The Trails series will always be niche. I love them, but they are very slow games, especially FC and Cold Steel 1, with only their closing hours often breaking cliches or being very interesting. They are one of the few continuity heavy JRPG series (hell, game series in general given how many often try to welcome newcomers).
And their mechanics, at best, approach being "fine." LoH series is mostly bland when it comes to the battle system. Cold Steel is an improvement but not by much (very easy to cheese on normal modes, a tedious slog on higher ones). As much as Falcom tends to nail mechanics in their other games, they've never really managed to make their turn based systems very interesting.
And their mechanics, at best, approach being "fine." LoH series is mostly bland when it comes to the battle system. Cold Steel is an improvement but not by much (very easy to cheese on normal modes, a tedious slog on higher ones). As much as Falcom tends to nail mechanics in their other games, they've never really managed to make their turn based systems very interesting.