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[SolVanderlyn]

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 felt like, other than Rean, Laura, and maybe Jusis, most of the cast was set up for the sequel. And even then, Rean was especially set up to be more interesting the next time around.

Trails is always a slow burn, it seems. It paid off in Sky, so I expect it to pay off here too.

 

[Toadthemushroom]

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.

To be fair, Trails in the Sky FC introduced Tita and had a few trope-related bits of dialogue concerning her (probably the most remembered was the scene in the cargo hold). Granted, it was a lot more subtle about it and she wasn't a character that only existed for those scenes, compared with "creepy fuckstain old fart" (to quote your naming!).

 

[Basileus777]

Tita in SC is creepier than anything in Cold Steel.

 

[Ultimadrago]

Thing is, for me at least, the best characters' got their share of development and intrigue into First Chapter. Second Chapter sorta hammed out Agate and Scherazard Harvey's pasts (more regrettable for the latter as her simpler role in FC was accomplished much better), but I didn't mind the more "blocky" parts of their sub stories because the first game did such a great job making me care about people like Estelle, Kloe, Liberl's cities along with other minor characters.

I'm in the middle of Chapter 5 in Cold Steel and find Rean largely dull (like most lukewarm handsome protagonists, aside from the fact that he kind of acts like a red-blooded teenage male sometimes?) with only a couple of the teammates sparking any interest whatsoever. I don't want to even go into most of the minor characters. I love the pacing in Trails, but I'm not seeing the slow build adding up to much here. Then again, I disagree with the more popular notion that Second Chapter gets better as it ramps everything up, while I think it sadly slips on its story-telling as the narrative goes on. I still find SC a really good title, of course, but I can only hope Cold Steel really is hiding some huge changes up its sleeves. I don't mind more revelations and maturing personalities being left for the second title, but you need to start off with a strong foot.

 

[FLD]

Just finished the game, took me a little over 82 hours total. Holy shit, what a ride! Pacing issues aside, it was a blast. Really looking forward to Cold Steel II and 3rd now more than ever!

Some thoughts about the ending:

Spoiler

the cliffhanger isn't as painful as the FC one but it also doesn't feel as earned. FC had its own ending and then bam, you had the reveal about Joshua and the cliffhanger. Here, it kinda feels like they just ended it mid-scene. Cliffhangers like this always feel a bit cheaper and more forced to me.

Spoiler

Also, I remember reading the press release for Cold Steel II a little while ago and it mentioned a "decisive collision that changed the fate of an entire nation". I had a few guesses throughout the ending sequence but now that it's over I can't help but wonder wtf they were talking about? I mean, I was expecting a literal collision. Surely they don't mean the "collision" between Osborne and the bullet? Because that's just a needlessly convoluted way of phrasing that lol.

 

[Gu4n]

Congratulations on finishing it!

Knowing XSEED, that was probably a pun on "The Decisive Collision", the track that plays during the final battle, similar to "Trails of Cold Steel" was derived from its battle theme, "The Glint of Cold Steel".

 

[FLD]

Oh, yeah that's probably not a coincidence. Still, though, kind of an odd thing to include in a press release lol.

 

[Ultimadrago]

I really like how the Cooking Mechanic works here over the way it did in Trails. I much prefer having a few base recipes to work around depending on Skill rather than 80 different foods that come at all angles just from eating once. There is the RNG factor for whether someone will cook a perfect or not (which is easily mitigated by making more than...2 of any food with a proficient member), but I simply find the whole interface cleaner and a little more engaged.

Edit: I also just got a trophy called "Trails in the Couch." Please. lol

 

[jschreier]

Up to what I think is the final dungeon? (Last Schoolhouse thing.) So close to finishing before E3!

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Spoiler

Interesting point about the ending but I felt was just as inevitable if not earned. They had been working our way to about 5 conclusions and pulled them off ORAORAORAORAORA with no flubbing. Very commendable.

Tita in SC is creepier than anything in Cold Steel.

Spoiler

That was Schera fucking with Agate in the below-the-belt way only a drunk Schera would.

 

[iRAWRasaurus]

Up to what I think is the final dungeon? (Last Schoolhouse thing.) So close to finishing before E3!

Yep!

 

[jschreier]

What's with the Kiseki series and

Spoiler

brother/sister incest

?

