Boundless Trails Review – Lost in Paradise

If it weren’t obvious enough, I’m a big fan of Falcom’s games, whether it’s The Legend of Heroes Kiseki series or Ys. The turn-based combat of the former, combined with its deep story-telling and extensive characterization, makes for a compelling saga. The latter’s hack-and-slash combat, rewarding exploration and stellar boss design allows for some of the best action RPGs today. So what happens if you merge the two?

No, not Ys vs. Trails in the Sky, but The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails. This action RPG has always stood out as an anomaly for the Kiseki series due to its gameplay but also because the story doesn’t directly tie into it. Nevertheless, certain elements have remained intriguing, from the protagonist Nayuta’s family name Hersche,l to Creha and her similarities to a certain Kiseki antagonist.

“The story starts with Nayuta and his best friend Cygna returning to their home on Remnant Isle on a boat (which thankfully doesn’t end up shipwrecked).”

Boundless Trails was released for PlayStation Portable in June 2012, before it was remastered for PS4 and PC in 2021, then Nintendo Switch in 2022. However, this will be the first time North America and Europe can finally experience the game with English localization and voice acting. Long story short, whether you like hack-and-slash games or are simply curious about Falcom’s offerings beyond Ys and Trails, The Legend of Nayuta provides a nice diversion with surprisingly fun gameplay and great-looking visuals.

The story starts with Nayuta and his best friend Cygna returning to their home on Remnant Isle on a boat (which thankfully doesn’t end up shipwrecked). Nayuta has been away to study at the academy, learning more about the world to solve the mystery of Lost Heaven. Remnant Isle is strange in that it sees mysterious ruins periodically falling from the sky. One day, a major chunk falls, and Nayuta and Cygna venture to investigate.

After rescuing the fairy-like Noi, the duo face off against Zechst and the mysterious Serum, who seek the Master Gear. Once they escape, Nayuta and Cygna venture through a portal and arrive in Lost Heaven, learning more about Zechst’s plan to throw the world into chaos with the Master Gear. Working with Noi, Nayuta must venture through the four continents of Terra and their temples to ultimately stop Zechst.

As is often the case with Falcom titles, there’s a robust cast. Noi is upbeat and possesses powerful abilities known as Gearcrafts but is wary of working with humans due to a past incident. Cygna is a venerable older brother to Nayuta, having arrived on Remnant Isle five years prior with no memories. Eartha is Nayuta’s older sister who prepares lunch boxes when she’s not star-gazing but suffers from a mysterious disease.

“It isn’t the deepest story out there, but it never becomes too expository or overbearing, and there are some nice twists (even if some are fairly obvious).”

The motivations of major characters also become more fleshed out over time, so even if Nayuta comes across as little more than a naive do-gooder, his worries and tragedies lend some complexity. Not every character is as extensively fleshed out, especially when considering the residents of Remnant Isle. Completing requests can shine a light on their circumstances, and their responses evolve throughout the story. Don’t expect anything akin to Trails in the Sky or Cold Steel, and you’ll be fine.

The writing is pretty straightforward, with a crisp localization. It doesn’t get too long winded, which the smaller party size assists with. Despite some characters like Zechst coming off as cliched, the plot is compelling. What is Terra, and who are the People of Mythos? Who is Creha, and what is her connection to everything? It isn’t the deepest story out there, but it never becomes too expository or overbearing, and there are some nice twists (even if some are fairly obvious).

At first, the gameplay may remind you of older Ys titles, with its real-time hack-and-slash mechanics and overhead perspective. There are some similarities to Falcom’s underrated Zwei series, especially with the combat. Regardless, it’s pretty responsive, as Nayuta can use different combos with one-handed and two-handed weapons and unleash spells with Noi. There’s also a dodge roll and double-jump, and landing successful hits builds up a chain, granting benefits like increased Strength, Intelligence, Critical Hit Rate and more.

It’s pretty simple at first, but over time, Noi will learn new spells. Some have more uses and can be fired off quickly, like Ice Spear for inflicting the freeze status or a Destructo Disc-like Fleur to penetrate multiple enemies. Others, like the de facto cyclone, remain on the field and can serve as decent single-target damage. Over time, you’ll be able to equip several spells at once. Each has its use, especially when considering a stage’s terrain, and they’ll level up over time. Noi also picks up new techniques as you free her companions, which can smash otherwise impassable obstacles, traverse floating zip lines and much more.

“This isn’t a long game if you’re sticking to the story, so those additional requests, collectibles to donate to the museum and missions do extend playtime.”

The general layout of stages also veers more towards action platforming, as you jump across gaps and navigate hazards like spikes, slippery ice or harsh winds. The path on each continent culminates with the Temples, which are like dungeons. They’re broken into two halves and have more extensive mechanics, like triggering switches for platforms and gates or raising and lowering the water level. You’ll also encounter some of the bigger boss battles that Falcom is known for, and they’re just as compelling as anything from Ys, past or current.

Each stage has unique missions and objectives, like completing it in a set amount of time or finding all three crystal chunks hidden within (which usually involves going off the beaten path and locating some switches). Completing these will grant stars, and by filling up Nayuta’s Swordsman Strategy book, he can learn new techniques, like a rising spinning slash, downward thrust or guard.

One of the cooler mechanics is manipulating the season of a stage. Not only does the change various conditions – new paths open up, higher level enemies appear and so on – but provides new enemies to fight. You only have to revisit one stage to free a companion of Noi, which grants a new technique for exploring the other continents but having new missions to complete, spells to unlock, and requests gives this some strong replay value.

The perspective can get a bit iffy sometimes, especially when you travel down and can’t immediately see ahead. Some sections could also be a bit annoying, like fighting enemies while simultaneously hanging on for dear life and dealing with hazardous wins, but they’re few and far between.

This isn’t a long game if you’re sticking to the story, so those additional requests, collectibles to donate to the museum and missions do extend playtime. However, there’s never the feeling of stages feeling too short (outside of the initial few) or the story dragging on too long.

“In a year with blockbuster games, The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails surprised me.”

Visually, The Legend of Nayuta is a great throwback. Its characters appear cel-shaded and boast incredible detail, and though their expressions are limited, seeing them react to various dialogue adds much more. The environments also look incredibly sharp, whether you’re admiring the detailed water and effects or the gorgeous texture quality, which allows for seeing previously unknown details.

Like The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure, it skirts the line between remaster and remake, keeping the overall aesthetic of the original while enhancing it for modern consoles. Having it all in flawless 60 frames per second is also great, though I did play the PS4 version on PS5.

Perhaps the only real discernible downside to the experience is the music. It’s not awful, and there are some distinct tunes, but it feels limited. It’s perhaps Falcom’s weakest work (and yes, that includes Trails of Cold Steel 3), but it indicates just how high the bar is. Overall, the music is serviceable, with a few stand-out tracks – nothing more and nothing less.

In a year with blockbuster games, The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails surprised me. I went in, knowing that it wouldn’t be a typical Trails experience, and it won me over with its gameplay, presentation and intriguing plot. It’s not going to break new ground as far as action RPGs are concerned, but this is an all-around good game that delivers on pretty much every front.

This PS4 version of the game was reviewed on PS5 through the latter’s backwards compatibility feature.