Is there a point where this starts "picking up"? I'm still in chapter 1 (8 and a half hours in) but so far I'm not engaged by the setting, I don't particularly like any of the characters, and the fetch quests are getting really dull. The only thing to continuously hold my attention is the battle system, which is almost never the case with any JRPGs.
I get that this is a slow burn kinda game, but I'm coming off Atelier Escha & Logy Plus which was also kinda plotless and just dumped you into a random village with a big checklist of things to do, mostly involving the same kind of fetch quests as Cold Steel, but I loved it. The character interactions were great and I felt a sense of progression to a greater goal with most of my given tasks while the game continuously teased more interesting events to come, which it definitely delivered on. In short, Atelier E&L engaged me instantly and the experience was satisfying.
Cold Steel so far just feels like doing a bunch of inane chores in a place I don't care about because Titty Teacher told me to. And out of all the stock anime archetypes, the only characters whose interactions I come close to enjoying are those of Rean and Alisa, and even that's really standard tsundere stuff. The relatively poor English dub isn't helping much, and I usually play Japanese games dubbed anyway.
I wanna like this, though. Like, I'm not ragging on it because I think it's shit, because I'm definitely seeing potential. A lot of people also seem to really like this so I'm reluctant to dismiss it just yet. Which brings me to my first question of... is there a point where everything starts coming together? Am I just being overly critical of this game's first eight and a half hours while its true greatness lies beyond?
tl;dr version: I think this game is really fucking boring but I don't want it to be and I'm wondering if, and if so when, it starts getting more interesting.
edit: oh someone made pretty much the exact same post that I did but shorter and they're in chapter 5 well then welllll thennnn............
Did you play Trails in the Sky FC and SC? My thoughts on the game are fairly mixed, but I did beat it and I did enjoy it quite a bit. The game picked up in Ch. 2 and 3 for me, but around the end of 5 and into 6 it went into overdrive. FC was very similar for me, I absolutely adore FC but until about mid Ch. 2, I struggle to get through it. But once I reach that point, I can't stop playing.
My issues with the dub, aren't really with the dub, they are with Falcom's choice to selectively voice Rean. A couple of the VAs they chose do not resonate with me, but that isn't a big deal, but it does drive me nuts when Rean doesn't talk and everyone else does.
I really like the combat system in this one. SC was a nice upgrade from FC, but CS is pretty fantastic. I wish the load time on the animation skip was faster, but other than that, it was great.
The fetch quests were annoying, but weren't terrible with quick travel. Especially being the ones that bugged me the most were the ones at the school. I really didn't like the quests in Ch. 3, but that is mostly because of the travel and sheer size of the zone.
I don't feel like the writing was as good as FC/SC, but I do not know if that is based on the source material or if it is the translation/editing, since it was done by mostly different people. I don't think it is bad, it is definitely above average. FC/SC were phenomenal, though again I don't know if the source material was better or if the translation/editing was better, but ToCS isn't as good to me. It doesn't feel as natural and it doesn't flow as well.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the game, and as a whole CS is probably my least favorite, Trails is probably my favorite RPG series at this point.
I had the same thing happen. Usually defaults to the area you're in or near to it so when I looked for my overall records I didn't see it myself at first. After I didn't find it anywhere else I checked that tab again since it just made sense for it to be there and it was hidden at the top
On Chapter 2, and it's all rather good fun. I've missed, undoubtedly, lots of optional stuff, but then I could spend my life glued to a guide and that's no fun at all. I will probably also have the worst orbment loadout imaginable, and none of the right equipment...
I'm glad the game got the "whoops I fell in your breasts" thing out the way relatively quickly; Alisa in general is one of those "oh JAPAN" type characters, but overall the localisation (and, presumably, the original dialogue) gives greater depth to the characters than you might expect (bearing in mind I haven't finished Sky FC yet, let alone started SC!).
I do have a bugbear, though. The Latin's wrong in Chapter 2!
It says:
"lux solis medicuri eum"
It should be "medicura eum". First conjugation verb, not third
Ok, I finally finished the game. Some thoughts (major spoilers):
1.
