Support NeoGAF

[Saphirax]

But you are only give 6 tickets and you have to use 2 on three different characters, and I took 1 other for the ride.

And two people from the last bonding event makes 6 characters. As long as their link level is high enough and you took them for a bike ride/spent the last bonding event with them/spent 2 tickets on them you'll be able to get their trophies. It has nothing to do with going through the last dungeon again.

You save before the whole event, choose a character, get trophy and then reload. Should take 10-15 mins per character.

 

[Eylos]

if anyone wants to check, this is the trophies list for CS2 (without spoilers)
http://www.truetrophies.com/The-Legend-of-Heroes-Trails-of-Cold-Steel-II/trophies.htm

 

[Cornbread78]

And two people from the last bonding event makes 6 characters. As long as their link level is high enough and you took them for a bike ride/spent the last bonding event with them/spent 2 tickets on them you'll be able to get their trophies. It has nothing to do with going through the last dungeon again.

You save before the whole event, choose a character, get trophy and then reload. Should take 10-15 mins per character.

I've expressed similar opinion before. I may not like Alisa much, but if she is the Canon pairing then they should have just went with it and built moments and occasions into the narrative that enhanced the whole character dynamic. By keaving things open you're limiting the potential for creativity and how far you can develop said characters. For example Machias and Emma can't be a pair because they need to be available for Rean and so on.

Why would you repeat the dungeon? You have to do NG+ for platinum no matter what. If you carry the points over and unlock max bonding events, you can do everyone's dance trophy at the same time.

Those tickets aren't the only way. There's those, the bike ride and bonding events in Chapter 6 (Chapter 5 for one character). With unlimited bonding events you can get all of them unlocked before the final chaoter starts.

I'm all confused from what the guide said then...

I'm heading back to the school 1 last time to upgrade all my armor, then it's on to the final room. Pray for me everyone!

 

[Eylos]

I'm all confused from what the guide said then...

I'm heading back to the school 1 last time to upgrade all my armor, then it's on to the final room. Pray for me everyone!

May the quartz be with you

 

[Jiraiza]

I wish the game went with canon romance. In the case of Alisa, it's quite obvious she's favored anyway from a romantic storytelling perspective that I wish she was canon-ised so that character moments with other characters could be layered/more improved/have more dynamism.

I don't like to think of these stuff from just romance angle, but eg. the fact that Rean could "romance" all the main girls mean there's really no room for the team dynamic to legitimately explore angles where... other guy's potential romance. Arguably even some conventional relationship dynamic aren't the best they can be, since three-person dynamics are impacted in that regard.

Yeah, I'm not sure why some Japanese developers are so insistent in providing players with "choice" in terms of romance when it ultimately doesn't do nothing for the story and only provides satisfactions to the people who are hell-bent on winning their waifus. I love waifus as much as the next guy, but I love it more when said waifus have a canon interest that they can bounce off of.

 

[Cornbread78]

May the quartz be with you

Well, I just Sold my Ares armor by accident, not I'm not sure if I should redo that last trip to town, or just go for it..

 

[Eylos]

Well, I just deleted my Ares armor by accident, not I'm not sure if I should redo that last trip to town, or just go for it..

If i'm not mistaken there is an ares armor on the last dungeon

 

[jello44]

Ease Up Wishlist for CS2:

Sara - Booze and Being Old

Funny thing, Sara is supposed to be 25. I dunno how that constitutes as old

Then again, this is a JRPG so anyone over the age of 20 is old, I guess.

 

[Cornbread78]

If i'm not mistaken there is an ares armor on the last dungeon

yeah, that's the one I sold by accident. It is really needed?

 

[Eylos]

yeah, that's the one I sold by accident. It is really needed?

I don't think so.

 

[Psxphile]

I'm all confused from what the guide said then...

I went over the conditions in brief earlier in the thread.

In regards to redoing the dungeon, that's just because on average you can only do about 5-6 characters for the final event due to limited bonding points and what not. However the festival tickets allow you to potentially satisfy the two conditions at once (if their link level is high enough but not quite where it needs to be) and so you can reload an old save and fulfill the conditions for a different character. The downside being you have to attempt the final dungeon again.

If trophies really mattered that much to you I'd suggest just waiting until you feel like doing a Nightmare playthrough and just use that to work towards satisfying the conditions for the other characters you need while gathering the trophies you missed on the first run.

Well, I just Sold my Ares armor by accident, not I'm not sure if I should redo that last trip to town, or just go for it..

