The Trails series has had an inconsistent history with ports on the Nintendo Switch. The older games like Zero, Azure, or the recent port Ys vs Trails in the Sky work understandably fine (they are PSP games after all), but after that, things get complicated. The Cold Steel ports (3, 4, and Reverie were the ones localized) were 720p with a 30 frames per second target they didn’t always hit. All of those ports were done externally, so it was exciting to see Falcom make an in-house version of Daybreak I and II. I had my issues with the port of Daybreak II from my review, but I think those games are just too ambitious for the underpowered hardware of the Switch.
I had more hope with the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, given how incredible the demo for the original Switch version ran on the console’s backwards compatibility. Hell, I imported a copy of Ys X: Proud Nordics when it came out in Japan around the time the Switch 2 launched. That’s a really impressive version of the game, with crisp image quality and even a 120 frames per second mode. They might even be one of the first developers to actually use the 120 frames per second capability on the console! This was another in-house Falcom version, so my expectations were high. Unfortunately, it didn’t meet them on launch. It took several weeks for patches to be released to get it to reach a point where it was acceptable, since on launch, it had a completely unstable frame rate with a 60 frames per second target it just couldn’t hit. After all this time, even with the frame rate fixes, the image quality is still a bit blurry. It’s a completely enjoyable way to play the game, and I’m still picking away at it, but it could have been better.
Trails Beyond the Horizon is different. For such a fantastic, ambitious entry in the series, it deserved nothing less. In a lot of ways, I almost find this to be more ambitious than Sky 1st Chapter, which was developed after its release. While information on who made this version isn’t available, we do know this wasn’t an in-house Falcom job (they’re likely busy with Sky 2nd Chapter). I’m currently in the game’s third act, having just hit the 80-hour mark. This is a behemoth, and likely one of the biggest games in a series well known for being huge. I feel like I’m drowning in side quests and optional game modes, and I sincerely recommend players take their sweet time to savor the culmination of not just the previous Calvard games but also Trails as a whole. This is building up to something big, and I can’t wait to see how this game concludes. Since I’m not done, however, I’ll be saving most of my thoughts on the story and mechanic upgrades for the full review. For now, let’s go over this wonderful Switch 2 port.
Immediately, I was pleased to see that clear data from the Switch versions of Daybreak 1 and 2 were allowed to be imported. Decisions you make on certain quests seem to carry over into this one, and I’ve felt regularly rewarded for my investment in this setting. There are a lot of pay-offs for several side quest chains, and they’ve been consistently enjoyable. Just running around the intro area, this feels like a massive leap forward for the series compared to Daybreak II. Coming from the Switch version of that game, the leap is even more apparent. The combat system is expanded and more fluid than ever, and the performance is an absolute dream. This is the closest a game with the “Daybreak” combat system feels like an action game, and it works better than I could ever expect. Field combat is more viable than ever, but not at the expense of the Command battle system. It’s not a total perfection of the systems established in the past Daybreak games (for example, the new version of the Garten doesn’t fix all of my issues with Daybreak II’s, like map design), but it is a big step forward overall.
Regarding the image quality, it’s superb. While an upgrade path would be nice, I’ve noticed that with many Switch 2 games that upgrade from Switch versions, they retain a lot of the visual identity of the original. While looking through the public demos for all the other versions, this doesn’t just feel like a cleaned-up original Switch version. Foliage and texture quality are high, comparable to the game on PlayStation platforms. Regarding resolution, getting an exact idea on resolution is a bit difficult, but understand that the image quality is crisp. It seems like there’s a form of upscaling happening, presumably some form of DLSS, and the results are impressive. The upscaling in undocked mode seems to make for a near-perfect pixel match on the Switch 2 screen, and also looks clean from a normal viewing distance on my 4K TV when docked.
The Daybreak games have a clean, simplistic style of modeling and lighting that does wonders when upscaled like this. The base resolution before the image reconstruction appears to be high, which leads to the final image being absurdly clean. Fast motion scenes or crafts can sometimes show the upscaling artifacts, but it is never egregious. This looks higher resolution than Sky 1st Chapter, and I think the upscaling work has a lot to do with this. This is the kind of game that feels perfect for minor DLSS work like this, where all of it is just going towards getting the performance optimized. During the 80 hours I’ve played so far, I’ve found this Switch 2 version to be gorgeous on both Docked and Portable mode for the console. There are a lot of familiar and new city districts you’ll be visiting, and despite some occasional pop-in issues (not entirely sure this is a Switch 2 exclusive problem), both modes were able to handle the game’s scale. This game will take you places, and the Switch 2 can keep pace. Gone are the days of dealing with compromised portable experiences; this feels next level.
There are two frame rate options to choose from, and I have to be honest, I was initially worried. You can either select 30 frames per second or “Variable”. Variable isn’t a very confident word, but have no fear. What that really means is that it unlocks the frame rate up to a max of 120 frames per second. My 4K TV at home hits a cap of 60 frames per second, and the extra juice offered up by the Switch 2 dock allowed it to hit 60 frames per second consistently. Over the holidays, I brought my game to my parents to get some time in, and played for a few hours on their TV. If your TV supports 120 frames per second, you can even play this with that frame rate target. From my time playing it this way, it never dropped below 60 frames per second.
Take it off the dock, though, and the system’s variable refresh rate kicks in. I noticed more dips in this mode, but the VRR and the 120 frames per second target make it play like a dream. If you’re looking for a more consistent experience despite the wonderful VRR implementation, you can set it to 30 frames per second, and that’s a perfectly enjoyable way to play the game. From what I can tell after staring at this game for so many hours, Variable mode doesn’t lower any graphical settings, though. It just seems to uncap the frame rate, and that means you get the best visual experience possible, no matter what frame rate you want to run Horizon at. Combine this performance with the PlayStation 4/5 fidelity, and this felt like a true console Trails experience, which I haven’t gotten to experience in a really long time since I’ve gone all in on portable for the series.
The Switch 2 version of Trails Beyond the Horizon feels like a reward for playing Daybreak II on the original Switch. That was playable for sure, but far from an ideal way to play the game. But for Horizon, this feels like the way to go if you enjoy playing these games on portable systems. The 120 frames per second target with functioning VRR when playing is a dream, and the dock actually allows the game to hit its 60 frames per second target. This sets a really high bar for the series going forward, and I know for a fact I’ll be playing the next Calvard game on Switch 2 if this is the kind of quality we can expect. The team did a wonderful job on such a fantastic RPG. Expect a full review of the game close to launch.
