General Trails thread (Trails of Cold Steel 4 (PS4) out now).

[Rapier]

On 22/12/2018 at 2:47 AM, Armagon said:

Oooh, nice to see some NG+ exclusive stuff. I was already planning on doing a NG+ run of the series (minus CS3 and 4) but now i have that to look forward to as well 

Cold Steel 1 also has some interesting details for NG+ runs, like

Spoiler

Emma revealing about Mist when you choose to go with her to Heimdall in one of the late game's quests.

 

[Thane]

Started Trails in the Sky The 3rd and it sure seems different in structure. I believe Armagon said it was more "video game-y" and that seems to be the case. Everything sure is mysterious, and it's quite intriguing, though I will miss the more casual talk between characters, which there seems the be less of here. Speaking of dialogue, man, Tita's memory fragment lasted for quite a while, and then it stopped...but, wait, wasn't that all based on Tita's memories? Couldn't she, like, fill the rest in on what she saw without having to rely on a memory crystal? Eh, maybe that'll be explained later. I must say it did make me interested in seeing how a meeting with Agate and Tita's mom will go.

Oh come on, I thought Florence died, and now someone who looks the same as him but with longer hair shows up with even the same sword? But why though.

[Jedi]

The first pass at a Cold Steel IV transcript has been completed.

[Armagon]

8 hours ago, Thane said:

Speaking of dialogue, man, Tita's memory fragment lasted for quite a while, and then it stopped...but, wait, wasn't that all based on Tita's memories? Couldn't she, like, fill the rest in on what she saw without having to rely on a memory crystal?

I think it was more of a nod in reference to the player not knowing what comes next, assuming this is their first time playing. The Doors themselves aren't canon but the events shown in the memory fragments that you get from them are. By the way, that first Door is unique in that it's the only you're required to visit to progress the game (pretty sure, i may be wrong) and it's the only two-parter in the game. Warp back to it once you get a certain redhead.

Oh yeah, very useful tip, the Doors function as warp points (i didn't know this until near the end of the game so i felt really dumb). So if you ever find one but don't have the requirements to open them met, you can always just warp back to them once you do. That way, you won't have to go through whole sections of areas again. Their locations and requirements will also be written down in the notebook. The Doors shouldn't be too hard to find if you regularly explore each area (they'll even show up on the map). 

(Very mild spoilers involving the location of a certain door)

Spoiler

The only one that might be tricky to find is Star Door 15, which is tucked away at the end of an optional dungeon you unlock near the end of the the game.

Alternitaively, you could always search up any Doors you may have missed/don't feel like getting the requirements for on YouTube but if you're gonna do that, i recommend doing that after beating the game (because the Doors will also be your main source of income so doing as many as you can is beneficial).

Edited December 25, 2018 by Armagon
Something i thought isn't a spoiler might be seen as one so i hid it.

[Jedi]

33 minutes ago, Armagon said:

I think it was more of a nod in reference to the player not knowing what comes next, assuming this is their first time playing. The Doors themselves aren't canon but the events shown in the memory fragments that you get from them are. By the way, that first Door is unique in that it's the only you're required to visit to progress the game (pretty sure, i may be wrong) and it's the only two-parter in the game. Warp back to it once you get a certain redhead.

Oh yeah, very useful tip, the Doors function as warp points (i didn't know this until near the end of the game so i felt really dumb). So if you ever find one but don't have the requirements to open them met, you can always just warp back to them once you do. That way, you won't have to go through whole sections of areas again. Their locations and requirements will also be written down in the notebook. The Doors shouldn't be too hard to find if you regularly explore each area (they'll even show up on the map). 

(Very mild spoilers involving the location of a certain door)

  Reveal hidden contents

The only one that might be tricky to find is Star Door 15, which is tucked away at the end of an optional dungeon you unlock near the end of the the game.

