@@jmporkbob I think those 'most people' are ones that actually haven't played the game yet though =P. Since Nintendo Vault HAS, clearly the only reasonable solution is OFF WITH HIS HEAD... Also, cuz he said 'libel' instead of 'liberl', OFF WITH HIS HEAD TWICE! Seriously, I thought it was kinda funny, and frankly I appreciate that he made such a passionate video about something from the heart instead of editing it and all that nonsense. Thank you =)
I’m so glad to see this comment because I turned the video off. It’s a pet peeve of mine to hear mispronunciations. My inner keyboard warrior wanted to come out 😂. I’ll go back and finish it the video now.
Trails is my favorite series! The world building and characters are 2nd to none! Ive never experienced anything like it tbh. By the time you get to the Crossbell and Cold Steel arc you'll see why so many people love this series.
Iv'e started playing this franchise from the Trials in the sky part 1. The story and Character development are absolutely aweseome. Reading dialogues is definetely an essense of this game, and the dialogues them self are very intresting with a lot dose of humor, like good anime.. but man... this fights mechanic are so, soooo booooring unfortunetaly, making me to abandoned this game, at the very end of the 3 chapter. Im a big fan of older Final Fantasy games, alredy finished FF8, 9 and 10, at this moment im playing FF4 3D Remaster version, and the turn system in this game are way much better than here. When i first saw Trials in the Sky, i thought the fight gonna be based on tactics, but spellcasting for example, which taking one more turn to cast, not casting immedetly, and very short range of those spell, making them useless, and it's better to use skill. Second problem for me is that those fight are taking too long, i mean they are very slow pacing, and tbh i love grinding in RPGs, but in this game I had enough of it, and purposely avoided fights. And the problem is, that those fights, even with a bosses, they are not hard, they are literally boring. Such a shame, i would love to know the entire story.
@@BiaLy23PoL Having played all trails games, I can tell you that, understandably, Trails in the sky first chapter, unfortunately is one of the most boring chapters, more so than trails of cold steel if you take graphics into account. It is normal for players to drop at those games, easily. For most trails fans, the thought of dropping trails in the sky FC definitely crossed our minds before. In fact, I took about 2 years break after dropping FC, before I gave it another chance. If you dont know if you will like the game, here are some tips. Note: Japanese voice mod will improve the experience for trails in the sky series, and use the original art. Trails series is more of a visual novel game, rather than a turn based game. The battles difficulty is up to you, some fans just skip it, using easy/normal stage and turbo feature. Once you reach near the ending of FC, the prologue chapter is done and the main chapter begins. The story of estelle bright is extremely long. Her story ended at the 5th game, Trails of Azure. After that, Rean story starts at 6th game, cold steel 1 and ended at 10th, trails into reverie. A good way to know whether you will like Trails game is to watch happiness stone door side story quest. It requires no context and it gives you an idea what trails experience will be like from SC onwards.
@@cheatermaster100 Can't say I agree at all. Trails FC has amazing storytelling. Cold Steel 1's easily bottom tier by far. The writing's pretty trash compared to the other games, the cast is incredibly dull and the pacing is the worst in the entire series. The writing in the Sky trilogy is simply much better than that of Cold Steel. Zero/Azure's writing itself is great too, but most of the cast isn't as interesting. Heck, best part of the 2 games is pretty much it finishing up a side storyline that starts in Sky 2.
Oh man...welcome to Trails! You are in for a RIDE my friend. This series only gets better, I can't believe how much I love these games. Trails quickly became my favorite jrpg and video game series of all time. Excited for you, and looking forward to what you think next
Great review liked and subbed! If you love the characters you will love them more after SC and further more after 3rd trust me. After that when you go back and play FC again you will appreciate how the game foreshadow characters stories and plots in such a subtle but smart fashion. This series really reward patient players who pay attention to little details and punish those who seek instant satisfaction. Glad you like it and hope you enjoy the journey. Also looking forward to hearing your thoughts about other Trails games in the future 😉
On my second playthrough of Sky SC, when I arrived in the Bose region, you want to know the first thing I did? I bolted for Revennus village, to go to the cemetery there and check the tombstone to see if the entire story had been there, in plain site, the entire time. Micha was the last name on the tombstone, and my heart broke all over again. I played Sky FC for the second time after completing Sky SC (with the ending to FC, I wasn't going to play FC a second time, I was going straight to SC to see how this ended), and the entire story had been there, hidden in plain sight. When I played Zero, I was more wary of these things, so I checked the tombstones in Crossbell cemetery carefully. Sure enough, there was one for Saya MacLaine, the date of her passing lined up perfectly with her husband joining the bracer guild. They put in evidence for Arios' backstory before actually telling it; you could figure it out if you were paying attention.
Great review! Been a fan of trails for many years and has gotten me through some rough shit. You have stumbled in on some gaming gold sir. Thanks for spreading the word.
I'm very close to completing SC. I am just completely invested and want to get to know more about the world of the Trails series. So much so, that I bought all of the Cold Steel titles, knowing I won't be able to play them for a while until I catch up to the rest of the series. I am glad these games are getting more coverage, little by little and I am happy you decided to give it a try.
Hope you enjoy the next game. I enjoyed FC, but it was its ending that really got me invested. As for SC, it starts strong, gets slow for a little bit (not as much as FC tho), but then it really delivers in a way that truly enthralled me to the series.
not gonna lie sc finale chapter is a bit too bulky as it took me 30h to beat which is more than half of my fc playtime and i only died once to one of the bosses during the finale chapter
@@niles8576 =o. SC's final chapter is the only one that holds up to FC to me lol. I didn't like the first half of FC because it introduces all the oroborous antagonists like typical saturday cartoon villains where they are bad just because they like kicking dogs MWAHAHAHA. (in future games they are antagonists who have relatable motivations and backstories). But in SC I cringe every time I hear walter say stupid things like hoping his e xperiments killed more people, or how much Blueblanc praises that the ultimate beauty is suffering and despair, and... ugh. don't remind me. You sure you didn't mean the 2nd last chapter w here you have to install those things across the world? that's a bit of a drag.
@@niles8576 I do too, what makes you think I didn't. The fact I consider trails my all-time fave series and the fact that FC is my fave of it all... how? I just don't think SC is good as FC because it mis-represents the oroborus villains, compared to EVERY OTHER GAME in the series.
