Legend of Heroes: Whatever no Kiseki series for dummies

NEWFRIEND'S GUIDE TO THE KISEKI SERIES
Last updated: January 2015
-How are the games related?
  Legend of Heroes 6: Sora no Kiseki (Trails in the Sky) was the first Kiseki game, followed up by Sora no Kiseki Second Chapter (Sora no Kiseki was retroactively renamed to First Chapter). Sora no Kiseki The 3rd is an after/side-story to the first two games (the main story for them ends in SC) that links it to the sequels.

  Legend of Heroes 7  (as it was initially named) is a new story arc taking place in the same universe. The overreaching arc is linked, and there are recurring characters, but the main cast is entirely new and it is for the most part detached from the Sora trilogy. Like with Sora the main story is split up into two parts, Zero no Kiseki and Ao no Kiseki. (Also while it was initially titled Legend of Heroes 7 they dropped the number for the actual release, and subsequent games did the same).

  Sen no Kiseki is the latest installment in the series, taking place at roughly the same time as Zero and Ao no Kiseki, again consisting of two parts, Sen no Kiseki and the creatively-named Sen no Kiseki II. Sen II ends several months after Ao no Kiseki and shows us a bit (but only a bit) of what's happened after then, and even has a gaiden chapter where you play as Lloyd from Zero and Ao.

  Nayuta no Kiseki is a completely different genre of game (action RPG, like Ys) released for the PSP that seems to be completely unrelated at the moment, but some characters from it get cameos (not as themselves, but as background objects like stuffed toys) in the main series and a character from Sen shares a surname with a character from Nayuta. Anyway, how it's related to the other games, if it is at all, is unknown.

  Akatsuki no Kiseki is an MMORPG taking place in the same world as the series that will be going up in 2015. Supposedly it'll be story-heavy.

  Sora no Kiseki FC is currently available in English for the PSP and on PC via Steam as Trails in the Sky FC. Steam and PSN releases are confirmed but undated (previously supposedly Q4 2014-Q1 2015; Probably sometime in 2015) for SC.

  There are currently no further plans for English releases, but don't lose hope yet because Sen no Kiseki and Sen no Kiseki II are got Chinese (Hong Kong and Taiwan) and Korean releases. (And don't listen to Xseed's tumblr whining about the volume of text; Other companies handle that shit fine. Steins;fucking;gate was released in English, the entire Grisaia trilogy is being released in English, etc.)
***JANUARY 2015 UPDATE: Xseed registered the domain "Trails of Cold Steel" which may or may not be Sen.***

    Platforms for the games are
    Sora FC: PC, PSP, PS3 (HD), Vita (enhanced version)
    Trails in the Sky FC: PSP, PC (Steam, enhanced version)
    Sora SC: PC, PSP, PS3 (HD)
    Trails in the Sky SC: PSP (DL only, 2015?), PC (Steam, 2015?)
    Sora T3: PC, PSP, PS3 (HD)
    Zero: PC, PSP, Vita (enhanced version)
    Ao: PSP, Vita (enhanced version)
    Sen: Vita, PS3
    Sen II: Vita, PS3
    Nayuta: PSP (+PSN which means it can be played on the Vita)
    *Akatsuki no Kiseki: PC (MMORPG, 2015)

    Though the Kiseki series is under the Legend of Heroes brand, they are completely unrelated to previous Legend of Heroes games. Also, while Zero no Kiseki was initially numbered as LoH 7, this was dropped later and Zero and Ao no Kiseki are only labelled as Legend of Heroes with no number. Sen no Kiseki should be LoH 8, but it isn't numbered either.

    -THIS SOUNDS GREAT WHERE DO I START

    1) I don't understand Japanese

    If you want to start right now, get Trails in the Sky FC  for the PSP or PC (the PC version is recommended; There are a lot of upgrades, plus the PSP version's translation was apparently rubbish and had to be redone). After that wait for SC, and then get that. And then pray. Or get all your friends and family to buy the game too because that will certainly improve chances of at least Sora 3rd and Zero being released in English (because they have PC versions and can thus be Steamed). The fate of Ao and Sen are kind of sketchy at the moment though so keep praying.

