The Legend of Heroes: Akatsuki no Kiseki

The Legend of Heroes: Akatsuki no Kiseki[1] is a 2016 role-playing gacha game developed by UserJoy Technology and published by Nihon Falcom. It is a spin-off of the Trails series, itself a part The Legend of Heroes franchise, and was first released in Japan for browsers. Akatsuki no Kiseki was later ported to Windows, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Android, iOS, and Nintendo Switch. The PlayStation and Switch versions of the game were discontinued in 2022.

The Legend of Heroes: Akatsuki no Kiseki
Developer(s)UserJoy Technology
Publisher(s)Nihon Falcom
SeriesTrails
EngineUnity
Platform(s)Windows, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch
Release
August 31, 2016
  • Browser
    • JP: August 31, 2016
    PlayStation Vita
    • JP: December 26, 2016
    PlayStation 4
    • JP: February 22, 2017
    Android, iOS
    • CHN: November 13, 2018
    • JP: August 27, 2019
    Nintendo Switch
    • JP: August 27, 2019
Genre(s)Role-playing

Gameplay

Akatsuki no Kiseki features a mix of role-playing and simulation elements. Portions of the dialogue of major characters are recorded by well-known Japanese voice actors.[2] Haccan did the character artwork.[3] The game features cel-shaded graphics with a battle system resembling the earlier Crossbell arc.[4] Like in other Trails games, combat is turn-based, and the player can move their characters freely on the field of battle.[2] Management of the player's airship also plays a major role in the game.[5][6]

Plot

Setting

Akatsuki revisits some locations seen in previous Trails games, such as Liberl and Crossbell, while introducing a new cast of characters.[7] The two main protagonists are both bracers,[note 1] harking back to the original Trails in the Sky games.[3] Additionally, Akatsuki offers players the opportunity to build a party out of characters who appeared in previous Trails games.[8] For example, as part of UserJoy's pre-release promotion campaign, users who pre-registered for an Akatsuki user ID and followed the game's official Twitter account had Noel Seeker, who first appeared in Trails from Zero, added to their party as a bonus character. Players who pre-registered received further bonuses based on the total number of pre-registrations.[7][9]

Development
Falcom president and series producer Toshihiro Kondo

Akatsuki no Kiseki was first announced in June 2014 as a project to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Trails series. Akatsuki was initially scheduled to begin service in 2015.[3][10] UserJoy Technology opened a preview site for the game in July.[11] Though UserJoy rose to fame mainly for PC MMORPGs such as Angel Love Online and The Legend of Three Kingdoms Online, and later began branching out into mobile games, the early press releases did not clarify the platform for Akatsuki, nor whether it would be purely single-player or if it would have some type of online multi-player functionality.[12][13]

Falcom president and series producer Toshihiro Kondo revealed a few details about the working relationship between Falcom and UserJoy. He noted that Falcom was collaborating closely with UserJoy on the story, and praised the UserJoy Akatsuki development staff for their knowledge of the Trails series, saying that they were ardent fans who knew details about the games that even Falcom employees themselves did not remember. Kondo went on to state that Falcom might consider producing more online games in the future depending on user response to Akatsuki.[14]

Delay

The two companies remained silent about Akatsuki no Kiseki until December 2015, when Falcom announced that the game had been delayed until 2016. Falcom's press release at the time included the first four screenshots of Akatsuki game play. Userjoy also updated the game's teaser site with information about more characters.[4] Falcom made no further concrete announcements, only a vague statement in April on Twitter and Facebook that operation might begin soon.[15][16] Mainland Chinese news sites speculated that Akatsuki would be released in the second or third quarter of 2016,[17][18] while Taiwanese business news reports on UserJoy's Q1 2016 earnings conference in May wrote that Akatsuki would be released in Q4 2016 in Japan and the following year in Taiwan.[19][20][21] UserJoy revealed further details at the China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference in late July, and began tweeting on a dedicated Twitter account for Akatsuki in early August.[2][22][23]