The twist was real and it made the story a whole lot interesting. Unfortunately it was already pretty late in the game. From school life academy with arguing nobles to civil war with ancient weaponry
2.
I expected Vita/Misty to be a villain but I didn't expect Crow will be C and Sharon to be Ourouborous. The latter 2 blew my mind.
3.
Rean was... Annoying towards the end. Some examples:
Emma: Do you want to know who I really am?
Rean: It's OK. Let's focus on something not so important to the story rather than something that will really peak the story.
Rean: Hey bad guy! Come back with us again as friends despite being only classmates for like a few months!
Class VII: Go now! We can take care of it ourselves! You need to get better!
Rean: No guys! *dying* I'm fighting with you!
Rean was... Annoying towards the end. Some examples:
Emma: Do you want to know who I really am?
Rean: It's OK. Let's focus on something not so important to the story rather than something that will really peak the story.
Rean: Hey bad guy! Come back with us again as friends despite being only classmates for like a few months!
Class VII: Go now! We can take care of it ourselves! You need to get better!
Rean: No guys! *dying* I'm fighting with you!
Rean still wanting to be friend with crow make more sense than ever . he knew him for almost as long as the rest of the classmate , and he helped him plenty of times .. Like , he did help during chapter 4 mid - boss. You add that 50 mira promise that crow himself wanted to settle but rean refused and it's clear that their relationship won't be completly broken EVEN after that shocking twist. rean was written that way , the friendship with class 7 ( crow , millium and sara included ) is of most importance .. they had good so many events showing this across the whole game .. So yeah , as desperate and illogical from an outsider perspective , he's still making sense considering his own actions . He'd rather fall with all the people that care about him rather than fleeing to safety. he put himself second toward all of those things to the point that ( again in chapter 4) his sister call him on that aspect
And if you read the ymir episode that didn't make it to the game but still is canon , this nothing BUT even more reinforced.
Rean is even aware about it ,
that's why he doesn't pursue emma about explanations , EVEN when you spend time with her in chapter 6, so of course , he won't ask 1 month later.
IMO , he's so afraid of losing that friendship that he'd rather not pursue things that could break it , but he will do the opposite ( chapter 1,2,4,5 ) when he can improve that
Ok, I finally finished the game. Some thoughts (major spoilers):
1.
The twist was real and it made the story a whole lot interesting. Unfortunately it was already pretty late in the game. From school life academy with arguing nobles to civil war with ancient weaponry
2.
I expected Vita/Misty to be a villain but I didn't expect Crow will be C and Sharon to be Ourouborous. The latter 2 blew my mind.
3.
Rean was... Annoying towards the end. Some examples:
Emma: Do you want to know who I really am?
Rean: It's OK. Let's focus on something not so important to the story rather than something that will really peak the story.
Rean: Hey bad guy! Come back with us again as friends despite being only classmates for like a few months!
Class VII: Go now! We can take care of it ourselves! You need to get better!
Rean: No guys! *dying* I'm fighting with you!
Rean still wanting to be friend with crow make more sense than ever . he knew him for almost as long as the rest of the classmate , and he helped him plenty of times .. Like , he did help during chapter 4 mid - boss. You add that 50 mira promise that crow himself wanted to settle but rean refused and it's clear that their relationship won't be completly broken EVEN after that shocking twist. rean was written that way , the friendship with class 7 ( crow , millium and sara included ) is of most importance .. they had good so many events showing this across the whole game .. So yeah , as desperate and illogical from an outsider perspective , he's still making sense considering his own actions . He'd rather fall with all the people that care about him rather than fleeing to safety. he put himself second toward all of those things to the point that ( again in chapter 4) his sister call him on that aspect
It makes no sense at all. No one in their right mind who had known someone for a few months, friends or not, if they had found out they were a traitor and, I can't emphasise this enough, a MURDERER, would be like "oh please come back, we can be friends". That's just terrible unrealistic writing.
I liked how it showed his immaturity still. Circumstances like these are going to probably shape him. Celine giving the command at the end to take off against what he wanted was great because he was powerless to fight against it. I think putting him in that position and seeing him grow the fuck up is going to be pretty satisfying.