Alternitaively, you could always search up any Doors you may have missed/don't feel like getting the requirements for on YouTube but if you're gonna do that, i recommend doing that after beating the game (because the Doors will also be your main source of income so doing as many as you can is beneficial).

To piggyback off this, most of the doors are rather important and go into vast detail on certain backstories or events that happened shortly before 3rd started. A number of things in these doors set up aspects in both Crossbell and Erebonia for their respective arcs. 

Which is why it frustrates me that some folks in the fandom say this is the most skipable game, considering how key it is to several upcoming events (even directly in Zero's case). Not to mention it provides some insight on some things that will get expanded on in Zero/AO (such as Paradise). 

Although it has made me smile seeing some folks mention that 3rd and Zero also setup some stuff as far reaching as seen in Cold Steel 4 (what details exactly I don't know but the fact that some people who said 3rd is skipable going back on that statement is nice).

Edited December 25, 2018 by Jedi

[Armagon]

6 hours ago, Jedi said:

Which is why it frustrates me that some folks in the fandom say this is the most skipable game, considering how key it is to several upcoming events (even directly in Zero's case). Not to mention it provides some insight on some things that will get expanded on in Zero/AO (such as Paradise).

Yeah, skipping 3rd is a really big mistake. I think the reason that some people skip it is because Kevin's story is the main focus of the game and it's mostly it's own thing within the Sky trilogy while the Doors are the side content (functionally, they take the place of sidequests). The thing is, 3rd is one of those games where the side content IS the main content and in the case of this series, that side content is super important. You already mentioned it sets up for Crossbell and Erebonia but it even sets up for Calvard (and Ao further emphasises that).

I personally enjoyed the Doors more than i did Kevin's story (though the latter was still good).

The minigames still suck though. The Sun Doors don't really provide anything meaningful compared to the Star and Moon Doors (aside from an S-Craft for Josette) so i wouldn't blame anyone playing the game if they just decided to skip the Sun Doors, which would prevent them from unlocking Star Door 14 but YouTube exists for that.

 

 

[Jedi]

2 hours ago, Armagon said:

Yeah, skipping 3rd is a really big mistake. I think the reason that some people skip it is because Kevin's story is the main focus of the game and it's mostly it's own thing within the Sky trilogy while the Doors are the side content (functionally, they take the place of sidequests). The thing is, 3rd is one of those games where the side content IS the main content and in the case of this series, that side content is super important. You already mentioned it sets up for Crossbell and Erebonia but it even sets up for Calvard (and Ao further emphasises that).

I personally enjoyed the Doors more than i did Kevin's story (though the latter was still good).

The minigames still suck though. The Sun Doors don't really provide anything meaningful compared to the Star and Moon Doors (aside from an S-Craft for Josette) so i wouldn't blame anyone playing the game if they just decided to skip the Sun Doors, which would prevent them from unlocking Star Door 14 but YouTube exists for that.

 

 

I think the Quiz and Gambler Jack ones are ok. Not to mention the Arena, the other two though? Yeaaaah.

[Rapier]

Sky 3rd's story is perfectly skippable, in my opinion (that is, the whole issue with the cube), but the foreshadowing it gives you for future events is important to get a taste of what is to come, and it sheds light in some events and characters' backstories that set up the rest of the series. I just wish the game wasn't just a huge debug room in practice.

[Armagon]

16 hours ago, Jedi said:

I think the Quiz and Gambler Jack ones are ok. Not to mention the Arena, the other two though? Yeaaaah.

Ok so, i actually went and booted up a save file i had before heading to the final area because i actually hadn't done the Quiz. I had the requirements, i just never found the Door. But i did now and yeah, the Quiz was alright. They even acknowledged that Zin used to be called Zane in the PSP versions of the game, which i thought was pretty cool.

If i had to rank the minigames in 3rd, it'd be: Arena > Quiz >>> Capua Delivery Service >>>>>>>>Gambler Jack and Fishing. Those last two are too luck based for my liking.

