WMG / The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak

Daybreak pre-release theories

Bergard is actually a character previously-thought dead.

• The resemblance between him and Barkhorn is uncanny, and the strange circumstances regarding the latter's death seems like a good chance to reveal a faked death.
  • Confirmed. The game doesn't even bother hiding it when he and Van finally meet and Van calls him "Master Barkhorn".

The man in the white suit◊ and brown Coat Cape is Almata's leader.

• Him being at the end of the group shot of Almata's executives and collaborators, as well as him seemingly talking about fear, all but states this.
  • Confirmed.

The man in the blue fur coat◊ is a member of Ouroboros.

• Also, based on him being seen with Lucrezia, the Golden Butterfly, he's most likely the Fourth Anguis, the "Thousand Oathbreaker."
  • Confirmed.

Seiyuu guess!

• The guy with the Coat Cape will be voiced by Tomokazu Seki.
• The guy in the fur coat will be voiced by Takaya Kuroda.
  • Both are confirmed.

Agnes won't be a love interest for Van.

• The developers seem to be playing up Van as more of a Big Brother Mentor than anything else, and a promotional screenshot shows Van claiming that they (Agnes and Feri) really look their age when they're sleeping, implying that he sees Agnes as a kid, making a relationship with her seem more unlikely than some of Rean's choices.

Esmeray will be revealed as Evil All Along at some point in the arc

• Seemingly good people who wear glasses in Trails have a decent chance of turning out to a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing (as seen with Professor Alba and Dr. Joachim). And Kincaid is more likely fill the quota that Dudley and Machias did before as the "bespectacled man with a strong sense of justice," so that would leave the other glasses trope open for Esmeray.

Roy Gramheart will be the Big Bad of the arc

• Specifically, he'll be to Calvard what Osborne was to Erebonia, only without the Good All Along reveal or an Ishmelga equivalent to pull the strings from behind the scenes all along.

Sept-Terrion Predictions

• Time, given that "Kuro no" sounds very similar to the Japanese pronunciation of "Chrono," as well as black (the color of Time Septium) being a prominent color for Kuro.
  • There is also the issue of Facebook mistranslating "Kuro no Kiseki" as "Chrono Kiseki" if you view Falcom's official posts with translation enabled. Seems too much of a coincidence to me. I'm calling it plausible.
• Wind, with the theory coming from Kiseki Crack.

Agnes can't consult the cops or bracers because her lost orbment is actually an artifact.

• The church has a policy where active artifacts are put in church custody, which bracers comply with. Considering bracers follow this policy, it's not too far-fetched to think other organizations like the police would also give the orbment to the church. If she wanted to keep her great-grandfather's orbment, then this would explain why she would consult a Spriggan instead of a bracer or the police.

The Picnic Squad will show up at some point.

• We already know that Rufus and company are at Calvard due to Rufus' Persona Non Grata status in Erebonia. They may at one point show up to help out Van's party. Plus Rufus' seiyuu already is in the game as Cao.
• Jossed. However, Rufus and Lapis are alluded to by an NPC in the game.

Agnes will have a notable connection with the Old Calvard Kingdom.

• The DLC outfits for Feri (the Kurgha Miko costume) and Risette (the Marduk Battle Maid Suit) both have to do with their respective affiliations, so it'd be outright bizarre if Agnes's didn't follow suit. As such, her having a dress in the style of the old days would likely mean she, or at least her family, had some important role during the days of pre-Republic Calvard, like being descended from the royal family.

The Calvard games will reveal the nation's Bracers are in the midst of an internal conflict with each other.

• The Crossbell games revealed that several Calvardian politicians were blackmailed by the D∴G Cult, who were clients to brothels run by the cult, brothels that specialized in child prostitution. The Bracer guild ended up intervening in secret to make sure those politicians weren't exposed for having sex with children. However, there had to have been some conflict among the bracers during the operation, those who wanted to protect the political status quo versus those who wanted to bring the politicians to justice. The Bracers have a policy that they can't directly intervene in matters of the government, which may a big point of debate among the two factions, especially considering what happened with the D∴G Cult. The side that wants the politicians brought to justice will ignore this policy, while the side that's protecting the status quo will support it.

