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The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2 |OT| Class Reunion

S

ShadowSoldier89

Member
redcrayon said:
To be honest I loved the whole main cast of FC/SC with the exception of Tita.
Click to expand...
CS1 excluded, Millium was the better "little girl character". Considering I didnt like her in CS1 I'm impressed they changed my mind with 2.

I like TitS more than CS for sure, but I actually think overall I like the cast more for CS. I'm not a big fan of Olivier like most seem to be. Agate is lame and Tita is just there. I actually found Machias's tragic backstory more wrenching than Agate as well, despite not liking him either. Kloe is fantastic though, and nothing in CS competes with Joshua and Estelle's relationship and Estelle's growth. Sara however is my favorite character in the series.
 
R

redcrayon

Member
ShadowSoldier89 said:
CS1 excluded, Millium was the better "little girl character". Considering I didnt like her in CS1 I'm impressed they changed my mind with 2.

I like TitS more than CS for sure, but I actually think overall I like the cast more for CS. I'm not a big fan of Olivier like most seem to be. Agate is lame and Tita is just there. I actually found Machias's tragic backstory more wrenching than Agate as well, despite not liking him either. Kloe is fantastic though, and nothing in CS competes with Joshua and Estelle's relationship and Estelle's growth. Sara however is my favorite character in the series.
Click to expand...
That's another of the things I like about the series in general- loads of characters to choose from and a wide variety of different motivations. Kloe is cool too, and I agree that Machias is at least interesting even if you don't like him. I'd love to hear more about Sara's Bracer antics, something I think will get a mention in ToCSIII.
 
P

PK Gaming

Member
varkuriru said:
Playing the side chapter thing and while I dont know these characters, the dude gave a good impression: calm and collected; good observation on other party members he mentions. The girl however, what is that outfit, lol

Even not knowing what is happening, the whole thing is intriguing. All in all world building in the game is ace even though it is somewhat lacking.
Click to expand...

I was legit surprised to see an MC give such an honest and (frankly brutal) self assessment

I have no idea if he's exaggerating or not, but it made me super interested in the Aoi/Zero group dynamic
 
M

MSMrRound

Member
Eylos said:
When we will get cs3 news, i know its in the end of december, but which day?
Click to expand...

Not a confirmation (that we will have news), but EndlessHistory listed Falcom's shareholder meeting for the 20th of December.

CzAdcAEVIAEjRnb.jpg


woaaaaah...

CzAdlzEVEAANNXc.jpg
Click to expand...

These treasures, and yet I'll never reach them D=

Oh yeah speaking of DLC outfits, are there any standouts that I should go for? It sucks that the Asia PSN doesn't have a complete package kind of deal.
 
S

Shahed

Member
MSMrRound said:
Not a confirmation (that we will have news), but EndlessHistory listed Falcom's shareholder meeting for the 20th of December.



These treasures, and yet I'll never reach them D=

Oh yeah speaking of DLC outfits, are there any standouts that I should go for? It sucks that the Asia PSN doesn't have a complete package kind of deal.
Click to expand...
Get Fie's to replace her default outfit. The rest of the default outfits are pretty good already and better thsn the alternatives. Maybe Elliot and Machias have decent Casual outfits too
 
P

PK Gaming

Member
MSMrRound said:
Not a confirmation (that we will have news), but EndlessHistory listed Falcom's shareholder meeting for the 20th of December.



These treasures, and yet I'll never reach them D=

Oh yeah speaking of DLC outfits, are there any standouts that I should go for? It sucks that the Asia PSN doesn't have a complete package kind of deal.
Click to expand...

Well Sara's is pretty much required since everyone else gets a costume change and she doesn't (and there's that bit about going undercover)

Laura's and Fie's are quite good

Jusis has like this primo douchebag look and it's kind of amazing

You're doing yourself a massive disservice if you pass up on Alisa and Rean's costumes
 
C

caliph95

Member
PK Gaming said:
I was legit surprised to see an MC give such an honest and (frankly brutal) self assessment

I have no idea if he's exaggerating or not, but it made me super interested in the Aoi/Zero group dynamic
Click to expand...

The divertissement does make interested in that particular trails series, i hope that it get translated soon.
 
H

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
So I've speedrun my way through a easy NG+(cause I somehow did not notice that I didn't pick nightmare until a good few hours in) run for trophy purposes.

I've just finished the whole deal with the Black Records and have seen the special scene.
And I'm thinking to myself what the heck. This seems like a pretty major reveal giving more context to the situation in CSII from the overarching narrative perspective. Feels kind of stupid that they walled that off in a NG+ thing.

