The Legend of Heroes Thread - Trails of Cold Steel in the Sky

[Rean]

I agree to some extend CS 1-2 early-middle game difficulty was somewhat good but CS3-4 were indeed very easy on nightmare. CS4 was the first trails game I did not die even single time on nightmare difficulty (well 1 time to challenge chest because I was using naked companions). CS1-2 probably around 5 times and then older games resets amounts were from 2 to 3 figures (SC prologue was a "fun" experience).

Yeah, CS4 was sadly the easiest of the bunch. They should have adjusted for the players having such a massive arsenal of both characters and abilities.

Im really getting tilted with how weak party is storywise in every trails game early. Can beat ouroboros members in the previous game but now Crossbell group lose/struggle vs (very small spoiler)

Spoiler

4 random soldiers

That's typical for the series in general, it's a mechanic to preserve tension. Usually the characters will skyrocket in power to more closely resemble what they were like in the prequel after a few hours. Unrelated, but the Crossbell team was always weaker than the Sky/Cold Steel groups anyway from a story perspective, but I imagine they'll all be reaching the same power levels eventually anyway like in CS4.

 

[Jermu]

Im around 50% done with the game I think and so far my opinion on this game without spoilers:

Spoiler

Major decline. Might be the worst trails game storywise.

Going to write proper review later when I have finished but so far the translation is actually quite solid. There are some untranslated dialogues but only for some side characters and shop keepers.

 

[Jermu]

Done with the game. Short review without spoilers:

Spoiler

It is bad. Easily the worst trails game which does not serve any purpose for the overall story. First trails game I did not enjoy playing most of time. Only saving grace for this game is C route which was good.
Combat difficulty is similar to CS4.
Practically no side quests.

Then spoilers:

Spoiler

Still cant restart some battles when you miss your goal to gain extra bp. Have fun fighting 2+ bosses
everytime before you want to try again. Also shitload of bosses you have fought already.

story is very very bad. First 9 games practically no1 is evil its because of the curse and now similar retardfulness with parallel universes. Main baddie is underground AI which came from nothing and for some retarded reasons turned it into evil. This game should have wrapped up Ouroboros and grandmaster storyline but no lets milk those for another 20 years.

A lot of busywork (mini games, vantage master etc) if u want optional loot.

annoying to keep 30+ characters geared. Also practically every character comes with upgraded orbament slots level 2 so
need to rise those also to 3.

lootboxes (literally) and similar dungeon that we had in Thor's school which is randomly generated (not fun). also randomly generated areas inside randomly generated areas oh boy what fun.

challenge doors locked behind level requirements.

Some okay nerfs such as can use chrono burst only once in a row now.

At final chapter max level Estelle and Joshua only have 2 skills wtf.

Also as a goodbye fuck you the final battle has 4 divine knights battles.

3/10

 

[Abu Antar]

I beat Trails in the Sky Third Chapter. Overall, a good arch. The first game is the slowest, and doesn't really get to the meaty things until the end. But I still liked the fighting and exploration. The second game is my favorite one, because it felt interesting all the way through. The third game is good, but I'm not sure if I love the way they structured the game. In general, it's still a very solid game.

I own Cold Steel 1 and 2, and from what I think, there are a lots of hints that have been sprinkled throughout the TitS arc. I will take a break, play a few other games, and then start the Cold Steels during my summer vacation.

 

[Lyre Mors]

I own Cold Steel 1 and 2, and from what I think, there are a lots of hints that have been sprinkled throughout the TitS arc. I will take a break, play a few other games, and then start the Cold Steels during my summer vacation.

Why not Crossbell duology first?

 

[Abu Antar]

I own Cold Steel 1 and 2, and from what I think, there are a lots of hints that have been sprinkled throughout the TitS arc. I will take a break, play a few other games, and then start the Cold Steels during my summer vacation.

Why not Crossbell duology first?

While it would make sense from a chronological order, I'm going with what I currently own.

 

[Lyre Mors]

While it would make sense from a chronological order, I'm going with what I currently own.

That's really too bad, particularly because we find ourselves with the unique advantage we didn't have available to us a couple years ago in being able to play them with a good English translation. I would urge you to reconsider, as I find Cold Steel is much more enjoyable with Crossbell having been played first.