Hm, I think Ares armor is the best armor you can get for males only. Probably shouldn't have sold that (the absolute best armor is gender-neutral Aeon but you can only get that as a reward for achieving A1 rank). But I don't think you'll suffer too much without it.

 

[Cornbread78]

I went over the conditions in brief earlier in the thread.

In regards to redoing the dungeon, that's just because on average you can only do about 5-6 characters for the final event due to limited bonding points and what not. However the festival tickets allow you to potentially satisfy the two conditions at once (if their link level is high enough but not quite where it needs to be) and so you can reload an old save and fulfill the conditions for a different character. The downside being you have to attempt the final dungeon again.

If trophies really mattered that much to you I'd suggest just waiting until you feel like doing another a Nightmare playthrough and just use that to work towards satisfying the conditions for the other characters you need while gathering more trophies.

Hm, I think Ares armor is the best armor you can get for males only. Probably shouldn't have sold that (the absolute best armor is gender-neutral Aeon but you can only get that as a reward for achieving A1 rank). But I don't think you'll suffer too much without it.

Got you.

I just like getting the trophies that are easily obtained. I refuse to go out of my way and spend hours just trying to get stupid fetch trophies that do not help the game, lol.

The one I'm trying to do right now is the S-Craft trophy. I'm stuck at 91 on the counter in my notebook, but it will not go up regardless how many times I use the S-Craft...

 

[The Illiterati]

Final chapter light innuendo spoiler:

Spoiler

I took Laura with me to pick up the concert outfits, and the shop owner said something to the effect of: You're the drummer? They're going to love you in this outfit, especially with all the banging you're going to be doing!

I did a double take.

 

[Psxphile]

Got you.

I just like getting the trophies that are easily obtained. I refuse to go out of my way and spend hours just trying to get stupid fetch trophies that do not help the game, lol.

The one I'm trying to do right now is the S-Craft trophy. I'm stuck at 91 on the counter in my notebook, but it will not go up regardless how many times I use the S-Craft...

The trophy is for 100 S-Breaks. An S-Break is when you use an S-Craft out-of-turn in battle, via the Triangle button + directional buttons to activate. Just choosing the S-Craft from the character's Crafts menu doesn't count, I guess.

 

[Cornbread78]

The trophy is for 100 S-Breaks. An S-Break is when you use an S-Craft out-of-turn in battle, via the Triangle button + directional buttons to activate. Just choosing the S-Craft from the character's Craft menu doesn't count, I guess.

OH no $hit.... $%@%@#%@#%, I'll give that a whirl, lol.

 

[jello44]

I went over the conditions in brief earlier in the thread.

In regards to redoing the dungeon, that's just because on average you can only do about 5-6 characters for the final event due to limited bonding points and what not. However the festival tickets allow you to potentially satisfy the two conditions at once (if their link level is high enough but not quite where it needs to be) and so you can reload an old save and fulfill the conditions for a different character. The downside being you have to attempt the final dungeon again.

I was able to save after the final dungeon (it prompted me (this was on normal though, I don't know if that matters)), then just reloaded to get the trophies.

 

[Cornbread78]

Man, Rean with this Megalith quartz walking around the dungeon's is just not fair for the enemies...

Made quick work of that missing trophy, lol.


And here we go...

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

I was able to save after the final dungeon (it prompted me (this was on normal though, I don't know if that matters)), then just reloaded to get the trophies.

Yes, you can do that.

The issue is that it's impossible to fulfill all of the requirements for every character on the first play through, because you have a limited number of bonding events and festival tickets, and there are 12 potential characters that you can pick.

So you can save after the dungeon and see the events for everyone you've unlocked, but if you want to unlock additional characters without doing a New Game+ you have to reload a save at the start of the festival, use your tickets on different characters, and then do the final dungeon again.

This isn't an issue on a second run, where you can easily unlock every character being a choice with maxed out bonding points and carrying over their link levels.

 

[jello44]

Yes, you can do that.

The issue is that it's impossible to fulfill all of the requirements for every character on the first play through, because you have a limited number of bonding events and festival tickets, and there are 12 potential characters that you can pick.

So you can save after the dungeon and see the events for everyone you've unlocked, but if you want to unlock additional characters without doing a New Game+ you have to reload a save at the start of the festival, use your tickets on different characters, and then do the final dungeon again.

This isn't an issue on a second run, where you can easily unlock every character being a choice with maxed out bonding points and carrying over their link levels.

I misread and thought that they were referring to each trophy.

I'm working on a NG+ run to get the ones that I missed the first time around. Just finished the first part of the field study in Chapter 6.