I mean I appreciate that stuff having a few cool NG+ things but sometimes I really do not get the decisions falcom takes behind these things.
Like in my opinion stuff like that should be available on the first run whereas the last main story dungeon felt so tacked on as per general rpg trope it would have worked way better as an NG+ thing or optional dungeon. Even better they should have fused the last dungeon with the Glacia Shrine as an optional NG+ thing.
And I say this while loving the fact that I could farm OP quartz. But the story value for it was not justified and it kind of wasn't the best thing pacing wise.
 
SolVanderlyn

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
I think the side chapter was my favorite part of the game.
In Sky, Erebonia was this big bad entity that had no real nuance to it other than that Olivier was from there. In CS, you learn that it's a real place with real people. In the side chapter, you learn that both interpretations exist simultaneously - it's still the big bad of the Zemurian continent, even if it has good and grey people in it. Despite that, things aren't clearly black and white for anyone.

Rean as an antagonist just worked, and that's partially because we spent so much time with him as the good guy. It was the only time I really liked his character rather than felt apathetic towards him.
 
S

Scrooge McDuck

Member
SolVanderlyn said:
I think the side chapter was my favorite part of the game.
In Sky, Erebonia was this big bad entity that had no real nuance to it other than that Olivier was from there. In CS, you learn that it's a real place with real people. In the side chapter, you learn that both interpretations exist simultaneously - it's still the big bad of the Zemurian continent, even if it has good and grey people in it. Despite that, things aren't clearly black and white for anyone.

Rean as an antagonist just worked, and that's partially because we spent so much time with him as the good guy. It was the only time I really liked his character rather than felt apathetic towards him.
Click to expand...

[Epilogue]
Antagonist Rean is also the first instance throughout the entire two games where Rean's ideals, needs, wants and actions do not neatly align. Just that little makes for a much compelling character compared to his usual self.
 
T

Thoraxes

Member
Scrooge McDuck said:
[Epilogue]
Antagonist Rean is also the first instance throughout the entire two games where Rean's ideals, needs, wants and actions do not neatly align. Just that little makes for a much compelling character compared to his usual self.
Click to expand...

CS2 [Epilogue]
The way he was pissed at/towards Claire when he got off the train really made that scene for me. Made me very excited to see what they do with him and the entire situation in Sen 3.
 
P

PK Gaming

Member
[Epilogue stuff]

Even from a gameplay standpoint, the idea of facing off against your designated protagonist is pretty damn awesome. Doubly so if the narrative set up makes you root against them.

I feel bad for Lloyd/Rixia fans though. They got completely punked by Rean and he wasn't even trying

（´-`）
 
K

Korigama

Member
PK Gaming said:
[Epilogue stuff]

Even from a gameplay standpoint, the idea of facing off against your designated protagonist is pretty damn awesome. Doubly so if the narrative set up makes you root against them.

I feel bad for Lloyd/Rixia fans though. They got completely punked by Rean and he wasn't even trying

（´-`）
Click to expand...
Would've meant more if he weren't still typical Rean in letting them get away with the backup of the very data that the Empire was after in the first place.

Also, in regards to the power ranking speculations for the series that was posted a while back, didn't Rixia rank higher than Rean even with his ogre power? Of course, he did still know how to warp in Valimar by that point, so that one's probably a moot point.
 
P

PK Gaming

Member
Korigama said:
Would've meant more if he weren't still typical Rean in letting them get away with the backup of the very data that the Empire was after in the first place.

Also, in regards to the power ranking speculations for the series that was posted a while back, didn't Rixia rank higher than Rean even with his ogre power? Of course, he did still know how to warp in Valimar by that point, so that one's probably a moot point.
Click to expand...

Wasn't he only tasked with stopping the initialization process? I don't think they were directly after the data.

Also, Power rankings!? Got a link handy?
 
K

Korigama

Member
PK Gaming said:
Wasn't he only tasked with stopping the initialization process? I don't think they were directly after the data.

Also, Power rankings!? Got a link handy?
Click to expand...
Possible. Lloyd and Rixia wanted to prevent them from obtaining information about Crossbell's citizens through accessing the network, but it seemed like taking the backup they made of everything on it would've been the next best thing after Rean failed to stop the process (just having Valimar smashing everything seemed like only doing things half way to me, but eh).

As for the power rankings, which cover the series overall up until now, here it is (Gu4n put it together a while back).

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=218369669&postcount=2478
 
P

PK Gaming

Member
Korigama said:
Possible. Lloyd and Rixia wanted to prevent them from obtaining information about Crossbell's citizens through accessing the network, but it seemed like taking the backup they made of everything on it would've been the next best thing after Rean failed to stop the process (just having Valimar smashing everything seemed like only doing things half way to me, but eh).

