The game was provided by NIS America for review. Thank you!
Nihon Falcom is one of the best JRPG developers. They have proved their dominance in the genre with the incredible Trails series, which features top-notch stories, interesting turn-based combat, and extensive lore. They are known for being filled with content and require a lot of hours logged to complete, but the journey and the way the series' games are woven together make it an experience you can't get anywhere else. While The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails may not be a traditional game in this series, it still has the charm, love, and beauty that the others do.
Without spoiling too much, The Legend of Nayuta will see our protagonist, Nayuta, come into contact with a fairy named Noi, and it will set him and his friends on a journey to help her retrieve what was stolen from her. You will then choose different stages in various locations on a world map to run through and complete. The stages are pretty straightforward but have secrets intertwined, and you get an arcade-style score with rewards after completing.
While the story isn't as long or complex as other Trails games, it's still quite nice. What stands out about Nayuta is its art and combat. Since the game is based on the original PSP release, the art style feels a bit dated but very appealing and colorful. The combat is real-time instead of turn-based, which is a nice change of pace but still has many different combinations of abilities to keep it fresh. You can get more abilities, money, and experience to level up from side quests.
The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails has a lot to offer, and playing it on the Steam Deck will be a walk in the park.
Without any changes, The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails has no problem running on the Steam Deck. When I started testing the game, it was running well but locked to 720p, but with the most recent update, we now have an 800p option, as well as the game taking 40% less space.
With that in mind, we have the game running at 60 FPS and around 8W - 9W battery drain. There is some slight stuttering at the world menu, but that goes away when you choose a continent and stage to drop into.
As for accessibility, you will be able to swap between the English and Japanese text languages, as well as toggle auto messages. You can change the input prompts, vibration, and toggle high-speed mode and its speed, which makes every aspect in the game go faster. You will also be able to set different volume sliders and change the voice language to English or Japanese.
With a change of the resolution, the game can support the 16:10 aspect ratio, and it has full controller and cloud save support.
The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is a wonderful JRPG and nice change-of-pace from the Trails series the developer is known for. The story can be a little predictable at times, but the combat and overall tone is fantastic and enjoyable. On the Steam Deck, it runs like a charm and feels fantastic. And with the newest update, we can enable a 1280x800 resolution to maximize the screen real estate.
Our review is based on the PC version of this game.
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The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails may not be the traditional JRPG we expect from Nihon Falcom, but it is still fantastic and runs great on Steam Deck.