 

[jschreier]

Ending spoilers:

Spoiler

Well, that sure was an ending. They went full Xenogears! Looking forward to #2. I assume we'll get an explanation for Emma and Celine in the next game?

 

[zakujanai]

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

Creepy grandpa definitely bothered me much more because I liked the character generally and Trails is unusual for RPGs in that it has many more interesting and worthwhile characters who aren't all teenagers. He'd anyways end up spoiling a scene he was in though by just being a creepy lech, it's possible to be eccentric without being a paedo.

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.

I'm probably in the Millium camp I'm afraid. That initial outfit was just way too sexualised for a child and I found her personality grating. Obviously loud obnoxious children are a valid personality type but the worst parts were whenever there were flirtatious comments made towards her, that's just never OK.

It's a shame because I like the idea of children taken and made into weapons, it adds a rather dark and sinister thread. I could even see her being over-sexualised due to the abusive nature of the relationship with whoever molded her into a weapon. The real issue is that the others don't recognise this as a result of abuse, but rather continue to treat her as if she was an adult.

Edit: to be clear, I'm not suggesting there was necessarily a sexual element to her abuse, merely that's she's been forced from a young age to live as an adult in an adult world.

(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.

I can definitely see her being worse in Japanese, that type of character would usually bother me much more but I agree that the localisation went a long way to rescue her.

 

[omgfloofy]

I felt like, other than Rean, Laura, and maybe Jusis, most of the cast was set up for the sequel. And even then, Rean was especially set up to be more interesting the next time around.

Trails is always a slow burn, it seems. It paid off in Sky, so I expect it to pay off here too.

You're definitely correct with it being a slow burn. Most things aren't even close to resolution in the first game of an arc. They use the first game (Like FC, Zero, and Cold Steel) to setup for what's coming up next (SC, Ao, and Cold Steel II).

Rean definitely gets more character development in the sequel, and you'll see a bit more from others. You'll actually have to do a bit of work with some of the characters, even. It's very much like Kiseki to not hand you all the development. On top of that, there are characters that are being setup for CSIII, as well.

Oh, yeah that's probably not a coincidence. Still, though, kind of an odd thing to include in a press release lol.

I think there's a bit more than just the physical collision. If you look at it as something political or beyond physical, I think it'll make more sense.

I really like how the Cooking Mechanic works here over the way it did in Trails.

The cooking system is actually a more enhanced version of what you get in the Crossbell Games, too. All the artwork of Elie cooking and getting u-material is a joke based on that cooking system, even.

Ending spoilers:

Spoiler

Well, that sure was an ending. They went full Xenogears! Looking forward to #2. I assume we'll get an explanation for Emma and Celine in the next game?

You're correct in your assumption, but you should have enough to put it together yourself.

I'm probably in the Millium camp I'm afraid. That initial outfit was just way too sexualised for a child and I found her personality grating. Obviously loud obnoxious children are a valid personality type but the worst parts were whenever there were flirtatious comments made towards her, that's just never OK.

It's a shame because I like the idea of children taken and made into weapons, it adds a rather dark and sinister thread. I could even see her being over-sexualised due to the abusive nature of the relationship with whoever molded her into a weapon. The real issue is that the others don't recognise this as a result of abuse, but rather continue to treat her as if she was an adult.

Edit: to be clear, I'm not suggesting there was necessarily a sexual element to her abuse, merely that's she's been forced from a young age to live as an adult in an adult world.

And I'm okay here, because you at least come up with a sensible explanation for how you feel about Millium. Most people just sit and rage and throw invective on hating her, and that's silly. What I'd recommend, though, is if you get the chance, to look into her bond scenes. They're actually surprisingly touching and where you'll get most of her character development. The same in CS2. In fact, I think CS2 will change how you see a lot of the main characters.

I went into the game expecting to dislike Millium, since I generally don't like her character type, but I came out liking her a lot more than I normally would.

 

[Abdiel]

You're definitely correct with it being a slow burn. Most things aren't even close to resolution in the first game of an arc. They use the first game (Like FC, Zero, and Cold Steel) to setup for what's coming up next (SC, Ao, and Cold Steel II).

Rean definitely gets more character development in the sequel, and you'll see a bit more from others. You'll actually have to do a bit of work with some of the characters, even. It's very much like Kiseki to not hand you all the development. On top of that, there are characters that are being setup for CSIII, as well.



I think there's a bit more than just the physical collision. If you look at it as something political or beyond physical, I think it'll make more sense.



The cooking system is actually a more enhanced version of what you get in the Crossbell Games, too. All the artwork of Elie cooking and getting u-material is a joke based on that cooking system, even.



You're correct in your assumption, but you should have enough to put it together yourself.



And I'm okay here, because you at least come up with a sensible explanation for how you feel about Millium. Most people just sit and rage and throw invective on hating her, and that's silly. What I'd recommend, though, is if you get the chance, to look into her bond scenes. They're actually surprisingly touching and where you'll get most of her character development. The same in CS2. In fact, I think CS2 will change how you see a lot of the main characters.

I went into the game expecting to dislike Millium, since I generally don't like her character type, but I came out liking her a lot more than I normally would.

I'm sitting here, doing my best to wait patiently for CSII, but you repeatedly talking about it just makes me want it more. Sigh. It's one of my most anticipated games for this year, depending on when it comes out, I may be alternating between XV and it, haha.

With what you said about the Millium and her bonding events, I think that holds true of a lot of the characters in general. I played through twice for the Platinum, and used that to see all of the bonding events for all of the characters, and I think that's part of what helps sell this game so much to me. On my first play through, I thought the game was great, and I was determined to play through a second time. The second time through, I loved it, having seen and done everything, experienced all the characters to the utmost.

The bonding events offer so many different windows and moments, ways to see who the characters are and take them out of the broad brush plot, with both Rean and the specific character getting some time. As you said, even Millium's were very personal in many ways, showing her with a more thoughtful side, more depth than first blush.

 

[Toadthemushroom]

I'm sitting here, doing my best to wait patiently for CSII, but you repeatedly talking about it just makes me want it more. Sigh. It's one of my most anticipated games for this year, depending on when it comes out, I may be alternating between XV and it, haha.

Spoiler

Hype intensifies

 

[bomblord1]

Seriously considering buying a PS3 for the sequel to this game I don't want to slog through the super low res, pared back graphics, and awful FPS that was the PSTV version again.

I mean even with those issues in my playthrough I would still put the game in my top 3 Vita games and easily in my top 5 RPG's but man that was difficult sometimes. Knowing I could play it at a better fps and IQ is tempting but I can't really justify the price ughh.

 

[Thoraxes]

Seriously considering buying a PS3 for the sequel to this game I don't want to slog through the super low res, pared back graphics, and awful FPS that was the PSTV version again.

I mean even with those issues in my playthrough I would still put the game in my top 3 Vita games and easily in my top 5 RPG's but man that was difficult sometimes. Knowing I could play it at a better fps and IQ is tempting but I can't really justify the price ughh.

since the disc drive on my PS3 started failing, I bought a backup PS3 just so I could know that I'll be guaranteed the ability to play CS2 how I want to play it.

It's the only series where I'd go that far for it, haha.

 

[Toadthemushroom]

Seriously considering buying a PS3 for the sequel to this game I don't want to slog through the super low res, pared back graphics, and awful FPS that was the PSTV version again.

I mean even with those issues in my playthrough I would still put the game in my top 3 Vita games and easily in my top 5 RPG's but man that was difficult sometimes. Knowing I could play it at a better fps and IQ is tempting but I can't really justify the price ughh.

I'd recommend it. I had the first game on both PS3 and Vita, and surprisingly found myself playing it more on PS3 despite the inconvenience of having to sit at a desk to play it due to my setup.

While the actual quality of the in-game assets makes it seem like they targeted Vita, the wildly fluctuating framerate from location to location confirms PS3 was the "lead" -- if Vita were the lead they'd have designed all the locations to target a solid 30fps.

The game's probably mostly CPU-bound on Vita, as the fastforwarding speed on PS3 is also significantly quicker and smoother, and the areas where the Vita version's framerate plummets tended to have more on display at once (though I remember that single train/tram carriage being pretty bad, so who knows).

 

[Famassu]

Seriously considering buying a PS3 for the sequel to this game I don't want to slog through the super low res, pared back graphics, and awful FPS that was the PSTV version again.

