| The Legend of Heroes | |
| Developer: | Nihon Falcom |
| Genre: | Role-playing video game |
| Platforms: | MSX, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Windows |
| First Release Version: | |
| First Release Date: | December 10, 1989 |
| Latest Release Version: | |
| Latest Release Date: | September 29, 2022 |
| Parent: | Dragon Slayer |
| Spinoffs: | Trails |
The Legend of Heroes, known in Japan as is a series of role-playing video games developed by Nihon Falcom. First starting as a part of the Dragon Slayer series in the late 1980s, the series evolved into its own decade-spanning, interconnected series with seventeen entries, including several subseries. All games in the franchise released since 2004 are part of the Trails subseries, known as in Japan. The next entry, , is scheduled to be released in September 2024.
See also: List of Trails media. The series was created by Nihon Falcom. It began with the release of in 1989 as a part of Dragon Slayer franchise. It was released for various computer platforms, as well as consoles such as the Sega Genesis, Super NES, and the TurboGrafx-16. The latter would be the first and last game in the series released in English until 2005. In Japan however, the series continued with , released in 1992 for a similar selection of platforms.
The third game in the series, The Legend of Heroes III (1994), later released in English as , dropped "Dragon Slayer" from the title. It would be followed up by The Legend of Heroes IV (1996) and The Legend of Heroes V (1999), later known outside of Japan as respectively and . The three games form the "Gagharv trilogy", a subseries following a shared narrative within the same world.
After the conclusion of the Gagharv trilogy, Falcom introduced a completely new world and story with their next game: (2004). The game, later dropping the VI from the title, received two sequels: Trails in the Sky SC (2006) and Trails in the Sky the 3rd (2007). The three games made up the first arc of a new subseries, known as in Japanese and Trails in English. Trails would end up becoming a major success for Falcom, with every Legend of Heroes game released since being a part of it.
The next two games in the series, (2010) and Trails to Azure (2011), form the "Crossbell" arc of the Trails narrative. The Trails of Cold Steel arc would follow, starting with in 2013 and ending with Trails of Cold Steel IV in 2018.[1] is the epilogue to the Crossbell and Trails of Cold Steel arcs. The ongoing arc, Trails Through Daybreak, has seen two releases and began with (2021).
| + List of games | Year | Title | Sub-series | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Dragon Slayer | The first game in The Legend of Heroes series. | ||
| 1992 | The final game in the Dragon Slayer subseries. | |||
| 1994 | Gagharv | The first of the Gagharv trilogy. Known as The Legend of Heroes III in Japan. | ||
| 1996 | Known as The Legend of Heroes IV in Japan, all numbering was removed for its English release, making it appear to be the first game in the trilogy. | |||
| 1999 | The third and final game of the Gagharv trilogy. Known as The Legend of Heroes V in Japan. | |||
| 2004 | Trails | The first game of the Trails sub-series and the first of the Trails in the Sky trilogy. Originally released as The Legend of Heroes VI. | ||
| 2006 | ||||
| 2007 | The final part of the Trails in the Sky trilogy. | |||
| 2010 | Ys vs. Trails in the Sky | Crossover fighting game containing characters from the Ys and Trails series. | ||
| The first part of the Crossbell arc. | ||||
| 2011 | The final part of the Crossbell arc. | |||
| 2012 | Action role-playing spin-off. | |||
| 2013 | The first part of the Trails of Cold Steel arc. | |||
| 2014 | ||||
| 2016 | Gacha game developed by UserJoy Technology. | |||
| 2017 | ||||
| 2018 | The final part of the Trails of Cold Steel arc. | |||
| 2020 | The epilogue to both the Crossbell and Trails of Cold Steel arcs. | |||
| 2021 | The first part of the Trails Through Daybreak arc. | |||
| 2022 | ||||
| 2024 |
A Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes original video animation anime was released in 1992, the same year that Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes II was released, loosely based on the story of the first game.[2] In 1997, it was dubbed into English by Urban Vision and was released onto VHS in North America.
In 2009, three volumes of a Trails in the Sky manga were published in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten, which was followed next year by a sequel, Trails from Zero: Pre-Story, published by ASCII Media Works. Two original video animation anime episodes of Trails in the Sky were respectively released in October 2011 and January 2012.[3] A 12-episode anime series set in the Trails universe and produced by Tatsunoko Production, , aired in early 2023.[4]