I played Trails of Cold Steel 1 and Trails of Cold Steel 2 (stopping before the epilogue) and realized I needed to go back to the beginning to do it right. That said - I listened to this review before and after playing Trails in the Sky FC and I have to say - YES, it was worth it. I didn't think I would enjoy the dated graphics, but overall the story/protagonists made it worth playing. Now I can't wait to finish the rest of the arc!
I already played the entire sky arc, but I would definitely play a re-release with updates similar to the crossbell games. You will notice that as the orbments become more powerful in between games the arts listing becomes pretty hectic. Something as simple as categorizing the arts like they did in zero and azure would go such a long way
I LOVE it when I discover new fans of the series. I personally attribute my love to FC more th an any other trails game, but I'm a journey > destination guy, and as I play the rest of the game, (and replay the first, these games are actually VERY interesting to re-play because you pick up on things you over-looked the first playthru), I give FC more and more credit. Also, some of the more chill music that I thought were ok but not amazing just give me real fuzzy nostalgia vibes. They often act as motif's for some of the future game's music and to hear the original back again is like going back to old favourite childhood memories, it's gold. In any case most people like SC more than FC, but I like FC more. But given you only gave it an 8/10, perhaps you'll like SC more too =P. I hope you like 3rd. Some find it a turnoff with its change in how it progresses in the story, but 3rd has some real amazing scenes, and one character in particular, get some content in 3rd and Trails to Zero (not azure though, she only gets 1 big scene in Azure) that absolutely CRUSHES you emotionally, over and over again, unrelenting. Many fans dig on cold steel because of some legitimate criticism. Some of the main cast are pretty shallow in comparison, and the protagonist's harem-qualities are pretty cringe (especially bad considering how SC's romance is like the best I've seen in a game), but it has the most fun (even if easy) combat, and CS1 and 2 have the best music IMO (3 and 4 weren't as good imo though), and the NPC dialogue is the best in the series across the board IMO (going from 2d to 3d allows you to see and recognize npcs better before even talking to them. So I find it much more engaging to talk to an npc knowing/remembering their previous content without me actually talking to them, seeing their name, THEN trying to remember who I'm talking to).
@@TrueRandomization japanese release date order. Which is sky fc, sky sc, sky third, trails to zero, trails to azure, cold steel 1,2,3,4 then trails into reverie, then trails into daybreak I believe its called (not out yet in english)
Fans are not sure if Nayuta no Kiseki/ Nayuta Boundless Trails is part of the same world as the other games. The Japanese title dropped "The legend of heroes" title on that game specifically. But the series' overarching story with Ouroboros is ongoing, so who knows?
Just beat SC last week and I loved it.❤ Played it with the voice mod and it added so much more to the game would recommend it, hope you enjoy it as much as I did.!
I’ve never played any of the Trials games but I’ve been enjoying the Trails series a lot! 😏 In all seriousness, this was really enjoyable to listen through. I also appreciate your honesty about it being slightly “boring” - I agree. I’ve struggled getting into Sky FC for several years because of its extremely slow pace. Despite that, it’s world-building, interconnected stories and characters, art style, OST, and combat system all draw me in so dang much. So far I’ve played Cold Steel I - III and I’m currently working my way through Zero and Sky FC (like a madman) and I’m so glad we have access to all these games officially in English now.
To anyone who hasn't experienced what this series has to offer - pick up this game and start playing today! I started my journey with Kiseki a year ago and am now on Cold Steel II, and this series has become my favorite JRPG series ever, with only Persona and Xenoblade coming even close to the glory that is Kiseki. Also, my vote for GOTY 2023 (which isn't technically valid since this game is only an english re-release) is the 5th game in the series, Trails to Azure. Yes, it's that good - and I played Baldur's Gate 3, FFXVI, and Starfield.
I tried to get into trails of cold steel 1 with keyboard and mouse after almost 20h I bought a controler and decided buying this one and jumping again into this world but from the beginning. What a journey it is!❤
I find Crossbell duology the best for me, i like those two games the most, but Sky trilogy is still such a good story, glad you are now hooked and gonna play the series more.
I laughed at my bro's face recently for a different gaming reason... He's a pretty casual gamer, and rarely finishes games of even average difficulty. But the other day his computer was being repaired and he was desperate to play something so he asked if he could borrow one of my Nintendo DSgames. He pulled out: Knights in the nightmare, Valkyrie profile covenant of the plume (actually a regular ds game but I stored em in the same area), Etrian Odyssey 3, and Devil Survivor. I have like 6 other (Easier) DS games, so I laughed in his face.
6 months later no SC review yet. Really hope you plan on playing it. As much as I loved FC, SC made me a die-hard fan of the series. I've played almost nothing but Trails since last summer and will be sad when I complete Reverie soon.
One of the thingd that the fans always says about this series is that the dialogue es top noch, with only a drop in cold steel but I dont know if is that for the writting or the translators that change in that times. Pd: Sorry if isnt a well constructed coment, english isnt my first language.
It is always fun to see newcomers give their opinions on these games. =) The Sky trilogy is truly excellent, so I look forward to seeing your opinion of SC and 3rd.
I also got into this series as a big Xenoblade fan. Having now finished the entire series I actually like it more than Xenoblade in a lot of ways. Xenoblade 2 is still my favorite game though
Fantastic review. Well written and fair, well thought out critique. I'm really curious to hear what you'll think after playing Second Chapter, as they were originally supposed to be one game that was split in two due to the insane length it would've been otherwise.
