Huge thanks again to NISA for sponsoring today's video! Check out their upcoming titles using the links below: Product Page: thelegendofheroes.com/crossbell/azure/products Azure - Online Store: store.nisamerica.com/the-legend-of-heroes-trails-to-azure Reverie - Online Store: store.nisamerica.com/trails-into-reverie
dont meant to call you out derek, but to those that are massively confused as to why the link to NISA stores don't sell the games, they're all Limited Editions on various consoles that are sold out and de-listed already! Check out your local retail stores for a copy and just to reiterate the next two games releasing this year are trails to azure and reverie, which derek DOES NOT recommend to start at (nor anyone with a sane mind Im sure) Trails can be confusing but please ask your questions away, I'm always keen to help out people who are interested and wants to get into the series, it's something you won't regret i promise!
This how you can play them in 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. Trails of Cold Steel 7. Trails of Cold Steel II 8. Trails of Cold Steel III 9. Trails of Cold Steel IV 10. Trails into Reverie 11. Kuro no Kiseki 12. Kuro no Kiseki II - Crimson Sin
@@BLAZER_VA I dunno, it's mostly very vague. Meanwhile, Azure just straight-up spills the big twist at the end of CS2 and what ends up doing in 1 in one fell swoop.
SuperDerek is so committed to the watchability of his videos that he re-arranges his entire room and changes the direction of his quiff multiple times in a video. Kudos for that level of dedication.
Dont know how i could sleept on this series. I found this after i played through Octopath Traveler 2. Now im play the first trails of sky. The prolouge was very long. But i dont have problems with slow stories. Indeed i love if the story and the characters got so much love and details.
I've had Cold Steel 1 and 2 in my backlog for 2 years now, but last year I decided to start from Trails in the Sky. Finished the first one and was waiting for a sale to buy the second and third. Now I've started the second Sky game, but it has lost a bit of steam. I still enjoy playing it when I do, but I can't seem to get myself to start playing. So now I mostly play it when I'm at my parents place where I don't have access to my consoles. This brings me to my next dilemma. Trails From Zero is currently available as a physical edition. There's not that many left, so if I want to have one, I should get one soon. But I'm not sure, because I haven't finished Sky yet and I'm not sure if I'm really into it. It's really strange, because I couldn't stop playing the first Sky game. Maybe it's because the game assumes you know what you're doing, you have all these orbment slots, but there's the V2 version and I have no clue how to get nice combinations for magic. Plus enemies are obliterating me with status effects, and ofcourse I can use an accessory that protects from that, but there's no way of knowing which accessory you need to equip for which fight. So I just have the feeling of stumbling about.
Did Derek just confirm the PS4 version is once again the only version not enhanced by Durante? haha Can't wait for Azure nonetheless! Great video! I'm playing through CS1 again to show my girlfriend who's interested in the story, world and characters of the Erebonia arc, but does not really like to play games (unfortunately for me, especially turn-based games). She is heavily invested in the story and characters, and we're near the end of Chapter 3. Excited to show her how things transpire. On the subject of the PC option for playing these games, despite many of them saying unsupported, every single game works great on Steam Deck, so handheld gaming with the Deck can help you chizzle your way through this epic series. All Trails games released in the west are available on Steam, so there's never a better time for a Steam Deck owner to get into the series!
Sky the 3rd is such an interesting entry. It took a whole lot of left turns, from the protagonist, the pacing, the style of narrative, the doors, everything just went so weird... But I kinda loved it too, in a way. :)
I started playing the Sky Trilogy just before New Year's (so a little over 2 months ago) and I just finished 3rd not even 2 hours ago. I'm literally watching videos about 3rd after that rollercoaster of emotions I had to go through. I absolutely love how this series is thus far and the world building they do. Hearing about it from some people on Discord, I've made it a point to make sure to talk to EVERY single NPC after each story beat no matter how small. Talk to every chest a second time. And just really absorb the country of Liberl to it's full potential. It's the first time I've ever really paid that much attention to flavor text, but I loved every single second of it for all 3 games. I'd be playing Zero right now but it's 3:40AM as I'm watching/writing this so probably not until after I get some sleep. As a new fan to the series, I personally do not regret starting with Sky FC. Not only do I get to learn about the world as the developers intended (and the amazing story-telling and world-building with the NPCs is what drew me in to begin with), but I also get to experience the slow inclusion of new systems for the combat/menus without having to "downgrade" by playing in a different order Also...I will never look at the number '15' the same way ever again
Started with Cold Steel and played all 4. Absolutely loved them and am currently going back to play the sky trilogy. What a freaking killer series so far.
@@SuperDerek since i haven’t play none of these trails can i play reverie without playin any other trails series or do i need to play the very first trails series
Thank you for keeping us console plebs in mind, Derek - we're a dying breed! Haha. Really appreciate this comprehensive breakdown, looking forward to the rest of Kiseki Month!
@@SuperDerek I’m a console pleb, I had a gaming PC but I just found it annoying to always have to be worrying about my settings & upgrading and everything so with PS4 gen I ended up moving over to consoles fully but I got a Steam Deck last fall and I love it, there’s plug-ins that help with knowing what settings to put games on to get it to run great and I love that I can now play stuff like the Trails in the Sky trilogy and other things that aren’t available on modern platforms 😁
@@SuperDerek I got mine a few months ago and I love it and highly recommend it. Trails and a bunch of other games play great on deck. Though if you have small hands that might be a deal breaker though I don't so I'm good.
I played the Sky trilogy in 2021 and loved it. Waited patiently for the official release of Zero, and am very excited to play Azure in 2 weeks and then dive right into Cold Steel. I’m thinking I’ll take a break between CS2 and 3 to avoid burnout and maybe play FF16 then. I think with Reverie coming out this year, my gaming time for 2023 and a good chunk of 2024 is already fully booked 😂
@@SuperDerek always a good idea to take breaks. I marathoned Cold Steel 1-3, Crossbell and Nayuta during the pandemic and did get kinda burnt out. Enjoyed Zero much more with my 2nd play through of the recent release partially due to picking up details I missed the first time but also from having a clean palate this time around.
Dude, tell me about it. 2023 looks like a monster year for me. I almost NEVER have a game to look forward to this far in advance (other than trails and ys games, they are the only ones I pre-order. Well I would do dark souls too but until recently I was always concerned my old pc wouldn't handle them, so yeah). But t his year I got trails, Elden ring dlc, armored core (I've been a fan of from/armored core since the first game BEFORE demon's souls, so yeah, big hype for me), age of wonders 4 (my fave tbs series), Remnant from the ashes 2 (dark souls with guns people call it), and like 3 other titles I can't recall atm. omg mercy.
@@SuperDerek Due to the way it is right now, just want to stick with Cold Steel and Crossbell. The ease of access on console is great. But even Cold Steel 1 & 2 is in limbo and have to use PS5 for that!
-imo you can do CS 1 n 2 First. -Crossbell games since the story takes place simultaneously with CS 1 n 2. -CS 3 n 4. - you won't have the same impact with Renne and the Brights impact and influence in the later arcs. Sky FC is HELLA slow too. Imo You can just wiki the Sky arc if the Sky FC is just too dated for you. Quite a few ppl skipped FC dispite what some online elitists tell you lol. Anton is a simp, you don't need to see every Anton reference to appreciate the world building
8:10 Trails in the Sky trilogy and the Crossbell duology have EXTREMELY low system requirements. Remember these 5 games are running on the same engine and Sky FC is orginally a PC game from 2004 and it wasn't a system pusher 19 years ago. I have a Dell Inspiron 1750, a budget laptop from 2009 and it can run them flawless. According to steam the minimum system for the processor is a Pentium 3 550 mhz. And only needs 512 MB of RAM for the memory. My computer is so old and weak it can't even update to Windows 11 but it can still run these games at 60 frames a second.
It's true. Almost none of the Western Trails fanbase started playing in the chronological order, because most of us didn't have the option to. Didn't stop everyone from falling in love with the series though! :)
Thanks Feida! I get it that so many people will recommend order of release, and I get why. It's the _ideal_ way from a certain perspective. But it's just not the most feasible way for a lot of regular people. Glad you enjoyed today's video! :)
and I agree with that, but lets say you just own the switch as a kid today, starting with the crossbell or cold steel arc which it has on it is totally fine. I think that is the point of dereks video, dont bmiss out on the serie because you lack a certain platform or doesnt have time for 10 games in a row.
Personally I dont like to recommend the first Cold Steel because is a game that can cause a bad first impression. That game have the most anime style and at first can look kinda generic (was a Vita game), plus it have a big focus on presenting how Erebonia (the country that is set in) works and can turn off alot of new players giving its slow nature with not alot going on. Cold Steel is really good if you already have knowledge of the lore introduced in past games, not that is bad game since alot of fans were introduced by it
I'm new but have been interested. I think I will start with the crossbell arc. Its short and if I like it then that gives me incentive to learn about the characters and go back into the older games. My next SuperDerek reccomendation is going to be Bug Fables though, I got it in October from Best Buy and its been waiting for its turn
I'm not a 'vitriolic' purist, as I commented in another thread that I'm ok with people starting with cold steel because some people need to start on something that's m ore modern looking. I don't agree w ith it but I get and accept it. But Zero is the one place I disagree with derek on for where to start. Nearly all of Zero's best scenes involve a certain character assuming you know her backstory well, which is truly tear-jerk material, and it will be lost without that material. Not just 1 or 2 scenes with her either, like 4 times I was bawling because of it. I just can't imagine losing out on those amazing scenes =(. You may think zero/azure is shorter than sky cuz 2 games are less than 3. But both of them are larger than FC by a good chunk, about t he same size as SC, but I find them more time consuming than sc too if you talk to all the npcs (something trails is good for), because t hey are spread out way more and take more travel time to do. Though tbh zero/azure npc chat is the worst arc IMO for this very reason and I myself had to skip doing it completely it was taking too long. Sky 3rd is shorter than sky fc too, so overall it's not really noticeably shorter IMO, and sky 3rd is actually not really part of 1 and 2. like you can play fc and sc and not even know there's a 3rd. 3rd is like an epilogue of sorts (though you should s till play it before zero if you start with sky, it adds a lot to that certain character I mentioned). Of course, playing the series at all is a plus, but Renne is one of the most popular characters in the series for a reason, and it is on sky's foundation. Pretty sure she is THE most popular character as long as you ignore protagonist bias, and biggest boobs in newest game bias =P (not even sure if that's a thing in this series but you get my point). Also, if you're worried about your pc being old. Derek actually understates how easy it is to run. I know because I just replaced my computer that literally WAS 10 years old, AND I replaced it BECAUSE its videocard died... I was able to run the game fine, on a 10 year old pc, with NO videocard, just the integrated graphics on my 10 year old cpu (i5-3570). Truly runs on the potato of potatoes.
