This is a good way to look at it. The pain only served to sharpen the joy.
We'll all be in it together after 3rd though, nervously awaiting news of whether the Crossbell arc can be done or whether we'll continue the journey through Erebonia.
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The Kiseki / Trails (of the Sky/Zero/Ao/Sen/Etc) Community Thread: SPOILERTAGS OR DIE
- Thread starter Bebpo
- Start date
This is a good way to look at it. The pain only served to sharpen the joy.
We'll all be in it together after 3rd though, nervously awaiting news of whether the Crossbell arc can be done or whether we'll continue the journey through Erebonia.
This is my specialty!
On top of this, the English and Japanese speakers will actually be on sync with the Sen III reveals from Falcom.
I tweeted out that XSEED's release is such great timing that everyone gets to experience the same excitement in a way.
coredecepts
Member
Going to buy Cold Steel 2 and Sky 3rd and spread the word as much as I can, then keep my fingers crossed for Crossbell.
Pessimistically, they could drop massive Crossbell spoilers in these CS3 trailers and news... ;_;
Oh well we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I assume marketing cycle for a Fall 2017 release starts in Spring 2017 or a little earlier.
Granted, there's a pretty big Crossbell spoiler at the end of CS2, as well. It's like the elephant in the room, no less, so it'll be hard to avoid.
However, conversely, you have a big part of CS2's ending spoiled if you played the Crossbell games first, too.
Tribes of Trusty
Member
Right now 16h in Trails in the Sky, beginning of chapter 2
Does the game amps up story wise or does it follow the "Bracer missions of the week then a nugget of reveals about the overarching plot" for all the game ? Thanks
Does the game amps up story wise or does it follow the "Bracer missions of the week then a nugget of reveals about the overarching plot" for all the game ? Thanks
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
Oh? I seem to recall someone saying you'd ideally play the Crossbell games before the Erebonia games. So I guess you're getting "spoiled" no matter what order you play it?
coredecepts
Member
It eventually amps up.
Is it just me or does he look older in this? Maybe it's the long coat.
Pretty much.
Crossbell has political ties to both Erebonia and Calvard. It's hard to keep problems from Crossbell from spilling into the other two nations and vice versa.
Based on his design I expect a timeskip of at least 1 year, maybe 1.5 year. This explains the design and fits in with what we know of the series thus far (that is, Ao spoilers,
the series reaching into S.1207
DXLelouch153
Banned
i dunno if you guys heard or not but theres a fan translation currently due for December for Zero
I've heard of it, but I don't really have high hopes for it, personally. Not from the stuff I've seen about it.
SolVanderlyn
Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
Personally, I LOVED playing Cold Steel without knowing what the heck was going on in Crossbell, especially in the final chapter. It really leaves you wondering what in the world is happening over there and adds a great sense of eerie mystery to the game. It makes the Trails world feel dynamic and believable - it's not just you and your party that matter. There's big things going on elsewhere, with equally capable people at the front of them. You just don't see any of that.
I thought about this in CS1. Surely if you do the Crossbell arc you know that
Osborne is assassinated and presumably about the capital being taken over.
I'm going to continue to assume they aren't be able to bring the Crossbell games over and just hope they can continue the series as it goes on. If they ever did do them somehow I'd be far too excited to worry about the things I'd spoiled.
Playing Cold Steel and II before the Crossbell arc leaves many reveals actually surprising, yes.
Pretty much- these are things that spill over into Crossbell, but you don't hear about them in detail, so seeing them first hand in Cold Steel is still really 'HOLY SHIT WHAT' worthy.
This! What Guan says here. There's no way that the people in Erebonia will know much the details of what goes down in Crossbell, for Reasons. Yes. Reasons.
CS1 Endgame Spoilers:
Remember about Garellia disappearing at the end of CS1? When you saw Garellia in chapter 6- you could also see that that was their main route into Crossbell, so cutting off that route means cutting off their access to the region, for the most part. Also, if you talk to Toval at the school festival, while he's talking to Sara, you get an idea that even the Bracers Guild is at a loss of what's going on.
