At the same time, they are trying to find their father, a highly ranked Bracer who disappears under mysterious circumstances. The story begins at a very small scale, before expanding to a grandiose epic involving treason, shadowy organisations, and characters who are not who they claim to be. The entire trilogy benefits from a stellar localisation done by XSEED Games, which retains the epic storytelling and wry humour of the Japanese original.

Trails in the Sky presents itself from an isometric perspective where the camera can be freely rotated. The game's art style combines cute “chibi” sprites, hand-drawn 2D portraits, and 3D models for the world geography and some enemies. Character and enemy designs are reminiscent of other Nihon Falcom RPGs, with a 90s anime-esque look for the characters, combined with influences from steampunk and European medieval styling.

The gameplay is that of a traditional JRPG. The party travels from town to town, pursuing the main quest and acquiring optional side-quests. These range from monster hunts to fetch quests to longer, story-heavy sequences that feel more akin to visual novels or adventure games.

Here lies one of the series' most celebrated aspects: world-building. While RPGs like Skyrim populate their world with generic NPCs running on a script, Trails in the Sky has only handwritten characters – be it a citizen, a traveller, or a shopkeeper, they all have names, personalities and ambitions.

As your story advances, so do theirs. They'll start dating, get jobs, argue with their family, go on a journey, etc. Instead of just blurting out exposition or waiting to be helped by the protagonists, they each have their own lives – and by following them you can understand and immerse yourself in their world.