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The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel |OT| Class Warfare

Rule of thumb for any second parter of a Trails game (SC, Ao, Cold Steel II)

They assume you've finished the 1st game, so they're pretty much spoiler-galore of any tweest from the 1st part.
 
Really starting to wish that I started on a harder difficulty. Because of how the combat works in this, it really feels like very few of the battles have any weight to them. Very few normal fights last beyond my phases and bosses are usually only able to get a few hits off before I blow them up. It really makes that interrupt trophy seem like a chore to go after, unless you know ahead of time what enemies are magic users and just skip turns until you impede them enough.
 
Really starting to wish that I started on a harder difficulty. Because of how the combat works in this, it really feels like very few of the battles have any weight to them. Very few normal fights last beyond my phases and bosses are usually only able to get a few hits off before I blow them up. It really makes that interrupt trophy seem like a chore to go after, unless you know ahead of time what enemies are magic users and just skip turns until you impede them enough.

I agree. I started on normal because I had just finished SC and that game's slow paced and repetitive combat made me feel like I do without spending as much time there. But Cold Steel's combat is actually much more interesting and better paced than the Sky games so I kind of regret not picking hard.
 

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.
They hand out CP like free candy in this game. You can spam crafts like there's no tomorrow and still come out of battle with nearly 100 CP every time. Especially Rean, if you leave his original master quartz on. Compare that to Sky FC/SC, where you had to manage it resourcefully and almost never had 200 CP unless you actively saved it.
 

Dio

Banned
I just realised. That CS2 original trailer is spoiler-riffic, so I wonder what XSEED's cut of the trailer will be like. Will they just release that same trailer? They considered Alisa's last name a spoiler in the Cold Steel trailer so they just wrote the letter. Maybe they'll re-edit it.
 
I just realised. That CS2 original trailer is spoiler-riffic, so I wonder what XSEED's cut of the trailer will be like. Will they just release that same trailer? They considered Alisa's last name a spoiler in the Cold Steel trailer so they just wrote the letter. Maybe they'll re-edit it.
SC game info had spoilers in it as well :|
 
Just finished the game. Wow...
If it weren't for the opening the robot reveal would have probably caught me completely by surprise. Also I really want to know whats going on in Crossbell.
Cold Steel 2 seems like it's going to be rad as hell.
 
I just realised. That CS2 original trailer is spoiler-riffic, so I wonder what XSEED's cut of the trailer will be like. Will they just release that same trailer? They considered Alisa's last name a spoiler in the Cold Steel trailer so they just wrote the letter. Maybe they'll re-edit it.

Falcom's super spoilerific trailers are the best~

I understand why XSEED exercises restraint and being too wordy doesn't suit western trailers, but I wish they could adapt a similar style. Falcom are excellent at hype mongering trailers, even if it pretty much spoils a lot of stuff.
 
So, if I want to get the maximum enjoyment out of the series, I should play them in the following order ? Or should I skip some ? Thanks !

- The Legend of Heroes (TurboGrafX CD - I think I'll pass this one)
- The Legend of Heroes II (same)
- LoH : A Tear Of Vermillion PSP
- LoH 2 : Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch PSP
- LoH 3 : Song of the Ocean PSP
- Trails in The Sky PSP
- Trails in the Sky 2 PSP
- Trails of Cold Steel VITA
 

Dio

Banned
So, if I want to get the maximum enjoyment out of the series, I should play them in the following order ? Or should I skip some ? Thanks !

- The Legend of Heroes (TurboGrafX CD - I think I'll pass this one)
- The Legend of Heroes II (same)
- LoH : A Tear Of Vermillion PSP
- LoH 2 : Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch PSP
- LoH 3 : Song of the Ocean PSP
- Trails in The Sky PSP
- Trails in the Sky 2 PSP
- Trails of Cold Steel VITA

LoH 3-5 (which are Tear of Vermillion, Moonlight Witch and Ocean) were not localized by XSEED, they were brought by Bandai Namco, which replaced the combat system with a shitty Lunar knockoff for Westerners FOR SOME FUCKING REASON and they outsourced the translation to a company that left so many grammatical and spelling errors in the script I don't think they proofread it at all.

Skip straight to Legend of Heroes 6: Trails in the Sky, unless you know Japanese. They also are barely connected at all to the "Trails" games, so you won't miss anything at all (although there's a bit of speculation about possible connections, they're pretty much irrelevant to what you wanna know)
 

Taruranto

Member
SC spoilers: Is Chancellor Osborne
the one Olivier accuses of being in cohort with Ouroboros during SC? I don't remember.

So, if I want to get the maximum enjoyment out of the series, I should play them in the following order ? Or should I skip some ? Thanks !