I'm very intrigued to see how you like sc as despite the third which is a important epilogue, I'd say the first 2 sky games, as far as the series up to reverie is concerned, are the "sky" experience of the games from what I can gather lol
Trails is one of my favorite series of all time. There are very few series that I have experienced where every entry is as consistently amazing as the last. These games mean so much to me so it’s always cool to see people starting them for the first time. I hope you enjoy your journey through Zemuria. It’s an unforgettable one to be sure. I will say to be a bit wary as some fans like to argue which arcs are the best and worst by throwing negativity around. I would suggest to ignore them and form your own opinions as all these games are absolutely amazing imo. Edit: The Xenoblade -> Trails/Trails -> Xenoblade pipeline is real
The music clearly gets better in the Second Chapter though. But yeah, the First arc of Liberl do deserve a glow-up remaster from Falcom one day and I sure hope they do that and that can be localized through here, frankly I don't know how that would work knowing they changed the people who localize the game, if XSEED still holds the right for the first titles, or if a Remaster/Remake would change that, but yeah. Still they are awesome games. USUALLY I would recomend people to Play Cold Steel 1 and 2 first, just because it's easier for young audiences today to judge the Sky trilogy because of it's graphics. Not that cold Steel are the best graphicwise, it was a transitioning title from Sprites to 3D but still, it's easier to handle the Arts system with the orbments there, and it has a very similar vibe *the first one* with Sky SC. That being said, don't expect any protagonist in the entire series to be as entertaining and good as Estelle. The dialog in Sky SC and FC are, and will always be one of the best in the entire series. Her character development is insane too :D
Perhaps it is because I'm old... old as "back when 8-bit graphics was something in the future". I'm a more traditional western RPG player... the Ultimas, Wizardries and Bard's Tales... and had never gotten into anime or JRPGS. It was back in 2016 when I got a a bit nostalgic again and having just replayed the Ultima 7 series, I wanted something in a similar style. Trails in the Sky FC was on sale on Steam at that moment, and I bought it on the optics alone. I had a bit of a rocky start. I loved - and still love - the visual style. I found the characters and intial story mildly interesting. I couldn't get into the gameplay sytem and the japanese/anime tropes. I ended my first run not even having left the first major area. But the game still called me. It took me a few months, and then I started over. Got into the mechanisms, the combat system, the magic. Learned to live with the different approach of RPGing. And massively enjoyed it. Fell in love with the world and the protagonists. Bought SC and 3rd as soon as I could. And then I wanted more... and couldn't get it. The Cold Steel Arc was still not finished, and I hate having to wait for sequels. Managed to acquire the Crossbell arc games with the fan translations... and that turned out to have been the best decision in this series. I can understand that people today consider Cold Steel to be more modern and approachable, but I can't agree. When I switched from Crossbell to Cold Steel, I found the graphics clunky and unappealing. It took me ages to get warm to them, and I still prefer the ISO style of Sky and Crossbell. But it is the story progression that I am really glad I stayed on that path. I just recently finished watching a CS1/2 Let's Play... and it feels _weird_ to get all these callbacks to Crossbell, without having the slightest idea of what happened. To be presented with new characters, shown locations, be showered with names in the CS2 epilogue that would mean nothing to a CS-only player. And in a similar way, Crossbell has so many links back to Sky... you would miss out on so much without knowledge of the previous game. And then there is the continual change/improvement of the game system. Sky is perfectly playable today. There are mechanisms that could be streamlined, but it never feels tedious. Over the course of the series, a lot of these mechanisms _were_ streamlined and features added. In the "traditional" play order, these feel like real improvement... but I could see that going in the opposite direction, people might feel frustrated by the lack of things they had become accustomed to. So, in conclusion, I would plead for playing the Trails series in the "official" order. Sky, Zero/Azure, Cold Steel... and onwards. Sky and Zero/Azure are wonderful games to play even today, but for the story alone, someone starting with Cold Steel should read up or watch some videos or complete Let's Plays of these games. They'd be missing out on so much deep content otherwise.
You should continue in the series and definitely jump/continue to Traisl Cold Serries (the continuation of the same story)... (And probably play in between those two the Azure and Zero also)
You're expectations were low for a game with near universal acclaim? Mmmm...ok. Let's put it this way Trails in the Sky SC was relased in the west on the PSP in 2015...and that didn't kill the franchise in the west.
Congratulations! You've taken your first step into a larger world. The Trails series is sometimes compared to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the comparison has merit--the world-building, extended character development, and long-term storytelling across multiple titles far surpass anything else in the genre. The Sky trilogy builds on itself, then the Crossbell duology builds on the Sky trilogy, then the Cold Steel games build on Sky and Crossbell, and so forth. With the recent western releases of Zero and Azure, this is actually the perfect time to get into the series--for the first time, it's possible to legally play all the games in English in release order, and experience the full story as the developers intended (or at least, the full story thus far--as of the end of the Cold Steel games, we're apparently only about halfway through the series!). Enjoy the ride. The Trails games are an experience unlike anything else in RPGs.
they sould bring this to ps4/ps5 man. All the other games will now finally be on there as well. It's the perfect opportunity. I know there's probably issues due to Exceed and such but these games deserve it.
I'd call Trails in the Sky FC refreshingly mundane. Like idk I just really liked that this game felt very grounded and character driven compared to most JRPGs at the time and since. The story wasn't the generic "World is coming to an end" kind of plots. It was a simple coming of age story with a deeper conspiracy underneath. The characters and world building really push this game and the series as a whole to be something that I think is way greater than the sum of its parts.
I remember many years ago, I grabbed an odd looking PSP game from a local gamestop, "The Legend of Heroes: A Tear of Vermillion" It started out rather generic, but it grew on me. The characters just kept growing on their own, and one of the early game villains became my favorite character in the game. I finished the game, and thought to myself, "I enjoyed that a LOT... maybe as much as Chrono Trigger or Xenogears." And was dying for more. I was so happy when I found the next game, then titled, "The Legend of Heroes III: Song of the Ocean" I bought it as soon as I saw it, coincidentally, at the same time as I found the Trails in the Sky on PSP. ...But that is where the happy times end. Not because the games were bad, but because my PSP started dying. I couldn't play for more then 10-15 minutes before my PSP would just spaz out and refuse to let me play. I was greatly saddened... Years later, I found the games "Legend of Heroes, Trails of Cold Steel, 1 and 2." Was just about to buy them and start in on a grand adventure... when I found out that 3 was out in Japan, and there were rumors of a 4th game in development. I decided to wait to try to get all 4 games on the same system. That was a mistake because I was hoping for a Switch Release... To this day, still not out on the Switch in English for games 1 and 2... I decided to bite the bullet, buy all 4 games for the PS4, and just started them about 2 months ago. Finished the first one, and the ending DEMANDED that I start game 2 immediately, and while I'm only halfway through game 2 right now, it is a complete roller coaster of which I've not seen in MANY years. If games 3 and 4 live up to this current level of quality, I may have to pick up as many more Trails games as I can get, as the 2 that I have completed were VERY well done, and the 3 that I have not yet finished were truly memorable for the short amounts of time I have had with them. TLDR, Falcom makes some really good JRPGs. Character Development and World Building are second to none.
