#Source: The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero

[incorrect-hs-quotes]

gallowsCalibrator: WH4T 1D1OT N4M3D 1T “1NSOMN14” 4ND NOT “R3S1ST1NG 4 R3ST?”

[seravphs]

ੈ♡˳·˖✶ — YUKI x FEM READER

You’ve always looked up to Yuki as a woman, an upperclassman, a sorcerer. The line between admiration and adoration blurs over the years.

wc — 1.6k

tags —  hero worship, pining, brief nongraphic mention of jjk typical violence

For the first twelve years of your life, you only hear about Yuki. You’ve never met her in person - she graduated right before you entered Jujutsu Tech. A shame. It would have been nice to know another special grade besides Gojo and Getou. Perhaps it would’ve restored your faith that not all power corrupts. 

Yaga speaks of her like a headache, albeit a fond one. Yuki’s the only full time special grade they have working currently, though full time is a stretch. She tends to go rogue for a few days at the end of missions, seeking out whatever gives her a kick. 

What you learn from that is if you’re powerful enough, you face no consequences. 

You’ve been punished for much less on missions. You want that kind of strength. 

You devour gossip about Yuki, leaning into every conversation where her name is even momentarily brought up. She becomes more myth than woman to you, stacking achievement after achievement on her name until Yuki can barely be seen under the trail of feats she leaves behind her. 

Then, you’re pulled into a tribunal. You’re not there to be important. You might be strong, but in the end you’re just a child, and not in the way Gojo Satoru is. 

Your mother is important though, and you’re there to watch and learn. She convenes the council of elders to decide the matter of Yuki’s death. She’s been on this rare mission for months. 

Sure, she’s been known to bum around for a day or two after completing what she set out to do, but never like this. There’s been zero contact for days stretching into months. Unmistakably, something must have gone horribly wrong. For someone like Yuki to be taken out, their enemy has to be strong. This event causes ripples throughout all of Jujutsu Society. 

Yuki dies with little fanfare. There’s grief, of course. She never knew your name, but she was special to you. She was a legend, the only special grade you had at the moment besides Gojo Satoru, who was still a student. She shouldn’t have died like this. 

Every single time death finds you, it reminds you anew of its cruelty, it’s indifference. It’s not fair that Yuki died like anyone else when she could’ve crushed the world in her palm, but she did. 

The elders tell you Yuki is a disappointment. They expected her to hold the line even when she hadn’t been given any support. Like all special grades, she was thrown to the beasts as a sacrifice. The elders maintained the same strategy year after year: whet the hunger of your enemies with fresh blood, and they will never come after you. 

Something staggers out of the woods that day, though you and the elders will never know.  Cold, bloody, and hungry, it drags itself to the nearest village. It’s so covered in grime and blood and the various fluids of cursed spirits it’s almost unrecognizable.

The first village girl to spot it screams in fright. She drops her water pail and runs, blubbering, for mama and papa. 

“Don’t shout,” the figure groans, shoving dirty blonde hair back from her face. “It’s just me.” 

Yuki comes back home a legend, a martyr, and a revolutionary. 

Most importantly, she comes home. 

“I’m going to find a way to get rid of curses at the source,” she announces at the next meeting the elders convene. They’ve just finished congratulating her on her unlikely survival as if they hadn’t been cursing her name only days before. 

The silence in the room is pure cowardice. No one dares say anything to her face. 

“Yuki,” the head of the Tsukumo clan tries. “I don’t think-“ 

“I don’t care what you think, granny,” Yuki says. “It’s happening. Take me off all missions. Bye.” 

Then she leaves. The meeting erupts into chaos behind her, but no one dares to stop her. 

It’s so quintessentially Yuki to sweep into a room, cause a ruckus, and leave. You hide a smile behind a hand, raised demurely to your mouth, as if in shock. You think you’ll be in love with her for the rest of your life. 