I played sky fc on pc then sc and 3rd on steam deck with voice mods. Perfect steam deck games. Have all others physically on ps4 or switch which is where I’ll continue the journey.
I just started the Trails series last year and decided to play in order. Still in Liberl, but hoping to get through a lot of it this year. The first Sky game is easy to play as it does run on any PC.
I'm wondering if the Trails games will get a PS5 re-release. Unless I'm missing some, the games in the franchise include: * Trails in the Sky * Trails in the Sky Trails in the Sky SC Trails in the Sky the 3rd * Crossbell * Trails from Zero Trails to Azure * Trails of Cold Steel * Trails of Cold Steel Trails of Cold Steel II Trails of Cold Steel III Trails of Cold Steel IV Trails into Reverie * Kuro no Kiseki * Kuro no Kiseki Kuro no Kiseki II
Its easy for us to recommend all, but is it realistic to assume someone in 2023 is gonna put aside 700+ hours for this serie? I would probably recommend starting with sky, and if you really feel like the graphic is too old or outdated go to cold steel otherwise ofc go crossbell arc and enjoy :) With all this said, if you wanna start with cold steel, go ahead- and dont listen to the fans, just enjoy the adventure! you can always go back "later".
I really wanna get into the Kiseki series this year once I clear some backlog-y goodness. I decided to start with Sky FC not just because it's a great place to start lore-wise, but because the PSone-ish pre-rendered sprites on low poly backgrounds aesthetic makes me very happy.
I started with Cold Steel and finished that arc, then went for Sky and am currently at the 3rd game Cold Steel appealed to me and made me like the whole franchise, Sky less so and I had to put in more effort to go through the series, so if I had started with Sky I probably wouldn’t have gone on to play the whole series So I agree, read about each arc (without spoilers) to find the vibe that interests you the most and start from there
The problem with that is that Crossbell and Cold Steel contain spoilers for Sky, and Cold Steel spoils Crossbell. There's a little overlap between Azure and CS2-3, but the games are meant to be played in order of release. One of the best things about the Legend of Heroes (Trails) is the build up to big reveals. Having those dumped on you before you even play one of the series would water down the experience significantly IMO. I get that some younger gamers who grew up in the era of 3D gaming might not like Sky because it doesn't look modern, but these games aren't about their graphical presentation. It's the characters, the story, the pacing, and the gameplay that makes LoH so good. That being said, the best way to immerse yourself is from the beginning.
@@acidwizard6528 I think getting hung on spoilers is exactly what this video is trying to discourage. I started with Cold Steel and am now desperate to see the relationships i loved from CS4 grow. I mean, seeing certain characters as villains in Sky while knowing they are family in CS makes me desperate to see the character development that led to that. It didn’t ruin my reaction. It heightened it.
If you dont play damn sky series, you going to regret on cold steel 3 and 4,same with zero and azure, cause main cast of cold steel 3 and 4 adds mc from this games, just sayn
@@vlonewolfv That's an interesting perspective. I'm not sure I would feel that way, but it's too late for me since I already played them in order of release. There's a lot of world building and lore that has it's groundwork laid in the Sky Trilogy and appears in later games. You wouldn't know what the heck is being referenced unless you played Sky first. I don't watch a lot of TV, but it'd be like if you watched season 6, 7, 8, 9 of a show, then went back and watched 1-5. You can do it however you want to of course, but there is a way it's intended to be done.
@@acidwizard6528 While I mostly agree with the season comparison, the difference is that there is a whole batch of new characters that grow within each arc. So yeah, I wanted to start with the Sky trilogy, but I am just not a PC gamer and all the other ways of doing it were just too much a pain for me to go thru. So I just decided to start with Cold Steel as most people said it’s brand new characters. And for me, once I reached Cold Steel 3 and 4, since Class 7 was still the anchor point for the story, all the returning characters didn’t feel overwhelming. And as I am currently in the second sky game, I can at least say for me, I am loving filling in the backstory. Good writing is good writing. So yeah I would have preferred to start with Sky, but at the end of the day, even starting with Cold Steel made me absolutely fall in love with this RPG series. And at the end of the day no matter how you approach this series, the goal is to get more fans into it. Mission accomplished!!!!!!! Now as I patiently await Reverie and the Calvard arc announcement. ARGH!!!!!!
Great recommendations! I had tried to start with Sky FC, but it wasn't until I played Cold Steel 1 that Sky's gameplay clicked for me. Glad that I went back after because it's such a great experience.
For those concerned about pc performance, remember that these games, especially Sky, are _old,_ almost 20 years. My favorite way I've seen describing your specs need are, Sky needs a potato, Cold Steel need _two_ potatoes.
I decided to get a rog ally and jump into this series I hear so many wonderful things about sky so going there 😁 I have the other ones on PlayStation and switch so I got my work cut out for me .
I believe the best way is to start with the Sky arc because if you start in from any other arc, the deescalation of the game pace is really going to slow the flow you've built. Also, I say that starting from Cold Steel or Crossbell is simply placing yourself out of the loop. Would you read Harry Potter starting from Half-Blood Prince? The fact of the matter is, these games are going to appeal only to a certain type of person. The kind of person that can get lost in a world far beyond their own. The kind of mind that can immerse themselves in Hogwarts, Westeros, or Middle Earth and countless more like them. The average person simply does not possess that capacity for that sort of appreciation. (but it can be learned!) So, lamenting that you have to play 10 whole games to date is missing the point. We should be glad that Harry Potter has seven whole books. We should be happy that Lord of the Rings have three whole movies, because would you rather have three good movies or only just one? Same for the Trails games. We have 10 excellent games to play! Why wish for less?
I think if you have a hard time with older graphics and gameplay, start with CS1. If you love that game, then play CS2 then go back and start from the beginning and play the series in order. If you like retro games, start from the beginning.
For sure! Some people can't do the older visual style. If that's the case, hopefully they can at least catch up through let's plays or recaps or something. :)
@@SuperDerek For sure. This is how I approached the series. I started with CS1/2 then went back and did a mix of playing and watching let's plays. The crossbell arc wasn't accessible easily when I got into the series so I just watched let's plays of those. Thankfully new fans won't have that issue. I'm obsessed with this series and can't wait for Reverie this summer.
I understand just jumping in, but there's a legitimate reason people recommend release order. There aren't just "nods" for playing in order. There are extremely emotional pay-offs that only truly are felt in order since they were set up several games so carefully beforehand. You are just robbing yourself of the best possible experience. Also, the three Sky games can be played on a potato PC and go on sale all the time for cheap, so they are arguably more accessible than the new ones. You can start with CS and CSII, but idk considering that Azure is out this month, there is no excuse to play the first five games now; which is probably one of the greatest five game runs ever...especially considering the writing starting to suffer a bit when CS started. Also, Kondo said you can start with CSIII because it was in Falcom's best interest from a business perspective. From this point of view, it makes sense. But from an artistic one, I'm sure he definitely disagrees with it.
Or you could go the hipster route and start with the Legend of Heroes trilogy on PSP. For real though, This is a good take on where to start. I started off with Cold Steel just because of the timing/accessibility of it. It was the first time the PS3 got a normal JRPG that really felt epic. (There were definitely other good JRPGs on PS3, but they were usually weird experimental things, like Lost Dimension) Now days the franchise is a lot easier to get ahold of.
Dude, I’m surprised you didn’t say that a steam deck would be the ideal way to play most of these games. You get access to steam, all while being handheld. It’s kind of the perfect way imo. Granted, the steam deck is pretty massive, but other than that, having all of these games in one place on steam (with great cloud saves) seems like the way to go
You must be a Libra like me, because I totally vibe with your take on things. 👍🏼 If not, that's cool, still loving your approach! We need to be more welcoming gamers! Gatekeeping be gone!
I'm personally of the opinion that you should start with the sky trilogy, but finish Cold Steel 2 before Azure due to both games making the same reveal at the end that I feel works better in Cold Steel. Whether that means you go sky > CS 1/2 > zero/azure or sky > zero > CS 1/2 > azure is up to you.
im not too far in the video but saying starting from somewhere is a pretty good way. i played through the games chronologically from sky and after finishing all the way to cs4 i concluded i would not have loved it as much if i didnt start from the beginning since cold steel didnt get me engaged as much as the previous games. but i also know of a acquaintance of mine who played from the cold steel games and just now playing through the old games and still loved it deeply. in the end its what you appeal to but a personal indicator of mine would be: if you like a more persona like story with similar mechanics and a more linear story and game: cs1 if you like a fair traditional rpg game with some openness with a revamped structure to traditional heros storytelling: sky fc
Sky FC, Zero, Cold Steel and Kuro 1 are all good starting points. However, the reason people keeps saying that Sky should be the first one is not because they are purists, but because they have either go that route themselves, or followed another route and midway had the urge to go back to the first game. So, in my opinion, Sky FC should be the first one, but, if that's not a possible entry point for someone for whatever reason, any of the First chapters of each arc would be a good place to start. CS3 as an starting point... It's not the worst starting point, but I don't recommend that. It may work (and a lot of people on switch are starting here)
I don't get why starting something long is seen so compromising. I mean, if you like it, then you have lot of neat material. If you don't, you just stop playing.
When I first tried the current Trails series, I got about two hours in and quit because I didn't like the main character and how the story was going. However years later when I learned about Cold Steel, I was told it would spoil Trails in the sky. Since I cannot play games I've been spoiled on, I went back and played Trails in the sky. Sure I still didn't like the main character, but everything else in the game got so much better. I'm *so glad* I gave it another go. It's a reminder that you can have an amazing experience even if there are elements in a game you don't enjoy. P.S. Playing Trails of games on the Steam deck is *amazing*
I’d recommend on a case by case basis some people don’t have a pc or time to play I only recommend sky to people who finish crossbell saga or finish cold steel 1 and 2
The only thing I’ll say is that Trails of Cold Steel 3, 4, and Trails into Reverie require knowledge of ALL the games prior so if you want to play those three titles you need to play everything else first. Those titles are comparable to Infinity War and Endgame. As far as I know Kuro No Kiseki is a perfect entry point as well. There are characters that are from previous arcs in there but it’s not necessary for Kuro’s plot. It’s looking like Kuro will be the second best place to start after Trails in the Sky
I'm very glad I started with Sky, it's so wild to see how detailed the world has become as they've kept building upon it with each new release. Can't wait to dive into Cold Steel 3 soon!
Good guide. I started with CS1 and 2 and really enjoyed them and i'm currently working my way through the Sky trilogy via the Evolution patches (they're great). Couple of things i'll add - Kuro no Kiseki just got released on PC in Japanese with NISA as the publisher a few days ago and Falcom and D3 (the port dev) confirmed English will be added in an update eventually. That said, there's also a WIP English fan patch already out for it and Clouded Leopard's port. there's also an unofficial English patch options that exist for Japanese Switch ports of Cold Steel 1 and 2 that port XSEED's translation.
