Support NeoGAF

[Psxphile]

Trails is not an easy game series to talk about without spoiling something unintentionally. It's so easy to lose track of what you're discussing and let slip details that shouldn't be known into casual discussion. Not defending posts that forget to take heed of other people's experiences (or lack of) but it's a thing that's going to happen. And more often than not it'll be accidental rather than intentional.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Am_Ljw1SmU

I'll admit, this post is going over my head.

 

[zakujanai]

I'll admit, this post is going over my head.

Glad it's not just me

 

[PK Gaming]

Isn't she super duper popular??

Also I got to Ruan and i'm still having a blast. I think I got White Gehanna though which may or may not kill the challenge :x

 

[Psxphile]

Isn't she super duper popular??

Well, yeah. But it seemed like maybe you were making some kind of meta commentary.

 

[Glitter and Gold]

Is she?

No one seems to talk about Kloze

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Yeah, I've never seen Kloe as a super popular character. She's alright, but no Estelle or Josette.

 

[Glitter and Gold]

She doesn't really have a personality that plays off the other characters well.

I think she's the strongest party member and used her whenever possible in my first runs of both games, but man is she kinda boring

 

[ShadowSoldier89]

Kloe is the best though...not named Sara or Estelle

 

[BassForever]

I like Kloe a lot as a character but I can totally get why she's not super popular since her character doesn't really pop out the way the super popular characters do.

 

[PK Gaming]

I'm actually shocked

I blame Moonlight :V

 

[SolVanderlyn]

I just realized that if

Spoiler

Tita

shows in Cold Steel III

Spoiler

she'll be about three years older, and thus no longer an annoying kid

 

[Nyoro SF]

Isn't she super duper popular??

Also I got to Ruan and i'm still having a blast. I think I got White Gehanna though which may or may not kill the challenge :x

Olivier is the most popular not-lead character. He has a lot of depth and he's always highly amusing. His character interactions are also top notch too.

Kloe is popular to me... because of her ATS.

 

[SephLuis]

Kloe is popular to me... because of her ATS.

This.

She became the equivalent of a tactical nuke during my games.

 

[duckroll]

This.

She became the equivalent of a tactical nuke during my games.

I believe in nuclear disarmament.

 

[Moonlight]

She doesn't really have a personality that plays off the other characters well.

I think she's the strongest party member and used her whenever possible in my first runs of both games, but man is she kinda boring

I don't think that's true at all. She plays off Estelle (and Olivier) fantastically for one, and I think in SC especially she comes into her own as a great character.

Spoiler

Kloe is above all else, a rock for others, and so she comes through really hard for Estelle as her closest confidant while she's still sort of feeling over Joshua (like that girl-talk session in the Auditorium was awesome). And then it sort of goes the other way as she inherits part of Estelle's resolve in eventually making her decision to succeed the throne. I'd say she plays off others better than Tita or Zane do, anyways.

I'm actually shocked

I blame Moonlight :V

I will take full credit for that though.

 

[chaosblade]

Olivier is the most popular not-lead character. He has a lot of depth and he's always highly amusing. His character interactions are also top notch too.

Kloe is popular to me... because of her ATS.

Yep. Not sure she was quite as strong in FC, but in SC I am pretty confident she is the strongest character due to her stats, orbment, and access to female-exclusive equipment which gives her an edge over Olivier.

 

[BlueDogAnchorite]

I just finished Cold Steel 1. I really enjoyed the game, and it has one of my favorite plots in a JRPG.

Spoiler

Crow being revealed as C surprised me. But looking back I thought they did a good job with foreshadowing.

After this game ended, I immediately started the second game.

 

[Thoraxes]

Spoiler

I also think Osborne is a lot less evil than he's played up to be. He actually seems to be driven to do good, we just hear of those negatively affected by his policies. The railway expansion into Jurai wasn't an evil act, for example, even if it resulted in what happened to Crow. Plus with stuff like Ouroboros, witches, whatever McBurn is, and (presumably) vampires existing, Osborne seems pretty tame in comparison. He was even fighting against the class system. I'm not saying he's a good guy, but he definitely seems like he has some nuance to him.