It's probably a bit too late but you'll want to play the other games before you start cold steel 3 & 4. Also the trails series is a sub series of the legend of heroes, the psp games you played aren't connected to the story. The trails series is the sky trilogy, then zero and azure take place at the same time as cold steel 1 & 2.... then you know the rest. Steam sells the sky trilogy, you can also emulate the 1st 2 sky games on psp if you want to
@@logiclunacy606 Thank you for the information. I did in fact decide to wait on Cold Steel and went back to Trails in the Sky. I'm only halfway through the second one, but it's amusing to see some characters I already know.
@KoryuuCialce I di originally played cold steel 1 & 2 and went back after. So the moment I saw Olivier I got confused because I sware it was the Prince but he had a different name, so I was like is that really the Prince or did he have a twin brother or something.
fun fact: when first released, this game had only one difficulty, the one you tested. That's why it felt balanced, as in you can still win battle with sub-par strategies/knowledge of game mechanics. The nightmare difficulty is really fun to test on a second fresh playthrough, but so unbalanced it'll railroad you into the cheesiest strategies.
Yeah nothing can hold a candle to Xenoblade. Nintendo always has the most unique games that're wildly different from any other game out there But what I love most in JRPGs, is pixel art and turn based combat. Trails looks so extremely appealing to me rn. I'm waiting impatiently for Steam Summer Sale so I can play this on my new SD OLED
Can anyone help me out here? I started this game and I am stuck at the beginning where they have to make their first arts to pass and get on with their adventure. I have looked on line how to use their arts with the quartz and all and I just don't get it. So I am stuck here because I can't do it right. I am an old gamer and I do mean old. I saw pong in 73 in Japan and was amazed. I've played quite a few of RPG's in my time and this whole arts and crafts thing has me befuddled. Thanks in advance.
similar origin story with getting into Trails except i was a Fire Emblem fan instead of a Xenoblade one. I do own 1 s definitive edition on Switch, just need motivation to get back to it.
Just came here from a Final Fantasy 16 review. The reviewer thought that game made a great first impression, but the pacing and dialogue (in side quests) were horrendous. Guess how his enjoyment fared after the initial "wow" phase. ^^
The mario of jrpgs is a bit of a stretch since Xenoblade is relatively new and jrpgs have been a thing for like 20 years prior to xenoblade 1. Hell, there are literally 4 xeno games made by the same time prior to xenoblade out there, lol
bro, my guy what the fuck is up with u not mentioning whereabouts of light The best song in jrpg history. also many tracks in sc are better than You Will Know Out Names which is impressive cos that song is insanely good. but yeah the music on average so much better than xenoblades or final fantasies. ff and xenoblade both have only one outstanding track in their osts for xenoblade its You Will Know Our Names and for ff its one winged angel whilst trails in the sky fc and sc have not a single good track cos all of them are god like. and the cliffhanger at the end of fc is the single best cliffhanger ever made.
Every time I try to get into this damn IP I just can't. The games are so damn old and even the newer ones looks 10 years too old. I played one of the recent game's demos and it didn't feel good.
Too bad this isn’t on switch so we can play portable or on the TV. I don’t tend to play JRPGs on PC and the PSP version isn’t as good from what I’ve heard.
The genius of Sky FC: the entire late-game plot of sky FC is a giant diversion! The goal was NEVER to overthrow the queen. The goal was always to disable the first seal to the shinning ring, to recover one of the seven divine treasures bequeathed to mankind by the goddess Aidios herself. There's a reason why Professor Alba tells us that story so early on in the game. I remember the first time I played Sky FC, the game completely and totally sold the lie that was the coupe attempt. You should play the game more than once; when you figure out what the villains were really after, SO MANY things make sense on a second playthrough that didn't before.
Why do you keep calling it Trials? Is that like some kind of inside joke or something? Maybe I'm missing something, but it says Trails clearly on the cover...
So you know This series is shit and its all downhill from here. You may be under the impression that the next games will carry on its legacy, and while it does carry on some of the tone and fun conversations, it just drops down in quality pretty linearly. if you are hoping for answers you wont get any.
my bad for mixing up "trails" and "trials" so often lol
hey i mean you could have mixed it up with 'Tales of' like most people :p
@@jmporkbob I think those 'most people' are ones that actually haven't played the game yet though =P. Since Nintendo Vault HAS, clearly the only reasonable solution is OFF WITH HIS HEAD... Also, cuz he said 'libel' instead of 'liberl', OFF WITH HIS HEAD TWICE!
Seriously, I thought it was kinda funny, and frankly I appreciate that he made such a passionate video about something from the heart instead of editing it and all that nonsense. Thank you =)
I'm glad you said that. I'm more glad you liked the game.
Both great games but very different lol
I’m so glad to see this comment because I turned the video off. It’s a pet peeve of mine to hear mispronunciations. My inner keyboard warrior wanted to come out 😂. I’ll go back and finish it the video now.
The highlight of this review is using "trails" and "trials" interchangeably. 10/10
Trails is my favorite series! The world building and characters are 2nd to none! Ive never experienced anything like it tbh. By the time you get to the Crossbell and Cold Steel arc you'll see why so many people love this series.
Iv'e started playing this franchise from the Trials in the sky part 1.
The story and Character development are absolutely aweseome. Reading dialogues is definetely an essense of this game, and the dialogues them self are very intresting with a lot dose of humor, like good anime.. but man... this fights mechanic are so, soooo booooring unfortunetaly, making me to abandoned this game, at the very end of the 3 chapter. Im a big fan of older Final Fantasy games, alredy finished FF8, 9 and 10, at this moment im playing FF4 3D Remaster version, and the turn system in this game are way much better than here.
When i first saw Trials in the Sky, i thought the fight gonna be based on tactics, but spellcasting for example, which taking one more turn to cast, not casting immedetly, and very short range of those spell, making them useless, and it's better to use skill.
Second problem for me is that those fight are taking too long, i mean they are very slow pacing, and tbh i love grinding in RPGs, but in this game I had enough of it, and purposely avoided fights. And the problem is, that those fights, even with a bosses, they are not hard, they are literally boring.
Such a shame, i would love to know the entire story.