On August 9, UserJoy opened the official site for Akatsuki no Kiseki and posted the first promotional video of the game.[7] After a brief open beta test, service began on August 31 as a browser game requiring the Unity Web Player.[24][25][26] Falcom subsequently released ports for the PlayStation Vita on December 26 and the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in 2017.[27][28] In June 2018, Falcom said that Beijing-based mobile games developer Changyou.com and Shanghai-based video sharing site Bilibili were collaborating to release a Chinese-language adaptation of Akatsuki for smartphones, under the title Xīng zhī Guǐjì (Chinese: 星之轨迹; lit. 'Trails of Stars').[29] A port for the Nintendo Switch was released in Japan as Akatsuki no Kiseki Mobile on August 27, 2019.[30] The PlayStation and Switch versions of the game were removed from digital stores in 2022, with UserJoy offering players the ability to migrate their save data to the mobile versions.[31]

Notes
  1. In Trails, a bracer is a member of the Bracer's Guild, a civilian peacekeeping and monster-hunting organisation. See Hargreaves, Roger (December 21, 2011). "The Legend Of Heroes: Trails In The Sky review – Liberl agenda". Metro News. Retrieved May 3, 2016.

References
  1. 英雄伝説 暁の軌跡
  2. "亞洲遊戲最大檔ChinaJoy，臺灣遊戲菁英齊聚拚國際商機!" [At Asia's largest games convention ChinaJoy, Taiwan's elite game companies gather to seize international opportunities!]. Taipei Computer Association. July 26, 2016. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  3. "オンラインRPG「英雄伝説 暁の軌跡」が発表。舞台は軌跡シリーズと同じゼムリア大陸，"新米準遊撃士"ことナハトとクロエの冒険を描く" [Online RPG Eiyū Densetsu: Akatsuki no Kiseki announced. Set on the stage of the Trails series' Zemurian continent, it describes the adventures of "new bracers" Nacht and Chloe]. 4gamer. June 26, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  4. "『英雄伝説 暁の軌跡』2016年配信。クロスベル、リベール、レミフェリアでの新作ストーリーが展開" [Eiyū Densetsu: Akatsuki no Kiseki to be distributed in 2016. A new story opens up in Crossbell, Liberl, and Remiferia.]. Dengeki. December 17, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  5. "《英雄传说：晓之轨迹》首部宣传片 将展开全新故事" [First promotional video for Eiyū Densetsu: Akatsuki no Kiseki; a whole new story will soon begin]. GamerSky. August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  6. "轨迹系列新作网游《晓之轨迹》开放注册 情报公开" [Registration begins for newest game in Trails series, Eiyū Densetsu: Akatsuki no Kiseki; information made public]. 3DMGame. August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  7. "「英雄伝説 暁の軌跡」の事前登録受付がスタート。特典は「零の軌跡」などに登場したノエル・シーカー（CV：浅野真澄）" [Eiyū Densetsu: Akatsuki no Kiseki starts accepting pre-registrations; bonus character is Noel Seeker (voice actress: Masumi Asano), who appeared in Zero no Kiseki]. 4Gamer. August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  8. "『英雄伝説 暁の軌跡』公式サイトオープン。ノエル・シーカーがもらえる事前登録も実施中" [Eiyū Densetsu: Akatsuki no Kiseki official site opens. Preregister now to get Noel Seeker!]. Dengeki. August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  9. "The Legend of Heroes: Akatsuki no Kiseki debut trailer, pre-registration opened". Gematsu. August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  10. "The Legend of Heroes: Akatsuki no Kiseki online RPG announced, first details". Gematsu. June 25, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  11. "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Dawn Will Be For PC". Silicon Era. July 10, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  12. "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Dawn Story And Lead Characters Revealed". Silicon Era. June 25, 2014. Archived from the original on July 8, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  13. "英雄傳說 曉之軌跡正式發表 與台共同研發變 Online RPG" [Eiyū Densetsu: Akatsuki no Kiseki formally announced; jointly developed with Taiwan, it's now an Online RPG]. Unwire.hk. June 27, 2014. Archived from the original on June 28, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  14. "「閃の軌跡II」クリア必須のネタバレトーク！