As for the power rankings, which cover the series overall up until now, here it is (Gu4n put it together a while back).

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=218369669&postcount=2478
Click to expand...

Thanks.

Probably not something we should take as law, but it paints a basic idea of the power hierarchy in the Trails franchise. Kind of amazing to see how strong Crow is, despite not having any hidden abilities or tons of experience. I guess that's how far smarts and general talent will take you.
 
S

ShadowSoldier89

Member
Thoraxes said:
CS2 [Epilogue]
The way he was pissed at/towards Claire when he got off the train really made that scene for me. Made me very excited to see what they do with him and the entire situation in Sen 3.
Click to expand...
this was so good from both sides
you get to watch claire falter just as much as Rean
 
D

duckroll

Member
Okay progressing in the Finale again. Cleared all the quests and the Royal Villa. 5 points short of A0 rank, so looks like I can only get the Lionheart at the end of the game rather than for the final dungeon. Boo! >_<

Took some screenshots because some assholes here kept making fun of my photo pics, but when I tried to transfer them onto my NAS which the PS3 identifies as a media server, there isn't any way to copy stuff that way, only to some external drive which I'm too lazy to plug in. Sony engineering stay losing. This is why no one uses the stupid ass screenshot function. Lamers!!!!

So erm, I guess the game really is ending. Lol. Nothing screams FINAL DUNGEON like that thing.
 
Z

zakujanai

Member
I quite enjoyed a lot if the final dungeon, had one of my favourite bits of fan service after the first boss. The scenes at the end are a very mixed bag, some shocking
Osborne assuming Ouroboros' plan
, some just completely inexplicable
Vita and Crow instantly switchings sides for no apparent reason
.

There scenes after the finale were very interesting, rather wish it had all ended with those.
 
H

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
zakujanai said:
I quite enjoyed a lot if the final dungeon, had one of my favourite bits of fan service after the first boss. The scenes at the end are a very mixed bag, some shocking
Osborne assuming Ouroboros' plan
, some just completely inexplicable
Vita and Crow instantly switchings sides for no apparent reason
.

There scenes after the finale were very interesting, rather wish it had all ended with those.
Click to expand...

I don't think they inexplicably switched sides.
They came in with a goal the fulfilled it. All the choices after are perfectly in line with that motivation.
Heck especially Crow, he was basically cheering Rean on to win.
 
A

apd_ng

Member
Just started this after finishing CS1 months ago, after the being disappointing from FF15(my fault i guess, thought too much of it, didnt play any of the demos), i booted up DQ7 chucked bout 30 hours onto that, got bored because i messed up my vocations ~__~

Started CS2 then bam, the game starts off on a high? I thought i'd be chilling in ymir for a long while, like i did at the academy

mfw ~___~
 
Cornbread78

Cornbread78

Member
Thoraxes said:
CS2 [Epilogue]
The way he was pissed at/towards Claire when he got off the train really made that scene for me. Made me very excited to see what they do with him and the entire situation in Sen 3.
Click to expand...

Hey, as childish as it was portrayed, I'd be pretty pissed if
I was Rean. I mean, he finally finds out the identity of his birth father and jt is a man that he has come to hate for being a straight piece of shit to everyone around him... I mean, is Claire his real big sister, or just figuratively? Hmmmmm


PK Gaming said:
[Epilogue stuff]
Even from a gameplay standpoint, the idea of facing off against your designated protagonist is pretty damn awesome. Doubly so if the narrative set up makes you root against them.

I feel bad for Lloyd/Rixia fans though. They got completely punked by Rean and he wasn't even trying

&#65288;´-`&#65289;
Click to expand...

This is why I reeeeaallly want to play the Crossbel games now... What were they up to before that? What was
Lechter really doing in Crossbell and who else was with him..

So many question came up at that part of the game.
 
D

DXLelouch153

Banned
so im finally at the halfway point
getting the airship
, and i gotta know
do i get a longer version of my devil trigger later? and can i get it as a costume?
 
Z

zakujanai

Member
Holundrian said:
I don't think they inexplicably switched sides.
They came in with a goal the fulfilled it. All the choices after are perfectly in line with that motivation.
Heck especially Crow, he was basically cheering Rean on to win.
Click to expand...

But why did they (finale spoilers)
tear the empire apart just to have the knights fight? If it was somehow necessary for Ouroboros' plan then all they needed to day was that, but in the end it ask just felt like Crow was doing it for a laugh. It took them 3 years to realise their plan, there had to be a something they wanted to achieve?
 
