Trails Into Reverie Is A GOD TIER JRPG... | Review
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- Y'all... Very few games can live up to the hype after eight separate JRPGs building up to this moment... But they did it. Trails Into Reverie is one of the most enjoyable JRPGs I've played, yet also one of the most thought provoking. Words can scarcely summarize what this journey has been like, but I'll try my best to do so.
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This series has easily surpassed some of the all time greats of the JRPG genre, and with consistantly great each new entry is I'd argue it's the greatest JRPG series of all time.
I honestly think the ending to Sky FC is the series high point.
I can't watch the last 15 minutes of that game without bawling.
This isn't to disparage the rest of the series: but it's my favourite cinematic sequence in gaming.
@@diegoarmando5489the ending of cold steel 3 also wild. I love sky sc and azure the most tho
@@statesminds I had really bad anhedonia when SC came out, so I'm currently replaying it and it feels like I'm playing it for the first time.
@@diegoarmando5489 I replayed Sky Trilogy using a translation patch for the Vita Evolution versions of the game and the voice acting makes it a lot more enjoyable. But yeah that ending to FC was something even the beginning of SC when Estelle was so in denial about Joshua was sad to see.
Amen to that. Trails is peak jrpg gaming.
It's great to see creators with a large following like yourself giving the Trails games the recognition it deserves outside of Japan. Thanks a lot!
I've been ridiculously obsessed with this series, so naturally I have a few points:
-I love the "running gag" of each game having contrived reasons for characters resetting their combat orbments, but in this game they didn't even attempt to explain😅
-I initially found it an odd choice for Alisa to not be in Rean's route, but the more I play the more I see the method behind their madness in why certain characters are in each storyline
-this game feels like playing two games at the same time, kind of like playing Cold Steel 2 and Azure and comparing similarities.
-some of these character pairings make sense and are so respectful to their history in the series. I always thought of Machias as Dudley Jr, so when I saw them together I laughed
-a few of my normal tricks from previous games don't work here, and I appreciate that each route requires you to shift your thinking when fighting bosses
-I went to buy this at GameStop, and they only had one left, with a second one on hold. I love how this series picked up
-Hey, equipment fatigue. You've seen what them heroes fight every game. No weapon, Black Zemurian Ore or not, can withstand that level of punishment. And those orbments get some abuse and then some. At least they don't lose their gear in shipwrecks like certain red-haired adventurer.
-It's a relationship between career-oriented, high profile individuals. Plus, it makes it fun whenever they meet and his running "ladies-man" gag crops up, or his friends and disciples tease him.
-Make it three games with the Reverie Corridor. Plus the fun stuff you find in there could amount to another half game. And they gave us Season 2/OVA of that Magical Girl series in the Corridor. I just hope that, whenever they make the next Tokyo Xanadu, they make Season 1 playable. That would be really fun. More so if they make it a 2-cour series (I swear, that "series" is the best Falcom joke so far).
-I get what you mean. Delay-spam was crushed, S-Craft spamming with items was nerfed, and battle food was mellowed out, but at least we have those nice Orders, EVA-Tanks, Dominion-STR Reans and 5-figure ATS builds that blow holes in the opposition, are night-untouchable, and give them little to no chance to damage our parties or even act.
-I get them digital, and pre-order physical. Saves time and grief.
To get people more hyped up the next game in the trails series outdoes Reverie in very facet. Characters, story, music, setting, combat. It blends everything in perfectly. Matty if you said Reverie has an issue where it wants to go dark but it didn't go dark enough wait until you play Kuro no Kiseki ( or in English which hopefully it will be called Trails into Dusk).
I absolutely love what they did with the combat as well as how the customization merges what I like about the older system with the new, letting you figure out how to get proper bonuses while keeping the arts you need with buffs similar to MQs. I haven't played Kuro 2 yet but so far I love how this series progresses it's gameplay.
I bought the game and skipped 70% of the scenes and dialogue lol. It's a fun game to level up characters and kill stuff, and grind out the quartz upgrades i want. I am not interested in the previous games but i will certainly be playing Kuro and other future games.
how do you feel that its called Trails through Day Break?
check out kuro no kiseki 2 crimson sin if u want a dark trails game. it can be argued to be the darkest trails game so far.
@yeongkit4370 I have the sequel, and this is true, but it still feels like an intermission instead of the real deal. Hope the 3rd game gives the proper conclusion.
Just this morning I finished trails from zero! Absolutely loved it!
I think falcom is the greatest developer of all time. They have some the oldest series in gaming history and still keep their quality bar sky high, all while remaining a private independent business. And they have like 50 employees, legends!
Yea they really are up there
As much as I love their games, I'd love a higher budget. The reused assets is jarring
lmfao delusional
So far i like Ys VIII and Trails into Reverie. Was not really a fan of Ys IX and i don't think i have played any other Falcom games. At least not that i can recall.
Trails sucks
Kuro C = Dingo Brad die but return as Zolga////// Ix and Jolda join Ouroboros/// Van = Demon Lord///Altera = Lapis/// Nemeth Island = Paradise/// Quatre is an Angel #NoMoreRean
Wow, as a new Trails fan this year, I absolutely can’t wait to play this game. Great review Matty 👍
For anyone curious about the noticeable worsening in soundtrack quality from falcom, it can largely be attributed to composers Saki Momiyama and Takahiro Unisuga leaving the company.
