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The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (PC) |OT| Enter Erebonia
- Thread starter jj984jj
- Start date
hans_castorp
Member
Yep. There is a small special scene. But I think it's NG+ exclusive.
Ayup.
She is shocked to see the azure bird and goes running after it immediately. Rean notices that something's off, but doesn't question her further when she gets back iirc. If it's New Game+ you get some extra lines from Misty
Shake Appeal
Member
Finished last night. Whole bunch of disjointed thoughts:
On the whole, I liked it much more than I expected to given the general disappointment people give off when comparing it to the Sky trilogy. In many ways it was more consuming than those games for me. I think part of that is just that exploring and navigating full 3-D environments is far more compelling to me than Sky's isometric view with sprites, but my game clock read around ~120 hours by the end. Thanks to Turbo, my played time was less than that.
Turbo rules. The port was comprehensively excellent. Looked good, ran great. I assume and hope Durante is working on Cold Steel 2and the Crossbell games!
I liked the combat more than in Sky, especially with the ARCUS stuff swirled in. That said, things were pretty woefully balanced, with a lot of cheesy tactics available (giving Fie Wrath, Falco, and a ton of EVA; or just dumping STR/SPD/status procs on three frontliners and spamming Alisa crafts/recipes on them) and some things feeling pretty redundant. E.g., MOV and positioning are not a concern in this 95% of the time. But yeah, I liked the battles, and some of the boss fights were genuinely challenging on Hard, especially early on; the difficulty kind of collapsed after a while. Not such a big fan of
.
I go back and forth on the orbment and quartz in this. I think the spirit of the system is better than Sky, but the execution feels rushed and less nuanced; I'd like a compromise system between the two. I loved Master Quartz, though, and spent an embarrassing amount of time getting most of them to level five.
Liked all the books, side quests, recipes, fishing, etc.; they felt like neat evolutions of things in Sky, especially the recipe system. The Persona elements (e.g., answering questions in class, taking tests) felt a little underbaked, but I liked their inclusion.
Structurally, I liked the reassuring rhythm of school, the passage of time, the field studies and dungeons. This, combined with the fairly small size of Trista and the general quality of the subplots, made talking to all the NPCs after every cutscene much less of a chore than it was in Sky. There were only a few times (
) where it felt like true busywork. I loved having my character pool limited for field studies, because it meant I tried different party combinations more than I would have otherwise.
Pace and plotting was fine. I expected it to start slow, and for the problems to be smaller-scale than they had been by the end of SC/3rd. The ramp was a little aggressive, and some of the storywork is a little sloppy, but I enjoyed myself. That said, the end felt rushed
, and the
was kind of inelegant, plus I had
. The
was a genuine surprise, as I'd thought
. Also, I liked that
.
The principal characters were a pretty big disappointment. I like Rean more than most seem to, but they don't give him enough grit or enough flaws, even after explaining why he's immediately and consistently such a perfect leader. Alisa (the clear canon waifu, sorry), Jusis,
were fine party members with interesting backgrounds and personalities. Laura had her moments, but they were rare; Emma is kinda boring, but fine. Elliot, Gaius, Machias are all a total snooze, and it annoyed me that Elliot had such good crafts because I hate having the little twerp in my damn party.
is just an annoying bundle of tropes. Fie is the real MVP: actually interesting, genuinely entertaining, fun to use. Whenever I could have her, she was first pick.
Very excited for Cold Steel 2, very sad that there isn't a great way to play Zero/Ao in English.
On the whole, I liked it much more than I expected to given the general disappointment people give off when comparing it to the Sky trilogy. In many ways it was more consuming than those games for me. I think part of that is just that exploring and navigating full 3-D environments is far more compelling to me than Sky's isometric view with sprites, but my game clock read around ~120 hours by the end. Thanks to Turbo, my played time was less than that.
Turbo rules. The port was comprehensively excellent. Looked good, ran great. I assume and hope Durante is working on Cold Steel 2and the Crossbell games!
