The following is a partial translation of the interview with Kondo Toshihiro, president of Nihon Falcom, as published in Kai no Kiseki Official Visual Collection, released in Japan on 19 March 2025, pp 150-159. It contains spoilers for Trails beyond the Horizon and virtually every preceding game in the series. Please continue reading at your own discretion.

What Awaits Us After the Looping of the World and Agnès’ Decision

The Truth Behind the Shocking Ending and Other Remaining Mysteries

It’s been three months since the release of Trails beyond the Horizon. What went well and what was unexpected based on the players’ response?

What went well was Agnès’s development and the reveal of Laegjarn’s Chest as Sept-Terrion of Time. I was a little worried about how to portray the Sept-Terrion of Time’s appearance, which has a major impact of the entire continent of Zemuria, but after developing both Daybreak games and Ys X, our internal 3D technology improved to a point where we could portray it properly. Unexpected was [the response to] the story. Not only keeps the scope of Calvard’s story increasing, we also sorted out what plot threads that have been lingering since Sky must be addressed before going into Horizon and compiled a list of things we wanted to address. We couldn’t fit everything into one game, however. (sweats) I was prepared for controversy on this part, so we decided to split the story this way. Many players have responded to this decision by asking “When’s the sequel?”. Now we’ve split the story in two, we’re going to properly conclude the Calvard arc in a way that will satisfy everyone.

The ending was quite shocking. The rewinding mechanic from Daybreak II had many players suspect the Calvard’s Sept-Terrion would be related to time.

There were also a lot of parties in the game who were aware the Sept-Terrion of Time would trigger the Grand Reset, a ’loop phenomenon that rewinds time’. Ouroboros in particular is an organisation concerned with loops considering their organisation is named after the cyclical symbol of the ouroboros. Still, what happened at the end of Horizon surprised all parties, Ouroboros included.

(end of page 150)

If you say surprised, do you mean Agnès’ decision to become a Tuner?

No, I mean President Gramheart’s plan to challenge the Sept-Terrion of Time. They fired off 24 missiles and managed to partially destroy the Sept-Terrion with 8 of them. That may have been within their expectations, it’s the part that follows that surprised them. Ouroboros and perhaps other parties as well may have worried the Space Force’s assault would succeed. I think the surprising part is what the tables were turned so suddenly.

The game works toward its climax in three routes. Which route was most popular among players?

That’s a difficult one to answer. I have the impression that character-wise Rean was the strongest. That said, because Agnès’ importance increases in Calvard’s story and she took on an especially important role in the latter half of the story, working on Van’s route also proved to be rewarding. We also finally revealed details about Kevin that have been on the back burner since The 3rd and it seems fans who had been hoping for Kevin’s returns were satisfied as well.

By the way, was splitting the story in three routes something you had planned from the start?

We didn’t, although we had decided that Kevin and Rean would make their appearance in the Calvard arc. The ending of Cold Steel IV foreshadowed Rean’s involvement in the Calvard arc. We wanted to show the parts that couldn’t have been told from Van’s perspective as well as the perspectives of Kevin and Rean, who each belong to different factions, so once we started working on Horizon we decided to split the story in three routes.

How did players respond to the vast cast featuring characters from older and newer games?

Agnès became more popular than we expected. Her crucial role wasn’t revealed in Daybreak II, but in Horizon we finally learn what an important role she plays for the continent of Zemuria as Tuner. Although her love was rejected by Van in the main story, we believe we adequately depicted the strength of her actions and willpower. These may have lead to garnering support from the players; team Agnès made quite the comeback in the ‘heroine race’. Other than that, Rean and Shizuna remain popular. Katana-wielders must be really strong.

The game revealed Shizuna’s second alias, Divine Blade of Ruin and people around her, like Kaede. That said, there are still parts about her shrouded in mystery.

Yes, things like her personal relationships started to pop up. We’re planning to address this and other aspects in the future.

Speaking of new aspects, I found Rufus simply interesting.

He really seems to be enjoying himself, doesn’t he? It’s almost as if he’s establishing his own stance/attitude, like Lupin the Third. (laughs) I think you know what I mean just by looking at his clothing and behaviour in Calvard; he’s portrayed as a freer character compared to other characters now he’s no longer carries his burdens from the Cold Steel series and Reverie. Even the staff who worked on Rufus’s part had seemed to have had a lot of fun with it.