It makes no sense at all. No one in their right mind who had known someone for a few months, friends or not, if they had found out they were a traitor and, I can't emphasise this enough, a MURDERER, would be like "oh please come back, we can be friends". That's just terrible unrealistic writing.
Going off my previous point, I really do think it shows just how
immature he is. He doesn't realize the severity of the situation he's in, and is going to probably be forced to face some hard truths in the next game.
If anything, I think that whole last part of the game he was
in denial more than anything.
Which is why he acted the way he did. He straight up just could not
comprehend what was happening, to a fault.
I don't think i'd call it terrible writing at all. They showed off
his major character flaw front and center,
and I thought it was done well.
It leaves a lot of room for growth too, hopefully.
I liked how it showed his immaturity still. Circumstances like these are going to probably shape him. Celine giving the command at the end to take off against what he wanted was great because he was powerless to fight against it. I think putting him in that position and seeing him grow the fuck up is going to be pretty satisfying.
they portray him as someone who does nothing but self-sacrifice. And the whole game all the other characters try to hammer home that it'll lead to his demise one day. He still thinks that he can save someone if he tries, even if he dies in the process he wants to save them.
When really the situation is super-fucked up, he has one of the only things that can stand toe-to-toe with Crow's Ordine (once trained), and one of the only known weapons capable fighting against the Noble-Liberation Faction as they are now, that is a relic of the past, a fragment of the great power. Everyone else knows that he needs to live, and that he and Valimar don't need to foolishly be destroyed in this battle, especially when Crow is going out of his way to come and destroy him. Couple that with whatever agenda Emma and Celine are pushing, there are just things bigger than dying in a foolish battle that he's probably going to be needed to accomplish.
Instead he thinks that he has to sacrifice himself and Valimar to save his friends. His friends choose to save him instead, and fight together to hopefully get out of their circumstances.
It shows that he's really narrow-minded, is blinded by his general white-knight syndrome (applicable to his friends) when dealing with situations bigger than him, and that he doesn't think his friends are strong enough to protect themselves. I feel like not getting the situation he's in really hammers home the point that he's immature, and still has some growing up to do. The stuff mentioned about Ka-fai, Rean, and his training further exemplify this.
I think the payoff for whatever character development he has in the next game has the chance to be incredible, and i'm super looking forward to it.
they portray him as someone who does nothing but self-sacrifice. And the whole game all the other characters try to hammer home that it'll lead to his demise one day. He still thinks that he can save someone if he tries, even if he dies in the process he wants to save them.
When really the situation is super-fucked up, he has one of the only things that can stand toe-to-toe with Crow's Ordine (once trained), and one of the only known weapons capable fighting against the Noble-Liberation Faction as they are now, that is a relic of the past, a fragment of the great power. Everyone else knows that he needs to live, and that he and Valimar don't need to foolishly be destroyed in this battle, especially when Crow is going out of his way to come and destroy him. Couple that with whatever agenda Emma and Celine are pushing, there are just things bigger than dying in a foolish battle that he's probably going to be needed to accomplish.
Instead he thinks that he has to sacrifice himself and Valimar to save his friends. His friends choose to save him instead, and fight together to hopefully get out of their circumstances.
It shows that he's really narrow-minded, is blinded by his general white-knight syndrome (applicable to his friends) when dealing with situations bigger than him, and that he doesn't think his friends are strong enough to protect themselves. I feel like not getting the situation he's in really hammers home the point that he's immature, and still has some growing up to do. The stuff mentioned about Ka-fai, Rean, and his training further exemplify this.
I think the payoff for whatever character development he has in the next game has the chance to be incredible, and i'm super looking forward to it.
I know all this, I beat the game, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation....
What I question is your use of the word immature. Abandoning your friends is a difficult thing to do for anyone, especially Rean, who is always putting other people before himself, that's not immature, just part of who he is. I wouldn't want to abandon my friends either in that situation. His actions of wanting to stay, as well as class VII's decision to buy him time to get away all make complete sense to me.
