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The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC |OT| More Olivier Than Ever

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
No,
it ends on 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.

What a random place to end, lol. Especially since
that's the point where the game really starts picking up.
 
What a random place to end, lol. Especially since
that's the point where the game really starts picking up.

The whole thing felt like little more than excuse to animate some boss fights and a few key moments/conversations.
Walter going HAM and beating the shit out of Estelle and company was probably my favorite part of it.
 
The whole thing felt like little more than excuse to animate some boss fights and a few key moments/conversations.
Walter going HAM and beating the shit out of Estelle and company was probably my favorite part of it.

If nothing else, the portrayal of how beastly the Enforcers are in the anime is excellent.
 

duckroll

Member
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?

Hahahahahahaha. The OVA is garbage plotwise. It makes no sense whatsoever because it starts with the Joshua/Estelle scene at the end of FC with zero context, then immediately jumps to the boss fight at the end of chapter 1. The rest of the OVA is a mishmash of the next few chapters, with tons of omissions and lots of random original shit added to make the action more "exciting". There's also no real ending because it takes a major scene from chapter 6 as the climax but adds stuff from the actual ending of the game itself (action stuff, not story stuff) and then just... ends.
 
So apparently the OVA has an English dub? There's nothing wrong with that...but who the heck was the audience for that dub at the time?
 
Hahahahahahaha. The OVA is garbage plotwise. It makes no sense whatsoever because it starts with the Joshua/Estelle scene at the end of FC with zero context, then immediately jumps to the boss fight at the end of chapter 1. The rest of the OVA is a mishmash of the next few chapters, with tons of omissions and lots of random original shit added to make the action more "exciting". There's also no real ending because it takes a major scene from chapter 6 as the climax but adds stuff from the actual ending of the game itself (action stuff, not story stuff) and then just... ends.

And judging from stills, Estelle got a big ol' melon head.
 

Psxphile

Member
And judging from stills, Estelle got a big ol' melon head.

qOeqoZZ.jpg



tumblr_m4ahymde6P1ruhq2co1_r1_400.gif
 

Eusis

Member
Hahahahahahaha. The OVA is garbage plotwise. It makes no sense whatsoever because it starts with the Joshua/Estelle scene at the end of FC with zero context, then immediately jumps to the boss fight at the end of chapter 1. The rest of the OVA is a mishmash of the next few chapters, with tons of omissions and lots of random original shit added to make the action more "exciting". There's also no real ending because it takes a major scene from chapter 6 as the climax but adds stuff from the actual ending of the game itself (action stuff, not story stuff) and then just... ends.
So basically like it sounded, just something (possibly) fun for people who wanted to see Trails in the Sky animated... after they've gotten through everything anyway. Might've sufficed as a last resort admittedly with a synopsis of SC, but as we really did get SC that'd be sort of dumb now.
 

duckroll

Member
So basically like it sounded, just something (possibly) fun for people who wanted to see Trails in the Sky animated... after they've gotten through everything anyway. Might've sufficed as a last resort admittedly with a synopsis of SC, but as we really did get SC that'd be sort of dumb now.

Nah, it doesn't work at all as a replacement in any way with or without a synopsis whether as a last resort at all. It is -only- for people who have already played both games and just want to see certain fights or scenes animated. Nothing more. For anyone who hasn't played SC, the OVA would just be noise. There are no character introductions or any sort of proper narrative structure.
 

Erheller

Member
Nah, it doesn't work at all as a replacement in any way with or without a synopsis whether as a last resort at all. It is -only- for people who have already played both games and just want to see certain fights or scenes animated. Nothing more. For anyone who hasn't played SC, the OVA would just be noise. There are no character introductions or any sort of proper narrative structure.

I watched the OVA a few days ago and I agree completely. It's basically fan service in the form of nicely-animated fights. The plot was pretty nonsensical and deviates a lot from the source material (and not in a good way).
 
Welp, these eight
abyss worms
were probably the most challenging monster killing quest so far.
Bringing Tita along was a terrible decision, on top of that.
 