Calvard has a huge weapons problem.

• The Verne Company, which is Calvard's equivalent to the Reinford Group and the Zeiss Central Factory, produced a gun made of resin that could slip past metal detectors. The gun used to shoot Emperor Eugent and start a war between Calvard and Erebonia at the end of Cold Steel III was one such gun. Although Osborne manipulated the situation in his favor, Calvard is still accountable to some degree for producing the gun in the first place. That's not even getting into the Fridge Horror of having several such guns out in circulation, plus whatever other unique weapons they've produced. The end result is that Calvard has let loose a whole cache of dangerous weapons. Another factor to consider is that there are several terrorist organizations in Calvard spreading chaos across the country. Considering how Reinford had political factions of its own, its not hard to see Verne having a similar issue, with certain groups within the company helping out terrorists with the same political views or end goals. These terrorists had to get their weapons somewhere, and it makes sense if they had insiders within Verne providing them their arsenal. The higher-ups at Verne might also be Playing Both Sides and milking all the political factions to make a huge profit off their conflicts.

Aaron and Shizuna are connected to one another or have a dark history together.

• Considering the two are played by the Uchida siblings, there's no way Falcom won't give a shared connection between the two.
• Jossed

There will be notable interaction between Feri and Fie.

• It'd be a big missed opportunity if we never see the game acknowledge the two's similar backgrounds. Maybe Fie will see some of her past self in Feri and try to help in her development.

Mare and Yumé have some underlying connection.

• Not only are both voiced by the same person, but even their names are similar: Yume is Japanese for "dream," while Mare likely comes from "nightmare," aka a "bad dream." Perhaps they're secretly the same person.
  • At one point in the game, Mare possesses Yume. However, they're not the same person so the WMG is jossed.

Van and Ellroy are related in some fashion.

• In fact, given the similar hair (blue streaks) and age difference (23 years), it wouldn't be surprising if they were family.
  • Jossed.

Agnes and Roy have a connection that'll be important to the story.

• With an early scene in the opening movie showing the two together, that much should be obvious. Maybe he's her father?
  • Confirmed!

Melchior is an Enforcer of Ouroboros.

• It's mentioned he was a member of another group, but joined Almata due to its boss taking an interest in him. An Enforcer would have the freedom to do what they want, so he's likely taking advantage of the freedom Enforcers are given to work for Almata. One reason could be he agrees with Almata's goals, the other is that he may be stringing them along for the benefit of Ouroboros.
  • Jossed. Ouroboros was hunting him. He actually used to be part of the Order of the Moonlit Horse.

There will be other new characters who use the Eight Leaves One Blade style besides Shizuna.

• The name Eight Leaves implies eight wielders who each symbolize one leaf, and eight wielders haven't been introduced yet. So far there's Yun Ka-fai, Cassius, Richard, Anelace, Arios, Rean, and Shizuna for a total of seven wielders. Since Yun Ka-fai is the teacher of this style, there's ambiguity regarding if he counts as one of the leaves, or if only apprentices count as a leaf. Colonel Richard is ambiguous as well since he learned the style through Cassius instead of Yun Ka-fai, so it could be anywhere between one to three new wielders. One of Ka-fai's letters to Rean states that Rean is the last apprentice he planned on training, implying they are older than Rean, considering how young Rean was when he started training under Ka-fai.

Van will die by the end of Kuro.

• ...Or at least something seriously bad may happen to him by the end of the game. Given Agnes shouting his name in the PV, and now her crying while holding his Xipha near the end of the opening movie, Falcom has seemingly propped up some innocuous death flags for our new protagonist.
• Jossed. He's shown in the ending driving his car, dropping off Agnes to her dad Roy. Though it was very close.

