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The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (PC) |OT| Enter Erebonia

S

Shake Appeal

Member
Ascheroth said:
Ys Seven PC in 2 days and Ys VIII soon after :p
Click to expand...
I struggle to stick with JRPGs that aren't the Trails series, weirdly. The only other JRPGs I've ever completed are a few Final Fantasy games (VI, VII, VIII) and Persona 4. There's just something about Trails and the interrelatedness of everything that works for me. I think Sky FC and SC are the most WRPG-like JRPGs.
 
D

Dragoon En Regalia

Member
Falcom's action-oriented adventures, like Nayuta, Xanadu Next and Zwei II coming soon to Steam, usually have enough of a living, interconnected world to suffice for story-focused players. They're definitely worth a shot, though maybe Ys Origin would be hardest to get into since that's comparatively light on story.
 
A

Ascheroth

Member
Shake Appeal said:
I struggle to stick with JRPGs that aren't the Trails series, weirdly. The only other JRPGs I've ever completed are a few Final Fantasy games (VI, VII, VIII) and Persona 4. There's just something about Trails and the interrelatedness of everything that works for me. I think Sky FC and SC are the most WRPG-like JRPGs.
Click to expand...
Yeah, you should give Xanadu Next a try. Even if its entirely different from the Trails games in gameplay and lighter on story.
But it's undoubtedly great.
 
K

Kamitechi

Member
Durante said:
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.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help Durante,

Just a small question, I noticed that sometimes the game dips from constant fps to half of it for no reason with certain GPU (this usually happens after the fight is over and you return to the map)

When testing with 2 different GTX 960's 4gb, they both had this issue.

when I was testing with an old GTX 660 2gb, it doesn't have this issue.

That's weird, so I wanted to ask if there is any issues with that card for this game?
 
F

FLD

Member
Does anyone know if achievements progress is cumulative across playthroughs? Specifically, I'm referring to stuff like 100h of playtime, won 1000 battles, etc... I'm almost at the very end and nowhere near meeting the requirements for those two. Do I need to grind for them before finishing the game or will they come naturally without resetting if I just keep playing into NG+?
 
N

Niks

Member
Kamitechi said:
Thanks for the help Durante,

Just a small question, I noticed that sometimes the game dips from constant fps to half of it for no reason with certain GPU (this usually happens after the fight is over and you return to the map)

When testing with 2 different GTX 960's 4gb, they both had this issue.

when I was testing with an old GTX 660 2gb, it doesn't have this issue.

That's weird, so I wanted to ask if there is any issues with that card for this game?
Click to expand...


Im running the game with a 770 gtx, and I also get sudden and massive frame drops (from 100 to 20) for no apparent reason.

I "fixed" it by running the game on windowed mode. So apparently the issue was when the game was running in full-screen mode.


Enjoying the game wholeheartedly though. Thanks for your efforts Durante.
 
S

Scrooge McDuck

Member
FLD said:
Does anyone know if achievements progress is cumulative across playthroughs? Specifically, I'm referring to stuff like 100h of playtime, won 1000 battles, etc... I'm almost at the very end and nowhere near meeting the requirements for those two. Do I need to grind for them before finishing the game or will they come naturally without resetting if I just keep playing into NG+?
Click to expand...

They're cumulative if you chose the "import Notebook entries" option for the NG+.

I think the "open all chests" achievement is the only one you must do in one playthrough.
 
F

FLD

Member
Scrooge McDuck said:
They're cumulative if you chose the "import Notebook entries" option for the NG+.

I think the "open all chests" achievement is the only one you must do in one playthrough.
Click to expand...

Awesome, thanks!

I'm on track for completing all the collectibles/single playthrough stuff, I just wanted to know for sure about the arbitrary counter ones. I really wasn't keen on just sitting around while letting the timer run, so it's good to know I can just keep playing and let it happen naturally.
 
S

Scrooge McDuck

Member
Getting into Chapter 5, I was kinda disappointed that
Toval apparently didn't get the voice treatment. There's even a scene where everybody's talking and he's the only one without a voice. Though I understand it's not really reasonable to call the voice actor just to fill that one line.

