Falcom wants to put Trails in the Sky, Kuro no Kiseki, and other titles on Nintendo Switch

In this week's issue of Weekly Famitsu magazine, Nihon Falcom President Toshihiro Kondo was interviewed regarding the upcoming release of The Legend of Natuya: Ad Astra for Nintendo Switch in Japan (coming westward next year as The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails). 

During the interview, Kondo was asked about the Nintendo Switch and about potential other Falcom titles that could come to the platform, especially when it comes to the Trails series.

Here are our translations of the questions Kondo answered regarding the release of Falcom titles on Nintendo Switch, as well as the licensing of Falcom games to other companies.

Famitsu: How has the response been for Nihon Falcom titles that have been licensed to other companies?

Toshihiro Kondo: In the past, we received a lot of comments from fans telling us "Nihon Falcom should release this themselves"; likely due to some small changes or issues here and there in the end products. Recently, I'd like to think that because of the hard work and care that's been put into these projects, that these complaints have subsided. However, I can't deny that we can feel a sense of safety in handling these releases ourselves, and there's a merit in the flexibility that's afforded from being able to more directly put our ideas into motion. I'd like for players to expect something along those lines for the titles we plan to port in the future. When we think of other titles we can port, I begin to wonder if we might be able to release some of our classic titles that would otherwise be difficult to justify a physical release for, digitally.

Famitsu: So beyond the current project (The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails), Nihon Falcom plans to continue releasing games for Nintendo Switch?

Kondo: That's the plan, and we even have already decided on titles we want to release next. I can't specify exactly which ones at the current time, but we believe our fans on Switch have a lot to look forward to.

Famitsu: Are there any plans to port the latest Trails title, Kuro no Kiseki, to Nintendo Switch?

Kondo: In addition to Kuro no Kiseki, we're currently testing out the feasibility of porting the other entries in the Trails series that aren't represented on the platform to Nintendo Switch. At the same time, we're evaluating to the degree we might be able to have further entries in the series developed for the hardware. Of course, these discussions aren't just limited to Trails, and we're also considering the possibility of releasing our other franchises on the platform.

Considering Kondo's comments about 'porting the other entries in the Trails series that aren't represented on the platform to Nintendo Switch', Trails in the Sky is a significant holdout still waiting to be ported.

A handful of more recent Trails and Falcom RPGs have already made their way to Nintendo Switch, including The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, and Ys IX: Monstrum Nox.  Upcoming Trails series localizations are also headed to the platform. Trails of Cold Steel and Trails of Cold Steel II  did release for Nintendo Switch in Japan, though not yet in English.

Those aren't the only Falcom catalog titles that have reached Switch, though. Ys Origin also received a port in recent years, produced by Dotemu. Falcom has worked frequently with other developers globally when it comes to porting their IP, though it looks like they intend to continue working towards in-house ports as well.

In addition to games like the Trails in the Sky trilogy, there are plenty of older Falcom titles that could be speculated for release on Nintendo Switch. There are older Ys titles like The Oath in Felghana or The Ark of Napishtim, the two Zwei games, or even maybe older entries in The Legend of Heroes series, like the Gagharv trilogy.