I mean even with those issues in my playthrough I would still put the game in my top 3 Vita games and easily in my top 5 RPG's but man that was difficult sometimes. Knowing I could play it at a better fps and IQ is tempting but I can't really justify the price ughh.

I think I remember people saying Falcom has improved/optimized the engine noticeably for Cold Steel II and it's nowhere near as bad as CSI on Vita.

 

[bomblord1]

I think I remember people saying Falcom has improved/optimized the engine noticeably for Cold Steel II and it's nowhere near as bad as CSI on Vita.

I remember asking for impressions and people said it still has a pretty bad framerate on Vita.

 

[Gu4n]

Animations have improved in Cold Steel 2, but the frame rate is similar to the first game. For example, Legram with the fog out runs poorly on both the Vita version and the PS3 version. Another example, though, that comes to mind is one particular scene during the endgame, which runs horribly on Vita (I thought it was going to melt, lol) whereas the PS3 version is acceptable.

 

[Corpekata]

Wtf is an imouto and why are you people not speaking English, Jesus. Elise sucks, objectively. She better bring her A game in the sequel to move up the ranks to "tolerable" and not "I want to see her die painfully"

You know why. We all know why. All according to keikaku and all that jazz.

 

[CrazyDude]

So when do people expect the second game to come out? I know they said fall, but they haven't gotten very specific as to when.

 

[UberTag]

So when do people expect the second game to come out? I know they said fall, but they haven't gotten very specific as to when.

Seems like most online retailers have been settled on a September 6th date in their system for quite a while now but I'm not so optimistic despite it clearly not being a generic placeholder.

 

[Pellegri Testament]

So when do people expect the second game to come out? I know they said fall, but they haven't gotten very specific as to when.

Around the current placeholder date. They don't exactly have much leeway when it comes to delaying the game past that, considering FF15 will make everyone forget about it if it comes around then and October is pretty full as is in terms of rpgs.

 

[mauaus]

What's the cheapest this game has gotten on vita

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

You're definitely correct with it being a slow burn. Most things aren't even close to resolution in the first game of an arc. They use the first game (Like FC, Zero, and Cold Steel) to setup for what's coming up next (SC, Ao, and Cold Steel II).

Rean definitely gets more character development in the sequel, and you'll see a bit more from others. You'll actually have to do a bit of work with some of the characters, even. It's very much like Kiseki to not hand you all the development. On top of that, there are characters that are being setup for CSIII, as well.



I think there's a bit more than just the physical collision. If you look at it as something political or beyond physical, I think it'll make more sense.



The cooking system is actually a more enhanced version of what you get in the Crossbell Games, too. All the artwork of Elie cooking and getting u-material is a joke based on that cooking system, even.



You're correct in your assumption, but you should have enough to put it together yourself.



And I'm okay here, because you at least come up with a sensible explanation for how you feel about Millium. Most people just sit and rage and throw invective on hating her, and that's silly. What I'd recommend, though, is if you get the chance, to look into her bond scenes. They're actually surprisingly touching and where you'll get most of her character development. The same in CS2. In fact, I think CS2 will change how you see a lot of the main characters.

I went into the game expecting to dislike Millium, since I generally don't like her character type, but I came out liking her a lot more than I normally would.

A. Most people are at that level of emotion from seeing another seemingly-bait character/hadn't gotten that far yet to see different/just had gotten an eyefull. The fact that posts to that effect are so common makes that a common reaction.

B. Much of the good stuff was hidden behind the Slink mechanic. For example, I know little about her and Machias from simply not following up on them (which is impossible for everyone). Characters fall thru the cracks.

C. CS2, even if it one has one's mind changed on a character, does not retroactively make a crappy earlier scene not exist (cant call it a comeback if they weren't behind to begin with natch!)

Remember perspective!

So when do people expect the second game to come out? I know they said fall, but they haven't gotten very specific as to when.

Amazon for one says Sep 6th, and things appear to be heading smoothly so cross them fingers.

 

[skLaFarebear]

What's the cheapest this game has gotten on vita

The Lionheart version got a price cut on Best Buy but is now sold out but still available on Amazon for $40. Otherwise the only price cuts on the regular version have been a few dollars off on Best Buy and Amazon. Best Buy with GCU is probably the cheapest you can get it atm.