At first I was cool with him, then I played SC and did a 180% really fast.

 

[Emu-Fred]

I've finished TiTs first chapter years ago on psp.

Planning on getting SC, but I have forgotten like 90% of what's happened in the last game.

Does the game have a way of getting you up to date? If not, is there another way to recap without getting the first one again? I unfortunately don't have my psp anymore

 

[Taruranto]

Why would anyone ever use Kloe when you have Olivier. He's better than her at anything, including

Spoiler

being royalty.

Kloe is like a discounted Olivier.

 

[Glitter and Gold]

Why would anyone ever use Kloe when you have Olivier. He's better than her at anything, including

Spoiler

being royalty.

Kloe is like a discounted Olivier.

Why not both?

Arts OP

I don't think that's true at all. She plays off Estelle (and Olivier) fantastically for one, and I think in SC especially she comes into her own as a great character.

Spoiler

Kloe is above all else, a rock for others, and so she comes through really hard for Estelle as her closest confidant while she's still sort of feeling over Joshua (like that girl-talk session in the Auditorium was awesome). And then it sort of goes the other way as she inherits part of Estelle's resolve in eventually making her decision to succeed the throne. I'd say she plays off others better than Tita or Zane do, anyways.

.

That's what I mean.

Spoiler

I feel like Estelle is the only character she develops any sort of relationship with. Within the party or outside of it. and I don't really feel like her character arc of accepting her role as princess gives her anymore depth compared to character development of other members.

On top of her naturally being a reserved character makes her not a very interesting pick for reactions to story events.

Spoiler

I'd say she plays off others better than Tita or Zane do, anyways.

SC Spoilers

Spoiler

Zane is probably the most neglected playable character in the series though. lol. I agree to some extent, but I think his story with Walter in SC is way more interesting than anything Kloe goes through

Spoiler

As for Tita, she has a lot of fun interactions with characters. With Agate, Estelle, her grandfather,Renne, ANELACE. She's probably the weakest party member in the game but I think she has alot of entertaining scenes and is way more expressive of a character than Kloe.

 

[PK Gaming]

Speaking of OP things

D E L A Y B O Y Z

To be honest, calling it OP is a bit of a stretch, but yeah it's super useful. In general, I really like how everything is fine tuned in this game. Unlike in CS, S-crafts aren't too ridiculous initially since they start out as single target skills, crafts are powerful but they can't be spammed, and there's significantly less role compression which results in characters standing out more. Also arts are really good, but ultimately fine (though White Gehanna is straight up cheating imo)

 

[Glitter and Gold]

You ain't see shit with Joshua yet

It's also pretty impressive you've gotten White Gehenna so early on. Most people don't really figure out the Orbment system and Arts until the final dungeon. You right about it 100% though. Best Offensive spell in the game

 

[aravuus]

Kloe love continues to baffle me. She's the dullest JRPG character ever.

 

[Glitter and Gold]

Kloe love continues to baffle me. She's the dullest JRPG character ever.

I'm holding out on The 3rd developing her more.

The best thing about her imo is (SC Spoilers)

Spoiler

Her outfit change in the final chapter when she accepts her role as Klaudia. Was so happy she ditched the Jenis outfit finaly

 

[PK Gaming]

You ain't see shit with Joshua yet

It's also pretty impressive you've gotten White Gehenna so early on. Most people don't really figure out the Orbment system and Arts until the final dungeon. You right about it 100% though. Best Offensive spell in the game

Some folks alerted me to the fact that the Bracer handbook outlines all of the awesome spells you can get along with their requirements, and it's been extremely handy. I've been pretty proactive when it comes to unlocking slots too, so Estelle and Joshua are good to go. Speaking of orbments, it fucking kills me how badly Estelle got gimped badly in regards to her Orbment set up. "Her lines are smaller but at least she's compatible with all quartz type" IT'S A TOTAL SCAM! 99% OF THE TIME YOU'LL DOUBLE UP ON SPECIFIC QUARTZ ANYWAY. BAH!

