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The Legend of Heroes Trails series discussion |OT| : All aboard the head-patting express!

DJT123

Member
Sara Valestein is THE BEST girl/woman. Her Romance arc with Rean in TOCS3 is amazing.
 
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JohannCK

Member
My review of Hajimari no Kiseki is up!


And since Cold Steel IV is being released this month, here's my review of that too:

 

KàIRóS

Member
I wasn't going to buy the localized version of Sen IV on day 1 but I'm not really buying anything else this month so I might as well get it while there are still copies on Amazon, It's my fav game from the Erebonia Arc and I'm really interested in hearing the Crossbell cast in english.

I'm still finishing Hajimari, so far it's good but the new characters just haven't clicked with me, something feels off about them, like they don't fully belong in a Kiseki game, maybe it's just my taste in characters I dunno.
 

Shouta

Member
New characters in Hajimari are good but they definitely feel pretty derivative especially when you have a cast that big in the game. Their personalities are pretty good though and their story is solid for being just a single route in the game so that's kind of nice but yeah, if they weren't right near other characters that are just like them, it'd be a little better, lol
 
IMG_20201112_174300.jpg

Finally arrived! Unfortunately i'm deep into 2 games right now so i won't play it right away.
 
I never buy games until i finished the last one i play xD
What if what you're playing is from your years long back log :messenger_tongue:.

I've been thinking of making a back log OT where posters talk in detail about a game they've just finished from their backlog but i'm afraid no one will be interested.
 
Oooo I still have story and lore questions but will save it for another time.

What I'd like to know is if Falcom has released or is going to release some kind of "atlas" or "encyclopedia" of the Trails series?

I love collecting those types of books for games or series I love.
 
Was it ever explained what those Orbs were all about? I mean like the ones you find in Lohengrin Castle that summoned the Nosferatu? Did they act as sort of a gateway because I recall that Nosferatu were the spirits of failed Awakeners.

Edit: Cripes I've been asking too much and this thread is dead.
 
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Lone Denjin

Member
Got my copy of Hajimari on its way from Play Asia. Considering the news that the next one is on its way for summer next year, i always hate that we always seem to be 2 games behind with official releases.
It is nice we are going in to Calvard finally, i wonder how the series will develop the bits of info we have about the east, Shame we can't have the full eastern side along with Calvard, like the church's state.
 
Was it ever explained what those Orbs were all about? I mean like the ones you find in Lohengrin Castle that summoned the Nosferatu? Did they act as sort of a gateway because I recall that Nosferatu were the spirits of failed Awakeners.

Edit: Cripes I've been asking too much and this thread is dead.
It's not dead! But seriously I've not played CSIV yet and i'm still at the 2nd door in 3rd, so i can't answer 😥
 
Got my copy of Hajimari on its way from Play Asia. Considering the news that the next one is on its way for summer next year, i always hate that we always seem to be 2 games behind with official releases.
It is nice we are going in to Calvard finally, i wonder how the series will develop the bits of info we have about the east, Shame we can't have the full eastern side along with Calvard, like the church's state.
I know right?

I would gave thought it would have been another couple of years before the new arc but nope, it's just around the corner.

They're pumping these out like there's no tomorrow (maybe there won't be!) so it's going to be quite some time to catch up.
 
I know right?

I would gave thought it would have been another couple of years before the new arc but nope, it's just around the corner.

They're pumping these out like there's no tomorrow (maybe there won't be!) so it's going to be quite some time to catch up.
If Falcom actually cooperates with NISA we wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place, seriously when every major JRPG has simultaneous WW release and even something as niche as Disgaea/Atelier/Neptunia has Near simultaneous WW release, when you see that you gotta know you need to step up your game in order to maximize sales/player engagment and gain some brand exposure.

It really breaks my heart when i see something as niche, shallow and fanservice centric JRPG like Atelier Ryza selling more than any single entry in the far superior and more traditional Trails series.

I mean damn good for Gust but Goddamn that's a hard pill to swallow.
 
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Tschumi

Member
The first game was looking like being fun, but i didn't put much time into it. I tried trails in cold steel because they say they're trying to clone persona a bit, but..