I felt that the camera direction of action scenes during events and battles was a major step up from the previous games.

The development of the action-oriented Ys X really honed the staff’s skills. That growth also contributed to the production of Horizon.

The battles between Rean and Shizuna, Rean and Yun and later on Grendel and Grendel Shaddai on the moon were particularly impressive.

It seems many players were caught off-guard by the intenser scenes. In a good way, I should add, because that direction has been pretty uncommon for a Falcom title.

The story ended on a dramatic note. Could we hear from you what really happened?

The crisis that Epstein had been forewarning about actually happened. Hamilton’s actions had a major impact on this. She basically carried on Epstein’s will and developed the Alter Core to steer matters in a better direction. Many flocked around her and she also used those relationships to work on her preparations. Then something unexpected happened: the Space Force’s defeat. The story concludes with Agnès discarding her humanity and temporarily stopping the Grand Reset. The explanation as to why this happened is planned to be revealed in the next game.

The plot thickens all around the board, like Kincaid becoming Grendel Shaddai.

Kincaid has his own position on the board. Details as to how he became Grendel Shaddai will be gradually addressed.

What exactly will the Grand Reset’s influence bring about?

There’s a lot to consider. For example, Risette came from the future but we don’t know from which loop’s future she came, right? Think of each of these cases as big mysteries in the future.

Personally I expected that if the setting of world loops came to be, it would be a number of loops more significant to the Trails series, like the number 7 for the Septian Church and Sept-Terrions or 8 as in Eight Leaves One Blade. I was shocked to learn there had been almost 20,000 loops.

The number 7 is actually related, but I cannot reveal more at this point. Also allow me to refrain from commenting as to why the loop count is close to 20,000. One thing I can share, however, is that 7 has been an important number since early development and when we decided on the general setting for Sky. In line with our production process we will flesh out details as we continue the story, s there may be elements that still have to be decided.

In Cold Steel IV, we had Osborne as the reincarnation of Dreichels, the Father of Erebonia’s Renaissance. Will the concept of reincarnation remain unaffected by the Grand Reset?

The series already addressed what lies beyond the encapsulated world of Zemuria, like McBurn, who was a demon lord of another world. As to whether the phenomenon known as the Grand Reset that happens in Zemuria can interfere with matters like that, allow me to refrain from commenting.

Nina started to act as the Eschaton Saint in earnest. Even though she seems to permit Agnès’ decision to become Tuner, she cannot seem to forgive Hamilton.

Agnès’ actions are basically in line with Epstein’s preparations and seem to fall within acceptable limits albeit a borderline case. Hamilton added something on top of Epstein’s process, something that violates the laws of Zemurian nature. That’s where Nina drew the line. This distinction will be a key point going forth.

She certainly did by using deviant entities, like the Vestiges.

Hamilton challenged the Sept-Terrion of Time through hacking and to do so resorted to methods that ‘shouldn’t be possible’. That’s why the members of the Vestiges are ‘impossible’ entities.

Hermès’ Excalibur lost against the Sept-Terrion of Time, but put up a good fight regardless.

You could call it putting up a good fight, but she had the enemy pretty much cornered. In addition, the Republic and Gramheart were properly prepared and could even respond to unexpected threats. Although each faction was well-prepared and recognised Calvard’s strategy, they basically quietly looked on. That all these preparations were overthrown, that whatever is happening to the Sept-Terrion of Time can overthrow this difference in strength signifies an important point going forward.

Considering there’s a statue based on the Excalibur, does that mean Project Laevateinn may have been attempted in previous loops as well?

That would stand to reason, but we don’t know if this actually happened.

(end of page 151)

When did you start thinking about the creation or setting of the Sept-Terrion of Time?

That has been a while. Sky had a time elemental quartz, so we decided that the Sept-Terrion of Time would be related to time. Actually, ‘Trails of Time’ (刻の軌跡) was suggested as title during work on the Crossbell arc, but we had already decided that the Sept-Terrion of Time (刻の至宝) would appear in the Calvard arc and the title became ‘Trails from Zero’.

The Crossbell arc saw KeA, the Sept-Terrion of Zero, manipulating spacetime, like creating time loops.

The rough outlines for the Sept-Terrion were decided at the time of Sky, but how we specifically want to portray them is decided at the start of each new season. For Crossbell it was a dummy of the already lost Sept-Terrion of Mirage and for Erebonia we had the fusion of Sept-Terrions of Fire and Earth.

