Thank you NIS America for sending us this game to review!

I may be a fan of Falcom's games, but I especially have a soft spot for their brand of action RPG (Role-Playing Game). I have thoroughly enjoyed games like Ys, Zwei!!, and the Xanadu series, along with several others. Their balance of lovable characters, frenzied action, and incredible music always makes my day. And it makes sense, as Falcom has a long history with the genre, as it's considered one of the earliest inventors of the action RPG. While it is unclear why Falcom (and NIS America) decided to re-release this relatively obscure Japan-only 2012 PSP game again, I'm really glad they did, as its charming characters, upbeat world, and action combat is a joy to play.

The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails stars the titular character, Nayuta. He and his older sister Eartha live together in the house their parents left them when they passed away. They live on a small island called Remnant Isle, where Star Fragments and other ruins believed to be from a mysterious place called Lost Heaven regularly fall from the sky. The mysteries around Lost Heaven are a big deal to the locals, and it's Nayuta's goal in life to go there and discover its secrets. After a larger than usual ruin from the sky crashes just outside of the island, Nayuta and his close friend Cygna explore it and discover a strange fairy-like creature named Noi there. Nayuta and Cygna become embroiled in Noi's quest to save her home from the mysterious and powerful Zechst who is taking steps that could destroy it if he's not stopped!

Nayuta and Noi partner up to set things right, with Nayuta wielding his sword and Noi attacks with Arts, a skill common to the Trails series that resembles casting magic spells. As an action RPG, you can attack with swords or arts, jump, dodge roll, or block as you move around enemies to attack and defeat them. As you hit them their health bars drop, and when it hits zero they poof out of existence. When your health bar reaches zero, you fail the level and you can choose to restart the level you are on, or reload a save. If you restart the level you retain what you picked up, so most of the time you probably want to continue.

There are several continents, each with multiple levels inside, as well as a boss. Each level is relatively bite-sized (from two to twenty minutes) and if you complete the optional objectives, you are rewarded with up to three stars in your logbook. Thankfully, you can replay levels as often as you like, so if you miss something you can easily try again. Each level has three large crystals and at least one treasure chest, some of which can be difficult to get to. Making sure you grab everything is one of several ways your characters can grow in power.

When you collect enough logbook entries, Master Orbus will teach you a new move or attack with your weapon. Even the basic block isn't available right away, and must be earned! Each level offers a maximum of three logbook entries, and every six you earn something new, so as you play you really feel like you're growing and getting more powerful. There are also weapons, armor, and leg protections that Nayuta can wear that make him more powerful, or at least help the enemies hurt him less. He also can choose between a shorter-ranged single handed weapon that swings quickly, or slower but larger weapon that has a longer range but hits harder, too. I switched between them both, and I'm not sure what my favorite is; some bosses or collectibles just needed that extra range or damage, while for others pure DPS works out better with faster hits.

Noi also gets lots of upgrades also. Most of these come in the form of skills, as throughout the adventure she gains attacks that all do something a bit different. Some have lots of shots and recharge quickly, while others hit very hard but you only get one or a small number of charges before they are used up. Some shoot in a straight line, while others seek out enemies. Some just do damage, while others inflict status effects like poison, freeze, or confuse. (Enemies can do these to you, also.) At first she can only have one skill available at a time, but you eventually unlock more that are just a button press away. You can switch skills from the pause menu, but when you do that the charges reset to zero, so only do that if you have to or you might be waiting a while as the meter slowly refills.

Like Nayuta, Noi also has equipment upgrades, but instead of armor and weapons, she gets clothing and two types of accessories. For both characters, all equipment changes are immediately reflected on the character model. Most outfits are modest, until near the end of the game where Noi's late game outfit shows a lot of skin. Regardless, her outfits raise the INT stat, which makes her arts do more damage. Her accessories have other effects, like making certain drops easier to find, or reducing damage from falling or immunity to certain status effects. Most of Nayuta's equipment raises STR and DEF, with a few notable exceptions. As you might expect, sometimes swapping out equipment can help with strategies in some circumstances.

