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[Baust]

On Chapter 9 and currently

Spoiler

stuck on Loewe

. Holy crap though, I was really close last try.

I was hoping to have this done before the new year, but eh, I'd rather not rush it.

Also, I just now noticed on the game over screen that there's a retry and a continue option. What's the difference?

 

[SolVanderlyn]

On Chapter 9 and currently

Spoiler

stuck on Loewe

. Holy crap though, I was really close last try.

I was hoping to have this done before the new year, but eh, I'd rather not rush it.

Also, I just now noticed on the game over screen that there's a retry and a continue option. What's the difference?

That's only for that one fight.

 

[Diablos54]

Yes! Managed to get all the Gambler Jack books without having too look at a guide, I know how hard some are to get so it feels good haha. All that running around really pays off!

 

[Palette Swap]

Finished Chapter 6. This was probably my favorite part of the past 10 chapters and 80 hours.

Spoiler

I loved how Estelle handled Joshua and broke that cool and distant act he had built. That was all really well executed and very emotional.
I'm a sucker for a good love story and this one is great.

There's no way I'm writing my GOTY 2015 list before I'm done with SC.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Finished Chapter 6. This was probably my favorite part of the past 10 chapters and 80 hours.

Spoiler

I loved how Estelle handled Joshua and broke that cool and distant act he had built. That was all really well executed and very emotional.
I'm a sucker for a good love story and this one is great.

There's no way I'm writing my GOTY 2015 list before I'm done with SC.

I love how Chapter 6 starts with

Spoiler

a fakeout "Beach Episode" experience, only to start the gauntlet of plot revelations and interesting events that continues until the end of the game.

 

[evilpigking]

Just finished FC a few days ago. Didn't 100% cause I didnt get all the Carnelia chapters or recipes. But screw it, using my sale budget to buy SC even though it is more than half the money I allocated to spend this holiday. Should be worth it even if most of the higher cost probably goes to gaben and no the xseed/falcom

 

[Einhander]

Chapter 3 side quest

Spoiler

Good god. Fighting four Mad Trees is so difficult. I've tried to beat them several times, but I can't do it. Could it be that I'm not ready, and that I should attempt it later on in the chapter? Will the quest still be valid if the term is "long"?

 

[Augemitbutter]

Yes! Managed to get all the Gambler Jack books without having too look at a guide, I know how hard some are to get so it feels good haha. All that running around really pays off!

that's impressive. how long did it take? 120 hours?

 

[Thud]

Just started my replay of FC on steam. I think it has more impact on me now than when I first played it on Vita (2-3 years ago). Talking to every NPC and getting a good morning is nice.

I'm thinking about getting something more out of it than the main story, so what's cool to do next to it? Max BP? 100%?

... and should I follow a guide for it?

SC will have to wait a bit longer haha.

 

[Dio]

Just started my replay of FC on steam. I think it has more impact on me now than when I first played it on Vita (2-3 years ago). Talking to every NPC and getting a good morning is nice.

I'm thinking about getting something more out of it than the main story, so what's cool to do next to it? Max BP? 100%?

... and should I follow a guide for it?

SC will have to wait a bit longer haha.

It's near impossible to 100% and Max BP a Trails title unless you're using a guide. Some of the hidden sidequests and extremely short time windows to pick up books for your collection are ridiculous.

 

[Diablos54]

that's impressive. how long did it take? 120 hours?

As of the start of chapter

Spoiler

9 aka Finale

, just over 74 hours. I got really lucky with one or two though, thankfully I decided to take go back through all of chapter

Spoiler

8 locations before heading to Gancel again, finding one at the Wolf Fort

of all places.

 

[Thud]

It's near impossible to 100% and Max BP a Trails title unless you're using a guide. Some of the hidden sidequests and extremely short time windows to pick up books for your collection are ridiculous.

Yeah, I know some time windows are pretty short. So while I still have the chance I thought I should ask about it .

I'm still doing the test in the prologue.

 

[Diablos54]

Anyone know who to take with you to unlock

Spoiler

the third rail car in Libel Ark

in chapter 9? I really don't feel like running back and forth over and over lol.

Edit: Ah got it! I completely forgot about the

Spoiler

crashed Bobcat, always the last place you look!