Though the arena being the best minigame is a bit unfair since it's less of a minigame and more of just consecutive battles before they became a proper thing in the series.

[Jedi]

19 minutes ago, Rapier said:

Sky 3rd's story is perfectly skippable, in my opinion (that is, the whole issue with the cube), but the foreshadowing it gives you for future events is important to get a taste of what is to come, and it sheds light in some events and characters' backstories that set up the rest of the series. I just wish the game wasn't just a huge debug room in practice.

I don't think even that is skipable. 

Since it at it's core introduces the Dominions properly and begins the series tradition of having Dominions inside each arcs cast, not to mention Zero and AOs situations with demons and the concepts they also bring with them. It also gives some insight into where Estelle and Joshua will be during Zero (although the side manga with Toval also does this).

Not to mention giving context to Kevin and Ries later appearances, it'll also likely be key for that Calvard arc and anything to do with the Holy City, which is another implied arc, unless they decide to go to Leman instead which is where the Bracer Guild and Orbal Revolution both started.

I agree with the Cube stuff not being important in itself but the stuff inside it is.

Then again I also have the inherant bias that it's not only my favorite of the Sky trilogy by far, it's also my favorite game in the series at this point, although AO came close and Sen 3 isn't slacking on that so far.

[Thane]

I love how the girls in the group wouldn't blame the bad guy for having a uniform fetish. Then the text breaks the fourth wall and says Tita has no idea what's going on. Some may argue these aren't the most important priorities in their current situation but I'd disagree.

[Anomalocaris]

8 hours ago, Thane said:

I love how the girls in the group wouldn't blame the bad guy for having a uniform fetish. Then the text breaks the fourth wall and says Tita has no idea what's going on. Some may argue these aren't the most important priorities in their current situation but I'd disagree.

Spoiler

I love how even Kloe, the princess whose family was almost usurped by the Intelligence Division, is thirsty for uniformed Richard.

 

[Thane]

18 hours ago, Anomalocaris said:

Spoiler

I love how even Kloe, the princess whose family was almost usurped by the Intelligence Division, is thirsty for uniformed Richard.

 

Aren't we all?

So this game is giving me some serious Persona vibes and I guess the comment about the world all but sealed it. It seems to be a major departure from the structure of the other two games. I would say that keeps things fresh and interesting, but the dialogue and worldbuilding were the best parts about the last two games, and I feel like this game isn't as ambitious in that regard. Still, Olivier's memory fragment, all bias aside, was really cool, so there are some very good moments here. I just feel like they recycle a bit too much content.

Edit: Oh god I've got to train up every single unit, don't I? This'll take a while...

Edited December 28, 2018 by Thane

[Armagon]

So i just remembered there was the spin-off game called Nayuta no Kiseki, a game that isn't related to any other of the games in the Trails series. Smash Ultimate hyped has calmed down and i'm nearly done with World of Light so i'll try to make time for Nayuta no Kiseki today and see how it is. Expect my first impressions later today. 

[Jedi]

I'm probably gonna be diving into the original Legend of Heroes for the TG-16 at somepoint myself too for unrelated but semi related games

[Armagon]

On 12/29/2018 at 10:39 AM, Armagon said:

Expect my first impressions later today. 

Ok so i'm late on this but i cleared the prolouge.

The world feels very different. Whereas the mainline Trails series is a more fantasy modern world, the world in Nayuta feels more along the lines of Zelda. It's medieval but not completely medieval because there is some fantasy tech. Heck, while Mira is still the currency, it looks like Rupies now.

Gameplay feels a bit button-mashy but all action RPGs start out that way so i'm not worried.

The animations......ehhhhh. I know it's a PSP game but the 3D models needed some more work. They're fine in slower scenes but during combat, they feel really awkward.

And now for the plot related stuff

Spoiler

Very interesting that the people in this game think the world is flat. At any rate, the main cast seems good enough but nothing particularly noteworthy yet. Nayuta is denser than Rean though, i didn't think that was possible.