So when you anticipated [the creation of] a Calvard arc, you decided on the introduction of the Sept-Terrion of Time?

Establishing the Sept-Terrion of Time came to us during work on Azure, when we decided on the setting like the Azure Tree. Then it became more concrete from the Erebonia arc on until at last it became clear during work on the Calvard arc. This became even more definite when we decided on the branched normal and good ending of Cold Steel IV, and everything was fixed in place by the time we started working on Horizon.

At the end of Horizon, the Sept-Terrion of Time triggers the Grand Reset. Where will its sequel start?

I suppose immediately after that. If we don’t, the story will be incomprehensible. (sweats)

Ah, so right after. I wondered whether it would started at a historical turning point, at important events for Zemuria like the Great Collapse or Orbal Revolution.

Regarding historical events, the Calvard arc will depict several eras like I’ve said before. There’s no reason for Horizon’s sequel to divert from that, is there? Calvard’s history is addressed throughout the story. Old towns show up, historical figures are highlighted. These will also be key in the next installment.

The Plans of the Lurking Ouroboros and the True Identity of the Vestiges, the New Enemies

In the Grim Garten, we were able to watch stories related to Ouroboros and episodes of the Memento Orbs. The Garten itself returned from Daybreak II. Will there be a similar dungeon in the next game?

I fear there will be a great number of characters appearing going forward, so I think that asks for a place where you can fight with freely formed parties. That said, we’ve used the format of the Grim Garten a couple of times now, so I rather do something else next. We’re still thinking about the specifics, so please look forward to it.

As of Ouroboros, it seems Campanella has taken an interest in Hamilton’s plan. Is it possible for them to come in contact in the sequel?

I cannot say for sure. However, like I mentioned before, the ending of Horizon was beyond everyone’s expectations. How this changes the power dynamics will be something to be on the lookout for going forward.

Campanella declared the commencement of Ouroboros’ Eternal Recurrence Plan. Is it safe to assume this plan will be finished as of Horizon’s sequel?

That’s right. Both the Republican Army’s defeat and Agnès’ actions were beyond Campanella’s expectations, so the plan is not yet completed. There’s also the question where Ouroboros has set the final destination for its plans, which is something that will be depicted in the sequel.

The game revealed that the F in Sixth Anguis’ name F. Novartis stands for Furio. Is there a reason this has been kept secret?

There is a reason for it. Speaking of characters whose family name featured an initial, there was Laura S. Arseid in the Cold Steel series. This S is derived from Lianne Sandlot, the Lance Maiden, who the Arseid family once served.

The C in C. Epstein stood for Claude. There’s meaning to it after all.

Think of it as a variable for now, but this time Novartis had quite the presence.

Up until now he came across as a mad scientist type of character, but this time he showed a part of his personal feelings.

He really did speak from the heart. It didn’t exactly improve his reputation or change him from being a bad guy, but you were able to see that there’s something something akin to desperation in him as well.

The Memento Orb episode Meeting of the Zemurian Minds shed some light on his thoughts toward Epstein and the three disciples.

He came across as really human, didn’t he? However, Enforcers that recently joined, like Ulrika, are all young and gave him a hard time by not really listening to him.

A new type of battle ship was introduced, said to be related to Ouroboros’ technology. Taking the Merkabah of the Septian Church into account as well, that a new aircraft appears at this very moment, will they play an active role in the future or do they have with special functions?

That will probably be the case, no matter how you look at it. (laughs) This a new type of machine introduced on this very moment by an organisation who knew the Grand Reset would happen. You can think of them as machines introduced as countermeasures for what will happen next.

The game mention the still unseen Enforcer No. XII, ‘a martial artist lady’. Is there a relation to the martial arts that have appeared so far?

Three schools of martial arts have been mentioned so far: Taito, Gekka and Kunlun. It could be one of these or it could be a school that hasn’t been introduced yet.

If she’s a martial artist, is she connected to Walter in some way?

Walter originally came from the Taito school. He used this as his base and added the best parts of other martial arts to essentially create his own school. Quite flexible, isn’t he? It’s possible he is connected to the martial arts using Enforcer as well. However, since the Taito school has been depicted thoroughly, there’s a good chance that Enforcer No. XII is related to another school.

Do we only know of Bergard as main Kunlun school practitioner so far?