@@BiaLy23PoL Having played all trails games, I can tell you that, understandably, Trails in the sky first chapter, unfortunately is one of the most boring chapters, more so than trails of cold steel if you take graphics into account. It is normal for players to drop at those games, easily. For most trails fans, the thought of dropping trails in the sky FC definitely crossed our minds before. In fact, I took about 2 years break after dropping FC, before I gave it another chance. If you dont know if you will like the game, here are some tips.
Note: Japanese voice mod will improve the experience for trails in the sky series, and use the original art. Trails series is more of a visual novel game, rather than a turn based game. The battles difficulty is up to you, some fans just skip it, using easy/normal stage and turbo feature. Once you reach near the ending of FC, the prologue chapter is done and the main chapter begins. The story of estelle bright is extremely long. Her story ended at the 5th game, Trails of Azure. After that, Rean story starts at 6th game, cold steel 1 and ended at 10th, trails into reverie.
A good way to know whether you will like Trails game is to watch happiness stone door side story quest. It requires no context and it gives you an idea what trails experience will be like from SC onwards.
@@cheatermaster100 Can't say I agree at all. Trails FC has amazing storytelling. Cold Steel 1's easily bottom tier by far. The writing's pretty trash compared to the other games, the cast is incredibly dull and the pacing is the worst in the entire series. The writing in the Sky trilogy is simply much better than that of Cold Steel. Zero/Azure's writing itself is great too, but most of the cast isn't as interesting. Heck, best part of the 2 games is pretty much it finishing up a side storyline that starts in Sky 2.
@@thenonexistinghero if you take graphics into account
Oh man...welcome to Trails! You are in for a RIDE my friend. This series only gets better, I can't believe how much I love these games. Trails quickly became my favorite jrpg and video game series of all time. Excited for you, and looking forward to what you think next
*Silver Will playing intensively in the background*
Great review liked and subbed!
If you love the characters you will love them more after SC and further more after 3rd trust me. After that when you go back and play FC again you will appreciate how the game foreshadow characters stories and plots in such a subtle but smart fashion. This series really reward patient players who pay attention to little details and punish those who seek instant satisfaction. Glad you like it and hope you enjoy the journey. Also looking forward to hearing your thoughts about other Trails games in the future 😉
On my second playthrough of Sky SC, when I arrived in the Bose region, you want to know the first thing I did? I bolted for Revennus village, to go to the cemetery there and check the tombstone to see if the entire story had been there, in plain site, the entire time. Micha was the last name on the tombstone, and my heart broke all over again. I played Sky FC for the second time after completing Sky SC (with the ending to FC, I wasn't going to play FC a second time, I was going straight to SC to see how this ended), and the entire story had been there, hidden in plain sight. When I played Zero, I was more wary of these things, so I checked the tombstones in Crossbell cemetery carefully. Sure enough, there was one for Saya MacLaine, the date of her passing lined up perfectly with her husband joining the bracer guild. They put in evidence for Arios' backstory before actually telling it; you could figure it out if you were paying attention.
Great review! Been a fan of trails for many years and has gotten me through some rough shit. You have stumbled in on some gaming gold sir. Thanks for spreading the word.
I'm very close to completing SC. I am just completely invested and want to get to know more about the world of the Trails series. So much so, that I bought all of the Cold Steel titles, knowing I won't be able to play them for a while until I catch up to the rest of the series.
I am glad these games are getting more coverage, little by little and I am happy you decided to give it a try.
Estelle, Joshua, Olivier, Tita, Agate, Scherazard, Princess Claudia, Renne appear in Cold Steel series as well.
Estelle's character arc is really great.
I couldn't get into the sky games. I don't care about Estelle and Joshua as characters, and nothing in the story could hold my interest.
Hope you enjoy the next game. I enjoyed FC, but it was its ending that really got me invested. As for SC, it starts strong, gets slow for a little bit (not as much as FC tho), but then it really delivers in a way that truly enthralled me to the series.
not gonna lie sc finale chapter is a bit too bulky as it took me 30h to beat which is more than half of my fc playtime and i only died once to one of the bosses during the finale chapter
@@niles8576 =o. SC's final chapter is the only one that holds up to FC to me lol. I didn't like the first half of FC because it introduces all the oroborous antagonists like typical saturday cartoon villains where they are bad just because they like kicking dogs MWAHAHAHA. (in future games they are antagonists who have relatable motivations and backstories). But in SC I cringe every time I hear walter say stupid things like hoping his e xperiments killed more people, or how much Blueblanc praises that the ultimate beauty is suffering and despair, and... ugh. don't remind me.
You sure you didn't mean the 2nd last chapter w here you have to install those things across the world? that's a bit of a drag.
@@Ghalion666 no it really took me 30h to beat the finale chapter. chapter 8 took like 3h
@@Ghalion666 and u can have your opinion but i personally loved all of fc and sc
@@niles8576 I do too, what makes you think I didn't. The fact I consider trails my all-time fave series and the fact that FC is my fave of it all... how? I just don't think SC is good as FC because it mis-represents the oroborus villains, compared to EVERY OTHER GAME in the series.
Estelle and Joshua are the best.
I got a smile on my face when miller in SC mentioned how I helped him retrieve Oliver in FC
I played Trails of Cold Steel 1 and Trails of Cold Steel 2 (stopping before the epilogue) and realized I needed to go back to the beginning to do it right.
That said - I listened to this review before and after playing Trails in the Sky FC and I have to say - YES, it was worth it. I didn't think I would enjoy the dated graphics, but overall the story/protagonists made it worth playing. Now I can't wait to finish the rest of the arc!
I already played the entire sky arc, but I would definitely play a re-release with updates similar to the crossbell games.
You will notice that as the orbments become more powerful in between games the arts listing becomes pretty hectic. Something as simple as categorizing the arts like they did in zero and azure would go such a long way
Side note: It's 'Trails' as in the thing you walk along, rather than 'Trials' (something meant to test someone)
This game is great on the Steam Deck. My plan is to play through the entire series on there.
I am playing on pc and added in the voice acting . It's so good and well worth trying to get for the deck too. Immersion goes way up
I LOVE it when I discover new fans of the series. I personally attribute my love to FC more th an any other trails game, but I'm a journey > destination guy, and as I play the rest of the game, (and replay the first, these games are actually VERY interesting to re-play because you pick up on things you over-looked the first playthru), I give FC more and more credit. Also, some of the more chill music that I thought were ok but not amazing just give me real fuzzy nostalgia vibes. They often act as motif's for some of the future game's music and to hear the original back again is like going back to old favourite childhood memories, it's gold.
In any case most people like SC more than FC, but I like FC more. But given you only gave it an 8/10, perhaps you'll like SC more too =P. I hope you like 3rd. Some find it a turnoff with its change in how it progresses in the story, but 3rd has some real amazing scenes, and one character in particular, get some content in 3rd and Trails to Zero (not azure though, she only gets 1 big scene in Azure) that absolutely CRUSHES you emotionally, over and over again, unrelenting.
Many fans dig on cold steel because of some legitimate criticism. Some of the main cast are pretty shallow in comparison, and the protagonist's harem-qualities are pretty cringe (especially bad considering how SC's romance is like the best I've seen in a game), but it has the most fun (even if easy) combat, and CS1 and 2 have the best music IMO (3 and 4 weren't as good imo though), and the NPC dialogue is the best in the series across the board IMO (going from 2d to 3d allows you to see and recognize npcs better before even talking to them. So I find it much more engaging to talk to an npc knowing/remembering their previous content without me actually talking to them, seeing their name, THEN trying to remember who I'm talking to).
@@TrueRandomization japanese release date order. Which is sky fc, sky sc, sky third, trails to zero, trails to azure, cold steel 1,2,3,4 then trails into reverie, then trails into daybreak I believe its called (not out yet in english)
The Legend of Heros : T.I.T.S. 😏
Fans are not sure if Nayuta no Kiseki/ Nayuta Boundless Trails is part of the same world as the other games. The Japanese title dropped "The legend of heroes" title on that game specifically. But the series' overarching story with Ouroboros is ongoing, so who knows?
Can confirm from multiple videos/articles that Nayuta is completely unrelated and separate from the other games :)
@@kentedwardnorris5378 are you talking about the fan explanations or the basic known facts?
If you guys played battle network the guild stuff reminds me of the job board you would find in those games 😅
Just beat SC last week and I loved it.❤ Played it with the voice mod and it added so much more to the game would recommend it, hope you enjoy it as much as I did.!
I’ve never played any of the Trials games but I’ve been enjoying the Trails series a lot! 😏
In all seriousness, this was really enjoyable to listen through. I also appreciate your honesty about it being slightly “boring” - I agree. I’ve struggled getting into Sky FC for several years because of its extremely slow pace. Despite that, it’s world-building, interconnected stories and characters, art style, OST, and combat system all draw me in so dang much.
So far I’ve played Cold Steel I - III and I’m currently working my way through Zero and Sky FC (like a madman) and I’m so glad we have access to all these games officially in English now.
Estelle is Bestelle. The whole series is great, but she makes the Sky chapters really pop.
To anyone who hasn't experienced what this series has to offer - pick up this game and start playing today! I started my journey with Kiseki a year ago and am now on Cold Steel II, and this series has become my favorite JRPG series ever, with only Persona and Xenoblade coming even close to the glory that is Kiseki. Also, my vote for GOTY 2023 (which isn't technically valid since this game is only an english re-release) is the 5th game in the series, Trails to Azure. Yes, it's that good - and I played Baldur's Gate 3, FFXVI, and Starfield.
having only just found trails series last year, im finally on cold steel 4 after playing all 8 other games in a year, i have not regrets!
I tried to get into trails of cold steel 1 with keyboard and mouse after almost 20h I bought a controler and decided buying this one and jumping again into this world but from the beginning. What a journey it is!❤
Xenoblade and Trails are easily the top 2 Jrpg series going right now they are so unique and aren’t afraid to take risks.
I find Crossbell duology the best for me, i like those two games the most, but Sky trilogy is still such a good story, glad you are now hooked and gonna play the series more.
I love how your friend just laughs in your face. That's a good friend
I laughed at my bro's face recently for a different gaming reason... He's a pretty casual gamer, and rarely finishes games of even average difficulty. But the other day his computer was being repaired and he was desperate to play something so he asked if he could borrow one of my Nintendo DSgames. He pulled out: Knights in the nightmare, Valkyrie profile covenant of the plume (actually a regular ds game but I stored em in the same area), Etrian Odyssey 3, and Devil Survivor. I have like 6 other (Easier) DS games, so I laughed in his face.
6 months later no SC review yet. Really hope you plan on playing it. As much as I loved FC, SC made me a die-hard fan of the series. I've played almost nothing but Trails since last summer and will be sad when I complete Reverie soon.
One of the thingd that the fans always says about this series is that the dialogue es top noch, with only a drop in cold steel but I dont know if is that for the writting or the translators that change in that times.
Pd: Sorry if isnt a well constructed coment, english isnt my first language.
The japanesse VA for these games was an absolute master piece. Great job by all cast members.
Just a heads up, Nayuta Boundless Trails is not part of the same series. It's the same dev studio and has Trails in the name, but is it's own thing.
Don’t they have a tangential relationship though? I could have sword that Towa’s grandfather is a minor character.
It is always fun to see newcomers give their opinions on these games. =)
The Sky trilogy is truly excellent, so I look forward to seeing your opinion of SC and 3rd.
I also got into this series as a big Xenoblade fan. Having now finished the entire series I actually like it more than Xenoblade in a lot of ways. Xenoblade 2 is still my favorite game though
xenoblade 2 is also my favorite
Have you tried Xenogears ?
Fantastic review. Well written and fair, well thought out critique.
I'm really curious to hear what you'll think after playing Second Chapter, as they were originally supposed to be one game that was split in two due to the insane length it would've been otherwise.
Subbed because of this review and I cannot wait for you to experience it further!
P.s. your friend is right. Trails is the greatest lol
I'm very intrigued to see how you like sc as despite the third which is a important epilogue, I'd say the first 2 sky games, as far as the series up to reverie is concerned, are the "sky" experience of the games from what I can gather lol
Trails is one of my favorite series of all time. There are very few series that I have experienced where every entry is as consistently amazing as the last. These games mean so much to me so it’s always cool to see people starting them for the first time. I hope you enjoy your journey through Zemuria. It’s an unforgettable one to be sure.
I will say to be a bit wary as some fans like to argue which arcs are the best and worst by throwing negativity around. I would suggest to ignore them and form your own opinions as all these games are absolutely amazing imo.