I started with Trails in the Sky and have gone in publishing order since then. I'm very glad I played the ones I did, but have experienced this problem: by the time I got to Cold Steel 3, my progress ground to a halt, for a couple of reasons. 1) The game has a slow start without much going on (after a brief flash forward to combat encounter in the very beginning) and I'm not sold on the new student characters yet. 2) Playing these games is very time consuming if, like me, you are careful to try to get all of the new dialogue for all of the NPCs every time it updates and are trying to get all the missables. 3) I am starting to lose enthusiasm for some of the anime trope elements of this series. Having multiple little girl secret agents with giant robot companions and traumatic backstories for your adult protagonists to mentor and have occasionally questionable dialogue with makes it seem like the writers are grasping at straws.
I definitely agree about Cold Steel being a good game to play after Persona. I finished p5R last year and needed something to fill that void. After the first Cold Steel game I was hooked.
@@iliakazakov5947 I just finished Persona 4 Golden and loved it. I was thinking about Persona 3 but there are those rumors of a remake coming out so I’ll probably wait for another 6 months to see if anything materializes and if not I’ll grab persona 3 on the switch.
Fell in love with The Trails Series Beat trails of cold steel 1 and 2 and stopped, to play trails to zero and azure, after i beat azure i will continue with Trails of cold steel 3 and 4
I played CS1, part of CS2, went back to sky fc, sc, 3rd, then played the geofront versions of zero and azure right when they came out, back to finish cs2, cs3, cs4, now waiting for Reverie and Kuro
I agree that the best answer is whatever draws you into the series. My personal opinion is Sky 1-3, Zero, CS1&2, Azure, CS3 and on. I just find the spoilers in Azure for cold steel to be bigger than vice versa, and cold steel spoilers for Azure are vague or can be avoided as a lot of the bigger ones are contained in optional content like newspapers. Again just my personal opinion to be taken with a grain of salt. The #1 priority is to bring new players to the series I can bounce ideas and theories off of.
I played Sky fc and sc, both on normal difficulty, i think its quite challenging on first 1-2 chapter (many easier retry battle), but after that i practically owned it Now if i want to play Zero / CS, with experience gameplay i had, which difficulty you recommend? Keep normal or try hard? (I think you cant change difficulty ingame ?) I love battle mechanics on trails series so far, but i dont want to retry many times
Maybe normal for Crossbell. Up it a bit for Cold Steel as combat starts to get easier as series goes on. Lot of exploitable mechanics especially in CS 2 and 3.
Nice video man! So what kind of trails content you're gonna make? Are you gonna make a ranking of the trails games you've played? Or perhaps a character ranking? Either way really appreciate your content and really looking forward to what's coming next ;)
My hopes are to release two reviews, Cold Steel 1 and 2, possibly another Trails audiobook, a video talking about the Cold Steel anime, maybe unboxing the Azure Collector's Edition, possibly a giveaway, depending on how things end up going. :)
I am one of the "gatekeeper" types for Trails for a simple reason. Start wherever you want. Start with Reverie. Cold Steel 4. Trails to Azure. It doesn't really matter to me. But if you want the story, characters and world to hit the hardest, if you want the best experience out of these games, do yourself a favour and play from release order. Sky FC, SC, 3rd, Zero, Azure, CS1, CS2, CS3, CS4, Reverie, Kuro 1, Kuro 2. There are characters who have arcs which take multiple games to complete, some even go through multiple arcs. E.g. R's major arc starts in Sky SC and doesn't end for a whole 3 games and it's still going in Kuro. Imagine starting with Zero and you have this person's arc and you have no idea about their backstory or growth. Just play the game in release order. It's not rocket science. Or do whatever you want. We're not recommending release order because we want to gatekeep. We think this is just the way to get the best possible experience. Yeah, I'm recommending you a steak and I'm recommending you don't eat it well done. If you want it well done, go ahead, I'm just saying it's going to be a better experience for you if you eat that steak more rare.
Nah, you and I are totally of the same opinion. Release order is 100% the _optimal_ choice, there's pretty much no debate there, and people should do what makes sense for themselves. The gatekeepers I was calling out are the people who literally say, "if you cannot play all 10+ games in release order, you don't deserve to play the series." Which is actually very close to verbatim to what some have said in this very comment section. Your take is way more reasonable than _theirs._ :)
I started with Cold Steel 1 and finished and stopped on the 2nd game. Told myself not to play the 3rd game until I have finished the past games. Yes, Cold Steel spoil a bit about the past games, and its so little of it (not too much that irritated me, BUT I confess that those little spoilers made me curious on playing the past games, starting with SKY FC, its a good thing, right?). Now i finished Sky FC and SC. And I am really undecided if to play the Sky TC. Have read not many good things about it. Like its a dungeon crawler of some sort but that the gameplay has been improved. I really am undecided. So next game will be either SKY TC or Trails from Zero.
I started with Cold Steel 1 then played CS2 and CS3. Playing through Trails from Zero now and excited to start Trails to Azure when it releases! Then CS4 and Reverie this summer
I'm thinking that's how I'll do it or finish cold steel and then go back and play crossbell. I have 2 kids so gaming time is limited but I really wanted to play the series and my original plan was just play CS and continue from there but with now almost being done with 2 I think I'll try Crossbell at some point too. I already know the stories but that never ruins a good game for me.
Great video. I started with Sky and was bored to tears, turned me off from the series for years. I picked it back up and finished it, but was not impressed still. I then played Cold Steel 1 and thought it was ok. Took another break, then got back in with the most recent Zero release. Now I’ve played almost all NA released titles, currently working on Steel 4. I get why people say to play in release order. Makes the most sense for story consistency. But honestly, I think as long as you don’t start with Steel 3, Sky SC, Sky 3rd or Azure you’re fine. I ended up loving the Sky trilogy as a whole but wouldn’t recommend starting with Sky except to old school, very patient RPG fans. Sky FC almost turned me off entirely from this series and that would have been sad, as it’s now one of my favorite series.
@@SuperDerek for sure. I was really tired when I wrote my initial comment lol, I came off as harsh on Sky FC but I think your assessment of it in this video is very accurate, it’s a phenomenal game. Just a slow burn. I think most JRPG fans would enjoy it anyways.
WOOOO!!! Happy Trails Month Indeed!! Whole hearted agreed with start somewhere! Just start. I personally started with Cold Steel 1&2 however I had NO idea of Sky and Crossbell till I started my personal research into Trails. After finishing CS2 - I went back to Sky to start that arc. That's where I will give out my own personal point.....once you start an arc - do you best to finish the arc. I kinda remember the story but I personally will try CS1&2 again once I'm there in the timeline. But enjoy everyone!! I know I enjoy this series SOOO much! Happy Trails Month Everyone and Off to Adventures!
whelp I tried to do my part in spreading this video around especially on the JRPG reddit but that didn't work just got down voted and people saying "this is how you should play"
Started Trails series in November 2022. Finished Trails in the Sky FC at 64 hrs, Sky SC at 75 hrs, and the 3rd at 54 hrs of gameplay... Now 25 hrs into Zero and excited for all the subsequest Trails games! (Because I know it will get better and I will get the full experience of them) Also I have to disagree about still relevant being Cold Steel pros. I think ALL of Trails games will still be relevant even years into the future if Trails series still being continued, because all of them are interconnected. Probably in the future we will talk about this classic series with our sons and grandsons.
So I finally got the physical release of sky FC and I have all the other games that have a physical release. Is there a way to play sky SC and third chapter in english, without a PC?
You could play sky SC on a PS Vita. That's how I played it. I think the only way to play the official English release of third chapter is through Steam or GOG.
Nisa is sponsoring this video so I hope they will eventually take notes and get the rights to Sky 1,2,3,CS1,2 and port them to modern console so now fans get to play it all on one system. Great intro to the series video , I get so many people who ask me where to start and get really confused and this video clearly explain everything you need to know. For having platinum Kuro 1 and 2 I can confirm that it "can" be a starting point but... meh... you will miss out a lot , mostly for Kuro 2 IMO. You will benefit a lot more if you have some knowledge of some characters all the way back to Sky.
My extra recomendation for those wanting to start from chronological order is that you lower the difficulty for the first 5 games, that means all the three Trails in the the Sky and Trails from Zero and trails into Azure. My reasoning for this is that even though they were all slightly updated for modern consoles and PC, the still are quite outdated RPG's, they are all about stat checks for every boss into the game, and those that are super bosses can be cheesed by dodge strats or wall spam (meaning that the metagame for thse games, in the endgame, is to always buff your party with attack cancelling buffs), otherwise you're going to have to grind and grinding in these games suffer some serious rubberbanding, where if you're 1 level above the intended level, the EXP you get drops faster than your desire for grinding. Stat bloat is something that is pretty much a staple of the Cold Steel games, but in this instance making the difficulty higher can make these games more enjoyable, because normal is quite easy. These games give you so many rewards and tools that you'll make a prefered way to deck out your party all the time and positioning your party plays a bigger role than the previous games. It won't be long into these games until you would like to pump a certain lady full of strength/Skill damage Quartz. Other than that you can pretty much start whenever you want, don't feel overwhelmed because of the sheer ammount of games that are all connected, these games might be long for current day standards but you still have YEARS to even get up to the official localizations of the current games, and even more for those that haven't even been released. You have time to catch up and fully enjoy the series even in 45ish hours per week jobs.
I played the Sky trilogy and really liked 1-2, but 3 just didn't work for me since I felt the story had already ended with 2. I have the first two Cold Steel games, but still need to play Azure before I can commit to that. Glad the Crossbell series is getting a US release, but I'll wait for Azure to come down in price since I had played the fan translation of Zero already. A really solid JRPG series, and I would personally recommend playing in chronological release order.
Sky the 3rd confused a lot of people I think because of this. It seems like it _should_ continue Joshua and Estelle's story, but really it tidies up loose ends and instead focuses on Kevin's story, someone who I didn't really care for/about after Sky SC.
Haha, yeah the end of Sky 1 really demanded a continuation into SC. My heart aches for those poor souls who had to wait 10 years to see the conclusion back in the day!
I agree that one should ultimately start where they want to start. It's largely a subjective thing (taking the story timeline and accessibility into account). I think I'm going to start with the Trails in the Sky arc because I don't have a Playstation and I only have a Switch, Steamdeck and an okay laptop. I also want to be eased into the story rather than bombarded with tons of info from the game world. Thanks for the info!
Hey Derek! Man, I absolutely loved your closing statement. As a console player, I came into the series with Trails of Cold Steel. However in coming in so late, I had the opportunity to tackle the series in a path that, for me, was pretty cool. Additionally Trails from Zero had released during my playthrough of Cold Steel 2. So here's my path: Trails of Cold Steel 1, Trails of Cold Steel 2, and then Trails from Zero. From there I'll move on to Trials to Azure then Cold Steel 3 and 4. This was a suggestion I read about and, for me, one that was pretty cool. You get these little nuggets of info throughout Cold Steel 1 and especially CS2 regarding what's going on in Crossbell. So in hearing these things, I simply couldn't wait to play Zero and see first hand the goings on in Crossbell. Now the downside to this path is there will be names mentioned that hold a lot less weight than they would had the series been played in order. But seeing as the Sky series aren't really available for console players, that's an option many won't have. My suggestion is this, if sprite based characters and old school graphics isn't a big deal, start with Trails from Zero and simply go from there. But as Derek has mentioned, please try not to start in the middle of any arc. I recently purchased a Steam Deck and I'm currently playing Trails in the Sky. It's a lovely game and it's nice to see where it all started. Derek I do have a question, what are you thoughts on Trails in the Sky the 3rd (I think that's the title)? I read a bit on it and it seems like a dungeon crawler, not really my thing. But I also hear it foreshadows some things. Is it worth playing?
I'm on the last chapter of 3rd now. I personally would say that it depends on your views on the storytelling. There is no big world-shaking plot in 3rd... but it does serve as an epilogue for SC, or a farewell to the characters. It gives short looks into what has been happening with the cast of Sky since SC ended. It also goes deeper into a certain Priest's background (it's more his game than Estelle's). I think it is also shorter. I'm between 20-30 hrs, where Sky took me 60+. The gameplay does feel a bit more dungeony, but has many varied areas. You can (and should) warp around back and forth a lot, which I feel is the biggest difference between 3rd and the other games "open worlds". Hope some of that helps.
@@coilledragon279 I'd say it depends on what you think of Kevin as well, as it mostly deals with his personal story. Which means it also gives some insight into the Septian Church.
This series is growing large enough that I think we need to realize that some new fans won't play all the games. For those ppl, I'd recommend prioritizing the CS games, as they're the latest and probably most relevant lore wise going forward into the Calvard arc. The Crossbell games comes 2nd. But don't ignore any of the games you skip. Try to learn about the games as much as you can, through LP's or looking up summaries. The more you learn about the world, history, characters and lore, the more you start to appreciate all the games in the series. But if you are open to playing all the games, I recommend: A. Sky1-3 CS1-2 Zero Azure CS3-4 B. CS1-2 Sky1-3 Zero Azure CS3-4 If neither answer satisfies you, play in whatever order you feel like. You will spoil more, but it's not the end of the world, and you'll get a more unique experience on the series. The issue with the chronological order is that Zero and Azure share a timeline with CS1-2, so they will both cite events in the other games. These spoilers are much more significant from Zero and Azure which is why you're better off saving them for last. In fact they'll spoil one of the main plot twists of both CS1 and 2. Yes. I'm not kidding. I don't know why they did this, but my theory is that they simply hadn't originally planned to cover the events of CS1-2 at such depth. You can also avoid most of the spoilers from CS1-2 concerning Zero and Azure, since it's mostly contained to newspaper articles. It may seem like stopping CS midway through makes little sense, but CS2 actually concludes really well. You could say that CS1-2 is one arc and CS3-4 is a follow up arc. You may get a few Sky spoilers by doing CS1-2 first, but it's nothing major, and this order creates much better momentum going forward.
My Order was wacky, Sky 1, then cold steel 1,2,3, then sky 2,3, then cold steel 4, then crossbell. I was following a bit of a 1/2 physical release order. I am still a megafan! That being said I do feel i missed out on the optimal experience. Everyone is very lucky now a days to have the option to play in an order that wasn't available to me in english when the games were coming out. I suggest people take advantage of that! you won't regret it!
There is that, and also I happened to wrap up Cold Steel 1 and 2 and am hoping to push some reviews out soon for those. It just lined up really nicely so I figured I'd make a thing of it. :)
Only 6 1/2 of them in my backlog. Started in chronological order with Trails in the Sky FC after I finished the Ys games. I just hope that the series will have a satisfactory conclusion with ALL the important characters of all the arcs.
Great video. I started with Zero because of the ease of playing it on Switch. Beat it and now I’m waiting for Azure. Then going to Cold Steel which has me worried since it’s 4 games long
So i do plan on starting from the sky series, just a quick question i will be playing on pc and plan on modding at atleast the voices from the evo mod. Do you guys suggest just installing the full mod ? or should i just stick to just adding the voices? Just want to see what others think is the most compete way of playing this game.
Just voices was my approach, I've heard mixed opinions on the portraits though. I think that the original portraits and music were a little better, personally. :)
Do just the voices. You can try using the evo portraits in sky the 3rd once you get there as the evo designs are more in line with their future designs.
I've been wanting to start this series for so very long at this point. I've told myself many times just to forget about it. Maybe I'll actually give these all a try still, but the biggest concern is simply playing the games in a convenient way. I don't play at all on pc, so emulation is out of the question. Although for now, I might just start with the psp digital versions available on the ps3 store (really worth taking note of). They might not be the best starting points, but for convience sake, might as well get the hardest to play out of the way first 😅
well said! i've played the whole Kiseki series chronically from Sora FC to Kuro II, and yeah to truly enjoy the series this is the recommended way to go. playing the first Kuro does fall into the whole starting into a new arc route which you mentioned with Sora, Sen, and Zero so it could be a starting place for newcomers to start in if they want.
I want to start Cold Steel but kinda hard to commit (although I have the game day one). I assume I need at least 300+ hour to finish the 4 game. when I remind of that and look at my backlog I get tired already 😅😅
I've always been open to people starting with CS1 because some people can't stomach starting a giant series with a really old game that looks like it was born before they were. I get that, I don't agree with it, but I get it. I really want to argue against starting with Zero though. The technological advancements zero has over sky are minimal at best, and nearly all the best scenes in the game (namely ones involving Renne) just don't mean anything if you don't have sky's backstory to add to her.
I started on cold steel 1 played 1-4!!! Then played the crossbell arc and i am IN love i will buy every trails game from now on. I think trails of cold steel 1 was a perf jumping on point! I feel if id have done zero first id be less stoked on the series as a whole. No matter what all fans of rpgs NEEED to play this series! Best series hands down!
Another great video, well done Derek. My opinion? Playing the games in chronological order indeed seems overwhelming just for the sheer scope... but it's way more overwhelming to jump in the middle and receive tons of information that you're not familiar with, just because you haven't played the previous games. So, my advice would be to play the games in chronological order, starting from the first arc, and live the whole experience... And if you want to skip a game or two, you can always see a longplay video on UA-cam...
Great video. I'll always tell people the best place to start is Sky and play chronologically... but if they can't do that for one reason or another, then I'll say roughly what you've said here. Just pick an arc and start if you're against starting at Sky... but probably CS1 considering the ties Zero has to Sky. I don't want people to avoid the series but It would feel weird not recommending starting at the start first. I am incredibly excited for this month, though. Keep up the good work Derek!
I played Sky FC and had to wait like 3 years for the second one. I still shed a tear for the people who played FC on PsP when it first came out and had to wait like 10 or more years for the second game. If you played FC you know why that is nightmare fuel haha. As for playing Cold steel before the other games, I would only play the first 2 as the other 2 are so interconnected with the story as a whole that it could just be overwhelming. It's hard to say though there are spoilers no matter where you start but if you don't know they are spoilers they just kind fit into the game haha except maybe Cold Steel 4. Really, if I had one piece of advice is just don't play Cold Steel 4 before you finish the rest.
Definitely agree with starting at the beginning of an arc. I got sort of lucky and started with Trails in the Sky. I was originally going to start with Cold Steel, but PS Now sucked so bad back then that it was unplayable (cloud gaming). Wound up going through the Sky trilogy and then bought Trails of Cold Steel I and II on Vita physically. That was a heck of an RPG year for me. This game series is probably my favorite overall these days. Can't wait to play the official English version of Trails to Azure. My copy should be shipping soon. Then Trails Into Reverie is following close on its heels. That Nayuta game is coming as well, but I'll be honest and say I know very little about it. It feels like there's a chance we might get caught up with Japan before the third Kuro game. If not, we'll be closer for sure.
I started with Cold Steel 1 because of a couple of factors: A buddy of mine plays the series religiously. And I voiced in an up and coming project for an abridged series So I started with Cold Steel. I platinumed the first three Cold Steel games. I'll finish 4, then go to Zero, then Azure. Then maybe Sky if I 100% Zero and Azure before Reverie comes out.
Huge thanks again to NISA for sponsoring today's video! Check out their upcoming titles using the links below:
Product Page: thelegendofheroes.com/crossbell/azure/products
Azure - Online Store: store.nisamerica.com/the-legend-of-heroes-trails-to-azure
Reverie - Online Store: store.nisamerica.com/trails-into-reverie
dont meant to call you out derek, but to those that are massively confused as to why the link to NISA stores don't sell the games, they're all Limited Editions on various consoles that are sold out and de-listed already! Check out your local retail stores for a copy and just to reiterate the next two games releasing this year are trails to azure and reverie, which derek DOES NOT recommend to start at (nor anyone with a sane mind Im sure)
Trails can be confusing but please ask your questions away, I'm always keen to help out people who are interested and wants to get into the series, it's something you won't regret i promise!
This how you can play them in 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. Trails of Cold Steel
7. Trails of Cold Steel II
8. Trails of Cold Steel III
9. Trails of Cold Steel IV
10. Trails into Reverie
11. Kuro no Kiseki
12. Kuro no Kiseki II - Crimson Sin
You could also swap cold steel I and II with Zero and Azure since they happen at the same time basically
@@samis486 I know but It make sense you play zero and azure because Coldsteel 1 and 2 always talk about whats going on in crossbell
Thanks. 12 games tho. And I really wana play that. Ain’t got time for that. Damn.
Thank you this is literally what I wanted from this video and somehow ended up more confused than when I started watching lol
@@BLAZER_VA I dunno, it's mostly very vague. Meanwhile, Azure just straight-up spills the big twist at the end of CS2 and what ends up doing in 1 in one fell swoop.
SuperDerek is so committed to the watchability of his videos that he re-arranges his entire room and changes the direction of his quiff multiple times in a video. Kudos for that level of dedication.
Dont know how i could sleept on this series. I found this after i played through Octopath Traveler 2. Now im play the first trails of sky. The prolouge was very long. But i dont have problems with slow stories. Indeed i love if the story and the characters got so much love and details.
I started with Cold Steel 1 and backtracked ALL THE WAY before finishing out the quadrilogy
I've had Cold Steel 1 and 2 in my backlog for 2 years now, but last year I decided to start from Trails in the Sky. Finished the first one and was waiting for a sale to buy the second and third. Now I've started the second Sky game, but it has lost a bit of steam. I still enjoy playing it when I do, but I can't seem to get myself to start playing. So now I mostly play it when I'm at my parents place where I don't have access to my consoles.