The first day you meet her on campus, you can tell she’s not normal immediately. Like Gojo, she radiates a sense of inner substantiality that only  comes with being undefeated. Getou hides his arrogance better. Those two wear it like armor. 

“Oh, hey,” she says. You know who she is instantly. Biker leathers and blonde hair - Tsukumo Yuki in the flesh.

“Are you the other little sorcerer? Not the reverse cursed technique user,” she clarified. “You don’t look it.” 

There’s something in you that’s tempted to answer ‘yes, ma’am’, drop to your knees, and beg to serve her in any way possible, if only she’ll take you with her. They only told you she was strong. They didn’t tell you she was beautiful. Somehow, you know she would only laugh at you. 

“Yes,” you say instead. No ‘ma’am’, though you desperately want to. 

“You should keep an eye on your special grade friends,” she says. “And work on meditating. That’ll help with your domain expansion.” 

She leaves you gaping behind her as you process how she knew exactly what you were struggling with at a glance. You walk into Getou, who seems just as dazed as you are. You chalk it up to him also being half in love, drawn in by the same charisma you see in Yuki. 

Later, you find out it’s because she said something to spark a genocidal rage in him. Getou goes half crazy, and every warning Yuki gave you comes true. 

You should’ve looked out for your special grade friends. Meditating does help unlock your domain expansion. 

Even accidentally leading Getou to become a curse user doesn’t deter you from wanting to seek Yuki out. It’s not her fault. There were a million other factors that led Getou to become what he was. If it hadn’t been Yuki, it would’ve been someone else. At least she had tried to warn you.

You want to fight alongside her. You want to watch her. Yuki is something like your sun, the star that guides your compass and the light by which you see. All of you is magnetised to point in the direction where she is, wanting more of her, always. 

So you train relentlessly, becoming strong and ruthless. You mold yourself into someone that can stand at Yuki’s side. 

At age 22, you become the fourth youngest special grade after the three legends that came before you. You never manage to break their records. (Even that title, you don’t get to keep. Okkotsu Yuta breaks it in the future.) 

The elders get to you before Yuki does. 

At age 25, you become the youngest bodyguard to the council of elders.

You don’t take much pride in this, but it means you get to see Yuki more often. It’s a small side benefit of her constantly being dragged in to answer for her actions. 

The next time you see her, she’s in Yaga’s office, knocking back a drink she’s taken off his shelf, laughing at his protests, and on her way out. 

Just when she’s at the door, she spots you. For a second, you think there’s a flicker of recognition. Perhaps she remembers you from your high school days. Then she slips out the door and you’re forced to confront the truth that you’re nobody to her at all. 

Yuki is a planet, and you the moon that orbits it, chasing but never quite catching, over and over in an endless cycle. 

You’re determined to make her look at you. 

Getting Yuki’s attention is harder than it should be. For one, she’s constantly out of the country. Besides that, she’s a hard woman to get a hold of in general. Tsukumo Yuki does not respond to summons - you know that from watching the elders tear their hair out. 

She’s a wild beast, which means she doesn’t respond to being called. She might respond to temptation, however, and you plan on setting just the right trap for her. 

Two days after you tell Gojo you might have information on the source of cursed energy, you find Yuki waiting in your office. You try for casualness as you open the door and walk to the tea set you have pre-prepared. 

“Tea?” You offer, more calmly than you feel. 

She blinks. Stares at you. Squints a little. 

“Hey,” she says slowly. “Aren’t you that kid-“ 

“Yes,” you say, a little too eagerly. She does remember you. 

She smiles, no soft and gentle thing. You love her all the more for it. “Wow. You really grew up, huh?” 

When she reaches out to ruffle your hair, you dodge and dart forward to grab her hands. She brings them up and close to her chest in a move of aborted surprise, but you don’t care. 

Yuki sees you. Yuki remembers you. You can’t let her keep thinking if you as that kid she met once. You can’t waste this opportunity. 

“I have a mission for you.” 

