Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter Review Roundup: The Best-Rated JRPG of 2026 So Far

Nihon Falcom's remake of Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter has done something genuinely surprising: a nearly twenty-year-old JRPG sequel has arrived as the best-reviewed new release of 2026. At launch, the PC version sits at 92 on Metacritic, the PlayStation 5 version at 91, and the combined pool on OpenCritic at 92. Those numbers put it ahead of blockbusters like Forza Horizon 6, Resident Evil Requiem, and Pokémon Pokopia, and ahead of indie standouts like Mina the Hollower and Big Walk.

I have been watching the aggregator numbers refresh since the embargo lifted, and the consistency is the real story. There are no mixed reviews in the PS5 first wave. Every critic agrees the story is a masterclass, the remake's quality-of-life improvements are meaningful, and the turn-based combat remains one of the genre's best systems. Below is the full score record, the consensus themes, and my read on whether this is the right entry point for newcomers.

Release and Review Schedule

Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter officially launched on September 17, 2026 for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. The Steam version unlocked earlier on September 16 at 10:00 AM PT with a launch-week discount.

The Scores at a Glance

The aggregate picture is unusually clean. Across Metacritic and OpenCritic, the game holds a 91-92 average, and every critic review in the PS5 first wave is positive.

Every Review Score We Tracked

The first wave is small by blockbuster standards, but the spread is informative. The highest scores celebrate the remake as a genre peak; the lower scores still call it a strong, accessible JRPG that does not reinvent the wheel.

What Critics Agree On: The Story

The unanimous praise centers on Estelle Bright's journey. PSX Brasil's 100/100 review calls the game "a masterclass in how to make a JRPG" and says the story "holds up as one of the best the genre has ever seen, even 20 years after its original release." PlayStation Universe, at 95/100, calls it "another stellar remake" with added cutscenes and fantastic voice work that strengthen an already excellent foundation.

I find this consensus easy to believe. Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter is widely considered the turning point of the entire Trails franchise — the moment the world-building, political groundwork, and character arcs planted in the first game pay off in ways that still resonate two decades later. The remake does not rewrite that story. It presents it with modern pacing, cleaner visuals, and full voice acting that makes the emotional beats land harder for players who did not grow up with the original PSP release.

Several critics highlighted specific narrative strengths worth noting. The way the game handles character relationships is often singled out as one of its defining features: Estelle's growth from a brash junior bracer to someone who understands the weight of her partner's absence is treated with patience rather than melodrama. The political subplot around the Liberl government and the Bracer Guild's role in civic life is treated with equal seriousness, which is unusual for the genre. Side characters receive enough screen time to feel like people rather than quest dispensers, and the dialogue does not assume you will remember every name from the first game. Even so, returning players will catch callbacks that newer audiences will miss, and that is one of the reasons the first-wave reviews recommend playing 1st Chapter first.

What Critics Agree On: The Combat

The second theme is the turn-based system. PlayStation Universe notes that "the majority of the game's exploration and combat haven't gotten many updates," but adds that "they don't really need to as the Trails games have some of the best combat in JRPGs going right now." That is the throughline: the orbment and quartz system, the grid positioning, the chain crafts, and the party synergy are already deep enough that the remake's job is preservation, not reinvention.

From my perspective, this is the correct call. 2nd Chapter's combat was never the problem. The original was held back by slow pacing, limited quality-of-life features, and a localization that arrived years after the Japanese release. The remake fixes the packaging and leaves the systems intact.

What the Remake Adds: Quality-of-Life, Cutscenes, and Voice Acting

The remake's most visible improvements are not in the combat design but in how the game is experienced. The first wave of reviews consistently points to four upgrades: fast-forward for dialogue and combat, autosave, turbo mode in battles, and a cleaner UI for the orbment screen. These sound small on paper, but they remove the friction that made the original intimidating for modern players.

Full voice acting is the flashiest addition. PlayStation Universe specifically praises the voice work as "fantastic," and the added cutscenes appear to give key story moments more cinematic weight than the PSP original could manage. For a story this reliant on character dynamics, having voiced performances for emotional beats is a meaningful upgrade. It also helps newcomers who might have bounced off the original's text-heavy pacing.

The visuals are cleaner and sharper, with redrawn character portraits and improved environmental detail, but the remake does not reimagine the art style. It looks like a polished version of the 2006 game, not a ground-up reimagining. That is a deliberate choice: the remake preserves the charm and readability of Falcom's aesthetic rather than chasing photorealism. Whether that choice excites you depends on whether you value consistency or spectacle more.

Music and Presentation: A Conservative but Faithful Upgrade

Falcom's sound team has a long-established reputation, and the Trails in the Sky soundtrack is widely considered one of the studio's best. The remake keeps the core arrangements intact while improving audio quality. Reviews do not suggest a full orchestral overhaul, which is probably for the best — the original melodies are tightly woven into the game's identity, and a radical rearrangement risked alienating longtime fans.