The metal heads depart and everything goes to shit smh
@@bigshowerthat’s unfortunate…considering ys10 is coming up
@@morriganrenfield8240 That was my thoughts too. I hope it lives up. VIII and IX had such great OSTs...
kuro no kiseki 1 & 2 have alot of my favorite tracks in the series, but the genre is mostly different and chill compared to the others. it gives calvard that unique feel tho
“Worsening” lol i mean they still slap and are better than a lot of games
I felt the entire Trails series soundtracks were fantastic, and peaked with Cold Steel 1-4. Then, the composer who was responsible for 75% of my favorite tracks left (or was pushed out, not sure), and I'm expecting the soundtracks to have taken a hit in the future. It's a shame.
It’s funny he calls it the Smash Bros of Trails! I personally call it the MCU of JRPG’s
If COLD STEEL III & IV were the INFINITY WAR & ENDGAME of the Trails series then Reverie is the NO WAY HOME!!
I hope falcom brings the whole series to modern consoles like the ps5 or switch. It's a great series that should be available physically to everyone on one console.
One thing I've always said: if the money to be made is there, it will happen. Zero and Azure sold well above what Falcom's expectations were. If the franchise continues to grow in the west, there will be a tipping point where the return on investment of putting every game on modern consoles makes sense.
Legend of Heroes: Trails 1-5 is on the PS store on PS4 & 5
Same thing that happened to me. when I first play trails in the sky, I didn't like the gameplay as it seems pretty old, but its the music from the start that made me play through, but the ending is what really shocked me and wanted to play the rest of the series, their storytelling is just amazing, never felt so many ups and downs in a series until I played this series
Yea I had to force myself through the portable games to get to the console games, but since CS3 I've definitely been enjoying the series a lot more
they did a remake newer graphics version of the trail of the sky series, added the word evolution.
same incredible story with improved graphics
@@yeongkit4370 I did not know about this, I might try it out for old times sake, thanks man
@@furanzeF you're welcome! they did a remake for both FC and SC and added the word evolution to differentiate between the remake and the original. For those who are wondering what FC and SC means, it's First and Second Chapter of a 3 part series, Trails of the Sky 3 had a different main character and is a standalone game. They have many remixes like tokyo xanadu, the new one is called tokyo xanadu ex+. They added an extra chapter in the new tokyo xanadu called afterstory, which takes place after the story is finished
I started this series yesterday (Trails in the Sky) and yes, I'll be sitting on it forever until I'm ready to play Reverie, but oh boy I'm excited.
Same here! Good luck with game, pal~
@@unhandsman2374 Thanks, you too!
Hey its been a year, hows the journey :D
Honestly for all hours I put into the series, even if some of the content didn’t necessarily need to be there was just a lot of fun for me. Aside from the Xenoblade series and some of the tales games, I’ve never had so much fun with a JRPG series. Currently playing trail to Zero and then after azure, but I’m so excited to play this.
I started playing Zero & I’m at the ready to enter the auction part. Can’t wait to play Azure that everyone is saying is a masterpiece.
I really enjoyed the true reverie corridor and how the devs just let you go hog wild with the team building for this entry. Made it feel like a true culmination of the growth in strategy that occurred over the course of the Cold Steel and Crossbell games. As a comment about the actual narrative and method of storytelling, I love referring to this series as the “One Piece of gaming”
I'm glad that Trails been loved by many! Let's savor some Reverie and wait for Kuro's god-knows-when localization!
Trails sucks
Kuro C = Dingo Brad die but return as Zolga////// Ix and Jolda join Ouroboros/// Van = Demon Lord///Altera = Lapis/// Nemeth Island = Paradise/// Quatre is an Angel #NoMoreRean
I'll agree that Reverie was fun as hell. I went into this expecting something akin to Sonic Heroes where we play each story in full one by one before reaching an end point where everyone comes together. But I was pleasantly surprised that we play each of them in tandem with each other. The crazy party mashups we are forced to use throughout the story with members we normally wouldn't see interact together much was really fun. And dear Adios were some of the interactions and lines were great. I personally love how they leave a few tiny hints as to who is behind the mask of C, but you have to really pay attention to notice them. Ironically I managed to guess his identity correctly about halfway before the reveal happened, which I'm a little proud of since I was an idiot in CS1 and didn't figure out C's identity there until after the festival where they were making it super obvious. Though I definitely agree Reverie's weakest point is how convoluted the main threat ends up being. It's a big blow to the game in my opinion, but not enough to ruin it as a whole thankfully.
Other than the convoluted part, my main issue ironically lies with the Reverie Corridor. Don't get me wrong, it was overall well designed and there's so much cool extra things we can do in it, making it indeed an improved Phantasma. My issue lies though with the trailers sort of. The Reveries Corridor was extremely highlighted in them, and while the Reverie Corridor does take up a lot of gameplay time, its story relevance is... kinda absent until post-game. Though I will say dear lord the true final boss was crazy difficult for me. I'm pretty sure I was appropriately leveled, and granted I might have had an easier time had I swapped around my party lineup a little, but not even the final bosses for Sky 3 and Azure gave me that much trouble.
