The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II preview II

Welcome to the garden of sepith delights

We’re less than a month from the Valentine’s Day release of The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II and the JRPG-coated delights it’s sure to provide gamers. How am I so sure? Because I’ve now attended two Discord previews from NIS America. The first was wrapped up here. The most recent of which focused on the game’s Märchen Garten.

Well, that and the two demos, neither of which will be coming to the Switch. Let’s break this all down in our traditionally handy bullet point format…now with advanced NASA technology sub-bullets!

• Unfortunately, the two available demos will be PS4 and PS5 only. I emailed for confirmation, and the official reply from NIS was “At this time, the demos are only available on PlayStation, but we are always evaluating opportunities to bring demos to all our platforms. We’re committed to ensuring that players on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation enjoy a complete and memorable experience when the full game launches.” So, we’ll see if this changes ahead of release.
• Although Switch gamers likely won’t be able to enter the aforementioned Märchen Garten until February 14th, series fans will find it worth the wait. Why, you ask? Because it’s somewhat like Trails Into Reverie’s True Reverie Corridor, but a little more focused and fun.
• The Märchen Garten is completely optional. I point this out because I felt the True Reverie Corridor killed Trails Into Reverie’s momentum, creating a disjointed experience that hurt the game a bit. Whether that happens here is up to the player.
• Also, developer Nihon Falcom has provided more incentive for people to visit the Märchen Garten. Items, outfits, and level gains obtained there will get carried over to the main game, so it provides a less repetitive way to grind when the main game battles are giving you problems. It also provides a way to create teams that the flow of the main story does not. 15 characters will be available for you to assemble at your discretion. You’ll even get access to two (yet to be identified) characters who aren’t playable in the main game!

• The multi-floor combat dungeons in the Märchen Garten are randomly generated, so you’ll get a different experience each time you enter. It’ll also feature exclusive post-game floors and story content to keep the fun going after you’ve completed the main adventure.
• In addition to combat, visitors are able to participate in four mini-games:
  • Fishing – This is the most refined fishing game in the series history, with mechanics that get trickier when casting for rare fish. Find the right spot to cast, then time your controller movements to reel in your catch.

• • Hacking – A time-based trip through a maze of doors to open and enemies to avoid.
  • Seven Hearts – A card game. Always with the card games.

• • 1-on-1 Basketball – A simple game of shooting and blocking. Slide left and right and try to time your shot when your opponent isn’t able to defend it.
• Items obtained in the main game can be used in the Märchen Garten for various gains—such as using skill stones to customize character crafts. There aren’t a lot of these, so players will have to be judicious with their use. They can, however, be reallocated at a cost.

The Märchen Garten clearly provides many ways for Trails Through Daybreak II players to enhance their characters. The main benefit I see, however, is that it’ll provide a different experience when you’re not ready (or don’t have time) for a big push through the main game’s story. Want some Legend of Heroes fun without all the large narrative dumps or prolonged boss battles? Just play some hoops or go fishing! What you do and when you do it is now entirely up to you.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II can still be pre-ordered in a Limited Edition physical release at nisamerica.com/games/daybreak2. Various other physical editions are also available where you’d expect to find them.