Eusis

Member
Nah, it doesn't work at all as a replacement in any way with or without a synopsis whether as a last resort at all. It is -only- for people who have already played both games and just want to see certain fights or scenes animated. Nothing more. For anyone who hasn't played SC, the OVA would just be noise. There are no character introductions or any sort of proper narrative structure.
I was definitely thinking a "I have to scrounge for scraps" sort of scenario. Read what happens in the game, and see the OVA to TRY to get some visual representation of it. Kind of like how you couldn't ACTUALLY have a satisfactory meal from scraps anyway.
 

asagami_

Banned
I am in the chapter 9 and I think that
I ran out my luck at finding Shining Poms :( I found a enemy in Liberl Ark 2 where Shinin Poms appears randomly, yesterday I could fight several of them even at the first or second try, but now is not possible.

At least I don't wasted this opportunity and now all the characters are above 80's level (least Tita, I need to to do something regarding her level if I want bring her to Renne, though).
 
I'm surprised that Chapter 7 has pretty much
been a dungeon rush. It's not a bad thing though, since we finally get to take on the Enforcers and learn more about them. And also Fateful Confrontation, which is still amazing. I just got to Miss Bewitching Bell in the 3rd tower.
 

Psxphile

Member
(least Tita, I need to to do something regarding her level if I want bring her to Renne, though).

Probably shouldn't bother.
Tita gets maybe one line during the whole conversation, and Renne barely acknowledges her. This moment is basically all Estelle's w/ a bit o' Joshua. I had Kevin on the team as well but didn't contribute anything either.

I just replayed the final battles w/ Olivier and
Mueller
in tow because I wanted to see their unique dialogues and their reactions (first time I beat the game it was with Agate and
Josette
). Most of it was basically just their "version" of lines any other party member would say in each circumstance and not too terribly important, but I thought the conversation between
Loewe and the two Erebonians after the fight with Joshua
was special enough to screencap. You can see it here and here (obviously, spoilers in those links).

I'm thinking of doing it again with Kloe and
Julia
next at some point. And I definitely want to get Kevin's reactions on record.
 

Nyoro SF

Member
Regarding the hardest battle in the game for me, I had enormous difficulty with the chapter 8
walking cactuses. They have huge range and massive debuff potential, and the King Cactus can fire out a fullscreen super move which cracked out 3000 damage. Even though they're conveniently lined up, it's immensely difficult to take one down before their pain train starts, and killing the King in a reasonable amount of time was pretty much impossible. I think when I redid the battle I just tried my hardest to clock down the cactuses as much as possible while trying to kill at least two before they could get in too many hits. I distinctly remember defense buffs not working out.

I must've reloaded my save like 8 times trying different builds and techniques on how to beat these little bastards lol

Also in chapter 8
the abyss worms. The moment the chapter told me that I was going to lose the ability to do arts as I passed out ZFGs I immediately swapped in Agate and Zane in my party, since they're the biggest physical heavy hitters that don't rely on arts. I ran Agate into the middle of the worms to act as a meat shield while I beat the ever living crap out of the worms one by one (and clocked them down).

By the way for anyone reading that hasn't done it, for the final chapter bringing Olivier and
Mueller
to the top of
the tower for the battle against Loewe
will give important dialogue that ties into Trails of Cold Steel, so that's a nice touch.
 

Psxphile

Member
Also in chapter 8
the abyss worms. The moment the chapter told me that I was going to lose the ability to do arts as I passed out ZFGs I immediately swapped in Agate and Zane in my party, since they're the biggest physical heavy hitters that don't rely on arts. I ran Agate into the middle of the worms to act as a meat shield while I beat the ever living crap out of the worms one by one (and clocked them down).

Wouldn't Zane had made the better meat shield? He's the designated tank, after all.
 

Nyoro SF

Member
Wouldn't Zane had made the better meat shield? He's the designated tank, after all.

I think it had to do with positioning. At the time the idea of using a meat shield didn't occur to me until the battle had already started, so Agate just so happened to be near the largest amount of enemies that he could distract.

The big monster battles are the highlight battles of both FC and SC for me; way more than the story bosses.
 

Bladenic

Member
Regarding the hardest battle in the game for me, I had enormous difficulty with the chapter 8
walking cactuses. They have huge range and massive debuff potential, and the King Cactus can fire out a fullscreen super move which cracked out 3000 damage. Even though they're conveniently lined up, it's immensely difficult to take one down before their pain train starts, and killing the King in a reasonable amount of time was pretty much impossible. I think when I redid the battle I just tried my hardest to clock down the cactuses as much as possible while trying to kill at least two before they could get in too many hits. I distinctly remember defense buffs not working out.

