is a 2010

role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...

developed by

Nihon Falcom is a Japanese video game developer, best known for their '' Ys'', '' The Legend of Heroes'', and '' Trails'' series. They are credited with pioneering the action role-playing and Japanese role-playing game genres, as well as popularizing the u ...

. The game is a part of the ''

Trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

'' series, itself a part of the larger '' The Legend of Heroes'' series, and follows '' Trails in the Sky the 3rd'' (2007). ''Trails from Zero'' and its 2011 sequel, '' Trails to Azure'', form the Crossbell arc of the series. The game takes place in Crossbell, a city-state located between two great powers fighting for control over it, and follows Lloyd Bannings and his colleagues Elie MacDowell, Randy Orlando, and Tio Plato. The four form the Special Support Section, a newly formed department of the Crossbell police. ''Trails from Zero'' was first released in Japan for the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...

before being ported to

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

for release in China in 2011. An enhanced port featuring improved visuals and additional

voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animated, off-stage, off-sc ...

was released for the

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...

in Japan as ''Zero no Kiseki: Evolution'' in 2012. The game received an English

fan translation Fan translation (or user-generated translation) refers to the unofficial translation of various forms of written or multimedia products made by fans (fan labor), often into a language in which an official translated version is not yet availabl ...

in 2020, which

NIS America is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was founded in 1991 and has developed several role-playing video games, most notably the ''Disgaea'' and '' Marl Kingdom'' series. Its mascot is the penguin-like ''Disgaea'' charact ...

used as a base for an official version that was released for

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

, and

in September 2022.

Plot

''Trails from Zero'' is set three months after the end of ''The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd'', in the city-state of Crossbell. Uneasily situated between two great powers—the Erebonian Empire and the Calvard Republic, both of which claim sovereignty over Crossbell—the city is riven by political tensions, corruption, and organized crime. The protagonist, Lloyd Bannings, is a rookie police detective. At the beginning, he is assigned to the Special Support Section (SSS), an odd-jobs branch of the city's police department, together with Elie MacDowell, heiress to a political dynasty, Randolph "Randy" Orlando, a laid-back ex-soldier, and Tio Plato, a young girl and electronics genius. The SSS investigate the schemes of the city's competing crime syndicates, before stumbling over the plot of a centuries-old cult to raise a young girl, known as KeA, to godhood and through her, overthrow the continent's church and faith. The SSS defeat and arrest the cult's leaders and assume guardianship of KeA.

Development

''Trails from Zero'' was first released in Japan for the

and was later ported to

for release in China in 2011. It was also released for the

in Japan as ''Zero no Kiseki: Evolution'' in October 2012. This version features improved visuals and more

. The ''Evolution'' version received a remaster for the

, releasing in Japan as ''Zero no Kiseki Kai'' in April 2020. It was also released for the

in China and South Korea by Clouded Leopard Entertainment in February 2021. Due to a variety of reasons, ''Trails from Zero'' and its sequel, '' Trails to Azure'', were not localized outside of Japan by the time of the Japanese release of ''

Trails of Cold Steel is a 2013 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is a part of the ''Trails'' series, itself a part of the larger '' The Legend of Heroes'' series, and follows '' Trails to Azure'' (2011). It was initially released in Japan ...

''. Falcom subsequently approached

Xseed Games Marvelous USA Inc., (formerly Xseed Games), is an American video game company founded in 2004 by former members of Square Enix USA with the goal to localize Japanese games for American market. Xseed Games later became a subsidiary of Japanese ...

, who had previously localized ''

Trails in the Sky ''The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky'' is a 2004 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is the first in the ''Trails'' series, itself a part of the larger '' The Legend of Heroes'' series. ''Trails in the Sky'' was fir ...

'', and requested that a localization of ''

'' be prioritized instead, resulting in ''Trails from Zero'' and ''Trails to Azure'' being skipped. An English

was released by a team known as "Geofront" in March 2020. An official English version by

, using this as the base of the translation, was released for

, and

in North America and Europe in September 2022, and Australasia on October 10. That version was also released in Japan for the Switch by Falcom on August 31, 2023.

Reception

''Trails from Zero'' received "generally favorable" reviews, according to

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, with praise going to its story, cast of characters, combat mechanics, and music. Along with ''Trails to Azure'', ''

Comic Book Resources ''CBR'', formerly ''Comic Book Resources'', is a news website primarily covering comic book news, comic book reviews, and comic book–related topics involving movies, television, anime, and video games. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publicat ...

'' highlighted the game's "persistent overarching storyline, immersive and detailed settings, masterful character development ndunique battle system". They noted that despite the lack of an official localization at the time, the plot and characters were integral to understanding later games in the series.

Jason Schreier Jason Schreier (born May 10, 1987) is an American journalist and author who primarily covers the video game industry. He worked as a news reporter for ''Kotaku'' from 2011 to 2020 and was recognized for several Investigative journalism, investig ...

of ''

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...

'' considered its 2022 English release to be among the best games of the year.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero, The 2010 video games Japanese role-playing video games Nihon Falcom games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation Portable games PlayStation Vita games Single-player video games The Legend of Heroes Trails from Zero Video games about cults Video games about police officers Video games developed in Japan Windows games Turn-based role-playing video games Clouded Leopard Entertainment games Video games set in fictional countries Science fantasy role-playing video games NIS America games