Instantly, she shakes her head. “Sorry, no can do. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I don’t take missions. The useless special grade, you know?”

She says the last bit with so much humor you know it doesn’t offend her at all, though any other sorcerer would’ve been affronted. That’s the price of strength - Yuki can afford not to care about anything she doesn’t want to. 

“It’s more of a personal thing,” you hedge. “It’ll help with your mission to destroy cursed energy.” 

“I’ll think about it on one condition. Tell me your type,” she says. 

You answer instantly. “Tall blondes with egos to match their skills. Powerful. Innovative.” 

“Wow,” she laughs. “Sounds a lot like me.” 

If only she knew. 

“So you agree?” 

“I can’t promise you anything,” she says. “If I get bored halfway through, I’m leaving. Guess it’s up to you to keep me entertained.” 

You get a week, maybe less, to woo the greatest sorcerer of all time, in your opinion. 

You’re just like Yuki. Bad stakes only excite you more.

[satoshi-mochida]

The Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki – Farewell, O Zemuria announced

Gematsu Source

Falcom has announced The Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki – Farewell, O Zemuria, the 20th anniversary title in its Trails RPG series. It will launch for unspecified platforms in 2024 in Japan.

Get the first details below.

“In the year 120X, everything comes to an end.” C. Epstein, the father of the orbal revolution, prophesized the end of the Zemurian continent. As “X Day” approaches, a massive orbal rocket is about to be launched from a large military base built in the Kunlun Range. “Can man make it past the planet’s atmosphere?” “What lies at the end of the continent?” “Will mankind be able to uncover the true nature of the ‘world’?” While the whole world watches to witness the largest undertaking since the dawn of history, somewhere in the singularity that is Ored, forces from all over the land were about to gather, including a young “Spriggan.” Will the single trail toward the distant heavens ultimately shape the future of Zemuria, or… Acclaimed for its elaborate worldbuilding and epic storyline, the Trails series has sold over 7.5 million copies. The story of the Zemurian continent—which began with The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, and has continued through Trails from Zero, Trails to Azure, Trails of Cold Steel, Trails into Reverie, and Trails through Daybreak—is set to take a dramatic turn in the 20th anniversary title The Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki – Farewell, O Zemuria.

View the first screenshots at the gallery.

[prokopetz]

Do you have any recommendations for TTRPGs that emulate JRPGs well, or have a very JRPG-like setting? I find the unself-conscious mixing of fantasy, sci-fi, and steampunk elements that's commonplace in JRPGs very appealing, as well as the inventive combat and advancement mechanics (for reference I am playing the first Trails in the Sky game right now and I am enjoying it very much).

You've got several distinct questions there, though you may not realise it, and I'm going to tackle them in order.

First, with respect to emulating JRPGs and JRPG-like settings at the tabletop, it's hard to go wrong with, well, actual tabletop JRPGs. While English localisations of Japanese tabletop roleplaying games are admittedly thin on the ground, there are a few of them out there, including official translations of Double Cross, Golden Sky Stories, Ryuutama – Natural Fantasy Roleplay, Shinobigami, and Tenra Bansho Zero, as well as the odd partial fan-translation, of which Meikyuu Kingdom and Nechronica are probably the most notable. (No direct links to the latter two because fan-translation is technically piracy, though I'm sure you can chase them down on your own if sufficiently inclined!) There are a lot of cultural assumptions about what an RPG is and how it ought to work that aren't going to come across in an Anglophone author's attempt at genre emulation, so you'd be well served to go straight to the source.

(I vaguely recall that there are also a couple of Japanese indie RPG authors self-publishing their works in English via itch.io, though it’s late and names escape me at the moment – if anyone reading this can point us in the right direction, please do!)

Second, with respect to emulating the steampunk science-fantasy settings that Western fandoms often associate with JRPGs (though they're far from universal within the genre – their apparent prevalence is more a reflection of what gets localised than of the genre as a whole), the above-cited Tenra Bansho Zero will give you that in spades, though it's also one of the most rules-heavy entries on that list. If you have a specific desire to play in a game where the party consists of a cursed samurai, a child mecha pilot, a Shinto MiB, an oni Jedi knight, and Robocop, that it'll do.

