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I just finished Trails in the Sky (the first one) and really enjoyed it. Great world building, good writing among rando NPCs (the little stories you'd stumble across that advanced with major events were extremely cool), interesting chapter stories (I liked all the orphanage stuff), solid enemy designs and combat, but man the pacing got me at times. I bought this around the time I bought my Vita, in 2013, and it took forever to finish because every time the game became plodding I'd just totally forget about it as soon as I put down my Vita. I liked how earnest Estelle was as a character, but man Joshua's near constant condescension got annoying. I guess it's sort of qualified narratively by his protective nature, especially at the end, but he still came off as a patronizing dick to me at times. In any case, I think I'll jump straight into SC - there were enough hooks for character and political stuff for me to want to dip back in. Hopefully learn more about my main man Oliver. How's Cold Steel in terms of pacing and QoL? Improved?
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Nov 4, 2016 07:00
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Been ages since I played Trails in the Sky so I wasn't sure if Cold Steel was still gonna do it for me, but I'm on the first free day of chapter 1 and Steam says I've been playing five hours. So yeah, I'm feeling it. Chill music, quirky side characters, and actually not as awful as I anticipated voice acting. Good times! So far everything feels a lot mechanically faster than Trails in the Sky, like transitioning between zones/buildings (I played the PSP versions on Vita, I don't know if that stuff was faster on PC). Getting in and out of combat feels especially quick.
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Sep 3, 2017 00:07
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CharlestheHammer posted:Because the VAs are having a blast At first I thought the cast was gonna be pretty stock standard for a JRPG but then this definitely starts to come through. The first time I heard Rean say "*mwah* indeed" impersonating the instructor I thought it was gonna be good. Is the instructor's VA the same as Magilou in Berseria? She's fantastic.
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Sep 3, 2017 01:05
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I'm 25 hours into Cold Steel (just finished the midterm practical exam what a dick) and this is the most I've enjoyed taking my time in a game in ages. Last game I got into this year was Persona 5 back at launch, and while Persona 5's presentation and style is out of control, I think on so many other fronts Cold Steel outclasses it in my mind. Mainly what a weight the momentum of Persona 5 became for me - I appreciated how smoothly the parts of a day flowed together, but I never felt like I had any time to slow down and take the characters and world in. When I was finally given control, I knew that pretty much every action would advance the clock. Yes, Cold Steel gives you a limited amount of bonding points, but they have the same weight to them. I just feel like its a bit easier to breathe while playing Cold Steel (which I think maybe P4 was more interested in than P5 - maybe that was to do with the city setting). When I played the Trails in the Sky games I never really checked in with NPCs after every event - I was always pushing on to the next area, so I never really knew it was a 'thing'. But in Cold Steel I have been and it makes the game feel so alive. Western RPGs may have named NPCs but once they've given you their quest, then they have a few generic lines to spout forever. When I played the Witcher 3 I remember thinking it was cool that you could see major characters in the city, but was always curious about the people in the towns you'd pass through that maybe had one or two quests but otherwise just seemed to exist as a kind of diorama. Its really satisfying to piece together the image of Trista as a community - the connections the various characters have to one another, and the conflicts between them. I'm interested in whats going to happen with Emile's parents, when Bridget is going to give up on Alan, what the deal with that cat is - there are all these different threads that I'm invested in. They keep me from doing what I do in a lot of RPGs - which is become a checklist fiend, or get tunnel vision on the central progression, while completely ignoring the smaller stuff. I like how the members of Class VII's development and reveals haven't all been front loaded. It feels more true to getting to know people in life - it takes people different amounts of time to open up. Like at first I thought they were all kind of dull compared to Estelle, but I've warmed to them as the field trips have brought out more of their personalities. One of the better ensemble cast balancing acts I've seen in games too. The game generally reminds me of when I was a kid and got really into Skies of Arcadia on the Gamecube, and just got swept up by the world, characters, sense of adventure, and music. Its pretty cool to feel that connection with a game as someone older, who has less interest in, and plays fewer and fewer games every year.
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Sep 9, 2017 09:36
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The Act 1 intermission in CS2 was great - good example of what sets this franchise apart. Really cool to get all this additional context for antagonists, and also for them to acknowledge that Rean is still just a kid. And as for the escape, boyyyy this game has dialed the anime bullshit up to 11, which is extremely good, actually. Early Act 2 spoilers: something about this franchise really hits the part of my brain that Skies of Arcadia did, which isn’t helped by cruising around in an airship with a cool name. All I need now is to be able to control the Crimson Wings and chance upon Discoveries of flying fish or whatever.
