For this article, SmashBoards is doing something a bit experimental. We're going to be loosely mimicking the style of Sakurai's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character presentations and seeing how he'd tackle other characters! Our character today is Estelle Bright, the main heroine of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky.
What is Trails in the Sky?
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is a tactical RPG game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game’s combat system is similar to the Fire Emblem series, taking place on a grid. In addition to regular attacks and items, characters have special abilities called Arts and Crafts. Arts are basic elemental attacks, while Crafts are attacks unique to each character. There’s also a unique ultimate attack for each character called an S-Craft. Once the corresponding meter is full, you can use an S-Craft without being limited by the turn order. The first game was released in Japan in 2004, and has spawned a 20-year legacy since then. A Nintendo Switch remake slated for 2025, titled Trails in the Sky the 1st, was revealed in the August 2024 Partner Showcase. The world of Trails is so large, the Japanese Wikipedia page detailing the full list of characters contains a whopping 440,000 characters. Due to the massive scale of the world, the Trails series often takes years to localize outside of Japan. Is it any wonder that Toshihiro Kondo, the president of Nihon Falcom, considers the series his life’s work?
The story’s centered around Estelle Bright, daughter of the legendary war hero Cassius, and her adopted brother Joshua. The two adopted siblings are part of an organization dedicated to helping locals and hunting monsters called the Bracer Guild. Her relationship with Joshua deepens and develops throughout the course of the Trails in the Sky trilogy. True to her last name, Estelle’s most defining characteristic is her boundless optimism and energizing enthusiasm, to the point of chewing the scenery in a lot of instances. She also wields a Bo Rod as her signature weapon, which leads us to how she'd play in Super Smash Bros.
Estelle's Attributes
Estelle would be primarily based on her appearance in the second Trails game, Trails in the Sky SC. In her own games, Estelle generally excels at physical attacks and her stats are about average. As such, she would be a middleweight fighter (between Cloud and Mario at 99 points) who excels at rushing down opponents at the cost of higher-than-average windows of vulnerability. Estelle's normal attacks would primarily draw inspiration from other bo staff wielders in fighting games, such as SoulCalibur's Kilik and Fatal Fury's Billy Kane.
Estelle has a mechanic unique to her called S-Crafts. This enables her to charge one special move at a time by holding the special button during the move’s input. An S-Craft’s charge is indicated by a light moving around Estelle’s body like a ring. You can tell which special is charged by what color the orb above her HUD is. Red is neutral special, blue is side special, yellow is up special and green is down special.
Estelle's Moveset
Nearly all of Estelle’s attacks—normals, aerials, Smash attacks and special moves—utilize her Bo Rod. Her special moves each have two variations: the normal versions are used without charging, and the “True” versions are used after a charge.
- Tilts
- Jab: Pummel; Estelle constantly pummels the enemy with her Bo Rod, finishing with a horizontal swing.
- Forward Tilt: Estelle swings her Bo Rod horizontally.
- Up Tilt: Estelle swings her Bo Rod slightly upward while raising one knee.
- Down Tilt: Estelle pokes along the ground with her Bo Rod.
- Dash Attack: Estelle performs a cartwheel with her Bo Rod.
- Edge Attack: Estelle performs an overhead arcing swing with her Bo Rod as she climbs back up.
- Floor Attack: Estelle sweeps around herself with her Bo Rod.
- Aerials
- Neutral Air: Estelle twirls her Bo Rod around herself.
- Forward Air: Estelle pokes her Bo Rod in front herself multiple times.
- Back Air: Estelle horizontally swings her Bo Rod in the opposite direction.
- Up Air: Estelle performs a backward overhead arcing swing with her Bo Rod.
- Down Air: Estelle strikes downward with her Bo Rod.
- Smash Attacks
- Forward Smash: Estelle performs a forward overhead arc swing.
- Up Smash: Estelle performs an upward swing with her Bo Rod.
- Down Smash: Estelle horizontally swings her Bo Rod across the floor.
- Grab Game
- Grab: Estelle grabs the opponent by the ear.
- Pummel: Estelle smacks the opponent with her Bo Rod.
- Forward Throw: Estelle bumps the opponent with her rear end.
- Back Throw: Estelle jabs at the opponent’s lower area before tossing them over her shoulder in the opposite direction.
- Up Throw: Estelle plants her Bo Rod into the ground before following up with a backflip kick.
- Down Throw: Estelle plants her Bo Rod into the opponent’s feet before following up with a slide kick.
Neutral Special: Hard Break
In the original game, Estelle performs a powerful swinging attack that aims for the enemy’s weak spot. Here, it’s a powerful, shield-breaking strike with the Bo Rod.
The normal version jabs at the opponent, crumpling them whenever they’re not shielding. The attack can be angled using the control stick, but Estelle is confined to attacking within a 40-degree angle. The True version has Estelle charging forward with partial armor, but Estelle can still be grabbed out of the attack.
Side Special: Barrage
In the original game, Barrage was an S-Craft in which Estelle rapidly strikes the enemy multiple times with her Bo Rod. Here, Estelle instead leaps towards the enemy to strike them. The normal version has Estelle perform a vaulting jump before swinging her Bo Rod downwards. Keep in mind that Estelle is vulnerable during the attack, so if she gets hit…
Yeah, that happens.
The True version sees Estelle spinning her body in the direction pointed and hitting opponents multiple times. This version is based on the spinning motion Estelle does right before her other S-Craft, Wheel of Time. This is the safer option and Estelle can travel in the direction tilted on the control stick, but she also enters freefall afterward. If you want a safer recovery, True Barrage can be a boon. And speaking of recovery...