If you'd prefer something less crunch-heavy, or more American-style in its game design approach, you might alternatively have a look at Anima Prime. It's not a localised title, but its lighter and more familiar approach may be an easier sell for your group than dropping Tenra Bansho Zero's seven hundred page rulebook on them. Aesthetically, it sits somewhere near the RWBY-meets-Final Fantasy XIII intersection.

Finally, with respect to emulating the combat of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky specifically, that’s a tough one – I don’t think any Japanese tabletop RPGs with proper grid-based tactical combat have workable English localisations at the moment, even taking fan-translations into account. In terms of non-localised games, I’d probably go with something like Valor; it’s basically an anime-themed Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition clone, but then, most games that focus tightly on grid-based tactical combat are to varying degrees these days – D&D4E is extremely good at what it does, the protestations of certain vocal grognards who don’t approve of what it does notwithstanding.

[recentanimenews]

The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero Shows Off Characters in New Trailer

  NISA has released a new trailer showing the main cast of characters in The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero.

  The game takes place in the city of Crossbell and follows a group of individuals known collectively as the Special Support Section. The group consists of the rookie detective Lloyd Bannings, political princess Elie MacDowell, young genius Tio Plato, and the soldier Randy Orlando.

  RELATED: The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero Hits the West This September

  The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero launches in North America on September 27 and in Europe on September 30. The game will be available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. The direct sequel, Trails to Azure, will release sometime in 2023.

      Source: Gematsu    

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George Yang is a freelance writer specializing in video games and pop culture. He has written for sites like IGN, GameSpot, Kotaku, The Verge, NPR, and Complex. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey.

By: George Yang

[entergamingxp]

Hajimari no Kiseki PlayStation VR DLC Revealed

May 27, 2020 9:37 PM EST

The Legend of Heroes: Hajimari no Kiseki Traditional Chinese and Hangul versions will launch on August 27 on PS4, simultaneously with Japan.

Falcom and Clouded Leopard Entertainment held a live stream on May 27, revealing new information on the Traditional Chinese and Hangul releases of The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki Kai, The Legend of Heroes: Ao no Kiseki Kai, and The Legend of Heroes: Hajimari no Kiseki on PS4. The stream most notably reveaed Hajimari no Kiseki will add PlayStation VR support as DLC. Toshihiro Kondo also reiterated that he wishes to bring Zero no Kiseki Kai and Ao no Kiseki Kai on PS4 to the west.

The stream featured Yui (結) as the MC, Towa Herschel’s seiyuu Ai Nonaka, Clouded Leopard Entertainment President Chen Yun Yun, and Falcom President Toshihiro Kondo,

I’ve included the Periscope version of the stream below, as it was the Japanese version. The YouTube version was slightly harder to watch, unless you understand Chinese, as it had a Chinese translator talking over the Japanese. The Twitch version of the stream was the Hangul version (not archived).

『英雄伝説 零の軌跡：改』繁体字版/ハングル版発売前夜祭、まもなくスタート！ 21:00になったら↓のバナーをクリック・タップしてご覧くださいー！https://t.co/u6Sr5qpL1c

— Clouded Leopard Entertainment Official (@CloudedLeopardE) May 27, 2020

The first part of the stream focused on Zero no Kiseki Kai and Ao no Kiseki Kai, and included a lot of Towa fangirling, so you should watch it if you like Ai Nonaka. Later on in the stream, Kondo also mentioned Towa appears a lot in all three protagonists’ story in Hajimari, commenting the screenshots above. Ai Nonaka mentioned Hajimari has a lot of scenes with Towa which feel like continuations of dialogues or scenes from the past games, and how there are a lot of “exciting developments showing a new side of Towa”. Kondo also hinted that if you have a save data from Trails of Cold Steel IV and you shipped Rean with Towa, you’ll unlock bonus scenes or dialogues with her.