I must've reloaded my save like 8 times trying different builds and techniques on how to beat these little bastards lol

Also in chapter 8
the abyss worms. The moment the chapter told me that I was going to lose the ability to do arts as I passed out ZFGs I immediately swapped in Agate and Zane in my party, since they're the biggest physical heavy hitters that don't rely on arts. I ran Agate into the middle of the worms to act as a meat shield while I beat the ever living crap out of the worms one by one (and clocked them down).

By the way for anyone reading that hasn't done it, for the final chapter bringing Olivier and
Mueller
to the top of
the tower for the battle against Loewe
will give important dialogue that ties into Trails of Cold Steel, so that's a nice touch.

Really?? Do you mind posting it? I'm already in CS chapter 4 but still nice to read.
 

Nyoro SF

Member
Really?? Do you mind posting it? I'm already in CS chapter 4 but still nice to read.

My memory apparently has gone bad because I have overstated it by calling it "important". Basically Olivier states
that merely being a noble doesn't mean that he cannot battle against false peace in Erebonia
. I thought it was a nice touch.

And of course, Olivier's dialogue in chapter 8
where he and the general discuss the ramifications of Erebonia's class divide and fighting the chancellor who rules with an iron fist
, all relevant to Cold Steel as well.
 

Cqef

Member
Really?? Do you mind posting it? I'm already in CS chapter 4 but still nice to read.
Psxphile just did actually
Probably shouldn't bother.
Tita gets maybe one line during the whole conversation, and Renne barely acknowledges her. This moment is basically all Estelle's w/ a bit o' Joshua. I had Kevin on the team as well but didn't contribute anything either.

I just replayed the final battles w/ Olivier and
Mueller
in tow because I wanted to see their unique dialogues and their reactions (first time I beat the game it was with Agate and
Josette
). Most of it was basically just their "version" of lines any other party member would say in each circumstance and not too terribly important, but I thought the conversation between
Loewe and the two Erebonians after the fight with Joshua
was special enough to screencap. You can see it here and here (obviously, spoilers in those links).

I'm thinking of doing it again with Kloe and
Julia
next at some point. And I definitely want to get Kevin's reactions on record.
 
Whew, got all my BP. Onto that final stretch.

A small question about the end of chapter 8:
When Estelle mentions she's an A rank Bracer, does she do it regardless of her actual rank, or is it a bonus for doing all these quests?
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Whew, got all my BP. Onto that final stretch.

A small question about the end of chapter 8:
When Estelle mentions she's an A rank Bracer, does she do it regardless of her actual rank, or is it a bonus for doing all these quests?

The dialogue changes based on her rank.
 

omgfloofy

Banned
A small question about the end of chapter 8:
When Estelle mentions she's an A rank Bracer, does she do it regardless of her actual rank, or is it a bonus for doing all these quests?

Spoiler only marked because it's related to the above:
The Sept-Archives book confirms that Estelle and Joshua are both, canon-wise, B-Rank Bracers.
 
The dialogue changes based on her rank.

Spoiler only marked because it's related to the above:
The Sept-Archives book confirms that Estelle and Joshua are both, canon-wise, B-Rank Bracers.

Thanks for the answers, that's a neat detail. But yeah, I can see
how canonically they'd rather not make her already an A-Rank Bracer. They drummed up the ranks quite a bit towards the end of FC, so A was supposed to see a super big deal. At that rate, finding another cat or repairing the hot steams again would have made Estelle fill that vacant S-Rank. I mean, going from the bottom of junior ranks to A within a year is kind of crazy, regardless of how many incredibly heroic things we did.

Speaking of neat details, I noticed that when Joshua joins back he's still Joshua Astray on the status screen, but after that scene where Cassius slaps him, he's Joshua Bright again. That was nice.

I've played through the first 2 chapters of Cold Steel and seeing all the references, I was wondering if Falcom had put together some Atlas / history book of Zemuria, it looks like the Sept Archives would fulfill that function.
 

Dice//

Banned
Thanks for the answers, that's a neat detail. But yeah, I can see
how canonically they'd rather not make her already an A-Rank Bracer. They drummed up the ranks quite a bit towards the end of FC, so A was supposed to see a super big deal. At that rate, finding another cat or repairing the hot steams again would have made Estelle fill that vacant S-Rank. I mean, going from the bottom of junior ranks to A within a year is kind of crazy, regardless of how many incredibly heroic things we did.