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Mar 5, 2018 21:59
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Just finished Cold Steel 2. Despite thinking that it was, on the whole, a better game than CS1, it still had some issues. Principally, I preferred the way that CS1 forced the party's make up on you. The party just feel like a chorus in cutscenes - chucking in their canned dialogue, rarely talking with one another. One of the best things in CS1 was the character banter and relationships that you saw develop over the field studies (Laura & Fie, Jusis and Machias). But that felt a lot less present in 2, given that the writers had to account for any combination of characters in each stretch of game. Act 1 was a bit better for it as you reunite each member of Class VII. The game broadly felt unfocused. I didn't have a strong sense of what we were trying to achieve overall. Especially with the constant emphasis on neutrality. Speaking of which, I was kind of fed up with Rean by the end. Okay, I can buy the 'we are a neutral third faction, but we aren't really taking part in this war because we are students' thing when they're reuniting classmates and saving friends and family who are being held captive. But when Rean is instrumental in annexing Crossbell, why is that acceptable? I understand that in him being involved it can be largely bloodless, but how is it any different to the civil war? I just want to see Rean stop deferring to any and all authority that calls on him. The best part of the epilogue was him shutting down Claire... which then got walked back. Now I really want to play the Crossbell games. Which I take it we won't see an official localisation for, just that fan edit that'll probably be done this year? With Cold Steel 2 finished, I'm going to do the replay of Trails in the Sky I've been wanting to do for like a year. Then I will finally get around to playing SC and 3rd. After the Black Records cutscene, I think I am most looking forward to 3rd, and spending time with Kevin.
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Mar 24, 2018 05:02
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Erpy posted:Very good points Definitely one of the most interesting things to me by the end of CS2 was just how isolated Rean had become. Over CS1 and the beginning of CS2 we saw how much Rean struggled to accept Class VII’s love and acceptance. There’s not just ogre side that separates him, there’s his Awakening as well. Initially I kept thinking about how little time Crow had actually been in the class. Did Rean really consider him to be such a close friend? And I think yes, but they became closer as time went on even though apart. Here’s a fellow Awakener. The only one to Rean’s knowledge. Here’s someone who takes him seriously. A rival, a goal. Beat Crow. Bring him home. Thinking on it now, Crow’s death really is incredibly harsh. He’s gone through all these trials, without a Class VII supporting him like Rean had. He’s operated a terrorist cell, assassinated the highest ranking government official, fought in a civil war, and then given his life to seal away an ancient evil and protect his friends. And all of that amounted to nothing. He was an Awakener, this special thing, but ultimately he was just another moving part in the background of Osborne’s world. Everything in Crow’s life is reactionary to Osborne. Even his death. There’d be no Cayenne in the depths summoning an ancient evil (for Crow to be killed by) if Osborne hadn’t decided to let it happen. And Rean in his mourning is the same. Osborne defines his way forward. Rean’s parting with Class VII was less bittersweet to me than just outright sad. From his return from the front you could tell things were different. He’s clearly ashamed and you can tell a lot of the adults aren’t happy about the situation. But after the few hours of that epilogue rest day it was just tragic. Rean has had a pretty lonely sounding life, and then he got this one year where he made a home, had friends, and went on adventures. And now all his friends are gone. And he’s at Thors, which sounds like it’s going to not be so much a school as it is an operating base for him and Valimar. I think sometimes I don’t give this game enough credit in the moment, because of how shounen-y and over the top it can be. For example, Erpy, you mention Rean being forced into this role of a national hero, and the title Ashen Chevalier gets thrown around. It’s such a cheesy title that in my head I’m watching the cutscene thinking ‘man that sounds dumb’. And I don’t think on its significance to the story. That’s where I don’t think I give the game enough credit... of course it sounds dumb. It’s a PR stunt. I’m sure the Red Baron would sound mean as hell if you lived in 1915 or whenever.