Wazy the Gralsritter and his Knight Abbas also use Kunlun, but it remains unclear whether aforementioned Enforcer is related to the Kunlun school.

At which stage during development did you decide to include the Vestiges?

That was decided on at the start of Daybreak’s production.

Does that include Giacomo’s reappearance?

That’s right. There are also characters we decided on later, based on when they would be introduced as Vestige.

I see. That explains why a minor NPC like Giacomo was voiced by Kuroda Takaya.

For other characters like Melchior, we decided at the very beginning he would reappear and created his character accordingly.

How many of the Vestiges were decided at the beginning?

Three of them: Melchior, the Tyrant and a masked fencer whose identity has not yet been revealed. The other were decided afterwards when we got to the point where the Sept-Terrion of Time was getting hacked and we started thinking about including ‘impossible’ people. The group counts 10 members so far, which is quite the number.

In a spoiler-filled interview with Dengeki Online you mentioned that Vestiges are related to Calvard, didn’t you?

I did. And that they’re basically people from the past. In addition to Risette who came from the future, there may be characters from the future among the Vestiges as well.

Are there people who Van never met among the unidentified Vestiges?

It’s possible there are people among them who Van and his crew have never met. Allow me to say that there are hints with regard to their true identities. I think there might be fans out there who have closely followed the series that have correctly identified the remaining Vestiges.

(end of page 152)

The mystery surrounding artifacts deepens, and look out for Valis’ actions

Speaking of Risette, her reaction to the Executor was interesting.

The Executor also seems to hail from the future, but it hasn’t been revealed whether it’s from the same loop as Risette. This will be address going forward.

The future Risette came from was marked Septian Calendar Year 1259, suggesting both civilisation and technology are more advanced.

That’s right. I suppose that also applies to the artifacts. The artifacts are found throughout the land and operate on unknown principles. Some of them may have been brought from a future loop world.

Actually, the life-support pod young Risette was in might be one of them.

Now we’ve finished Horizon, I can finally answer questions like ‘What are artifacts?’. (laughs) Up until now, artifacts had been these out-of-place things that often show up in fantasy. It’s moving to [finally] be able to discuss their true nature.

They would usually be treated as the legacy of an ancient civilisation that once flourished, but this game subverted that.

It opened up the possibility that artifacts aren’t simply relics from before the Dark Ages and instead could have come from a different loop world.

It makes you want to investigate each and every artifact that appeared so far, doesn’t it?

Now I’m worried if there are any inconsistencies in the setting. (sweats) I’m positive we set things up properly, though.

Speaking of the setting, I’d also like to ask about the Five Houses of Valis that is mentioned in the Abyssal Stratum of the Grim Garten.

We’re planning to depict the city-state of Valis in the next game. The largest country in the Central East in the Principality of Elsaim, but Valis is in a position to be an equal match. It has been a maritime nation since antiquity. Elsaim is inhabited by brown-skinned people, whereas Valis is home to several ethnic groups. That’s one of its characteristics and perhaps a hint to mull things over.

It is also possible something related to Valis appeared in the games so far?

I wonder. Ethnically speaking, there are white people, brown-skinned people and Eastern-descended people. I think the characters that make up the Five Houses of Valis are not all people of colour, but rather a diverse group of people.

Such a multiethnic state may have complicated issues as well.

As a maritime nation, it seem to proper as a hub for trade. Of course, several stories will be intertwined with that.

When specifically did you create the setting of Valis?

It was properly established as of Daybreak. However, we had already set up the existence of Central Eastern country or countries when working on Sky. From the start we decided that Calvard and surrounding regions would be countries of mixed ethnicities.

I guess it would be a good idea to carefully listen to what the tribal head residing in Elsaim’s hotel [has to say]https://trailsinthedatabase.com/game-scripts?chr%5B%5D=Patriarch%20Bashar&game_id=13&p=1).

That’s right, a lot is discussed there. Speaking of which, when working on Daybreak we made an annual asset ranking for banks in each region and Valis came out on top. We’re adding details like that, step by step. (laughs)

Speaking of other interesting things, will Pope Orestis of Arteria and S-rank bracer Arnold Evans, Guildmaster of the Bracer Guilds, soon make their appearance?

We’re currently discussing whether they will show up. Like the Pope, the S-rank bracer is an incredible persons and was the actual superior of former S-ranker Cassius. The timing [of their appearance] should be carefully considered. We are giving it proper thought, also in combination with the final arc of the Trails series that’s planned after Daybreak’s sequel.