I'm really happy to see you enjoyed this game a lot! I can't wait to play this game next week! I'm currently playing CS4(my most favorite Trails game of all of them so far easily) for the 3rd time on my Switch(1st time on Switch) so I can carry over stuff into Reverie. I can't wait to see all the character interactions and even more so hearing all these amazing characters in English for the first time(and some returning to voice their characters some more, like the SSS)!
Hmm, I AM worried about the Reverie Corridor part of the game since Sky the 3rd is my least favorite game due to being in a dungeon the whole game but hopefully it's not as bad. I AM looking forward to the awesome and fun beachside content in the game, minigames and all! That's gonna be so fun!(Still don't get why some people hate fanservice but whatever, their loss) and I guess the Episodes too if they're good. I'm hoping they are.
Now I just hope I can beat CS4 again in time. 😅
I will say, based on your fear of not liking Reverie because of disliking Sky the 3rd, you’re probably going to be just fine. The dungeon crawling in the big dungeon that is mandatory is pretty short and passed between your typical Trails game structure, and basically exists as a great way to keep your characters leveled and buffed up until the endgame, where it admittedly does become the focus. But this game is not a dungeon crawler the same way that 3rd is, and there is a lot more to break up and diversify the crawling even once you’ve completed the story. Plus the episodes and mini games are really fun, and using the gigantic full cast allows a lot of fun shenanigans. I’m guessing you’ll have a much better time here.
Wait, is the switch the only console that will carry over from CS4??
@@91sabra No, it doesn't carry over a thing. It only detects if you have a Clear Save and gives you items depending on your rank on those games. It even gives you some extra items if you have a Save from Zero and Azure, not even a Clear Save. From what I've read, depending on with whom you spent the last night on CS4 and your bond levels, certain dialogs change.However, no level, nor quartz or mira carry over.
Got into trails this year. I've probably played over 100 JRPGs in my life and this series is to me the absolute best of the best. The GOAT of JRPGs.
I want to give a huge mention to the Kiseki Audiobook Project channel on youtube. They have several of the in game books up and read by a fantastic narrator. I've listened to all the in game books they have recorded and posted. I highly recommend.them if you are into Kiseki\Trails and want to read the books but don't want to read them in game personlly.
I feel like the music quality picked back up in kuro! Great video and agree reverie is an amazing game.
the one thing that hooked me instantly on the game was simply the WAITING period. just waiting for this game to release. after a couple of years break. the opening scene hit SO hard. it was so exciting to return to crossbell and finally be able to continue the last leg of their journey. excitement through the roof. and it kept going strong from start to finish.
Idk how you do it dude i have have mad respect for you. You keep up with EVERYTHING.
"Form is emptiness,emptiness is form...1st,2nd,3rd,4th,5th,6th,7th.....Eight Leaves Luminous Abyss!!!"
Super excited! Trails is one of my favorite series of all time. I do hope NISA and Xseed can work something out to where the Sky trilogy can come to modern platforms preferably the Evolution version with voice acting. It’s not fair to people who don’t have a PC or whatever. Thankfully a cheap laptop can play them but still.
yep we need ps vita version to be remastered for modern platforms
@@sin7804 yes def need the voice acting
I have never tried one of these games. My favorite non Final Fantasy JRPG series include Persona, Tales of, Dragon Quest, and Chrono Cross, so I feel like I'd really like this too
Please try it. Story wise it's one epic tale
I'll say it now, even if you don't need it, but here's a brief layout of the story and the games you'll wanna play in order. First is the Liberl Arc, where you follow Estelle and Joshua Bright. The Liberl Arc takes place in the very first two games of the series, Trails in the Sky FC (First Chapter) and Trails in the Sky SC (Third Chapter), where we follow Estelle and Joshua Bright in the nation of Liberl. The Arc ends per se in SC, but Trails in the Sky 3rd wraps up every characters (besides one) story.
Then we have the Crssbell Arc. This takes place in, of course, the small state of Crossbell which is caught in between two major powers. The Crossbell Arc includes two games, Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure. These games follows Detective Lloyd Bannings and the newly established Special Support Sectiok of the CPD (Crossbell's Police Force). Remember the one character I mentioned in 3rd that doesn't have her story wrapped up? Well it wraps up in Zero, which is why I would reccomend people to play the Sky series first.
And then the Erebonian Arc, which includes Trails from Cold Steel 1-4. The interesting thing is that Zero, Azure, Cold Steel 1 and 2 happens at the same time. More specifically, the entirety of Zero and 80% of Azure is happening in between the chapters of Cold Steel 1, while the rest of Azure and Cold Steel 2 happens exactly at the same time. Cold Steel 3 and 4 then happens 4 years after 1 and 2.
And finally, Trails into Reverie. This will finish both the Crossbell and Erebonia Arc's stories.
After this is Kuro no Kiseki and Kuro no Kiseki 2, which is still not localised unfortunately, but these games apparently mark the halway point of the entire series.
Some people might have a hard time getting into this series, whether you play Sky, Zero, or Cold Steel 1 first because each of these games start slow paced. BUT! It'll be worth it, trust me. I played Sky first and when I eventually got into it, going through the rest of the series wasn't a bother for me. So I wish you luck and I hope you will become ONE OF US!
I would wanna try it but playing 7 other games to enjoy it is a hard sell 😅
Just play one, and the rest sell themselves. You’ll want to play them
@@seanscarborough4023 good point 🤔 is there one you'd reccomend starting with?
