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The first thing to know about this game is that it is the 10th game in a series which started with Trails in the Sky, First Chapter, and that each game in the series builds upon its predecessors. As such, this is nót a game to start with, and this review will assume the reader has played all the preceding games and will freely spoil those games.
Trails into Reverie is the epilogue to Cold Steel IV and Trails to Azure, set six months after the end of Cold Steel IV, and showing the aftermath of the Great Twilight and Crossbell’s struggle for independence, which is once again stymied by forces unforeseen, resulting in a new, but all too familiar situation that quickly escalates into (yet) another calamity which could very well have catastrophic consequences for Zemuria, and of course it is up to our Heroes to save the day. In itself, this is a good anime/JRPG story, full of dramatic reveals and epic moments and such. Where it falters is as a part of the larger Trails narrative.
Unlike the previous calamity, the Great Twilight of Cold Steel IV, there is next to no build-up to this one. The Great Twilight was the culmination of events that, for the player, started no later than Trails to Azure, or even Trails in the Sky the 3rd, and was the result of the deliberate machinations of multiple powerful individuals and groups. The situation in this game, on the other hand, is the result of what amounts to an unfortunate happenstance, without ultimate agency, reason or meaning. What’s more, the entire story (minus the prologue), from peace and stability to the impending apocalypse and back to peace and stability once more, takes place in little over a week, giving the event a strangely random air, as if such things ‘just happen’ in this world. In addition, while the magitechnobabble that is supposed to explain things is vaguely plausible given what we already know from earlier games, certain parts of it have flimsy rationales at best, creating the effect that ‘anything goes’, and weakening the coherence of the worldbuilding that Trails is known for.
Structurally, this game is rather unusual. Instead of following one group of characters centered around a single main PC, this game has you following 3 different groups, with three different main characters, Rean, Lloyd, and the mysterious ‘C’. These three groups each have their own storylines as part of the larger narrative, coming together only in the finale, though they do intertwine here and there when they meet or otherwise interact with each other. You can switch between the stories, but only to an extent; when 2 groups are going to interact, you will have to wait with progressing one storyline until you’ve advanced far enough in the other one.
The different storylines themselves are of various quality. Lloyd’s story is the weakest, being little more than a repetition of the Finale of Trails to Azure. On the positive side, the story deconstructs the concept of Heroes, which is refreshing. On the negative side, the only response the characters seem to have is to constantly affirm their belief in The Power of Friendship instead. This has, of course, always been a part of Trails, but never to even remotely such a degree as here, and it seriously weakens the characters and turns them into caricatures of what they were before.
Rean’s story is much better, addressing various consequences of the fallout of Erebonia’s attempt at world domination in Cold Steel IV. The worst thing that can be said about it is that a large part of its plot feels like a side-event to the main storyline, but even so, it is worth it for giving closure to the Erebonian side of events. More importantly, Rean’s involvement in the events of the larger story allow him to face, and overcome, some significant personal demons, showing his development as a person and establishing him as a well-adjusted and emotionally mature young adult.
By far the best storyline, however, is that of ‘C’. In order to avoid spoilers, not much can be said about its plot, characters, dialogue and such, but all of these are unquestionably up there with the very best Trails has offered in the last ten games. It is heartwarming and tearjerking, yet also serious and philosophical, not to mention darkly humorous and mischievously twisted. One thing to note is that two of the characters in this group are the protagonists from the Three and Nine books that could be found in Cold Steel IV, and that it is advisory to read, or reread, those books before playing.

But that is not all there is to the story of this game. In addition to the main story and the three storylines that embody it, there is also a postgame story, as well as a large number of side stories. The postgame story can’t really be discussed because of spoilers, suffice to say that it is in itself a short, but emotionally powerful tale. The side stories, for their part, are too many and too varied to be discussed in detail either. What can be said about them is that the general quality of these stories is quite good, being some combination of entertaining, interesting, endearing and/or moving.
The game mechanics & combat of Trails into Reverie are essentially the same as those from Cold Steel IV. There are a few new types of Quartz and Master Quartz, but otherwise the only new thing during fights is United Fronts. These are powerful group attacks, magical attacks or heals, which are fueled by the Assault Gauge and which also give the characters stat bonuses, cure ailments and replenish EP, CP and/or BP. As for the rest of the game mechanics, the main thing they have done is just to increase the numbers to everything: Character levels go up to 250 (and its actually feasible to reach that in the postgame), Master Quartz levels go up to 15, Black Zemurian Ore weapons can be enhanced twice more, Quartz and Accessories have an additional level to them, and so on.
One thing that does differentiate this game from the previous ones is the True Reverie Corridor (TRC), which is an alternate dimension where the characters from all 3 storylines end up at various points, though the characters can leave for the real world and return to the TRC at almost any time (except during postgame, which takes place entirely within the TRC), and which has both a hub with shops and healing points and such and a randomized dungeon which can be reset and challenged as often as desired for the sake of gaining levels and items, as well as finding the various minigames, side stories and bonus characters (which can only be used in the TRC). Plotwise, there is a reason for the TRC’s existence and the characters presence within it, but that reason won’t be discovered until the postgame and is very much a ‘magitechnobabble means anything goes’ kind of explanation.
A more practical issue is that, by bringing together all characters from all 3 groups, plus the bonus characters which can be found in the TRC, the available pool quickly swells to 40+, and eventually to a whopping 51 playable characters. Having that many characters inevitably means a lot of them just won’t stand out or be particularly worthwhile to use, unlike in a smaller group where their presence might actually have a meaningful impact. There are probably a lot of players who enjoy playing with this large cast, but for those who care more about the narrative than the gameplay it just means lots of grinding/farming for levels & gear, even if the game has mitigating measures available.
In the end, I did enjoy playing this game, and I do recommend it to those who have played the previous games in the series. However, the unevenness of the games narrative quality makes it far less good than it could have been. As for the gameplay, it really depends on how one views the TRC and the gameplay it brings. For some, it might be the best thing ever in Trails, for others, it doesn’t add anything and creates a lot of meaningless chores to make it to the end.