At least Morale is amazing. The game doesn't tell you, but it boosts arts damage too.

 

[Psxphile]

At least Morale is amazing. The game doesn't tell you, but it boosts arts damage too.

wut

 

[Glitter and Gold]

Some folks alerted me to the fact that the Bracer handbook outlines all of the awesome spells you can get along with their requirements, and it's been extremely handy. I've been pretty proactive when it comes to unlocking slots too, so Estelle and Joshua are good to go. Speaking of orbments, it fucking kills me how badly Estelle got gimped badly in regards to her Orbment set up. "Her lines are smaller but at least she's compatible with all quartz type" IT'S A TOTAL SCAM! 99% OF THE TIME YOU'LL DOUBLE UP ON SPECIFIC QUARTZ ANYWAY. BAH!

Yeah...

I always wondered if it was intentional or not. Initially it seems like her setup is a better all rounder because of even slots and no Element reserved ones. But Joshua's ends up being way better being split 4-2 even with his reserved, since his element is Time and you want to put Time Quartz on everyone anyways lol

At least Morale is amazing. The game doesn't tell you, but it boosts arts damage too.

Yeah. But it's not supposed to. lol They fix it in SC.

 

[Nightengale]

Kloe love continues to baffle me. She's the dullest JRPG character ever.

Kloe is love.

 

[Moonlight]

That's what I mean.

Spoiler

I feel like Estelle is the only character she develops any sort of relationship with. Within the party or outside of it. and I don't really feel like her character arc of accepting her role as princess gives her anymore depth compared to character development of other members.

On top of her naturally being a reserved character makes her not a very interesting pick for reactions to story events.

Spoiler

Within the party or outside of it? I'll give you the party. I think she has some fun interactions with Olivier and again, I think her relationship with Estelle is fantastic, but I'll admit she doesn't have much to say to Schera or Agate and what have you. But Kloe's whole deal is that she has a separate circle of friends and engagements from the party. Whether its' in her capacity as a princess or just as a student from Jenis, the game establishes more than pretty much anyone how much other stuff she has going on separate from the journey. Alicia, the Student Council, Julia, etc. And I'm not sure how much of this is going to come down to personal taste or whatever, but I definitely think it made for a pretty interesting character to learn more about. She grows as a person in pretty marked ways. To go back to Tita and even Zane, I really don't think they can say the same from their introduction to the end of SC.

SC Spoilers

Spoiler

Zane is probably the most neglected playable character in the series though. lol. I agree to some extent, but I think his story with Walter in SC is way more interesting than anything Kloe goes through

Spoiler

As for Tita, she has a lot of fun interactions with characters. With Agate, Estelle, her grandfather,Renne, ANELACE. She's probably the weakest party member in the game but I think she has alot of entertaining scenes and is way more expressive of a character than Kloe.

I'm just saying.

Spoiler

Zane doesn't really have much to say most of the time, and he lacks that personal connection/chemistry with Estelle that feels very vital to me. His sub-plot with Walter was great, but ultimately doesn't shed too much about himself that we didn't already know. If anything, it just reaffirms his outlook on things in the end.

As far as the rest of the party is concerned, Tita is mostly there to be the cute little sister you pat on the head and occasionally produces incredibly hi-tech gadgets. She has fun interactions, but they're pretty samey. Estelle activating big sister mode and such. Well, except for Agate. But personally there's some other issues with how she factors into Agate's character arc and vice versa.

Kloe love continues to baffle me. She's the dullest JRPG character ever.

You can be baffled or you can read on why maybe she's not the dullest JRPG character ever.

Or maybe play more JRPGs.

 

[Glitter and Gold]

Fair enough. It's been about a year since I completed SC so my memories of her are probably clouded by wanting to support my conclusion. I agree with a lot of what you're saying and I'll admit that in my initial post I didn't really consider her relationships with her classmates and the orphanage despite them being extremely important aspects of her characterization and development.