Edit: The Xenoblade -> Trails/Trails -> Xenoblade pipeline is real
The music clearly gets better in the Second Chapter though. But yeah, the First arc of Liberl do deserve a glow-up remaster from Falcom one day and I sure hope they do that and that can be localized through here, frankly I don't know how that would work knowing they changed the people who localize the game, if XSEED still holds the right for the first titles, or if a Remaster/Remake would change that, but yeah.
Still they are awesome games. USUALLY I would recomend people to Play Cold Steel 1 and 2 first, just because it's easier for young audiences today to judge the Sky trilogy because of it's graphics. Not that cold Steel are the best graphicwise, it was a transitioning title from Sprites to 3D but still, it's easier to handle the Arts system with the orbments there, and it has a very similar vibe *the first one* with Sky SC.
That being said, don't expect any protagonist in the entire series to be as entertaining and good as Estelle. The dialog in Sky SC and FC are, and will always be one of the best in the entire series. Her character development is insane too :D
Perhaps it is because I'm old... old as "back when 8-bit graphics was something in the future".
I'm a more traditional western RPG player... the Ultimas, Wizardries and Bard's Tales... and had never gotten into anime or JRPGS. It was back in 2016 when I got a a bit nostalgic again and having just replayed the Ultima 7 series, I wanted something in a similar style.
Trails in the Sky FC was on sale on Steam at that moment, and I bought it on the optics alone.
I had a bit of a rocky start. I loved - and still love - the visual style. I found the characters and intial story mildly interesting. I couldn't get into the gameplay sytem and the japanese/anime tropes. I ended my first run not even having left the first major area.
But the game still called me. It took me a few months, and then I started over. Got into the mechanisms, the combat system, the magic. Learned to live with the different approach of RPGing. And massively enjoyed it. Fell in love with the world and the protagonists. Bought SC and 3rd as soon as I could. And then I wanted more... and couldn't get it. The Cold Steel Arc was still not finished, and I hate having to wait for sequels. Managed to acquire the Crossbell arc games with the fan translations... and that turned out to have been the best decision in this series.
I can understand that people today consider Cold Steel to be more modern and approachable, but I can't agree. When I switched from Crossbell to Cold Steel, I found the graphics clunky and unappealing. It took me ages to get warm to them, and I still prefer the ISO style of Sky and Crossbell.
But it is the story progression that I am really glad I stayed on that path. I just recently finished watching a CS1/2 Let's Play... and it feels _weird_ to get all these callbacks to Crossbell, without having the slightest idea of what happened. To be presented with new characters, shown locations, be showered with names in the CS2 epilogue that would mean nothing to a CS-only player.
And in a similar way, Crossbell has so many links back to Sky... you would miss out on so much without knowledge of the previous game.
And then there is the continual change/improvement of the game system.
Sky is perfectly playable today. There are mechanisms that could be streamlined, but it never feels tedious. Over the course of the series, a lot of these mechanisms _were_ streamlined and features added. In the "traditional" play order, these feel like real improvement... but I could see that going in the opposite direction, people might feel frustrated by the lack of things they had become accustomed to.
So, in conclusion, I would plead for playing the Trails series in the "official" order. Sky, Zero/Azure, Cold Steel... and onwards. Sky and Zero/Azure are wonderful games to play even today, but for the story alone, someone starting with Cold Steel should read up or watch some videos or complete Let's Plays of these games. They'd be missing out on so much deep content otherwise.
You should continue in the series and definitely jump/continue to Traisl Cold Serries (the continuation of the same story)...
(And probably play in between those two the Azure and Zero also)
You're expectations were low for a game with near universal acclaim? Mmmm...ok.
Let's put it this way Trails in the Sky SC was relased in the west on the PSP in 2015...and that didn't kill the franchise in the west.
I’ll never forget my first legend of heroes game
Congratulations! You've taken your first step into a larger world.
The Trails series is sometimes compared to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the comparison has merit--the world-building, extended character development, and long-term storytelling across multiple titles far surpass anything else in the genre. The Sky trilogy builds on itself, then the Crossbell duology builds on the Sky trilogy, then the Cold Steel games build on Sky and Crossbell, and so forth.
With the recent western releases of Zero and Azure, this is actually the perfect time to get into the series--for the first time, it's possible to legally play all the games in English in release order, and experience the full story as the developers intended (or at least, the full story thus far--as of the end of the Cold Steel games, we're apparently only about halfway through the series!).
Enjoy the ride. The Trails games are an experience unlike anything else in RPGs.
He cannot pronounce trails
6 seconds in and I'm out
they sould bring this to ps4/ps5 man. All the other games will now finally be on there as well. It's the perfect opportunity. I know there's probably issues due to Exceed and such but these games deserve it.
I'd call Trails in the Sky FC refreshingly mundane. Like idk I just really liked that this game felt very grounded and character driven compared to most JRPGs at the time and since. The story wasn't the generic "World is coming to an end" kind of plots. It was a simple coming of age story with a deeper conspiracy underneath. The characters and world building really push this game and the series as a whole to be something that I think is way greater than the sum of its parts.
Trials or Trails!? lol! Just kidding, thanks for creating a good video
I remember many years ago, I grabbed an odd looking PSP game from a local gamestop, "The Legend of Heroes: A Tear of Vermillion" It started out rather generic, but it grew on me. The characters just kept growing on their own, and one of the early game villains became my favorite character in the game. I finished the game, and thought to myself, "I enjoyed that a LOT... maybe as much as Chrono Trigger or Xenogears." And was dying for more. I was so happy when I found the next game, then titled, "The Legend of Heroes III: Song of the Ocean" I bought it as soon as I saw it, coincidentally, at the same time as I found the Trails in the Sky on PSP. ...But that is where the happy times end. Not because the games were bad, but because my PSP started dying. I couldn't play for more then 10-15 minutes before my PSP would just spaz out and refuse to let me play. I was greatly saddened... Years later, I found the games "Legend of Heroes, Trails of Cold Steel, 1 and 2." Was just about to buy them and start in on a grand adventure... when I found out that 3 was out in Japan, and there were rumors of a 4th game in development. I decided to wait to try to get all 4 games on the same system. That was a mistake because I was hoping for a Switch Release... To this day, still not out on the Switch in English for games 1 and 2... I decided to bite the bullet, buy all 4 games for the PS4, and just started them about 2 months ago. Finished the first one, and the ending DEMANDED that I start game 2 immediately, and while I'm only halfway through game 2 right now, it is a complete roller coaster of which I've not seen in MANY years. If games 3 and 4 live up to this current level of quality, I may have to pick up as many more Trails games as I can get, as the 2 that I have completed were VERY well done, and the 3 that I have not yet finished were truly memorable for the short amounts of time I have had with them.
