Trails from Zero on PS4 Misses Out on New Improvements Coming to PC, Switch

I'd love to know why the PS4 version is inferior to the others. If I hadn't gotten a review copy then I'd have gone for the PC version!

I don't remember the PS4 version needing any of the above mentioned fixes though...also this might just be me, but I don't play the Trails games for their water effects.

The only thing I miss a little is the textlog function but then again I can just save a video if I accidentaly skip some text (which doesn't normally happen to me).

@MickOnYourFace: It's mentioned right there in the news. The Switch Version was ported by some other studio which was clearly more dedicated to its work and added some extra features, while the PS4 version didn't need a port as it already existed in Japan.

Then f*** them. Plenty of other games to play. I could get it on switch or PC if I wanted, but I’m now matching the disdain they show us by buying different games instead.

I guess as far as Falcom is concerned, they wrapped production on these games when they released in Japan years ago. If those versions didn’t receive the updates, then the western releases wouldn’t either. They’ve moved on to new games. The Switch version is essentially an enhanced port of a port where as we just got the port. I’m not saying it isn’t *****, but I can see why it isn’t happening.

NISA are too just incompetent. Hell, this and Azure have been fan translated, they're using that said fan translation to release the game here and it's still taking them this long to release them. This and Azure should have both been released months ago.

I know those are big games, but if you can't handle those games, leave them to someone who can. This is getting traction in the west now, there is no reason why small devs like you and XSEED still do those games. Time for a bigger publisher to take them.

The fact that Reverie and Kuro no Kiseki have been out for years and are still not released makes you a joke.

@McBurn
True none of this is really anything to raise too big of a fuss over. However people were hoping the PS4 version would at least get the text log feature as it's super handy. (Though like you said, there are workarounds, just not particularly convenient workarounds.)

It's just a bad look to be like "We are updating these other two versions to be the best they can be! What's that? PS4 version? Eh who cares moving on!" The PS4 version isn't terrible or anything but it just seems like they don't really care about that version compared to the Switch/PC versions.

Regardless hopefully after Azure we won't run into this situation anymore.

Yea the tweet about the update coming to all platforms before this makes it super scummy, but a lot of these are extremely minor and I mean extremely minor. Im like 3 trophies away from the platinum and none of the updates the other platforms have had, have made me think "it would've been neat to have this"

At least they fixed some typos and missing letters right after I already finished reading most of the text anyway lol

I'm glad we're at least getting the game over here, I'm not too bothered about slight graphics update. Though saying that zero was pretty dated and shame there was no English voice acting

@Judal27 Yeah I feel the same. I think the disappointment just stems from the lack of communication on NISA / Falcom's part. If PS4 players are locked into an inferior version of the game, then at least acknowledge it so that fans aren't left in the dark.

Problem is, we're very likely going to get a repeat of all this when Azure releases.

@ShogunRok I completely forgot Azure is almost assuredly gonna have the same issues. And that's a shame. I just checked the tweet and some are saying it's falcoms fault, others nisa. Definitely a mess that they could clear up by addressing it

I understand people feeling being treated unfairly and left wondering how they'll be treated there after, but I don't think it's enough to miss out on a game you might otherwise be enjoying a lot

“Paying roughly the same amount of money for an inferior version of a game? “

It’s disappointing but I’m pretty sure Switch owners have this problem all the time!

@Amnesiac A fair point, but I think Switch owners expect that by now given the discrepancy in hardware capability.

Still, should Switch ports cost less...? Arguably yes!

@Judal27 Yeah, PlayStation will always be my choice for Trails games because I've played all of them on Sony platforms. It would take a lot more than some missing graphical upgrades for me to move to PC or Switch at this point.

@ShogunRok @Amnesiac With Switch ports, I see it less as a downgrade and more of a side-grade, since you're getting a version of the game you can play away from the TV natively. The trade-off is worse performance almost across the board, but I usually don't mind making that sacrifice as long as the game is still fun to play.

Anyway, until this gen, Playstation gamers usually got inferior versions of AAA games compared to PC, and nobody seemed to care.

I guess I'll play it either on switch or on my steam deck then.

@ShogunRok I was being a bit facetious. If anything, Switch games should cost more considering the difficulty of porting modern games to a 7 year old tablet that can barely display its own storefront without breaking into a sweat. My little Switch is strictly for the occasional Nintendo exclusive and games of…questionable taste that Sony shies away from these days.

I don't want to sound like a broken record or a troll but I don't care at this point. Falcom uses fan translations, doesn't translate the games in other European languages and delays them for no apparent reason.

I have played all the games from Crossbell ( as well as Azure and the first Republic game) from the fan translations ages ago. I wanted to support the PS4 physical releases but in the official european store you have to pay import and custom fees to have the game delivered in Europe!!!

Now that I have a Steam Deck I will get the games when they hit the discount bin.

