For fans of JRPG games, one more fan patch is coming as Trails to Azure will get an English translation, coming to the west soon.
According to translation group Geofront, Trails to Azure will receive an English patch from their efforts. Known as Legend of Heroes: Ao no Kiseki in Japan, it is one of the titles in the series that has not exported west.
Trails series always lagged in localization for western audience
The Trails series is one of the most celebrated JRPGs of all time. Back in Japan, they are almost as famous as other well-known franchises like Final Fantasy. Even then, they never got much light of day in the west due to the lack of localization efforts.
Until recently, Nihon Falcom failed to capitalize on getting their titles to the west. The most famous titles in the franchise are the Trails of Cold Steel series, published in English by XSEED and NIS America. Even then, there are still some caveats.
For starters, XSEED and NIS only gets a Cold Steel title a few years after it comes out in Japan. Trails of Cold Steel 4, the latest title, was only made available for PC this year after it came out in Japan in 2018.
Now, one of the older Legend of Heroes titles will get an English patch. It’s only officially available in Japanese and Chinese, but it seems Geofront will solve that.
Geofront will use Chinese version as base for patch
Geofront’s patch for Trails to Azure will bring the game to its English-speaking fans. The game is a sequel for Trails from Zero, which Geofront also made a patch for in 2020. For those interested, the team has a walkthrough on how to do it.
The patch will be for the Chinese version of the game, which fans can buy digitally. There’s also a Chinese and Korean release of Azure coming to Steam later this year. Even then, Geofront noted they won’t handle those versions.
“I would like to think that after over a year of tireless work, we have successfully done my favorite game of all time justice,” said Scott, the team’s lead editor.
“I truly believe we left no stone unturned in localizing Azure. This is our love letter to not only the Trails series but our predecessors who localized these games before us and those who will continue to localize them after us.”
There was also a 2018 fan translation for Trails to Azure, but fans are waiting for the Geofront version. The patch not only seems to be the more accurate one but also easier to do. The patch will come out May 22, 2021.
Featured image courtesy of The Geofront/Youtube Screenshot