So the PC version of Trails in the Sky is out today, anyone else interested in getting it? I'm kind of busy with Atelier: Escha & Logy atm, but after that I think I'll be picking this up (definitely while it's still on sale).

I've heard it's supposed to be quite good, and have high expectations for Nihon Falcom, since they have hit the mark so well so often for me with the Ys series. I'm pretty sure Faxanadu on the NES and such are also part of the same series as the Legend of Heroes.

Thank you for mentioning this! I totally forgot to have Trails marked on my wishlist.

Man I'm surprised and disappointed this is not on the frontpage of Steam :(. Steams's selection of classic JRPGs is very underwhelming.

I just got my copy from GOG and am planning to push the game on my non-PSP-owning brothers.

@slag: It is on the front page though

I still have a half finished game save on my PSP that I really need to get back to someday.

hunh, it wasn't on mine. But I logged out and back in after you said that and it showed up.

So I stand corrected, that must have been something on my end.

I already played it before, but I picked it up anyway. If you like them jrpgs, I don't think you can do wrong with Trails in the Sky. It's a real gem.

I'm super interested in this, but I'm wondering whether anyone here could help me decide between playing this on PC, or just getting the Vita version. 'Portability' arguments aside (I do feel like I'd be more inclined to play it on the Vita since I can theoretically do so from the comfort of wherever in the apartment), I can't quite tell what the benefits are (if any) to the PC version, other than a higher resolution.

Looking at the Steam page, it even says the PC version contains 'numerous updates previously seen only in the handheld version', so even in that regard it doesn't seem like I'd be missing much by going with the Vita version.

Thoughts?

You and me both. I'm happy the game's come to steam, because that also means there's a possibility that it's sequel might be released on there someday too.

As much as I am excited for this, I think I'll wait for them to patch in the post launch stuff they planned. That, and fix some probable bugs so that when I play I would get a flawless experience.

It makes me very happy to think that this game will be reaching a wider audience.

It is in my opinion one of the best JRPGS ever made, second only to Persona 3.

The sequel is already confirmed to be released on steam

I think it's purely based on your circumstances. I mean it would undoubtedly look better on a computer monitor than a small vita screen, but then again I played chrono trigger on a psp and enjoyed it. I don't know what benefits this PC version have; sounds like it's possibly the older PC version with any bells and whistles the portable version had. The steam release of Ys book 1 and 2 had three different soundtracks to use for the game, so maybe in this game different audio tracks might be something, or maybe more extras.

But really whatever platform most suits you now, or whatever time you see yourself having the time to play through the game. It's on sale now on steam so now could be a good time to pick it up, even if you plan on playing it later on PC.

BTW I'm pretty sure that the Turbografx 16 CD version of one of the Legend of Heroes games released in the US had the most AWEFULLY AWEFUL VOICE ACTING EVER BAR NONE EXCEPT MAYBE STAR OCEAN 2.

:O ....well that's fan-fucking-tastic!

This was decent enough, but I wish it hadn't cut off as abruptly as it did. They set up the world nicely, but it felt like there was going to be more exploration and side quests, and then bam, it's over. And yeah, I get that they did a lot of that in the sequel, but I'm getting tired of piecemeal games with unclear release schedules.

@sparky_buzzsaw: If you think that's bad... Golden Sun! Fantastic RPG sold on two full-priced carts.

Golden Sun was a pretty fully realized game though. The original can stand on its own fine. It's got nothing on something like .hack, which was 4 full priced PS2 games, each ending with a cliffhanger partway through the story.

Is it a good port?

I'm not sure I'm digging how it looks from videos I've seen today. It does still look about how the PSP version did. Loading seems quick at least.

@belegorm: Well, if you want to know some more about it, (shameless plug alert!) I actually just posted my review of the PSP version today. The other user reviews are good as well. To sum things up, there's a whole lot of dialog in the game. NPCs will say something new after every side quest and plot point, which really fleshes out the world, and the writing for the main character and the plot is no less impressive. The battle system is also fun and snappy even though it doesn't do anything groundbreaking.

I'll add that I didn't have any technical issues with the PSP version aside from some the sprite at the tail end of the party getting some weird lines on it for a few seconds every now and then when entering a room. Also, while it is on sale on Steam right now, you'd only be saving $3, so price probably shouldn't be your deciding factor on which version t get.

I do see where you're coming from a bit when you mention abruptness, given that the last chapter only has a couple side quests in favor of bringing a bunch of plot points to a head, but I never felt like anything was forced. And, I know a lot of things were set up for the sequel, but it wasn't like there was a cliffhanger ending; the main arc came to a clear resolution. I can certainly understand the frustration of not having a definite release date for sequels though.

Considering it's a ten year old game, I'd say it's a good port but you might not like where the story goes in the later games (vague sequel spoilers). Also every version of the game looks like the PSP version (even the PS3 version).

Oh, I've played and liked a lot of the PSP version. I was just curious if it was worth picking up on PC as well.

If you want the third game to come out in English, I'd say buy it. The realities of business suck some time

*finger slowly moves over the Purchase button*

There's no way you could consider the first Golden Sun a fully realized, stand-alone game. The main cast of the first game had only visited half of the towers they had needed to, and while there was some level of closure to the specific side-plot of the first game, the overall story was left on a wide-open cliffhanger, and included a password system to import progress into the next game. The duology was still fucking great, but I think it's the fact that it was only two games and not a three or more game story arc which makes it stick out in my mind, specifically, for how integrated the two were in really making one whole game. The end of the first game feels like a perfect mid-story interlude more than anything.

played a few hours, seems decent.. don't really like Estelle too much so... hope she gets better?

I've been reading and listening to the RPGFan guys nut all over this game for the last couple years, so I've gotta try it out. I haven't played a good jrpg since I picked up Nocturne in 2011.

It'll be on sale for a few more days yet, so if you're not in a rush, you might want to see if they can stamp out a few of the release bugs. They've already patched it at least 3 times trying to squash some niggling bugs, but on some settings it tends to crash. If you'd rather not wait, I've found that running in windowed mode in anything sub-1080 resolution kept it totally stable for a 3 hour session.

As far as the game itself goes, I couldn't recommend it any more highly.

@belegorm:

Thanks man, that's pretty much where my mind was going, and of course, in a fit of uncontrollable instant gratification last night, I wound up getting it on the Vita. :-)

Looking forward to trailing in the sky! Or whatever.

The crazy rate at which my Steam list is buying this reminds me how not popular the PSP is.

I still have this in my back catalogue for the PsP. I need to stop buying games, and never playing them I guess :P

Yeah, so this has been on my Amazon wishlist forever (the PSP version), and I'm thinking of picking up the PC version despite not really enjoying a JRPG for quite some time. Would be an easier decision if the subsequent games would make it over here. Oh, and also if it was native to Mac, so I could play on my laptop where the power required for the game would still allow me portability without emulating via Wine which works quite spottily.

Despite the fact that this game hit the top of the steam charts, I get the feeling that Giant Bomb is not going to quick look it because it is a JRPG.

I'm not sure, I mean Brad liked Bravely Default well enough.

I can definitely see them not doing a quick look of this though, and that's a damn shame because it certainly deserves one.