    2) I understand Japanese!
    The definitive versions of the Sora no Kiseki games available right now are the PS3 HD releases (the PC versions lack the extras added to the PSP versions, and FC PC isn't even voiced).
    BUT!
    Zero was previously not available on PC, but when it was released in Taiwan for the PC they used that as a base for a PC version. So it's entirely possible that they release new PC versions based off the English Steam versions. In fact Falcom has been hinting at a Japanese Steam release. Then again, the Chinese PC version of Ao was never ported back to Japan so who knows. JANUARY 2015 UPDATE: Yeah, it's been confirmed that FC is getting a remake on the Vita. The Steam release Falcom was hinting at turned out to just be the Xseed English version being made available to Japan (English only).

    The definitive versions of Zero no Kiseki and Ao no Kiseki are the Vita versions which are voiced and have extra stuff.

    Sen no Kiseki and Sen no Kiseki II are available for the PS3 and Vita. The Vita version has more problems with loading times in Sen 1 (though this has been mostly patched out) and freezing in 2, so the PS3 version is recommended. THE DRAMA CD FOR SEN 1 IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO THE PLOT AS IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT BACKSTORY AND EVENTS REFERENCED IN 2 so it's recommended that you get the version that includes it. The drama CD for Sen 2 is irrelevant and can be skipped.

    Recap for main games for each platform:
    PC: Sora 1, 2, 3, Zero
    PSP: Sora 1, 2, 3, Zero, Ao
    Vita: Sora 1 (PSN or Evol), 2 (PSN), 3 (PSN), Zero (PSN or Evol), Ao (PSN or Evol), Sen, Sen II
    PS3: Sora 1 (HD), 2 (HD), 3 (HD), Sen, Sen II

    The only platform on which you can play ALL the games right now is the Vita. Don't let this bother you too much, though, because save inheritance only exists within each mini-series:
    Sora 1 -> 2 -> 3
    Zero -> Ao
    Zero Evol (Vita) -> Ao Evol (Vita)
    Sen -> Sen II
    Sora no Kiseki for the PSP and PS3 does have a cross-save feature that lets you share saves, though, as does Sen no Kiseki for the PS3 and Vita.
    Zero no Kiseki for the PSP and Vita do NOT let you share saves.




































SPOILERS BELOW

Ouroboros
*Grand Master: Details unknown
*Apostles of the Snake (Anguis)
2: The Blue Abyss/The Witch of the Abyss, Vita Crotilda
3: The White Mask, George Wiseman; Deceased and replaced with Mariabell Kreuss
6: The Professor, F. Novartis
7: The Steel Saint, Arianlord
*Executors (Legion)
0: The Jester, Campanella
I: The Blaze/The Demon of Fire, McBurn
II: The Sword Emperor, Leonhardt
VI: The Enchanting Bell, Luciolla
VIII: The Starving Wolf, Walter
IX: The Lines of Death, Sharon Kreuger
X: The Gentleman Thief/Phantom Thief B, Bulblanc
XIII: The Black Fang, Joshua Astray
XV: The Killer Angel, Lenne

Grail Knights (Dominion)
1: Carnelia, Ein Selnat
2: The Boxmaster, Thomas Lysander
5: The Heretic Hunter/Thousand Protecting Hands, Kevin Graham
8: The Roaring Lion: Details unknown
9: The Blue Testament, Wazi Hemisphere


Sept Therion (Seven Treasures)
Seven legendary artifacts gifted to the ancients by the goddess herself. Each governs miracles of one of the seven elements.
Treasure of Space: Aureole- Grants all wishes, generates infinite power. Recovered by Ouroboros.
*Treasure of Illusion/Perception: The Hollow God, Demiurgos- Controlled causality. Possessed its own personality. Despaired in the world and mankind and destroyed itself.
*Treasure of Zero: The Blue Zero, Kea- An artificial reconstruct of the Demiurgos that surpassed its power and gained control over space and time as well. The "phantasmal" part of Ouroboros' Phantasmal Blaze project.
*Unknown- The Demon with a Thousand Weapons: The End of Vermillion, the legendary demon lord formed with the crimson knight-god Testa-Rossa as its core. Once laid waste to the imperial capital of Heimdall before being defeated by Dreichers and Valimar. Testa-Rossa was the "blaze" part of Ouroboros' Phantasmal Blaze project so it can be assumed that it is related to the Sept Therion.
*Unknown- The Great One:  The seven knight-gods are said to be shards of this.