 

[omgfloofy]

A. Most people are at that level of emotion from seeing another seemingly-bait character/hadn't gotten that far yet to see different/just had gotten an eyefull. The fact that posts to that effect are so common makes that a common reaction.

And I understand that. As I said before, I didn't expect to like her at all, but at the same time, I trust Falcom to take things a little different of a direction with characters. Especially because they're very self-aware and have actually turned their own tropes on their heads before.

B. Much of the good stuff was hidden behind the Slink mechanic. For example, I know little about her and Machias from simply not following up on them (which is impossible for everyone). Characters fall thru the cracks.

Welcome to the Kiseki series. Crossbell doesn't even give you ideas of where to go for everyone when you get there. And they actually hide big time lore info behind the bond scenes in the Crossbell games. You also have more than just the SSS to worry about in Crossbell, and no visual point system. If you just plow through the game without taking the time to find the characters you want to talk to, you're going to miss out on a LOT of stuff. Granted, FC pulled a stunt on several of us recently. Yotaka and I have both played the game many, many times since it first came out in 2004. We never realized that it gave a huge lore drop that's caused our heads to explode over a decade later, because the 'window of opportunity' for the NPC dialogue is SO SMALL, that 99% of players will miss it.

This is the Kiseki series. Hiding character building and lore behind missable scenes is not new to this series. In fact, Cold Steel just made it easier than it ever was in earlier games.

C. CS2, even if it one has one's mind changed on a character, does not retroactively make a crappy earlier scene not exist (cant call it a comeback if they weren't behind to begin with natch!)

You can't act like CS is just a single story, though. As I've said plenty of times in this thread. You can't go on and say that Estelle was as amazingly strong at the end of FC as she was at the end of SC. And for most of FC, she was pretty much a ditz. It was SC that made her one of my favorite protagonists ever.

Remember perspective!

And that's what I'm saying here, too. A number of people (an example of such is above) had been able to drive from FC and straight into SC. They didn't have the wait that a lot of other people had. As a result, character growth blurs between the two games. Cold Steel isn't a standalone game. I figured you'd think that its ending would have implied that quite a bit.

Amazon for one says Sep 6th, and things appear to be heading smoothly so cross them fingers.

On release dates: websites set placeholder based on estimations. But we can't say for sure until we hear directly from XSEED themselves. Placeholders can be very wrong sometimes. My only guess is that I'd bet that XSEED, as well as a bunch of other companies, are doing everything they can to avoid a certain September day that is guaranteed failure for any game company that isn't Square-Enix.

 

[Meffer]

Seriously considering buying a PS3 for the sequel to this game I don't want to slog through the super low res, pared back graphics, and awful FPS that was the PSTV version again.

I mean even with those issues in my playthrough I would still put the game in my top 3 Vita games and easily in my top 5 RPG's but man that was difficult sometimes. Knowing I could play it at a better fps and IQ is tempting but I can't really justify the price ughh.

The fps dips when a lot people or group shots come in. Even on PS3.

 

[Psxphile]

Welcome to the Kiseki series. Crossbell doesn't even give you ideas of where to go for everyone when you get there. And they actually hide big time lore info behind the bond scenes in the Crossbell games. You also have more than just the SSS to worry about in Crossbell, and no visual point system. If you just plow through the game without taking the time to find the characters you want to talk to, you're going to miss out on a LOT of stuff. Granted, FC pulled a stunt on several of us recently. Yotaka and I have both played the game many, many times since it first came out in 2004. We never realized that it gave a huge lore drop that's caused our heads to explode over a decade later, because the 'window of opportunity' for the NPC dialogue is SO SMALL, that 99% of players will miss it.

Talking about that weird dialogue from one of the clergy in Grancel Church, right? Got a transcript of it? I saw it during my first playthrough but my mind couldn't really register what the guy was mumbling to himself about... NPC dialogue exhaustion was setting in something fierce

 

[Gu4n]

Talking about that weird dialogue from one of the clergy in Grancel Church, right? Got a transcript of it? I saw it during my first playthrough but my mind couldn't really register what the guy was mumbling to himself about... NPC dialogue exhaustion was setting in something fierce

Floofy wrote a brief article on it, which can be found here: http://kisekicrack.sanctuarycrew.com/2015/07/30/the-age-of-the-grancel-cathedral/

Only yesterday I found out via said Yotaka that two kids in Armorica Village in the east of Crossbell name two high-ranking but otherwise unknown bracers by their nicknames alongside Arios. Even when I try to talk to as many NPCs as possible, I'm inclined to skip children first - even that's not safe, apparently. That's Kiseki for you.