Speaking of neat details, I noticed that when Joshua joins back he's still Joshua Astray on the status screen, but after that scene where Cassius slaps him, he's Joshua Bright again. That was nice.

I've played through the first 2 chapters of Cold Steel and seeing all the references, I was wondering if Falcom had put together some Atlas / history book of Zemuria, it looks like the Sept Archives would fulfill that function.

Thank god. Astray is pretty ham-fisted even as far as JRPG naming goes...
 
Nah, it doesn't work at all as a replacement in any way with or without a synopsis whether as a last resort at all. It is -only- for people who have already played both games and just want to see certain fights or scenes animated. Nothing more. For anyone who hasn't played SC, the OVA would just be noise. There are no character introductions or any sort of proper narrative structure.

Its not even a good representation outside of a few scenes... and they dont even follow the actual story which is kind of a mistake in itself
 
Done with chapter 2 at 13 hours. About how long are 3 and 4? Trying to get to the good part before I go away on Sunday.
I'm not particularly fast and reached the end of chapter 6, doing everything on the way, at the 40 hour mark. I'd say you should reach chapter 5 in another dozen hours or so. 3 and 4 are a bit slow but they aren't terrible or anything, mind you.
 
I'm not particularly fast and reached the end of chapter 6, doing everything on the way, at the 40 hour mark. I'd say you should reach chapter 5 in another dozen hours or so. 3 and 4 are a bit slow but they aren't terrible or anything, mind you.

I personally felt like each chapter was faster than the last, though it doesn't REALLY ramp up until chapter 5. Chapter 3 felt like higher stakes than chapter 2
Because the events were jeopardizing the peace talks
, and chapter 4's stakes felt yet higher
because the events were in Estelle's hometown and they were putting people to sleep.
 
Alright, climax of chapter 3 was legit. I assume we'll get to fight
some of these enforcers,
right? I won't have to wait until the 3rd game that may never get translated?
 

Einhander

Member
Chapters 4 & 5 spoilers

Chapter 4 had a differently played out scenario compared to the previous chapters. It was messed up of Lucciola playing with Estelle's emotions by showing her an illusion of her mother in a dream. The boss you fight didn't feel like a boss. It was a group of not so difficult enemies, but two of them were technically the "bosses". They were tricky. One of them would get healed by using artes if the weaker mobs were around (I think). I've just started chapter 5. The fight between Joshua and Mueller was nice. Joshua with his "switch flipped on" and Mueller being serious while fighting are so overpowered. In Joshua's case, that's quite evident when you look at his level being 72, lol. I'm at Bose now.
 
I personally felt like each chapter was faster than the last, though it doesn't REALLY ramp up until chapter 5. Chapter 3 felt like higher stakes than chapter 2
Because the events were jeopardizing the peace talks
, and chapter 4's stakes felt yet higher
because the events were in Estelle's hometown and they were putting people to sleep.
Oh yeah, they do indeed gain momentum, don't get me wrong, I think the game is phenomenal.

It's just that the first half is definitely slower than the high note on which FC ended. Much like FC, the game picks up momentum progressively, and it's back to full speed circa chapter 5-6. I was mostly addressing the question of when does it get back to its crazy glorious moments.

I didn't mind the slower parts / lower stakes because they still had all these great character and world building moments, which I love.

I'm halfway through the last chapter and have been playing Cold Steel on the side, and I like that shared universe a lot. I find it very rewarding to explore different parts and characters of this familiar and cohesive universe. It expands on references you've read or heard before and at the same time, you intuitively pick up on details someone new to the series wouldn't.
 

cwistofu

Member
I'm playing Hard Mode and holy shit this is the biggest mistake ever. Every boss I come across is a struggle, and I have to abuse food items to stand a chance most of the time. I'm at the end of Ch.3, and omfg I regret this choice. I should have just restarted when I had to pray to the RNG gods just to beat the first boss, but nooooo--"things will get easier," I thought. "First Chapter Hard Mode was also a pain at the beginning but it became a fun challenge once my characters beefed up a bit," I said. NOPE. Even though I power leveled a bit on shiny poms and am currently at 58 with my current team, I'm struggling to beat the monster hunt on Royal Avenue after the series of bosses at the end of Ch. 3. (Don't even get me started on those back to back fights.)

I have 32 hours on my save file, but in reality I've probably spent 50+ hours to get to where I am.