P

PK Gaming

Member
zakujanai said:
But why did they (finale spoilers)
tear the empire apart just to have the knights fight? If it was somehow necessary for Ouroboros' plan then all they needed to day was that, but in the end it ask just felt like Crow was doing it for a laugh. It took them 3 years to realise their plan, there had to be a something they wanted to achieve?
Click to expand...

Crow's only goal was to kill Osborne, and he was able to do that by cooperating with the Noble Alliance. He was never actually on their side and simply used them as a means to an end (neither was Vita, for that matter). He doesn't just "drop out" out of a sense of obligation, but also... recall that Crow was the driving force behind Rean's desire to become a better Awakener. Vita and Crow's plan was predicated on Rean become strong enough to a point where they could get enough data from their fight (hence the reason why Crow went out of his way to help Rean out constantly.)
 
S

ShadowSoldier89

Member
PK Gaming said:
Crow's only goal was to kill Osborne, and he was able to do that by cooperating with the Noble Alliance. He was never actually on their side and simply used them as a means to an end (neither was Vita, for that matter). He doesn't just "drop out" out of a sense of obligation, but also... recall that Crow was the driving force behind Rean's desire to become a better Awakener. Vita and Crow's plan was predicated on Rean become strong enough to a point where they could get enough data from their fight (hence the reason why Crow went out of his way to help Rean out constantly.)
Click to expand...
I'm also guessing that
The location of the fight was important.
 
H

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
zakujanai said:
But why did they (finale spoilers)
tear the empire apart just to have the knights fight? If it was somehow necessary for Ouroboros' plan then all they needed to day was that, but in the end it ask just felt like Crow was doing it for a laugh. It took them 3 years to realise their plan, there had to be a something they wanted to achieve?
Click to expand...

On why they needed to have the knights fight in the infernal palace your guess is as good as mine, but ultimately it probably relates to awakening/bringing forth the Septerrion in Erebonia.

As others have mentioned the two key things were having the knights fight but also having them fight in the infernal palace for which they needed to take over Heimdallr and take one of the Arnors hostage to gain access + Vitas forbidden incantation. In addition to having them fight at full capacity.
And I think the easiest way for Ourouboros here was just making use of the already brewing conflict between the nobles and commoners.

I also believe the civil war served as an effective distraction to everyone outside of Erebonia itself making it far easier for Ourouboros keeping unwanted elements out.
Like I could imagine people like Cassius finding a way to intervene otherwise just to screw with them, but the climate of the civil war probably has made that just a political impossibility/extremely hard assuming he knew in the first place, and he could have learned about it through Olivier.

As for motivations. Like PK mentioned Crow piggy bagged on this plan because it aligned with his revenge motive. He "fulfilled" it in the first game so his main motivation for staying around is likely a sense of duty for Vita who gave him the means to get his revenge.

I never got the sense in CSII that he was all that invested in it(basically also shines a light on why he was fine making that cheesy promise at the end of CSI of coming back to class VII) + the fight needed to be even to produce the needed data suited that as well.
That's why he gave the impression to me that he always actually wanted to lose, cheering Rean on.
 
S

SatelliteOfLove

Member
Holundrian said:
On why they needed to have the knights fight in the infernal palace your guess is as good as mine, but ultimately it probably relates to awakening/bringing forth the Septerrion in Erebonia.

As others have mentioned the two key things were having the knights fight but also having them fight in the infernal palace for which they needed to take over Heimdallr and take one of the Arnors hostage to gain access + Vitas forbidden incantation. In addition to having them fight at full capacity.
And I think the easiest way for Ourouboros here was just making use of the already brewing conflict between the nobles and commoners.

I also believe the civil war served as an effective distraction to everyone outside of Erebonia itself making it far easier for Ourouboros keeping unwanted elements out.
Like I could imagine people like Cassius finding a way to intervene otherwise just to screw with them, but the climate of the civil war probably has made that just a political impossibility/extremely hard assuming he knew in the first place, and he could have learned about it through Olivier.

As for motivations. Like PK mentioned Crow piggy bagged on this plan because it aligned with his revenge motive. He "fulfilled" it in the first game so his main motivation for staying around is likely a sense of duty for Vita who gave him the means to get his revenge.

I never got the sense in CSII that he was all that invested in it(basically also shines a light on why he was fine making that cheesy promise at the end of CSI of coming back to class VII) + the fight needed to be even to produce the needed data suited that as well.
That's why he gave the impression to me that he always actually wanted to lose, cheering Rean on.
Click to expand...