This brings me to my next dilemma. Trails From Zero is currently available as a physical edition. There's not that many left, so if I want to have one, I should get one soon. But I'm not sure, because I haven't finished Sky yet and I'm not sure if I'm really into it.
It's really strange, because I couldn't stop playing the first Sky game. Maybe it's because the game assumes you know what you're doing, you have all these orbment slots, but there's the V2 version and I have no clue how to get nice combinations for magic. Plus enemies are obliterating me with status effects, and ofcourse I can use an accessory that protects from that, but there's no way of knowing which accessory you need to equip for which fight. So I just have the feeling of stumbling about.
Just play Cold steel first
Did Derek just confirm the PS4 version is once again the only version not enhanced by Durante? haha Can't wait for Azure nonetheless!
Great video! I'm playing through CS1 again to show my girlfriend who's interested in the story, world and characters of the Erebonia arc, but does not really like to play games (unfortunately for me, especially turn-based games). She is heavily invested in the story and characters, and we're near the end of Chapter 3. Excited to show her how things transpire.
On the subject of the PC option for playing these games, despite many of them saying unsupported, every single game works great on Steam Deck, so handheld gaming with the Deck can help you chizzle your way through this epic series. All Trails games released in the west are available on Steam, so there's never a better time for a Steam Deck owner to get into the series!
I honestly don't know anything about the PS4 release. My best guess though is to expect a similar situation as Zero's release.
I played cold steel 1 and 2 and loved them but the 3rd didn't really catch my attention
Sky the 3rd is such an interesting entry. It took a whole lot of left turns, from the protagonist, the pacing, the style of narrative, the doors, everything just went so weird... But I kinda loved it too, in a way. :)
Ah! THE "question".
Steam Deck is great for the Sky games!
You start by buying a bag of Trail Mix and you eat them.
Some people dive into the trail mix while waiting in line to pay for them. I don't condone this method, but I've seen it done before.
I started playing the Sky Trilogy just before New Year's (so a little over 2 months ago) and I just finished 3rd not even 2 hours ago. I'm literally watching videos about 3rd after that rollercoaster of emotions I had to go through. I absolutely love how this series is thus far and the world building they do. Hearing about it from some people on Discord, I've made it a point to make sure to talk to EVERY single NPC after each story beat no matter how small. Talk to every chest a second time. And just really absorb the country of Liberl to it's full potential. It's the first time I've ever really paid that much attention to flavor text, but I loved every single second of it for all 3 games.
I'd be playing Zero right now but it's 3:40AM as I'm watching/writing this so probably not until after I get some sleep. As a new fan to the series, I personally do not regret starting with Sky FC. Not only do I get to learn about the world as the developers intended (and the amazing story-telling and world-building with the NPCs is what drew me in to begin with), but I also get to experience the slow inclusion of new systems for the combat/menus without having to "downgrade" by playing in a different order
Also...I will never look at the number '15' the same way ever again
starting with sky fc is the best choice
Started with Cold Steel and played all 4. Absolutely loved them and am currently going back to play the sky trilogy. What a freaking killer series so far.
Falcom deserves our love. They understand that gameplay is king.
Absolutely!
Yup I love trails and Ys
@@LilT2o00Tokyo Xanadu is very underrated as well
@@SuperDerek since i haven’t play none of these trails can i play reverie without playin any other trails series or do i need to play the very first trails series
I started with CS 1, but the best starting point is probably Sky 1 on PC since it has voice acting and turbo mode.
you really came a long way with your on camera presence Derek!
Thanks dude! Really appreciate that! :)
Thank you for keeping us console plebs in mind, Derek - we're a dying breed! Haha. Really appreciate this comprehensive breakdown, looking forward to the rest of Kiseki Month!
There are dozens of us! _Dozens!_
That said, the Steam Deck is suuuper tempting!
@@SuperDerek I’m a console pleb, I had a gaming PC but I just found it annoying to always have to be worrying about my settings & upgrading and everything so with PS4 gen I ended up moving over to consoles fully
but I got a Steam Deck last fall and I love it, there’s plug-ins that help with knowing what settings to put games on to get it to run great and I love that I can now play stuff like the Trails in the Sky trilogy and other things that aren’t available on modern platforms 😁
@@SuperDerek I got mine a few months ago and I love it and highly recommend it. Trails and a bunch of other games play great on deck. Though if you have small hands that might be a deal breaker though I don't so I'm good.
I played the Sky trilogy in 2021 and loved it. Waited patiently for the official release of Zero, and am very excited to play Azure in 2 weeks and then dive right into Cold Steel. I’m thinking I’ll take a break between CS2 and 3 to avoid burnout and maybe play FF16 then. I think with Reverie coming out this year, my gaming time for 2023 and a good chunk of 2024 is already fully booked 😂
I like to alternate my way through series to help prevent burnout. Been working really well for me ever since the Kingdom Hearts incident. >.>
@@SuperDerek always a good idea to take breaks. I marathoned Cold Steel 1-3, Crossbell and Nayuta during the pandemic and did get kinda burnt out. Enjoyed Zero much more with my 2nd play through of the recent release partially due to picking up details I missed the first time but also from having a clean palate this time around.
Dude, tell me about it. 2023 looks like a monster year for me. I almost NEVER have a game to look forward to this far in advance (other than trails and ys games, they are the only ones I pre-order. Well I would do dark souls too but until recently I was always concerned my old pc wouldn't handle them, so yeah). But t his year I got trails, Elden ring dlc, armored core (I've been a fan of from/armored core since the first game BEFORE demon's souls, so yeah, big hype for me), age of wonders 4 (my fave tbs series), Remnant from the ashes 2 (dark souls with guns people call it), and like 3 other titles I can't recall atm. omg mercy.
Trials of Sky 1-3 needs a Switch release though.
That would be _SO_ nice!
@@SuperDerek Due to the way it is right now, just want to stick with Cold Steel and Crossbell. The ease of access on console is great. But even Cold Steel 1 & 2 is in limbo and have to use PS5 for that!
-imo you can do CS 1 n 2 First.
-Crossbell games since the story takes place simultaneously with CS 1 n 2.
-CS 3 n 4.
- you won't have the same impact with Renne and the Brights impact and influence in the later arcs. Sky FC is HELLA slow too. Imo You can just wiki the Sky arc if the Sky FC is just too dated for you. Quite a few ppl skipped FC dispite what some online elitists tell you lol. Anton is a simp, you don't need to see every Anton reference to appreciate the world building
8:10
Trails in the Sky trilogy and the Crossbell duology have EXTREMELY low system requirements. Remember these 5 games are running on the same engine and Sky FC is orginally a PC game from 2004 and it wasn't a system pusher 19 years ago. I have a Dell Inspiron 1750, a budget laptop from 2009 and it can run them flawless.
According to steam the minimum system for the processor is a Pentium 3 550 mhz. And only needs 512 MB of RAM for the memory.
My computer is so old and weak it can't even update to Windows 11 but it can still run these games at 60 frames a second.
Hah, I built a $100 PC that could _almost_ run it 2 years ago. But it couldn't decode the video well enough to keep up with the animated sequences! xD
I just think it like Jo Jo's parts. Does not matter where you start you will eventually play them all.
It's true. Almost none of the Western Trails fanbase started playing in the chronological order, because most of us didn't have the option to. Didn't stop everyone from falling in love with the series though! :)
Kiseki Kmarch, let's go
Played half of FC, lost access to my PC and watched videos on the rest of FC and SC, then played Cold steel 1 & 2.
I really love the realistic approach you took with this, mad respect.
Thanks Feida! I get it that so many people will recommend order of release, and I get why. It's the _ideal_ way from a certain perspective. But it's just not the most feasible way for a lot of regular people. Glad you enjoyed today's video! :)
I always recommend starting with the first Sky trilogy and then Zero, Ao and Cold Steel, basically cronologically release order.
and I agree with that, but lets say you just own the switch as a kid today, starting with the crossbell or cold steel arc which it has on it is totally fine. I think that is the point of dereks video, dont bmiss out on the serie because you lack a certain platform or doesnt have time for 10 games in a row.
Personally I dont like to recommend the first Cold Steel because is a game that can cause a bad first impression. That game have the most anime style and at first can look kinda generic (was a Vita game), plus it have a big focus on presenting how Erebonia (the country that is set in) works and can turn off alot of new players giving its slow nature with not alot going on. Cold Steel is really good if you already have knowledge of the lore introduced in past games, not that is bad game since alot of fans were introduced by it
I'm new but have been interested. I think I will start with the crossbell arc. Its short and if I like it then that gives me incentive to learn about the characters and go back into the older games. My next SuperDerek reccomendation is going to be Bug Fables though, I got it in October from Best Buy and its been waiting for its turn
I'm not a 'vitriolic' purist, as I commented in another thread that I'm ok with people starting with cold steel because some people need to start on something that's m ore modern looking. I don't agree w ith it but I get and accept it. But Zero is the one place I disagree with derek on for where to start. Nearly all of Zero's best scenes involve a certain character assuming you know her backstory well, which is truly tear-jerk material, and it will be lost without that material. Not just 1 or 2 scenes with her either, like 4 times I was bawling because of it. I just can't imagine losing out on those amazing scenes =(.
You may think zero/azure is shorter than sky cuz 2 games are less than 3. But both of them are larger than FC by a good chunk, about t he same size as SC, but I find them more time consuming than sc too if you talk to all the npcs (something trails is good for), because t hey are spread out way more and take more travel time to do. Though tbh zero/azure npc chat is the worst arc IMO for this very reason and I myself had to skip doing it completely it was taking too long.
Sky 3rd is shorter than sky fc too, so overall it's not really noticeably shorter IMO, and sky 3rd is actually not really part of 1 and 2. like you can play fc and sc and not even know there's a 3rd. 3rd is like an epilogue of sorts (though you should s till play it before zero if you start with sky, it adds a lot to that certain character I mentioned).
Of course, playing the series at all is a plus, but Renne is one of the most popular characters in the series for a reason, and it is on sky's foundation. Pretty sure she is THE most popular character as long as you ignore protagonist bias, and biggest boobs in newest game bias =P (not even sure if that's a thing in this series but you get my point).
Also, if you're worried about your pc being old. Derek actually understates how easy it is to run. I know because I just replaced my computer that literally WAS 10 years old, AND I replaced it BECAUSE its videocard died... I was able to run the game fine, on a 10 year old pc, with NO videocard, just the integrated graphics on my 10 year old cpu (i5-3570). Truly runs on the potato of potatoes.
I played sky fc on pc then sc and 3rd on steam deck with voice mods. Perfect steam deck games. Have all others physically on ps4 or switch which is where I’ll continue the journey.
Gaben Bless the Steam Deck
I just started the Trails series last year and decided to play in order. Still in Liberl, but hoping to get through a lot of it this year. The first Sky game is easy to play as it does run on any PC.
