In an interview with The Gamer site and quickly taken up by Automaton, the CEO of Falcom testifies that the main programmer of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter needed 80 hours to see the end of this remake, while the duration of the original revolves rather around 40 hours.
Toshihiro Kondo explains this phenomenon by different factors, starting with the change of scale of the cards to be explored. Resembled all in 3D to stick modern episodes to the formula, the remake thus offers larger and longer play areas to search. To the point that the player wanting to explore everything, finish all the quests and listen to all the dubbed aftershocks, will put twice as much time to finish the remake as the original. “” It may also be because we spend more time looking at the kinematics. At the time, we tended to scroll the texts at the speed where they appeared, which gave the original a certain rhythm “Explains Kondo.
The other tip that partly explains this increase in the lifespan lies in the larger number of dubbed scenes. The 80-hour estimate starts from the principle that the player does not zap any dialogue (subtitled in French, the remake will offer the choice between Japanese and English voices). And although this first episode of the Trails series offers significantly fewer playable characters (there are 8) than recent episodes, Kondo assures that Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter However, contains more dialogues doubled than any other title in the saga. The CEO attributes this feat to the long periods when Estelle and Joshua travel alone. While these moments were often silent in the original, the remake adds new lines of dialogue between the two protagonists.
« In the original version, it had the impression that they were traveling in silence on the field, which left room for imagination, but today, it no longer really corresponds to the presentation of a modern game – we can no longer leave them completely silent. For example, in the scenes where the two travel together and cross control posts, we have added a lot of detailed dialogues, which increases the total number of replicas. Even during the fighting, there are more improvised exchanges, more detailed than in previous games. »
Scale economy
Note however that this remake will be faithful to the comfort of Falcom games, namely the possibility of accelerating travel and having recourse to instantable trip at any time. “” In 3D, the distances seem long; In Pixel Art, we quickly crossed areas. Here, racing animations are realistic, so it takes more time than in the original. To compensate, you can open the card and teleport where you want, or even use a quick speed mode while walking. It’s pretty free. »
Kondo also confirms that the scenario of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapteras its name suggests, takes up a few details with the history of the first Trails in the Sky (“Tits” for friends) But not of his two successors. The remake will also offer more quests than the original. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter Will be available around the world on September 19, 2025 on PS5, Switch and Steam.
- To read also | Trails in the sky 1st chapter: a trailer for the remake of Falcom’s RPG
