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On October 10, 2025, Ys vs Trails in the Sky: Alternative Saga will be remastered and released in the West for the first time ever thanks to refint/games. This crossover fighting game brings together characters from Falcom’s famed Ys and Trails franchises, with some bonus characters from their other games thrown in. The game offers an experience that combines the best mechanics from both franchises to create one of the most unique playing fighters ever, but is this PSP game remaster worth picking up and playing over a decade later? Let’s break the game down piece by piece and determine that for ourselves.
Ys vs Trails in the Sky: Alternative Saga offers a roster of 17 playable characters from the Ys and Trails franchises, with a plot that centers around the Xanadu series in order to bring together Falcom’s three largest ongoing franchises in one massive crossover.
The combat of this game is unlike any other fighting game on the market. Fans of the Ys franchise will immediately be able to get a handle on the gameplay of this title, as this title actually plays very similarly to that series, despite being a fighting game.
Players will have access to a basic attack, the ability to dodge/guard, and four attack skills, which take SP to use. SP is gained by attacking enemies or by performing a flash guard at the right time.
While it is certainly different from most traditional fighting games, battles in Ys vs Trails in the Sky are just as chaotic and fast-paced as one would want from games in this genre. Chasing a foe down just to launch a spinning attack skill at them is extremely satisfying and is sure to cause some real-life fights thanks to the local multiplayer.
Having the game play like a Ys title does a lot to make the game truly feel like a Ys and Trails crossover fighting game and not just a game that happens to feature characters from both series.
While the main gameplay of the title primarily pulls from the Ys side of the crossover, there is plenty of Trails DNA in this game. These contributions by Trails come in the form of the inclusion of a level system, equipment, and spending money to upgrade said equipment.
Each character in the game has a level and stats. Fighting in battles will grant EXP that will increase both of those. You’ll also gain money, which can be used to buy equipment in the shop in order to increase both your strength and defense. This turns the title from a full-on fighting game into something more akin to a fighting game-JRPG hybrid.
Gamers may be tempted to immediately hop into the arcade mode and test out their favorite character, only to be immediately put in their place by an enemy who instantly wipes out their entire health bar. This is because the game is designed around upgrading your character with these RPG mechanics.
In order to get said money and EXP, the player will first need to either play through the game’s story mode at least once. This also serves as a tutorial for all of the game’s mechanics. While it might seem ridiculous to need to grind in a fighting game, the sense of progression and enjoyment the player will feel as they grow stronger and are able to actually beat arcade mode is palpable.
Despite the main gameplay of the title being closer to Ys than Trails (with Trails itself primarily providing the RPG mechanics), the roster of this title is much more focused on Trails’ inclusion, with only 1/3rd of the characters being from Ys.
While this makes sense as Trails is a JRPG series with many characters, while Ys is primarily a series about a duo exploring the world, one has to question why characters like Dark Fact have been relegated to support assists rather than full slots on the roster.
Speaking of said support characters, while it is a shame that so many characters from both series aren’t playable, it is nice to see them represented in some form through this mechanic, providing buffs to the player once per battle.
What is likely to be a large point of contention amongst gamers is the grind to unlock characters, both playable and support. You’ll start the game with only a handful of characters unlocked and need to gain the others via grinding fights to earn BP.
While this long grind to get extra characters may be disliked in an era where all fighting games have everything unlocked from the start, I personally find the journey to slowly fill out my roster enjoyable, as it gave me an excuse to play through arcade and story mode as multiple different characters.
Visually, Ys vs Trails in the Sky is an incredibly charming title. Having been originally developed for the PSP, it, of course, doesn’t look as great as some modern fighters, but the character models in the game are all high quality for the time and get to shine in full HD via this remaster.
Perhaps the most charming part of the experience is getting to see classic Ys and Trails locations rendered in 3D. While this has since been done again via the remake of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, there is still a warm feeling that comes across upon seeing locations like the town of Rolent in this game.
In many ways, Ys vs Trails in the Sky feels like a celebration of both franchises. One of the most prominent ways this comes across is via the game’s 100 wallpapers drawn by a variety of artists. These show up during loading screens and can also be viewed in the gallery. The inclusion of this gives the game a fan disc vibe.
Those planning to pick up Ys vs Trails in the Sky on PC will be pleased to know that the game allows the player to save these wallpapers to their storage with a single click, allowing them to access this beautiful HD art at any time.
The localization of this game deserves special mention. One would expect a mere remaster of a PSP title to be given a barebones translation, but a tremendous amount of effort has clearly been put into the English version of the story’s script. The fact that the entire game has been dubbed as well is also outstanding.
Looking back on Ys vs Trails in the Sky: Alternative Saga in 2025 makes for an interesting experience. When this title was released, these two franchises were very different, with Ys being strictly a dungeon-crawling adventure game and Trails being a turn-based JRPG.
However, as time has progressed and Falcom’s catalog has evolved, the two franchises have grown very similar to each other. Modern Ys games have quest systems almost identical to those found in Trails, and Trails itself has added action combat mechanics that feel reminiscent of those in Ys.
Because of this, what was once an unexpected crossover between two franchises now feels like a natural reunion between sister series. It’s an interesting way of looking at the game in a way that the original developers could never have intended.
While Falcom’s titles may have become more homogenized over the years, every game from this developer is fantastic and more than deserves the player’s time. If you are even a minor fan of either the Ys or Trails games, then you can’t go wrong with picking up this crossover.
Ys vs Trails in the Sky: Alternative Saga
Bottom Line
Ys vs Trails in the Sky: Alternative Saga is a game that has aged like fine wine. As the two franchises have gotten closer to each other's design over the years looking back at this crossover between them feels like a premonition. The fact that it's also a very fun fighting game on top of that almost feels like a bonus.