Assuming there will be stories outside the main story, like connection events and Memento Orb episodes, what should players pay attention to?

We want to resolve everything that would be strange to left unresolved. The connection events are episodes that we want only Van to know, so it is difficult to include them in the main story where other Arkride Office members are also present. We plan to continue this kind of content through connection events and the like. We’re often asked why we don’t include something in the main story and this is one of the reasons. We address the foreshadowing from Sky that needs to be resolved through the Memory Orb episodes to not disrupt the flow of the main story.

I agree that the connection event shedding light on Van’s past might have felt out of place in the main story.

Van’s past was sentimental, because it’s really a tale about the three of them: Van, Elaine and Kincaid. If would have hit differently if each of the Arkride Solution members would have shared their thoughts on the matter. That’s why we decided to include it as a connection event.

Elaine’s and Kincaid’s connection events also really zoom in on the relationship between these three.

Even though their relationship is not addressed in the main story, it is important for the story of the Calvard arc. Kincaid in particular went a separate way from the other two for reasons not revealed. Please pay attention to the development of the relationship between Van, Elaine and Kincaid in the next game.

Connection events reveal a lot of pretty significant important, like Shizuna’s second title, the Divine Blade of Ruin.

You can witness all connection events during your first playthrough, so please be sure to check them out.

Speaking of Shizuna, at the end of Rean’s route in Act 2, she speaks of the Black God as “a dark sword style passed down through untold generations”. [Note: in the Japanese version, she speaks of a “blade of darkness passed down through nayuta”, in which nayuta can be translated as an ’extremely large number’.] I cannot help but being reminded of The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails, which is unrelated to the main Trails series. Is there any connecting there?

Perhaps it serves only as fan service. (laughs) A word like ’nayuta’ is too loaded, so I understand why fans of the series react to it like that.

In the story, it is mentioned that the Eight Leaves One Blade school is a sword “in order to divert the natural order.” Does “natural order” here refer to the Great Reset?

If you take it literally, then yes.

I wonder if there might be another meaning to it. After all, it’s said [in Cold Steel III] that the Eight Leaves One Blade school isn’t complete yet.

Yun, its founder, has always been in the East, right? I wonder if his efforts are also related to the Eight Leaves One Blade school in some reward.

(end of page 153)

Freshly Designed Characters and Machines Drive the Story

New Outfits for the Arkride Solutions Members and Agnès the Tuner

Please elaborate the concept behind the Arkride Solutions members’ new clothing.

The story takes place in Summer, which is why we came up with several ideas based on the concept of Summer. Be that as it may, if their clothes were really summery it might have complicated battling, so from there on we made adjustments and refined the designs.

Are the colours picked to reflect each character’s image?

They are. Aaron is clearly red, for example, so we incorporated that in his character’s image. The character whose image has changed is Feri. To portray her growth from her childlike appearance in the previous games, we’ve made her hair longer.

I have the impression that Quatre’s design is more androgynous than before.

Daybreak II revealed that Quatre is an angel of either gender. With that finally revealed, his outfit was redesigned to reflect that.

Judith hasn’t changed much, but her new clothes look easier to move in.

I think it’s more summery. Judith’s casuals and Grimcat uniform have greatly differently colours, but I guess her image’s colours are yellow and gold.

And Risette is still wearing her Marduk uniform.

Daybreak had her winter uniform. This time is has been changed to a summer version while retaining the image of that uniform.

Agnès’ casual clothes don’t show much skin, even in summer. A lot of concept art was created for her. Please share if there are points you struggled with in designing her?

I don’t remember we actually struggled with it, but we did try trial several variations. Since there’s her Tuner version at the end, perhaps we looked for something to contrast that. I’d like to accentuate that a Tuner is a special being, so we planned to give Agnès a typical look for a girl her age for the rest of the game.

Elaine is wearing the pendant Van gifted her.

The pendant itself is but a minor change. Also, her outfit as a bracer served as basis, but since there are many scenes she’s working alongside Arkride Solutions in Horizon, we toned down the bracer aspects. For her clothing this time we aimed for an image somewhere between bracer and spriggan.

Bergard is still wearing the same as in Daybreak. Were there plans to change his clothes like the other characters?

