• Price: $39.99 (digital), $49.99 (physical)
• Developer: Nihon Falcom
• Publisher: NIS America
• Release Date: September 19, 2023 (NA/JP); September 22 (EU/ANZ)

A review code was kindly provided by NIS America on behalf of Falcom. We thank them for being able to cover something they’ve worked so hard on.

I’ve been incredibly excited to check out The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails, which was originally released for PSP in Japan back in 2012. The game is described as an “action-RPG spinoff of the Trails series” – one of the few non-turn-based exceptions (see also: Ys vs. Trails in the Sky: Alternative Saga, 2010). Turn-based or action, I don’t care; my love for the series is…boundless. 😉 Let’s see what Nayuta is made of!

• Basic Info:
  • 3 difficulty levels
  • English dub included
  • High speed mode added (like other recent Trails entries on Switch)

“I could hear the gears of Fate beginning to turn.” ~Nayuta

Fifteen year-old Nayuta loves astronomy, and he lives on an island where people believe that the Earth is flat. Ruins and stars fall around Remnant Isle though, and Nayuta questions the island’s geological status.

One day, he decides to explore a fallen ruin with his friend. They unexpectedly find a fairy named Noi there, who asks them to help her retrieve an item that was stolen from her. This meeting starts Nayuta’s journey into the unknown…to a world known as Terra.

Nayuta and his friend Cygna are used to handling requests due to their business as handymen. They agree to help Noi with her quest to save Terra out of the kindness of their hearts, but also because the knowledge-hungry Nayuta wants to know more about this mysterious world and its relation to his own.

“Season’s Beatings” 🍁 ⚔️

Chasing after the thief, you’ll discover that the item they stole has disrupted Terra’s seasons. There are four continents on Terra, and you’ll have to complete every stage on a continent to adjust it back to the correct season. You’ll run and jump around the environment to get to the end of each stage, and environmental hazards vary depending on the current season.

Without mini maps for the stages, it can be difficult to figure out where you’ve been already and where you need to go next. I had more trouble with navigation than the trap or fall damage. Barriers often block you from getting to the next part of a stage, and you’ll have to find the switch or defeat some enemies to turn it off. There’s also rubble in the way, which you can destroy for items, and then of course there are the enemies.

Nayuta can use either a one- or two-handed sword to defeat enemies; other than play style, there don’t appear to be any differences or consequences to using one or the other. Cygna gives you a training book that unlocks new sword abilities based on your performance in each stage. Stages have three objectives to complete in exchange for stars in your book. Nayuta’s master will teach you a new skill for every six stars earned.

The objectives consist of 1) just completing the stage, 2) finding all treasure items, and 3) varying requirements such as defeating a certain number of enemies or completing the stage in under a minute. You can replay stages to clear any objectives you missed before – and thankfully, you don’t have to complete all three objectives together.

Nayuta is the only physical damage dealer, but Noi will accompany you on each stage, contributing to the fight with her “Seasonal Arts.” At first you don’t have access to many spells, as she had some of her magic stolen too! As you get further into the game you’ll regain her arts, which are on-theme and based on the seasons. Casting an art enough times will max it out at level 5. I had fun experimenting with each spell and deciding on my favorites.

One of my favorite parts of the game was getting adorable little outfits for Noi, which have special effects when equipped (i.e. increasing collectible drop rate, reducing fall/trap damage, etc.). I loved how equipping different items would change her appearance. And Nayuta’s equipment works the same way.

Restock & Requests At Remnant

You can find new equipment on Terra, but a lot of it must be purchased from the blacksmith on Remnant Isle. The island seems like a close-knit community, with Nayuta calling most people Aunt or Uncle. Everyone just seems really nice. 🥰

Nayuta has a sister who cooks; if you give her the ingredients she’ll make lunchboxes for you to use as healing items. You can also learn to cook the recipes you’ve found. Food will heal you and give you experience points! I really liked this mechanic.

Cookbooks and ingredients are sold at the item shop, although they’re a bit expensive in my opinion. I think they could have balanced the prices a little. The item shop also sells outfits for Noi, and it’s where you can buy a doghouse. Why would we want a doghouse, you may ask? Because we get to adopt a DOG!!! 🐶

Another fun mechanic on Remnant Isle is donating to the newly-opened museum. Channeling the spirit of Animal Crossing, you get to donate items found from destroying rubble on Terra – or that your doggy gives you – and they pay you and put the items on display. I especially liked the aquarium section because it was gorgeous.

The game conveniently lets you know when you should return to the island by displaying little icons on the screen. There’s one for when you have new items to donate, one for when you can learn new abilities, and another one for when there are new requests. I believe that requests are optional, but you’d miss out on items and some spells for Noi if you don’t do them.

Overall Thoughts

There’s just a lot to do in both worlds, and I think completionists will have a blast finding and completing everything. (There are 48 achievements to earn.) Once you’ve cleared a continent, you can use a device that changes the stages’ seasons, which impacts the monsters (and their levels), items, and traps that appear there. The same stage will have different objectives for its different seasons. When you gain new abilities or seasons you can return to stages with previously inaccessible areas/items.

So as far as the actual gameplay goes, I really enjoyed it. A while back I read that this game combines the best features of Ys and Trails games. I can definitely see that. Sometimes I felt a little lost when I wandered around a stage, or when I couldn’t figure out how to damage a boss (see: Chapters 2 & 3). It took me a while to figure out a few stages and bosses, but it was manageable. The multitude of neat gameplay mechanics made up for the temporary confusion.

Regarding the plot, I think it’s not groundbreaking, but it works, and I like the characters. There’s a prologue, seven chapters, and a post-credits “After Story” chapter with additional stages and story content. You’re able to access a third season in the After Story, with more bosses, equipment, and Arts to recover.

It took me just under 30 hours to complete my first playthrough, and there is a New Game+ mode that unlocks additional stages and difficulty levels. You can choose to carry over what you want from your status, money, equipment, abilities, cooking stuff, collectibles, enemy information, shop content, and Star Fragments. Completing the After Story also unlocks Time Attack Mode on the main menu, allowing you to challenge bosses.

All in all, I’m really impressed with how well this has held up for a PSP game from over a decade ago. It works well technically, with minimal loading times and no noticeable frame rate issues. As usual, Falcom has an incredible soundtrack going for them.

I think the plot is the only major “weak” spot in The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails, with more minor flaws in the occasional lack of clarity on how something works here and there and some rather pricey items in stores. Other than that, it’s a fantastic action RPG with cool seasonal stages and collectibles.

As a game on the short-ish side, I think this will go over well with those without a lot of free time. I definitely recommend it even if you haven’t played other Trails games, since this is a spinoff that doesn’t require familiarity with the others. And even those who usually prefer turn-based games can still appreciate it due to the multiple difficulty levels.

8.5/10