I'm wondering if the Trails games will get a PS5 re-release.
Unless I'm missing some, the games in the franchise include:
* Trails in the Sky *
Trails in the Sky
Trails in the Sky SC
Trails in the Sky the 3rd
* Crossbell *
Trails from Zero
Trails to Azure
* Trails of Cold Steel *
Trails of Cold Steel
Trails of Cold Steel II
Trails of Cold Steel III
Trails of Cold Steel IV
Trails into Reverie
* Kuro no Kiseki *
Kuro no Kiseki
Kuro no Kiseki II
Its easy for us to recommend all, but is it realistic to assume someone in 2023 is gonna put aside 700+ hours for this serie? I would probably recommend starting with sky, and if you really feel like the graphic is too old or outdated go to cold steel otherwise ofc go crossbell arc and enjoy :) With all this said, if you wanna start with cold steel, go ahead- and dont listen to the fans, just enjoy the adventure! you can always go back "later".
I really wanna get into the Kiseki series this year once I clear some backlog-y goodness. I decided to start with Sky FC not just because it's a great place to start lore-wise, but because the PSone-ish pre-rendered sprites on low poly backgrounds aesthetic makes me very happy.
Yeah man, I loved them from the start!
I started with Cold Steel and finished that arc, then went for Sky and am currently at the 3rd game
Cold Steel appealed to me and made me like the whole franchise, Sky less so and I had to put in more effort to go through the series, so if I had started with Sky I probably wouldn’t have gone on to play the whole series
So I agree, read about each arc (without spoilers) to find the vibe that interests you the most and start from there
The problem with that is that Crossbell and Cold Steel contain spoilers for Sky, and Cold Steel spoils Crossbell. There's a little overlap between Azure and CS2-3, but the games are meant to be played in order of release. One of the best things about the Legend of Heroes (Trails) is the build up to big reveals. Having those dumped on you before you even play one of the series would water down the experience significantly IMO. I get that some younger gamers who grew up in the era of 3D gaming might not like Sky because it doesn't look modern, but these games aren't about their graphical presentation. It's the characters, the story, the pacing, and the gameplay that makes LoH so good. That being said, the best way to immerse yourself is from the beginning.
@@acidwizard6528 I think getting hung on spoilers is exactly what this video is trying to discourage.
I started with Cold Steel and am now desperate to see the relationships i loved from CS4 grow. I mean, seeing certain characters as villains in Sky while knowing they are family in CS makes me desperate to see the character development that led to that. It didn’t ruin my reaction. It heightened it.
If you dont play damn sky series, you going to regret on cold steel 3 and 4,same with zero and azure, cause main cast of cold steel 3 and 4 adds mc from this games, just sayn
@@vlonewolfv That's an interesting perspective. I'm not sure I would feel that way, but it's too late for me since I already played them in order of release. There's a lot of world building and lore that has it's groundwork laid in the Sky Trilogy and appears in later games. You wouldn't know what the heck is being referenced unless you played Sky first. I don't watch a lot of TV, but it'd be like if you watched season 6, 7, 8, 9 of a show, then went back and watched 1-5. You can do it however you want to of course, but there is a way it's intended to be done.
@@acidwizard6528 While I mostly agree with the season comparison, the difference is that there is a whole batch of new characters that grow within each arc.
So yeah, I wanted to start with the Sky trilogy, but I am just not a PC gamer and all the other ways of doing it were just too much a pain for me to go thru. So I just decided to start with Cold Steel as most people said it’s brand new characters. And for me, once I reached Cold Steel 3 and 4, since Class 7 was still the anchor point for the story, all the returning characters didn’t feel overwhelming. And as I am currently in the second sky game, I can at least say for me, I am loving filling in the backstory. Good writing is good writing.
So yeah I would have preferred to start with Sky, but at the end of the day, even starting with Cold Steel made me absolutely fall in love with this RPG series. And at the end of the day no matter how you approach this series, the goal is to get more fans into it. Mission accomplished!!!!!!! Now as I patiently await Reverie and the Calvard arc announcement. ARGH!!!!!!
Great recommendations! I had tried to start with Sky FC, but it wasn't until I played Cold Steel 1 that Sky's gameplay clicked for me. Glad that I went back after because it's such a great experience.
For those concerned about pc performance, remember that these games, especially Sky, are _old,_ almost 20 years. My favorite way I've seen describing your specs need are, Sky needs a potato, Cold Steel need _two_ potatoes.
I decided to get a rog ally and jump into this series I hear so many wonderful things about sky so going there 😁 I have the other ones on PlayStation and switch so I got my work cut out for me .
I believe the best way is to start with the Sky arc because if you start in from any other arc, the deescalation of the game pace is really going to slow the flow you've built. Also, I say that starting from Cold Steel or Crossbell is simply placing yourself out of the loop. Would you read Harry Potter starting from Half-Blood Prince?
The fact of the matter is, these games are going to appeal only to a certain type of person. The kind of person that can get lost in a world far beyond their own. The kind of mind that can immerse themselves in Hogwarts, Westeros, or Middle Earth and countless more like them. The average person simply does not possess that capacity for that sort of appreciation. (but it can be learned!) So, lamenting that you have to play 10 whole games to date is missing the point. We should be glad that Harry Potter has seven whole books. We should be happy that Lord of the Rings have three whole movies, because would you rather have three good movies or only just one? Same for the Trails games. We have 10 excellent games to play! Why wish for less?
So would you say it’s best to play the games in release order?
I think if you have a hard time with older graphics and gameplay, start with CS1. If you love that game, then play CS2 then go back and start from the beginning and play the series in order. If you like retro games, start from the beginning.
For sure! Some people can't do the older visual style. If that's the case, hopefully they can at least catch up through let's plays or recaps or something. :)
@@SuperDerek For sure. This is how I approached the series. I started with CS1/2 then went back and did a mix of playing and watching let's plays. The crossbell arc wasn't accessible easily when I got into the series so I just watched let's plays of those. Thankfully new fans won't have that issue. I'm obsessed with this series and can't wait for Reverie this summer.
I understand just jumping in, but there's a legitimate reason people recommend release order. There aren't just "nods" for playing in order. There are extremely emotional pay-offs that only truly are felt in order since they were set up several games so carefully beforehand. You are just robbing yourself of the best possible experience. Also, the three Sky games can be played on a potato PC and go on sale all the time for cheap, so they are arguably more accessible than the new ones. You can start with CS and CSII, but idk considering that Azure is out this month, there is no excuse to play the first five games now; which is probably one of the greatest five game runs ever...especially considering the writing starting to suffer a bit when CS started.
Also, Kondo said you can start with CSIII because it was in Falcom's best interest from a business perspective. From this point of view, it makes sense. But from an artistic one, I'm sure he definitely disagrees with it.
Or you could go the hipster route and start with the Legend of Heroes trilogy on PSP.
For real though, This is a good take on where to start. I started off with Cold Steel just because of the timing/accessibility of it. It was the first time the PS3 got a normal JRPG that really felt epic. (There were definitely other good JRPGs on PS3, but they were usually weird experimental things, like Lost Dimension) Now days the franchise is a lot easier to get ahold of.
Dude, I’m surprised you didn’t say that a steam deck would be the ideal way to play most of these games. You get access to steam, all while being handheld. It’s kind of the perfect way imo. Granted, the steam deck is pretty massive, but other than that, having all of these games in one place on steam (with great cloud saves) seems like the way to go
You must be a Libra like me, because I totally vibe with your take on things. 👍🏼 If not, that's cool, still loving your approach! We need to be more welcoming gamers! Gatekeeping be gone!
I'm personally of the opinion that you should start with the sky trilogy, but finish Cold Steel 2 before Azure due to both games making the same reveal at the end that I feel works better in Cold Steel. Whether that means you go sky > CS 1/2 > zero/azure or sky > zero > CS 1/2 > azure is up to you.
im not too far in the video but saying starting from somewhere is a pretty good way. i played through the games chronologically from sky and after finishing all the way to cs4 i concluded i would not have loved it as much if i didnt start from the beginning since cold steel didnt get me engaged as much as the previous games. but i also know of a acquaintance of mine who played from the cold steel games and just now playing through the old games and still loved it deeply. in the end its what you appeal to but a personal indicator of mine would be:
if you like a more persona like story with similar mechanics and a more linear story and game: cs1
if you like a fair traditional rpg game with some openness with a revamped structure to traditional heros storytelling: sky fc
Sky FC, Zero, Cold Steel and Kuro 1 are all good starting points.
However, the reason people keeps saying that Sky should be the first one is not because they are purists, but because they have either go that route themselves, or followed another route and midway had the urge to go back to the first game.
So, in my opinion, Sky FC should be the first one, but, if that's not a possible entry point for someone for whatever reason, any of the First chapters of each arc would be a good place to start.
CS3 as an starting point... It's not the worst starting point, but I don't recommend that. It may work (and a lot of people on switch are starting here)
Answering the impossible question for us Trails fans!!!
I don't get why starting something long is seen so compromising. I mean, if you like it, then you have lot of neat material. If you don't, you just stop playing.
7:15 I can run this on a laptop with i5-4200M high settings 1080p 60fps with no sweat. Very easy to run.
When I first tried the current Trails series, I got about two hours in and quit because I didn't like the main character and how the story was going.
However years later when I learned about Cold Steel, I was told it would spoil Trails in the sky. Since I cannot play games I've been spoiled on, I went back and played Trails in the sky.
Sure I still didn't like the main character, but everything else in the game got so much better. I'm *so glad* I gave it another go. It's a reminder that you can have an amazing experience even if there are elements in a game you don't enjoy.
P.S. Playing Trails of games on the Steam deck is *amazing*
I _need_ to get a Steam Deck some day!
I’d recommend on a case by case basis some people don’t have a pc or time to play I only recommend sky to people who finish crossbell saga or finish cold steel 1 and 2
The only thing I’ll say is that Trails of Cold Steel 3, 4, and Trails into Reverie require knowledge of ALL the games prior so if you want to play those three titles you need to play everything else first. Those titles are comparable to Infinity War and Endgame.
As far as I know Kuro No Kiseki is a perfect entry point as well. There are characters that are from previous arcs in there but it’s not necessary for Kuro’s plot. It’s looking like Kuro will be the second best place to start after Trails in the Sky
Thanks for the extra context, Spidey! :)
I recently started trails in the sky and love it. Even speaking to every Npc only takes like 5 to 10 minutes
I'm very glad I started with Sky, it's so wild to see how detailed the world has become as they've kept building upon it with each new release. Can't wait to dive into Cold Steel 3 soon!
Good guide. I started with CS1 and 2 and really enjoyed them and i'm currently working my way through the Sky trilogy via the Evolution patches (they're great).
