Building a Global Brand – Falcom President Shares Excitement for Future in the West

The latest entry in the Trails series, The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak, has just been released in the West, bringing a fresh setting and mature tone to the beloved franchise. We had the opportunity to speak with Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo about what fans can expect from this new adventure set in the region of Calvard, and how the game aims to cater to a Western audience.

Further, we get the chance to speak with Kondo-san about the future of Falcom as a global developer and what fans can expect from them in the future.

Azario Lopez: Let’s talk about The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak. This title has just been released in the West. What can fans expect from this new entry, set in the new region of Calvary?

Toshihiro Kondo: The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak is a bit different when compared to the other entries given that this title is more of an adult-themed game. It’s a little bit different in that it’s more of an adult-themed game than what’s come before. As we were developing, the team pulled together various inspirations, such as hardboiled detective novels and crime dramas, which lend themselves well to this mature tone. This is different from how we would have approached this in previous entries, where it was more stories about children and kind of geared more toward a younger audience. This particular game was developed with the Western audience in mind, where we could expand on this protagonist within this older setting.

Azario Lopez: Following this choice, how has the reception been from a Japanese perspective compared to other regions?

Toshihiro Kondo: I noticed the Japanese fans were a little surprised at the difference that came at first. But, honestly, this change in tone was necessary for the setting. Calvard is a very interesting place that has different factions of people living within it. And because of this melding of groups, we needed an older protagonist who had a more mature outlook and worldview to really unpack this region. Even though it’s different than what came before, players seem to have accepted it. This game has just been released in the West; we aren’t sure how they’ve enjoyed it, but I’m sure people will accept it positively.

Azario Lopez: I’m currently still playing The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV, but the message about The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak is that you can use it as a starting point. Do you agree with this?

Toshihiro Kondo: First of all, you should finish The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV. That said, The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak features a brand new main character within a new location, making it genuinely okay to start from this place, and I expect many people will. The way the game is created and produce is meant to be an onboarding for people who wish to start their journey here.

Azario Lopez: Are there any specific regions or plot points from previous Trails games that you wish you could have spent more time on?

Toshihiro Kondo: Within the Erebonian Empire, there’s a little town called Jurai, where Crow Armbrust is from. It would have been really cool to show that, but Rean Schwarzer never had a reason to go there in the game. So, while it would have been cool to do, we needed to focus on moving the story forward and not get sidetracked. Because Erebonian is such a big location, it would have been cool to be able to spend a little bit more time there, but this is only my personal feeling.

Azario Lopez: While I was going to save this question for later, I’m curious, as the president of Falcom, what do you want your lasting legacy to be? Is it the goal to see Falcom as a global brand? Or do you have other plans for your and the company’s future?

Toshihiro Kondo: When I first started, I was doing everything I could just to make these games for the Japanese audience, whether that be Trails or another IP. As time went by, I was able to lead the company into making games that were not only released in the West but were also well-received by English-speaking players. Now, Falcom games are well-received in not only Japan but also North America, Europe, Asia, all of these places. People are really loving the games. However, I don’t want to stop there necessarily. My bigger and broader goal is to make games that appeal to people worldwide and get more people to play Falcom games.

Particularly right now, with the Japanese game development market, traditional JRPG developers are on the decline. I see this as an opportunity for Falcom because all of the staff, including myself, love JRPGs and joined the company to make JRPGs. Our goal is to evolve the genre take it to further places, and give the JRPG genre a punch that brings it further recognition globally.

Azario Lopez: Players often talk about the narrative of Falcom games, but the soundtracks are also highly regarded. Do you have a particular favorite track with Ys X or The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak?

Toshihiro Kondo: For The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak, the battle theme. I’m sorry, I don’t remember the name, but I love that theme. For Ys X, there are lots and lots of songs that I enjoy on that soundtrack. However, as in all Ys games, I’m particularly drawn to the field themes. During development, I can play the games before the music has been implemented. Playing the games without the music and then playing them after the music has been added completely changes the experience. It makes it so much better and makes you actually feel like you’re kind of being sucked into the adventure.

