Welcome to the ST for Trails Through Daybreak, the 11th directly connected game in the long running Trails series! Daybreak is the start of the Calvard arc, the fourth arc in the series overall that introduces us to a whole new cast of characters to meet inside a new country in Zemuria. Additionally, the classic turn based combat system is being joined by action combat that you can swap between as you please to most efficiently tackle foes. We have more Trails fans than ever on Fami so I’m really excited to share this journey with all of you!
If you are new to Trails and are interested in potentially starting with Daybreak, the first game in the start of each arc is usually designed to be newcomer friendly. That said, the status quo start for Daybreak will inevitably spoil some of the wild adventures of prior games and I’m aware of a good handful of returning characters from prior arcs that will be here whose stories continue, so this is ultimately the fourth best choice for a Trails game to start with. My main advice isn’t to discourage anyone from starting here as the more Trails fans there are the better, but just be sure you know what you are getting into since you can only play through these games for the first time once. If you’d like more information on Trails, I recommend checking out my unofficial ST for Trails From Zero for a good overview on the series or asking around either the Trails Community ST or the RPGs ST. We have a lot of Trails fans on Fami who’d love to help you get into the series so don’t be shy! There are also some generous demos for Daybreak on the eshop and PSN that allow save data to transfer, so that’s a good way to give the series a try!
Incidentally, since we will likely have a good mix of fans here between people who have played every game (including some beyond the English releases), some who fell off of prior arcs, and others who are starting fresh, please be extra mindful of spoilers here and make good use of both ispoilers and well labeled full spoiler tags. Even if something was covered in marketing or in the generous demos this game has, please keep in mind a good number of us like to play these games as fresh as possible so we have held off for the full release.
Here’s some basic info on Daybreak. First, the release platforms are Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC. The PC version of course was once again handled by Durante and his team and has numerous added features. There’s a great interview with Durante you can read here if you want more information (thanks @Yamanoi for sharing!). As for the basic plot set up, Daybreak follows a new character, Van Arkride, who is sort of a jack of all trades for hire, a Spriggan, who takes on jobs the police and Bracer Guild avoids. The adventure begins with Van receiving a new case from a student at a local prestigious academy who visits him at his office in Edith, the capital of Calvard.
NEW FEATURES
Calvard – Calvard has been teased for ten games now and finally you can properly explore it in Daybreak! A whole new cast of characters and plenty of familiar faces from the three prior arcs are here!
Field Battles – Daybreak features a new real time action combat system called field battles to quickly take out weaker foes. The classic turn based combat returns as well and you can swap between using either system to most efficiently take out enemies.
Xipha – The classic orbment system is getting a big revamp in Daybreak thanks to the new Xipha equipment. In addition to the main Holo Cores, there are four lines to customize with Quartz: weapon, shield, drive, and extra. By equipping certain combinations of Quartz you’ll gain access to new Shard Skills which will assist you in combat.
Alignment LGC – Your choices throughout the game will shift your alignment between three values, Law, Gray, and Chaos. Different values not only change who you can ally with and what conversations and quests you have access to, but they also can shift your stats and abilities.
Grendel – Van’s super form seen in trailers. You can eventually use it alongside your team to dramatically impact the tide of battle as it can act with multiple turns back to back.
Zin Returns – That’s right! After missing out on the last seven games, Zin The Immovable is back! Heck yeah!
RESOURCES
As with my other Trails STs, I’d like to include a few resources before I wrap up here. First up is the chronology and availability of the series:
Trails in the Sky – PSP/Vita, PC
Trails in the Sky SC – PSP/Vita, PC
Trails in the Sky The Third – PC
Trails From Zero – Switch, PC, PS4
Trails To Azure – Switch, PC, PS4
Spinoff(?) - The Legend of Nayuta Boundless Trails – Switch, PS4, PC
Trails of Cold Steel – Vita, PS3, PS4, PC
Trails of Cold Steel II – Vita, PS3, PS4, PC
Trails of Cold Steel Northern War – Anime on Crunchyroll
Trails of Cold Steel III – PS4, PS5, Switch, PC
Trails of Cold Steel IV – PS4, PS5, Switch, PC
Trails Into Reverie – PS4, PS5, Switch, PC
Trails Through Daybreak – PS4, PS5, Switch, PC
Trails Through Daybreak II – Leaked for Western Release
Kai No Kiseki – Farewell O Zemuria – Coming Soon In Japan
In addition to the games and anime listed here, there is an ok anime OVA series for Sky that plays with the canon a bit if you want to track that down. There is also a very terrible mobile game that the Trails of Cold Steel Northern War anime was supposed to promote. Just stick with the anime if you even want to bother there as the game’s translation is horrendous, its gameplay is poor, and it crashes frequently.
My second resource is a handy list of all of the Trails STs on Fami so far, the RPGs ST, and NISA’s official Daybreak website if you want more info and trailers.
Trails From Zero Unofficial ST
Trails To Azure ST
Trails Into Reverie ST
The Legend Of Nayuta Boundless Trails ST
Trails Community ST
RPGs ST
NISA’s Official Daybreak Website
Finally, I do plan to add here whatever guide I end up using for Daybreak to this OP down the road. The series generally has tons of missables which is where I find a guide most personally handy. Walking into this game, I’m especially curious how impactful the Alignment system will be on missables in particular.
TOGETHER THROUGH DAYBREAK
Alright Fami, this is it! It’s been almost nine years since the Cold Steel games began releasing in North America and finally we have our next big step forward for the series. This is a very exciting moment for Trails fans. I hope y’all enjoy this ST and let’s all have fun enjoying and discussing Daybreak together
Last edited:
