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The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel |OT| Class Warfare
- Thread starter Dandy Crocodile
- Start date
Ultimadrago
Member
Get some Confuse resistant accessories and someone who has Recuria or the like to heal the status effect (in case you don't have enough accessories for everyone). Utilize Arts against them as well, not physical attacks. I used Elliot and his buff for support to start off the fight and tried to space out everyone at the start too since their beams are AOE
Saoshyant
Member
Finally got through the final battle in nightmare, even at Lv 72 (I saw 68 being the minimum recommended) it still required quite a bit of luck leading to a few retries. Thank Aidios I didn't have to grind to Lv 80 -- I considered it for a moment.
Also, Laura is the lady Rean ends up with in my head canon. This NG+ playthrough, I went to get all trophies and I left Laura's dance scene for the last one and it certainly did not disappoint. That final farewell scene was incredible.
I finally beat the game: I spent around 100 hours into it (There was just half an hour left to beat the trophy, but that's not a problem) scattered around nearly 6 months since its EU launch in January, and time has come to leave my final impressions about the game.
I have mixed feelings about it: the story has a great potential, but I had the feeling a lot of time was wasted into useless events (and this was made worse by the repetitive month pattern of quests; in addition the "Social Links" are often pretty bland).
The thing that has probably bothered the most is that in one day the dialogues for EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER can change up to 3 times, and to avoid losing any hidden quest or find some enjoyable side-story I was forced to talk to everyone multiple times( and maybe that's why I hate
so much, not mentioning
when over 80% of the dialogues are really,REALLY, useless, and there were so many people to talk to).
I was warned that Falcom has many NPC on the table, but talking to all of them made me lose a lot of time, while I couldn't wait to advance in the plot.
On the other side, I can say I am pretty satisfied by mainly all primary characters (Sharon and Laura <3) and their development in the game (and I cannot wait to see their further growth in CSII), as well by events occuring during the field studies (which obviously host the core of the action) and the final chapter( despite many mysteries are unsolved at the end of the game, everything is settled to be faced in the further games).
I loved the political/economical/technological interest the whole game has focused on all the time,which I found really interesting to follow as it succesfully hooked me while playing until the end).
Graphics-wise, it was really good and fluid (except for the
, which was a framerate nightmare on Vita, which is another reason why I didn't like that section).
To sum up, I promote Trails Of Cold Steel, hoping the sequel can make up for some of its flaws (The removal of the school setting should already be a good thing, though it's pretty odd for me to say, as I loved it on Persona 4 Golden, but maybe I see it as out of place considering the pseudo 900-ish (?) setting of CS)
I did it as well, and it was pure gold.
I have mixed feelings about it: the story has a great potential, but I had the feeling a lot of time was wasted into useless events (and this was made worse by the repetitive month pattern of quests; in addition the "Social Links" are often pretty bland).
The thing that has probably bothered the most is that in one day the dialogues for EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER can change up to 3 times, and to avoid losing any hidden quest or find some enjoyable side-story I was forced to talk to everyone multiple times( and maybe that's why I hate
Laura's stupid fanculb and their nonsesne overprotective attitude
The academy festival
I was warned that Falcom has many NPC on the table, but talking to all of them made me lose a lot of time, while I couldn't wait to advance in the plot.
On the other side, I can say I am pretty satisfied by mainly all primary characters (Sharon and Laura <3) and their development in the game (and I cannot wait to see their further growth in CSII), as well by events occuring during the field studies (which obviously host the core of the action) and the final chapter( despite many mysteries are unsolved at the end of the game, everything is settled to be faced in the further games).
I loved the political/economical/technological interest the whole game has focused on all the time,which I found really interesting to follow as it succesfully hooked me while playing until the end).
Graphics-wise, it was really good and fluid (except for the
Festival again
To sum up, I promote Trails Of Cold Steel, hoping the sequel can make up for some of its flaws (The removal of the school setting should already be a good thing, though it's pretty odd for me to say, as I loved it on Persona 4 Golden, but maybe I see it as out of place considering the pseudo 900-ish (?) setting of CS)
I did it as well, and it was pure gold.
Saoshyant
Member
On that note, I would like to say I feel differently about the game. I replayed it for NG+ and thought, "hey, I'm gonna be done with this in like ten/twenty hours because I'm not going to talk with everyone again, that would be silly". Except I didn't. Couldn't. I bloody love talking with every damn NPC, especially when they have clear personalities and schedules and the things they say keep changing.
There's also an option to speed up drastically every scene by holding down X + O. I barely used it.
The slow pacing that allowed me to figure out how the whole Erebonian society works? That's a nice touch and exactly the sort of thing I like in this genre -- I loved every second of it. The game felt to me like something Matsuno (FFT, etc) would have done in a setting based on the Industrial Revolution but crossed with Persona 3/4 highschool stuff and deep characterization.
I would be annoyed if the sequel's exactly like this (and I know it isn't), but as the introductory piece for the following games in the trilogy, and even the others not directly related but in the same world? CS1 did an awesome job.
There's also an option to speed up drastically every scene by holding down X + O. I barely used it.
The slow pacing that allowed me to figure out how the whole Erebonian society works? That's a nice touch and exactly the sort of thing I like in this genre -- I loved every second of it. The game felt to me like something Matsuno (FFT, etc) would have done in a setting based on the Industrial Revolution but crossed with Persona 3/4 highschool stuff and deep characterization.
I would be annoyed if the sequel's exactly like this (and I know it isn't), but as the introductory piece for the following games in the trilogy, and even the others not directly related but in the same world? CS1 did an awesome job.
Well, shit. I came in the thread to ask about the final boss of the schoolhouse because it was kicking my ass and I wanted to know if I was underleveled and needed to grind. Figured I'd search the thread first and, well, I guess spoilered text shows up in search results because I accidentally caught a glimpse of a pretty big one. :/
It's not a huge deal, I mean, I already had a strong suspicion that
because the possibility occurred to me the other night and I instantly remembered seeing some artwork from Cold Steel II on youtube with
. But still, kind of a bummer to find out I was right this way as opposed to by playing the game lol.
It's not a huge deal, I mean, I already had a strong suspicion that
Crow was C
Rean standing back to back with an evil-looking white-haired dude
That's what makes the series so good doe
If you're set on doing every hidden quest too, why not just check a side quest guide to see who gives them? Having to do a lot to find all the optional content the game offers sounds like a weird complaint.
Yeah, it's a bit stupid. I've learned to just CTRL+F through the thread if I'm trying to find something.
I've got an incredibly minor complaint regarding this, but I wish it sped up the scene to 2 or 3x normal speed the second I press circle. The way it started slow and slowly sped up was so annoying. The game had a ridiculous amount of slow, meandering (usually establishing) shots I didn't care about at all and always fast-forwarded through, but because I couldn't tap circle to speed them up, I had to hold it, and I always ended up missing the first couple of lines the characters said when the shot ended.
Novel Mike
Member
What is a big spoiler for you because I think that's pretty huge. Nothing else in CS1 was as big as that for me, not even the jumping the shark
power rangers giant robots
Toadthemushroom
Member
Wtf am I reading
Toadthemushroom
Member
But Elise is great.
It's also nice to see Rean interact with a character he's known before, when he's mostly interacting with characters he just met.
KuwabaraTheMan
Banned
The game pretty much expects you to figure this out at least 10 hours before its revealed, anyway.
DrROBschiz
Member
Cant agree to this at all
Probably the least interesting auxillary character and gets one of the worst and mind boggling scenes in the game
Toadthemushroom
Member
Mind boggling scene - which?
She's a good imouto character, but she needed to be in a position where she had relevance or a say in what Rean does in his journey, at least then the player would 1) care about her more and 2) understand how she feels more to each decision he makes. Hopefully the followup emphasises her more, as she will be a party member.
If I had a guess, that would be the Chapter 4 scene. Probably the worst plot advancement storytelling scene I've seen in the entire series I've played so far.
Really felt like they just decided they were going to force her into the main plot by any means necessary, even if they had to do a whole lot of stupid stuff to do it. Gotta sell those copies to imouto lovers I guess.
(There's improvements to this subject in CS2; I know ROB will be pleased)
DrROBschiz
Member
The whole zombie walk to damsel in distress in the schoolhouse scene. Absolutely terrible
I didnt like her role or dialogue or personality in the slightest. It doesn't help that they gave her the whole
"crushing on her foster brother"
Toadthemushroom
Member
That was fine, it's
Rean's fault for not wanting to take out the 50 minutes to visit his imouto by train despite all that time
To be fair, it didn't seem like pandering, but I agree her introduction and role were more forced compared with other characters, and that was despite it being fairly early on in the grand scheme of things.
DrROBschiz
Member
Dont get me started on Rean
He's just as terrible a character as Elise. Wasted potential
Toadthemushroom
Member
Yeah, I ended up finding Rean a pretty boring character. His obliviousness to other characters might be in there because you're more likely to interpret everything through him, but it would have made more sense in a game with a silent protagonist.
Still, I'll never quite understand the Elise hate, some of the posts earlier in the thread called her a flaming piece of trash or something. Poor Elise.
DrROBschiz
Member
I blame a lot of the problems on the whole Persona Aping social link system
It literally kills off a lot of the potential of the individual characters
SatelliteOfLove
Member
Stop using that term.
Labels disable
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(good storytelling and characterization).
Toadthemushroom
Member
That's not a bad point actually, gamifying story scenes (or making them set "tasks") and putting a chunk of many of the characters' development within them probably did lessen what could be done in the main narrative, but at the same time it tied in pretty well with the academy setting, and a lot of the scenes were related to that setting and the activities that can be done there, and provided a nice contrast between field activities and what is essentially a hub to return to and unwind.
How dare you like a character that's collectively hated on neogaf. /s
Can't say that character did anything for me but why is she hated?
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.
Creepy pseudo-incest angle and a trope-y character in a game where the good writing supercedes tropes for everyone, but not for her. Just an all-around pandering and awful character.
Creepy grandpa is the second worst but only because he gets less importance and screen time
To be honest, I don't understand either. I didn't feel too much one way or another, but I did find myself liking her more in the second game.
Now, for hilarity when it comes to "collective dislike," try bringing up Millium.
(Very) forced into the plot and is fawning over her brother constantly.
It is much worse in Japanese. I could probably count several dozens instances of shrieked onii-sama in total. Thank goodness the localization could tone it down some and make her sound more like a noble's daughter. Elise's English voice is pretty good IMO. Can't save everything though.
When it comes to galge-style dialogue in games like this most players don't like it. And Elise kind of embodies that and draws that galge feel from your classmates too. As for me I don't particularly mind given that I've played JP games for as long as I've been alive but it makes it harder to recommend this game to other people who are more in the mainstream gaming side.
I don't believe in conspiracies where everyone secretly meets up and decides to hate a character. People posted good reasons many times in this thread. I also don't think Toad was being some sort of secret conspirator or some brave soul by having an opinion that disagrees with the majority, they were just stating what they felt.
Creepy grandpa is more of an eye-roller cause you can let it slide due to his in-game age, but... yeah. Not letting the undertones towards your younger sister slide is definitely reasonable.
DrROBschiz
Member
Creepy Grandpa was pretty limited at least. Yeah its what should be a dead trope by now but the majority of his dialogue stayed glued to the plot
FallenGrace
Member
I was also fine with Elise. Not my favourite character, not even close but I didn't dislike her either. She was fine.
DrROBschiz
Member
Ok but we can get "They were Fine" characters anywhere
Trails man... trails burned entire casts into my brain
Cold Steel struggled a little bit in this department
Trails man... trails burned entire casts into my brain
Cold Steel struggled a little bit in this department
Puck Beaverton
Banned
I would agree with that. I'm struggling to think of a character I really liked other than Sara and even then I can't remember if we were told her last name.
DrROBschiz
Member
My Favorite characters were Sara, Jusis, Crow
Laura and Fie I just like but not cuz they were amazingly written characters. Decent
Gaius is a great character that gets nothing to do and you wonder why hes even along for the ride.
Machias was a missed opportunity... Once he finally gets over his stupid inferiority complex he gets nothing important to do
Millium... gets chastised for her annoying voice and personality. Earned but they gave her tinges of someone who actually a critical thinker and kind of lost in the woods. They should have built upon her more.
Emma... had potential. Squandered by the plot. Likeable at least but objectively boring.
Want my perception of anyone else? I can do this all day
UberTag
Member
It's Valestein. I remember it easily because I know Sara likes drinking and it sounds like "ale stein" with a V in front of it.
DrROBschiz
Member
Love Sara
Having her shoved into teaching at that school... man... its like chaining up a beautiful wild animal
Lets not do that damn school house setting again Falcom
I remembered Sara's last name because of Oath in Felghana.
Of course it's easy to remember Valestein Castle!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RziPkqQUB4o
Of course it's easy to remember Valestein Castle!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RziPkqQUB4o
Toadthemushroom
Member
Yeah, I honestly don't think she's an out-and-out pandering character.
Obviously she is there for people who like imouto characters, and I personally liked her as a character maybe because of that, but I've seen more pandering from these types of characters in other games which actually made me cringe.
Maybe I'm just seeing things differently though! And in a game that isn't devoid of these sorts of characters and tropes maybe she didn't stick out as much as she could have to me.
---
I also agree that the cast isn't as memorable in general, and to be honest I found that about the world as well. It might be due to how progression works, since you're always moving somewhere from a central hub, rather than travelling around from place to place.
It's harder to form connections between locations and events because of it, and the game's reliance on some knowledge and references from past games, which some either haven't played or don't remember enough about, raises the barrier to entry to get the most out of the narrative.
I was also pretty underwhelmed by some of the twists at the end, compared with what I've played so far from the Trails trilogy.
I've said this before... I think the thing is that most of the characters really start to shine in the second game.
I can easily point out at least two characters in FC and SC that basically didn't have any character development at all until SC and 3rd, as an example. I mean, I doubt any of you have played FC and SC would be able to agree that you should absolutely judge Agate entirely based on his appearance in the first game, yeah?
I feel that it's the same with most of Cold Steel's cast, really. Then there's the fact that there's a III on the horizon as well, and I'm pretty convinced that they've setup characters to have a bigger role in that game than they did in CS and CS2.
I can easily point out at least two characters in FC and SC that basically didn't have any character development at all until SC and 3rd, as an example. I mean, I doubt any of you have played FC and SC would be able to agree that you should absolutely judge Agate entirely based on his appearance in the first game, yeah?
I feel that it's the same with most of Cold Steel's cast, really. Then there's the fact that there's a III on the horizon as well, and I'm pretty convinced that they've setup characters to have a bigger role in that game than they did in CS and CS2.
DrROBschiz
Member
I would agree with you if I could remember the two games as separate entities!
I played both back to back so its a BLUR. So basically I can only view Agate form memory as his complete character and not the distinct road he took to get there... lol
Hahahaha!
But this is my point exactly. You see FC and SC as a single entity. And they should be considered that way. Which is exactly how I see CS and CS2, as well.
I think my position is different because I played each of the games as they came out in Japan.
At least once CS2 comes out, the English players may not have to wait nearly three years to even get a hint as to what CS3 will be about. That gamechanger is real, folks.
Goddamn, I saw that! I got to that reveal last night and all kinds of crazy shit started happening! I mean, it still would've been the standout moment if it had been a surprise but there was definitely a lot more going on than just that.
And I actually thought the game was winding down and would end on the reveal or something. I really wanted to keep playing but I had no idea how long was left and it was already 5AM. Just woke up and I can't wait to pick it back up later on!
Also, now more than ever I want to know wtf is going on in Crossbell.
Toadthemushroom
Member
Nah, she'll move up the ranks to "best imouto ever" from "imouto you want to protect"
SatelliteOfLove
Member
The thing with characters like Elise, Millium, and others is they've got this millstone of having fetish-hunting dullards making up too high a percentage of the audience. People who chafe at characters not fitting into neat little boxes summed up with an anime-only term.
Playing it was like having to sit thru a few commercial breaks for Bog-Ass Standard And Overexposed Anime Cliche™ Brand Anime Cliche pop up for a few minutes every few-several hours. Creepy fuckstain old fart! Little Sister Fetish! Standard School Archetypes Going Thru The Motions!
Falcom seems to have wrote scared due to them feeling that the gaming market of 2012 Japanese Vita/PS3 Anime Art Game wouldn't allow them to NOT have easily-digested pablum to ease the long-form nuance flowing along like a mighty river thruout. Remember all the shit companies get when the perv is toned down? SO5? #FE? XX? Yeah.
Persona 4 had some of this too, as was a few other anime-arted J-games of the past decade or so. They find they exist with feet planted in two worlds, and one of those worlds finds the other disgusting and narrow-minded, while the other is now VERY comfortable with getting things their way and isn't keen on losing ground in a medium they find "theirs". Hopefully getting exposure overseas can get the IQ of the dialogue and characterization away from feelign the "need" to do this again* and Kondo's allusions in interviews can be realized.
*school settings or other well-realized stuff from CS1 was handled excellently is AOK. It's the lowbrow schlock that needs to go remember
That song plays over the jukebox when she enters a bar.
Playing it was like having to sit thru a few commercial breaks for Bog-Ass Standard And Overexposed Anime Cliche™ Brand Anime Cliche pop up for a few minutes every few-several hours. Creepy fuckstain old fart! Little Sister Fetish! Standard School Archetypes Going Thru The Motions!
Falcom seems to have wrote scared due to them feeling that the gaming market of 2012 Japanese Vita/PS3 Anime Art Game wouldn't allow them to NOT have easily-digested pablum to ease the long-form nuance flowing along like a mighty river thruout. Remember all the shit companies get when the perv is toned down? SO5? #FE? XX? Yeah.
Persona 4 had some of this too, as was a few other anime-arted J-games of the past decade or so. They find they exist with feet planted in two worlds, and one of those worlds finds the other disgusting and narrow-minded, while the other is now VERY comfortable with getting things their way and isn't keen on losing ground in a medium they find "theirs". Hopefully getting exposure overseas can get the IQ of the dialogue and characterization away from feelign the "need" to do this again* and Kondo's allusions in interviews can be realized.
*school settings or other well-realized stuff from CS1 was handled excellently is AOK. It's the lowbrow schlock that needs to go remember
That song plays over the jukebox when she enters a bar.