I know all this, I beat the game, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation....
What I question is your use of the word immature. Abandoning your friends is a difficult thing to do for anyone, especially Rean, who is always putting other people before himself, that's not immature, just part of who he is. I wouldn't want to abandon my friends either in that situation. His actions of wanting to stay, as well as class VII's decision to buy him time to get away all make complete sense to me.
In your original post you call the way Rean acts "terrible unrealistic writing." I don't really think that's the case here at all. He wanted to stay and try to disable Crow and bring him back when Crow wanted to destroy both him and Valimar. Rean wanted to sacrifice himself to save the rest of Class VII and thought he could somehow convince Crow to stop, while Class VII wanted to save Rean and give him his only chance to retreat because he has a fighting chance. I don't think him staying and getting himself killed by Crow would've been an efficient use of anybody's time.
That he wanted to stay despite the stakes was selfish.
That he thought he could just talk Crow down was naive, and lacked insight and awareness.
That he thought he could sacrifice himself to fix everything instead of relying on working with his friends was narrow-minded.
Add those things together and he starts to come off as someone who is lacking in maturity.
I also think it was a completely expected reaction for him to have too. If he just said "Naw, I'm outta here, don't die guys." without any animosity over being forced to leave, then yeah, I think that would've been terrible unrealistic writing given his development over the course of the game. But his whining as they left, and that awesomely delivered last cry of his as Valimar got them out of there I thought really drove home his lack of maturity.
I'm not even saying the word immature is bad, quite the opposite here. I think the way he was portrayed at the end was great, and it really drove home that he doesn't know what to do in a tough situation he really can't resolve on his own. To see him react the way he did when he lost control of the situation was done well. I think that lack of maturity Rean demonstrates in his unrealistic expectations were well done, and true to his character at the time in the game.
And I think it really set up his character for development in the next game in an awesome, significant way.
When you look at everything else over the course of the year, how much Towa, George, and Angelica trusted Crow as well- he was kind of an 'institution' in the school, and had some very close friends. Rean's not the only person he was close to. In fact, might not even have been his closest friend.
Though I feel that there's a part of Rean that wants to bring him back for them, too, since the upper classman trio are all important to Rean, also.
Okay now that I've finished my 2nd playthrough of cold SteeI figured I'd share my thoughts on the game. I'll try and keep spoilers to a minimum.
First of all I quite enjoyed the game. Was it as good as SC or even FC? No. But I still liked it. I liked the battle system and Orbment Grid changes from the Sky Trilogy. It made it more tactical overall. Made physical attackers more relevant (although Laura is probably overpowered) with the break system and having a support character (Alisa is awesome at this, so is Machias) more worthwhile. In Sky it was easier just to nuke everything with Artes. They could have done a bit more to make Gaius and Jusis more useful, but it's difficult to balance 9 characters out to be equally useful.
While the music wasn't as good as Sky, it was still pretty good. The general field theme is awesome and I have a real soft spot for the Nord Highlands song which is amazing, as were action songs like this. The only thing it lacked was a recurring theme like either FC or SC's Dancing with the Wind that just delivered and set the moment whenever it appeared. It could have also used a regular leitmotif such as the theme from the title in SC that was present is so many other tunes throughout the game. But again that worked so well in that game because because it was built up over time, and might be something they'll revisit in Cold Steel II and III. again the music was pretty good in Cold Steel, just didn't quite hit the heights of Sky.
The characters were a mixed bag. By and large when you have moments with them individually at various places they were fine, but I wasn't really a fan of them when they were portrayed collectively, and Rean's speeches didn't exactly help. Then the drama between certain members that was just annoying. the characters
Machias and Jusis
never managed to win me over after their initial spat, and while it wasn't really annoying in this case, the same situation with
Laura and Fie
felt even more forced, especially since those two are usually more level headed. As for the characters themselves the only ones I really liked were Laura and Gauis, while Emma and Elliot had their moments. Alisa never really stopped being annoying, but I've never been a fan of the tsundere archetype except in extremely rare cases. Never liked Machias either, and while Jusis wasn't that bad he gets lumped with him. Fie didn't really do anything wrong, but she just looked like she'd be the annoying little girl/loli of the group so even if she didn't act the part, I could never like her. Oh and then
Millium
took over that role and became the really annoying person.