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Mar 24, 2018 12:48
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Just got to Bose in my replay of Trails in the Sky (finished it originally in, I think, early 2014 on Vita). Things that immediately reoccurred to me about the game: - soundtrack is non stop jams. - lots of nice art direction and animation touches to compensate for simple graphics, for example: the flocks of birds that scarper when you get close. - very good interiors and set dressing in general. - great direction in cutscenes. Not something I’d thought about before, but it really brings things to life. - Estelle rules extremely hard. I really like Cold Steel 1 and 2, but I don’t know if I could say I find them as aesthetically charming as I do TitS. I wonder how much of that comes down to TitS limitations forcing developers to work differently to express themselves beyond what the tech would allow. Originally I was going to motor through FC to get to SC, which I haven’t played, but I’ve just been cruising along. It actually feels less slow than it did when I first played it. Maybe I’ve been conditioned to a slower burn thanks to playing more LoH games since then.
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Mar 29, 2018 09:17
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Just reached Zeiss - I can’t believe I’d forgotten about that boat chase. Estelle deflecting bullets with her staff like the action hero she is. - some excellent fight choreography considering what little they have to work with animation wise. The duels in both the play and at the end of the chapter were great. - the school sequence was as bittersweet as I remember it. There is something melancholy about Estelle and Joshua getting a day in the life of students, when you realize Estelle probably doesn’t have any close friends her own age in Rolent outside of Joshua.
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Apr 2, 2018 05:04
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In the final dungeon of TiTS. The creative use of camera has built in step with the narrative build in a super satisfying way. Across the entire game, but especially the final chapter. Joshua’s speech about how many people there are in the world all with their own stories. Lorence taking off his helmet and throwing it to the side. Estelle and Joshua meeting the queen. The entire raid of the Royal Villa is incredibly cinematic both narratively and visually - the glimpses of the ID soldiers fighting the Royal Guard you get is fantastic. So many impactful and cinematic moments. A good rear end game
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Apr 8, 2018 02:12
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That's a wrap on my five year later replay of Trails in the Sky FC. Currently downloading SC... which I think I played like an hour of in 2014, so that'll be totally new to me, which is very exciting. Can't believe I've left this story unresolved for so long. I really liked FC when I first played it, but I think playing on a computer, with the benefit of turbo, and a different perspective on what the franchise's strengths are, made it an even better experience. One of my biggest criticisms of games in general is how quickly so many escalate their stakes and scale. Heaps of modern games you spend the opening doing things with lower stakes, that are treated like a tutorial/exposition combo, but I often find these parts of games to be the most immersive and enjoyable sections. But then once the game is done tutorializing you, it dials everything immediately to 11. But FC doesn't do that, it turns up the heat so slowly that you don't even realize how large and dramatic the scale has become. Everything feels like a gradual progression. The stakes remain grounded. And because of that I never lost interest in the characters or world. The framing of the Bracer Guild, and their rules definitely helps with that, I think. Just some general thoughts on the final portion of the game: - Tita's introduction to Kloe was very cute. - Cassius' entrance, and Estelle's reaction, was as funny as I remembered. - Do we know who the prospective Erebonian marriage candidate to Kloe was going to be? Was it... Olivert? - The Queen's celebration day was great. Loved a final chance to check in with everyone on their day off. Anelace, Shera, and Carna on a shopping date, Murdock and Klaus in the fishing guild, Tita and Russell getting icecream, Olivier being dragged away, the - There's so much to like about the Alba reveal. Through the final chapter we saw some really 'big' cinematography as we reached the climax of the plot, but this scene and its fallout is the dramatic climax and it really showcases how much the game can do with its cinematography to create an intimate scene for the player. The way the cheery music that you've been listening to for half an hour just drops out as Alba approaches Joshua. Its so effective. The vignetting that sucks you in. There's a stack of character portraits that are unique to the scene which makes it all feel even more significant as Alba becomes Weissmann and Joshua confronts his past. Unique model poses too. - Is this the first time the game uses the name Ouroboros? - Then of course there is the rooftop scene which is one of the parts of the game that I remembered. There's not a huge amount to say about it beyond it being a genuinely powerful scene. Its just so tragic and my beautiful Bracer babies deserve to be happy ;_; Really glad I decided to come back to it after playing CS1 and CS2. I was hesitant because I thought it'd feel just like playing an inferior CS or something, but that's absolutely not the case. Incredible game. About as beautiful as any game I think I've played. So peachy keen for SC and 3rd.