 

[Rean]

I own Cold Steel 1 and 2, and from what I think, there are a lots of hints that have been sprinkled throughout the TitS arc. I will take a break, play a few other games, and then start the Cold Steels during my summer vacation.

What Jinn said, you'll be revisiting Crossbell a whole lot while playing Cold Steel and knowing what you're looking at or reading will really increase your enjoyment.

 

[Abu Antar]

In that case, I might just put the whole series on hold for a while, and play other stuff. I'm going to wait for official Crossbell releases.

 

[NerevarineKing]

Done with the game. Short review without spoilers:

Spoiler

It is bad. Easily the worst trails game which does not serve any purpose for the overall story. First trails game I did not enjoy playing most of time. Only saving grace for this game is C route which was good.
Combat difficulty is similar to CS4.
Practically no side quests.

Then spoilers:

Spoiler

Still cant restart some battles when you miss your goal to gain extra bp. Have fun fighting 2+ bosses
everytime before you want to try again. Also shitload of bosses you have fought already.

story is very very bad. First 9 games practically no1 is evil its because of the curse and now similar retardfulness with parallel universes. Main baddie is underground AI which came from nothing and for some retarded reasons turned it into evil. This game should have wrapped up Ouroboros and grandmaster storyline but no lets milk those for another 20 years.

A lot of busywork (mini games, vantage master etc) if u want optional loot.

annoying to keep 30+ characters geared. Also practically every character comes with upgraded orbament slots level 2 so
need to rise those also to 3.

lootboxes (literally) and similar dungeon that we had in Thor's school which is randomly generated (not fun). also randomly generated areas inside randomly generated areas oh boy what fun.

challenge doors locked behind level requirements.

Some okay nerfs such as can use chrono burst only once in a row now.

At final chapter max level Estelle and Joshua only have 2 skills wtf.

Also as a goodbye fuck you the final battle has 4 divine knights battles.

3/10

I thought the story of CS2 and 4 were way worse honestly. But yeah, there are plenty of better stories in the series. I does do a good job at being an epilogue to Cold Steel/Crossbell and setting up the newest arc. I actually really liked the new characters in the C route, they had good chemistry/banter. But overall, I kinda agree with a lot of these criticisms.

 

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Don't play Trails if you want a satisfying overarching plot. No one makes good RPG series with overarching plots anymore (The Banner Saga trilogy being the only exception in recent memory I can think of). And the Trails games with individually good stories are the exception, not the norm. You really have to be in it for the combat, the aesthetics, the music, and the community of NPCs.

 

[Rean]

Don't play Trails if you want a satisfying overarching plot. No one makes good RPG series with overarching plots anymore (The Banner Saga trilogy being the only exception in recent memory I can think of). And the Trails games with individually good stories are the exception, not the norm. You really have to be in it for the combat, the aesthetics, the music, and the community of NPCs.

I didn't like this post.

 

[NerevarineKing]

I can assure you there are interesting overarching plot threads.

 

[Lyre Mors]

I don't know how you could be a fan of the series and not recognize that overarching plot threads between the games is one of its main appeals. There are absolutely MASSIVE things that happen that change the world, its countries, and its people. I would even go so far to say that even if an individual game's plot might be on the weaker side, it inevitably contributes in a meaningful way to overarching plot threads and world building. I would agree that it's good to go into the series for those other reasons too, but I just don't get how someone could say that if they've played all the games.

 

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Sky sets up two ovearching storylines: the geopolitical plot about the escalating cold war between superpowers, and the Ouroboros plotline.

In FC and SC, you hear about how all of these villages were captured and burned by the Erebonians, how every other person lost someone they loved in the war, and how people are trying to recover in its aftermath. And then you have the innovation of force multipliers like airship technology that amps up the dread of conflict... just as a new conflict begins heating up. The following games introduce characters of different nationalities and alignments. The implicit promise Falcom was setting up was that there was going to be a bloody world war where characters would have to pick their sides, fight and kill each other, towns would be burned, territory would switch hands, there would be winners and losers, etc. And then come the payoff... and blueballs. Nada. Status quo resets back to situation of the first Sky game.