Up Special: Comet
In the original game, Comet is portrayed as a powerful wave of energy from Estelle’s Bo Rod. However, that original portrayal didn’t fit with the brawler style I was going for. So for its appearance in Smash, I opted to change it to an attack similar to the Mii Swordfighter’s Stone Scabbard.
The normal version lets Estelle perform a footstool jump if the tip of the Bo Rod is right above the opponent. Similar to King Dedede, Estelle can cancel the descent by holding up on the control stick during the ascent.
The True version utilizes the aforementioned energy wave for a higher jump and spike sweet spot, but Estelle can’t footstool off of opponents and she falls faster. In addition, this version can't be canceled during the ascent. Once you ascend, you're commited.
Down Special: Hurricane
In the original game, Estelle spins around and strikes any surrounding enemies. In Smash, while the idea of a spinning attack is the same, the normal and True versions drastically differ.
The normal version has Estelle spin her Bo Rod in front of herself, which reflects projectiles. This only protects Estelle from the front, so make sure you're facing the right way.
The True version has Estelle spinning wildly in the direction she’s facing, hitting opponents multiple times. When used in the air, Estelle wildly spins downward and enters freefall afterwards.
Final Smash: Wheel of Time
Estelle spins her body in the direction she’s facing towards a single opponent. If it connects, Estelle runs around in a vortex as orange lightning rains down from the sky. If the opponent's damage exceeds 100%, they are instantly K.O.'d.
In the original game, Estelle performs a powerful swinging attack that aims for the enemy’s weak spot. Here, it’s a powerful, shield-breaking strike with the Bo Rod.
The normal version jabs at the opponent, crumpling them whenever they’re not shielding. The attack can be angled using the control stick, but Estelle is confined to attacking within a 40-degree angle. The True version has Estelle charging forward with partial armor, but Estelle can still be grabbed out of the attack.
Side Special: Barrage
In the original game, Barrage was an S-Craft in which Estelle rapidly strikes the enemy multiple times with her Bo Rod. Here, Estelle instead leaps towards the enemy to strike them. The normal version has Estelle perform a vaulting jump before swinging her Bo Rod downwards. Keep in mind that Estelle is vulnerable during the attack, so if she gets hit…
Yeah, that happens.
The True version sees Estelle spinning her body in the direction pointed and hitting opponents multiple times. This version is based on the spinning motion Estelle does right before her other S-Craft, Wheel of Time. This is the safer option and Estelle can travel in the direction tilted on the control stick, but she also enters freefall afterward. If you want a safer recovery, True Barrage can be a boon. And speaking of recovery...
Up Special: Comet
In the original game, Comet is portrayed as a powerful wave of energy from Estelle’s Bo Rod. However, that original portrayal didn’t fit with the brawler style I was going for. So for its appearance in Smash, I opted to change it to an attack similar to the Mii Swordfighter’s Stone Scabbard.
The normal version lets Estelle perform a footstool jump if the tip of the Bo Rod is right above the opponent. Similar to King Dedede, Estelle can cancel the descent by holding up on the control stick during the ascent.
The True version utilizes the aforementioned energy wave for a higher jump and spike sweet spot, but Estelle can’t footstool off of opponents and she falls faster. In addition, this version can't be canceled during the ascent. Once you ascend, you're commited.
Down Special: Hurricane
In the original game, Estelle spins around and strikes any surrounding enemies. In Smash, while the idea of a spinning attack is the same, the normal and True versions drastically differ.
The normal version has Estelle spin her Bo Rod in front of herself, which reflects projectiles. This only protects Estelle from the front, so make sure you're facing the right way.
The True version has Estelle spinning wildly in the direction she’s facing, hitting opponents multiple times. When used in the air, Estelle wildly spins downward and enters freefall afterwards.
Final Smash: Wheel of Time
Estelle spins her body in the direction she’s facing towards a single opponent. If it connects, Estelle runs around in a vortex as orange lightning rains down from the sky. If the opponent's damage exceeds 100%, they are instantly K.O.'d.
Stage: Arseille
The Arseille is the primary method of transport during the events of Trails in the Sky SC. The stage is on a large platform outside the ship, along with smaller platforms around the main platform that move to different parts of the ship. Major characters from the trilogy make cameos on the side of the ship.
When in front of the ship, an orbal cannon would fire, dealing massive damage to anyone within its range. When on the back side of the ship...nothing else really happens, but the layout would still be different.
Essentially, this stage would be a more complex version of Corneria from Melee, with added cameos to boot. The Battlefield and Ω versions would primarily take the main platform and smaller platforms the sole focus. With hazards turned off, the orbal cannon does not fire.
Music
The Trails in the Sky trilogy has a plethora of iconic, energetic tracks that would easily fit the pace of Smash. Many of them are played in battles, while others are played during more tender moments. Just for a few examples:
- The Whereabouts of Light (new remix; the one I linked is a fan-made remix)
- Sophisticated Fight
- To Be Suggestive
- Challenger Invited
- Silver Will (Super Arrange)
- Silver Will, Golden Wings
- Strepitoso Fight
- Fateful Confrontation
- The Merciless Savior
- Determination of Fight
- Overdosing Heavenly Bliss
The Spirit selection would primarily consist of major characters from Trails in the Sky. Most of them would consist of members of Estelle's party.
- Joshua Bright (★★★)
- Scherazard Harvey (★★)
- Olivier Lenheim (★★)
- Kloe Rinz (★★)
- Tita Russell (★)
- Agate Crosner (★★)
- Zin Vathek (★)
- Loewe (★★★★)
- Renny Hayworth (★★)
- Kevin Graham (★)
- Anelace Elfead (★)
Author's Note: This is my first time doing something experimental like this. What did you guys think of this presentation? How well did I do explaining the history and mechanics of Estelle? As always, let us know in the comments below!
Credits:
Writing:
Perkilator
Editing and Graphics: @Zerp
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