Discovery awaits beyond the horizon!
After the success of the Trails in the Sky trilogy and the Crossbell duology, Falcom took a little detour and came out with The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails (那由多の軌跡 - Nayuta no Kiseki; literal translation: "Nayuta's Taken Path"): a "story ARPG" taking the characterization of the Trails Series and combining it with the fast-paced action of their Ys and Zwei games. In order to make the barrier to entry easier for newcomers, Nayuta has no direct story associations with the other games, although it shares some concepts and terminology. It was originally released on the PlayStation Portable in 2012. An updated version for the PlayStation 4 came out in June 2021 in Japan. The PC port was released on December 11th, 2021 on Steam in Japanese while a port for the Nintendo Switch was released on May 2022 in Japan, with the port being developed by Falcom themselves with the title Nayuta no Kiseki: Ad Astra* in Japan. All three versions came out in the West in September 2023 note thanks to NIS America. Anyone who had already purchased the game via Steam received a free patch with the English translation.The Ciencia Sea, a vast ocean dotted with countless tiny islands, is notable for two different peculiar phenomena: Star Fragments which contain images of a beautiful alien world (animals, plants, and rarely buildings no one's ever seen), and falling ruins in which ancient buildings fall out of a clear blue sky onto people's heads. (No, really.) Both phenomena are concentrated around Remnant Isle, a tiny settlement built on top of many of these ruins. Nayuta Herschel, student and amateur astronomer, and Cygna Alhazen, master swordsman and Nayuta's best friend, are returning to Remnant Isle for a relaxing summer vacation when the biggest ruin yet falls out of the sky.
Nayuta and Cygna naturally go check it out and meet Noi, a tiny visitor from another world. Soon enough they meet Creha, a mysterious silver-haired girl sleeping in a coffin-like bed of flowers, and from there Nayuta is plunged into an adventure beyond his greatest imagination.
Like in the other Trails games, story progression is punctuated by subquests in which you help the inhabitants of your hometown and in so doing learn more about them and their world.
Provides examples of:
- Achievement Mockery: The updated version has the Spirit of Fortitude achievement, granted for falling 20 times.
- BFS: One of the weapon type Nayuta can choose is a large sword. Selam also sports one, a cool-looking one to boot.
- Bragging Rights Reward: The one-handed Infinity +1 Sword is granted by getting three stars on every level in the game, including the twelve bonus levels on New Game Plus. Doing that proves you can take anything with the possible exception of four Super Bosses that are stronger than the final boss. The two-handed Infinity +1 Sword is crafted from the drops of said bosses.
- Duel Boss: Near the end of Chapter 7, Nayuta engages in a one-on-one fight with Cygna/Selam in order to convince him to join their cause.
- Earth-Shattering Kaboom: Terra was created to repair one that had happened 1,579 years ago. The phenomena known as the End of the World is actually the outer rim of the crater created by said kaboom... which spans roughly a third of Zemuria's surface area.
- Elegant Gothic Lolita: You can buy a cute gothic dress for Noi to equip.
- Elemental Powers: Each region (and their accompanying seasons) has it's own element; Spring has flowers, Summer has wind and electricity, Autumn has plants and fire and Winter has ice.
- Flat World: All the best scholars in the Ciencia Sea believe the world is flat, and moreover, that it's very small. Nayuta disagrees and sets out to prove them wrong.
- Foreshadowing: Early on in the game, after using the teleportation device, Nayuta gets sick over it, with Noi explaining that since he’s human, it takes a bot of getting used to. Cygna, however, uses it and is completely fine. It’s later revealed that Cygna was once part of the People of Mythos, who build such devices, meaning that he has no issues using it.
- From Bad to Worse: At first, falling ruins appear near Remnant Isle. But things take a turn for the worse with events like Cygna leaving, Eartha nearly dying, a mysterious winter on the usually sunny Remnant Isle and later The End of the World as We Know It.
- Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: The male protagonist Nayuta mostly does close handed combat with a variety weapons while his female companion Noi mostly shoots out magical attacks.
- Humans Are Bastards: Chapter 6 reveals that Humans used the weapons made by the People of Mythos for War, resulting in the near annihilation of the People of Mythos.
