Trails in the Sky Remake: A Gorgeous JRPG Doorway — Are You Ready for a 570‑Hour Adventure?
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, a visual and mechanical remake of the 2004 JRPG, arrives on Sept. 19 and can serve as a doorway into Nihon Falcom’s long-running Trails series. However, newcomers should be aware that the series is large and built to be explored slowly, since the games are tightly connected across characters, places and events.
- What the remake is
- How long the whole Trails series can take
- What to expect from this remake
- Ways to follow or catch up with the series
- Final notes
What the remake is
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a modern update of a game originally released in 2004. It brings updated visuals and mechanical changes while keeping the original story and structure. The remake is set to release on Sept. 19 and will be available on multiple current platforms.
How long the whole Trails series can take
The Trails franchise consists of interconnected mainline entries. As of now, there are 12 mainline Trails games, and a 13th title, Trails Beyond the Horizon, has an English release scheduled for January 2026.
Based on data from How Long to Beat, completing the main stories across those 12 games totals around 570 hours. Moreover, when including side quests and optional content, aggregate playtime estimates can rise; some totals reported by players reach around 800–1,000 hours.
What to expect from this remake
The remake updates graphics and some gameplay systems while preserving the original narrative. Importantly, the Trails games are designed so events, characters and places evolve across titles. Thus, playing more entries gives a broader view of the world’s politics, character growth and long-term story threads.
Ways to follow or catch up with the series
You have several options if you want to experience the series without playing every single game right away. For example, you can:
- Play the games in release or recommended order to follow the narrative as Falcom intended.
- Watch full playthroughs or summarized guides to get the larger story beats quickly.
- Read detailed summaries and timeline guides compiled by fans and sites.
That said, community conversations sometimes debate which titles are “skippable.” For example, a list shared by YouTuber DavidVinc sparked discussion about which entries to skip when catching up quickly.
https://www.youtube.com/@davidvinc
— Sonea💫 (@StarqueenSonea) August 17, 2025
Other community resources include discussion threads where players share guides about which entries to prioritize or skip; see one such community guide on Reddit.
Finally, if you’re short on time, articles and reports on play habits can provide context: for instance, a recent industry article noted that many players average about an hour per day with games, which affects how quickly someone can work through a long series.
More details about average playtime can be found in reporting from GamesIndustry.
Final notes
If you start with Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, you’ll be stepping into a series designed for slow, layered storytelling. Therefore, take your time and expect long-term payoffs if you follow multiple entries. Conversely, if you prefer a quick overview, there are playthroughs and summaries available, but the full narrative context comes from playing more of the titles.