I liked the combat more than in Sky, especially with the ARCUS stuff swirled in. That said, things were pretty woefully balanced, with a lot of cheesy tactics available (giving Fie Wrath, Falco, and a ton of EVA; or just dumping STR/SPD/status procs on three frontliners and spamming Alisa crafts/recipes on them) and some things feeling pretty redundant. E.g., MOV and positioning are not a concern in this 95% of the time. But yeah, I liked the battles, and some of the boss fights were genuinely challenging on Hard, especially early on; the difficulty kind of collapsed after a while. Not such a big fan of
the final Knight duels, because they felt like rock-paper-scissors/a puzzle game in a bad way
I go back and forth on the orbment and quartz in this. I think the spirit of the system is better than Sky, but the execution feels rushed and less nuanced; I'd like a compromise system between the two. I loved Master Quartz, though, and spent an embarrassing amount of time getting most of them to level five.
Liked all the books, side quests, recipes, fishing, etc.; they felt like neat evolutions of things in Sky, especially the recipe system. The Persona elements (e.g., answering questions in class, taking tests) felt a little underbaked, but I liked their inclusion.
Structurally, I liked the reassuring rhythm of school, the passage of time, the field studies and dungeons. This, combined with the fairly small size of Trista and the general quality of the subplots, made talking to all the NPCs after every cutscene much less of a chore than it was in Sky. There were only a few times (
academy festival!
Pace and plotting was fine. I expected it to start slow, and for the problems to be smaller-scale than they had been by the end of SC/3rd. The ramp was a little aggressive, and some of the storywork is a little sloppy, but I enjoyed myself. That said, the end felt rushed
(the final scenes really take place on a stretch of road outside Trista?)
Crow/C reveal
figured it out before it happened, when the Rean/Crow scene at the bonfire was given such prominence
Misty/Vita/Ouroboros reveal
she was a friend to Emma/Celine
Sharon being a badass who'd fought Sara in the past was totally predictable, but her background was still a surprise
The principal characters were a pretty big disappointment. I like Rean more than most seem to, but they don't give him enough grit or enough flaws, even after explaining why he's immediately and consistently such a perfect leader. Alisa (the clear canon waifu, sorry), Jusis,
Crow
Millium
Very excited for Cold Steel 2, very sad that there isn't a great way to play Zero/Ao in English.
Regarding the ending stuff, if you ever replay the game, you'll see all the hints they were dropping even from the first field study, and how those things that happen actually connect to the big events that happen at the end. Like, there are tonnnnnns of things throughout the entire game that you can look at differently now that you know what happens at the end, and that goes for even when you play CS2 as well.
Thanks, but I'm only one guy! Even porting a single game alone is the maximum you can expect in a sane time frame. (Especially with ongoing support)
High-five! Love Fie, so much in fact that I gave her an (incredibly minor and obscure that probably no one will find) buff in the PC version.
ResourcefulStar
Neo Member
Is it the 10% chance to stun an enemy from the front with a field attack that I've seen you mention in a different thread?
EDIT:
Yup, has to be it:
You even specify that it only applies to the PC version.
Taking favorites huh.
Ultimadrago
Member
Fie is indeed the best.
Having recently explored Zero no Kiseki, I had no idea that (Minor Zero no Kiseki details)
from a previous title. They are also my favorite in that game. Good deadpan characters are inherently powerful.
Having recently explored Zero no Kiseki, I had no idea that (Minor Zero no Kiseki details)
there was another so similar to Fie
Shake Appeal
Member
Speaking of cheese... Equip her with whichever quartz lets you rack up CP on the field with attacks, then S-Craft every trash mob (because her AoE is superb). It quickly gets boring, but I did this in one dungeon to open up some orbment lines and farm U-Material.
Novel Mike
Member
Cold Steel gets a lot of hate on gaf much of which is undeserved, I literally stopped going into the CS1/2 threads because of how much awful negativity there was in those threads for no real reason and people just not understanding the characters very well and just assuming they are always one note when they are far far from that.
Rean gets a lot more fleshed out in CS2 but I think hes portrayed well here, some things for him and other characters such as Gaius you'll pick up more on during a second playthrough such as Rean having some pretty big insecurities about his own position in his family. Gaius' development is extremely subtle but there are several moments its there. Machias needed earlier development (around the time Jusis gets development IMO) but I do think his backstory at least makes his attitude towards nobles understandable, just not the arrogance that goes with it.
CS2 is pretty great it fixes some things with the battle system you didn't like and helps to give many of the characters room to grow but it has its own issues I don't need to get into here. I actually like CS1 over 2 but for different reasons. CS2 is a much more open and interesting game I just think the story didn't playout in nearly as an interesting way as I was originally hoping it would. At least for the 'main' storyline, I don't really think of this as a spoiler but a
huge amount of events happen in the Final Chapters of CS2 which on their own could be considered Cold Steel 2.5 to me, it makes the final chapter of this game seem like it was short in comparison XD
Shake Appeal
Member
Yeah, I think Rean's insecurities and people-pleasing tendencies are shown and explained, I just wish he was a little bit more assertive or feisty more often—the way he is with Sara, actually. He's just too ... accepting of everything that's pushed on him. He never struggles to adapt or take on more responsibilities or pick up a teammate when they're down.
Compared to Estelle or Joshua, which is the obvious point of reference for me, his few flaws never actually cause the team trouble or need to be overcome, except for the silly moment where
Elise decides to run away and enter a creepy old schoolhouse and take a weird magical lift down to a weird threatening door all because she's sad and there was a cute kitty!!
Victor Arseid
Mostly he's just: "H-ha-ha, yeah, I will do that fetch quest, sure. Come on, guys! We're friends and we can do it!" for much of the game. And when
Alisa or Jusis or Machias are being dicks to him early on, he's always like "Wow! I hope I can help them get over this!" He's this way even with Patrick, at least until Patrick hits on Elise at the festival.
Yeah.
The thing is, if you are a "min-maxer", the game as it stands gives you absolutely no reason to ever use anyone other than Laura on the field. Now, Laura is one of the better characters in the game IMHO, but that's still a bit silly from a balancing perspective.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
That's fine. Laura is by far the coolest Class VII member, you should always take her for that reason alone. That she's a boss nuke is just a nice bonus.
ResourcefulStar
Neo Member
The way I understand him, Rean
actively keeps his emotions in check because he's afraid of accidentally activating his Devil Trigger and harming his friends after he's done with his enemies
Does Laura have the same ability to stun from the front? I thought I saw her do it once, but decided that either my eyes had deceived me or that the enemy had quickly turned around. If she does, is she the only one to have it, or do Machias and
Millium
Laura has a flat 50% chance to stun from the front.
I discovered it while playing, thought it was ridiculously OP and that it may just be some weakness thing or based on weapon strength (she had my best weapon at that point), and then looked it up in the code. It's literally (well, paraphrased
) if(Laura && rand() < 0.5) stun();
I discovered it while playing, thought it was ridiculously OP and that it may just be some weakness thing or based on weapon strength (she had my best weapon at that point), and then looked it up in the code. It's literally (well, paraphrased
) if(Laura && rand() < 0.5) stun();Lmao. Falcom playing favoritesLaura has a flat 50% chance to stun from the front.
I discovered it while playing, thought it was ridiculously OP and that it may just be some weakness thing or based on weapon strength (she had my best weapon at that point), and then looked it up in the code. It's literally (well, paraphrased
Not that I mind.
Laura has a flat 50% chance to stun from the front.
I discovered it while playing, thought it was ridiculously OP and that it may just be some weakness thing or based on weapon strength (she had my best weapon at that point), and then looked it up in the code. It's literally (well, paraphrased
Yeah, I discovered that early on. Rather funny.
One other thing I remembered from pre-release for CS1 PS3/Vita, is that Japanese reviewers noted that if you switch characters on the field, monsters will immediately de-aggro; obviously an oversight. However this oversight is rather fun to abuse for low level runs.
Novel Mike
Member
I'm playing through sky right now (Thank you turbo mode, its literally the only reason I can stand to play the game with how freaking slow everything from backtracking to battles is) so I cannot directly comment on Estelle or Joshua but I think the thing about Rean that is easily overlooked is that his entire personality through CS 1 and 2 is largely a mask that he hides behind.
He pretends to be this goody good guy or gary sue or whatever you want to call him because he has a deep desire to be accepted. It blows up in his face a few times (the fight he gets into with Elise that you mentioned) but he acts the way hes does because he wants people to care about him, he has a strong desire to find a place to belong and he finds it in Class 7 so he does whatever he thinks he has to in order keep them together. He tries to settle differences between characters, he throws himself into danger, and is very scared of Class 7 seeing whats within him (which we only get to briefly see in CS1).