As for auxiliary characters, I suppose the 2nd year students were fine. Towa's voice was a bit too high pitched for my liking (especially during the repeated "You did really well Rean") but she was fine. Crow was all right, as was George. I thought Sara and Angelica would be annoying by filling in the usual stereotypes, but they did manage to win me over. As for Elise I never liked her. I'm really not a fan of the
clingy, jealous, overly attached little sister trope that comes across as semi-incestuous. Sure they're not blood related, but they've already done the brother sister thing before so why do it again.
The interaction between Gaius and his family as well as Elliot with Fiona were much better handled. Also I pity those who play this game before FC and SC as you'll miss out on a lot of the fun with certain characters in this game since everything will go over your head. I'm talking about
Olivert
and
Bleubanc
in particular, as well as the affiliation of characters like
Vita Coltilde
and
Sharon
.
On a related note to characters, I really was not a fan of the whole school setting idea. I just don't like how it works. Sure this game handled it a lot better than FF Type-0 did which was a disaster on pretty much every level. I don't think that game had any redeeming qualities at all when it came to the school stuff. This game at least had actually interesting and likeable characters. However it has the same side affect from having a school setting in having similarly annoying outfits. The guys weren't that bad if a little bland, but I really don't get the obsession with school girl outfits and skirts that have to be so short. Thankfully they decided not to go with the panty shots unlike a certain other game, but in order to get the Triple Attack bonus, I spent a lot of time controlling Laura, Fie and Alisa and I just did not want to look at them wearing what they were. I even contemplated buying the DLC outfits but they weren't particularly brilliant either so I left it alone. Here's hoping for better outfits next time around.
Also related to the school like setting was the structure of the game which I didn't like. It was too rigid and formulaic with little freedom to do anything else. With few exceptions the game boiled down to this. Free Day with Bonding Events> Random quests plus one for the Old School > Practical Exam being a fight with certain rules> Field Study with more random quests for 2-3 days> Chapter End> Free Day with Bonding events> Old School with quests and so on until you finish the game with little to no deviation. Sure Sky had a similar structure as well. You went to each area and did quests at the local bracer guild for a while until you moved onto the next and so on. But it didn't feel as rigid in it's approach. Cold Steel had a hub at each location with little to do. Sky at least had other places to go and explore like the random villages such as Elmo, Ravenna, Manoria and so on as well as things like the various Forts/Gates and the Towers. There was little else to do or mess around in in this game. You also felt like you were more on an adventure, travelling around and discovering new places while CS felt more like you were bouncing around between doing the same Actions at either school or your next field Study.
I'm hoping with Cold Steel II they move away from the school setting. Not only would it help with the aforementioned structure and even outfits, it allow you to be more meaningfully connected to the overall plot. The main problem with cold Steel compared to FC is that while both games set up events for future games, FC as a whole was a contained game with a beginning and an end. Cold Steel feels like more of an introduction to the characters and world. There's not enough of a narrative pay off at the end of the game, too much of it is building for later. It's almost like this game was sacrificed in order for Cold Steel II and III to be much better and eventful games, while FC got the balance right between that game and SC even if the latter is a lot better.
Despite a lot of what may seem criticism, I still quite enjoyed Cold Steel. It might be my least favourite of the trails series thus far, but that doesn't mean it isn't a good game. The last few hours are a thrilling ride and I'm eagerly anticipating Cold Steel II! Now I just need to avoid the temptation to look things up while I wait...
Yeah Jusis himself is largely fine. He just gets bogged down with the Machias stuff too often. On top of that I never found him all that useful in battle so didn't really see much of him in general.
Yeah Jusis himself is largely fine. He just gets bogged down with the Machias stuff. On top of that I never found him all that useful in battle so didn't really see much of him in general.