 

[Barrylocke]

Just started my replay of FC on steam. I think it has more impact on me now than when I first played it on Vita (2-3 years ago). Talking to every NPC and getting a good morning is nice.

I'm thinking about getting something more out of it than the main story, so what's cool to do next to it? Max BP? 100%?

... and should I follow a guide for it?

SC will have to wait a bit longer haha.

Hard Mode in Second Chapter forced me to become more intimately familiar with the battle system. A large number of people seemed to have found SC hard mode to be too much (mainly because of the prologue chapter, I've found), but the First Chapters hard mode ks said to be more manageable.

 

[omgfloofy]

Something else to remember about the difficulty modes of FC and SC- the game wasn't balanced for difficulty modes originally. They were added when the games were ported to PSP. So they served as a reason to bring old players back, because they have a familiarity with the system.

 

[ColossalLazy]

Finished it yesterday, took a while to post my thoughts. Great ending, so much worth the time invested. I love Estelle so much, such a great protagonist. The rest of the cast is great too. Olivier da best <3

Missed 15 BP and one book. Not bad without a guide.

Ending spoilers

Spoiler

My final team was Estelle/Joshua/Agate/Kloe. Kloe was my magical nuke and Agate I abused Dragon Dive to win everything. Got the Luciola and Walter extra scenes. Totally worth the trouble.

Final boss was a cakewalk compared to the Loewe fight. Against me, he opened with one with his S-craft combined with Critical turn, just got one shotted without doing anything lmao.

Disappointed that we didnt get to know more about Weismann. But I always found interesting that he met the Grandmaster while he was a priest for the church (I might be wrong about that). Dont remember where he is from but he is from the north. Also loved how Estelle totally shut down him in their debate at the end.

The Kevin and Weismann scene was such a big tease for things to come. There are other teases such a Renne past too.

And lastly, the romance between Estelle and Joshua was so well done. I loved it, greate couple.

Cant wait for TC. At least I got to play Cold Steel right now. Thank you XSeed for localizing those games.

 

[Gu4n]

Spoiler

Disappointed that we didnt get to know more about Weismann. But I always found interesting that he met the Grandmaster while he was a priest for the church (I might be wrong about that). Dont remember where he is from but he is from the north. Also loved how Estelle totally shut down him in their debate at the end.

You might be interested in this video, then. If this to further questions, be sure to ask!

 

[ColossalLazy]

You might be interested in this video, then. If this to further questions, be sure to ask!

How much spoilery is this? Is it stuff from TC?

 

[Eusis]

Something else to remember about the difficulty modes of FC and SC- the game wasn't balanced for difficulty modes originally. They were added when the games were ported to PSP. So they served as a reason to bring old players back, because they have a familiarity with the system.

Is Cold Steel (and I suppose Zero/Ao) better about this, assuming the options are there? That is, Hard is a more proper overhaul of balance rather than just increase HP/damage?

For these games I think I'd rather err on the side of too easy than too hard, but it would be nice to know regardless.

 

[Gu4n]

How much spoilery is this? Is it stuff from TC?

It's a sidestory from The 3rd, indeed, but a report about something major that happened decades earlier.

Spoiler

It's written by Weissmann during his time at the Church. Part of it, at least.

 

[ColossalLazy]

It's a sidestory from The 3rd, indeed, but a report about something major that happened decades earlier.

Spoiler

It's written by Weissmann during his time at the Church. Part of it, at least.

Thanks. I will wait for the localization tho, better to see myself.

 

[Gu4n]

Thanks. I will wait for the localization tho, better to see myself.

The aftereffects of the incident linger on in Cold Steel (by reference) and Cold Steel II (part of the storyline), so I would recommend to watch it before playing Cold Steel II.

 

[ColossalLazy]

The aftereffects of the incident linger on in Cold Steel (by reference) and Cold Steel II (part of the storyline), so I would recommend to watch it before playing Cold Steel II.

SC ending spoilers

Spoiler

It is about the method which Kevin used to kill Weissman?

 

[Gu4n]

SC ending spoilers

Spoiler

It is about the method which Kevin used to kill Weissman?

Definitely. And that ties into something much larger we haven't heard the last of yet.