It also makes him very easy to manipulate (although he is aware he is being manipulated generally) as Sara does in order to get him to help with the student council or convince him to be the leader, ect. It's the biggest reason I and so many others are really curious on whats going to happen with and because of him in Cold Steel 3 because of the events of Cold Steel 2 which I will not spoil here.
I think there is a LOT of depth to Rean's character that this first game doesn't explore as well as it could have but knowing the events of cold steel 2 and replaying the first game again you really see the little things about his character that actively lead him towards the end of CS2 which is hard to talk about without spoiling anything XD
I think the best thing I can say is that the first game is important to setting Rean up as a character even if it seems hes lacking in development or characterization. I think we get a lot of that in CS2 (although some on here would disagree but I'll debate them to hell and back to prove them wrong XD) with Rean really being the main character more in that game then the first one and getting a lot of development because of it.
ResourcefulStar
Neo Member
That's crazy. Can't believe I wasted so much time putting the party leader in the backstabbing position when she could just charge from the front!Laura has a flat 50% chance to stun from the front.
I discovered it while playing, thought it was ridiculously OP and that it may just be some weakness thing or based on weapon strength (she had my best weapon at that point), and then looked it up in the code. It's literally (well, paraphrased
Either way, could you make the Fie buff optional? I'm not sure I'm entirely comfortable with a localization making balance changes like that, even if they're minor enough to qualify as Easter eggs. I'd rather play with Falcom's balancing, warts and all.
Finally, I have another request. When you have time to spare, could you use your source code access to make an exhaustive mechanics guide? I'd love to see damage formulas for all moves, including enemy-exclusive ones, or be able to understand how accuracy and unbalancing probability calculations work, among other things. RPGs not based on tabletop systems are so frustratingly opaque!
I'm willing to take a shot at it myself, if you can point me in the direction of the right files, the data contained within can be comprehended by a layman whose programming expertise is limited to the knowledge of basic array sorting algorithms, and the tools needed to access and read it are publicly available.
CertifiedFP
Member
Hmm? What change did Fie have in the localization?
And honestly, wouldn't it actually be gone in this version anyway? A ton of other localization changes apparently slipped through the cracks in the porting process, like quest markers that were supposed to be hidden and the Engrish sign textures.
And honestly, wouldn't it actually be gone in this version anyway? A ton of other localization changes apparently slipped through the cracks in the porting process, like quest markers that were supposed to be hidden and the Engrish sign textures.
Almost all the relevant battle calculations are done in C++ code, not in scripts, so the only thing in the game package files that tells you how they work is (optimized) x86 assembly. Not really legible even for very competent programmers I'd say.
Sadly I can't release that code (due to NDA conditions), so I'd have to deduce the formulas from that and write them down. I just don't see me having time for that this year.
As for Fie: never!
(But seriously, you'd need to use her, and then hit an enemy on average at least 20 times to even notice it. In practice it doesn't do anything. If it really annoys anyone I guess I could put an option in the ini file)The Fie change we are discussing is more of a PC version change than a localization change. (Also, I'd say "a ton" of localization changes is overstating it a bit. It's markers in one quest and 10 or so textures, as far as I am aware)
ShadowSoldier89
Member
are these getting redone like they were in the PS3/vita localization? I appreciated XSeed's fixes there.
ShadowSoldier89
Member
its extended in NG+, but the basis is the same
Emma chases the bird and never sees misty
sorry double
Ultimadrago
Member
While I'm not getting my hopes up, I hope you're right.
Also, I thought that (New Game+ Major Spoilers)
Celine speaking early in a few cutscenes
It's a matter of time. It will get done eventually, but it's way down on the totem pole compared to crashes and even 60 FPS cutscene fixes.
hans_castorp
Member
CSI has a couple of NG+ only scenes. But the changes are minimal, like @ShadowSoldier89 said
Shake Appeal
Member
So the only rumored timeframe for CS2 on PC is "December-ish," right?
That's a long wait. I'm going to have to figure out some other games to get obsessed with between now and then.
That's a long wait. I'm going to have to figure out some other games to get obsessed with between now and then.