Couple of things i'll add - Kuro no Kiseki just got released on PC in Japanese with NISA as the publisher a few days ago and Falcom and D3 (the port dev) confirmed English will be added in an update eventually. That said, there's also a WIP English fan patch already out for it and Clouded Leopard's port.
there's also an unofficial English patch options that exist for Japanese Switch ports of Cold Steel 1 and 2 that port XSEED's translation.
Pretty awesome NISA released the games in Japanese ahead of the official English update! Giving the die-hards what they want! :)
I started with Trails in the Sky and have gone in publishing order since then. I'm very glad I played the ones I did, but have experienced this problem: by the time I got to Cold Steel 3, my progress ground to a halt, for a couple of reasons. 1) The game has a slow start without much going on (after a brief flash forward to combat encounter in the very beginning) and I'm not sold on the new student characters yet. 2) Playing these games is very time consuming if, like me, you are careful to try to get all of the new dialogue for all of the NPCs every time it updates and are trying to get all the missables. 3) I am starting to lose enthusiasm for some of the anime trope elements of this series. Having multiple little girl secret agents with giant robot companions and traumatic backstories for your adult protagonists to mentor and have occasionally questionable dialogue with makes it seem like the writers are grasping at straws.
I definitely agree about Cold Steel being a good game to play after Persona. I finished p5R last year and needed something to fill that void. After the first Cold Steel game I was hooked.
By any chance, did you play Persona 4 (Golden) and Persona 3?
@@iliakazakov5947 I just finished Persona 4 Golden and loved it. I was thinking about Persona 3 but there are those rumors of a remake coming out so I’ll probably wait for another 6 months to see if anything materializes and if not I’ll grab persona 3 on the switch.
Trails has become to JRPGs what Fate and Bakemonogatari are to anime.
Fell in love with The Trails Series Beat trails of cold steel 1 and 2 and stopped, to play trails to zero and azure, after i beat azure i will continue with Trails of cold steel 3 and 4
Sounds like taking a break for Crossbell occurred at a great time, I've heard CS3 starts to expect info on Crossbell and Sky when you get to it! :)
Trails of cold steel 1 is my first. Im about 45 hours in
I played CS1, part of CS2, went back to sky fc, sc, 3rd, then played the geofront versions of zero and azure right when they came out, back to finish cs2, cs3, cs4, now waiting for Reverie and Kuro
I agree that the best answer is whatever draws you into the series. My personal opinion is Sky 1-3, Zero, CS1&2, Azure, CS3 and on. I just find the spoilers in Azure for cold steel to be bigger than vice versa, and cold steel spoilers for Azure are vague or can be avoided as a lot of the bigger ones are contained in optional content like newspapers. Again just my personal opinion to be taken with a grain of salt. The #1 priority is to bring new players to the series I can bounce ideas and theories off of.
I played Sky fc and sc, both on normal difficulty, i think its quite challenging on first 1-2 chapter (many easier retry battle), but after that i practically owned it
Now if i want to play Zero / CS, with experience gameplay i had, which difficulty you recommend? Keep normal or try hard? (I think you cant change difficulty ingame ?)
I love battle mechanics on trails series so far, but i dont want to retry many times
Maybe normal for Crossbell. Up it a bit for Cold Steel as combat starts to get easier as series goes on. Lot of exploitable mechanics especially in CS 2 and 3.
Nice video man! So what kind of trails content you're gonna make? Are you gonna make a ranking of the trails games you've played? Or perhaps a character ranking? Either way really appreciate your content and really looking forward to what's coming next ;)
My hopes are to release two reviews, Cold Steel 1 and 2, possibly another Trails audiobook, a video talking about the Cold Steel anime, maybe unboxing the Azure Collector's Edition, possibly a giveaway, depending on how things end up going. :)
The order you should play the Trails games is immediately.
I am one of the "gatekeeper" types for Trails for a simple reason.
Start wherever you want. Start with Reverie. Cold Steel 4. Trails to Azure. It doesn't really matter to me.
But if you want the story, characters and world to hit the hardest, if you want the best experience out of these games, do yourself a favour and play from release order. Sky FC, SC, 3rd, Zero, Azure, CS1, CS2, CS3, CS4, Reverie, Kuro 1, Kuro 2.
There are characters who have arcs which take multiple games to complete, some even go through multiple arcs. E.g. R's major arc starts in Sky SC and doesn't end for a whole 3 games and it's still going in Kuro. Imagine starting with Zero and you have this person's arc and you have no idea about their backstory or growth.
Just play the game in release order. It's not rocket science. Or do whatever you want. We're not recommending release order because we want to gatekeep. We think this is just the way to get the best possible experience.
Yeah, I'm recommending you a steak and I'm recommending you don't eat it well done. If you want it well done, go ahead, I'm just saying it's going to be a better experience for you if you eat that steak more rare.
Nah, you and I are totally of the same opinion. Release order is 100% the _optimal_ choice, there's pretty much no debate there, and people should do what makes sense for themselves. The gatekeepers I was calling out are the people who literally say, "if you cannot play all 10+ games in release order, you don't deserve to play the series." Which is actually very close to verbatim to what some have said in this very comment section. Your take is way more reasonable than _theirs._ :)
I started with Cold Steel 1 and finished and stopped on the 2nd game. Told myself not to play the 3rd game until I have finished the past games. Yes, Cold Steel spoil a bit about the past games, and its so little of it (not too much that irritated me, BUT I confess that those little spoilers made me curious on playing the past games, starting with SKY FC, its a good thing, right?).
Now i finished Sky FC and SC. And I am really undecided if to play the Sky TC. Have read not many good things about it. Like its a dungeon crawler of some sort but that the gameplay has been improved. I really am undecided. So next game will be either SKY TC or Trails from Zero.
You should definitely play Sky TC! I played Cold Steel 1 and 2 before Zero, and it just made me want to play the two Crossbell games even more.
I started with Cold Steel 1 then played CS2 and CS3. Playing through Trails from Zero now and excited to start Trails to Azure when it releases! Then CS4 and Reverie this summer
I'm thinking that's how I'll do it or finish cold steel and then go back and play crossbell. I have 2 kids so gaming time is limited but I really wanted to play the series and my original plan was just play CS and continue from there but with now almost being done with 2 I think I'll try Crossbell at some point too. I already know the stories but that never ruins a good game for me.
Great video. I started with Sky and was bored to tears, turned me off from the series for years. I picked it back up and finished it, but was not impressed still. I then played Cold Steel 1 and thought it was ok. Took another break, then got back in with the most recent Zero release. Now I’ve played almost all NA released titles, currently working on Steel 4.
I get why people say to play in release order. Makes the most sense for story consistency. But honestly, I think as long as you don’t start with Steel 3, Sky SC, Sky 3rd or Azure you’re fine. I ended up loving the Sky trilogy as a whole but wouldn’t recommend starting with Sky except to old school, very patient RPG fans. Sky FC almost turned me off entirely from this series and that would have been sad, as it’s now one of my favorite series.
Thanks Virtuebro! Release order is definitely _optimal_ but not _always_ viable. Glad you eventually got into Sky in the end! :D
@@SuperDerek for sure. I was really tired when I wrote my initial comment lol, I came off as harsh on Sky FC but I think your assessment of it in this video is very accurate, it’s a phenomenal game. Just a slow burn. I think most JRPG fans would enjoy it anyways.
WOOOO!!! Happy Trails Month Indeed!! Whole hearted agreed with start somewhere! Just start. I personally started with Cold Steel 1&2 however I had NO idea of Sky and Crossbell till I started my personal research into Trails. After finishing CS2 - I went back to Sky to start that arc.
That's where I will give out my own personal point.....once you start an arc - do you best to finish the arc. I kinda remember the story but I personally will try CS1&2 again once I'm there in the timeline. But enjoy everyone!! I know I enjoy this series SOOO much! Happy Trails Month Everyone and Off to Adventures!
whelp I tried to do my part in spreading this video around especially on the JRPG reddit but that didn't work just got down voted and people saying "this is how you should play"
Your efforts are appreciated! :)
Started Trails series in November 2022. Finished Trails in the Sky FC at 64 hrs, Sky SC at 75 hrs, and the 3rd at 54 hrs of gameplay... Now 25 hrs into Zero and excited for all the subsequest Trails games! (Because I know it will get better and I will get the full experience of them)
Also I have to disagree about still relevant being Cold Steel pros. I think ALL of Trails games will still be relevant even years into the future if Trails series still being continued, because all of them are interconnected. Probably in the future we will talk about this classic series with our sons and grandsons.
So I finally got the physical release of sky FC and I have all the other games that have a physical release. Is there a way to play sky SC and third chapter in english, without a PC?
You could play sky SC on a PS Vita. That's how I played it. I think the only way to play the official English release of third chapter is through Steam or GOG.
Nisa is sponsoring this video so I hope they will eventually take notes and get the rights to Sky 1,2,3,CS1,2 and port them to modern console so now fans get to play it all on one system.
Great intro to the series video , I get so many people who ask me where to start and get really confused and this video clearly explain everything you need to know.
For having platinum Kuro 1 and 2 I can confirm that it "can" be a starting point but... meh... you will miss out a lot , mostly for Kuro 2 IMO. You will benefit a lot more if you have some knowledge of some characters all the way back to Sky.
if you have a budget laptop from 2006 you could still run Trails in the Sky. dang thing can run on a potato.
I found a potato that could out-potato Trails in the Sky. Maybe I should make a video about that some day. xD
My extra recomendation for those wanting to start from chronological order is that you lower the difficulty for the first 5 games, that means all the three Trails in the the Sky and Trails from Zero and trails into Azure. My reasoning for this is that even though they were all slightly updated for modern consoles and PC, the still are quite outdated RPG's, they are all about stat checks for every boss into the game, and those that are super bosses can be cheesed by dodge strats or wall spam (meaning that the metagame for thse games, in the endgame, is to always buff your party with attack cancelling buffs), otherwise you're going to have to grind and grinding in these games suffer some serious rubberbanding, where if you're 1 level above the intended level, the EXP you get drops faster than your desire for grinding.
Stat bloat is something that is pretty much a staple of the Cold Steel games, but in this instance making the difficulty higher can make these games more enjoyable, because normal is quite easy. These games give you so many rewards and tools that you'll make a prefered way to deck out your party all the time and positioning your party plays a bigger role than the previous games. It won't be long into these games until you would like to pump a certain lady full of strength/Skill damage Quartz.
Other than that you can pretty much start whenever you want, don't feel overwhelmed because of the sheer ammount of games that are all connected, these games might be long for current day standards but you still have YEARS to even get up to the official localizations of the current games, and even more for those that haven't even been released. You have time to catch up and fully enjoy the series even in 45ish hours per week jobs.
I played the Sky trilogy and really liked 1-2, but 3 just didn't work for me since I felt the story had already ended with 2. I have the first two Cold Steel games, but still need to play Azure before I can commit to that. Glad the Crossbell series is getting a US release, but I'll wait for Azure to come down in price since I had played the fan translation of Zero already. A really solid JRPG series, and I would personally recommend playing in chronological release order.
