Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter review: The next one

Unlike the first time around, Trails fans didn't have to wait long for the next chapter of Estelle Bright's journey.

Trails in the Sky was a bit of a sleeper hit when it launched for the PSP, and publisher XSEED Games was keen to get the second game going. Only problem was, the script was massive. So massive, outside help was needed, and that outside help’s struggle to make the localization happen was infamous. It didn’t drop until nearly four years later, and a month before another localization of a sequel further down the line in the overall Trails series. Now everything is available such that it’s almost something we take for granted, even previous gaps being filled in over time. For an emblem of this localization progress, look no further than Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter, the latest remake, shipping right on time just shy of a year after 1st Chapter. It’s incredible to see how far the industry has come in some ways, especially in such turbulent times.

Sequelitis

I won’t lie to you, readers. It was tough to figure out where to start with this review. It’s barely been a year since 1st Chapter, and this sequel is about as iterative as it gets. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the foundation Falcom laid with its first remake is plenty sturdy. But since spoilers are a thing we ought to avoid, even for a story that’s 20 years-old at this point (oof, typing that out hurt my poor bones), it feels like there’s only so much to say without plagiarizing myself. So, do us both a favor and, if you’re new here, go ahead and read that first review! It’s going to do a lot of table-setting for us, but the long and short of it is this is an impressive remake on almost all counts. If you’ve been curious about what all the Trails-heads have been yelling about but have been having a hard time starting, because playing an old PSP game is a problem I guess, the Trails in the Sky remakes are a perfect secondary starting point.

No, you can’t start here. It says “2nd chapter” in the title, for goodness’ sake! Roll up your RPG sleeves and be a big kid. Eat your vegetables. A recap won’t be enough, especially because as far as I’m concerned, onboarding into this world with Estelle and Joshua Bright is some of the best this entire series has ever been. A Cliff Notes version of that is not worth anyone’s time, especially yours. FOMO isn’t real and it can’t hurt you, not here. Let’s move on from this hypothetical weirdo I’m arguing with, and pretend we’re all on the same page from here. This review is really just a place for Trails fans to vibe, I reckon. Let’s hang out for a bit. Thanks for reading!

Estelle and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter picks up right where the previous game left off. Imagine waiting almost five years for this moment! A year is much more reasonable. Anyway, some super serious stuff happened right at the end of the first game, and Estelle is now on her own despite planning to work as a newly-minted Senior Bracer with her, uh, former circumstantial sibling-turned romantic interest, Joshua. Still not sure how to feel about that particular development, but it’s moot for now anyway. Alongside figuring out her place in the world now that she's a full part of it, a mysterious secret society called Ouroboros is creeping into the sunlight and causing problems. Estelle is burdened with needing to chase Ouroboros’ rogue’s gallery of weirdo Operators, while basically being a rookie cop at the same time. Seemingly everyone on the periphery is much stronger, but there’s no time to waste if there’s any hope of bringing Joshua back.

What’s interesting about this sequel is how you’re pretty much retracing your steps, geographically. While the first game was a learning expedition across Liberl’s different regions and Bracer Guild branches, the sequel is a high stakes mission that has you revisiting each space, in the same order, in a new context. Not only is this an economically prudent structure, it’s also an excellent representation of what Trails is as a series. Each subseries is a story told in a specific spot on the world map, and how that space and the people living there change and are impacted by political and technological movement. You aren’t doing the normal video game sequel thing of exploring new and exciting environments, because this story is as much about Liberl as a place and a people as it is Estelle hitting bad guys with a stick. It’s not backtracking, or cost-cutting; it’s how geography and society works in real life. I mean, it’s probably also cost-cutting too, but it speaks to the storytelling to great effect regardless.

While the long-term storytelling style Trails employs is both impressive and novel for video games, it does come with annoyances. While the first game was compelling because you get to be bright-eyed youngsters learning about their surroundings for the first time, the sequel is all-in on setting things up for the long haul. So there’s a ton of new character introductions and frustrating confrontations without resolutions, because things have to build for another two decades worth of lore. Lore that’s still going, mind, and only just now building up to a climax, in ways that are also frustrating to a degree. That said, there are plenty of big moments to be found here, and when things finally get to where you want them to go (Estelle and Joshua), being annoyed at a revolving door of Scooby-Doo villains feels like a non-issue.

Combat is still a problem!

Yeah, what the header says. Combat? Not a non-issue. Some fun tweaks have been made, but the issues I have with combat in the contemporary Trails experience remain here. I expected that to be the case since I seem to be fairly alone here, but I will remain on my soapbox while I have one. I don’t like being forced to play Samurai Legend Musashi for the PlayStation 2 before I can engage with what Trails in the Sky actually is, which is a fun, flashy, turn-based RPG with a small emphasis on positioning and planning. This PS2-ass button-mashing real-time gimmick is the pits, and adding some extra flourishes to it doesn’t help. And while it isn’t mandatory, it’s annoying that optimal play effectively requires it. Especially since effort has been made to make things like chain attacks more fun to use with additional animations and utility. I just don’t like it, y’all. I’ll play a real action game if I want action combat. This just feels like jangling keys for that imagined audience that sees “turn-based” and flees.

I also complained about enemy HP pools and experience scaling last time, and that complaint persists as well. These are fundamental issues with Trails and I don’t expect them to change any time soon, and I’ve pretty much resigned myself to accept them along with everything else I do actually enjoy about these games, hence my willingness to return. I just put the thing on the easiest difficulty, which makes buzzsawing my way though tens of thousands of HP a more bearable endeavor. 2nd Chapter also really slams on the gas when it comes to follow-up abilities and ways to make the Burst attacks come out faster, or at least it feels that way. So Falcom has put some work into making its RPG combat soup move a little faster, without compromising on its own vision for what the developers seem to want. I respect it.

For as much as I don’t gel with roughly 50 percent of its combat system, I do like these silly, little Trails games. They’re massive storytelling endeavors that are always compelling in their ambition and earnestness, with a massive cast of characters who are a joy to spend time with. Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter is very much an iterative sequel to the first remake, and that’s all it really needed to be. Also, the Switch 2 version knocks it out of the park out the gate here, so those lessons learned across the past year (1st Chapter got several updates, some quite recently) really paid off. It’s always great to hang out with Estelle and company again, and while I’ll always prefer new games and original replays to remakes, this one goes great lengths to be an adventure worth having.

Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter is available on September 17, 2026 for the PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, and PC. A Switch 2 code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

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Review for
Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter
8
Pros

• An excellent follow-up to the 1st Chapter remake that doesn't try to reinvent the wheel
• Fascinating storytelling that shifts significantly in focus and scope from the previous story
• Tweaks to combat make certain features more enticing to use

Cons

• Table-setting with a bunch of new characters and villains can be annoying in terms of story structure
• The real-time half of combat is bad, and enemies are still HP sponges