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Apr 9, 2018 13:04
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Been playing a lot of Fire Emblem: Three Houses recently, and as well as having me think about Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (I'm sure there are a lot of PSP/Vita owners in here who know whats up), its gotten me surprisingly nostalgic for Trails of Cold Steel (1). It was the military academy setting, the calendar structure, supports, nobility & commoners, and a bunch of other similarities on the more 'sim' side of the game that got me thinking about it. Which I think Cold Steel did almost universally better. It was two years ago I played 1, and about a year ago I played 2. The ways the LoH games build their scale, take you on an adventure, and explore their characters is just so good.
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Aug 9, 2019 09:13
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I see a lot of people online cite the Crossbell duology as their favourite Legend of Heroes arc (or at least up there with Trails in the Sky). For the people in this thread who have played Crossbell through, what is it that make those games stand out for you? Are they an incremental improvement on what was good about TitS? Likeable cast?
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Aug 15, 2019 12:05
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Shinjobi posted:I am so insanely excited to be an RPG policeman Me too! I'm excited enough just to get back into a Trails game, let alone a goon favourite.
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Sep 14, 2019 22:40
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I don't own a PS4 anymore, and have gotten rid of my tower since playing Cold Steel II, how well optimised should we expect III to be for laptops/lower end desktops? Because unless they suddenly decide to release it on Switch, my only option is my XPS 15 9560, which I've never played games on so I don't know if it just turns into molten aluminium.
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Sep 18, 2019 07:19
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Erpy posted:Right now there's not even any official word of a PC port to begin with. Depending on who NISA contracts to handle the porting job and how much time and resources they get, it could range from an Ys VIII like clusterfuck to a Durante-like spit-and-polish. That's assuming they're not gonna neglect the PC audience and merely decided not to do a simultanous release because of how bad that went for them last time. Oh wow, I don't know how I even missed that there hasn't been any word of a PC port. That's wild! I would have thought they'd be on top of it after the rest of the Trails games being so well received on Steam.
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Sep 18, 2019 11:16
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Tae posted:Considering kondo threw xseed under the bus, nisa is falcom's choice probably forever. For someone who doesn't follow this stuff, what is the story with the change?
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Nov 6, 2019 04:54
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Put Zero and Ao Kai on the Switch Falcom/Nintendo you cowards submit reply
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Dec 18, 2019 07:12
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grancheater posted:Reasonable, but what's your source for Epstein being a man? The flight logs
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Dec 19, 2019 07:14
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We made it boys. Brings a tear to my eye
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Mar 15, 2020 06:40
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I think Zero is the best looking Trails game, for me.
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Mar 16, 2020 20:42
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Just finished chapter 2 of Trails from Zero. Coming off of Cold Steel 2 (well... in 2018 according to Steam), and I'm really enjoying the return to a tighter cast and more centralized hub. Just feels less forced for everyone to get screen time, and to establish their relationships with one another. Like at the opening of chapter 3, there's a montage of what everyone is up to, and its really concise because they've only got to show what four characters are up to. Really enjoying returning to the world of Trails. I don't play a lot of games any more, but Trails games are worth the time investment. They're just about the closest to the ideal JRPG that there is. Edit: regardless of arc, I think one thing all the games do well is pacing. You rarely have a session where there isn't an interesting scene or some plot/character development. Maps and dungeons aren't so expansive that they act like padding. Sitting down for an hour feels like I'm tuning into a wild TV show. Hocus Pocus fucked around with this message at 12:39 on Jun 9, 2020 |
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Jun 9, 2020 12:29
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Gorelab posted:Holy heck the bit of Zero where you take KeA around trying to figure out what is up with her is so amazingly cute. Played this today and it was incredible. Sometimes a family is two dads, two mums, a giant wolf, and an adorable amnesiac daughter.
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Jul 18, 2020 09:31
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Gorelab posted:Zero was real good. The last boss was a bit of a let down but the entire final chapter leading up to it was so good. I was also shocked that it wasn't a cliffhanger because Trails has trained me that it's just all cliffhangers by now. I finished it last week, and felt the same way about the last boss. But yeah, the lead up was awesome. Zero's use of camera is just that bit more dynamic/confident than Sky's and it makes a big difference. There are also a lot of little changes to the combat that make it feel faster - the action menu being a wheel, arts being sorted by category (offensive, support, etc) and I think that lent to how fluid that final chapter was (and all of the "action" set pieces, really - escaping the auction for example. I like the fixed camera in cities as well - makes areas feel like dioramas to explore. I've gone back to finish SC and I'm continually disorientating myself by rotating the camera and then exiting/re-entering the area for it to have reset.