 

[ColossalLazy]

Definitely. And that ties into something much larger we haven't heard the last of yet.

I guess I will be fine. Cold Steel is meant for beginners, so missing the reference wont suck that much.

It will be awesome when I play TC, the picture becomes clearer and I shout: "Ooooohh. So thats what happened!".

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Dead Genre Chronicles, a JRPG-focused book-club podcast, just did an episode on Trails in the Sky FC that I think some will appreciate here.

I think at least two of the commentators miss the point about formal elements of style in these games. Re: NPCs, they don't make the connection that Bracers introduce themselves to minor NPCs like MCs and other story characters do in cinematics—there's plenty enough consent between MCs and NPCs, nothing invasive going on when you enter homes (though the game's still too ambiguous in a sense). And you never get to tell certain NPCs confidential information unless that's part of a side-quest, such that you can never give the advantage to one merchant family in Bose over another. So that makes the Trails style of NPC writing (both for world-building and character arcs) more cohesive and earnest than they've presumed. I agree, though, that FC and SC could have done a better job making this clear to players who otherwise can't pick up on this.

Re: Olivier, I do not remember him being a negative stereotype of pansexuals, not in the sense explained by the commentators.

Spoiler

He mentions in one cinematic being half-sincere about some aspects of his public self, implying that he's lying or bending the reality of other things about him, but he (nor the game's writers) never say exactly what that could be, whether it's his sexual curiosity or large-ham acting or even being a spy at all. He's a benign predator of a sort but not in any way that projects this behavior onto pansexuals as if that were a point the writers wanted to make through Olivier. It's weird to me how the commentators pick up on Cassius being overly protective of Estelle because of Lena's death and how Cassius hasn't been able to fill that hole in his life (and never can, even if he gets past this loss), but not the nuance regarding Olivier and his enigma

.

And I disagree that Joshua is made out to be perfect by everyone all throughout FC. That only applies for a short part of the Prologue before Cassius becomes the awesome dude de jour, while the game encourages you to portray Estelle in the most positive, interesting light by going for max BP dialogue options which are sensible or perhaps more inventive than other characters are given. Maybe there should have been more and better hinting of what of person Joshua really is, but for the most part Estelle develops in a gradual, subtle way that only messes up in two or three moments dotted throughout.

It's a sidestory from The 3rd, indeed, but a report about something major that happened decades earlier.

Spoiler

It's written by Weissmann during his time at the Church. Part of it, at least.

On that note, where in the sequence is it specified that

Spoiler

Weissmann

wrote the report? The second report clearly shows

Spoiler

Kevin

Spoiler

Graham

's signature but the first has "Mr. President" or something ambiguous. I don't know anything about how

Spoiler

Weissmann

acted and wrote during his job at the Congregation for the Sacraments.

 

[Basileus777]

On that note, where in the sequence is it specified that

Spoiler

Weissmann

wrote the report? The second report clearly shows

Spoiler

Kevin

Spoiler

Graham

's signature but the first has "Mr. President" or something ambiguous. I don't know anything about how

Spoiler

Weissmann

acted and wrote during his job at the Congregation for the Sacraments.

Spoiler

It's implied because the blacked out name is killed by the salt fragment, and we know Weissmann gets shot with it at the end of SC

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Spoiler

It's implied because the blacked out name is killed by the salt fragment, and we know Weissmann gets shot with it at the end of SC

I know that, but it doesn't confirm if

Spoiler

he wrote all or at least part of the original Salt Pillar report as shown in this Star Door

.

Spoiler

The appendix noting that redacted person known as Weissmann doesn't say he wrote the report, so I don't know where to look for this.

 

[Barrylocke]

@DragoonEnRegalia (I ain't quoting your endgame/sequel spoiler filled post, buster).

I haven't listened to the podcast (yet) but I do also find it surprising that Joshua's "specialness" was brought up, considering that

Spoiler

it seemed pretty obvious to me that it was a clue to his mysterious past. And that's not even mentioning his feelings about his cold calculated emotions that he brings up as early as the prologue.