English voice cast predictions

• Since Kuro no Kiseki will have a Global version by summer 2024 an English dub of the game is inevitable. Here are some choices:
  • Van
    • Greg Chun
    • Alejandro Saab
    • Mark Whitten
    • Chris Hackney
    • Ryan Colt Levy
    • Damien Haas (confirmed)
  • Agnes (Jossed; Amanda Lee provides her voice)
    • Sarah Miller Crews
    • Laura Stahl
    • Anairis Quiñones
    • Lisa Reimold
    • Skyler Davenport
  • Aaron (Jossed; Howard Wang provides his voice)
    • Aleks Le
    • Stephen Fu
    • Brandon McInnis
    • Griffin Puatu
  • Feri
    • Anjali Kunapaneni (confirmed)
    • Poonam Basu
    • Tiana Camacho
  • Risette (Jossed; Dawn M. Bennett provides her voice)
    • Ryan Bartley
    • Risa Mei
    • Dani Chambers
    • Felecia Angelle
  • Quatre (Jossed; John Patneaude provides his voice)
    • Casey Mongillo
    • Kayleigh McKee
    • Brandon Winckler
    • Khoi Dao
  • Judith (Jossed; Brittany Cox provides her voice)
    • Allegra Clark
    • Cherami Leigh
    • Elizabeth Maxwell
    • Heather Gonzalez
  • Bergard (Jossed; Dave Fennoy provides his voice)
    • J. Michael Tatum
    • Kellen Goff
    • Richard Epcar
    • Christopher Sabat
    • Ray Chase
  • Mare (Jossed; Skyler Davenport provides her voice)
    • Jackie Lastra
    • Sarah Wiedenheft
    • Lisa Reimold
    • Risa Mei
    • Brittany Lauda
  • Elaine (Jossed; Elizabeth Maxwell provides her voice)
    • Amanda Lee
    • Cherami Leigh
    • Natalie Van Sistine
    • Skyler Davenport
  • Shizuna (Jossed; Kelly Baskin provides her voice)
    • Anne Yatco
    • Jeannie Tirado
    • Megan Shipman
    • Deneen Melody
  • Rene (Jossed; Ben Lepley provides his voice)
    • J. Michael Tatum
    • Xander Mobus
    • Griffin Puatu

Kuro II pre-release theories

Elaine will become an Ascended Extra.

• She already came across as somebody who should've been a main character in the first game and given that she appears to have shown up in one of the initial images◊, it should be reasonable to expect her to have more prominence in this game.

Barkhorn will be revealed to have joined Ouroboros

• Continuing on a WMG theory that started in Trails of Cold Steel III. The first Kuro game already revealed that Barkhorn is alive (as he was thought to be dead after transferring his stigma to Gaius), but did not really mention anything about his current alignment. This game will just take it to the logical conclusion.
  • Considering he wasn't exactly chummy with Ellroy back in the first game, he probably really did retire. Then again, Van himself will work with Ouroboros if the price is right.
    • Jossed. Barkhorn doesn't even show up in the game until the credits.

Garden will play a major part in the story.

• This mostly comes from how pre-release info specifically mentioned how players have yet to see the actual leader of the organization, combined with Swin's confirmed return◊.
  • Confirmed.

Quatre is a victim of the D∴G Cult.

• It wasn't outright stated in the first game, but it is strongly hinted at, especially from Quatre's reaction to hearing that Van was a victim himself.

These two characters are also victims of the cult.

• The duo have the same iris color to Renne and Tio, and the structure behind them has a similar eye motif as the their symbol◊.

Renne will be playable.

• Given the number of fans disappointed that she was an NPC in the first game, it's within reason to believe that the developers would make up for it here. The fact that they went to the trouble of making a new outfit for her also leans towards this idea.
  • Outright confirmed with the second teaser trailer with a brand new S-Craft.

Celis and/or Leon will be Promoted to Playable.

• With this promotional image showing Celis participating in gameplay, plus the fact that an active Dominion has been a party member in every arc thus far, leads credence to at least one of the two getting to fill that role.
  • Outright confirmed that both of them will be playable in Kuro II, complete with the Dengeki stream revealing their S-Crafts.