I really hate the anime style. In persona the characters are made to resemble real life a bit, but trails girls are just minute variations on a really boring short skirt theme.. i know it's shallow but i could just never get the same reaction to those characters that i could have got from a Chie or Futaba or Kanji~

I mean look at it, this is the lamest type of anime, when i used to teach in Japanese middle schools all the girls were really fucking good at drawing these characters, and they had certainly never even played the game~ it's so sameyyyy. Looook, below the waist.. hell below the necks they're all basically impossible to differentiate

images

I understand the gameplay might be fire, but yeah when there are so many other great games out there asking for my limited time, stuff like this rules things out.
 
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If Falcom actually cooperates with NISA we wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place, seriously when every major JRPG has simultaneous WW release and even something as niche as Disgaea/Atelier/Neptunia has Near simultaneous WW release, when you see that you gotta know you need to step up your game in order to maximize sales/player engagment and gain some brand exposure.

It really breaks my heart when i see something as niche, shallow and fanservice centric JRPG like Atelier Ryza selling more than any single entry in the far superior and more traditional Trails series.

I mean damn good for Gust but Goddamn that's a hard pill to swallow.
Yeah but before NISA it was XSEED and it was even worse in regards to how long it took. Don't get wrong, I love XSEED.

EDIT: Oh thanks for reminding me there's also going to be an Ar Nosurge remaster for Switch.
 
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The first game was looking like being fun, but i didn't put much time into it. I tried trails in cold steel because they say they're trying to clone persona a bit, but..

I really hate the anime style. In persona the characters are made to resemble real life a bit, but trails girls are just minute variations on a really boring short shirt theme.. i know it's shallow but i could just never get the same reaction to those characters that i could have got from a Chie or Futaba or Kanji~

I mean look at it, this is the lamest type of anime, when i used to teach in Japanese middle schools all the girls were really fucking good at drawing these characters, and they had certainly never even played the game~ it's so sameyyyy. Looook, below the waist they're all basically impossible to differentiate

images

I understand the gameplay might be fire, but yeah when there are so many other great games out there asking for my limited time, stuff like this rules things out.
You don't play the Trails games like any other JRPG, really what makes it stand above any other game in the genre is the world building and interconnected stories and lore, these are very long very wordy games and they're not for everyone and i'm sad to say it's not the easiest games to get into since they're so very connected that you'd miss so much of it's lore/character development if you're not into the time investment it demand from playing every game from TiTS FC to HnK, talking to every character/NPC multiple times in every chapter and doing every side quest and hidden quest, etc.

Trails borrowed the social sim/school aspect from Persona in the Cold Steel games but it gave it it's own spin, where every character and NPC has their own arc and little stories, portraits and page in the journal, which in fact pre dates Persona 3 (the template for every Persona game since) since TiTS FC had that minus the school angle and it came out in 2004, and it is much more in depth than anything in Persona and this is coming from a fan of both series.
 
The first game was looking like being fun, but i didn't put much time into it. I tried trails in cold steel because they say they're trying to clone persona a bit, but..

I really hate the anime style. In persona the characters are made to resemble real life a bit, but trails girls are just minute variations on a really boring short skirt theme.. i know it's shallow but i could just never get the same reaction to those characters that i could have got from a Chie or Futaba or Kanji~

I mean look at it, this is the lamest type of anime, when i used to teach in Japanese middle schools all the girls were really fucking good at drawing these characters, and they had certainly never even played the game~ it's so sameyyyy. Looook, below the waist.. hell below the necks they're all basically impossible to differentiate

images

I understand the gameplay might be fire, but yeah when there are so many other great games out there asking for my limited time, stuff like this rules things out.
I dunno I think Trails girls are amazing.
2JsVRA3.png
 

DelireMan7

Member
This serie got me kind intrigued with its big story.
I bought Trails in the sky on PSP and will play it this year.

I like the idea of the big story across all the games.
 