TLDR, Falcom makes some really good JRPGs. Character Development and World Building are second to none.
It's probably a bit too late but you'll want to play the other games before you start cold steel 3 & 4. Also the trails series is a sub series of the legend of heroes, the psp games you played aren't connected to the story. The trails series is the sky trilogy, then zero and azure take place at the same time as cold steel 1 & 2.... then you know the rest. Steam sells the sky trilogy, you can also emulate the 1st 2 sky games on psp if you want to
@@logiclunacy606 Thank you for the information. I did in fact decide to wait on Cold Steel and went back to Trails in the Sky. I'm only halfway through the second one, but it's amusing to see some characters I already know.
@KoryuuCialce I di originally played cold steel 1 & 2 and went back after. So the moment I saw Olivier I got confused because I sware it was the Prince but he had a different name, so I was like is that really the Prince or did he have a twin brother or something.
fun fact: when first released, this game had only one difficulty, the one you tested. That's why it felt balanced, as in you can still win battle with sub-par strategies/knowledge of game mechanics.
The nightmare difficulty is really fun to test on a second fresh playthrough, but so unbalanced it'll railroad you into the cheesiest strategies.
Yeah nothing can hold a candle to Xenoblade. Nintendo always has the most unique games that're wildly different from any other game out there
But what I love most in JRPGs, is pixel art and turn based combat. Trails looks so extremely appealing to me rn. I'm waiting impatiently for Steam Summer Sale so I can play this on my new SD OLED
Is the trails series even half way done with the story?
Xenogears remains the golden standard of JRPGs imo
I played tons of jrpg and Xenoblade is my favourite serie above all. Because of this video I just downloaded trails on my steam
Can anyone help me out here? I started this game and I am stuck at the beginning where they have to make their first arts to pass and get on with their adventure. I have looked on line how to use their arts with the quartz and all and I just don't get it. So I am stuck here because I can't do it right. I am an old gamer and I do mean old. I saw pong in 73 in Japan and was amazed. I've played quite a few of RPG's in my time and this whole arts and crafts thing has me befuddled. Thanks in advance.
Were you able to solve it? You can watch the gameplay on UA-cam if you still can’t do it
similar origin story with getting into Trails except i was a Fire Emblem fan instead of a Xenoblade one. I do own 1 s definitive edition on Switch, just need motivation to get back to it.
If FC is 8/10 then SC is going to be off the charts 😁
It's not a test as in trial, It's a trail like in trace. Think you got it wrong... Great vid though :)
Just came here from a Final Fantasy 16 review. The reviewer thought that game made a great first impression, but the pacing and dialogue (in side quests) were horrendous. Guess how his enjoyment fared after the initial "wow" phase. ^^
Wait till bro ends up reading the actual title
I can’t take anything you say seriously when you’re calling this the trials series😊
its peak. there review done.
i wish it would be on switch, i hate playing on pc :S
omg i miss the falcom music
Amazing amazing game(s).
Sounds to me like you and your friend haven't played Suikoden V.
The mario of jrpgs is a bit of a stretch since Xenoblade is relatively new and jrpgs have been a thing for like 20 years prior to xenoblade 1.
Hell, there are literally 4 xeno games made by the same time prior to xenoblade out there, lol
trails of mana
I love T.I.T.S.
TRAILS, not TRIALS!
I love this game, but man hearing him say trials over and over again really annoyed me.
you know that trials is spelt differently than trails, yes?
bro, my guy what the fuck is up with u not mentioning whereabouts of light The best song in jrpg history. also many tracks in sc are better than You Will Know Out Names which is impressive cos that song is insanely good. but yeah the music on average so much better than xenoblades or final fantasies. ff and xenoblade both have only one outstanding track in their osts for xenoblade its You Will Know Our Names and for ff its one winged angel whilst trails in the sky fc and sc have not a single good track cos all of them are god like. and the cliffhanger at the end of fc is the single best cliffhanger ever made.
best cliffhanger ever made!!!! my brother in christ i respectfully disagree
I could make a 100 best jrpgs list and trails wouldnt make it yall are crazy
It’s just a matter of opinions.
Every time I try to get into this damn IP I just can't. The games are so damn old and even the newer ones looks 10 years too old. I played one of the recent game's demos and it didn't feel good.
Too bad this isn’t on switch so we can play portable or on the TV. I don’t tend to play JRPGs on PC and the PSP version isn’t as good from what I’ve heard.
xenogears next
'Trials' series...
why old ps2 gsme have better quality than modern game like octopath traveller
Its trails man. Not trials. Are you joking?
It's TRAILS, my guy. Not trials.
Its T R A I L S not Trials lol. Tray-els
It’s trails not trials
Bruh it's "TRAILS", not "trials".
The genius of Sky FC: the entire late-game plot of sky FC is a giant diversion! The goal was NEVER to overthrow the queen. The goal was always to disable the first seal to the shinning ring, to recover one of the seven divine treasures bequeathed to mankind by the goddess Aidios herself. There's a reason why Professor Alba tells us that story so early on in the game.
I remember the first time I played Sky FC, the game completely and totally sold the lie that was the coupe attempt. You should play the game more than once; when you figure out what the villains were really after, SO MANY things make sense on a second playthrough that didn't before.
Why do you keep calling it Trials? Is that like some kind of inside joke or something? Maybe I'm missing something, but it says Trails clearly on the cover...
t.r.i.a.l.s in the sky
So you know This series is shit and its all downhill from here. You may be under the impression that the next games will carry on its legacy, and while it does carry on some of the tone and fun conversations, it just drops down in quality pretty linearly. if you are hoping for answers you wont get any.
How did you manage to mispronounce so many things in this game? Trials? Est-elle? Lib-uhl? Bruh!
Still like Xenoblade better
Who here after Nintendo's stealth reveal of the remake?
Trails Fans 🫱🏽🫲🏾 Xenoblade Fans