This is why I'm so frustrated with the fan translation. I would love for non-Japanese speakers to get to play the game, but not at the cost of a poor translation. The game is so good, with such a great cast, that I'm worried that a bad translation would not only be a disservice to a wonderful story, but also serve to confuse people more on the connections between it and the other Kiseki games.
I agree here, I also had some trouble at the start of FC but things became easier later in the game.
I just got to the final Chapter of SC at 73 hours having done everything (including get all fish <3). What a ride this has been.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Whelp .. time to replay Cold Steel with the maxed out bonding points to prepare for CS2.
SolVanderlyn
Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
This is the best possible thing I could hear. I love the way the two story arcs are organized to take place simultaneously, and the thought that a Calvard arc will be directly related to them is really exciting.
BassForever
Member
Worst case scenario I'll take overly literal or machine translated versions of zero, ao, and that action rpg over no translations. I can at least somewhat follow whats going on in those kinds of translations, I'll never play through them in Japanese and understand what's happening.
CS1 Chapter 3 Spoilers!
We already know that there are issues with Erebonia and Calvard, and you can see that tension in the Nord Highlands. That's where the Erebonia and Calvard borders come together.
There's a little more than just that going on with Calvard. There are some other conflicts that have come up in the other games- namely based on immigration problems.
SC Spoilers:
Remember, at the start of SC, Kevin also talks about investigating a robot that's similar to the Reverie, as well.
There's definitely a lot that's been going on in Calvard that has been hinted at over the course of the entire series, and you'll definitely see more in 3rd, since they also bring a spotlight on Zane and Kilika at one point in it. Calvard's going to be pretty big, I think, when we finally see it.
So related to Cold Steel + SC (specifically the end of chapter 8):
Seeing the stuff between Olivert and everyone else was great, including the mentions of Osborne as someone coming from CS -> FC/SC rather than FC/SC -> CS. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
That said, the Haken gate they were at, do we see that at all in Cold Steel? I forget if we do.
Still that whole section was great.
That said, the Haken gate they were at, do we see that at all in Cold Steel? I forget if we do.
Still that whole section was great.
Regarding Haken Gate,
I don't believe it's ever mentioned. The Liberlian border is farther to the south past Legram and Ebel Lake. Also during Chapter 1 Team B visits Parm which sits due north of Haken Gate and is probably the closest the Thors students get to Liberl in Cold Steel 1. Can't speak for the sequel.
This is exactly how I feel about Crossbell. We get little hints of stuff happening there and some people like Lechter or Gideon going over there to take part in things without ever getting the real details. Maybe these arcs really do work in either order, I don't mind knowing the overall sorry of what's happened but I want to be involved and see it happening first hand.
SolVanderlyn
Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
Whoa, I totally missed that SC spoiler. That's a really neat attention to detail. I need to replay it... once/if the EVO voice patch comes out, maybe.
In CS2, do you hear/see anything about (Ao)
from an Erebonian perspective? And remind me, what exactly was the deal with that, anyway? I know it was
Another thing: I got vaguely spoiled that (CS2)
Hmm. Wasn't that basically how
worked? Or am I crazy? (Though sometimes that's not a bad thing when theorizing about this series.)
One other thing: The Anguis' numbers (at least prior to CS2, don't spoil any more revealed then if any) are:
Right? And which one (number) is called
3rd
One last random musing: Was there any reference to or hint at
in The 3rd? I don't remember one, but this song's name can't be a coincidence.
Whew
the Azure Tree
part of KeA, or a projection of her power.
Another thing: I got vaguely spoiled that (CS2)
Rean's power is channeled from without when he transforms, rather than being an inner power of his own.
Gnosis
One other thing: The Anguis' numbers (at least prior to CS2, don't spoil any more revealed then if any) are:
I: Unknown
II: Vita
III: Mariabell
IV: Lechter??? Maybe?