Sky the 3rd confused a lot of people I think because of this. It seems like it _should_ continue Joshua and Estelle's story, but really it tidies up loose ends and instead focuses on Kevin's story, someone who I didn't really care for/about after Sky SC.
Started last year with Sky 1 . Once it ends you are hooked. Went through most games soon after Waiting for azure then I'll go CS3
Haha, yeah the end of Sky 1 really demanded a continuation into SC. My heart aches for those poor souls who had to wait 10 years to see the conclusion back in the day!
I agree that one should ultimately start where they want to start. It's largely a subjective thing (taking the story timeline and accessibility into account). I think I'm going to start with the Trails in the Sky arc because I don't have a Playstation and I only have a Switch, Steamdeck and an okay laptop. I also want to be eased into the story rather than bombarded with tons of info from the game world. Thanks for the info!
Hey Derek! Man, I absolutely loved your closing statement. As a console player, I came into the series with Trails of Cold Steel. However in coming in so late, I had the opportunity to tackle the series in a path that, for me, was pretty cool. Additionally Trails from Zero had released during my playthrough of Cold Steel 2. So here's my path: Trails of Cold Steel 1, Trails of Cold Steel 2, and then Trails from Zero. From there I'll move on to Trials to Azure then Cold Steel 3 and 4. This was a suggestion I read about and, for me, one that was pretty cool. You get these little nuggets of info throughout Cold Steel 1 and especially CS2 regarding what's going on in Crossbell. So in hearing these things, I simply couldn't wait to play Zero and see first hand the goings on in Crossbell.
Now the downside to this path is there will be names mentioned that hold a lot less weight than they would had the series been played in order. But seeing as the Sky series aren't really available for console players, that's an option many won't have. My suggestion is this, if sprite based characters and old school graphics isn't a big deal, start with Trails from Zero and simply go from there. But as Derek has mentioned, please try not to start in the middle of any arc.
I recently purchased a Steam Deck and I'm currently playing Trails in the Sky. It's a lovely game and it's nice to see where it all started. Derek I do have a question, what are you thoughts on Trails in the Sky the 3rd (I think that's the title)? I read a bit on it and it seems like a dungeon crawler, not really my thing. But I also hear it foreshadows some things. Is it worth playing?
I'm on the last chapter of 3rd now.
I personally would say that it depends on your views on the storytelling. There is no big world-shaking plot in 3rd... but it does serve as an epilogue for SC, or a farewell to the characters.
It gives short looks into what has been happening with the cast of Sky since SC ended. It also goes deeper into a certain Priest's background (it's more his game than Estelle's).
I think it is also shorter. I'm between 20-30 hrs, where Sky took me 60+.
The gameplay does feel a bit more dungeony, but has many varied areas. You can (and should) warp around back and forth a lot, which I feel is the biggest difference between 3rd and the other games "open worlds".
Hope some of that helps.
@@coilledragon279 I'd say it depends on what you think of Kevin as well, as it mostly deals with his personal story. Which means it also gives some insight into the Septian Church.
I just got a steam deck and I’m gonna play the entire series from the start so it’s gonna be a journey
I played a good chunk of sky fc but got distracted by my backlog and hopped to another game
Awesome video. Definitely gonna give this series a shot with the first one on my steam deck.
This series is growing large enough that I think we need to realize that some new fans won't play all the games. For those ppl, I'd recommend prioritizing the CS games, as they're the latest and probably most relevant lore wise going forward into the Calvard arc. The Crossbell games comes 2nd. But don't ignore any of the games you skip. Try to learn about the games as much as you can, through LP's or looking up summaries. The more you learn about the world, history, characters and lore, the more you start to appreciate all the games in the series.
But if you are open to playing all the games, I recommend:
A. Sky1-3 CS1-2 Zero Azure CS3-4
B. CS1-2 Sky1-3 Zero Azure CS3-4
If neither answer satisfies you, play in whatever order you feel like. You will spoil more, but it's not the end of the world, and you'll get a more unique experience on the series.
The issue with the chronological order is that Zero and Azure share a timeline with CS1-2, so they will both cite events in the other games. These spoilers are much more significant from Zero and Azure which is why you're better off saving them for last. In fact they'll spoil one of the main plot twists of both CS1 and 2. Yes. I'm not kidding. I don't know why they did this, but my theory is that they simply hadn't originally planned to cover the events of CS1-2 at such depth.
You can also avoid most of the spoilers from CS1-2 concerning Zero and Azure, since it's mostly contained to newspaper articles.
It may seem like stopping CS midway through makes little sense, but CS2 actually concludes really well. You could say that CS1-2 is one arc and CS3-4 is a follow up arc.
You may get a few Sky spoilers by doing CS1-2 first, but it's nothing major, and this order creates much better momentum going forward.
My Order was wacky, Sky 1, then cold steel 1,2,3, then sky 2,3, then cold steel 4, then crossbell. I was following a bit of a 1/2 physical release order. I am still a megafan!
That being said I do feel i missed out on the optimal experience. Everyone is very lucky now a days to have the option to play in an order that wasn't available to me in english when the games were coming out. I suggest people take advantage of that! you won't regret it!
I’m guessing this is happening because Azure is releasing in the west this month
There is that, and also I happened to wrap up Cold Steel 1 and 2 and am hoping to push some reviews out soon for those. It just lined up really nicely so I figured I'd make a thing of it. :)
Only 6 1/2 of them in my backlog. Started in chronological order with Trails in the Sky FC after I finished the Ys games. I just hope that the series will have a satisfactory conclusion with ALL the important characters of all the arcs.
Great video. I started with Zero because of the ease of playing it on Switch. Beat it and now I’m waiting for Azure. Then going to Cold Steel which has me worried since it’s 4 games long
I started with cold steel 😌
So i do plan on starting from the sky series, just a quick question i will be playing on pc and plan on modding at atleast the voices from the evo mod. Do you guys suggest just installing the full mod ? or should i just stick to just adding the voices? Just want to see what others think is the most compete way of playing this game.
Just voices was my approach, I've heard mixed opinions on the portraits though. I think that the original portraits and music were a little better, personally. :)
i suggest doin just the voices
Do just the voices. You can try using the evo portraits in sky the 3rd once you get there as the evo designs are more in line with their future designs.
Haha, liked what you did there with your edits. The mirrored view, then jump cuts back and forth was kinda trippy😁
Trails content is always a good thing to find on a Friday. Or those other days.
I've been wanting to start this series for so very long at this point. I've told myself many times just to forget about it. Maybe I'll actually give these all a try still, but the biggest concern is simply playing the games in a convenient way. I don't play at all on pc, so emulation is out of the question. Although for now, I might just start with the psp digital versions available on the ps3 store (really worth taking note of). They might not be the best starting points, but for convience sake, might as well get the hardest to play out of the way first 😅
As long as you start at the beginning of the arc, I'm sure you'll be just fine. Have fun dude! :D
Were you going to play them on a PSP or PS Vita? I played the first two Sky games on the Vita.
well said! i've played the whole Kiseki series chronically from Sora FC to Kuro II, and yeah to truly enjoy the series this is the recommended way to go. playing the first Kuro does fall into the whole starting into a new arc route which you mentioned with Sora, Sen, and Zero so it could be a starting place for newcomers to start in if they want.
I want to start Cold Steel but kinda hard to commit (although I have the game day one). I assume I need at least 300+ hour to finish the 4 game. when I remind of that and look at my backlog I get tired already 😅😅
Go ahead and start Cold Steel! :)
Just aim to finish either coldsteel 1 or FC. Seeing the ending will give you motivation.
I've always been open to people starting with CS1 because some people can't stomach starting a giant series with a really old game that looks like it was born before they were. I get that, I don't agree with it, but I get it.
I really want to argue against starting with Zero though. The technological advancements zero has over sky are minimal at best, and nearly all the best scenes in the game (namely ones involving Renne) just don't mean anything if you don't have sky's backstory to add to her.
Has nyone played any of the Sky games on the Steam Deck?
I've heard they all run really well, including from some people in this comment section. :)
I started on cold steel 1 played 1-4!!! Then played the crossbell arc and i am IN love i will buy every trails game from now on. I think trails of cold steel 1 was a perf jumping on point! I feel if id have done zero first id be less stoked on the series as a whole. No matter what all fans of rpgs NEEED to play this series! Best series hands down!
Another great video, well done Derek. My opinion? Playing the games in chronological order indeed seems overwhelming just for the sheer scope... but it's way more overwhelming to jump in the middle and receive tons of information that you're not familiar with, just because you haven't played the previous games. So, my advice would be to play the games in chronological order, starting from the first arc, and live the whole experience... And if you want to skip a game or two, you can always see a longplay video on UA-cam...
Late reply, but… chronological means jumping between Crossbell and the first 2 Cold Steel games. I think you meant release order.
Yes, you're right :) @@Javifaa
Great video. I'll always tell people the best place to start is Sky and play chronologically... but if they can't do that for one reason or another, then I'll say roughly what you've said here. Just pick an arc and start if you're against starting at Sky... but probably CS1 considering the ties Zero has to Sky. I don't want people to avoid the series but It would feel weird not recommending starting at the start first.
I am incredibly excited for this month, though. Keep up the good work Derek!
Great video and very helpful!
I played Sky FC and had to wait like 3 years for the second one. I still shed a tear for the people who played FC on PsP when it first came out and had to wait like 10 or more years for the second game. If you played FC you know why that is nightmare fuel haha.
As for playing Cold steel before the other games, I would only play the first 2 as the other 2 are so interconnected with the story as a whole that it could just be overwhelming. It's hard to say though there are spoilers no matter where you start but if you don't know they are spoilers they just kind fit into the game haha except maybe Cold Steel 4. Really, if I had one piece of advice is just don't play Cold Steel 4 before you finish the rest.
Definitely agree with starting at the beginning of an arc. I got sort of lucky and started with Trails in the Sky. I was originally going to start with Cold Steel, but PS Now sucked so bad back then that it was unplayable (cloud gaming). Wound up going through the Sky trilogy and then bought Trails of Cold Steel I and II on Vita physically. That was a heck of an RPG year for me.
This game series is probably my favorite overall these days. Can't wait to play the official English version of Trails to Azure. My copy should be shipping soon. Then Trails Into Reverie is following close on its heels. That Nayuta game is coming as well, but I'll be honest and say I know very little about it. It feels like there's a chance we might get caught up with Japan before the third Kuro game. If not, we'll be closer for sure.
I started with Cold Steel 1 because of a couple of factors:
A buddy of mine plays the series religiously.
And I voiced in an up and coming project for an abridged series
So I started with Cold Steel. I platinumed the first three Cold Steel games. I'll finish 4, then go to Zero, then Azure. Then maybe Sky if I 100% Zero and Azure before Reverie comes out.