Azario Lopez: We need to get the Falcom band over to Anime Expo.

Toshihiro Kondo: This sounds like a good idea to me.

Azario Lopez: Do you think there will ever be a Ys game that features Adol in his 30s?

Toshihiro Kondo: At the moment, I can’t say if the next Ys game will have Adol in his 30s or not, but we’re currently in the planning stages of figuring out what that next adventure will be. I’d love to do a sort of contrast to Ys X, which features a younger Adol (17), by following up with a more mature adventure. Thematically I thinks it will fit better for what we have going on here. I don’t know whether or not it will actually be Adol in his 30s at this point.

Azario Lopez: Falcom is known for a handful of series. Is it difficult for creators not to want to create new IPs?

Toshihiro Kondo: Earlier this year in Japan, we announced a new entry in the Tokyo Xanadu series. The younger staff within Nihon Falcom is developing this game. This is something fans should really look forward to and it’s essentially a new IP. Beyond that, I can’t say anything about what will come out in the future. However, there are these young members of the staff who are itching to do something new and try something. To supplement this, we are making internal plans to create games that are not in the Trails or Ys series.

This will happen a few years down the line, but there is an active movement to actually create new things.

Azario Lopez: Is that terrifying for you?

Toshihiro Kondo: Yeah, it is. But I want it to be, and that’s a good thing. I expect us to rise to the occasion and make something worth having.

Azario Lopez: How do we improve unless we challenge ourselves?

Toshihiro Kondo: Yeah, like we touched on earlier, there’s still room for JRPGs to grow, change, and evolve, and we want to be on the front lines of that to push this beyond where it is right now because he believes it can definitely go further.

Azario Lopez: Within the Trails series, is there a particular NPC that you like?

Toshihiro Kondo: The character specifically would be Anton, who can be found in multiple entries of the series. I created the character and wrote for him up through Trails in the Sky before passing it on to someone else. But it was great because that character seemed to really resonate with fans which allowed him to come back so many times throughout the series.

Many people don’t know that he was actually modeled on a friend of mine. There was this guy I knew who had no will or desire to do anything. Even after he got a job, he was just kind of living life as it came.

Azario Lopez: In a previous interview, you mentioned that you’d like to remake Ys V: Lost Kefin, Kingdom of Sand, before you retire. Is that something that you’re still trying to pursue?

Toshihiro Kondo: [Laughs] Yeah, I did say that, and it is something that I still want to pursue. Whenever we start developing a new Ys game, we think, “Okay, do we continue or remake a previous entry?” So, for example, right now, we’re thinking, do we move onto Ys XI, or do we go back? That’s something that is always put on the table, but at this point in time, we haven’t decided what we will do for the next Ys game, even though there definitely will be another Ys game.

Currently, the staff is deciding what we will do next, but I’m going to make this my homework and figure out where we will go.

Azario Lopez: As Remakes and Remasters become more of an option, is it tough not to want to go back and re-develop some of these stories?

Toshihiro Kondo: It’s a bit tough as a creator not to want to go and maybe touch up these old games and remake them. It is definitely a desire as a creator to do that. Honestly, I can’t talk about the details, but there is a title that we’re working on that could be considered a Remake. Expect to hear about this title before the end of this year.

Azario Lopez: The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak has just been released in the West. Are you just as nervous as when the game was released in Japan?

Toshihiro Kondo: I believe the entire team, including myself, are nervous. The had a similar feeling when we released the game in Japan, but we’re relieved that its been received positively. But there’s no way of knowing how the game’s going to be received outside of Japan and what the Western fans will think. It feels like having two different release dates and that same sense of nervousness, like how players are going to like it or not, is there.

Azario Lopez: As a final question, what would you like to share with fans picking up The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak?

Toshihiro Kondo: I’m curious how western fans will accept this new group and setting, but I’m more curious about feedback from the combat system. The combat system is very different from what came before it, but I believe that combat is an area that needs to be discussed when talking about JRPGs. There are many conversations about how to approach JRPG combat and whether to go the action or turn-based route. We’ve developed an answer to that question in The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak. I’m interested to see how Western players perceive this.