One or more of the Solutions Office's members won't be main characters in this game.

• With Celis and Leon being shown off before 75% of the previous game's main cast, the rumor that not all of the previous party members will be as prominent this time, assuming they even show up at all, may have some truth to it.
  • Confirmed. Bergard doesn't show up at all until the credits.

Quatre will be revealed to be either transgender, or a girl pretending to be a boy

• Kuro had a lot of hints that suggested that Quatre was hiding a secret about his body, like being reluctant to enter the baths or sleep with the boys. Additionally, he has a strange reaction when Callaghan, someone who's known him a very long time, calls him a girl.

Nina will be revealed to play a major role in the arc

• Given some of the unusual actions she's displayed in the first game, such as the suspicious phone conversations and her emphasizing on her lack of self, it's obvious that she's not just some ordinary actress.

The tattooed man from the Web CM will have a connection to Nina

• As shown here, the accessory on his shoulder looks similar to the one she wears.

Ellroy will attempt to betray Ouroboros

• With the talk of him putting distance between himself and Lucrezia, and Walter not only doing request from another Anguis, but also telling him to "not play dumb," it'd be plausible to expect that the Thousand Oathbreaker, a dude who even gets called "the worst" by his allies, would try and take down yet another organization from within. His scene from one the streams, in which claims that he wants to "go beyond Almata's Carnival and Pandemonium," doesn't help.

The guy in the white hood is Garden's Ace of Swords

• Trails isn't a stranger to bringing in supposedly-dead people back, and with Swin and Nadia present, it sounds like a decent enough opportunity for this kind of drama.
  • Played With. His body is indeed Ace but he's possessed by Auguste, a rebel from Sheena's revolutionary movement centuries before the story starts.

Something bad will happen to Elaine by the end of game

• This image has her in a space that is worryingly similar to the place where Osborne had his final talk with Rean before passing.
  • Jossed. Other than the numerous Dead Ends that happen to her and the rest of Arkride Solutions Office, nothing bad happens to her.

Alternatively, Elaine will venture into the above space to rescue Van

• Given her increased prominence in this game, as well as her seeming emphasis on not letting him get away this time, there's a decent enough chance that she might pull something similar to the Arkride Solutions Office rescuing Van from Vagrantz-Zaion. It'd be a cool way to make up for her getting excluded from joining the party twice in the first game's final chapter.
  • Jossed. The space thing was to camouflage Swin and Nadia meeting the real Ace.

Calvard's Sept-Terrion is Time.

• Given that the long trailer revealed that both Elaine and Van die at the hands of Grendel-Zolga with Agnes screaming at Van with her Octo-Genesis activating, it's implied that time travel will be prominent in the game.
  • Jossed. No Sept-Terrions were introduced in Kuro II.

Lapis will make some kind of appearance in the game.

• Princess Zita being cast with the same voice actress as everyone's favorite Rosenberg doll in a game where Swin and Nadia seemingly play a major role seems like too big of a coincidence.
  • Confirmed! In fact, Altera is Lapis.

Kai pre-release theories

The woman with long black hair and red highlights is Hermes without her helmet on.

• The fact that she was at an area with a rocket, combined with her status as a pilot and major in the military, make this more plausible.

The man appearing at sunset in one of the initial screenshots is Rufus.

• His hairstyle matches the one from his silhouette during Kuro II, and his line about being "somebody who should be dead" lines up with his legally-dead status.

The figure in what appears to be Creil is Kevin.

• The figure looks to be wearing white, like his Dominion uniform.

Calvardian Sept-Terrion

• Its element is Time.
• It was split at some point (not necessarily by Prof. Epstein) and now acts as the cores of the Oct-Genesis system.
• It will be recombined and then throw everyone's plans into disarray - not by being recombined, but by not acting as expected.
  • For instance, actively siding with Van this time.
• Its name/design will reference black holes in some way.