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Nihon Falcom is on a real hot streak right now, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down with Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter. The remake of 2006’s acclaimed Japanese role-playing game (JRPG), The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC, is packed full of excellent quality-of-life updates that are sure to delight veteran players and newcomers alike, with full English voice acting, a visual overhaul, and modernized combat.
Review info
Platform reviewed: PS5
Available on: PS5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
Release date: September 17, 2026
But just how good is Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter? Should you play it? Here are my thoughts after countless hours of gameplay.
I absolutely loved this game’s predecessor, which launched last year and was among the best RPGs released in 2025. Yes, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter was a phenomenon, supplying a beautiful blend of action and turn-based combat, silky smooth performance, and a brilliantly revamped UI. I sunk so many hours into that game, and so I was delighted to find that everything I loved about 1st Chapter transferred across to this follow-up.
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A first-rate follow-up
I’ll start by talking about gameplay, which feels just as tight and refined as it did in 1st Chapter. You can rush around the world and attack enemies with Arts and basic attacks in Quick Battle. This is great if you want to mow through enemies — especially weaker ones — without having to spend too long strategizing, and it feels incredibly rapid and responsive. Being able to hack, slash, and whack your foes in a flash means that the game feels well-paced, and longer dungeons don’t seem too daunting.
However, you also have the choice to partake in turn-based Combat Battles to vanquish your opponents, and this is where a lot of the depth comes in. You have to carefully manage your Craft Points (CP) and Energy Points (EP), which enable you to use brutal physical and magical attacks and support options, while also carefully positioning your units to manage health.
It’s also crucial to keep an eye on turn order to avoid getting KO’d before you unleash your attacks, choosing when to steal bonuses from your foes to heal or deal critical damage, and when to launch a deadly all-out team attack.
Best bit
My absolute favorite part of this game was simply managing my Orbments — building out the ideal set of Quartz to buff my allies, to protect against almighty attacks, and to unleash mega damage on my foes.
As you can gather, there are a lot of mechanics to consider, and there’s plenty of depth to be found in command battles. But perhaps the most important thing is to manage your Orbments properly.
Orbments string a number of gems together, known as Quartz, which determine the Arts that you can use in battle. Carefully curating your Orbments for each character is crucial, and I had an absolute blast tinkering around to build the ideal build for every boss.
By travelling the world and taking on optional battles and quests, you can unlock some seriously powerful Quartz too, which makes exploration feel truly rewarding.
This may seem like a lot to take in at once — especially for newer players. But don’t worry — there are plenty of difficulty options to choose from to fit your desired level of challenge. There’s everything from Very Easy to Nightmare (one for the true sadists). I selected Advanced this time out, which is somewhere between Normal and Hard, and while the road got tough at times, the Orbment system gave me all the tools I needed to shield my allies from devastating attacks.
Hey bro, wya?
The follow-up from the 1st Chapter is seamless gameplay-wise, and also in terms of narrative.
You can watch a recap of the first game if you want a refresher (or if you missed it entirely), and you’re reminded that Joshua (the protagonist Estelle’s adopted brother…lover? Both?) has fled. I won’t delve into the reasons why in this review, but essentially, Estelle decides to attend a specialist training camp to bolster her skills and track him down herself. It sounds pretty basic, but the story is pretty engrossing, actually. Like the first game, there are deeper political elements to explore, and you get to learn more about the mysterious secret society, Ouroboros.
The narrative remains gripping throughout, and there is no shortage of characters who join Estelle on her journey, be they returning faces like the travelling musician and romantic Olivier or the alcohol-loving Senior Bracer, Scherazard.
Voice acting is strong across the board, and breathes so much life into this colorful and charismatic cast. Some of the more low-key parts of the story and side content are only voiced partially, though, meaning you can get one character narrating their thoughts aloud while others sit in silence with text boxes. This was also in Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, and can create a slightly awkward atmosphere in moments, though I understand this is more of a nitpick.
It’s also worth noting that this is a true anime-inspired JRPG with all of the melodrama and theatrics that you’d expect from the genre dialled up to 11. While this produces some stronger emotive moments and a good amount of comic relief, it may feel overbearing for some players. A few characters, like Anelace, go on pretty long monologues about the importance of wearing pretty bows while facing your foes. The wandering priest, Kevin, likes to let Estelle know how pretty she is about 10 times in the space of five seconds during the game’s opening section, too.
While this is by no means something that ruins the experience, I did find some of the characters a little unlikeable. So yes, some dialogue can feel superfluous at times, and it can also stretch on for quite a while. But there is a speed-up mode, and there’s nothing stopping you from skipping over the less crucial dialogue segments.
Robustly revamped for the modern era
On top of what I’ve already mentioned, Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter is filled with a slew of masterful modernizations that really make the game click.
Like last time out, the UI has been considerably revamped and feels incredibly intuitive to sift through, while also looking great. Managing items and skills is seamless and easy, and you can access your quest list, recipe book, and the map in an instant. The speed-up option is also very welcome if you want to fly through your quick battles or travel over a long distance when fast-travel isn’t available.
The visuals are also great once again. Shimmering water, rich forest environments, and character models all look spectacular, at least on the PS5 version I played. By default, the game runs at silky 60fps with next-to-none hiccups whatsoever, but you can also play in performance mode, which targets 120fps at the expense of some graphical fidelity. This is perfect for fast-flowing action combat and exploring vast open areas. Loading screens are also incredibly brief, and I continue to be blown away by how well these games play on modern platforms.
One more thing I absolutely love about this remake is its stellar soundtrack. There’s an eclectic mix of delicate acoustic tracks, funk-infused high-energy tunes, and grandiose, hard-hitting battle themes that totally immerse you in the land of Liberl. Again, you have the option to pick between standard, arranged, or original background music – something that long-time fans no doubt appreciate.
All in all, Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter is another exceptional remake that effortlessly maintains the strong momentum its predecessor picked up. Gameplay is varied, depth-filled, and addictive; the narrative is engaging, and the quality-of-life upgrades make it feel almost like a brand new game — all while carrying over the beloved aspects of the source material. Sure, the game’s melodramatic nature might not be to everyone’s taste, but if you’re a fan of the JRPG genre and want an epic adventure to sink your teeth into, then look no further.
Should you play Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter?
Play it if…
Don’t play it if…
Accessibility features
You can adjust the subtitle language to English, German, French, or Spanish, and select either English or Japanese voice acting. There are a number of ways to customize the camera’s behavior, too, such as normal or inverted configurations, camera movement speed, and camera distance.
On top of this, there are difficulty options, including a Very Easy mode if you just want to focus on the game’s story. Unfortunately, there is no colorblind mode.
How I reviewed Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter
I spent two weeks playing through Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter, during which time I played through the main story, took on a bunch of side quests, and sunk hours into exploring the land of Liberl.
For the most part, I played the game on my PS5 while connected to the Sky Glass Gen 2 TV and my Marshall Heston 120 soundbar. However, from time to time I dipped into the title on my PlayStation Portal remote player, and had the Sonos Ace Ultra headphones connected to listen to in-game audio.
More generally, I’ve spent years reviewing gaming software and hardware at TechRadar, where I serve as a Senior Reviews Writer. I reviewed the previous game in this series, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, and have covered a wider range of JRPGs here, including Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake, and The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales.
First reviewed September 2026
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harry.padoan@futurenet.com (Harry Padoan)