I'll keep an open mind when I replay the games someday.

 

[PK Gaming]

Yeah...

I always wondered if it was intentional or not. Initially it seems like her setup is a better all rounder because of even slots and no Element reserved ones. But Joshua's ends up being way better being split 4-2 even with his reserved, since his element is Time and you want to put Time Quartz on everyone anyways lol

Yeah, I appreciate the sentiment but... it just doesn't work out at all in practice. It's always super sad when the protagonist gets screwed by the "jack of all trades, master of none" direction.

Yeah. But it's not supposed to. lol They fix it in SC.

TELL ME THEY GIVE HER IMPROVEMENTS IN SC TO COMPENSATE.

 

[Glitter and Gold]

TELL ME THEY GIVE HER IMPROVEMENTS IN SC TO COMPENSATE.

 

[Nightengale]

In terms of relationship dynamics, Kloe definitely pales a little compared to some cast members, but I would say that is true not just for Kloe, but some others as well.

Even characters who's got a more fleshed out relationship and character arc has moments in FC and SC that kind of underwhelmed in terms of payoff. Maybe we'll see some of that in 3rd, but for example [SC SPOILER BEWARE]

Spoiler

the element of Olivier's reveal as an Erebonia prince didn't really have any change in overall character and relation dynamic since it happened so late so it's practically just a plot device. It would have been cool if there was a breather section where they could at least talk about him being a prince for a second, but there was none really.

 

[aravuus]

You can be baffled or you can read on why maybe she's not the dullest JRPG character ever.

Or maybe play more JRPGs.

Obviously intentional hyperbole you may or may not have missed aside, she is just so dull, so boring, and nothing I've read has come even close to convincing me otherwise.

So I'm just gonna assume that if you love Kloe, you're a boring person who likes boring stuff and other boring people.

 

[Moonlight]

I assume if you don't, you're a bad person!

 

[PK Gaming]

Obviously intentional hyperbole you may or may not have missed aside, she is just so dull, so boring, and nothing I've read has come even close to convincing me otherwise.

So I'm just gonna assume that if you love Kloe, you're a boring person who likes boring stuff and other boring people.

Hyperbolic or not, you're being needlessly strident here. Like, someone is boring for liking a character? You're boring for not backing up your claims / using thought terminating phrases "dullest character ever."

So there!!

 

[Nightengale]

Kloe's far from the most exciting character and her character arc is nothing special.

Still found her lovable ball of niceness, liked her relationship with Estelle, and as sacrilegious as it is, I wave the Joshua/Kloe ship.

 

[Moonlight]

Yeah. I'd never say she's the most exciting and well-written character around, but I liked her the most in the end anyways.

That said, I do not support Joshua/Kloe. Not my jam.

Spoiler

Joshua/Josette is the hill I will die on forever.

 

[aravuus]

Hyperbolic or not, you're being needlessly strident here. Like, someone is boring for liking a character? You're boring for not backing up your claims / using thought terminating phrases "dullest character ever."

So there!!

Maybe I will write a short novel on the myriad of ways she's boring so y'all will realize her boring-ness too some day!

Lovable ball of niceness - that I can get. She's mild and she's nice. It's the crazy amount of love she seems to get that's, uh, crazy to me.

I assume if you don't, you're a bad person!

Well, Michael Jackson doesn't have a hit song called Boring, so bad > boring

 

[Emu-Fred]

Hate to sound like a broken record but, will I have to replay FC to get the gist of what's happening in SC or will the game bring you up to date?

 

[Nightengale]

Hate to sound like a broken record but, will I have to replay FC to get the gist of what's happening in SC or will the game bring you up to date?

Noooope. The game won't bring you up to date.

 

[Glitter and Gold]

Hate to sound like a broken record but, will I have to replay FC to get the gist of what's happening in SC or will the game bring you up to date?

There's no real summary, but I feel the game does a pretty good job of jogging your memory. It takes it's time to get going again vs immediately jumping into more action following FC's climax. It shouldn't leave you feeling lost.