Tschumi

Member
You don't play the Trails games like any other JRPG, really what makes it stand above any other game in the genre is the world building and interconnected stories and lore, these are very long very wordy games and they're not for everyone and i'm sad to say it's not the easiest games to get into since they're so very connected that you'd miss so much of it's lore/character development if you're not into the time investment it demand from playing every game from TiTS FC to HnK, talking to every character/NPC multiple times in every chapter and doing every side quest and hidden quest, etc.

Trails borrowed the social sim/school aspect from Persona in the Cold Steel games but it gave it it's own spin, where every character and NPC has their own arc and little stories, portraits and page in the journal, which in fact pre dates Persona 3 (the template for every Persona game since) since TiTS FC had that minus the school angle and it came out in 2004, and it is much more in depth than anything in Persona and this is coming from a fan of both series.
Thanks for a valid and informative response! I'm still just not really activated enough, but i will absolutely retain your take going forward, in case i ever give it another go.
 

drganon

Member
Got my copy of IV for Christmas. Who knows when I'll get around to playing it, but I've got a copy waiting for me when I do.
 
Thanks for a valid and informative response! I'm still just not really activated enough, but i will absolutely retain your take going forward, in case i ever give it another go.
Dude take your time and only fire it up when you're in the mood for it's slow pace, personally i really didn't get into Trails until 2014 even though i owned TiTS FC on my PSP since it's release in 2011, but i didn't get into it (stopped at chapter 1 finale) and i was spoiled that the ending of FC was a huge cliff hanger and SC was in such localization hell that it didn't release untilll 4 YEARS LATER! made me lose interest in continuing it, but when SC was released in 2015 along side CS1 and i saw the trailers i got hyped and played the 3 games back to back and i was hooked, so don't be discourged by not "getting it" on first try.


I certainly won't recommend the series to those who complain about Persona games initial 5 hours, they won't survive TiTS FC let alone CS1/CS3!
Since """"""nothing™""""" happens in those games given they're all build up for the payoff in SC/CS2/CS4.
 

DelireMan7

Member
You're in for a real treat.

It's like the MCU on crack only more interconnected and better in almost every regards.
I like what I read !

I just wait to clear a bit my JRPG backlog since it looks like once I jump into the Trails serie I'll stick to it for several games.
 

GeorgPrime

Banned
Damn. Iam a zombie now.

Bought Trails of Cold Steel due to problems with the Zero Fan Patch on my laptop (cant play it anyome due to suddenly missing a .dll file) and it sucked me right back in. FInished it 2 hours ago. Missing two days of sleep

Will try now to get Zero running again and then wait for geofront to drop the azure fan translation
 
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GeorgPrime

Banned
Almost done with Trails of Cold Steel 2. I thought after i beat the last boss "Finally iam done...." but then...

And now i play with my boy from Trails Zero in a whole chapter and it takes me some more hours until i reach the "Epilogue"

Trails of Cold Steel 2 has now my favorite "School Setting" after Fire Emblem Three Houses. All the Characters (even the side characters) are so well done that i can remember almost all of them. :)

It was great to be back at the School after all the hard work. :)

Still have to idle in Trails of Cold STeel for another 25 hours to get the Platinum Trophy

And i love it everytime they bring back Old Characters from the other Trails games :)
 
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Almost done with Trails of Cold Steel 2. I thought after i beat the last boss "Finally iam done...." but then...

And now i play with my boy from Trails Zero in a whole chapter and it takes me some more hours until i reach the "Epilogue"

Trails of Cold Steel 2 has now my favorite "School Setting" after Fire Emblem Three Houses. All the Characters (even the side characters) are so well done that i can remember almost all of them. :)

It was great to be back at the School after all the hard work. :)

Still have to idle in Trails of Cold STeel for another 25 hours to get the Platinum Trophy

And i love it everytime they bring back Old Characters from the other Trails games :)
If you're on NG+ collect the "Black Records" that only appear in NG+ for a secret cutscene! I suggest you use a guide so you don't miss them.
 

Daymos

Member
I'm just getting in to Falcom games and finding a gold mine.. it's like living in a cave and coming out to find there's 15 final fantasy games I never heard about to play. I recently finished trails in the sky 1 and although the battles got a bit tedious the ending (no spoilers here..) was absolutely fantastic! I also loved the dialogue throughout the whole game, I thought of it like reading a good book since all the NPCs had something to say that added to the story and world.

