TheEnd Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 (edited) Official site Following XSEED's long lasting tradition of terrible announcement and release dates, Trails of Cold Steel (aka Sen no Kiseki) is now scheduled for this Christmas. Apparently both physically and digitally, for PS3 and Vita (PSTV-compatible). ToCS happens in Erebonia, roughly one year after the events of Trails in the Sky FC/SC and during the same time as Zero/Ao no Kiseki. As the start of a new arc, it mostly focuses on new things, dropping a few nods to past characters and events. A total newcomer could play this and only miss a few references. This time around, we're stuck with a typical high school setting, with a more typical teenage animu character roster. Waifus are a thing. Graphics are fully 3D instead of sprites. Music is your typical Falcom, which is pretty good, if you ask me. Voice acting during the story, though the protagonist is sometimes unvoiced during skits (I doubt this will have dual audio, but I didn't find the original dubbing superlative anyway). Gameplay is similar, but much more craft-focused - the biggest change would be the way quartz work, as they now only give access to specific arts, if any at all; on the other hand, crafts are also far more powerful, abundant and interesting than they were in the first games of the series. Personally I believe this is a strong contender for the weakest entry in the Trails series, but the sequel is pretty good. I like comparing this and ToCS2 to FE11 and 12. Edited December 4, 2015 by TravelingElder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Alear Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Gameplay is similar, but much more craft-focused - the biggest change would be the way quartz work, as they now only give access to specific arts, if any at all; on the other hand, crafts are also far more powerful, abundant and interesting than they were in the first games of the series.Do you mean that a particular quartz will allow access to, say, tear, as opposed to points in water that allow you to use tear if you get enough of them (1 point)? I like trying to mess around with lines in Trails in the Sky to get cool arts, so it's too bad if that's the case. With Xenoblade X coming out I might wait to see if this game goes on a decent sale. I wanna support falcom but I think I can wait on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEnd Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 Do you mean that a particular quartz will allow access to, say, tear, as opposed to points in water that allow you to use tear if you get enough of them (1 point)? I like trying to mess around with lines in Trails in the Sky to get cool arts, so it's too bad if that's the case. With Xenoblade X coming out I might wait to see if this game goes on a decent sale. I wanna support falcom but I think I can wait on this one. Yeah. Because of that, the lines work in a wonky way this time around - more lines tends to actually be better. I'm not particularly find of the change, either. I think XSEED really doesn't like money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VincentASM Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 It's crazy that two Trails games are coming out within months of each other and one of them actually came out in Japan less than a decade ago. ...and there's like next to no hype about them. What kind of parallel universe do we live in? o__o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 One where I'm buying BOTH, with the Vita being the Christmas present to myself. Because XSeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Alear Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Ya now that I realize it's psp and vita, I can't get it any time soon. Maybe it will be on steam at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radiant head Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Never played this series before, but I just got a Vita TV and sounds like this is compatible. Worth it for a newbie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Never played this series before, but I just got a Vita TV and sounds like this is compatible. Worth it for a newbie? Yes. This one can be played independently from Trails in the Sky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruadath Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Sounds like this will be fun, though I probably won't get around to playing it until I finish Trails in the Sky FC/SC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pull My Devil Trigger Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 New localization blog from XSEED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HF Makalov Fanboy Kai Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 i see the title and i think of Coldsteel the hedgehog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 i see the title and i think of Coldsteel the hedgehog Then it is your duty to play the entire Trails of the Sky series, so that you may never make such a foolish mistake again! Just pre-ordered it, and will get the special edition. Unfortunately, I only had enough money for one, so I went with the Vita. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pull My Devil Trigger Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 New "Battle Trailer" from XSEED This one showcases each member of Class VII in combat including their S-Crafts Doesn't get into the mechanics but should at least give a good idea of the English voice-work and the battle animations And the soundtrack, can't forget the soundtrack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemma Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Picking up the Vita version, prefer RPGs so much more on handheld. Now I'll have TitS SC on PC, and Cold Steel on the go. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asakim Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 This thread not being at least 5 pages long is a crime. Anybody else beat the game yet? I kind of want to do another playthrough or 2 to get all the bond events but the game is so long and I'm so lazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dotty Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Finally got ahold of this game (it only came out very recently in EU). I'm not too far in yet, but it's been better than I was expecting and very enjoyable. I wasn't able to finish SC (I'm just starting the finale) before this came out so I'll need to get back to that soon. I'm not too keen on how arts are tied to quartz now, but I do like the master quartz part, at least. I will say that it's really interesting seeing what things are like in the empire, information on it was pretty scarce in Sky. Also, weird thing to pick on, but the, uh, movement really bugs me. Like, it's weirdly stilted and I can't run in a circle properly. Even running in a straight line and then changing the angle slightly seems to stutter the animation, slowing me down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asakim Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I hated the Quartz system in Cold Steel until I learned how to break it. Now it's my new favorite. Although I do miss all the mixing and matching combinations to see what cool new spells I could accidentally make. I didn't realize there was a page in the Bracer book that laid all the combinations out until I got to the last dungeon of SC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemma Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 I played through the intro when it first came out, and I finally started playing more again~ About to go on the second field study. Jusis and Machias really need to calm down -_- Finally I get to use bae Fie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radiant head Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Can I dive into this, or should I play the sky games first? And from what I've seen, the odds of the third chapter being localized are low, so does that mean we're going to be missing a significant piece of the story, or are the games somewhat stand alone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedi Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Trails in the Sky FC and SC are both really solid and tie to each other, I'm highly enjoying them both, I heard third chapter is more of a side story than a game actually tied to the main events of FC/SC so I would highly advise you just go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dotty Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 (edited) Definitely consider playing Trails in the Sky FC and SC first. Cold Steel makes a number of references and cameos to FC/SC, and will also spoil some of the events that happened in those games. Trails in the Sky The Third is supposed to be a bunch of side-stories, but also apparently sets up for Ao no Kiseki and Cold Steel II. You don't need to worry about having to skip Third yet. (When CSII is released, it might be a problem for all of us.) Edited February 27, 2016 by Dotty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radiant head Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 (edited) Sounds good, I'll start with trails in the sky fc. Thanks. Edited February 28, 2016 by Radiant head Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEnd Posted March 2, 2016 Author Share Posted March 2, 2016 Very few of 3rd's side stories are actually relevant to ToCS. For those who have already finished SC, Floofy is currently translating the most directly related one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedi Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Very few of 3rd's side stories are actually relevant to ToCS. For those who have already finished SC, Floofy is currently translating the most directly related one. I'm still going through SC! I probably should avoid clicking on that link then huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEnd Posted March 2, 2016 Author Share Posted March 2, 2016 I'm still going through SC! I probably should avoid clicking on that link then huh?Yes, it contains a late game spoiler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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