Nihon Falcom recently unveiled details for Hajimari no Kiseki's third story route, dubbed "The Miserable Sinners." Falcom also highlighted the unique narrative progression system Hajimari uses, called the Cross Story System.

The Sinners, a mysterious, ragtag bunch with potential ties to important events in the Cold Steel saga, are the focus of the Hermit story path.

Their leader is a knight who calls himself "C." It's the name the Imperial Liberation Front's leader used prior to triggering Erebonia's civil war, but this "C" uses different weapons and outfits. He's not the real "C," and no one knows why he might use the name. He's investigating the actions of Erebonia's Imperial Defense Force, defenders of the imperial family and capitol.

The next two characters, Nadia and Swin, should be familiar to those who saw Falcom's poster for the series' 15th anniversary. They're the boy and girl seen from behind at the top, and both are former members of an assassin's organization.

Nadia specializes in mid-range combat and stores her weapons in her giant teddy bear. She excels in analysis and uses her appearance to catch foes off guard. Swin is the more practical of the two and uses two different-length swords in combat. He's calm and collected, but Nadia tends to manipulate him.

It's thought, Falcom says, Swin and Nadia are the models for the protagonists in 3 and 9, a popular international novel series meant to act as a wanted poster more than entertaining literature.

The characters in the novel operated in the Calvard Republic, but Falcom is still playing coy as to whether Nadia and Swin are tied to the Republic.

Finally is Lapis Rosenberg, a living doll made by the famous Rosenberg Studios in Crossbell. She tries to act as human and grown-up as possible and just as frequently fails at it. Her goal is recovering memories of her past and helping Swin and Nadia in the process.

You'll be able to switch between The Miserable Sinners, the Crossbell Re-Independence story, and Erebonia's part of the narrative freely, thanks to the Cross Story System. You can't progress to the next chapter until all three parts of the current chapter are finished, and each route offers a new perspective on events as they unfold.

The cast is massive as you'd expect. Falcom is promising a "True Reverie Corridor" similar to Trails of Cold Steel 2's, where you can mix and match your party as you see fit.

Hajimari is the newest game in Falcom's Trails/Kiseki series and launches this summer in Japan, but there's no word yet on a Western release.

You can check out the full translation on Gematsu. Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Trails series news as it develops.

Nihon Falcom's Hajimari no Kiseki launches in Japan this summer, and the developer just released the game's first trailer. It highlights some key moments, big reunions, and probably more foreshadowing than we realize. As always, be aware that any Hajimari no Kiseki information contains slight spoilers for previous games, including Trails of Cold Steel 3.

There's actually quite a bit packed into the 30-second trailer, but here's the gist of what's important.

First, we see key characters from earlier games either returning after being absent in the Cold Steel saga or making their debut. On the Crossbell side, we've got assassin Rixia Mao, Wazy Hemisphere of the Septian Church, and the Divine Blade Arios Maclaine, none of whom made an appearance during the Cold Steel games but played vital roles in previous entries.

The Crossbell Special Support Section reunites, as we knew it would, and Cold Steel deuteragonist Juna Crawford is apparently playable in the Crossbell story as well as the Erebonian side of the story.

Hajimari tells four stories at once — Crossbell's Liberation, Erebonia's post-war phase, something to do with Ouroboros, and the mysterious Hermit.

Though they're separate, it appears they'll cross over rather frequently. For example, one of the characters associated with the Hermit side of the story makes an appearance in Crossbell, and the children central in Cold Steel 4's novel series "3 and 9" seem to appear in various areas as well.

Finally, we've got what's probably the biggest tease so far: the masked man. In the game's reveal during last year's Falcom shareholders' meeting, the man was associated with the Hermit side of the story. Yet even without seeing his face, his appearance suggests a strong connection with Cold Steel hero Rean Schwarzer and a certain quirk at the end of Cold Steel 4.

It's also worth noting this is the best-looking Falcom game so far. The company's output isn't known for being graphically advanced, but Hajimari's character models, colors, and movement are the smoothest and least blurry so far.

Whether and when we'll see Hajimari no Kiseki release in the West remains uncertain, as there's still Cold Steel 4 and the two Crossbell games to be localized.

This is all just a high-level overview of what's in the trailer. There's a ton of other details and tidbits hidden away in there, so give it a watch at the top of this post, and stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Hajimari no Kiseki news as it develops.

Hajimari no Kiseki, the latest game in Nihon Falcom's The Legend of Heroes games series, is out this summer in Japan. It's split into multiple story arcs, and Falcom just provided an overview of Class 7 in Hajimari no Kiseki, following the events of Trails of Cold Steel 3 and 4 world.