Bergard doesn’t appear in Daybreak II and his image from Daybreak was so strong that we decided to keep it like that. Of course there were plans to revise it, but we decided to stick with his original image of Master or teacher.

It looks like Bergard is enjoying his current position to the fullest, so I wondered if he would perhaps switch to something like Director Gotti’s fashion. (laughs)

Like Bergard, the game has many serious moments, so going overboard with summer clothes wouldn’t hit the tone of the story. (sweats) That’s why we went with the concept of making him not too lightly dressed and keeping his skin exposure to a minimum for summer clothes.

Of all costumes obtainable through Grimoire Decryption and DLC, which was the most popular? Also, please share if there are any costumes the development team would like to add in the future.

Based on sales the Lapine Attire was the most popular. As for future costumes, that is hard to say. We’ve made all kinds [of costumes] so far. If anything, I’d be happy to hear from the players what they would like.

The filename for Agnès’ character design as Tuner was “Agnès Turned Goddess”. Since [Aidios] the Goddess is an important being across Zemuria, it gives ample food for thought.

Conceptually, intervening with the Grand Reset means discarding the human body, a motif similar to goddesses and angels. We’ve created several variations and I think we won’t deviate from that.

It looks like many colour schemes were tested for Agnès the Tuner.

We like creating variations. (laughs) That said, the basis remains white despite the various colour schemes.

Speaking of white, that’s the same colour as Grendel Shaddai.

It’s basically the concept of a transcendent being in this case, too. There’s a point where it’s almost as if he asks Grendel Van who of them is the protagonist?

It doesn’t give the impression of being ominous, but the opposite, the divine, seems more appropriate here.

The differences between Grendel and Grendel Shaddai is directly related to the mystery surrounding the latter one.

Among the character designs are a great number of variations of Grendel Shaddai’s mask. Some are very similar to Kamen Raider.

Since that served as the basis for imagining Grendel, that was one of the ideas we had in mind. Also, the battle in space between the two Grendels was really impressive and it surprised me how far they took it. I think it turned out to be a fantastic scene.

Is there another meaning to having Grendel and Grendel Shaddai battle in space other than visual direction?

There must be, right? For Trails games, we have a rule against doing something solely because it “looks good.”

On the designs and creation of returning and new characters

The returning characters also saw their outfits changed. Starting off, please tell us about the concept behind Rean’s new clothing.

Rean was invited to visit Calvard, so there was also a plan to give him a military uniform. In the end we decided to have him go incognito. The Reverie post-game episode Another Hot Springs Paradise seemed to be a good fit, so the design was based on that.

(end of page 154)

Altina changed a lot, didn’t she? Claiomh Solais started serving as a shield as well.

Altina left a very strong impression after Cold Steel III and IV. We thought she is a pretty good character, design-wise as well. So this time, we challenged ourselves to surpass III and IV’s Altina with this appearance. In the Cold Steel series we had Altina’s black contrast the white of Millium, who is like a sister to her. Because Millium doesn’t show up in Daybreak, we reworked Altina’s colour to white.

Towa appeared in Daybreak II, complete with artwork and 3D model, but was redesigned once again.

She’s grown as a working adult even more than before, as someone you can rely on. Her designs emphasise teach-like quality or growth in seniority. Sadly, she hasn’t grown at all in height… (laughs)

Where Towa is growing, I feel like Crow is rapidly returning to his roots.

It feels like he was burdened by his past up until Reverie, but now he’s no longer weighed down. That is why we decided to imagine what Crow’s original outfit would have liked.

Crow’s S-Craft in which he rides an orbal bike was impressive. I hope that one day he and Noel, who used orbal bikes similarly, will do a combined S-Craft.

That also sounds interesting.

What was the concept behind the design of Kevin’s clothes, who hadn’t appeared in a long while.

He was 21 years old when he first appeared in Sky SC whereas in Horizon he’s approaching his thirties as a 28-year-old, so we wanted to reflect that in his design.

After The 3rd, there has been no shortage of questions why Kevin returned to his [title of] Heretic Hunter or what his partner Ries is doing.

Compared to Sky SC, Kevin’s design is a bit more vicious, isn’t it? (laughs) As far as Horizon’s story is concerned, his image aligns more with the Heretic Hunter of the past than his newly attained title of Thousand-Hand Guardian.

Among the Picnicking Front members, Rufus and Lapis have been illustrated anew. Lapis’ appearance in particular has changed since Reverie.