And then you have the Ouroboros storyline, which hasn't progressed since SC. The climax of most of these games revolves around trying to defeat Ouroboros. We are... what? 10 games and 1,000+ hours into this series, and we still don't have basic information such as what the bad guy's motivations are. And that's not to mention other things, like the feeling that the player is not making any progress in the overarching storyline. Normally you're supposed to kill off the bad guys over time, but Ouroboros' membership has only had a net increase over the series, and you never seem to actually impede their plans.

-The villains were p. dumb. You foil their entire plan and they are like, "nah we wanted you to stop us, blow up all our stuff, kill half our guys, and give us all a severe beating." Um, okay? If your plan is to get beaten up by highschoolers that is a shitty plan. In the end I struggle to see what they even accomplished.

 

[NerevarineKing]

can we at least say the series peaked with the first Crossbell game

Zero/Azure are peak Trails for me. Although Sky is very close.

 

[HoboForEternity]

Man falcom works fast today

 

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Man falcom works fast today

Hm, interesting. If one were to make a fangame, one would think that making an isometric/2D game would be the better choice. Easier to make it look good and polished with hardly any resources, time, or manpower. But for a 3D game, this is a noble attempt (even though it doesn't look good).

This guy looks cooler than most party members in this franchise.

 

[NerevarineKing]

Man falcom works fast today

Hm, interesting. If one were to make a fangame, one would think that making an isometric/2D game would be the better choice. Easier to make it look good and polished with hardly any resources, time, or manpower. But for a 3D game, this is a noble attempt (even though it doesn't look good).

This guy looks cooler than most party members in this franchise.

Kinda looks like Principal Vandyck.

 

[Rean]

Man falcom works fast today

 

[Alphard]

i tried for two weeks Legend of heroes: trails of cold steel. while not properly my genre ( i usually play action games , not turn based ones) i got really a nice feeling by playing it. yes it was slow and formulaic ( at least up to where i stopped) but with a very nice atmosphere and something that gave it a charm that i cannot put my finger on.
So my question is, it is worth getting back in the game and eventually in following games of the serie, or like everything today latest installments are more and more decline?

 

[InD_ImaginE]

So my question is, it is worth getting back in the game and eventually in following games of the serie, or like everything today latest installments are more and more decline?

Trails in the Sky trilogy are all good so play that.

Cold Steel has a much more "anime" feeling with academy setting and all, but I still find the series very charming regardless including the big cast and evolving world and NPC

 

[Alphard]

So my question is, it is worth getting back in the game and eventually in following games of the serie, or like everything today latest installments are more and more decline?

Trails in the Sky trilogy are all good so play that.

Cold Steel has a much more "anime" feeling with academy setting and all, but I still find the series very charming regardless including the big cast and evolving world and NPC

sorry i had the names confused, LOH: Trails of cold steel is the game i played for a bit. yes , the setting was the worst part . i think i looked at Trails in the sky games and the old graphic was a bit offputting. maybe i should play those first ?

 

[Val the Moofia Boss]

So my question is, it is worth getting back in the game and eventually in following games of the serie, or like everything today latest installments are more and more decline?

Trails in the Sky trilogy and the first two Cold Steel games are fantastic. The first two Sky games have rough combat and awful sidequests you should avoid, but the plot of the first game is really great and the story of the second one is still pretty decent. Also good music. The third Sky game has good combat and a good story too. The first two Cold Steel games have great combat and I think the story is great. Best music in the series.

I would hesitate to recommend Crossbell and the latter Cold Steel games unless you are really, really dying for more Trails. I think they're a big step down from Sky and the first two CS games. When the main appeal of your game is the plot, the plot and characters had better be good, but I found that Crossbell and the latter Cold Steel games really dropped the ball hard on the story and followed unlikeable characters.

 

[Abu Antar]

I am on chapter 2 in Cold Steel. I like the game, but I feel some slight decline in both characters and writing. Combat and music are good, though. Graphically, it is not surprisngly similar to the 3D Ys games. Looks like ass objectively, with some good designs here and there.