Like Zwei!!, food also plays a big role in this game. While fighting enemies does bring experience, you can also eat food to gain some as well. Later recipes bring a lot of experience, and can level you up quite quickly. Cooking recipes with Eartha also eventually unlocks food slots, so you can carry more with you. Some levels and boss fights are quite tough, and I found myself pigging out on the battlefield in order to avoid death. Some ingredients can be purchased in town, while others are only available from monster drops or found in a level. These rarer ingredients are usually needed for the best recipes.

Outside of just monster drops, there are breakable items as well. These often leave behind fossils and such, and the museum at Remnant Isle will take them off of your hands while paying you for them! While at first collecting gems and defeating monsters in a level was my primary source of mira (money), it didn't take too long before I started getting over half of my cash from selling these collectibles. Since staying up on current equipment makes a big difference in your power level, be sure to get as much as you can while playing. (Hint: Nora, the dog, will also help you collect if you make sure she is happy with the biggest and best bones.)

Level design varies greatly, with some from each of the four seasons, as well as different kinds of levels. Some are simple, straightforward affairs with just a few branching paths. Some are all about a specific trick or gimmick to get past; for example, you might need to complete a level quickly for the bonus condition, or you might have levels that heavily lean into platforming, with tricky jumps. Others have you deal with water, while others ice. Some are more horizontal, while others have a more vertical focused design. Some levels also have puzzles to solve. The level variety has been quite enjoyable.

Enemies vary from simple forest creatures to various spell casters and giants, to dragons and even humanoids. There are mini-bosses in some of the levels, but bosses are usually reserved for special boss areas. It's nice because you can almost always save your game before attempting one; even though you can save anywhere, when you load, it won't start you in the middle of a level, but on the map screen or in town. All progress is kept (like items collected), but you have to step on the exit circle or defeat the boss to complete the level.

The story is varied and interesting, with several chapters and an After Story that ties everything up. The game even offers a New Game+ option, with new quests that reveals more of the story, as well as some exclusive levels to play. It took me around 40 hours to beat the main game one time, but I am a completionist; some players finish in half that. I would expect NG+ to be much faster, since the game offers you the option to keep your progress when loading your clear data. This is one of the few games I've played in recent times where I've actually wanted to do a NG+ run; it plays in fun, bite-sized pieces, and is a joy to play all around.

Really, the story and characters are all pleasant, and The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is a lighthearted story of love and friendship, with mostly positive vibes all around. There are certainly moments of struggle and tension, but overall the atmosphere is mostly optimism and hope, even when times are tough. There is some violence as you hack and slash enemies, and some magic as you cast arts at them. There is a fortune teller character as well. Some minor curse words are used, like 'h*ll' and 'b*st*rd', are used on occasion. Characters on rare occasion will invoke 'god', but it is non-specific and vague, in phrases like 'may god help them' and not used as a curse word. There is one character shown smoking a cigar, and a character in a bar had too much to drink and spoke funny. A small number of females are shown with lots of visible cleavage, but it's relatively tame compared to other similar titles (I suppose the low polygon count helps here, too). There is also a side quest to gather an ingredient for another older character to make some liquor. Overall, the game is quite tame morally, and I believe its E10+ rating is appropriate.

Graphically, it's an upscaled PSP game, with some improved textures. It looks fine, but nothing spectacular. It plays really smoothly at 60 frames per second, and is extremely well optimized. It plays flawlessly on Steam Deck, and it deserves its Verified status. I expect it will work well on most computers, even those with integrated graphics, as long as it's new enough to support modern graphics APIs. It's another stellar PH3 GmbH PC port. The sound effects are fine, and the voices are really well done, with both English and Japanese voice acting. The music is most definitely up to Falcom's standards, and I really enjoy listening to this game cranked while playing it. Falcom's known for some truly excellent soundtracks, and Nayuta does not disappoint.

The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails was Falcom's final PSP game, and in many ways takes everything they learned making Ys Seven and the Trails games and puts it all together into this standalone classic. While it may say 'Trails' in the title, there is no proof that it is in any way connected to the rest of the Trails series, even if there are some fan theories that it might be. Regardless, this is a wonderful game for fans of action RPGs, and a joy to play. If you like to smile, and the appropriateness issues don't bother you, this game is highly recommended.