Ruins fall from the sky so that's interesting. There's also a giant tower that seems to go on forever. If that isn't actually a space elevator, then what's the point?

Oh hi "Not Loewe".

Overall, it feels like a very different game, which makes sense given it's a spin-off. I'll try my best to not compare it to the mainline series but i may slip in some comparisons.

The game definietly has my attention and hopefully it delivers. The game kinda has a whole astronomy vibe and i like that.

[eclipse]

I remember the original Legend of Heroes games.  The localization has come a long way!  They're still enjoyable, but the script gets a little wonky at times (especially Tear of Vermilion).  They can either played as Tear of Vermilion -> Song of the Ocean -> Midnight Witch for chronological order, or in the actual order they're released (swap the last two games).

IMO the story, characters, and worldbuilding are much weaker than Trails, but eh.  They were made well before Trails!

Edited December 31, 2018 by eclipse

[Jedi]

3 hours ago, Armagon said:

Ok so i'm late on this but i cleared the prolouge.

The world feels very different. Whereas the mainline Trails series is a more fantasy modern world, the world in Nayuta feels more along the lines of Zelda. It's medieval but not completely medieval because there is some fantasy tech. Heck, while Mira is still the currency, it looks like Rupies now.

Gameplay feels a bit button-mashy but all action RPGs start out that way so i'm not worried.

The animations......ehhhhh. I know it's a PSP game but the 3D models needed some more work. They're fine in slower scenes but during combat, they feel really awkward.

And now for the plot related stuff

  Reveal hidden contents

Very interesting that the people in this game think the world is flat. At any rate, the main cast seems good enough but nothing particularly noteworthy yet. Nayuta is denser than Rean though, i didn't think that was possible.

Ruins fall from the sky so that's interesting. There's also a giant tower that seems to go on forever. If that isn't actually a space elevator, then what's the point?

Oh hi "Not Loewe".

Overall, it feels like a very different game, which makes sense given it's a spin-off. I'll try my best to not compare it to the mainline series but i may slip in some comparisons.

The game definietly has my attention and hopefully it delivers. The game kinda has a whole astronomy vibe and i like that.

Falcom has only really gotten decent at 3D Modeling in the PS4 era tbh, with ys 8 and CS3/4. Their strength was always more sprite based stuff but they eventually made the leap to 3D and it was rather rough. (Although you'll see even fans joke that Cold Steel 1 and 2 look like PS2 games and that CS3 looks like they finally did a PS3 game).

[Thane]

So I've been eyeing Trails of Cold Steel a bit, but it concerns me that we don't have a localized version of the third installment yet. Do we know anything about that, if it's in the works or so?

[Armagon]

59 minutes ago, Thane said:

So I've been eyeing Trails of Cold Steel a bit, but it concerns me that we don't have a localized version of the third installment yet. Do we know anything about that, if it's in the works or so?

Nothing concerete yet but since the PS4 enchanced ports of Cold Steel 1 and 2 are being localized (releasing this spring iirc), it's likely that Cold Steel 3 and 4 will be localizrd later and Xseed is localizing the PS4 ports of the first two Cold Steel games as a sort of preperation, which kinda makes sense since the Cold Steel quadrology (is that the word?) is made up of two halves. Cold Steel 1 and 2 tell one story and then Cold Steel 3 and 4 tell another story (with the same general cast) taking place two years later.

By the way, everyone says this but even if Cold Steel 3 was already localized, it shouldn't be played until after you've played every game that came before it. That's also another reason why people recommend to play the Crossbell games before playing the Cold Steel games.

 

[Armagon]

(Apologizing for the double post (if it counts) but this post is completely unrelated to the one above so editing it wouldn't make sense.)