V: Unknown
VI: Novartis
VII: Arianrhod
II: Vita
III: Mariabell
IV: Lechter??? Maybe?
V: Unknown
VI: Novartis
VII: Arianrhod
Right? And which one (number) is called
"Sinner"?
3rd
What exactly do we know about Phantasma spreading into the real world (as of before CS2)? I never really understood that too well. Is it just doing it instinctively, or does it have a motive? Is it perhaps trying to use certain places (such as the old schoolhouse or Heimdallr sewers) as power sources, like it did with Kevin's Stigma?
One last random musing: Was there any reference to or hint at
Pleroma
Whew
Yes. You can clearly see (Ao/CS2 spoiler)
see the barrier in which Crossbell is enveloped from the destroyed Garrelia Fortress and later on the Azure Tree from the Courageous.
As for that second question, (major Ao spoilers, minor The 3rd spoiler)
the Azure Tree is a divine tree hooked up to the septium veins running underneath it to amplify KeA's power. The tree is capable of manipulation everything in the past, present and future. It's said to resemble the original Singularity of the Origin in Arteria.
I think you do love to link oddities to (Zero term)
Gnosis
Well, technically (pritty big Ao spoiler)
Mariabell isn't the third Anguis until Ao ends, so the seat is still vacant during CS2
Anguis IV is Lechter
Sinner is reserved for the fifth, supporting Yotaka's popular theory that it's Barkhorn
the one investigating the Salt Pillar
Gaius' mentor
Motive? Survival. But it gets name-dropped at some point during CS2, so wait for that.
Coincidences don't exist, but I haven't found concrete evidence for that song name in The 3rd yet. Until I find something, I'm willing to accept that it refers to (The 3rd spoiler)
the Aster flowers the orphanage is named after
Thanks, I recognized
parm when it was mentioned and you have reminded me where I heard it XD. I wonder if CS2 or 3 will cover Haken Gate or allow Rean to go to Parm and other places he hasn't been.
I also wonder if Rean will ever meet any of the characters from Liberl or Crossbell games (protag wise I mean)
The "mentions" about that character in SC made me really think hard about what the hell I don't actually know about them yet in CS, and definitely made me question who was in the right at the end of CS. I played in the same order as you, and when I found out (SC spoiler you mentioned)
about the steam tanks,
That being said, you sure are burning through the game! Hope you are enjoying it!
Haha, I was the same way when I found out.
And yeah, about 74 hours now in SC.
FC I completed at 58 hours.
And I've played pretty much non-stop outside of sleeping, etc.
These games are too good. I was like this with CS too until I platinumed it >.>
That's how I was too. Luckily I had a two week vacation from work around that time, so it was literally the only thing I did that whole time; play through all three games and get a platinum a month later.
And when I went back to work about halfway through SC, the wait to get home was almost unbearable, haha. They all consumed me like no other games ever have!
I also think that there may be something else here... (3rd spoilers and other general spoilers)
While I don't think it's a coincidence, I don't think it's a big thing in the term of the Aster flowers- I've brought up to Yotaka that I imagine that the song title may be a reference to the line in the scripture about the Pleroma, as well. Since we know that the apocrypha, or whatever you want to call it, has info on them.
Started zero evo last night, finished up the prologue chapter so far.
Feels weird being back at base level with rudimentary quartz after ending 3rd at like level 140. The lack of autobattle/speed up coming from the Sora evo trilogy is also killing me. I still find myself instinctively holding down X during enemy turns/arte animations.
So far loving Randy as far as the new characters go.
Not gonna bother going for a full DP run so hoping I can finish before P5 releases.
I get that Crossbell has a lot of money flowing through it and recent development but man the tech level is making the entirety of Liberl look like the boondocks. They've got cell phones, vending machines, cars, and essentially the equivalent of Internet. Afaik not much time is supposed to have passed since the end of 3rd since Joshua and Estelle show up.