CertifiedFP
Member
They can take as long as they want for CS2. I think I'm about burnt out on this series after marathoning the Sky trilogy and this over the past year.
I've got a backlog and Actual Work to be doing.
Ys Seven PC in 2 days and Ys VIII soon after
ShadowSoldier89
Member
cool thanks for the update. As someone that already experienced them it isn't a big deal, but good to know its on the list anyway
Ys Seven PC in 2 days and Ys VIII soon after
And also Zwei II.
It doesn't look like it will make the summer target
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
I've only seen this year being rumored, but December wouldn't surprise me. Better than waiting a year or so.
Hopefully CS3 hits PC day and date with PS4, but I expect that to be a lengthier localization process than CS2.
LousyTactician
Neo Member
I just started playing the game last night. It has been in my Steam library for the past few weeks. It really throws you into the heat of things from the get go, which I didn't mind, but I'm guessing it's going to take on a slower pace now that I've arrived at the academy.
I was expecting some anime tropes from the get go, but that didn't stop a part of me from dying when I saw the opening had
. I'm sure Trails will be fine though, it looks promising from the first hour or so of play.
Any advice for a newcomer? The combat looks pretty involved, and the game threw out a fair share of terminology at the beginning.
I was expecting some anime tropes from the get go, but that didn't stop a part of me from dying when I saw the opening had
a character holding toast in their mouth
Any advice for a newcomer? The combat looks pretty involved, and the game threw out a fair share of terminology at the beginning.
Ultimadrago
Member
On CS3, I'm glad the series is finally being taken to PS4. I'm not sure how much better the full package will fare, but it's just nice to think about.
Lol. I wish.
Definitely waiting on the potential PC version this time around though. I can wait. I think.
Lol. I wish.
Definitely waiting on the potential PC version this time around though. I can wait. I think.
The worst 'anime' stuff is in the beginning.
Talk to all the NPCs after every single time you advance the main story slightly. They have their own sidestories and character arcs.
There's a library with books on certain terminology in the game and definitely check your camp menu. It has all the tutorial segments under help, so you can always look things up later.
The prologue is deliberately vague, it will make sense later.
ResourcefulStar
Neo Member
Understood.
An .ini option would be appreciated. I'm kind of a purist and knowing that I'm playing a version of the game that's a tiny bit easier than what was envisioned by The Authors will frustrate me a little. Put it at the bottom of your list, though. The issue in the Eisengraf scene or even that weird thing with a woman simultaneously wearing and not wearing her straw hat that I've seen reported on the Steam forums should take priority.As for Fie: never!
Positioning can be much more impactful than it may appear to be initially. For example, bosses who only have melee attacks usually don't display any interest in chasing squishier party members around the battlefield, so parking a damage sponge in front of them and having everybody else attack from range can be a good way to redirect all damage to a single character who can be easily kept alive by putting the DEF Up, Regeneration, and Insight (+50% to Evasion) effects on them. Spreading out, on the other hand, effectively turns AoE attacks used by enemies into single target abilities, but has the drawback of interfering with your own AoE buffs.
Really pleased to see the thread suddenly get so lively today. It's been pretty lethargic for a week or so.
Still got 3 more weeks!And also Zwei II.
It doesn't look like it will make the summer target
Burning Justice
the superior princess
Huh... I discovered yesterday that I was able to stun a boss on the field with Fie by continually attacking it from the front. Didn't realize that was a change from the PS3/Vita versions...
I'd like to reiterate that you could always do that with Laura, and that she's still 10 times better at it. (Just so people don't think it changes the balance in any meaningful way)
The game isn't that difficult as far as I can tell, so worrying about a 5% buff to one character's attacks is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme. I haven't even seen had much trouble just using whatever characters I felt like in every instance. Only once so far have I felt the need to change characters for a field attack. You can get through quite easily just by attacking and fading back till the enemy turns around for a 100% guaranteed back attack.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
Was the word "snark" used in any line of code or comments?
Reread the post he's quoting, everyone, then the bolded again.
Oh Christ, I forgot about that one.
Sept 2017: The Son of "Fuck Your Wallet"
Dragon1893
Member
Now that you mention it, I remember being quite surprised by the negativity in the original OT as well, though negativity on the internet should be the least surprising thing in the world lol.
I was actually afraid that the game would downright suck, should've known better.