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Jul 24, 2020 06:57
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After finishing Zero a couple of weeks ago I decided to return to SC and pick up where I'd left off. Really interesting to go from Zero to SC and see, not just mechanical or gameplay changes, but differences in the structure. Like Zero having the one larger, more detailed hub, compared to the many regional hubs of FC/SC. Its sort of similar character wise - Zero your party pretty much stays the SSS, with a few exceptions. Where FC/SC its Estelle and then a constantly changing cast, as characters come and go throughout your journey. Which I think works off the back of what a great character Estelle is. In Zero I want to see the SSS' dynamic as a group, but in FC/SC, I want Estelle to be given as many people to bounce off as possible. Viewed as a single game, FC/SC is just such a wild adventure. I love that it doesn't front load any of the really big picture stuff. You aren't fighting Ourobouros from day one - you're clearing out farms and rescuing miners. And the scale just gradually ratchets over the course of dozens of hours until you're in a place completely unrecognisable from those intital hours in Rolent. I don't know how many games I could compare it to in terms of such a satisfying narrative. It reminds me of watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood or some other long running anime. Its funny, its got memorable music, great setpieces, compelling characters. A great ride. Some fantastic moments in the finale. Estelle and Joshua embracing as the pillar collapses beneath them, and Kevin confronting Weissman, both come immediately to mind. Downloading Trails in the Sky 3rd now - I'm slowly getting getting my play order sort of back to chronological. Trails FC, Cold Steel 1, Cold Steel 2, Zero, Trails SC. Really looking forward to Geofront's work on Azure - their work on Zero was such a great package. Blown away by how good this franchise is. I don't really replay JRPGs ever, but can definitely see myself replaying Trails in the Sky. Part of me wanted to replay Zero right away...
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Jul 27, 2020 09:42
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I jumped into Trails in the Sky 3rd straight after finally finishing Second Chapter. I just reached the Sixth Plane. Having played Cold Steel 1 and 2, and Zero, I am kind of amazed at just how much of those other arcs is being foreshadowed by 3rd (and Liberl in general). As well as how much 'capital-L' Lore there is being revealed in the Moon/Star/Sun Doors (just watched 'Salt Pale'). I haven't even opened that many yet! For example, I watched the one with Osborne today and it was pretty cool to hear conversation about how his policies create terrorists - with my knowing about the Imperial Liberation Front. I think I am going to wait for the Azure Geofront patch before playing Cold Steel 3/4/Hajimari. Having almost finished the Liberl arc, and half of each of the other two arcs, has made me realise that the connective tissue runs a lot deeper than just easter eggs and cameos. Its really been making me wonder how much there was going on in Cold Steel 1 and 2 that went over my head (I had only played FC before them). As a game, I am finding 3rd to be a pretty great epilogue/gaiden. The structure definitely works for me, and I think its actually really interesting how its spaced out. I'm not sure I would have had the stamina for 3rd if it had world traversal and job boards, etc. But as it is, 3rd feels like it gives you both narrative and gameplay on tap to set your own balance with. Feel like combat? Well then you can pretty comfortably get through a dungeon in a sitting or two, enjoying the arc's most diverse party options and challenging combat. Need a break? Want some story? Check your list of Doors for whichever character you feel like learning more about. Its very digestible. The more time I have spent with Trails in the Sky, the more I have gotten out of it and grown to like it. And I think that is probably true of The Legend of Heroes overall. The series certainly isn't perfect, but whether its Estelle's maturation as a bracer and person across Trails, or schemes that span the entire series, LoH is attempting both characterisation and plot on a scale that not really any other franchise is.