- The Legend of Heroes (TurboGrafX CD - I think I'll pass this one)
- The Legend of Heroes II (same)
- LoH : A Tear Of Vermillion PSP
- LoH 2 : Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch PSP
- LoH 3 : Song of the Ocean PSP
- Trails in The Sky PSP
- Trails in the Sky 2 PSP
- Trails of Cold Steel VITA

I personally found the Garghav trilogy very charming in its own way. especially PotMW. But I wouldn't recommend them unless you are one of these people who just play jRPG.

Also English is not my first language, so the spelling mistakes didn't bother me TOO much.
 

Dio

Banned
I personally found the Garghav trilogy very charming in its own way. especially PotMW. But I wouldn't recommend them unless you are one of these people who just play jRPG.

Also English is not my first language, so the spelling mistakes didn't bother me TOO much.

I have no doubt that the Gagharv games are amazing. I just want to experience them in their proper form, not a hacked together bullshit version with a different battle system and bad translation.
 

Gu4n

Member
I seem to recall someone saying they do, but it won't be cheap. And if not that shop, then another (the bookstore?). Can anyone clarify?
Not as far as I know. I have a tendency to miss one book, so I'm always on the look-out for these opportunities and have found none.
Given its nature, it's really hard to give any details about SC without spoiling at least the ending of FC.
Cold Steel II is pretty much identical to SC in that regard. Every bit of promotion for it contains some sort of rather obvious spoiler for the first game, so make sure you raise you evasiveness and avoid those spoilers.
For the midterms

Is
#7
the most you can do?
You get 3 AP for answering everything correctly.
 

Dio

Banned
SO i need to trade points or do i need to just keep fishing untill the rods appears ?

The rods are 10 points when you reach the proper rank. They will just appear.

When you hit Brown Angler, a new rod will appear in the trade window. Et cetera.
 
SO i need to trade points or do i need to just keep fishing untill the rods appears ?

Every 6 different kinds of fish you catch, your rank goes up. I missed a fish or 2 in the chapter 1 field study, but I think it's sometime in chapter 2 that you can buy a new one if you've been catching everything (it may not be until after the field study). The new rods show up for 10 points each along with a few other things you can buy.
 
The rods are 10 points when you reach the proper rank. They will just appear.

When you hit Brown Angler, a new rod will appear in the trade window. Et cetera.

Every 6 different kinds of fish you catch, your rank goes up. I missed a fish or 2 in the chapter 1 field study, but I think it's sometime in chapter 2 that you can buy a new one if you've been catching everything (it may not be until after the field study). The new rods show up for 10 points each along with a few other things you can buy.

Alright , thanks for the info.. i can't seem to catch everything i want to but i'll keep fishing
 
So, if I want to get the maximum enjoyment out of the series, I should play them in the following order ? Or should I skip some ? Thanks !

- The Legend of Heroes (TurboGrafX CD - I think I'll pass this one)
- The Legend of Heroes II (same)
- LoH : A Tear Of Vermillion PSP
- LoH 2 : Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch PSP
- LoH 3 : Song of the Ocean PSP
- Trails in The Sky PSP
- Trails in the Sky 2 PSP
- Trails of Cold Steel VITA
Start with Trails in the Sky if you want to play the games the series is known for.
I do love the Gagharv games, though. Tear of Vermillion actually has a similar plot structure to TitS so maybe don't play them too close to one another. :p

SC game info had spoilers in it as well :|
The entire premise of SC literally builds off the ending of FC. There's no way to talk about plot or characters and keep it beyond the very basics without at least partially spoiling the ending of FC. :p
 

Xenoflare

Member
....is it detrimental to the battery to play this game while the vita is plugged in? I know usually it's not a big deal but this game seriously drains the battery faster than it charges.

It went from charged to charging again while playing this
 

Raytow

Member
Do they ever explain what the hell happened to the zemurians in other games of the series?
Maybe they found all the divine treasures and blew themselves to high heaven or found a way to travel to the space dunno
 
LoH 3-5 (which are Tear of Vermillion, Moonlight Witch and Ocean) were not localized by XSEED, they were brought by Bandai Namco, which replaced the combat system with a shitty Lunar knockoff for Westerners FOR SOME FUCKING REASON and they outsourced the translation to a company that left so many grammatical and spelling errors in the script I don't think they proofread it at all.
Oh, that sounds awful. Oh well, I'll try TITS (ha ha) on PSP then. Maybe after Xenoblade Chronicles X
Thanks.
 
Rean is right with his reasoning, but not with his approach.
He's basically saying he thinks it's for the best that his relationship with his family be closer to that of an extended family rather than a tight-knit family because he cares more about the nobility bullshit than familial love.