I've now played about 1/2 of Tokyo Xanadu on ps4 (combat feels great) and just started Trails in the sky 2nd chapter today. I went ahead and bought a crapton of falcom games, mostly on sale.. sky the 3rd, cold steel 1, 2, and 3, ys origin, ys 8. My wife actually played through ys 8 and is now insisting we preorder 9 on switch. She's also finished cold steel1, we'll probably link up and play 2-4 together on two systems at once... i had to go back and start at the beginning to get the lore of it all.

It's so cool to wake up and find a game developer I didn't really know about before. Damn them for not putting their games on (nintendo and/or sony) consoles for all these years.. I played legacy of the wizard and faxanadu back in the day on NES but had no idea who falcom was, I could have been raving about Falcom for life.
 
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GeorgPrime

Banned
I'm just getting in to Falcom games and finding a gold mine.. it's like living in a cave and coming out to find there's 15 final fantasy games I never heard about to play. I recently finished trails in the sky 1 and although the battles got a bit tedious the ending (no spoilers here..) was absolutely fantastic! I also loved the dialogue throughout the whole game, I thought of it like reading a good book since all the NPCs had something to say that added to the story and world.

I've now played about 1/2 of Tokyo Xanadu on ps4 (love the combat) and just started Trails in the sky 2nd chapter today. I went ahead and bought a crapton of falcom games, mostly on sale.. sky the 3rd, cold steel 1, 2, and 3, ys origin, ys 8. My wife actually played through ys 8 and is now insisting we preorder 9 on switch. She's also finished cold steel1, we'll probably link up and play 2-4 together on two systems at once... i had to go back and start at the beginning to get the lore of it all.

It's so cool to wake up and find a game developer I didn't really know about before.

Trails Games are always about World Building, Character Depth, Continued Story between all Trails Games. As soon as you love the characters and you know whats happening around the world within all other trails games then you cant stop anymore.


I dont think their battle system is the best and i wouldnt be able to play it without the "TURBO" mode. Playing without "Turbo" mode makes it look like all animations are in slow motion. I just turn of turbo mode when i want to check out the new Attacks or some story content is happening now. Turbo mode is great for farming stuff.

I even suggested a "Turbo" mode for Eiyuden Chronicles when the devs were talking to us. :) They are looking into it.
 
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Daymos

Member
Trails Games are always about World Building, Character Depth, Continued Story between all Trails Games. As soon as you love the characters and you know whats happening around the world within all other trails games then you cant stop anymore.


I dont think their battle system is the best and i wouldnt be able to play it without the "TURBO" mode. Playing without "Turbo" mode makes it look like all animations are in slow motion. I just turn of turbo mode when i want to check out the new Attacks or some story content is happening now. Turbo mode is great for farming stuff.

I even suggested a "Turbo" mode for Eiyuden Chronicles when the devs were talking to us. :) They are looking into it.

Yeah, I resisted Turbo mode.. in some of the bigger dungeons I'd actually turn on a youtube video (like super derek's trails in the sky review!) and just chill out while I waited for all the enemies to attack. That final dungeon took me a whole saturday, I wanted to get every single chest since I was pretty scared of fighting the final boss.

It's funny you mention Eiyuden Chronicles, I'm REALLY hyped about that one, I'm not much of a PC gamer but I"m specifically planning to buy a new laptop (with an actual graphics card) in the future to play that game well. I made the mistake of buying bloodstained for switch and I don't want to do another kickstarter project in that way, I'll play it on the platform that the developer was most comfortable with. I was a big fan of suikoden back in the day. I even played the alliance alive just because Yoshitaka Murayama was the scenario writer for it, it was a pretty solid game. Maybe a little flat/boring in terms of story towards the end, but I enjoyed the battle system and purposely ran into the monsters for a change.
 
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GeorgPrime

Banned
Yeah, I resisted Turbo mode.. in some of the bigger dungeons I'd actually turn on a youtube video (like super derek's trails in the sky review!) and just chill out while I waited for all the enemies to attack. That final dungeon took me a whole saturday, I wanted to get every single chest since I was pretty scared of fighting the final boss.

