The Legend Of The Heroes: Trails In The Sky As Seen Through The Eyes Of The ESRB

Xseed translated and localized 1.5 million Japanese characters for The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. Which parts raised the brow of the ESRB? The ratings board highlighted a few jokes in their rating.

This is an adventure role-playing game in which players follow two siblings on a quest to become Bracers, an occupation tasked with policing their world. From a 3/4–overhead perspective, players use swords, spears, whips, guns, and magic spells (e.g., fireballs and freezing spells) to attack fantastical creatures and bandits on grid-based battlefields; attacks are accompanied by slashing sounds, small explosions, and cries of pain. One special attack results in a brief spray of blood.

 

During the course of the game, some of the dialogue references suggestive material (e.g., ‘How about we skip the foreplay and go straight to the climax,’ ‘Any masochist would be thrilled to make your acquaintance,’ and ‘Are you one of those men who likes . . . other boys?!’). Some sequences depict drunken characters who have passed out from consuming too much alcohol; the dialogue also references drinking (e.g., ‘He’s totally plastered’ and ‘I’m going to drink until I can’t drink anymore tonight!’) and drugs (e.g., ‘Now I don’t know what kind of drugs you’re smoking . . .’). The words ‘sh*t,’ ‘b*tch,’ and ‘a*s’ appear in dialogue.

Tanked characters? Hmm… I wonder if Xseed used what they learned from their Oktoberfest trip for Trails in the Sky.