@@CurtTheHeroYou should start from the beginning to get the most out of it but if you just wanted to try the series I'd recommend starting with Cold Steel 1 as its my favourite introductory game and then Cold Steel 2 if you liked it but after that I'd recommend playing the Sky games (FC, SC, and 3rd) and then the Crossbell games (Zero and Azure) before starting Cold Steel 3 as that's when you may start to feel confused about who characters are and stuff.
I'll say it now, even if you don't need it, but here's a longer layout of the story and the games you'll wanna play in order. First is the Liberl Arc, where you follow Estelle and Joshua Bright. The Liberl Arc takes place in the very first two games of the series, Trails in the Sky FC (First Chapter) and Trails in the Sky SC (Third Chapter), where we follow Estelle and Joshua Bright in the nation of Liberl. The Arc ends per se in SC, but Trails in the Sky 3rd wraps up every characters (besides one) story.
Then we have the Crssbell Arc. This takes place in, of course, the small state of Crossbell which is caught in between two major powers. The Crossbell Arc includes two games, Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure. These games follows Detective Lloyd Bannings and the newly established Special Support Sectiok of the CPD (Crossbell's Police Department). Remember the one character I mentioned in 3rd that doesn't have her story wrapped up? Well it wraps up in Zero, which is why I would reccomend people to play the Sky series first.
And then the Erebonian Arc, which includes Trails from Cold Steel 1-4. The interesting thing is that Zero, Azure, Cold Steel 1 and 2 happens at the same time. More specifically, the entirety of Zero and 80% of Azure is happening in between the chapters of Cold Steel 1, while the rest of Azure and Cold Steel 2 happens exactly at the same time. Cold Steel 3 and 4 then happens 4 years after 1 and 2.
And finally, Trails into Reverie. This will finish both the Crossbell and Erebonia Arc's stories.
After this is Kuro no Kiseki and Kuro no Kiseki 2, which is still not localised unfortunately, but these games apparently mark the halfway point of the entire series.
Some people might have a hard time getting into this series, whether you play Sky, Zero, or Cold Steel 1 first because each of these games start slow paced. BUT! It'll be worth it, trust me. I played Sky first and when I eventually got into it, going through the rest of the series wasn't a bother for me. As the other person said, the series will sell itself eventually.
@@theonewhosayshello6367 cool thank you for the break down. It sounds like a pretty meaty series
I’m currently about 40 hours into Cold Steel IV and I’m constantly turned off by the story direction. There is a lack of consequence to the events of Erobonia from the npcs and its characters. For a story filled with darkness and morale at an all time low, everyone seems to escape unscathed. I hope Trails into Reverie begins to commit fully to its story it wants to tell instead of feeling like an avengers mashup with no repercussions.
You don’t have to have constant death in order to have stakes in a story lmao
@@BobbyTheGamerOfJUSTICE we all have our preference in story telling, calm down.
Totally agree with you. Lost interest after Cold Steel IV, but i will give Reverie a shot. Maybe it will remove the sour taste i have in my mouth from CS4. Cause it was one of the worst JRPGs ive ever played honestly. The pacing and filler IS WAY TOO MUCH for its own good.
@@Riv679 That's kinda interesting because I didn't like CS4 as much as I did CS3 but there was moments in CS4 that was fun. Compared to Trails into Reverie, CS4 doesn't hold a candle and now that I have Trails into Reverie, I'm not sure if I want to change out my Switch game card to play CS4 again. I'd rather stick with Trails into Reverie, it's alot of fun, especially the Reverie corridor where the game really shines.
It's okay to be wrong. 💙 🧂
Just finished Reverie and my god this is probably the greatest recent Trails game. It felt like a breath of fresh air after the super long CS III and IV. The new characters are so incredibly good and how they wrote C was just amazing. I am so excited for Daybreak and the reveals in the final daydream has me hyped
This really is a god tier JRPG that many won’t discover as you need to play 8 games beforehand
Yeah fuck that
Finished the Japanese version 2 years ago and LOVED it to death. Easily my favourite in the series.
The story twists and structure were the peak of the series
Same pal same. Hajimari is for me the best trails game so far. Kuro 1 was ok, have not played Kuro 2 yet.
But nearly 170 hours in Hajimari =
Hey I'm interested in this series and I don't know how to approach it. I have a switch and a PS4/5. What would be the recommended order of games on these platforms. Preferably switch whenever possible
@@praneet48 Go in order. If you can, Sky 1-3, then Zero, Azure, then Cold Steel 1-4, and then Reverie. If you can't play Sky 1-3 just start with Zero (because Sky's pretty much PC only at this point so yeah, unfortunate). Hope this helps.
@@praneet48 Best order is Sky Trilogy, Zero and Azure, Cold Steel 1-4 and then Reverie.
if you don't have a PC then unfortunately Sky isn't accessible, but you should be able to access Zero and Azure on PS4 and Switch, Cold Steel 1 and 2 on PS4 as well as Cold Steel 3 and 4 on PS4 and Switch.
@@praneet48 play them in order of release. Some people try to push the idea that you only need to play Coldsteel. You have to play ALL of them since they're all interconnected and this one is a big "Everyone is here" game
Great video, now I am even more hyped! Cant believe its 3 years since I started with Sky FC and now we are here. Trails has become my favourite ongoing series of all time and I cant wait to see what happens here!
