Trails Through Daybreak
A new look at the familiar world of Zemuria
I started playing the Trails series in 2020 and I got to the point where it would feel weird not having a new entry to start. I believe it will indeed feel weird when the series finishes within the span of a few years as stated by Toshihiro Kono. Fortunately, there is a lot of time before this happens and for now I have Trails Through Daybreak to play.
I'm still early in my first playthrough (early Chapter 2) but I feel like there is a lot to be talked about already. The freshness that Daybreak easily brings to the series is unquestionable. After 5 games seeing Rean's face and following his inner conflicts, I wasn't asking much for the next protagonist to be at least enjoyable to know and play with. Although I like Rean, dude needs to relax a little bit.
Every time a new scene starts and I watch the models move with an unknown fluidity, I'm mesmerized. The chibi versions have their charm, but watching Van, Feri and Agnes fight grants me a strange - but welcome! - pleasure. Their hair is outrageously beautiful, with a glow and movement that looks amazing. To be honest, I don't tend to overanalyze visuals in games, but Daybreak makes it impossible especially for anyone who has played the other games.
While a new story is not a luxury of Daybreak, seeing the world of Zemuria through a new lens is great. Up until now, we have navigated each arc from the perspective of individuals who are part of - or have been constituted by institutions whose actions have always been conducted according to the correct side morally speaking. From Bracers, S.S.S to both Class VII, these are groups whose understanding of the world has been paved by assuming there is a right and a wrong side. Even though characters shift between these polos, they don't usually inhabit the position of a morally grey individual.
Van is not an anti-hero. His notion of "good" is at the edge of what is socially acceptable. It doesn't take long for the game to show us that he is actually nice by putting up an angry face to the world. A kind person. However, I feel that he is, indeed, less judgmental toward the world around him. He does not hel people because his principles make him do so. He resolves people's problems because he needs to work and, in exchange, he must be paid for it. It's work not charity. He is not responding to a divine calling. And like him, many others are trying to make a living, but everyone has the luxury of doing just what is cool or right.
Lastly, the combat. I'm a lover of turn-based combat but I'm open to new experiences. Therefore, I didn't see it as a problem when I first learned about hybrid combat in Daybreak. Having experienced something like that for the first time in Metaphor ReFantazio, I came to Daybreak ready for it and what I found was a better, more polished version of the hybrid combat. Many people have already said their praises on how swiftly the game changes from real-time action combat to turn-based battles. They just haven't made it clear how fun and powerful it feels. Hit a monster twice. Dodge. Another short sequence and then a Charge attack. Enemy stunned. Time to pop your Shards. Time to use Crafts and Arts. And just like that, the battle is done.
I don't think this is all I will have to say about the game. There are so many mysteries to be explained. And I need to learn more about the modifications Falcom made to old systems, like Orbments, which in Daybreak they became a new kind of exoteric device with lots of small words for me to read. Sure, I might start playing other things before I can finish Trails Through Daybreak. But I'm excited to see more of it.
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