“Trails In The Sky 2nd Chapter” Special Preorder Bonus Is Japan-Only, And Here’s Probably Why

InnovationGaming“Trails In The Sky 2nd Chapter” Special Preorder Bonus Is Japan-Only, And Here’s Probably WhyByGeorge Yang,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. George Yang is a critic covering Japanese and Western games.Follow AuthorApr 22, 2026, 02:04am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more."Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter" key art.Falcom/GungHo EntertainmentFalcom and GunHo Online Entertainment have announced that Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter will launch on September 17 for PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Switch.Interestingly, those who preorder the game in Japan will receive a HD remaster of the original version of the first game, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. However, this bonus is not available in western regions. Why?While unconfirmed, it most likely has to do with localization rights. In the west, both the Trails in the Sky remake and Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter are published by GungHo Online Entertainment. However, the rights to the original Sky trilogy are probably still under XSeed, who localized them years ago. As a result, it’s unlikely that the HD remaster could be included outside of Japan at all without XSeed’s approval.Given that XSeed hasn’t handled the series in almost a decade, I wouldn’t blame the company if there wasn’t any urgency on its part. After the release of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II, parent company Falcom decided to go with NISA for future Trails localizations, including this year’s Trails Beyond the Horizon For the Sky remakes specifically, Falcom chose GungHo to publish them.The publishing and localization rights for the Trails series has been all over the place. It’s also why you probably haven’t seen more remasters or modern ports of the first several Trails games outside of Japan and Asia. Kadokawa partnered with Falcom to release PlayStation Vita versions of origi...