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Aug 1, 2020 13:53
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Finished Trails in the Sky 3rd earlier this week. Excellent finish to the trilogy, I actually felt a bit emotional during the final farewell to the cast. I first played Trails in the Sky FC in 2013, and didn't really fall in love with the series until more recently, but despite that it still feels like I've been with these characters for a long time. Just a few thoughts: 3rd, specifically the Memory Doors, is a real flavour enhancer to all the games in the series I've played so far (Sky arc, Zero, Cold Steel I and II). And gave me a new confidence in Falcom knowing what is good about LoH going forward. There are characters, who after 3rd, I am way more interested in than I was before. I didn't really care about Lechter after his brief appearances in CS II and Zero - the 'jovial intelligence agent' part seemed a bit too similar to Olivert. But after Moon Door 3, and Star Door 8, I am now a lot more curious about him. And by extension, the Ironbloods in general - I want to find out what are all their motivations for following Osborne. I was a little worried hearing about how many playable characters are in Cold Steel III and IV, but after seeing how 3rd managed to get me to use all the different party members, I feel a bit less put off by the idea. Juggling orbments and gear was a bit of a pest, but at a certain point I had so much sepith and mira that I could just leave everyone's loadout on them even when benched. While its the "3rd" Trails in the Sky game, it isn't really the third chapter, and definitely feels like an epilogue, gaiden, and short story collection all wrapped into one. Which does a great job serving different purposes from setting up future games to providing some further closure and insight into the games' various supporting characters and side stories. It was also really interesting to get a bit more of a view of Zemuria beyond Liberl, and the different powers at play. Getting some insight into the Church/Gralsritter, Ouroboros, Osborne, all as actors. I kind of wish I'd played it before Zero, just because I think it would have given Estelle, Joshua, and Renne's arc/reunion even more impact (it was still one of the best scenes in the series for me). I don't think it would have changed much about Cold Steel I and II besides some more knowledge of the Gralsritter, and having more background on Osborne and Erebonia. From what I've heard about CS III though, I am definitely going to wait for Geofront's Azure translation before continuing with Cold Steel. Gonna play Persona 4 Golden as a bit of a LoH palate cleanser (SC, Zero, and 3rd are the only games I have played this year), but part of me wants to start up Trails in the Sky FC on NG+ and work my way back up to Azure... Just want to hear Fateful Confrontation one more time... and Continuation of the Dream... and Studio City Zeiss... and Whereabouts of the
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Aug 13, 2020 12:51
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I'm absolutely chomping at the bit after finishing Sky 3rd and Zero to start Cold Steel III (played I and II before 3rd and Zero...). Sounds like Geofront's Azure patch/translation is aiming for an early 2021 release... I think I can wait... But drat. Maybe I'll check out Ys VIII - I've never played a Ys game and while the clips I've seen don't really sell me, the music rips and people sound pretty hot on it.
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Sep 2, 2020 08:21
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MythosDragon posted:Patience for the greatest experience of them all squad. The Trails itch came on so gradually that I barely even noticed. Now its at the point that I'm looking at big releases like Cyberpunk 2077 and thinking "oh that'll be a good distraction until the Azure patch is out".
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Sep 3, 2020 07:12
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Just started Cold Steel III, and goddamn if Rean isn't just copping poo poo from every direction. People really seem to hate the guy! Very cool to see some of the Liberl and Crossbell characters in glorious 3D!
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Sep 11, 2020 12:09
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Just reached the city hub for chapter 2 of Cold Steel III. Overall having a good time, just a couple of mixed feelings towards my return to Erebonia. Maybe its because I'm playing off the back of the Crossbell games, which as an arc has become one of my favourite game(s) (although I could never choose between Sky and Crossbell... which really means I could never choose between Estelle and Crossbell), but there are a few things that feel just a bit off to me? Cold Steel I and II were also like this, but a lot of the areas feel kind of soulless. I think its a combination of art direction and music. The 2D games had more set dressing outdoors, and the town themes were more distinct (Sky especially - I know Ruan, Bose, and Zeiss by their themes as much as I do their visuals). Even in chapter 2, when you go to Crossbell (pretty cool to see in 3D), a place I'm familiar with, it just feels... off (but actually that may work thematically). Leeves I think is somewhat of an exception so far - anytime Genial and Balmy plays while you're in the school, it immediately feels nostalgic, but the layout/design still feels very bland. I think the jump in graphical quality is starting to make up for the lack of emotive portraits. There's enough fidelity in animation now to portray body