The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is coming out this month and what better way to commemorate its arrival than by looking at its very own trail. If you know a little about the Legend of Heroes series, then you might know that Trails in the Sky is a spin-off series. But did you know that it’s actually a spin-off of a spin-off?

Everything started with a game called Dragon Slayer. Dragon Slayer was released in 1984 and is considered to be one of the first action RPGs, if not THE first. The series proved to be immensely popular with games in the series such as Xanadu and Drasle Family, or Legacy of the Wizard in the west. Eventually, it led to its sixth installment, Dragon Slayer VI: The Legend of Heroes which became the first in the sub-series known as The Legends of Heroes.

The LoH series continued to grow and, coincidentally enough, it’s sixth entry became a series of its own. Trails in the Sky, or Sora no Kiseki as it’s known in Japan, is only the first of a three part trilogy. “A trilogy all its own, Sora no Kiseki has the distinct ‘honor’ of being the only ‘game series within a game series within a game series’ that’s likely (we hope) ever existed.” said Tom Lipschultz, a localization expert who works with XSEED. The trilogy seems to be quite expansive, with the second game alone consisting of two UMDs. The next numbered game in the series, LOH VII: Zero no Kiseki, also takes place in the same world.

The Legends of Heroes isn't the only Dragon Slayer spin-off!

Now, I’d joke about how the sixth entries seem to lead to their own series, but there have been other spin-offs of Dragon Slayer such as the Xanadu titles and Sorcerian Online. Just seeing connections between games like Faxanadu and Trails in the Sky is getting me more excited. LoH:Trails in the Sky comes out March 29th, and if you’d like to read more about the series’ history, and see a really cool history chart, check out Joystiq’s article.

Source: Joystiq