The Traditional Chinese and Hangul versions of Zero no Kiseki Kai on PS4 launches on May 28. Following that, the Traditional Chinese and Hangul versions of Ao no Kiseki Kai will launch on June 25 on PS4. Clouded Leopard Entertainment doesn’t do English versions for their Asian Kiseki / Trails releases. Zero no Kiseki Kai and Ao no Kiseki Kai on PS4 weren’t announced in English yet but were teased for the second time now. Zero no Kiseki got a new fan translation recently.

Clouded Leopard Entertainment also announced the Hangul and Traditional Chinese version of Hajimari no Kiseki will launch on PS4 on August 27, simultaneously with the Japanese version. The Japanese Limited Edition will be available in Asia too with the same content. No English company announced Hajimari no Kiseki‘s localization yet.

More characters returning in The Legend of Heroes: Hajimari no Kiseki were also revealed: Cao Lee (voiced by Daisuke Hirakawa), Erika Russell (Satsuki Yukino), Second Lieutenant Mireille (Mai Nakahara) and Alex Dudley (Kazuya Nakai).

Next, we got to see a video message from Nao Toyama, the seiyuu of Juna Crawford in Trails of Cold Steel III, IV, and Hajimari no Kiseki. The message starts at 45:28 on the YouTube version:

Nao Toyama said she recorded this video after finishing recording her lines for Juna in Hajimari no Kiseki. She mentioned Juna’s love for Crossbell and how she’d do anything for her home is reflected nicely in Hajimari, along with her distant yet close relationship with her dear instructor Rean, so you should look forward to it. At the end of her message, Nao Toyama revealed Hajimari no Kiseki supports PlayStation VR.

Toshihiro Kondo explained PlayStation VR support in The Legend of Heroes: Hajimari no Kiseki will be added via DLC after the game’s release. He doesn’t know when yet, but they’re working on it. He also didn’t say yet how much it’ll cost, but this definitely won’t be free or else he would have specifically said “Free DLC”. This PlayStation VR DLC will unlock certain scenes in The Legend of Heroes: Hajimari no Kiseki where you’ll get to pick your favorite female character and chat with them. Kondo said the Towa swimsuit scene shown in the screenshot above has a a lot of voiced lines, and that each VR scene has a lot of voiced lines specifically recorded for it.

Ai Nonaka chatted about the VR scenes she recorded, mentioning it’s similar to the bonding events in Trails of Cold Steel games but you feel even closer to the characters. Physically closer too as the characters get closer to you in VR at times.

The final part of the stream had everyone answering questions. Ai Nonaka was asked about her favorite Kiseki / Trails series characters besides Towa. She answered it’s Rean, who feels like a little brother to her.

Next, Kondo was asked why Falcom decided to remaster Zero and Ao / the Crossbell arc on PS4, instead of the Trails in the Sky games / Liberl arc, which is the beginning of the series. He mentioned there are multiple reasons, but the biggest reason is how a lot of overseas fans want to play Zero and Ao, and PS4 versions means they can bring the games over more easily. There’s also how the Crossbell arc is very important in the games that follow it, including the upcoming Hajimari no Kiseki.

Coming up next, Kondo was asked if The Legend of Heroes: Hajimari no Kiseki will reenact the ending of Ao no Kiseki, since it depicts Crossbell’s re-independence. He answered “Crossbell’s independence will be depicted in an unexpected way. Rather than reenacting Ao no Kiseki‘s ending, it’ll broaden your vision of it and show you much more”.