The presentation as a whole follows the same philosophy. Menus are cleaner, fonts are more readable, and the orbment screen is easier to navigate, but the structure of the interface is familiar. For returning players, this means a short adjustment period. For newcomers, it means the game feels modern without sacrificing the deliberate, information-dense UI that the Trails series is known for.

Where Critics Differ: Visual Ambition

The one area of disagreement is technical spectacle. Worth Playing and Indigo GEEK, the lower scores in the first wave, hint that the remake is not the most visually ambitious JRPG on the market. Indigo GEEK's 80/100 calls it "not the most technically stunning JRPG" while still praising it as a solid and accessible entry.

This split matters for expectations. If you are coming to Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter expecting Final Fantasy XVI-level production values or the cinematic scale of a modern Persona game, you will be disappointed. The remake is conservative visually. Its strengths are writing, world-building, and mechanical depth. Critics who value those things gave it 90s and 100s. Critics who wanted a bigger visual overhaul landed in the low-to-mid 80s. I lean toward the former camp: a JRPG this well-written does not need to be a technical showcase.

Platform Notes: PC, PS5, Switch, Switch 2

The PC version's 92 is notable because JRPGs often review lower on PC due to port issues. The Switch 2's 85 suggests the handheld experience may be slightly compromised compared to the console and PC builds, though four reviews is too small a sample to draw firm conclusions. If you have a choice and care about frame rate and visual clarity, PC or PS5 appear to be the safest bets at launch.

The 2026 Context: How It Stacks Up

GamesRadar+ and GamersExtra both frame 2nd Chapter's launch as a disruption to the 2026 game-of-the-year conversation. Before its release, Mina the Hollower and Forza Horizon 6 were tied at 91 on OpenCritic. Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter's 92 pushed it into the lead, at least temporarily.

Whether it stays there depends on what happens in the back half of the year. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake and Grand Theft Auto 6 are still on the calendar, and either could shift the rankings. But the fact that a remake of a 2006 Falcom JRPG is even in that conversation is remarkable. It suggests the Trails remakes are doing exactly what Falcom hoped: turning a cult series into a broadly recognized standard-bearer for the genre.

Should Newcomers Start Here?

This is the question I keep seeing in launch-day discussions. The honest answer is: technically yes, but practically no.

Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter is a direct continuation of the first game. The story assumes you know Estelle, Joshua, the Bracer Guild, and the political tensions of Liberl. The remake includes a recap, but a recap is not a substitute for the emotional investment the first game builds. If you are completely new to Trails, the 2025 remake of 1st Chapter is the better starting point, and 2nd Chapter is the payoff.

That said, if you are JRPG-literate and do not mind missing some callbacks, the quality-of-life improvements in this remake make it more approachable than the original ever was. The fast-forward options, autosave, turbo mode, and cleaner UI remove a lot of the friction that kept newcomers away from Falcom games in the past. Just know that "approachable" does not mean "self-contained." The story pays off setup from the first game, and some of its best moments will not land without that foundation.

Should You Buy It?

If you have any affection for turn-based JRPGs, character-driven storytelling, or long-running world-building, Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter is an easy recommendation. The 91-92 average is not a fluke; it reflects a game whose source material was already considered one of the genre's best stories, now presented with the production values and accessibility it always deserved.

For me, the most encouraging part of the reception is the consistency. There is no "critics are divided" narrative here. The lowest score in the PS5 first wave is an 80, and that review still calls it a solid, accessible JRPG. The high scores are not coming from Falcom diehards alone; they are coming from outlets that recognize a well-told story and a deep combat system when they see one. In a year already crowded with strong RPGs, that is enough to make it the current front-runner.

The Bigger Picture: Falcom's Remake Gamble

The success of Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter is not just a win for one game. It is validation of Falcom's decision to remake the entire Sky trilogy from the ground up. The first remake, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, launched in 2025 to similar acclaim, and Falcom's president has said the performance has the company "hoping to continue the remakes for a while." Given how long and interconnected the Trails series has become, these remakes serve as a new entry point for players who were intimidated by the prospect of starting with decades-old games.

This strategy matters because Trails is one of the few remaining JRPG franchises built on slow-burn continuity. Characters introduced in Sky show up again in Crossbell and Cold Steel. Political events from Liberl ripple outward into Erebonia and Calvard. For new players, the remakes offer a chance to experience the foundation without the technical compromises of the originals. For longtime fans, they offer a polished way to revisit the story that started it all.

The early numbers suggest the gamble is working. A 92 on OpenCritic for a remake of a 2006 handheld JRPG is not a niche achievement. It is a mainstream breakthrough, and it positions the eventual 3rd Chapter remake as one of the most anticipated JRPG releases on the horizon.

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