Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter Review – A Brilliant Second Act

Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter on PS5

Remakes are tricky because players want something new and something familiar at the same time. I initially expected Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter to simply look like modern Trails games, but I was blown away by the unique identity it was given.

With such a terrific base to work from, Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter doesn’t do much innovating. Instead, you get more terrific gameplay, stronger character development, and the second half of a story about secrets, the past, and fighting for what you want.

More importantly, it’s a continuation that understands exactly what made the first game so special. You don’t need to spend hours reintroducing Liberl or getting players acquainted with the Bracer Guild again. Instead, Nihon Falcom and GungHo Online Entertainment can focus on developing the characters we already know, giving their relationships and personal struggles greater importance as the stakes keep rising.

And considering where the first game left us, there’s certainly plenty to work with.

Finding Strength Without Joshua

Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter begins the morning after 1st Chapter’s cliffhanger. Estelle Bright wakes up, groggy from being drugged by Joshua after his heartfelt goodbye, right after they had basically just saved the country. She’s alone and confused, desperate to make sense of what he said. But when her last hope of finding him fades, she faces reality and decides the best thing to do, with a new threat on the horizon, is to strengthen herself. With that, she travels to Leman for intensive Bracer training.

It’s a rather different position for Estelle to find herself in, especially after spending so much of the previous game with Joshua by her side. Their relationship was a major part of what made 1st Chapter work, but his sudden disappearance gives Estelle a chance to stand on her own. She’s still the same energetic, occasionally impulsive person, of course, but now there’s a greater sense of responsibility behind her actions.

That growth is one of the most important parts of Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter. What begins as a personal mission to find Joshua gradually becomes something much bigger, especially as the mysterious Ouroboros begins making moves across Liberl. Estelle has to balance what she wants for herself with what she needs to do as a Bracer, and it’s a compelling continuation of the journey that began in the first game.

As it turns out, Liberl isn’t that big, so most of the game involves running through areas from the first game. This should feel plenty familiar if you’re coming straight into Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter after finishing the first game. Instead, the sequel brings new characters, both good and bad, while also fleshing out the backstories of characters you already know.

Almost everyone seems to have some secret they’re holding onto, and learning more about them is a large part of what makes this sequel so enjoyable. The members of Ouroboros are particularly interesting because they’re more than just another group of villains standing in the way. Their connections to the existing cast give the confrontations a much more personal edge, and the story gets increasingly interesting as it explores those relationships.

Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter also does something interesting that got me excited to play and experience things from the other side. After returning from Leman, Estelle sets out across Liberl to investigate Ouroborosis plans. As one of her senior Bracers is needed elsewhere, players must choose who will accompany them: Scherazard or Agate. This isn’t exactly a light choice, either, since you’re stuck with whoever you choose for most of the story.

I chose Agate mainly because I prefer dealing damage in these games over the more tactical aspects of Arts, and Agate is perfect for that. However, there were plenty of scenes where I wondered how they might have been different, or more entertaining, if I’d taken Scherazard instead. Choosing the other character in NG+ adds a fun extra layer for players who want to replay the story, beyond the usual reasons.

Another narrative oddity is that, on more than one occasion, control swaps to a different party elsewhere. Other games have done this, but it’s typically two parties working together to get through a dungeon. This time, it’s more about showing what everyone else is doing, while also giving you hands-on time with other characters. I was surprised by how often this happened, but I enjoyed it every time.

These moments help make Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter feel like more than just Estelle’s adventure, even if she’s very much at the centre of it. An entire cast of characters deals with their own problems, and seeing things from their perspectives gives the wider story more weight.

Familiar Roads, Sharper Battles in Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter doesn’t change much. That’s kind of just how these games go after the first entry in an arc sets the tone. I honestly see that as a good thing because it means someone can go from 1st Chapter into the sequel with an extremely smooth transition.

That applies to exploration as much as combat. Liberl is still Liberl, meaning you return to towns, roads, and dungeons you’ve already explored. On the one hand, there’s something nice about seeing familiar locations again, especially now that the people who inhabit them have new problems and conversations. On the other hand, it does mean the sense of discovery isn’t quite as strong as before.

You can only travel through the same stretches of countryside so many times before things start to feel repetitive, even when the story of Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter gives you good reasons to return. The familiar geography also means the earlier parts of the adventure can take some time to build momentum. Thankfully, the characters and the growing threat of Ouroboros give you enough reason to keep pushing forward, and the story becomes considerably more engaging as the different threads begin coming together.

Combat, meanwhile, is largely the same satisfying mix of real-time action and turn-based strategy that made 1st Chapter so enjoyable. A few new things are added in Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter, of course, but nothing that fundamentally changes battles or can’t be grasped fairly quickly.

Brave Rush is one of those additions, allowing players to spend Brave Gauge points on powerful combination attacks during Quick Battles. It’s another useful tool when dealing with enemies, especially if you enjoy getting through encounters as efficiently as possible. However, it doesn’t dramatically change how combat works; it builds on an already solid system.