@Ralizah
I think it just comes down to having realistic expectations for the hardware you choose to use. It's true PC versions usually are always the technically best way to play but that's understandable because PCs can be more powerful than an average console if the user has a strong enough rig. Plus the use of mods is a nice bonus too.

However as nice as it is for the Switch to be able to take games on the go compared to a PS4 there's no real technical reason why it has features like the text log for example while the PS4 version can't. The PS4 isn't as powerful as a PC but it's certainly more powerful than a Switch so to see the Switch version looking/playing better is understandably a bit of a head scratcher for folks.

It was enough to push me to get the Switch version instead of the PS4 version for Zero so I can understand folks feeling a bit bitter about the situation if they only play on PS4/PS5.

For me, this is the kind of game I want to be able to play portable, so this is definitively either Switch or PC/SteamDeck for me regardless.

@Korgon In the case of the Crossbell duology, it's simply a matter of them not commissioning brand new ports for the games, it seems, since there were already perfectly adequate PS4 versions.

Generally speaking, though, I was responding more to the idea that "inferior versions" of games should cost less. I simply never heard this argument last gen, when nearly ever PS4 version of a demanding game was an "inferior version." People happily accepted the idea that everyone paid the same, and those with more capable hardware enjoyed better technical performance in their games.

Perhaps a side-effect of Sony and a couple other publishers normalizing $10 price hikes for next-gen versions of their games, eh?

Seems pretty simple. The games are running two different codebases similar to Minecraft Java vs Bedrock. And only one version is getting the update. The only real thing to fuss over is why did PS4 not get the new codebase. And the answer is probably money.

@Choppaz Interesting. Do you have a source for this?

NISA gets a lot of flack online, but they've done an amazing job turning Falcom into a full multiplatform developer over the last several years.

@Ralizah I don’t think I’ve ever heard the argument that “nearly ever PS4 version of a demanding game was an "inferior version."

Probably because comparing a console release to a PC release is meaningless given the staggeringly wide array of PC set ups out in the wild. I’m pretty sure I’d be playing an inferior version of any game I ran on my work laptop.

…Not that I would ever install unauthorized software on company property.

…Please don’t fire me.

easy decision then. get the game on GOG and be weary of falcom releases in the future on playstation hardware. this is a slap in the face to those who supported falcom for all these years, although falcom has always been knee deep in the pc space anyways (rare for a japanese developer indeed).

@Amnesiac Playstation versions of games enjoyed a range of performance specifications as well, depending on the hardware. Nevertheless, it doesn't change the fact that buying a $60 AAA game on a PS4 or PS4 Pro generally netted you considerably worse performance than on even lower-mid-range rigs from half a decade ago.

It makes at least as much sense as comparing a box that sits under your TV to a hybrid device designed around a mobile chipset.

@Choppaz Awesome. Thanks for the links. I'll keep these handy when people decide to dump on NISA for the lack of improvements in the PS4 versions of these games.

Their localizations and ports have improved tremendously in recent years. I love that they're actually expanding access to their games to other platforms, which is something XSeed never had an interest in doing.

I really wanted to get Zero and Azure when that releases on PS4. But ended up getting Zero on Switch, and boy am I glad I did. The way Falcom is dealing with this is stupid. And as much as I hate a lot of the BS NISA has been pulling as of late, this is definitely not on them. Feel bad they are taking the flak for this.
Can imagine Azure is gonna go through the exact same deal. PS4 getting the short end of the stick on that too. But we shall see.

I'm just confused to how many people own a PS4 but not a PC that will play this light of a game. Just don't buy it on PS4.

There's reasons it makes sense but the look here is still terrible where Falcom, previously ps only studio, treats ps customers like they don't matter while. Feels like the series jumped to switch primarily now which makes sense. Falcom was more a psp/Vita studio foremost, but that sucks overall that ps has the worst version other than xb that gets none.

@Ralizah weren't the superior pc versions usually cheaper than the inferior ps versions last gen, and today ...? Maybe this should be more expensive than on switch.

The upgrades seem pretty minor from what I can tell. If it was actual story content, I would say there is more reason to be upset.

I take trophy support over being able to play it portable any day of the week personally.

As we know these games were a blessing in disguise. The PC and switch had more components than the original psp port in Japan. Trails of Reverie will get patches but don't expect Azure to receive any

Eh. Not that big a deal. It’s not like a switch version where you usually feel like you are playing something from 15 years ago. Alternating between the ps5 and switch versions of Sonic Frontiers during the holidays was mind blowing. Switch ports should really cost 20-30$ less.

Good to know. I'll make sure to either buy it second-hand for PS4 (if there's a physical release available) or use my modded Switch; either way, their decision means they won't get any money from my bank account.

People taking the "sigh, I'll buy it on another platform" or "fine, I'll wait for a sale" are still rewarding the company's decision to throw PS4 under the bus.

@ShogunRok Unless they do a Square Enix down the line & announce a "remaster" ala Dragon Quest but as a totally separate edition whether on ps4 or ps5 but essentially it'll be the Ninty/PC one! 🙄