Is Cold Steel's hard mode this insane as well?
 

omgfloofy

Banned
Is Cold Steel's hard mode this insane as well?

No. The original trilogy was never balanced for difficulty modes, and they were added when the games were released later on PSP for the people who have played through the games on their original PC release.
 
I'm playing Hard Mode and holy shit this is the biggest mistake ever. Every boss I come across is a struggle, and I have to abuse food items to stand a chance most of the time. I'm at the end of Ch.3, and omfg I regret this choice. I should have just restarted when I had to pray to the RNG gods just to beat the first boss, but nooooo--"things will get easier," I thought. "First Chapter Hard Mode was also a pain at the beginning but it became a fun challenge once my characters beefed up a bit," I said. NOPE. Even though I power leveled a bit on shiny poms and am currently at 58 with my current team, I'm struggling to beat the monster hunt on Royal Avenue after the series of bosses at the end of Ch. 3. (Don't even get me started on those back to back fights.)

I have 32 hours on my save file, but in reality I've probably spent 50+ hours to get to where I am.

Is Cold Steel's hard mode this insane as well?
Remind me which boss was the monster hunt one you're referring to? The first boss at the chapter 3 finale wasn't too bad in hard mode, but the second one got pretty dicey for a bit. Getting that fight down to one combatant asap was key.

I'm trying to remember if clock down is accessible by the point you're at. That move is very useful along with Clock Up Ex to keep the turn count managable. Also by this point you have both Agate and Scherezard so you can work the turn order in your favor with Heaven's Kiss and Spiral Edge.

Oh right, it's those Fire Birds that can throw feathers at you, right? Are you coming into the fight with high CP to take out one of them early on? Thinning the herd of a member or two always goes a long way in these fights to make the assault against you more manageable. I remember they have an attack all move so that CAN make it trickier earlier on. But at least if you use S-Breaks on Criticals or Attack up bonuses, you can probably take some out quickly.
 

cwistofu

Member
Remind me which boss was the monster hunt one you're referring to? The first boss at the chapter 3 finale wasn't too bad in hard mode, but the second one got pretty dicey for a bit. Getting that fight down to one combatant asap was key.

I'm trying to remember if clock down is accessible by the point you're at. That move is very useful along with Clock Up Ex to keep the turn count managable. Also by this point you have both Agate and Scherezard so you can work the turn order in your favor with Heaven's Kiss and Spiral Edge.

Oh right, it's those Fire Birds that can throw feathers at you, right? Are you coming into the fight with high CP to take out one of them early on? Thinning the herd of a member or two always goes a long way in these fights to make the assault against you more manageable. I remember they have an attack all move so that CAN make it trickier earlier on. But at least if you use S-Breaks on Criticals or Attack up bonuses, you can probably take some out quickly.

Thanks, I had Clock Down but never really thought to use it. Made all the difference. Guess I'll be using some of these status effects more often!
 

jonjonaug

Member
Someone translated Renne's backstory from Trails 3rd, because even if the game is ever released in English this might end up not in the release.

Massive spoilers, obviously.

I am in the chapter 9 and I think that
I ran out my luck at finding Shining Poms :( I found a enemy in Liberl Ark 2 where Shinin Poms appears randomly, yesterday I could fight several of them even at the first or second try, but now is not possible.

At least I don't wasted this opportunity and now all the characters are above 80's level (least Tita, I need to to do something regarding her level if I want bring her to Renne, though).

There's a really good spot in one of the tunnels, but I forget exactly where
.
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Someone translated Renne's backstory from Trails 3rd, because even if the game is ever released in English this might end up not in the release.

Massive spoilers, obviously.



There's a really good spot in one of the tunnels, but I forget exactly where
.

Not fully aware of the details, but given that (so far) only the PC version would be considered for release, and XSEED's general anti-censorship stance, I'm not sure they would cut it unless it's so extreme Valve/GOG say it won't fly.

Tom might quit if they actually were to cut content, given the ordeal with Senran Kagura ages :p
 

jonjonaug

Member
Not fully aware of the details, but given that (so far) only the PC version would be considered for release, and XSEED's general anti-censorship stance, I'm not sure they would cut it unless it's so extreme Valve/GOG say it won't fly.

Tom might quit if they actually were to cut content, given the ordeal with Senran Kagura ages :p

Hence the "might". Suppose Falcom might not want to include it themselves, for whatever reason.
 
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