If you want to be completely sure you can probably find a brief story summary hitting the major points

 

[Emu-Fred]

Noooope. The game won't bring you up to date.

There's no real summary, but I feel the game does a pretty good job of jogging your memory. It takes it's time to get going again vs immediately jumping into more action following FC's climax. It shouldn't leave you feeling lost.

If you want to be completely sure you can probably find a brief story summary hitting the major points

Alright got it, thanks. It's a good chance to get it since it's on sale on steam

 

[zakujanai]

I just realized that if

Spoiler

Tita

shows in Cold Steel III

Spoiler

she'll be about three years older, and thus no longer an annoying kid

My partner pointed this out and it was her reason for not wanting her in it. She wants her to stay as the cute kid from Sky and not some over sexualised jail bait. She'd be a similar age to Fie and I'd hate to see then dress her the way they dress Fie.

I believe in nuclear disarmament.

Why would anyone ever use Kloe when you have Olivier. He's better than her at anything, including

Spoiler

being royalty.

Kloe is like a discounted Olivier.

Kloe love continues to baffle me. She's the dullest JRPG character ever.

These guys get it, bland as fuck.

That said, if I ever get around to continuing my second SC play I'll try to actually use her at some point, just in case I missed get say something interesting. It'll be pretty tough to leave Olivier out of my party though.

 

[Nightengale]

Isn't that just prejudiced concern?

Fie and some others are indeed dressed a little... provocatively, but there's also other characters who's dressed plenty modestly. By and large, the characters that are sexualised design-wise are also the ones who personality-wise, aren't the type to show a lot of qualms or annoyances over the subject matter, whereas the characters who's character personalities are ones known to be modest or stickler over stuff like that don't. (Alisa or Emma, for example)

In general, I have enough trust that if they bring back Tita for Cold Steel 3, it'll still be representative of Tita's character that was setup in Sky, who is a lovable innocent girl.

 

[zakujanai]

Isn't that just prejudiced concern?

Fie and some others are indeed dressed a little... provocatively, but there's also other characters who's dressed plenty modestly. By and large, the characters that are sexualised design-wise are also the ones who personality-wise, aren't the type to show a lot of qualms or annoyances over the subject matter, whereas the characters who's character personalities are ones known to be modest or stickler over stuff like that don't. (Alisa or Emma, for example)

In general, I have enough trust that if they bring back Tita for Cold Steel 3, it'll still be representative of Tita's character that was setup in Sky, who is a lovable innocent girl.

If they brought her back as a more mature version of the girl from the sky games it would be great, I'd like to see her working at RF on some new tech. She definitely doesn't seem the type to dress in an overtly sexual manner, but then neither does Fie but that didn't stop them putting her in nothing but a scarf and the tiniest pair of shorts zemurian technology could create.

 

[Nightengale]

If they brought her back as a more mature version of the girl from the sky games it would be great, I'd like to see her working at RF on some new tech. She definitely doesn't seem the type to dress in an overtly sexual manner, but then neither does Fie but that didn't stop them putting her in nothing but a scarf and the tiniest pair of shorts zemurian technology could create.

I don't want to sound like I'm defending it, but I feel it's contributed from her apathetic kuudere archetype which is often excuse for "don't care, don't mind" attitude/hand waive for dressing down.

 

[BassForever]

Estelle's orbment sent up makes more sense in Sky SC imo since it lets her flex between being more melee focused or mage focused depending upon who you have in the party at any particular time. It does limit her that she'd never be in your final party if she wasn't forced since she is just an all rounder and would be out damage by a better dedicated melee or mage.

 

[Holundrian]

I hope Sen III brings a more complex buff gain or something else.
I feel like Trails generally has good character fighting archtype diversity that just gets lost by lack of tools. Not far enough into Zero and Ao yet to consider them but I really liked that you could build Machias as a status infliction machine and Fie as a dodge tank.
Those are interesting niches with the tools being available.
Basically I hope Sen III just introduces more combat tools to play around with like buffs last 2 rounds more or status down can stack more etc etc.