Just a quick question for anyone: Does the game also have hidden side quests like the other titles had? Cause I normally check a walkthrough, just for these missable quests as I want to do these all. If there are none, I would just go in without anything this time.
No hidden side quests, missions are added gradually in the notebook. You can access them all the time and see the progress, to obtain the perks of completing the missions you have to report them in the TRC, which you can pretty much access all the time.With the Moon Leens quartz you won't be missing a single chest. I'm about the start the Final Act, and though there are some books and newspapers, they are quite straightforward to get (in shops), not even close to the cruel Carnelia collection on Trails in the Sky, if you've played the game you know what I'm talking about. The only reason I would use a guide is because there are certain conditions to be met to get extra points for the ranking grades. Like, beat a boss in certain amount of turns, and things like that.
Great to hear this game is good. I am looking forward to playing it. I really enjoy the trails series.
I've been waiting , saving myself damn near for this game . I got the guides ready in a playlist to optimize my type of builds and this might be the one trails game I try that super hard difficulty 💪. I can't wait.
Recently I got a tattoo of Crosbell State symbol, thats how deep I am into the Trails hole. And I dont plan on climbing out. Played the fan translation of Reverie, cant wait to play it again proper. And yeah, Kuro no Kiseki is finally where the games gets darker, you can see blood, bodies etc. Reverie still plays it a bit safe.
Now that's commitment, good for you.
I agree with most of the things you said, but I strongly disagree on Cold Steel III and IV being bad points for the series...I think this entire series has been stellar from start to finish.
I love JRPG’s, but to hear I have to play at least six games to “get into” this one… feels like a lot.
I would recommend Cold Steel 1 as a starting point since the game will mention the events of the previous Sky Arc, and Crossbell Arc happened somewhere between CS1 & CS2 if I rmb correctly so it's kind of a perspective point of view.
Trails' storytelling is superb, and you'll be glad you can start CS2 immediately after CS1, and CS4 immediately after CS3
Im currently at the end of azure after making my way past the first 4 going to struggle to not go straight into cold steel , thanks matty for on showing me these games
Matty > Plays through 9 Trails games with the combined text that can wrap around the Earth three times to get to Reverie
Falcom: Before you jump in, here's a mini book that takes roughly 30-40 mins to read that gives awesome backstory for two of our new characters
Matty: Ain't nobody got time for that!
Most bizarre take I've ever seen, and yet you said Falcom takes the L ... X.X Honestly though, Falcom has the Three & Nine story on their website. Anyone who is playing through the Trails series, it's an easy, quick read and very entertaining, and has backstory for Swin, Nadia, and the Organization that's pretty important.
You mentioning how CS4 was really disappointing made me feel good about Reverie. Like you, I felt the downgrade in the CS games, and 4 was really bad for me, I felt they really dumbed down the plot and characters, especially the old ones from sky and zero. That means that your review feels much more personal for me, and makes me extra excited for it. Can't wait!
Marty any plan on doing retro rebounds on CS3 and CS4? Would love to hear you go deeper into them.
This series is on my to play list. Really looking forward to them. Just so many so have to set some time aside lol
My advice is that you shouldn't go into it with the intention of playing them all. Just decide on playing one or two of them, and if you like them enough then you'll naturally set aside the time to play more of them. That is how it worked out for me, anyways.
@@drakenstoc4885 yeh I have one of them and only 1 so far lol. I played it for a few hours and I love it but then I took a break to play something else, you probably know how that is and then I forgot what I was doing lol. Only a few hours in though so I am just going to start again! I found it a bit too slow in the animations but I forgot u can speed it up! though I got my butt kicked when I did that lol. So I think I needed to grind a bit. I plan to play a lot more single player games soon and this will be on my list but with the first. Or the first I will do. Which is the first one in the sky trilogy I believe. The Legend of Heroes, Trails in the Sky
I just beat CS4 couple days ago, the ending credits hit so different. Top tier series
Oh Matty i had no idea you finished the whole series! Hope to see videos on the ones you haven't made yet :)
When I finish final fantasy 16 I’m gonna get back into cold steel 3 and then cold steel 4 and then reverie
Finally got my LE from NISA. Excited to start after I finish FFXVI
Got it today, can't wait 🙌
After playing Daybreak, i prefer Reverie over most other trails game, the Reverie corridor is the biggest difference maker, the amount of characters and freedom the game gives you is nothing like any other Trails game, a focus on combat and progression is what i always wanted from the trails series, and only Reverie offers this much freedom where the story is just a part of the game and the real game lies in the corridor, i love it, yes the story only takes about 35 hours but 100% completion still took me over 170 hours, as far as 100% goes its the 5th longest 100% in the series, only CS1, CS4, SkySC and SkyFC are longer games, after playing all 11 games this is how i would rate them
1 CS1
2 CS4
3 SkySC
4 SkyFC
5 Reverie
6 CS3
7 CS2
8 Daybreak
9 Azure
10 Sky the 3rd
11 Zero
Shame about the censorship on Playstation
Can’t wait to play this!!! I’ve been dying since I finished cold steel 4 last year. Not expecting this to top that game for me, but I hope it’s amazing nether the less
The thing is after cold steel they had problems with the band and a lot of the members left
I dont think we'll ever get ost on that level again
Honestly, trails of cold steel 4 ost was bad, well, the ending was kinda bad in general, the final dungeon feels generic, the music of the final dungeon and the final boss feels generic.
well, from the Japanese release of Kuro no Kieseki, the new music direction they are going for that arc is HUGELY different in contrast with the other entries. I think it levels up to some of the series greats... but nothing is beating Trails of the Sky Battle Theme
@@luispalacios8423What are you smoking??? CS4’s ost was amazing. I was genuinely one of the verge of tears playing through the final dungeon
Nah that happened after Ao no Kiseki came out. I'm pretty sure all of CS was made with the new band, but I could be wrong. Ys VIII was also made without them--so they're definitely still capable of incredible music. But yeah IMO Ao was the peak. There's s till a bunch of good songs though even if not everything is high quality like it was in sky or crossbell.