Feels weird being back at base level with rudimentary quartz after ending 3rd at like level 140. The lack of autobattle/speed up coming from the Sora evo trilogy is also killing me. I still find myself instinctively holding down X during enemy turns/arte animations.
So far loving Randy as far as the new characters go.
Not gonna bother going for a full DP run so hoping I can finish before P5 releases.
Finished FC since I last checked in here.
About 40 hours into SC:
I'm still loving the shit out of these games. I cannot WAIT to get started on Cold Steel. What are the major differences between the Steel series and Trails? (I know its in Erebonia with new characters, I mean more like the battle system, side quests, stuff like that)
ONE FLAW:
This is not limited to Trails at all, but Trails seems to lean on it a lot and I hate it...
Don't make the plot tell me that something is going to happen imminently and that I need to rush, and then add sidequests that can be missed if you don't do them soon enough. I try and role play a little bit and it really breaks immersion when we are supposed to be running off somewhere to save someone asap and then stop to find someones cat or whatever first. It's really jarring to me and I fucking hate it.
About 40 hours into SC:
I'm on the ark
I'm still loving the shit out of these games. I cannot WAIT to get started on Cold Steel. What are the major differences between the Steel series and Trails? (I know its in Erebonia with new characters, I mean more like the battle system, side quests, stuff like that)
ONE FLAW:
This is not limited to Trails at all, but Trails seems to lean on it a lot and I hate it...
Don't make the plot tell me that something is going to happen imminently and that I need to rush, and then add sidequests that can be missed if you don't do them soon enough. I try and role play a little bit and it really breaks immersion when we are supposed to be running off somewhere to save someone asap and then stop to find someones cat or whatever first. It's really jarring to me and I fucking hate it.
(Spoiler related to the quote.)
This is also due to influence of the Epstein Foundation. Since Tio's directly affiliated with them, you'll find out a bit more about them.
KuwabaraTheMan
Banned
Battles are fully 3D, with not visible grid (although you still need to move around, but movement is much less a limiting factor than in the sky games). A Link system is added where two characters can attack together when certain conditions are met, with how well they co-ordinate depending on how much their link is leveled up.
The quartz system has been overhauled. Instead of arts being tied to how many quartz of specific elements you have on a line, arts are tied to the quartz themselves. You can also now have multiple levels of the same quartz equipped to a character (for example, Attack 2 and Attack 3). Cooking food now allows you to pick characters to cook, with each recipe having four different outcomes depending on which characters are cooking.
Side quests are handled pretty much the same as in the Sky games, with quests being given to you at specific times along with markers indicating how long they'll be active for, and of course, hidden quests with small windows of availability. The game is generally good about giving you a notice when going into the next area will cause the story to advance, however.
KuwabaraTheMan
Banned
This is why you always talk to every NPC after every story event.
Yeah, I went in totally cold, wanted a pure experience. I took too long for sidequests in the first two towns of FC and learned my lesson.
I did a lot of NPC talking but I think overall I was kinda lazy about some stuff. I'm also hoping to be ready for 9/6 so I'm rushing some stuff.
Ok so I have finished Trails in the Sky SC (so basically, no clicking on spoiler tags/quoting this post unless you've beaten SC 
).
First, playtime according to steam:
FC: 58 hours
SC: 84 hours
This is with me doing all side quests and as much as I could. even filled the fishing book which was fun.
Side note: I am a little annoyed that I got all the chests (I'm pretty damn sure I did) and steam is saying that it's 515/517
I certainly am looking forward to the 3rd now after
Anyway, I love a LOT about these games, they are probably some of my favourite games now and the story in these games are great. The World Building and lore are both great as well. I wish more people picked up these games and played them through to the end, they are just that good imo.
I laughed though at
Some of the bosses near the end were tough so I'm glad I had the Zeram Capsules on me. Though the
I am of course now very curious as to other members of the society, the Grand Master & Co. Hope we see more of them in the future.