language and more subtle expression. The 2D games could always use a portrait with a "..." dialogue if they wanted to show someone's reaction, but I noticed in a few cutscenes that I was picking up on Rean's suspicion or discomfort based on a fairly small facial tic. Juna's constant side-eyeing of Rean comes across beautifully. I mean, you're never going to be able to do what an illustration can do, but its definitely a big step up from the previous 3D entries. Some characters have translated better from 2D to 3D than others - Randy is pretty good, Josette could have been anyone though. Combat looks great, plays very smooth. Brave Orders are sort of interesting, feel like an alternative to craft based buffs. I don't mind the balance and guard breaking - gives combat a snowball effect, which is fun. But I think I prefered Crossbell's implementation of quartz. I don't like arts needing their own quartz. I just end up with fewer arts, and because I have fewer arts, I used arts way less. I like that soldat fights have been fleshed out and given some more features. Digging most of the combat tunes so far. Toughness!! riiips. I really like the new characters. I don't remember how large the other classes were in I and II, but I want to say they were bigger than VIII and IX. Obviously VII is smaller as well. Great move - I have a much better sense of the students outside VII this time around, and I like how there is more cohesion and interaction between them all. Already I'm picking up on the dynamics between different supporting characters. Does feel like things are moving quickly though - there was like one sequence showing classes, one free day, and then we're immediately on field studies. Same after the first chapter. Which is fine, just makes me suspicious there's gonna be a curveball. New Class VII seem great, been a slow burn getting to know them, given how quickly it seems like things are starting to move - an enforcer, an aion, Rutger all at the end of chapter 1, Cedric being weird as hell and then goddamn Campanella showing up as the train arrives in chapter 2, surely things are gonna start to escalate pretty quickly. But I am keen to learn about them, what is the deal with Juna? Kurt? Altina? Why is nobody suspending Ash? Why is Musse so shady? I want to see what happens. We're three games in, lets go Falcom! Show me some poo poo!
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Sep 14, 2020 12:12
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Kondo you son of a bitch! I'm feeling Cold Steel III a lot more by the end of chapter 2. I think its striking a good balance between new and old characters. When I played Trails in the Sky The 3rd I thought they balanced time with each of the cast well, so I should have had more faith. The intrigue of the main plot is definitely starting to build. New faces and factions being revealed really adding to it. Crow, a brainwashed Crow?? Gnomes??? Had genuine goosebumps to the scene where Lloyd, Arios, and KeA are watching the Derfflinger leave, and Lloyd and Rean fist bump. The first scenes of Musse and Ash joining Class VII were also great and I think will really round out the group dynamic. I did every side quest in Zero and Ao, but I don't remember the Crawfords. Are they a total retcon or are they around Crossbell somewhere in those games? Or did they get added into the Evo versions like Towa apparently did? edit: I've been switching between Japanese and English voice acting, and the English is like twice as loud, its very weird. Hocus Pocus fucked around with this message at 10:03 on Sep 15, 2020 |
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Sep 15, 2020 09:26
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infraboy posted:I've realized I started to prefer the Japanese voices as well, they just seem to fit the characters better, they're much softer spoken and I kinda love the honorifics like San-Sama-Kun-Senpai-Chan etc. There's just a particular style to modern dubbing that I don't like. It's almost like anime voice acting is treated seperately from other voice acting and performers feel the need to affect certain styles. Like Agate and McBurn sound like a person trying to sound gruff/tough, not a person who actually is - I don't hear the character I hear someone doing a voice. Which I didn't find an issue in the Persona games with their dubs - maybe it's just the volume of characters. So many of the female students English voices bleed together in CS III for me. Didn't bother me for CS I and II but for some reason does now. I don't have enough of an ear for Japanese to be bothered. I really like Japanese Rean though - sounds a bit more melancholic, which suits the tone of the game better I think. Japanese Juna is also great. Different strokes though. I still find I'm swapping between just because I want to hear new characters in both. I think also when the games bringing in these characters from previous arcs, I either have a voice in my head for them already or I've heard the Japanese in battle, so the English doesn't feel right.
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Sep 15, 2020 21:54
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Endorph posted:The cold steel dub is miles better than the jp vaing, but i know enough jp to get the generic anime voices in the jp Yeah I'm kind of saved by my own ignorance. I don't mind the English, just sometimes there'll be a line that makes me cringe to hear it out loud, but doesn't when I just read it. But that's true of a lot of stuff. There are lines in fantasy books, like Malazan or Stormlight Archives, that in my head sound dramatic but if I heard them out loud I'd snort.