Abyss mode blind was challenging but made me think a way lot more when it comes to battles. Didn’t feel this way in previous games even in nightmare mode
If the platinum requires me to beat the entire slew of Pom Masters and Vantage Masters again… I think I’m just going to let it go, lol. Seriously hyped for the game, though
Interesting! I played Zero, Azure and all 4 CS games and found CS3 to be the worst (and CS1 best), personally. I take issue with the writing. It was somehow lacking the attention to detail I was used to from CS1 and 2 for the sake of more action. Especially the events near the end felt so rushed and randomly convenient that I just couldn't really "feel" it anymore. Plus it introduced the one element that dragged CS4 a bit down for me. Something I felt was a very cheap way of explaining random character behavior, to be more precise.
However, they are all great, I still love them all and I am really looking forward to Reverie this week! :3 Trails has quickly become my very favorite JRPG series.
Just finished this game about an hour ago, absolutely loved it. I do REALLY wish I could play the Sky trilogy though. I know what happens in those games through reading the wiki, but they’re the only games in the series that I haven’t played due to not having access to them. Falcom PLEASE give us the Sky trilogy in a bundle for modern platforms. Doesn’t even have to be physical, I’d gladly take a download only.
Hey Matt do you think its ok if I skip the Trails of Cold Series, I liked Sky and Zero but Cold steel just feels bland and uninteresting I dont character about any of the the characters
I had the EXACT issue with 4, I've tried multiple times but just can't get into it, maybe the lack of the Main dude took me out more than I realized. Blast right through 3 though!
I don’t understand the hate for 4.
Best game in the series especially when Rean gets promoted.
I also reviewed it (Save The Game Media) and while I didn’t love it as much as you - I’m glad you liked it! Azure is still the GOAT Trails game imo
Azure and Sky SC. Although CS3 left me shocked at the end so think it’s up there maybe top 5. I haven’t played Kuro yet
Honestly cant wait for Kuro no kiseki to be localized
I somewhat agree with your take on the music, though I never thought any tracks were bad. However, Chaotic Sludge was way overused. Was used in cutscenes, and multiple dungeons/areas, and I was tired of hearing it after awhile.
Funny that if you didn't play this game especially 'C''s route.
You will miss out major plotline linked to future game in kuro no kiseki 2.
Because both Swin and Nadia is co-protagonist along side Van, Caz the game plays it out very similar to Reverie with different groups tackling different story.
Like Rean and Lloyd.
I finished Zero back in January and finished Reverie and all the games between back in August. What a journey... Azure is peak! :D (I played the Sky trilogy back in 2019)
Wish they would get back to the azure formular as the experience was alot better. They waste alot of your time for the sake of 100 hour gametime. The Reverie Corridor didnt feel like it belonged into the story and the daydream are just a poor mans excuse of the stardoors sky the 3rd had but you dont get the crucial worldbuilding and character growth you got in the sky games. The main story was fantastic but the game would have been so much better with less content. Cold steel III and IV are worse on this aspect. The last boss for the reverie corridor was awesome though.
Thank god I’m not the only one who was having a hard time with CS 4. So far my play of Reverie has been absolutely amazing and renewed my adoration of the series!
Hi ! So i loved the first 3 CS games but man CS4 is such a drag to play! story pacing is horrible I can't take it anymore i feel so uninterested to finish it...but i really want to try trails in reverie. What should i do ?
@@alpinemellow573 just watch the story on youtube for just play the next game anyway.
The trails series and suikoden also persona are my favorite jrpgs of all time. Tho, the world building of the trails series are on a whole new level.
How The F*ck did you play all of these games in 1 YEAR?!?! That is nuts dude. I absolutely loved Trails of Cold Steel 1 and that took me months to finish. It's the only one I have played out of all of them. I was planning on starting part 2 this summer after FFXVI.
You're in for a treat - Cold Steel 2 is arguably the best game in the Cold Steel arc and they're all great games!
@@Makkajakkayep, just got my friend into the trails series and he started with Cold Steel 1 and then lost his shit in Cold Steel 2 lmao. Trying to convince him to go all the way back to Sky now. He’s compromising and will start Trails From Zero. I’m on Sky the 3rd and I’m loving it!