Because she’s growing. As for Rufus, his aristocratic appearance would stand out among the Calvardian, so we had him adopt a more republican look.

What I found crafty about Rufus is that he’s a clever, sharp and able person, who now intentionally shows a more irresponsible side of himself, which is interesting.

Somehow he’s become more natural, hasn’t he? In this game you get a feel for what Rufus as a character could have been had he not been born into a noble family. He’s free and seems to enjoy [the thrill of] danger. I think he’s grown a lot, too, with more potential to grow still.

In the connection event Full of Energy Drink, where Lapis gets drunk on [the energy drink] Maximum Energy, Rufus went in full butler mode and seemed to be enjoying himself. I feel like showing off this side to his younger brother, Jusis.

He would be so surprised. It would only add to the pile of things poor Jusis has to worry about. (laughs)

Were there any players who asked why you made Lapis grow up?

There wasn’t a lot of feedback like that. There was more demand to have her as a playable party member, though.

As for new characters, Emilia made a strong impact.

When Horizon was first announced, there were expectations Emilia would be the protagonist. In a way she was a protagonist during the finale, in which she played a big role. But because that fight was set in space and her companions couldn’t fight alongside her, it must’ve been a lonely battle for her.

The design of her clothing is similar to her role as Hermès the courier.

We took her design as Hermès as basis and made it more pilot-like. I guess it resembles the outfits from the Top Gun movies.

Is the pilot suit itself a Calvard-specific style?

Since there’s only a limited number of space suits, I expect this one to be tailor-made for her.

When she was introduced as Hermès, did you already decide she would ultimately go on as Emilia and fight in space?

This was decided along the way. Her face is concealed in Daybreak and introduced as a character for ‘future considerations’. The addition of her red streak of hair is a nod to Van, as if the two of them form a pair. Details like this reveals she was considered an important person when we decided to include her.

So it appears this isn’t the end for her and she’ll continue to play an important role in the future, right?

It would be a shame if her contribution ended like this. Please look forward to [her future endeavours].

I’m also looking forward to seeing Emilia’s father, General Harring, in action.

General Harring is the kind father you would see in a Hollywood movie as ‘papa’. With Gramheart also being affectionate toward his daughters, there’s a lot of good fathers in Calvard. Erebonia, however, had a lot of strict fathers, starting with Osborne. (laughs)

Kurogane is another character hiding his face like Hermès.

We thought by delving deeper into Shizuna’s character would offer a good opportunity to reveal his real face and name, Kuuga Ka-fai. Also, Kurogane’s face is actually handsome. This might be a staple for us, considering how similar it is to how Lieutenant Lorence removed his helmet to reveal Loewe.

Was the idea of Shizuna losing control as a result of the curse smoldering in Akegarasu already planned when you worked on Daybreak?

It was. Shizuna is by no means a minor character. She plays an important role in the story of the Calvard arc.

The characters of the Vestiges also hid their faces. Giacomo was easy to spot, though. (laughs)

He was easy to identify thanks to his build and tone, right? Giacomo died early on in Daybreak, but because he was so unusual for a Trails villain he left a lasting impression on many players.

Speaking of someone with a similar physique, Director Gotti is one who caught my interest. He made an unexpected appearance in Horizon.

For some reason he bands together to act. Of course, Director Gotti’s actions also have a meaning.

The Vestiges’ designs vary in mask design and colour. What aspects did you focus on making this variations?

There are quite a few Vestiges, so we started off by making bases for male and female designs. Then we adjusted them accordingly based on who’s wearing the outfit.

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Among the new characters are Ouroboros’ Ulrika and Simeon. Ulrika in particular has simply a lot of character traits.

The concept of numbering the Enforcers was decided on in an early stage. We also decided on the gyaru concept for Ulrika beforehand, which became more precise as we worked on Horizon. That said, even though we speak of gyaru [as a single concept], there are a lot of different types.

Looking at Ulrika’s varied character sheet, it’s immediately clear a wide range of design options – hair, skin-colour, hairstyle – were up for consideration.

Including a gyaru was a first and challenging in several ways, so we struggled quite a bit there. (sweats) She also mentions [her alias] Power Wordsmith as a keyword, but has not demonstrated her real abilities yet. She’s a character whose depths still have to be explored. The same can be said about Simeon, who also debuted in this game.

