The Trails franchise boasts a bountiful variety of appealing girls across all three of its currently completed sagas. After sharing my top 10 waifus for the Ys franchise, Trails was naturally on the radar, and well, here it is.
I have to be completely transparent here, though; this is unironically the most challenging piece I have planned. There are way too many girls I like throughout the Trails series, and limiting it to 10, let alone ranking them, was an extensively time-consuming process. So, save for a few placements; I wouldn’t consider this list my ‘definitive’ one and more my ‘somewhat confident’ one.
As a brief disclaimer, I avoided including girls from Kuro no Kiseki, and I tried my hardest to avoid blatant spoilers. Still, it’s difficult to discuss some of these girls without doing that, so I’d advise not continuing if you want to avoid spoilers for the Sky, Crossbell, and Cold Steel sagas.
Regardless, let’s begin this assuredly controversial and contentious dive:
10. Rixia Mao
Rixia is a fan-favorite character from the Crossbell arc, so her being on this list is a no-brainer. Her identity of sorts is a tad of a spoiler, but her flashy combat attire is how she is frequently depicted. While I’m not necessarily her biggest fan, I have grown to gradually appreciate her in the later installments thanks to her internal dilemmas highlighting compelling characterization. Additionally, she is quite attractive, but I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that. There’s a reason she’s popular even outside of the community.
9. Noel Seeker
Yet another Crossbell entrant, Noel, is, I’d say, one of the more overlooked and underrated members of the cast. She receives far more time in the limelight in Trails to Azure, though she still leaves a favorable impression in the prior title. Her determination as a proud, prideful member of the Crossbell Guardian Force is immensely endearing, making it difficult to harbor any genuine negativity towards her. Further, her hat is pretty cute.
8. Claire Rieveldt
Originating from the Cold Steel saga, Claire is a relatively beloved character. She harbors a plethora of demons that fuel her “icy” exterior, though there’s a heart of gold in there. Aside from obvious physical attraction, her characterization is one of the most personal standouts throughout the series, culminating in Cold Steel IV. Additionally, while her true desires and actions conflict in morality, that greyness is all the more appealing in hindsight when she begins to face her faults.
7. Kloe Rinz
Discussing the specifics of Kloe would be a Sky saga spoiler, so I’ll attempt to refrain from details. However, she is undoubtedly worthy of being on this list. Kloe is a genuinely kind soul despite her… unorthodox position, and she carries her virtuous nature wherever she goes. Still, she isn’t a pushover; in fact, far from it. Mindfulness accompanies her mature, if occasionally naive outlook on life, and she utilizes it to its fullest.
6. Mariabell Crois
This is a remarkably degenerate pick, I know. Still, I can’t deny that Mariabell is just pretty damn hot, and the more masochistic side of me yearned to rank her highly. There is no justification for putting her at number 5 since she’s almost comically antagonistic, but sometimes simple is best. The human mind is multi-faceted, after all. How else would I have Kloe and Mariabell, of all people, ranked so closely? Well, then again, this list was admittedly tremendously tricky to compile.
5. Duvalie
Another antagonist, Duvalie, is a neat tsundere with a genuinely caring heart beneath the rough exterior. Her upbringing alongside the other Stahlritter is widely owed to Arianrhod. While Duvalie may initially seem like a throwaway villain, she encounters a severe degree of self-reflection throughout the Cold Steel saga, resulting in a fantastically weaved character. Armor can be pretty hot, too, in its own way.
4. Laura S. Arseid
Laura is a classic for me, being the girl I romanced during my initial playthroughs of Cold Steel I and II. Though not my favorite girl anymore, she has always stood out thanks to her stark bluntness and sheer beauty. While her conflicts don’t quite measure up in scale or internal scope as several others throughout the games, she’s ever-reliable, which is more than enough in my book.
3. Emma Millstein
When I was thinking of who on this list would embody the traits of being considerate and kind, Emma came to mind first. Like practically almost every other girl on this list, she harbors deep-seated secrets, but everything she does is out of a place of concern for everyone’s well-being. She’s caring, perhaps to a fault, but sticks true to herself. Add on her enhanced beauty post-time skip, and the reasoning of her placement should be evident.
2. Aurelia Le Guin
An absolute powerhouse known as the Golden Rakshasa, Aurelia is a striking force of nature. Her strength is wildly unparalleled to an undeniably humorous extent, yet I can’t help but love it. I like strong women with domineering personalities, and Aurelia is essentially an embodiment of those traits. Her knockout body deserves acclaim too, and I’m sure my type is becoming increasingly apparent the more I prattle on.
1. Arianrhod
Arianrhod was a hard pick for number 1 the second I conceptualized this list. My reasons stem from similar veins as Aurelia but are undeniably enhanced when Arianrhod’s character is dived into across later entries. Aside from simple admiration, I grew to respect her motivations and strengths, also realizing that she’s far from the seemingly invincible knight she’s depicted as. Her weaknesses served to humanize her in endearing ways, resulting in a complex, incredible character that’s as compelling as she is attractive.
And that was my likely controversial top 10 Trails waifu list. As stated earlier, many of the earlier picks can be swapped or changed around with other characters any day of the week. Still, the top 3-4 placements are essentially hardcoded. Perhaps in the future, I’ll make additional lists highlighting other girls. As for now, I’m reasonably satisfied with this one, though I can see myself questioning it in a day, if not more.
- Check out my fellow staff writer’s top 10 ranking of Trails husbands as one who has never played the games.
- Check out our detailed beginner’s guide for getting into the Trails series.
The next localized entry for the franchise will be Trails from Zero.
Trails from Zero has players take control of protagonist Lloyd Bannings and the rest of the Special Support Section as they aid the citizens of Crossbell City with various tasks and gradually uncover a deep-seated corruption at the heart of the city with criminality at its core.
Alongside the strategical turn-based combat fans have expected from the series, the addition of cooperative attacks with party members makes the bonds between the Special Support Section an active ingredient in combat potential. This release boasts a High-Speed mode, which prior localized Trails entries contain. This functionality allows players to speed past cutscenes, combat, and exploration for whatever reasons they deem fit.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero is releasing for Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC via the Epic Games Store and Steam in Fall 2022.
The Limited Edition of Trails from Zero’s localized release is currently available to pre-order for U.S. and European customers.
Merchandise retailer Pin Box is selling various official Crossbell-related goodies.