 

[Cornbread78]

wow, OK, you guys were right. This fight is pure BS.

another 20 mins for him to wipe my entire party that is completely spread out on the map.. fu(k this.

10 mins this time before 2 move party wipe.

 

[godisntheradio]

wow, OK, you guys were right. This fight is pure BS.

another 20 mins for him to wipe my entire party that is completely spread out on the map.. fu(k this.

10 mins this time before 2 move party wipe.

i was having problems with it too, but then i learned to have someone just casting adamantine shield i think its the name of the art that makes immune for 1 attack(don't remember the one that makes area effect)


i guess grinding everyone to 67 also helped (it wasn't fast)

 

[Shahed]

wow, OK, you guys were right. This fight is pure BS.

another 20 mins for him to wipe my entire party that is completely spread out on the map.. fu(k this.

10 mins this time before 2 move party wipe.

You can cheese it if you want easily. How many Zerum Powder/Capsules do you have?

 

[Cornbread78]

i was having problems with it too, but then i learned to have someone just casting adamantine shield i think its the name of the art that makes immune for 1 attack(don't remember the one that makes area effect)


i guess grinding everyone to 67 also helped (it wasn't fast)

I died again after getting his HP down to 50% before he swallowed my heeler, then did that same special move to kill everyone else off; uggh..

You can cheese it if you want easily. How many Zerum Powder/Capsules do you have?

8 Capsule
4 Powder

 

[Shahed]

I died again after getting his HP down to 50% before he swallowed my heeler, then did that same special move to kill everyone else off; uggh..




8 Capsule
4 Powder

Did you use the DLC Items? Not that it matters but you may as well download them if you haven't and activite them so they go inventory at least.

Give Alisa Moebius and make sure she can use Chrono Burst. Not sure if Moebius has it naturally, but give her her a Skanda Gem if not. The other 3 characters should be strong physical attackers. So Rean, Laura and Fie etc. Stack as much Strength on all of them as you can, ideally you used Zemurian Ore for their weapons but it doesn't really matter. Give Laura Dominattion and Vermilion Master Quartz, Orochi amd Murakumo on the other two. Make sure you have some food that can do Strngth +50%. Start the battle With everyone on 200 CP using Megalith or something. If you don't have food just use the Arte that puts Strength up.

With Moebius and Skanda Gem Alisa should come first. Use Chrono Burst to get an extra turn and then use the food with Strength. With Moebius it should hit everyone, and since you used Chrono Burst it's still her turn. While it is her turn, using Triangle use the S Breaks of the other three characters. Use another Chrono Burst on Alisa and tbis time use the Zerum item that restores 200 CP. Use everyone's S Break again.

The boss might even die the first time around using S Breaks. Just repeat the Chrono Burst/Zerum/S Break process as necessary. It's very cheap, but makes any boss easy if you can't be bothered.

 

[ColossalLazy]

Question about what carries over to Trails of Cold Steel 2:

I am doing a NG+ run and I want to know if the Bonding events I did in my original run are remembered in the sequel? This is because I am looking to do the bonding events I didnt do in the original run.

 

[Cornbread78]

Did you use the DLC Items? Not that it matters but you may as well download them if you haven't and activite them so they go inventory at least.

Give Alisa Moebius and make sure she can use Chrono Burst. Not sure if Moebius has it naturally, but give her her a Skanda Gem if not. The other 3 characters should be strong physical attackers. So Rean, Laura and Fie etc. Stack as much Strength on all of them as you can, ideally you used Zemurian Ore for their weapons but it doesn't really matter. Give Laura Dominattion and Vermilion Master Quartz, Orochi amd Murakumo on the other two. Make sure you have some food that can do Strngth +50%. Start the battle With everyone on 200 CP using Megalith or something. If you don't have food just use the Arte that puts Strength up.

With Moebius and Skanda Gem Alisa should come first. Use Chrono Burst to get an extra turn and then use the food with Strength. With Moebius it should hit everyone, and since you used Chrono Burst it's still her turn. While it is her turn, using Triangle use the S Breaks of the other three characters. Use another Chrono Burst on Alisa and tbis time use the Zerum item that restores 200 CP. Use everyone's S Break again.

The boss might even die the first time around using S Breaks. Just repeat the Chrono Burst/Zerum/S Break process as necessary. It's very cheap, but makes any boss easy if you can't be bothered.

Ty, I'll give that a shot tomm.

 

[bbkkristian]

Does Sara appear in any other games/manga/etc. other than Cold Steel/Sen?