- I Choose to Stay: Creha, Cygna, and Noi all choose to stay on Remnant Isle in the ending.
- Last of Their Kind: Creha and Cygna/Selam are the only survivors of a powerful race called People of Mythos.
- Literal Split Personality: Cygna and Selam are originally just one person called Selam el Ordine but were split when Cygna came down to earth.
- Living MacGuffin: Creha is a member of the People of Mythos and she becomes central to plot later on. Cygna/Selam becomes one in the epilogue as well.
- Lost World: Lost Heaven, the beautiful paradise seen in Star Fragments, contains species not extant on the Ciencia Sea. It's revealed that Lost Heaven/Terra is literally a Lost World because it got lost in an explosion 1579 years ago.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: The end of Chapter 4 reveals that Zechst is Creha's father.
- Master Computer: The Astrolabe is a giant computer that controls and monitors Terra.
- MacGuffin: The Master Gears are gears that powers the Astrolabe and helped keep each region in Terra in check.
- Meaningful Name: To fit the "star" theme, nearly all the characters (including the NPCs) are named after various constellations or famous astronomers. For example, Nayuta is a Hindu number meaning 10 to the power of 60 (or 72, depending), or just a very large number, fitting for the sea of stars.
- Mistaken for Subculture: Nayuta can buy doll clothes for Noi at the general store. The saleswoman promptly assumes he loves dolls and is overjoyed to have someone share her hobby.
- Mythology Gag: There are several references to the mainline Zemuria games, but the most notable and least spoilery is the presence of Mishy.
- New Game Plus: Along with carrying over experience and money, you're able to unlock Insane difficulty, new collectibles for the museum, and new sidequests and weapons.
- One-Winged Angel:
- One of the gimmicks of the bosses of this game is that they have multiple forms.
- All of the administrators reveal their true, more powerful forms to Nayuta and Noi when they oppose the Re-Genesis of Earth.
- Our Fairies Are Different: The sprite around the Terra's shrine are little fairy-like creature with small bodies and tiny eyes. Unlike traditional depictions of fairies, however, they don't have wings.
- Polar Opposite Twins: Caelum is an outgoing woman who enjoys wearing skimpy outfits. By contrast, her twin sister Colone is shy and doesn't like being at the center of attention.
- Red Baron: Each of Terra's continental administrator has title of their status.
- Guardian King Algol, governing the continent of Heinmel.
- Lynchis Gio, governing the continent of Altapea.
- Songstress Erislette, governing the continent of Rieseweld.
- Sage Nemeas, governing the continent of La Worg.
- Noi Stelladier, administrator of Astrolabe and governor of Terra.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: You fight cute monsters with big smiles and flowers growing out of their heads.
- Robotic Reveal: After Zechst is defeated, his skin cracks to reveal he's really an android with Zechst's memories, and was never truly human.
- Say My Name: Nayuta ends up shouting Creha, Cygna, and Noi's a lot during the last two chapters.
- Tactical Suicide Boss: All of the idol bosses have a weakness that renders them vulnerable.
- Taken for Granite: Cygna/Selam and Creha became petrified when Zechst took their power in the Final Chapter. Fortunately, it didn't last long.
- That's No Moon: The second moon. You know, the big one? That's actually Lost Heaven. Or rather, Terra, an artificial satellite containing plant and animal species wiped out in a disaster 1579 years ago.
- Time Skip: One year between Final Chapter and After Story.
- Tragic Keepsake: Zechst owned a Star Fragment with an image of Selam, Creha, and himself, all looking happy.
- Video Game 3D Leap: Unlike the main series at the time of its release, The Legend of Nayuta features the first jump to 3D models.
- Virtual Paper Doll: The player can purchase costumes for both Nayuta and Noi. Nayuta comes in the form various armors while Noi can be dressed up with doll clothes that offer some in-game benefits.
- World Shapes: Early on in the game, there are many references to an end/edge of the world, which Nayuta does not believe in, thinking the world may be a sphere. It turns out they are both correct, as the world is a sphere with a giant chunk blown off, leaving an inhospitable rim region over a gaping maw of exposed mantle that covers about a third of the surface of the planet.
