Once more onto the beach.
Returning to Crossbell and Erebonia left me surprisingly sentimental.
Over-the-top action complements a compelling story even though Crossbell’s plight feels overly drawn out.
Still, some surprising twists redeem this.
Where Reverie shines is through its characters, and each route brings fresh perspectives to their actions.
C’s route is hard to discuss without spoilers, but I enjoyed this redemptive tale.
Two wars and imperial occupation have left some deep scars, leading to an intriguing re-examination of prior events.
You could go fishing, participate in combat trials, play minigames like the Puyo Puyo-inspired Pom!
and train across randomly generated dungeons, there’s good variety to keep you coming back.
These TRC dungeons are crucial to unlocking additional functions, so we’re clearing out monsters once more.
Reverie plays almost exactly like Cold Steel so combat remains familiar, sticking to turn-based battles using grid-based movement.
Finally, crafts provide unique skills that cost CP, built up during combat.
Reaching 100 CP provides an “ultimate attack” called S-Crafts, doubling the damage at 200CP.
The fundamentals remains unchanged and that’s fine.
Combat links pair two allies for increased combat support.
I do wish I wasn’t juggling over 50 playable characters, though.
As the corridor lets you manage everyone’s equipment at once, this becomes rather tedious.
Finishing missions awards shards that purchase important upgrades, such as increased improved United Fronts.
These unlock the different minigames, additional characters, new items and, perhaps most crucially, ‘Daydreams.’
Not everyone get a side story, yet I’m content with this structure.
The wider cast gets their moment without creating the same pacing issues Cold Steel IV suffered from.
Falcom giving every present character at least one line left that story often feeling unnecessarily protracted.
Trails' entertaining humour reinforces that.
However, this isn’t a criticism as Reverie’s structure doesn’t suit those social mechanics.
Those segments simply offered a great avenue for character development.
I’ve previously called world-building the series' biggest strength and reaching the end of Reverie reminded me why.
Trails into Reverie accessibility options
Individual sliders for BGM, SFX, and voice volume.
Auto-advance messages and auto-battle options are available.
Subtitles and speaker labels can’t be switched off.
Help menu with short tutorials is always available.
Minimap highlights key locations with objective markers.
A brightness slider is available.
High-Speed Mode is available at any time.
Control scheme screen readily available.
Request objectives, rewards, and destinations readily available.
Six difficulty options are included and switched between mid-playthrough.