Finally, the music in these games are amazing. Some of the best music tracks I've heard.
I honestly put Cold Steel above FC (I won't compare the series until at least CSII so they will have both had two games that I will have played) but I LOVED FC still and the Sky games are just great.
My biggest complaint is honestly the inability to skip animations. During the end, when I
Still ignoring that. I guess I'm on this train until the series is finished whenever that is!
Come on CSII/3rd!
).First, playtime according to steam:
FC: 58 hours
SC: 84 hours
This is with me doing all side quests and as much as I could. even filled the fishing book which was fun.
Side note: I am a little annoyed that I got all the chests (I'm pretty damn sure I did) and steam is saying that it's 515/517
I certainly am looking forward to the 3rd now after
that ending with Kevin. Being the main character of the 3rd, I want to learn more about him. Of course I am also looking forward to all the lore stuff that is in the 3rd.
Anyway, I love a LOT about these games, they are probably some of my favourite games now and the story in these games are great. The World Building and lore are both great as well. I wish more people picked up these games and played them through to the end, they are just that good imo.
I laughed though at
Bleublanc's reasoning. It's basically him being a dick. Funny though.
Some of the bosses near the end were tough so I'm glad I had the Zeram Capsules on me. Though the
end of Weissmann was rather cold and brutal. He deserved it but still brutal. On that note, I was still glad to see it considering what he wanetd Joshua to do. Killing Estelle and then releasing his mind so he could see what he had done. What a dick move that was.
I am of course now very curious as to other members of the society, the Grand Master & Co. Hope we see more of them in the future.
I expected Campanella to have more of a role though. Wonder if we'll see him again and actually get to fight him.
Finally, the music in these games are amazing. Some of the best music tracks I've heard.
I honestly put Cold Steel above FC (I won't compare the series until at least CSII so they will have both had two games that I will have played) but I LOVED FC still and the Sky games are just great.
My biggest complaint is honestly the inability to skip animations. During the end, when I
went back and forth after every boss fight with the Enforcers was painful purely because I couldn't skip any of the animations. Same with when I was grinding everyone to level 92 on poms. The leveling was quick as anything but the animations of the elevator, the rail car, even death scream. All of it was just long and took a lot of time.
Still ignoring that. I guess I'm on this train until the series is finished whenever that is!
Come on CSII/3rd!
BassForever
Member
Without a guide you'll never find all quests in this game
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
I'm pretty sure the idea was to have a whole lot of different things for players to find if they happened to do X or Y at the right time. It encouraged "playground rumor" type stuff, with lots of hidden stuff to be found and shared. It also makes the world feel more alive and less centered around the protagonist and their own story.
That's tough for the completionist who wants to do everything though.
That's tough for the completionist who wants to do everything though.
KuwabaraTheMan
Banned
Finding every quest generally isn't too hard if you're being extra diligent. At least in SC and Cold Steel; I can't really remember FC as well given how long it's been since I played it.
What is very difficult to do without a guide is getting max BP/AP, since sometimes the bonus points come from really obscure things that you wouldn't necessarily think to do.
BassForever
Member
Each game has one super odd go back or go ahead to random place before the game tells you to for a hidden quest that unless you've played one of these games before you'll probably miss unless you have an insane amount of free time to search everywhere multiple times. This is especially true in fc/sc
It's a little more than just the quests, too. It's with huge lore dumps, as well. Yotaka and I both played FC when the game first came out in Japan in 2004. It took us until LAST YEAR to find a big piece of lore that actually caused us to want to flip tables, because no one ever thinks to go to the Grancel Cathedral at that one point in time in the game.
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
You mentioned this before, but I probably didn't have an appropriate save file for it. When I checked all I got was
a comment about delivering a certain something to Kevin (pretty obvious what that was).
Edit: Oh, FC. No wonder, lol.