 

[Jeffrey]

This is the first kiseki game ived played NG+ (to recap the story and characters before the sequel) and man is this playthrough way quicker skipping through dialogue and battles lol.

The teleport system is godlike and all games need this...

Now im 99% sure over half my first 90 hour playthrough was talking to the same npcs over and over after each cutscene.

 

[RinBestFate]

Anyone else waiting for the Europe release?

 

[R_thanatos]

Anyone else waiting for the Europe release?

i live in europe and the answer's NO.

I only took a slower delivery option so i could re-do FC & SC before starting CS2

 

[Cqef]

Wouldn't be able to hold two more months, getting XSeed's releases for both CS1 and 2 was the best course of action I could take.

 

[Shahed]

I'm going to get the EU release. Don't particularly like importing unless I have to. I'll just wait. If it was the last in the series/arc I might have imported, but we're gonna have to wait for Cold Steel III anyway.

 

[Shin-chan]

Does CS2 keep the whole bonding thing, as well as the "choose Reans love interest" thing? That's probably the weakest part of this game for me - not bonding events themselves, but how they're used to allow you to choose who you want to bang instead of there being compelling writing for it

Spoiler

(especially awkward when it's clear Alisa hates it when Rean hangs out with other girls and he's just oblivious to it).

 

[Gu4n]

Does CS2 keep the whole bonding thing, as well as the "choose Reans love interest" thing? That's probably the weakest part of this game for me - not bonding events themselves, but how they're used to allow you to choose who you want to bang instead of there being compelling writing for it

Spoiler

(especially awkward when it's clear Alisa hates it when Rean hangs out with other girls and he's just oblivious to it).

Yes, the system is identical.

 

[Shin-chan]

Yes, the system is identical.

Meh, is it at least more satisfying in its conclusion?

Considering the love story is a huge part of TiTS it's a shame to see it take a major backseat here. But oh well.

 

[Gu4n]

Meh, is it at least more satisfying in its conclusion?

Considering the love story is a huge part of TiTS it's a shame to see it take a major backseat here. But oh well.

In Sky the love story is actually part of the overall story; in Cold Steel the choice in completely irrelevant over the overarching story, just like in the Crossbell games.

Some bonding events are more satisfying than others. I like Fie's best. The ones with the guy are a bit lacklustre, though.

 

[aravuus]

Romantic sub-plots as a part of the main story, like with TiTS and FF VIII for example, are such a double-edged sword for me.

If I like the characters, the romance, even if it was fairly straight-forward and unsurprising, elevates the overall story for me considerably. I'm not just looking forward to saving the world - or hell, I might not even care about the 'main quest' - I'm also really looking forward to these two characters finding each other.

If I don't really like the characters, or maybe just don't think these two are a good fit even if I otherwise like them or there's some stupid love triangle going on or whatever, the romantic stuff might even ruin the whole story for me. More or less what happened with Xenoblade for me. Fuck Shulk and Fiora.

So I don't mind the romantic stuff taking a backseat with Cold Steel.

 

[Shin-chan]

Yeah I'd rather it took a backseat than was awful, but I generally have enough faith in Falcom to assume that if they went all in with it it wouldn't be shit.

I think FFIX will always have one of my favourite romance plots, and that's a huge focus of the game. I think it made a big impression on the way I look at RPG stories back when I was 10. It was always one thing JRPGs have attempted that other genres basically avoided (these days that's obviously not the case, though).

 

[Cornbread78]

When was the last really good romantic plot in a jrpg? I'm trying to think and only FFX comes to mind for some reason. There have been other attempts, but they always fall short of actually putting the romance into realization.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

When was the last really good romantic plot in a jrpg? I'm trying to think and only FFX comes to mind for some reason. There have been other attempts, but they always fall short of actually putting the romance into realization.

Trails in the Sky was great at that.

Although I guess SC is a decade old now, even though we only got it last year over here. I'm struggling to think of something more recent than that.

 

[Jeffrey]

Are there decent completion guides for Cold Steel 2 yet in english?


I'm kinda scared to play it blind knowing ill miss some random hidden quests or something.

Really hate games that do that.

Otherwise ill wait a bit and play ace attorney first.

And dq7 is the week after.

fuck.


Wish CS2 came out before labor day weekend :/

 

[Abdiel]

When was the last really good romantic plot in a jrpg? I'm trying to think and only FFX comes to mind for some reason. There have been other attempts, but they always fall short of actually putting the romance into realization.

Ffx?

The whiny non existent person and the wet paper bag? Ugh. Worst romance ever. Ix with Garnet and Zidane beat that hands down, x there hasn't been a really good romance since then in the main games.