I finished Ch.1 of Nayuta no Kiseki. I'm gonna go ahead and get current criticisms out of the way first. My biggest criticism of this game is that it shouldn't have been a spin-off. By that, i mean that Nayuta should've just been it's own game. I don't know why they attached Trails to it when there's barely anything resembling Trails. The closest thing is the use of Mira but even then, it's not the same kind of Mira.

On the gameplay side of things, i know all action RPGs start out button mashy but so far, there hasn't been any mention of combos, which is concerning. Right now, it's just mash the attack button as fast as you can and occasionally dodge and have Noi the fairy shoot magic when the enemy guards and it feels like a Tales Of game as a result.

But that's as far as my main criticisms go. On the more positive side of things, the music is stellar, the writing is enjoyable (even if there's still nothing noteworthy yet) and the dungeon design is simple yet fun to traverse.

 

[Jedi]

5 hours ago, Thane said:

So I've been eyeing Trails of Cold Steel a bit, but it concerns me that we don't have a localized version of the third installment yet. Do we know anything about that, if it's in the works or so?

You need the Crossbell games context even if we get the 3rd and 4th Cold Steel games localized. Which aren’t looking very likely to get localized themselves. Only if Falcom remakes Crossbell do I think those will be localized at this point. (Partly because the Chinese company who did the PC versions of Crossbell are xenophobic).

Gonna have to bite the bullet on getting Japanese copies (if I recall you’re familiar with Japanese) or using the Crossbell translations (which aren’t done but have some releases already), and the CS3 and 4 transcript spreadsheets 

Edited January 3, 2019 by Jedi

[Rapier]

15 hours ago, Armagon said:

By the way, everyone says this but even if Cold Steel 3 was already localized, it shouldn't be played until after you've played every game that came before it. That's also another reason why people recommend to play the Crossbell games before playing the Cold Steel games.

 

You can play Cold Steel 1 without being spoiled much. The events on Crossbell are kept a secret there and we only have a few references to it.

On 31/12/2018 at 4:05 AM, Jedi said:

Falcom has only really gotten decent at 3D Modeling in the PS4 era tbh, with ys 8 and CS3/4. Their strength was always more sprite based stuff but they eventually made the leap to 3D and it was rather rough. (Although you'll see even fans joke that Cold Steel 1 and 2 look like PS2 games and that CS3 looks like they finally did a PS3 game).

It's funny, because I got some weird Sonic Adventure vibes from the 3D models sometimes. I blame the cyan Flicky in the city

Edited January 3, 2019 by Rapier

[Armagon]

11 minutes ago, Rapier said:

You can play Cold Steel 1 without being spoiled much. The events on Crossbell are kept a secret there and we only have a few references to it.

True true. Despite happening at around the same time, it's really only Cold Steel 2 and Ao that spoil each other (with the former doing way more of the spoiling). 

I also think on a gameplay level, Crosbell should be played before Cold Steel. I played Zero -> Cold Steel 1 ->Cold Steel 2 -> Ao because the Ao translation (as in the good one) came out shortly after i finished Cold Steel 2 but going from the wonderful Orbment management of the Cold Steel games to back to the more archaic Orbment managment of every game before Cold Steel was a bit jarring.

[Jedi]

4 hours ago, Armagon said:

True true. Despite happening at around the same time, it's really only Cold Steel 2 and Ao that spoil each other (with the former doing way more of the spoiling). 

I also think on a gameplay level, Crosbell should be played before Cold Steel. I played Zero -> Cold Steel 1 ->Cold Steel 2 -> Ao because the Ao translation (as in the good one) came out shortly after i finished Cold Steel 2 but going from the wonderful Orbment management of the Cold Steel games to back to the more archaic Orbment managment of every game before Cold Steel was a bit jarring.

Probably the first person I've ever seen praise how CS did orbiments compared to Sky and Crossbell, I see people missing how they work more than anything else.

Then again, Double Master Quartz did fix my issues with that in CS3/4 somewhat. Since the big tactical thing of those games was more the Brave Order system than building your quartz properly.

Edited January 3, 2019 by Jedi