It's funny you mention Eiyuden Chronicles, I'm REALLY hyped about that one, I'm not much of a PC gamer but I"m specifically planning to buy a new laptop (with an actual graphics card) in the future to play that game well. I made the mistake of buying bloodstained for switch and I don't want to do another kickstarter project in that way, I'll play it on the platform that the developer was most comfortable with. I was a big fan of suikoden back in the day. I even played the alliance alive just because Yoshitaka Murayama was the scenario writer for it, it was a pretty solid game. Maybe a little flat/boring in terms of story towards the end, but I enjoyed the battle system and purposely ran into the monsters for a change.

Iam part of the Eiyuden Chronicle community on discord and spent like 300 Euro on a higher Tier for Kickstarter :) i ordered it now for PS 5 and will get the console sooner or later anyway :)A few days ago Murayama was in discord again talking to us :) At the moment we are t alking in the games channel about Trails Games and stuff xD
 
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Paltheos

Member
Unlikely that anyone following this topic already doesn't know, but Geofront announced they've finished their second editing pass of Trails to Azure last week. Projected completion date is the middle of March.

I left a post for support, especially for their behind-the-scenes programmers. Their Trails from Zero patch set a high mark for the whole series, I think, in game options available to the player, and I can't imagine going from working on a made-for-PC version of one game by Falcom to a port made by an unrelated Chinese company and trying to meet the same goals as before is an easy undertaking. Props to those guys.

I've already bought my copy of Azure from Joyoland. Just waiting for the go ahead now!
 

gtrwll

Member
Unlikely that anyone following this topic already doesn't know, but Geofront announced they've finished their second editing pass of Trails to Azure last week. Projected completion date is the middle of March.

I left a post for support, especially for their behind-the-scenes programmers. Their Trails from Zero patch set a high mark for the whole series, I think, in game options available to the player, and I can't imagine going from working on a made-for-PC version of one game by Falcom to a port made by an unrelated Chinese company and trying to meet the same goals as before is an easy undertaking. Props to those guys.

I've already bought my copy of Azure from Joyoland. Just waiting for the go ahead now!
I actually hadn’t seen that yet, great news! Was thinking that it should be any day now. Just got to the end of chapter 3 in Trails From Zero and the translation has been superb so far. Seems I have well enough time to finish it before Azure is out.
 
Unlikely that anyone following this topic already doesn't know, but Geofront announced they've finished their second editing pass of Trails to Azure last week. Projected completion date is the middle of March.

I left a post for support, especially for their behind-the-scenes programmers. Their Trails from Zero patch set a high mark for the whole series, I think, in game options available to the player, and I can't imagine going from working on a made-for-PC version of one game by Falcom to a port made by an unrelated Chinese company and trying to meet the same goals as before is an easy undertaking. Props to those guys.

I've already bought my copy of Azure from Joyoland. Just waiting for the go ahead now!
Hopefully NISA gets off their asses and actually port the Evo games and give the Crossbell games a proper localization, i found HF work to be a bit "inadequate" and too "meme-y" for a lack of a better word, from what i played of the patched Zero no Kiseki Evo on vita.

Still all in all it's good news.
 

MagnesG

Banned
Iam missing two trophies from Cold Steel 2.

The one were i have to open al lchest and the battle guide. Iam missing one entry from Geofront chapter but i cant get the trophy for spoils of war.

I used this guide now two times https://psnprofiles.com/trophy/5234-the-legend-of-heroes-trails-of-cold-steel-ii/10-spoils-of-war and wasnt able to get the trophy.

What am i missing?
Haha don't bother is what I want to say lol. I've been finishing those games on PC so I won't waste my time with trophies.

Good luck though, I heard that the trophy bug was patched some time ago but I'm not sure.
 

gtrwll

Member
Finished Trails From Zero last night. Definitely the same setting-up-the-story vibe like the other first chapters, but it felt a bit more self-contained than the others. And the translation felt natural to me, Geofront had done an excellent job.

Can’t wait for Azure to come out.
 
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