I suppose its execution does make it feel like he's always a step ahead of Estelle, but at the end of the day, Joshua relys on Estelle more than it seems, and much of the story is also about Estelle being able to stand on her own feet. But I suppose much of that extends into SC so it may not be as immediately apparent in First Chapter.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

I was always under the impression that

Spoiler

Olivier exaggerates his own orientation to exploit that kind of handwaving.

@DragoonEnRegalia (I ain't quoting your endgame/sequel spoiler filled post, buster).

I haven't listened to the podcast (yet) but I do also find it surprising that Joshua's "specialness" was brought up, considering that

Spoiler

it seemed pretty obvious to me that it was a clue to his mysterious past. And that's not even mentioning his feelings about his cold calculated emotions that he brings up as early as the prologue.

I suppose its execution does make it feel like he's always a step ahead of Estelle, but at the end of the day, Joshua relys on Estelle more than it seems, and much of the story is also about Estelle being able to stand on her own feet. But I suppose much of that extends into SC so it may not be as immediately apparent in First Chapter.

Yup. It's a big reason why their romance works. The amount of theming and the level on the execution was exhilirating.

 

[omgfloofy]

Is Cold Steel (and I suppose Zero/Ao) better about this, assuming the options are there? That is, Hard is a more proper overhaul of balance rather than just increase HP/damage?

For these games I think I'd rather err on the side of too easy than too hard, but it would be nice to know regardless.

Much better. The difficulty levels became a thing from the start in Zero no Kiseki.

Though there is at least one fight in Cold Steel that's complete BS on Nightmare.

 

[creid]

Just about ready to start SC. I spent my morning going through my 600+ (!) screenshots from FC and put some notes together to refresh myself. I have some obscure-ish questions - not looking for spoilers from SC, just wondering if information was given in FC that I missed:

Spoiler

- Someone mentions that the queen has ruled for 40 years while unmarried, but Kloe is high school/college-aged. Is there an explanation in the first game? Is Kloe adopted?
- I faintly remember there being a story somewhere about a whole town whose people disappeared. Do they say in FC whether this happened in Erebonia, and if this is what caused them to start the Hundred Days War?

 

[Nightengale]

Just about ready to start SC. I spent my morning going through my 600+ (!) screenshots from FC and put some notes together to refresh myself. I have some obscure-ish questions - not looking for spoilers from SC, just wondering if information was given in FC that I missed:

Spoiler

- Someone mentions that the queen has ruled for 40 years while unmarried, but Kloe is high school/college-aged. Is there an explanation in the first game? Is Kloe adopted?
- I faintly remember there being a story somewhere about a whole town whose people disappeared. Do they say in FC whether this happened in Erebonia, and if this is what caused them to start the Hundred Days War?

First one.

Spoiler

No. Queen was married and had a child. Kloe's parents died in a freak accident while she was still a child.

Second one.

Spoiler

Play SC to find out.

 

[zakujanai]

You might be interested in this video, then. If this to further questions, be sure to ask!

These videos are a good idea for those like me who want to absorb as much background story as possible without spoiling the story of the missing 3 games. I hope they help me get even more from Cold Steel (when it eventually makes it over here). The last one in particular was rather chilling to read I found.

 

[Diablos54]

After 87 hours it is finally done! SC finished! Now for an agonising few weeks till Cold Steel!

 

[Crash Station]

Finally got around to starting it. 2 hours in and I already feel like stuff is happening. Is it going to keep up this steady pace, or is it gonna go back to lower key events with the occasional more frantic one?

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Finally got around to starting it. 2 hours in and I already feel like stuff is happening. Is it going to keep up this steady pace, or is it gonna go back to lower key events with the occasional more frantic one?

Pacing is like this, higher is faster/better

 

[Kain]

Finished! There are some common tropes in the end but I felt all the endgame to be very satisfying. Great game.

And Olivier is da best.

 

[chaosblade]

Pacing is like this, higher is faster/better

More specifically, chapters 2-4 aren't all that great and could have been handled better. Some people seemed to like chapter 4 more than I did though, I thought as a whole it was the weakest in the entire game with the payoff at the end being its one good point. That's about when the game starts picking back up and doesn't look back.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

More specifically, chapters 2-4 aren't all that great and could have been handled better. Some people seemed to like chapter 4 more than I did though, I thought as a whole it was the weakest in the entire game with the payoff at the end being its one good point. That's about when the game starts picking back up and doesn't look back.