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Sep 16, 2020 02:21
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35 hours in to Cold Steel III and I won the coin toss for the first time in Vantage Masters... I... I had legitimately been thinking you just always lost...
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Sep 19, 2020 00:01
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Just got to the Dark Dragon's Den in chapter 3 of CS III. Absolutely killer music both in the dungeon and battle.
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Sep 23, 2020 08:02
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Just finished Cold Steel III and it is easily my favourite game of the Erebonia arc so far. I honestly wasn't even mad about the cliffhanger, and ended up doing a complete 180 on the English VO. The first chapter I was a bit down on the game - I just felt like, hey, we're three entries deep on this arc, why are we treading the same water? But the climax of the second chapter had me hooked, and each subsequent chapter dialed up the intrigue and revealed more of the conspiracy. By the end of the final dungeon I felt like enough moving parts had been brought together that I finally knew (most) character's motivations, and relationships. For example, okay, I now know who the Gnomes are, where they stand with Ouroboros and Osborne. I kind of know what the Phantasmal Blaze Plan is. We have some idea of what Osborne is playing at - trying to steer/control what he sees as an inevitable calamity (at least thats how I took what he was saying). The motivations behind the Ironbloods (I'd been wondering about Lechter since... Trails 3rd?) were revealed somewhat, even if kind of anticlimatic. But I like how Rufus puts it: that their loyalty to Osborne is like that of Enforcers towards the Grandmaster - its a loyalty that transcends any one motive. If anything, I think their backstories helped humanize them all - Lechter and Claire are just people at the end of the day. I really liked new Class VII, as well as the branch campus by extension. I probably have a better idea of who all the other students are than I did in CS I and II. I want to say that the numbers were smaller, which definitely helped. I touched base with every student/instructor around campus/camp, where I think I stopped bothering in the previous entries. I don't think there's really a weak link between Juna, Kurt, Altina, Musse, and Ash. On a surface level, maybe Kurt? But I found him to be really funny as the group's straight man. His English VO was really good. Rean butting in everyone's business makes a lot more sense, as a dynamic, when he's their mentor/instructor. Every bonding point I had went to a member of new Class VII, just because I wanted to learn more about them and see how they change. 10/10 teacher simulator. If anything I would have welcomed more time at the branch campus and Leeves. My only real gameplay negative is that the difficulty feels really weird. I don't know if its a case of because there are so many different characters and tools at your disposal, that its difficult to make difficulty consistent. But I found that I had to either completely crush bosses, or I quickly got stomped. In the Crossbell games my boss fights were more of a drawn out exchange. But tbh, I'm holding turbo for entire dungeons to get back to the story, so it doesn't really bother me. On the character side, I find that Ouroboros seem just kind of toothless, overall, compared to previous arcs. Each Enforcer in Sky was terrifying, and Loewe was a mountain to overcome. Maybe its because they're less mysterious now. The worst is Campanella - when he breaks the fourth wall in Sky 3rd, its genuinelly unnerving, but now he's just this goofy looking guy who hovers around. Lughman has probably taken the spot of most unnerving villain, after blowing up the Courageous. Music highlights for me would be Spiral of Erebos, awesome tune for the final push and I really like how it didn't cut out during fights. And on the other end of the spectrum, when the strings in Promise of That Day cut in during the Class VII reunion in Heimdallr it was genuinely moving. Very excited to see where things go next, when CS IV gets its PC release.
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Sep 24, 2020 13:15
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On one hand, it sucks extremely hard to live in a locked down city where I can't travel more than 5kms from my house, can't see my friends, can't go to the gym, hours got cut back to three days a week. But on the positive side, I've had time to catch up on the Legend of Heroes series! This year I finally finished SC, beat 3rd, Zero, Ao/Azure, and now III. Now I get to wait like everybody else for the next entry!
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Sep 24, 2020 13:29
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Started Ys VII, and drat it is a lot of fun to dart around the island at lightspeed tearing through mobs. Does anyone know how the dev of Ys v LoH works? Like are they two totally different teams working concurrently or are a lot of people working between?
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Sep 27, 2020 09:44
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| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 23:23 |
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Often in LoH games I'll unintentionally rush sections where I feel a sense of narrative urgency. Like, "there's no time to lose", coupled with needing to see what happens next. SC was that... Constantly.
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Oct 13, 2020 11:41
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