EDIT:
vv Oh yay!
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Scrooge McDuck said:
Getting into Chapter 5, I was kinda disappointed that
Toval apparently didn't get the voice treatment. There's even a scene where everybody's talking and he's the only one without a voice. Though I understand it's not really reasonable to call the voice actor just to fill that one line.
Click to expand...

He's not the only one. There are still a handful of lines Rean didn't get voiced, mostly scenes with Towa from what I remember. A couple other secondary characters that have some voiced lines are still silent while everyone around them isn't.

IIRC Brittany said they will try to do some of the remaining missing lines from CS1 while recording for CS2, notably the ones where they couldn't get the actors back for CS1 recording but did get them for CS2. The character you referenced was one she specifically mentioned doing some more recording for, I think.



End of chapter 6 spoilers,
I was getting pretty confident in my speculation of who C might be and the game completely ruined it with one scene. Now I'm back to square one and have no idea, I must be overlooking something.
And that fight was dumb. An area S-craft that can 1HKO the entire party? Lame. Bring earth wall adamantine shield I guess.

Also, teasing some
more Ouroboros involvement. I've been wondering what they're up to, since
(SC/3rd spoilers)
Osborne is clearly involved with them somehow.
 
C

CertifiedFP

Member
Just finished this up. Jesus, now that was a hell of an ending blitz - Maybe not as well executed as Sky FC, but it did its job.

But anyway, FREEDOM. Time to enjoy the next four months playing something other than Kiseki for once after an 8 month blitz through the Sky trilogy and this. The Burnout was beginning to feel real.
 
A

Ascheroth

Member
CertifiedFP said:
Just finished this up. Jesus, now that was a hell of an ending blitz - Maybe not as well executed as Sky FC, but it did its job.

But anyway, FREEDOM. Time to enjoy the next four months playing something other than Kiseki for once after an 8 month blitz through the Sky trilogy and this. The Burnout was beginning to feel real.
Click to expand...
Like... Ys Seven, Ys VIII, Zwei II and Tokyo Xanadu? :p

And yes, that ending stretch was hype incarnate.
 
C

CertifiedFP

Member
By the way, out of curiosity, do we know if Cold Steel started development as a PSP title before being moved to the Vita instead?

Because yowza, stumbled upon this and these models look very Ys 7 in nature.

cUPQUrk.jpg
 
A

apd_ng

Member
CertifiedFP said:
By the way, out of curiosity, do we know if Cold Steel started development as a PSP title before being moved to the Vita instead?

Because yowza, stumbled upon this and these models look very Ys 7 in nature.

sen_early01.jpg
Click to expand...

Thats not impossible

if anything they just reused the ys7 engine updated for the vita nothing surprising imo
 
P

preta

Member
apd_ng said:
Thats not impossible

if anything they just reused the ys7 engine updated for the vita nothing surprising imo
Click to expand...

They did not. Ys Seven runs on Falcom's own engine, Yamaneko. Cold Steel runs on PhyreEngine. I'm pretty sure we know that PS3 was the lead platform from the start, too.
 
A

Adam Sadler

Member
Dragoon En Regalia said:
Falcom's action-oriented adventures, like Nayuta, Xanadu Next and Zwei II coming soon to Steam, usually have enough of a living, interconnected world to suffice for story-focused players. They're definitely worth a shot, though maybe Ys Origin would be hardest to get into since that's comparatively light on story.
Click to expand...
Wait Nayuta is coming to Steam?!
 
B

Burning Justice

the superior princess
Durante said:
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)
Click to expand...

Not against bosses. The only issue I have with it is that Fie is apparently able to stun even strong enemies and field study bosses that can't normally be stunned.

I recorded this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdvOHSa1_9U

This is a "strong enemy" that can't normally be stunned even when hit from behind. In the video, I hit it 20 times with Laura, and it never gets stunned. But then I switch to Fie and start hitting it, and it does eventually get stunned. I then begin the battle with a double advantage, which, without this change, wouldn't have been possible.
 
P

Psxphile

Member
Burning Justice said:
Not against bosses. The only issue I have with it is that Fie is apparently able to stun even strong enemies and field study bosses that can't normally be stunned.