IMO, Chapter 4 is the weakest part of the entire game. Not only because it has the least interesting villain, it also has the most annoying dungeon, not to mention that by that point the slow pace starts to grate on you. The game kicks into high gear right afterward, though, you're definitely right about that.

Although I think it's 4 that has the best side quest (possible spoilers)

Spoiler

Anton trying to outdrink Aina. BRING OLIVIER FOR THIS.

 

[Nightengale]

Chapter 4 wasn't the best paced chapter, but it was comfy~

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Finally got around to starting it. 2 hours in and I already feel like stuff is happening. Is it going to keep up this steady pace, or is it gonna go back to lower key events with the occasional more frantic one?

Chapters 1 through 5 are more like FC, but with the stakes being higher, so things are always resetting to a higher point than in FC. From Chapter 6 onwards things keep ramping up aside from one short section where they slow down again.

 

[Cqef]

Chapter 4 wasn't the best paced chapter, but it was comfy~

and those feels at the end ;_;

 

[chaosblade]

Chapters 1 through 5 are more like FC, but with the stakes being higher, so things are always resetting to a higher point than in FC. From Chapter 6 onwards things keep ramping up aside from one short section where they slow down again.

Technically true, but "higher stakes" isn't really anything more than "you know Ouroboros exists and are doing something." And it quickly becomes clear that

Spoiler

the early chapters are just introducing Enforcers and are all going to end the same way

. FC did the slow pacing a lot better where it was constantly building on itself and adding new wrinkles to a mystery. The first half of SC doesn't manage that nearly as well.

And it's not even that it couldn't have, they just made some odd decisions. Like the placement of chapter 3. The events in that chapter could have been a lot more interesting and surprising, but by the time you play the first two chapters you already know what's going to happen and it just becomes a matter of watching an embarrassingly obvious "twist" play out. And by the time you hit chapter 4 the game doesn't even feign mystery or anything, it's just

Spoiler

yeap, looks like the work of another Enforcer.

They also could have thrown the player for a loop by

Spoiler

breaking their own patterns

, but they never do. (Guess that is sort of a spoiler.)

 

[Palette Swap]

Technically true, but "higher stakes" isn't really anything more than "you know Ouroboros exists and are doing something." And it quickly becomes clear that

Spoiler

the early chapters are just introducing Enforcers and are all going to end the same way

. FC did the slow pacing a lot better where it was constantly building on itself and adding new wrinkles to a mystery. The first half of SC doesn't manage that nearly as well.

And it's not even that it couldn't have, they just made some odd decisions. Like the placement of chapter 3. The events in that chapter could have been a lot more interesting and surprising, but by the time you play the first two chapters you already know what's going to happen and it just becomes a matter of watching an embarrassingly obvious "twist" play out. And by the time you hit chapter 4 the game doesn't even feign mystery or anything, it's just

Spoiler

yeap, looks like the work of another Enforcer.

Yeah, I'll agree with that. Chapters 2-4 are a bit formulaic, compared to FC's pretty steady pacing as the stakes increase.

Then again, I'm in the middle of chapter 8 right now and it's a rollercoaster. So far, 6-8 feel more like the (fantastic) final chapter of FC.
I was pretty surprised that in chapter 8

Spoiler

they'd make something as important as the assault on the Jennis academy a side event.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Technically true, but "higher stakes" isn't really anything more than "you know Ouroboros exists and are doing something." And it quickly becomes clear that

Spoiler

the early chapters are just introducing Enforcers and are all going to end the same way

. FC did the slow pacing a lot better where it was constantly building on itself and adding new wrinkles to a mystery. The first half of SC doesn't manage that nearly as well.

And it's not even that it couldn't have, they just made some odd decisions. Like the placement of chapter 3. The events in that chapter could have been a lot more interesting and surprising, but by the time you play the first two chapters you already know what's going to happen and it just becomes a matter of watching an embarrassingly obvious "twist" play out. And by the time you hit chapter 4 the game doesn't even feign mystery or anything, it's just

Spoiler

yeap, looks like the work of another Enforcer.