English game spoilers:

Good point about the civil war.

I still think its possible for Crow to wanna join Oroborous; he did seem especially close to Vita.
 
C

Chaos2Frozen

Member
I have a question about upgrading gear- it's not feasible to blow my cash on every single upgrade at each new point in the story, how do you guys budget out your upgrades?

I'm currently at
Act 2 Part 4
, I've just upgraded everyone in the previous part.

Edit: assume I'm well aware of the titles of the chapters, I've been following the trophy guide.
 
N

Nyoro SF

Member
Chaos2Frozen said:
I have a question about upgrading gear- it's not feasible to blow my cash on every single upgrade at each new point in the story, how do you guys budget out your upgrades?

I'm currently at
Act 2 Part 4
, I've just upgraded everyone in the previous part.

Edit: assume I'm well aware of the titles of the chapters, I've been following the trophy guide.
Click to expand...

People normally pick their favorite characters and just upgrade them only.

If you're short on cash start cashing in sepith that you don't use. Sepith exchanging is the not-so-secret tech that lets you catch up money-wise in these games.

If I didn't have either resource I just fought the boss anyway, I usually found that maximum gear was not required for victory, and that good orbment placement was more important.
 
D

duckroll

Member
Chaos2Frozen said:
I have a question about upgrading gear- it's not feasible to blow my cash on every single upgrade at each new point in the story, how do you guys budget out your upgrades?
Click to expand...

I just have one standard 4 person party throughout the entire game, and that determines my priority for Bonding Events, Weapons, Accessories, Quartz, etc. The full cast is way too large to micromanage everyone.

For weapon upgrades my main priority is my strongest damage dealer, followed by Rean, followed by my mood.

I don't think I bought armor more than once in the entire game. The stuff you find in story dungeons is more than enough.
 
D

DXLelouch153

Banned
ive just been swapping the Megalith quartz to anyone that is close to leveling
im currently around the 90+ with most of my party(sans Gaius, Elliot, Jusis,Millium,Machias)
im probably overleveled? im
in Roer, rescuing Alisas mom
 
C

Chaos2Frozen

Member
Hmmm just to confirm something, after where I'm at right now, there are still
three
more points in the story right?
finale, Divertissement, epilogue

Does each of them have a gear upgrade ? Which would get me the strongest weapons to upgrade?
 
G

godisntheradio

Neo Member
i finished the finale, went numb for 10 min then "ok it's 4am let's finish the epilogue and go to sleep, shouldn't be more than 30 min", something called "
Divertissement
" started, i think no one expected this to be included,
i need crossbell arc
, tomorrow i'll finish it
 
S

Scrooge McDuck

Member
Chaos2Frozen said:
Hmmm just to confirm something, after where I'm at right now, there are still
three
more points in the story right?
finale, Divertissement, epilogue

Does each of them have a gear upgrade ? Which would get me the strongest weapons to upgrade?
Click to expand...

[Equipment spoiler...?]
You could already get the strongest weapons in the Finale dungeon.

Link1110 said:
Do Cold Steel 1 and 2 offer cross save for ps3 and vita? And do I need PS plus for it?
Click to expand...

Yes, they have cross-save feature, and you don't need PS+ to use it.
 
Link1110

Link1110

Member
Cool, just wanna ask then. I enjoyed the battle system and general atmosphere of TitS1, but the constant tangents it kept going off on made me stop playing (I got to the orphanage). Will I like cold steel better?
 
K

Korigama

Member
Link1110 said:
Cool, just wanna ask then. I enjoyed the battle system and general atmosphere of TitS1, but the constant tangents it kept going off on made me stop playing (I got to the orphanage). Will I like cold steel better?
Click to expand...
Personally, I felt that CS1 was better paced than FC, having taken much less time for things of significance to start happening/the stakes to be raised by comparison. However, the routine of CS I, Trista (hub town) --> school life (quests/bonding events) --> practical exam --> field study --> repeat, is something where YMMV.

The consensus seems to be that most weren't satisfied with the pacing in CS II until Act 2, as Act 1 is admittedly a slow burn.
 
Link1110

Link1110

Member
Korigama said:
Personally, I felt that CS1 was better paced than FC, having taken much less time for things of significance to start happening/the stakes to be raised by comparison. However, the routine of CS I, Trista (hub town) --> school life (quests/bonding events) --> practical exam --> field study --> repeat, is something where YMMV.

The consensus seems to be that most weren't satisfied with the pacing in CS II until Act 2, as Act 1 is admittedly a slow burn.
Click to expand...
So it's like persona 3/4 then?
 
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