The biggest change I noticed is that bosses, and some especially tough enemies, now have an annoying new quirk: they get a handy Rage Boost after dropping to a certain HP threshold. This essentially gives them a free turn, allowing them to use Arts without the usual delay.

It’s a guaranteed action, meaning it triggers even if you deal enough damage to defeat them before it can activate. This happened to me: enemies recovered some health on the spot and immediately took their turn. It’s certainly one way to stop players from simply overwhelming bosses with powerful attacks, even if it can be frustrating when you’ve seemingly already won.

Ouroboros Enforcers take this further with their own Enforcer Boosts, which make these already dangerous opponents even more threatening in Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter. The added mechanics add an extra layer of unpredictability to tougher encounters, forcing players to pay closer attention instead of assuming a powerful party can steamroll everything.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that the combat suddenly becomes something completely different. Character builds, Crafts, Arts and party composition remain just as important, and those who enjoyed experimenting with different approaches in 1st Chapter will find plenty more opportunities to do so here.

That’s probably the best thing about how Falcom has handled this sequel. The combat was already excellent, so rather than reinventing it, Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter simply gives players a little more to work with. The expanded enemy encounters and more demanding bosses also make good use of these familiar mechanics, especially as the story starts throwing greater challenges your way.

Giving a Classic New Life

When it comes to remakes, presentation is obviously an important part of the conversation. After all, there’s little point in rebuilding an older game if the result offers nothing meaningful beyond a visual upgrade.

Thankfully, Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter carries forward the same distinct presentation that made 1st Chapter stand out. Its colourful environments, expressive character models, and modernised animations give the adventure an identity that feels right at home alongside newer entries in the series, while still preserving the original’s charm.

This matters especially for a story that relies so heavily on its characters. More expressive animations and cinematic sequences give the various confrontations, revelations, and emotional moments room to breathe. The added voice acting also helps bring the cast to life, adding dimension to their personalities and relationships beyond the dialogue.

The soundtrack remains another important part of the experience in Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter, mixing familiar themes with music that complements the escalating drama. For a game that spends so much time revisiting places you’ve already explored, the presentation does a lot of work in keeping everything engaging.

On a smaller scale, one gameplay change I found coolest is a cosmetic attachment with a real use in exploration. In one of the first dungeons, you can find a pair of Night-Vision Goggles. Equipping these, in the Costume menu of course, is the only way to navigate the pitch-black room ahead. The Trails series has offered some silly cosmetics over the years (Trails into Reverie has an Erebonian tank hat where the treads move), but I loved having one actually matter for progression.

Sadly, Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter offers not many cosmetics unless you buy DLC. This is a bit of a bummer because I usually love fitting the main characters with glasses, and the two options here aren’t great. However, the game does give you a few different cat-ear colour choices, so you better believe I used those to the fullest.

On the subject of things missing from 1st Chapter, one of the main omissions was minigames. While Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter doesn’t do much with this, it does include fishing. Unfortunately, I found fishing rather disappointingly simple, especially after loving how it works in the Calvard arc. This time, you simply hold X and push the left stick left or right as indicated on screen, or the fish gets away. It’s pretty rough at the start, too, since the beginner fishing gear isn’t very forgiving. Fishing is a welcome addition, but I would have liked something a little more involved.

I was also pleased that Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter continues something I really liked in 1st Chapter. When you start NG+, you can choose what to carry over, including levels, equipment, and money, plus an option that raises enemy levels. In 1st Chapter, the increase was 50 levels, and this time it’s 75.

This not only prevents NG+ runs from going stale, but also gives players more flexibility when cleaning up challenges without simply destroying everything too easily. Better yet, the increase isn’t permanent, so you can ignore it on subsequent playthroughs. As someone who likes saving Nightmare runs for when I’m completely overprepared, having that option makes the prospect of getting the last trophy much more appealing.

These aren’t exactly groundbreaking features, but they do add to an already generous RPG experience. Whether you want to see how things play out with a different companion, experiment with character builds, or simply complete everything, there are plenty of reasons to spend more time in Liberl after the credits roll.

And that’s ultimately what makes Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter such a strong continuation. Falcom hasn’t tried to reinvent the experience, because it really doesn’t need to. The foundations laid by 1st Chapter are already excellent, and this sequel takes full advantage of them by putting more emphasis on the characters, their histories and the consequences of everything that has happened.

A few annoyances crop up along the way, particularly with how much familiar ground you’ll cover and some smaller gameplay additions that don’t quite live up to expectations. But once the story gets going, it’s hard not to get caught up in what happens to Estelle and the rest of the cast. I have no idea where Falcom will take these remakes from here. They could make the third Sky game, or perhaps move on to the Crossbell arc.

Either way, after seeing the quality of these last two games, I have plenty of faith that whatever comes next will be worth looking forward to. For now, though, Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter is exactly what I wanted from a sequel to an already terrific remake. It might feel familiar in many ways, but with a story this good and characters worth spending so much time with, returning to Liberl is hardly a bad thing.

Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter is now available on PlayStation 5, PC, and Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.