something unique. The minute-to-minute gameplay is also engaging, although with some minor platforming frustrations here and there. While the story may be simplistic and not as politically engrossing as the mainline Trails games, the heartfelt cast of characters and side quests help flesh out its world.
3. The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure (Switch)
Publisher: NIS America / Developer: Nihon Falcom
Release Date: 14th Mar 2023 (USA) / 17th Mar 2023 (UK/EU)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure takes everything that’s excellent about Zero and runs a marathon with it. It’s one of the best-paced games in the series, with some of the best characters, best music, and easily the best setting. The Crossbell Arc is a hugely compelling two-parter that captures everything that makes the Trails series what it is perfectly, and Azure in particular deftly balances high-stakes drama, political intrigue, and poignant character moments. This is one Switch RPG we won’t be feeling blue about anytime soon.
2. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero (Switch)
Publisher: NIS America / Developer: Nihon Falcom
Release Date: 27th Sep 2022 (USA) / 30th Sep 2022 (UK/EU)
In a series renowned for its stellar writing, twisting plots, and wonderful characters, The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero is a stand-out RPG. Narrowing the focus of its story to one state, and honing in on a smaller cast of characters, makes for a fantastic and engrossing adventure that is about both intimate relationships and huge, secretive scandals. The fact that this is just one half of a duology means that, while the story wraps up nicely here, we have tons of questions that we’re itching to get answers to in Trails to Azure. If you haven’t played Trails, it’s time to overcome that barrier, because there’s no better place to zero in on this fantastic series than in Crossbell.
1. The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie (Switch)
Publisher: NIS America / Developer: Nihon Falcom
Release Date: 7th Jul 2023 (USA) / 7th Jul 2023 (UK/EU)
Capping off the Crossbell and Cold Steel arcs with a nice little bow, The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie hits some high highs – such as with C and the True Reverie Corridor – and when it does, it’s an RPG fan’s paradise. But as an overall package, it feels like an easy excuse to get a huge number of characters together rather than do something meaningful with them. It’s far from the series’ best, but fans will find a lot to love here, even if we’d recommend seeking it out on another platform for the best experience, or waiting for a patch.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many games are there in the Trails / Kiseki series?
At the time of writing this, there are 12 mainline games in the Trails / Kiseki series and three spin-offs. Of the main series in the West, five games are on Switch, plus one spin-off. The next Switch title to launch in the West will be the 11th entry, Trails through Daybreak, which arrives in Summer 2024.
The direct sequel, titled Kuro no Kiseki II in Japan, does not have a Western release date, but launched in Japan on PS4 and PS5 in 2022. A 13th game, Kai no Kiseki – Farewell, O Zemuria, was announced later 2023 and is coming out in Japan in 2024.
What is the best Trails / Kiseki game to start with?
There’s no easy way of saying this, but the best place to start really is the beginning of the franchise, so The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is the ideal place to start.
Of course, that’s not available on Switch, so the next best thing is to start at the beginning of an arc. That means if the Switch is your only means of playing the games, then the best place to start is The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero.
Cold Steel III isn’t the worst place to start, but it casually name-drops and spoils essential events from both the Liberl and Crossbell arcs and plenty of characters from each arc drop in and out of the story. So if you start there, prepare to be confused. Just… maybe don’t start with Azure, Cold Steel IV, or Reverie.
If you’re into action RPGs, though, then The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is largely unrelated to the mainline series, so that’s also a perfectly fine entry point.
Can you play the Trails / Kiseki games in any order?
It’s not recommended, but you definitely can — you just might have a few gaps. The series is known for having a long, interconnected story, and characters and events pop up in multiple games in the series. But only part of the series is available on Switch, so if that’s your only method of playing the series, then you’ll have a few gaps.
Ideally, you at least want to play the respective arcs before moving on to another arc. This fantastic guide from RPGFan does a great job of summarising each entry/arc, but we’ll bundle them together for you here. These are also listed in Japanese release date order:
- Liberl Arc – Trails in the Sky, Trails in the Sky SC, Trails in the Sky the 3rd (PSP/PC only)
- Crossbell Arc – Trails from Zero, Trails to Azure (Available on Switch)
- Erebonia Arc – Trails of Cold Steel, Trails of Cold Steel II, Trails of Cold Steel III, Trails of Cold Steel IV, Trails into Reverie (Cold Steel III, IV, and Reverie available on Switch)
- Calvard Arc – Trails through Daybreak, Trails through Daybreak II, Kai no Kiseki (Trails through Daybreak out Summer 2024 in West on Switch).
Is The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky coming to Switch?
Nothing has been confirmed at the moment, but Nihon Falcom president Toshiro Kondo has spoken multiple times about porting Falcom’s back catalogue to other consoles, including the Switch.
He’s also specifically mentioned previous Trails games. Here’s an extract from an interview from 2022 from Kondo:
“…we’re currently testing out the feasibility of porting the other entries in the Trails series that aren’t represented on the platform to Nintendo Switch. At the same time, we’re evaluating to the degree we might be able to have further entries in the series developed for the hardware. Of course, these discussions aren’t just limited to Trails, and we’re also considering the possibility of releasing our other franchises on the platform.”
So maybe one day we’ll be able to experience Estelle Bright’s adventures in Liberl on the Nintendo Switch. However, the Sky games and first two Cold Steel games were localised by a different publisher to NIS America — XSEED — so there’s no guarantee those will make it to the West if that happens.
What is The Legend of Heroes?
You might be wondering why this list is called Best Trails / Kiseki games when actually, most of the series starts with The Legend of Heroes moniker.
Created by Nihon Falcom, The Legend of Heroes series started as a spin-off to the action RPG series, Dragon Slayer. Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes was the first game in this new spin-off franchise, and it launched on the NEC PC-8801 in Japan in 1989. The first five games in The Legend of Heroes series include two Dragon Slayer spin-offs and the ‘Gagharv trilogy’ — Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch, A Tear of Vermillion, and Song of the Ocean. These were released from 1989 to 1999. Only the Gagharv trilogy is available outside of Japan and Asia on the PlayStation Portable.
After Song of the Ocean, Nihon Falcom developed a new title in The Legend of Heroes series which would become the start of another subseries — The Legend of Heroes VI: Trails in the Sky, which would later be known as simply The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. This is where Trails starts.
Do you need to play The Legend of Heroes games before Trails?
In short, no. The first five games in The Legend of Heroes series are not really connected to the games set in Zemuria — that’s from Trails in the Sky to Kuro no Kiseki II. Both Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes and its direct sequel tell a separate story from the Gagharv trilogy. And the Gagharv games aren’t connected to the Trails / Kiseki games, either.
There are fan theories, of course, and little nods to those previous games — just keep an eye out for fun references if you have played those older games. But otherwise, you’re perfectly safe to play just the Trails games. Phew…
That’s it for now, but if you’re a series fan, then you know we’ll be back adding more games to this in the future — and hopefully, the entire series will reach the Switch one day.
Let us know what your favourite game in the Trails / Kiseki series is in the comments.