Generally speaking, Enforcers have experienced traumatic pasts that envelop their hearts in darkness, but I haven’t discovered any darkness in Ulrika yet.

That’s right, for now. Since she formed a team with Novartis, it’s like she somehow became a good kid who looks after the professor. By the way, although only her upper body is projected through the drone in the game, we have created a proper full-body model for her. I think we should be able to include it in the future, please look forward to it.

Was what the idea behind Simeon’s design?

Contrary to Ulrika, his design emphasises the fantastical. We wanted to give him this sense of importance, exceptionality and uncanniness worthy of a relatively old number like [Enforcer] No. VII, so we gave him a hat.

Ouroboros already has characters that evoke uncanniness and importance, like Campanella. I imagine there also were many challenges to make Simeon stand out.

That’s right. We struggled with Simeon’s background story and design alike. As a result, we made many draft designs that were meeker, so we took our time to refine his design. The pattern of his hat was particularly challenging. His image is completely different without the hat, so it has become an important point to express his individuality.

I’m also curious about the relationships between Enforcers. I got the impression that Simeon and Bleublanc would get along based on their unique speaking styles.

Simeon and Bleublanc would talk at cross purposes without realising it themselves. (laughs) Including that kind of interaction would be interesting, indeed.

By the way, Simeon comes across as a long-serving member of Ouroboros, so why is his number, which are usually assigned in order of joining, relatively new?

Mysteries surrounding Simeon will be revealed in the next game(s).

The Sept-Terrion of Time and Excalibur - Mecha designs a series of challenges?

It really surprised me how mechanical the Treasure of Time’s design was. When did you decide on this design?

During work on Daybreak. We have been thinking how to present this concept of mysterious super-technology and mega structures. It gives that mechanical impression, but it’s not what you would call an industrial design. The design rather invokes a sense of mystery and wonder how it was made.

I never imagined it would be included on the game’s box art.

I thought Dengeki would definitely ask this in their first interview, but surprisingly enough they didn’t, which was a relief. (laughs)

The design of the Sept-Terrion’s Guardians was also fresh and unlike anything we’ve seen before.

Since it’s a type that never appeared in the Trails series before, we also wanted to design it unlike anything else. In that regard, the concept behind the Sept-Terrion and Guardians are the same. By the way, there was also a design for the Treasure of Time in a half-destroyed state. When we had decided on the design, the development staff members were surprised to get a request from the scenario team to “also make a half-destroyed design”. (laughs)

I guess in that case the Sept-Terrion’s interior also needed to be created. By the way, is it capable of healing itself?

With how much abilities it possesses, I would think it also has a feature like that.

The Grand Reset will be induced on Zemuria, does that also revert the Sept-Terrion of Time to an earlier state? If the damage inflicted in this game aren’t repaired, it would lead to errors with the next Reset.

Although it was damaged this badly, the core seems to be sufficiently all right. We will have to wait until the next game to see if the damages have had any kind of impact.

There was a lot of concept art of Excalibur, which battled the Sept-Terrion of Time.

Its design was challenging. We aimed to surpass the Divine Knights and Panzer Soldats that appeared in earlier games, and wanted to create something clearly distinct. Since the machine would appear at the end of Horizon, we wanted to give it this sense of originality. We also made sure it wouldn’t overlap with robots from other franchises. There’s a scene where it fights against the Panzer Soldats piloted by Rean and Crow, so we aimed for a design that would compare favourably next to them.

Excalibur’s Bit weapons made quite the impact.

The battle takes place in the vast outer space, so Excalibur alone wouldn’t stand out. To expand its surface area, we added the Bit weapons. I can now understand why series like Gundam to the same: to make action sequences in space more spectacular.

You can really see the transition going from the early drafts to the final design. I personally found the initial versions interesting.

There’s also a design that resembles Reverie from FC, right? For Excalibur we first came up with a number of variatons and then started to compose it based on elements we liked, like the head of shoulder. From there we even folded papers and combined [those drafts] until the quality [of the design] improved. With the Divine Knights we could pass our criteria using the same process, which is why we were approached to discuss making plastic models out of them. We spent a lot of time making Excalibur even better than the Divine Knights.

Excalibur’s space battle was awesome. At the same time I’d also like to see the Divine Knight’s battles in these newest graphics.

Looking back, I wouldn’t have expected footage like this coming from us. It’s actually moving.

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Notes