 

[omgfloofy]

To add as a quick aside...

You want to be curious about the Septian Church. Good things come from being curious about them.

Trails SC Spoilers:

Spoiler

As if Kevin, alone, didn't teach you this already.

 

[Taruranto]

Tita in SC is creepier than anything in Cold Steel.

How.

 

[Basileus777]

How.

Her romance subplot? At least SC isn't pairing off its adult characters with young teens.

 

[Psxphile]

Huh. I don't think that was it.

It was definitely inside one of those siderooms behind the main entrance. One of the NPCs (possibly this same Bishop) was staring off into space (or the book) and going off about... something. A prophecy? I can't recall. He got off several cryptic lines before he noticed the party was in the room.

Got a major foreshadow vibe from it. Hm, might have been in front of that one door you can never open.

 

[omgfloofy]

It was definitely inside one of those siderooms behind the main entrance. One of the NPCs (possibly this same Bishop) was staring off into space (or the book) and going off about... something. A prophecy? I can't recall. He got off several cryptic lines before he noticed the party was in the room.

I can't look things up at the moment to check on the dialogue, but do you remember when you saw it? This was in Grancel, right?

Also, about Tita:

One of the longest jokes in the Japanese fandom is renaming Agate's Dragon Dive to "Lolicon Dive."

 

[Taruranto]

Her romance subplot? At least SC isn't pairing off its adult characters with young teens.

Romance subplot? :C

I saw it as a brother-sister bond. And even if she had a crush on Agate, it's not like he liked her back. He obviously saw Misha in her.

CS had a freacking Neptunia character in it.

 

[Basileus777]

Romance subplot? :C

I saw it as a brother-sister bond. And even if she had a crush on Agate, it's not like he liked her back. He obviously saw Misha in her.

CS had a freacking Neptunia character in it.

I don't know how you could see her affection and jealousy as brotherly. Or all the teasing about it.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

And I understand that. As I said before, I didn't expect to like her at all, but at the same time, I trust Falcom to take things a little different of a direction with characters. Especially because they're very self-aware and have actually turned their own tropes on their heads before.



Welcome to the Kiseki series. Crossbell doesn't even give you ideas of where to go for everyone when you get there. And they actually hide big time lore info behind the bond scenes in the Crossbell games. You also have more than just the SSS to worry about in Crossbell, and no visual point system. If you just plow through the game without taking the time to find the characters you want to talk to, you're going to miss out on a LOT of stuff. Granted, FC pulled a stunt on several of us recently. Yotaka and I have both played the game many, many times since it first came out in 2004. We never realized that it gave a huge lore drop that's caused our heads to explode over a decade later, because the 'window of opportunity' for the NPC dialogue is SO SMALL, that 99% of players will miss it.

This is the Kiseki series. Hiding character building and lore behind missable scenes is not new to this series. In fact, Cold Steel just made it easier than it ever was in earlier games.



You can't act like CS is just a single story, though. As I've said plenty of times in this thread. You can't go on and say that Estelle was as amazingly strong at the end of FC as she was at the end of SC. And for most of FC, she was pretty much a ditz. It was SC that made her one of my favorite protagonists ever.



And that's what I'm saying here, too. A number of people (an example of such is above) had been able to drive from FC and straight into SC. They didn't have the wait that a lot of other people had. As a result, character growth blurs between the two games. Cold Steel isn't a standalone game. I figured you'd think that its ending would have implied that quite a bit.



On release dates: websites set placeholder based on estimations. But we can't say for sure until we hear directly from XSEED themselves. Placeholders can be very wrong sometimes. My only guess is that I'd bet that XSEED, as well as a bunch of other companies, are doing everything they can to avoid a certain September day that is guaranteed failure for any game company that isn't Square-Enix.

This post reads as an info dump that doesn't address any of the actual points raised in my post. I mean just...why?

 

[omgfloofy]

This post reads as an info dump that doesn't address any of the actual points raised in my post. I mean just...why?