The last question was for Clouded Leopard Entertainment President Chen Yun Yun, who was asked if Asian fans can expect more simultaneous releases for future Falcom games. Chen Yun Yun can’t promise anything, but Clouded Leopard Entertainment will try their utmost to release Asian versions swiftly.  Basically it also depends on how early Falcom send them data on the games. Kondo noted how they can be a bit slow on that regard as Falcom tends to keep working on their games until the last moment. It’s worth noting Clouded Leopard Entertainment exists for only around a year, created from ex employees of Sony Music Entertainment Unties, and yet already localized nearly as many Kiseki games as either XSeed or NIS America.

You can read more details on The Legend of Heroes: Hajimari no Kiseki with our past coverage here, here, and here. When it comes to English releases, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV will launch this fall on PS4, and on Switch and PC via Steam in 2021.

Source: Falcom, Clouded Leopard Entertainment

May 27, 2020 9:37 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/05/hajimari-no-kiseki-playstation-vr-dlc-revealed/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hajimari-no-kiseki-playstation-vr-dlc-revealed

[recentanimenews]

The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero Hits the West This September

  In addition to debuting its new logo this week, NIS America is here with more video game release date news for the west. The latest concerns The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero, which is coming to PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC in North America on September 27, followed by Europe on September 30.

  Check out the new story trailer: 

    Story and features:

  Lloyd Bannings returns to his hometown to follow his late brother’s footsteps and join the Crossbell Police Department. However, he finds himself assigned to a ragtag new division called the Special Support Section, which performs odd jobs and helps people in need. But he and his new teammates slowly discover that their vibrant city hides a dark criminal underbelly… as well as a few terrible secrets.

  Experience Crossbell in this exciting chapter from the renowned The Legend of Heroes series! The site of an ongoing territorial struggle between the Erebonian Empire and the Republic of Calvard, Crossbell has developed into a prosperous city-state and one of the continent’s leading economic centers.

  After three years away from his hometown, Lloyd Bannings returns in order to follow his late brother’s footsteps and join the Crossbell Police Department. However, when he arrives, he finds he’s been assigned to the Special Support Section, a new division that handles odd jobs and minor requests. He meets his new teammates, which include Elie MacDowell, the granddaughter of the city’s mayor; Randy Orlando, a womanizing ex-soldier; and Tio Plato, a young tech genius.

  Though their department is mocked by the media and looked down on by the rest of the CPD, Lloyd and his friends continue to fight to make their city a better place. As they do, however, they slowly come face-to-face with the criminal corruption gripping their city. Little do they know just how deep the shadows of Crossbell City go…

  Key Features

Welcome to Crossbell – The beginning of an exciting story arc in the Trails universe is about to begin in this iconic city-state! Experience a rich and refreshing game world that is teeming with secrets and adventures.

Polished Tactics – Strategic combat has been refined, resulting in rich, satisfying tactical gameplay. Harness powerful skills and teamwork to overcome your adversaries!

Your City, Your Story – Features such as High-Speed and Skip mode allow you to cater your gameplay experience to your preferences and enjoy battles quickly to focus on the surrounding story and events.

  Source: Press release

    -------

Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine. You can read his comics at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox.

By: Joseph Luster

[recentanimenews]

Four The Legend of Heroes RPGs Get Western Releases in 2022, 2023

  If you're a fan of The Legend of Heroes RPGs, you're in for an embarrassment of riches in the next couple years. NIS America announced four more titles for the west, starting with The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero next fall.

  Here's an overview of what's coming up next.

  The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero 

Original Release: September 2010 (PSP, Japan)

Platforms: PS4, Switch, PC

Launch Window: Fall 2022

    The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure

Original Release: September 2011 (PSP, Japan)

Platforms: PS4, Switch, PC

Launch Window: 2023

    The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie

Original Release: August 2020 (PS4, Japan)

Platforms: PS4, Switch, PC

Launch Window: 2023

    The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails

Original Release: July 2012 (PSP, Japan)

Platforms: PS4, Switch, PC

Launch Window: 2023

    Stay tuned for more as we get more concrete release dates in the coming… year or so? 

  Source: NIS America

    -------

Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine. You can read his comics at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox.

By: Joseph Luster