Oh it's very good and I used it quite a bit until late on when it's quite easily replicated by a Moebius user with Food and Chrono Burst if necessary. Alisa's Heavenly Gift with AoE Insight and CP regeneration I preferred as support, and Machias with Burst Drive and instant turns would probably be 2nd choice if I didn't use her.
Oh it's very good and I used it quite a bit until late on when it's quite easily replicated by a Moebius user with Food and Chrono Burst if necessary. Alisa's Heavenly Gift with AoE Insight and CP regeneration I preferred as support, and Machias with Burst Drive and instant turns would probably be 2nd choice if I didn't use her.
Yeah I did that a lot. My opener was usually a 200CP Laura with Strength +50%, Domination and Vermillion and then used her S Break. Most things even on Nightmare got one shotted and later got the majority of their health drained. Extra fun when there was a critical turn early on. Then Red Hot Soda and then repeat and throw Rean and the rest in for good measure.
It's actually quite simple in practice. One turn to throw Str+50% food, and the 2nd turn Laura's S Break finishes the battle, and if it doesn't Rean's follow up S Break usually does. Just have to have the right quartz on first.
In your original post you call the way Rean acts "terrible unrealistic writing." I don't really think that's the case here at all. He wanted to stay and try to disable Crow and bring him back when Crow wanted to destroy both him and Valimar. Rean wanted to sacrifice himself to save the rest of Class VII and thought he could somehow convince Crow to stop, while Class VII wanted to save Rean and give him his only chance to retreat because he has a fighting chance. I don't think him staying and getting himself killed by Crow would've been an efficient use of anybody's time.
That he wanted to stay despite the stakes was selfish.
That he thought he could just talk Crow down was naive, and lacked insight and awareness.
That he thought he could sacrifice himself to fix everything instead of relying on working with his friends was narrow-minded.
Add those things together and he starts to come off as someone who is lacking in maturity.
I also think it was a completely expected reaction for him to have too. If he just said "Naw, I'm outta here, don't die guys." without any animosity over being forced to leave, then yeah, I think that would've been terrible unrealistic writing given his development over the course of the game. But his whining as they left, and that awesomely delivered last cry of his as Valimar got them out of there I thought really drove home his lack of maturity.
I'm not even saying the word immature is bad, quite the opposite here. I think the way he was portrayed at the end was great, and it really drove home that he doesn't know what to do in a tough situation he really can't resolve on his own. To see him react the way he did when he lost control of the situation was done well. I think that lack of maturity Rean demonstrates in his unrealistic expectations were well done, and true to his character at the time in the game.
And I think it really set up his character for development in the next game in an awesome, significant way.
Not that I have any idea on how I would have made it better. They are spinning a LOT of plates at the that I need to sit and think about the actual roles everyone is playing here lol
Also Rean still suck but I did enjoy that Laura got a little goodbye scene
FC is the only game to have gotten that, because when the game was first announced and hyped, Falcom never gave any hint that the game would end on a 'to be continued' ending. It was very much a blindsided 'WHAT' for people who played the game before SC was announced.
I've had no issues with the slow pacing so far, been enjoying the leisurely build up towards the drama of the opening sequence. Then chapter 6 came along and killed all the tension and excitement stone dead, even to the point where I'm skipping the dialogue. After 100 hours I'm
planning a bloody festival?
Really? Couldn't care less. I'm going to have to power through to the end before this tedium ruins what's been a thoroughly enjoyable game so far.
I've had no issues with the slow pacing so far, been enjoying the leisurely build up towards the drama of the opening sequence. Then chapter 6 came along and killed all the tension and excitement stone dead, even to the point where I'm skipping the dialogue. After 100 hours I'm
planning a bloody festival?
Really? Couldn't care less. I'm going to have to power through to the end before this tedium ruins what's been a thoroughly enjoyable game so far.
I've had no issues with the slow pacing so far, been enjoying the leisurely build up towards the drama of the opening sequence. Then chapter 6 came along and killed all the tension and excitement stone dead, even to the point where I'm skipping the dialogue. After 100 hours I'm
planning a bloody festival?
Really? Couldn't care less. I'm going to have to power through to the end before this tedium ruins what's been a thoroughly enjoyable game so far.