He thinks he's doing them a favour, how cute.

Elise is a twit though, partly because she's too tsun to tell Rean upfront her preferred Option #3 :

Stop your whining and marry me, damn it!
=P

Well, his reasoning for both his conclusion and his plans were sound given familial history. Erebonia's a viper's nest and that would only compound things
or be pointless if the noble faction loses this all-too-obvious political clash.

She sure ain't no Estelle and he ain't going to be the Joshua there, either.
 

vall03

Member
I know the Gagharv trilogy on PSP are questionable in terms of quality in both gameplay and localization, but imo, they are at least worth it for the Legend of Heroes experience since they're the only versions available in English. If anything, the trilogy felt like a Beta version of the Kiseki series. I was so mind-blown after completing the three games that everything that happened are all connected to each other and there was a reason for each event and all of these are tied to one central over-arching story. My initial thoughts after completing them was to immediately compare how the world building was done for the Kiseki series and made me think that if I played more, it would be hundred times better. I was actually glad I finished them and I say it was worth it.
 

jb1234

Member
I'm seven hours in and feel like I should be enjoying this more than I am. The battle system is competent (far more so than FC's sluggish endeavor), the music is typically high quality from Falcom but just like FC, the plot is crawling along and it doesn't have the latter game's engaging characters to make up for the pacing. The students are either broad archetypes or have little personality at all. The game is at least doing the smart thing and introducing you to them a couple at a time (by pairing you up in groups for missions) but that doesn't make a big difference when they leave so little impression.

And the whole "Alisa is pissed at Rean for non-reasons" was really stupid and lazy writing, pulled straight from the anime handbook. They're trying to backpedal now and justify it as her having feelings for him but that just makes it even more irritating. The feud between Machias and Jusis is being handled with an equal lack of subtlety and is strongly making me dislike Machias.
 
Given its nature, it's really hard to give any details about SC without spoiling at least the ending of FC.

The entire premise of SC literally builds off the ending of FC. There's no way to talk about plot or characters and keep it beyond the very basics without at least partially spoiling the ending of FC. :p
True but still just buying it I was spoiled on events :/ O well still cant wait to play it later. Its the journey to the ending that matters IMO :p
 
I'm seven hours in and feel like I should be enjoying this more than I am. The battle system is competent (far more so than FC's sluggish endeavor), the music is typically high quality from Falcom but just like FC, the plot is crawling along and it doesn't have the latter game's engaging characters to make up for the pacing. The students are either broad archetypes or have little personality at all. The game is at least doing the smart thing and introducing you to them a couple at a time (by pairing you up in groups for missions) but that doesn't make a big difference when they leave so little impression.

And the whole "Alisa is pissed at Rean for non-reasons" was really stupid and lazy writing, pulled straight from the anime handbook. They're trying to backpedal now and justify it as her having feelings for him but that just makes it even more irritating. The feud between Machias and Jusis is being handled with an equal lack of subtlety and is strongly making me dislike Machias.

Yeah felt the same way. Gaius seems like the only compelling one of the bunch. Everything about his story is on point and interesting and he has the most tangible motivation amonst everyone there

Story as a whole is too polite and wholesome despite having undertones leading to the real conflict.

And I actually was ok with Rean up until now. His story also seems weak and somewhat derivative.

I hope the second half of these chapters turns things around because as of now its falling quite a bit behind FC/SC in this particular area
 

Vamphuntr

Member
I'm in Chapter 4 *Spoilers*

How long until I learn if Emma is actually a Witch and what's the deal with her talking cat?

Some of the bonding events with Emma are bizarre. You either stare at her breasts while studying or proofread some graphic yaoi novel with her.

zXILkh3.jpg
 
How does the game determine who you can pick at the end of the game for the strong bonds trophies? I had some rank 5 links but only had Alisa, Fie, and Gaius as options.
 

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.
Chapter 5:

Legram might be my favorite town in any JRPG ever, possibly even edging out Gregminster and Rokkaku from Suikoden. This place is so beautiful and atmospheric. Also, as soon as I heard that we were heading to Garrelia Fortress, I replayed the intro. Super hyped to get there, although I noticed that Millium and Crow were conspicuously absent. Hmm...

On that note, Millium is easily the worst character in the Trails series. I also love how Lechter keeps showing up. Such a tease for 3rd and the Crossbell duology. Also - spoilers for said duology I suppose, but it's rather obvious that this would be featured in those games - is the trade conference in Zero or Ao? I'm curious as to whether or not the timeline has passed Zero yet.

And yes, Emma is a weird character in that regard. In fact, this game seems to have much weirder sexual undertones to several of its scenes in general. Probably one of my few complaints with the game.

And the whole "Alisa is pissed at Rean for non-reasons" was really stupid and lazy writing, pulled straight from the anime handbook. They're trying to backpedal now and justify it as her having feelings for him but that just makes it even more irritating. The feud between Machias and Jusis is being handled with an equal lack of subtlety and is strongly making me dislike Machias.
This is a common complaint. Rest easy, because
both situations are resolved fairly quickly and in a very non-tropey way and the characters become significantly more three dimensional as the story progresses. I would say it's about midway through Chapter 2 that the characters start to shine.
 

Taruranto

Member
Boy, did chapter 3 feel long.

Some thoughts on the storyline...

Didn't really like the whole "group of teenagers saves nation from a war", even taking in account the context, it felt pretty weird. It worked in TiTs because while Estelle was underage, she was a trained member of the Bracer Guild, basically an adult with a job.

Millium or how she's called
it's awfuuuul, both in design and personally. She looks like a Neptunia character. Even in SC it was a bit hard to swallow Tita going around smashing monster, but at least 1) she was properly dressed 2) the game always pointed out how she needed protection and she was in just because she was one of the few capable of operating her grandfather machines.

Finally, Olivert
interactions with his sibling were amazing. The game could definitely use more scenes with him.
 

omgfloofy

Banned
Also - spoilers for said duology I suppose, but it's rather obvious that this would be featured in those games - is the trade conference in Zero or Ao? I'm curious as to whether or not the timeline has passed Zero yet.

The Trade Conference is a major part of Ao no Kiseki.

To clarify a little more on that image that was posted:
Trails of Cold Steel runs along almost the ENTIRE span of the Crossbell duology. Cold Steel II is probably the 'shortest' in terms of time passing of any of the Kiseki games. (Not meaning game length itself, as a heads up.)

The time frame of Cold Steel II.
About 75-80% of the game takes place in the span of 3-4 weeks.

Millium or how she's called
it's awfuuuul, both in design and personally. She looks like a Neptunia character. Even in SC it was a bit hard to shallow Tita going around smashing monster, but at least 1) she was properly dressed 2) the game always pointed out how she needed protection and she was in just because she was one of the few capable of operating her grandfather machines.

There are some weird things going on with Millium. They're expanded on a little bit in Cold Steel II, but she is still definitely directly connected to one of the overarching mysteries of the Erebonia arc.
 

Lindsay

Dot Hacked
I really love how the title screen changes as the game progresses!

A couple of Chapter 4 "enemies" were kinda cheap...
Rean & Machias jumped from L37 & L36 to L39 each for the battle against them! Stop taunting me with higher levels, game
!

And yes, Emma is a weird character in that regard. In fact, this game seems to have much weirder sexual undertones to several of its scenes in general. Probably one of my few complaints with the game.
Currently nominating Gwyn as the worst character in the game so far. Dumb old pervert trope is one thing but eyeing up his own granddaughter? >_<



edit: omg cat quest is best quest ^_^
 
Boy, did chapter 3 feel long.

Some thoughts on the storyline...

Didn't really like the whole "group of teenagers saves nation from a war", even taking in account the context, it felt pretty weird. It worked in TiTs because while Estelle was underage, she was a trained member of the Bracer Guild, basically an adult with a job.

Millium or how she's called
it's awfuuuul, both in design and personally. She looks like a Neptunia character. Even in SC it was a bit hard to shallow Tita going around smashing monster, but at least 1) she was properly dressed 2) the game always pointed out how she needed protection and she was in just because she was one of the few capable of operating her grandfather machines.

Finally, Olivert
interactions with his sibling were amazing. The game could definitely use more scenes with him.

Yeah you pretty much pointed out my least favorite parts of an otherwise amazing chapter
 
I really love how the title screen changes as the game progresses!

A couple of Chapter 4 "enemies" were kinda cheap...
Rean & Machias jumped from L37 & L36 to L39 each for the battle against them! Stop taunting me with higher levels, game
!


Currently nominating Gwyn as the worst character in the game so far. Dumb old pervert trope is one thing but eyeing up his own granddaughter? >_<



edit: omg cat quest is best quest ^_^

Yeah, the two of them are on my dislike pile with Elise for those reasons. The Emma scenes would work better if he'd just man up and ask her out.
 

Hugstable

Banned
Loving this game so far, just starting on Chapter 2 now. Came into some extra Christmas money today, think I'm gonna have to pick up the Vita version as well, I want those Crossplay features :D. How does the Vita version run the game? Also Towa is great :3
 
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