I played CS 1, 2, Sky 1, 2 and 3, Zero and Azure in the span of two months... That aside, how the fk did you finish CS1 and not immediately start CS2? The game ends in such a massive cliffhanger that I find baffling how anyone who liked it could go "Yup, imma go play something else then maybe come back in some years"
I keep hearing ppl say they used the same engine from CS1 through reverie but why does CS1&2 look so different from CS3, CS4 and Reverie, they clearly made some major improvements from CS2 to CS3, CS3, CS4 and Reverie look and plays completely different from CS1&2
I love how this franchise writes villians only a handful are truly evil all of them have motivations and reasons to do what they do actually mustache twirling villains dont exist and honestly that just proves how good the writing is here
there are no bad guys. nobody in the trails series does anything "bad" unless they're being controlled by magic.
@@dangox3370 I'm pretty sure weissman is just pure evil tough
Isn't it 9 Trails games before Reverie? Sky trilogy, Zero and Azure and Cold Steel Tetralogy?
yes that is correct
I never played a single Trails game but this one looks interesting to me , especially that its coming from the guys behind the Ys games which i love very much.
It deserves to be said… this is quite possibly the single worst game to have as your first Trails game. Lol. It is heavily reliant on the player having experience with the entire series, though the previous six games in particular.
Still, if it catches your fancy, I suppose you do you. It’s a great game. I just imagine that you’ll be very, very lost if you try it.
I was going to skip Reverie but your video made me reconsider it. I love the series though I never played the Crossbell part.
Wow!!!! Matty surprised me with a trails review
This review got me fired up I can't wait until I play this game myself
This game does something special: Aside from the great main story and side content, it offers a complete jrpg sandbox, to test every crazy build and team composition your heart desires, which is so nice, and probably one of my favorite combat systems around.
My only gripe was the 2 assassin characters in it I feel we should have gotten show don't tell approach with flashbacks, expected to read 200 pages no thanks so I was disconnected with them. Lapis and c certainly stole the show I always looking forward to getting back to that route. I'm pumped for trails into daybreak. Just couple months away
Ah, I remember those days... back in 2011-12... when I predicted all this nice hype for this series in my humble guides in GameFaqs...
Back then, Xseed had only managed to localize Sky FC, and left us hanging there for too much time with that painful cliffhanger.
It was the reason I immediately imported Sky SC, 3rd, Zero and Azure for my now dearly departed PSP.
And my Japanese was barely passable then... (now I make a living with the language, but that is not important).
So to say that this series, the Ys series, Nayuta, Zwei, and Tokyo Xanadu have a special place in my heart just doesn't quite say it... kinda like you trying to sell this game without spoiling the fun.
I've played pretty much every game in the Trails series, or as I like to call it, The Zemurian Saga, in Japanese all the way up to CS III and IV. I've gone through this beastly series 3 times in months-long marathons that really melt your mind, and I'll likely do so again when Kuro no Kiseki II comes out... or maybe I'll wait until we hit 24 games so I can spend two straight years in Zemuria, maybe get a permanent resident visa to live in Eryn Village (my favorite town in the series so far).
But jokes aside, there really is no other series like this, except perhaps Ys, but that's a different sort of cuisine, with each game being its own semi-self-contained adventure with perhaps one of the oldest franchise protagonists in existence (Adol "The Red" Christin, who's been active since 1987, one year younger than the Links and Zeldas).
Seriously, this series is like what I expect to happen when all books of Re: Zero are adapted to anime. Or Ascendance of a Bookworm or Mushoku Tensei. It is that big of a series. And if it were made in light novel fashion, it would be like those.
With every game that comes out, my respect, awe, and even fear at what Nihon Falcom is attempting grows.
But I love it, and I can't get enough of it.
PD: Regarding the ongoing schism about the series' OSTs, a little bit of history: Zero/Azure, Cold Steel I and II, were made during the 'height' of the old Team JDK, Falcom's former resident rock band, and also during the times of the perfect combo of Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Yukihiro Jindo and Saki Momiyama.
But, Team JDK members moved on to new endeavours, Momiyama too moved to other projects, and the old trio is getting old. Add to that the fact that each installment since Cold Steel has around 60 to 80 tracks... and you get the idea. Plus, they also do other, non-Trails games.
Then there is our friend Mitsuo Singa, whose music can be hit or miss for many (including me, but that's because I think his style fits the Ys series more than the Trails series). He has improved, and his tracks for Reverie were stellar works (Sword of Swords, we didn't have you enough times).
Still, for me, the music is still definitely "Trails".
did not expect this at all! came completely out of left field especially since i was worried what happened to the azure review (or that you didn't like it) T.T
Needed this Video. Thank dude. I had the same feeling with CS4. At one point I just wanted it over and I even guessed the ending and was toughly disappointed.
After much thought I felt less disappointed because it covered everything but there was nothing special, like we got in sky 3 and azure.
Didnt want to play Reverie at all when I learnt there will be ALL the characters, like aint no way its not going to be bloated to the max, but listening to your review I think I should give it a chance.
ALSO AZURE REVIEW PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!, ITS MY FAV GAME OF ALL TIME!!!
If you have to play like 5 big games, in order to have some fun with another, is it really in a God-Tier? I played the Erebonian arc till here, but i am not really excited with Reverie. I am only eager to see how it will end, or if i am wrong about the bad impression it gives me, to force us to play with 3 different parties. It was the least enjoying aspect of Cold IV to me, because it costed the overall exploration of characters like Falcom did in all the other previous games.