Note that some spoilers most definitely follow for Cold Steel 3 and Cold Steel 4.

The key phrase for the Erebonian arc is "Lost Symbol". Peace returns to Erebonia as the war with the Republic of Calvard comes to a close and the Great Twilight dissipates. However, this is Trails, which means it deals with tropes differently than most RPGs.

Rather than being all fine and dandy, Erebonia has to deal with what it means for a warmongering empire to exist in a peaceful world, complete with a new Chancellor taking over from Gilliath Osborne.

Rean Schwarzer, protagonist of the Cold Steel games, returns to the Thors Branch Campus as a professor, but goes back home to Ymir at the request of a certain person. He encounters someone unexpected there, which may or may not relate to the series' penchant for alternate timelines colliding.

Juna Crawford, the deuteragonist in Cold Steel 3 and 4, returns to Crossbell and temporarily assists the Special Support Section with Crossbell's second bid for independence before going back to Erebonia and working to improve relations between the two nations.After the war with the Calvard Republic,

Altina Orion briefly returned to the Intelligence Agency and helped in its re-organization, along with the re-organization of the Railway Military Police. She, too, returns to Thors to finish her time as a student, though.

Kurt Vander remained at Thors to hone his skills, but quickly became aware of the need to push his limits and hone his skills further. There's not much indication what Kurt's plot involves other than tracking down the renegade Prince Cedric.

The spoilery heir to House Cayenne (Musse Egret) stepped away from her student life to aid in stabilizing the Erebonian government following the war with Calvard. Now, though, she's anxious to spend her time as a normal student before taking her role as leader of the Four Great Houses.

Finally is Ash Carbide, survivor of the Hamel tragedy and would-be assassin of Emperor Eugent. He also returned to the Thors Branch Campus, but unlike his classmates, Ash has no clear idea of where to go for the future.

Currently, there's no word on localization for Hajimari no Kiseki. We still don't have the two Crossbell games or Cold Steel 4 yet, so don't expect it in the West anytime soon. Meanwhile, you can pass some time by catching up with the Crossbell portion of the story or checking out Trails of Cold Steel 3 when it comes to PC and Switch soon.

You can see the full update with images on the official Hajimari website. We still have two more story arcs for Falcom to reveal leading up to the Japanese launch, so stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Hajimari no Kiseki news as it spins our way.

Nihon Falcom recently opened the official website for the upcoming Legend of Heroes: Hajimari no Kiseki, roughly translated as Trails of Origin. The game site is still early-days at this point, but it does offer some intriguing insights into what we can expect from part of the story.

Note that there are slight spoilers for Trails of Cold Steel 3 and Trails of Cold Steel 4 below.

If you're just now hearing about the game, Hajimari no Kiseki is positioned as a pivotal game in the Trails series, closing off one section of the story and leading into the series' finale. It ties up loose ends from the as-yet unlocalized Trails of Cold Steel 4 and the two (also unlocalized) Crossbell games, Trails from Zero and Trails of Azure.

There's a third part focused on the mysterious Society of Ouroboros, but Falcom is naturally remaining quiet on that front.

The part of the site opened today focuses on the Crossbell portion of the story. Following the war between Erebonia and Calvard, Crossbell moved to regain its independence and is holding an official re-independence ceremony. If you've played any of the Trails games (and you should), you know official political ceremonies always attract trouble in the Trails universe.

Fortunately, the Crossbell Police's Special Support Section has been re-instated to help deal with any issues that arise. Lloyd Bannings resumed his activities in the SSS after working underground in opposition to Governor General Rufus Albarea, and Elie MacDowell continues acting in her capacities both as SSS member and secretary in the Crossbell government.

Instructor Randy returns to Crossbell to help the SSS and Guardian Force (Crossbell's unofficial-official military) but faces some unexpected opposition from love interest Mireille, while researcher Tio Plato resumes her technology work in the city too.

Finally, we have the two characters mentioned but not seen in the Cold Steel games, Noel Seeker and Wazy Hemisphere. Noel is a high-ranking member of the Guardian Force in charge of seeing the independence ceremony proceeds smoothly. Wazy is the Blue Testament mentioned in Cold Steel 3 and Cold Steel 4, a member of the Gralsritter returning to Crossbell on official church business.

Hajimari no Kiseki releases sometime this summer in Japan. You can check out the site here, though do be aware it contains some images that spoil some parts of Cold Steel 4. Whether we'll see a Western release is unclear, though with NISA bringing Cold Steel 3 to Switch and PC soon, there's always hope. That particular game is already out on the PS4 and made it on our best games of 2019 pick list.

Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Trails series news as it rolls our way.