「暁の軌跡」や今後の展開にも言及した「Falcom jdk BAND Live ＆ Talk Show Vol.6」レポート" [Ending spoilers for Trails of Cold Steel II! Also talked about the upcoming Akatsuki no Kiseki release. Falcom jdk BAND Live & Talk Show Vol. 6 Report]. Gamer.co.jp. November 30, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  15. "オンラインRPG『英雄伝説 暁の軌跡』まもなく本格稼働か…ファルコムが意味深なツイートを投稿" [Online RPG Eiyū Densetsu: Akatsuki no Kiseki starting full-scale operation soon? Falcom posts suggestive tweet.]. Inside Games. April 25, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  16. Reese, Zack (April 25, 2016). "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Dawn going into full operation this year". RPG Site. Archived from the original on July 28, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  17. "宇峻奥汀2016年战略布局：《晓之轨迹》将在年内上市" [UserJoy Strategy Report: Akatsuki no Kiseki will go on the market within the year]. 163 Play. January 23, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  18. "轨迹系列新作《晓之轨迹》登陆web平台" [New work in the Trails series, Akatsuki no Kiseki, coming to web platform]. PC Games. February 5, 2016. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  19. 莊丙農 (May 26, 2016). "宇峻今年獲利看升，轉投資弘煜潛在收益俏" [UserJoy sees profits rising this year, with spin-off Fun Yours having potential for gain]. China Times. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  20. 陳昱翔 (May 26, 2016). "宇峻轉投資弘煜將上櫃" [UserJoy spin-off Fun Yours to be listed on stock market]. United Daily News. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  21. "授權金加日本推新作 宇峻今年營運比去年好" [With licensing fees from new works in Japan, UserJoy's operations expected to improve from previous year]. Apple Daily Taiwan Edition. May 26, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  22. "[CJ 16]台灣參展廠商曝光新作《混沌封印》《英雄爭霸》《曉之軌跡》等" [(ChinaJoy 2016) Taiwan participating developers to reveal new works like Seal of Chaos, Heroes of War, Akatsuki no Kiseki]. Gamer.com.tw. July 19, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  23. "オンラインRPG『英雄伝説 暁の軌跡』公式Twitterアカウントが開設「近日中には続報が出せる」" [Official Twitter account opened for online RPG Eiyū Densetsu: Akatsuki no Kiseki, 'more information will be released in the coming days']. GamesTalk.net. August 2, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016. Cites @NihonFalcom (August 2, 2016). "[お知らせ] 突然ですが、本日8/2(火)よりオンラインストーリーRPG「英雄伝説 暁の軌跡（アカツキノキセキ）」公式Twitterの運用が開始されました！ #暁の軌跡" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. "よくあるご質問（FAQ）について" [Frequently Asked Questions]. Akatsuki no Kiseki official site. August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  25. "Unity Web Player のインストールについて" [Regarding Unity Web Player installation]. Akatsuki no Kiseki official site. August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  26. "『英雄伝説 暁の軌跡』正式サービスが開始、記念キャンペーンや新機能も登場！". Famitsu. August 31, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  27. Romano, Sal (December 21, 2016). "The Legend of Heroes: Akatsuki no Kiseki for PS Vita launches December 26 in Japan". Gematsu. Archived from the original on May 3, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  28. "オンラインRPG『暁の軌跡』がPS4で遊べる！世界がさらに広がる最新情報と今後のアップデートに注目！" [Online RPG Akatsuki no Kiseki will be playable on PS4! Pay attention for later updates for the newest information on the expansion of the world!]. Famitsu. June 5, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  29. 軌跡系列續作《英雄傳說：星之軌跡》於中國開放事前登錄 歷代人物集結登場 [Another work in the Trails series, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Stars, holds pre-registration prior to Chinese release; characters from past works take the stage together]. Gamer.com.tw (in Chinese). June 4, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018. "日本ファルコム、スマホ向けRPG『英雄伝説 星の軌跡』をChangyouやbilibiliと中国で共同配信へ" [Nihon Falcom will jointly distribute smartphone RPG The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Stars in China with Changyou and bilibili]. Gamebiz.jp. June 1, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  30. Sato (August 21, 2019). "The Legend of Heroes: Akatsuki no Kiseki Mobile Launches For Switch In Japan On August 27, 2019". Siliconera. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  31. Stenbuck, Kite (March 3, 2022). "Akatsuki no Kiseki Will Be No Longer Available on Consoles". Siliconera. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
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