If you so desperately want a tl;dr instead of reading my response, you'll have to wait until I'm actually back at a keyboard again.

But thanks for the reminder that this kind of effort for a response isn't even worth it.

 

[Taruranto]

I don't know how you could see her affection and jealousy as brotherly. Or all the teasing about it.

I mean even if she liked Agate... did Agate liked her back? She literally acts as a stand-in for his sister in some scenes

Spoiler

Which given that it's kiseki doesn't prevent romance, I know lol.

I never really got that impression. As long Agate doesn't reciprocate there isn't really anything wrong with the way it's written, it's just a little girl having a crush on someone.

 

[Psxphile]

I can't look things up at the moment to check on the dialogue, but do you remember when you saw it? This was in Grancel, right?

Correct, Grancel. Probably late in the chapter, might even have been during

Spoiler

the celebration after the final boss is defeated

when you can explore the town one last time. Pretty sure I have a save there so I could check myself but I've got to go to work very soon so it'll have to wait until later.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

If you so desperately want a tl;dr instead of reading my response, you'll have to wait until I'm actually back at a keyboard again.

But thanks for the reminder that this kind of effort for a response isn't even worth it.

This post doesn't make sense either.

Your post didn't work as a response to the conversation and was found to be that from the previous conversation. Dismissing it as "tl;dr" isn't going to shake the reality that my points still stand (maybe you got something that refutes it, go right ahead and engauge them! Thats what these forums are for!) I (and most people) simply don't take random facts on the subject at hand that dont work in context as debate. It doesn't matter how long you took to look all that up in your databases as it didn't matter.

If you don't have an answer to that, fine. No one's going to think less of you for that. Debates here are to be done in good faith, and people are going to have differing viewpoints and emotional states.

the "tl;dr" version: calm down and conversate and dont have a Millium freakout that someone finds your post to not make sense in an previously calm, rational conversation.

I mean even if she liked Agate... did Agate liked her back? She literally acts as a stand-in for his sister in some scenes

Spoiler

Which given that it's kiseki doesn't prevent romance, I know lol.

I never really got that impression. As long Agate doesn't reciprocate there isn't really anything wrong with the way it's written, it's just a little girl having a crush on someone.

Spoiler

And he didn't. Granted, Schera went dark but nothing else in game outside of the "other anime type media has used this setup for That Other Thing" exists.

 

[omgfloofy]

Correct, Grancel. Probably late in the chapter, might even have been during

Spoiler

the celebration after the final boss is defeated

when you can explore the town one last time. Pretty sure I have a save there so I could check myself but I've got to go to work very soon so it'll have to wait until later.

There's a scene like this in SC, as well, and it's like the one I posted about above, where it has to be done with perfect timing.

SC End Spoilers:

Spoiler

I believe it's the last chance you get before the 'point of no return' in Grancel before the final chapter begins- if you go talk to the Bishop, he's very upset over a package that he received from Grancel that had to be handed off. The package would be the very bolt that Kevin would use on Weissmann during the ending.

I've got saves during FC's ending. Since I'm at home again, I can go digging. Better than staring at a translation I should be finishing anyway. ;D (I'm sick, I'm allowed to dawdle on it.)

EDIT:
Actually.... is this it?
http://i.imgur.com/GzL636O.jpg

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

I don't know how you could see her affection and jealousy as brotherly. Or all the teasing about it.

Tita definitely had something of a crush on Agate, but there's nothing creepy about that. Plenty of younger girls have crushes on older guys. It's pretty clear that Agate didn't have any sort of feelings towards Tita, though, which would have been creepy. He always treated her like a younger sister.

 

[Basileus777]

Tita definitely had something of a crush on Agate, but there's nothing creepy about that. Plenty of younger girls have crushes on older guys. It's pretty clear that Agate didn't have any sort of feelings towards Tita, though, which would have been creepy. He always treated her like a younger sister.

I'm not sure that's entirely clear, the narrative felt more like it was pushing towards a future relationship between the two more than anything. Though my perceptions may be tainted based on what I heard about Third.

There's zero ambiguity about Tita being in love with him though. You'd have to be denser than Rean not to see it.

 

[omgfloofy]

Though my perceptions may be tainted based on what I heard about Third.

To be fair, 3rd introduces a new element in their relationship that's more than a little chaotic.