They also could have thrown the player for a loop by

Spoiler

breaking their own patterns

, but they never do. (Guess that is sort of a spoiler.)

Spoiler

If I allowed myself to second guess the writers, one and two wouldn't resolve to anything definitively Oroboros, with the Phantom Thief appearing in 2 but not revealing his affiliation yet. THEN we get 3's wham for Estelle, and 4's bigger wham for us.

Then Chapter 7 is us fighting only Renne as the towers popped off after each fight anyways.

 

[Crash Station]

Pacing is like this, higher is faster/better

Chapters 1 through 5 are more like FC, but with the stakes being higher, so things are always resetting to a higher point than in FC. From Chapter 6 onwards things keep ramping up aside from one short section where they slow down again.

Hmmm, so there's going to be a pretty slow rough patch. That's disappointing, but I guess I'll deal with it if things start to move fast in the back half. It's already much better than FC where the only part of the story I wasn't bored out of my mind by was the climax.

About how many hours would you say chapter 1-5 take to get through?

 

[idalarian]

Hmmm, so there's going to be a pretty slow rough patch. That's disappointing, but I guess I'll deal with it if things start to move fast in the back half. It's already much better than FC where the only part of the story I wasn't bored out of my mind by was the climax.

About how many hours would you say chapter 1-5 take to get through?

I'm about to start chapter 4 and I've already played 40 hours, doing all side quests and speaking to a bunch of NPCs. If that helps you...

Now that people say that chapter 4 is the worst one... man, I thought chapter 2 was the worst one of the game so far and from what I've heard. Chapter 3 is also disappointing since there's no side quests of importance so you can't really pace the story enough with good gameplay. So it's mostly midly interesting talk in the end. Though I think the end of Chapter 3 so far has the best twist so far.

EDIT: for those who watched the OVA anime of Trails SC. How far in the game does it spoil? Can I watch it safely if I'm at chapter 4?

 

[chaosblade]

Spoiler

If I allowed myself to second guess the writers, one and two wouldn't resolve to anything definitively Oroboros, with the Phantom Thief appearing in 2 but not revealing his affiliation yet. THEN we get 3's wham for Estelle, and 4's bigger wham for us.

Then Chapter 7 is us fighting only Renne as the towers popped off after each fight anyways.

That would open up a lot of opportunities to shift things around and make some reveals or details more satisfying, and keep things more interesting for the player through the mundane parts of the game.

Spoiler

You could end up in situations with more than one Enforcer in a chapter, for example. Walter being responsible for chapter 1 events but not seen and only hinted at. Zane might pick up on these and wonder about it, then in chapter 3/4 we get a proper reveal to the party alongside Renne or Luciola (probably the latter since Renne has Pater-Mater).

That would also feel a lot more natural than the way chapter 1 plays out with a random, low-key guild request ending up being directly and immediately tied to Estelle's current goal of dealing with Ouroboros.

It could also completely change the way later chapters play out, and possibly result in a bigger and more interesting chapter 7.

Hmmm, so there's going to be a pretty slow rough patch. That's disappointing, but I guess I'll deal with it if things start to move fast in the back half. It's already much better than FC where the only part of the story I wasn't bored out of my mind by was the climax.

About how many hours would you say chapter 1-5 take to get through?

5 is a more solid chapter, IMO. From the last part of 4 and on you're done with the "rough patch," with one semi-exception.

In terms of hours it definitely depends on how you play. Checked my save and I was done with chapter 4 at right about 30 hours, and that was doing nearly everything in those chapters.

EDIT: for those who watched the OVA anime of Trails SC. How far in the game does it spoil? Can I watch it safely if I'm at chapter 4?

Pretty sure it goes through the entire story of the game, but with changes and omissions for the sake of time. Haven't seen it myself though (and probably never will).

 

[Basileus777]

Pretty sure it goes through the entire story of the game, but with changes and omissions for the sake of time. Haven't seen it myself though (and probably never will).

No,

Spoiler

it ends after the Glorious and with Estelle and Joshua reuniting

. But it rewrites the events of the game pretty significantly. It's actually worth watching for the animation, there's some nice fight scenes, but it doesn't work at all as standalone thing, it's pure fan service.