The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie from NIS America and Falcom finally launched in the West on PS5, PS4, Switch, and PC platforms including Steam earlier this month. While the PC version was handled by PH3 games, the Switch version was handled by Engine Software who also did Trails of Cold Steel III and IV on Nintendo’s hybrid system. Having played The Legend of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie on Switch pre-release and with its day one patch, I wanted to cover the port in its own review since there are quite a few people curious about it.
While not remotely as good as the Crossbell games on Switch in terms of port quality, I’m glad we finally have an official portable version of Hajimari no Kiseki in the West on both Switch and Steam Deck. In this Trails Into Reverie Switch review, I’m going to focus on the port quality and whether you should buy this version over the others.
Trails Into Reverie on Switch includes everything the PlayStation and PC versions have in terms of content barring the VR mode. That content is included, but you can’t use a VR headset to experience it. This brings it closer to the PS5 version that also lacks VR support. Pre-release, Trails Into Reverie on Switch was very rough. It had a movement related bug that caused only eight directional movement and had many performance issues. Right now, with the day one patch (1.0.2), the movement issue has been addressed, but there still are visual and performance issues.
Trails Into Reverie on Switch isn’t very different across docked and handheld. It seemingly targets the same resolution, but has better post-processing and shadows docked. The downside is, the tutorial menus and every interface are low resolution when played docked. I was hoping to see at least those aspects look crisp, but it really feels lacking docked. On handheld, you have the performance issues, but at least the interface and game look nicer on the smaller screen. Trails Into Reverie on Switch is quite a downgrade even compared to the PS4 version. This is a far cry from the Crossbell games where the Switch versions are my favorite versions of the games. Barring the resolution, load times and performance are also not as good as other versions.
I love Trails Into Reverie, and while the Switch version is acceptable, I’d only recommend it for those who literally will not play this docked. It is not a good experience docked, and is only worth getting if you’re exclusively a portable player and don’t own a Steam Deck. With that big caveat out of the way, Trails Into Reverie is one of the best JRPGs in recent years, and an essential for Trails fans who have already played the Cold Steel and Crossbell games. If you haven’t, do not get this. It is not a good entry point and requires at least those games under your belt to get the most of the experience.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie is out now for PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC in the West. Check out the Steam page here.