Finished this game two years ago and can’t to play it in English. I’m more excited to see my pals I got them to this point to play it lol. It’s a great farewell to Crossbell, Erebonia as well as it’s battle system plus it’s old engine, the phyre engine lol. Some cutscenes actually use their new in-house engine. When Kuro 1 & 2 officially come here I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on them as well.
so far im enjoying everything from this game im on Sky SC currently,just one thing i don't like about it is how they try to stretch the play hour by adding something like recipe guessing,phantom thief quests,fishing and another fetch quests that doesn;t have any story or gameplay altering impact on the game,but at least im kinda enjoying all these puzzles and guessing game thrown at me.
it common on old JRPGs to have something like this so i doesn't really straight up hate it,it just a little bit annoying if repeated over and over again,and convincing somebody to play this was a pain especially if they seen it somewhere and doesn't click on with their taste.
Thanks to Reverie Corridor I have almost hit 300 hours.
I wish they'd do a compilation of the Trails in the Sky games on Switch. The only place you can really play all 3 is Steam. If anyone wants Reverie, they better jump on it cause it'll be sold out and up in price in 6 months cause they only release like 5,000 physical copies. That's how it feels, anyway.
I'd also say that Falcoms soundtrack quality dropped after CS II / Ys YIII. It was also around the time when they parted with Kanako Kotera and the awesome lineup of the jdk Band. The music is still good, but doesn't reach the sky high former standard of Falcoms music.
Great review as always Matty!
Ys VIII was created after JDK Band left afaik. Kato asked the sound team to make the best music they'd ever created to fill the gap and make things look fine even after their top talent left. And despite not really succeeding on the same level since, they certainly succeeded with Ys VIII. IMO was the peak of their music.
It was Kato who sabotaged their relationship with Chara-ani and led the 2nd gen j.d.k band to disband and Jindo resigned as director, later to see the old j.d.k band members performing for the SaGa series.
@@ztune3945 yeah I’m aware, Kato wanted to cover up his mistake so he asked the team to make the best Falcom soundtrack ever for Ys VIII
Glad to see this series getting lots of coverage lately
Yeah, finally getting some recognition
Since Cold Steel 1 and especially since YS 8 so veeeeery long time this series has been sold as a masterpiece by the fans. This is also why Falcom can still sell us a game that loos like this at full price on ps5 and get away with it 4 example. In terms of scope there is little comparable to this long telenovela if anything so I am not here to hate I think it has great potential and in the hands of Atlus would have probably been great. Let's wait and see what Reverie brings, if the story is more focused, if pacing is bearable, dialogue less pointless... fetch quests are gone. This is already great news.
It's the MCU of JRPGs and it's my 3rd favorite franchise behind Dragon age and Yakuza.
What game in the series should i start with? I kind of want to skip the sky games from what i see
I'd still say Sky, if you don't want to play them, atleast watch a story playthrough of them on UA-cam. First game I'm actually physically playing is Cold Steel 1 but I know the story up until Cold Steel through story playthroughs and it's made the experience a lot more enjoyable.
Just bought a ROG ally, looking forward to playing through this series eventually. Sky was goated, yet to play zero.
The OST is Mid because all the best compositors left Falcom before Reverie. Especially Saki Momiyama and Takahiro Unisuga.
You da man I think you might be my favorite reviewer bro just thought about it
I'm still on Trails from Zero and haven't completed any of the other games. I have some time in Cold Steel but that's it. I have a long way to go but I have the Limited Edition of Reverie in the mail and can't wait until the day I can open it up!
You should of just waited till it goes on sale. It’s a niche series that goes on sale quick like most jrpgs. You have like 500 hours to even get to this game. Always think it out thoroughly when it comes to money my child.
@@BurnedMan999 The Limited Edition will not go on sale and will likely only go up in value, little boy. Don't tell others what to do with their money. I have no issues spending $100 on it now rather than $150 or more in the future.
"Everyone is here!"... Well, apart from Kevin
I for some reason have skipped the trails series ( probably because I wasn’t a mobile gammer and didn’t own a PC ). Finally decided to play the Trails in the Sky series. Beat the first one. What a cliff hanger. I want to literally play them all in order but taking breaks.
If you started with Sky already, there's not much reason to skip around anyway. From a player who started with Cold Steel, just sit back and enjoy the ride.
I have all of steel series but what's the sky series? I've seen Azure and zero and nayuta
The trails in the sky trilogy are the first games in the series. Zero and azure come after.
Game order:
1. Trails in the sky
2. Trails in the sky sc
3. Trails in the sky the 3rd
4. Trails from zero
5. Trails to Azure
6. Cold steel 1
7. Cold steel 2
8. Cold steel 3
9. Cold steel 4
10. Trails into reverie
Currently on 0 so I'll get to this one eventually but good review thank you
Trails IV was AGONY storywise
I have Played zero and cold steel 3 I did pick up this new game because I had Points in my game store. I hope to eventually play the rest of the games but I do take the time to read the summary and watch UA-cam videos to understand the story I hadn't seen yet . I still love the combat tho it's one of my favorite parts of these games and I love the characters. I do enjoy crossbells arc the best so far with Lloyd.
They messed up with the C's route tab being green colored, huh? Just by that, people that played the previous games knows already who he is without playing the Hajimari no Kiseki's JP spoilers...
Im going back between the crossbell duology and ff16 idk if i can play this day 1 😅
Hey bro im new in to the series, i should start from trails from zero? It only makes sense from the title right?
Is Trails into Reverie the final trails game that will ever be made?