 

[Glitter and Gold]

I think in a post Persona world, a lot of modern JRPGs opt to give the player character multiple non-canon romance options over developing a canon choice.

Personally I'm ok with its omission. I like how it's been done in TLoH and Kiseki before, but honestly I find it kind of tiring when games are concerned about pairing characters off in the midst of cataclysmic conflict. Not saying it can't happen but in most cases it feels forced.

I'm fine with the Persona setup. Let the player project all their affection onto whoever they want, with subtle hints at what the real route is I guess.

 

[aravuus]

Yeah, I think I personally prefer the way Persona does it too, at least most of the time. While it's a shame it's practically impossible to do anything meaningful with the romances MC has or doesn't have in the main story since there are so many variables, P3 and 4 showed me enough during the social links to make the romances feel satisfying.

Are there decent completion guides for Cold Steel 2 yet in english?

http://psnprofiles.com/guide/3584-英雄伝説-閃の軌跡Ⅱ-Overall-Walkthrough

Haven't read it yet obviously in fear of spoilers, but I skimmed through the beginning and it looks pretty comprehensive.

 

[Shahed]

I don't particularly like the Romance in this or the types you normally get since Persona. If romance is at the forefront? Fine. Same with it taking a back seat. Either have a romance and do it properly, or don't bother at all. These create your own romance like Atlus, Bioware and now Cold Steel are all pretty pointless and a waste of time.

If they're not going to do it properly, then they shouldn't do it at all. But I've never been a fan of player choice. Whether it means create and design your own character or having a large affect on the story. I much prefer crafted experiences that can be made when the developers know all the players will be in the same position and they can produce the narrative around that.

 

[Jisgsaw]

When was the last really good romantic plot in a jrpg? I'm trying to think and only FFX comes to mind for some reason. There have been other attempts, but they always fall short of actually putting the romance into realization.

Shadow Hearts maybe?
Last Story definitively.

I don't particularly like the Romance in this or the types you normally get since Persona. If romance is at the forefront? Fine. Same with it taking a back seat. Either have a romance and do it properly, or don't bother at all. These create your own romance like Atlus, Bioware and now Cold Steel are all pretty pointless and a waste of time.

If they're not going to do it prop, then they shouldn't do it at all. But I've never been a fan of player choice. Whether it means create and design your own character or having a large affect on the story. I much prefer crafted experiences that can be made when the developers know all the players will be in the same position and they can produce the narrative around that.

Yeah, that sums it up nicely. I wonder when we'll get a new RPG with canon romance built into the plot.

Anyone else waiting for the Europe release?

I'll wait.

Mainly because I won't have any time to play before end of October, and then I can wait the two weeks (especially with Civ VI coming end of october, and an EU IV DLC).

 

[Jeffrey]

Shoehorning dumb pointless 'romance' options these days is the worst kind of pandering that feels so cheap in modern jrpgs.

 

[Shahed]

One title I think a few games should take note of is Tales of Vesperia. Now usually you'd expect a game to pair off the main male and female leads. But that didn't happen in Yuri and Estelle's case, nor did Yuri have anything resembling a romance with Rita or Judith. Yes there was a strong bond between Yuri and Estelle (and the rest of them for that matter), but it was one of friendship and mutual respect. Purely platonic. They realised romance was unnecessary so they didn't have any. More games should do that.

Can't believe it was a Tales Of game of all the series' that managed this.

 

[Gu4n]

So I don't mind the romantic stuff taking a backseat with Cold Steel.

This. Whereas I saw the Social Linking in Persona as actual dating, I see the Bonding in Trails as opportunities to learn about the characters I hang around with. That's why I focus on different characters during different playthroughs, making sure I learn everything about them there is to learn.

 

[Bladenic]

One title I think a few games should take note of is Tales of Vesperia. Now usually you'd expect a game to pair off the main male and female leads. But that didn't happen in Yuri and Estelle's case, nor did Yuri have anything resembling a romance with Rita or Judith. Yes there was a strong bond between Yuri and Estelle (and the rest of them for that matter), but it was one of friendship and mutual respect. Purely platonic. They realised romance was unnecessary so they didn't have any. More games should do that.

Can't believe it was a Tales Of game of all the series' that managed this.

I thought it was up for interpretation and I actually would've loved Yuri/Estelle to be concrete. Oh well.

5 DAYS TILL RELEASE. Let's play a game where you guess the s-craft based on the quote (if I remember to post everyday)

Here's an easy one

"Azure flames, gather around my blade!"