I recorded this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdvOHSa1_9U

This is a "strong enemy" that can't normally be stunned even when hit from behind. In the video, I hit it 20 times with Laura, and it never gets stunned. But then I switch to Fie and start hitting it, and it does eventually get stunned. I then begin the battle with a double advantage, which, without this change, wouldn't have been possible.
Click to expand...

I like how you still felt the need to tag it from behind when it was already stunned.

Not to take away your point, but there are some "strong" enemy mobs that can be stunned into Double Advantage (notably the huge Zu-like bird beasts) if attacked from behind by what would be deemed the correct weapon. They aren't completely immune. Might just be a rare occurrence or even a glitch and they aren't meant to be stunned at all.
 
B

Burning Justice

the superior princess
Psxphile said:
I like how you still felt the need to tag it from behind when it was already stunned.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I did that out of habit, lol. I know you don't need to.

I wasn't aware any of them could be stunned. The enemy in the video I tried attacking from behind with every character I had, but was only able to stun it with Fie. Guess I'll try it with other enemies sometime...
 
B

Burning Justice

the superior princess
Just had a minor issue with a cutscene.

*Chapter 4 spoilers*

Just before Prince Olivert is introduced, you are supposed to hear the sound of a lute playing. But that sound didn't play for me.

EDIT: Actually, now that I think about it, there's a good chance this issue is with my speakers, not with the game.
 
O

Oreiller

Member
Burning Justice said:
Just had a minor issue with a cutscene.

*Chapter 4 spoilers*

Just before Prince Olivert is introduced, you are supposed to hear the sound of a lute playing. But that sound didn't play for me.

EDIT: Actually, now that I think about it, there's a good chance this issue is with my speakers, not with the game.
Click to expand...

It was the same for me, so it might be something wrong with the game.
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
I don't know if I'm missing something but this final(?) battle feels like it relies on luck a lot.

So far the best strategy I've found for the knight battle is using the stat boost craft and then the evasion one once you have the CP for it (usually after the first heal) and hoping he doesn't hit. But if he just hits you all three times you just wasted a ton of CP and HP and have nothing to show for it. And if he gets several link attacks you're pretty much SOL, and they seem to be random.

Edit: Won with basically no HP. It's a miracle that last hit didn't kill me.




Edit edit: That whole sequence of events through the ending was... something. I'm not a fan and it might have even damaged my interest in the rest of the series.
 
L

Loz246789

Member
chaosblade said:
I don't know if I'm missing something but this final(?) battle feels like it relies on luck a lot.

So far the best strategy I've found for the knight battle is using the stat boost craft and then the evasion one once you have the CP for it (usually after the first heal) and hoping he doesn't hit. But if he just hits you all three times you just wasted a ton of CP and HP and have nothing to show for it. And if he gets several link attacks you're pretty much SOL, and they seem to be random.

Edit: Won with basically no HP. It's a miracle that last hit didn't kill me.




Edit edit: That whole sequence of events through the ending was... something. I'm not a fan and it might have even damaged my interest in the rest of the series.
Click to expand...

For what it's worth, the
new combat of the final battle is greatly reworked in the sequel to be less luck based
, so if that's your concern I wouldn't worry about it.

What did you not like about the ending though? the
cliffhanger
? Legitimately interested, because it's one of my favourite parts of the game, personally.
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Loz246789 said:
For what it's worth, the
new combat of the final battle is greatly reworked in the sequel to be less luck based
, so if that's your concern I wouldn't worry about it.

What did you not like about the ending though? the
cliffhanger
? Legitimately interested, because it's one of my favourite parts of the game, personally.
Click to expand...

After sleeping on it, nothing was really a dealbreaker but
I'm not really into mechs, and they feel kind of shoehorned in here.

And I think the cliffhanger was worse than FC, since CS1 didn't really resolve anything and just felt like it ended halfway through.

Then there were the times it just felt like Falcom was messing with the player. Rean's interactions with Emma through the final chapter were frustrating, at that point the player obviously wants to know what's up with her and she's the only Class VII character you don't really have any background on. She even seems willing to talk about it, but every time Rean blows her off. They also totally botched the "Crow is C" twist for me with the stuff in the mines. Up until that fight with him I was getting pretty confident it was him, but they totally hand waved how he practically had to be in two places at once in the mines to do everything he did in the time that he did and not appear suspicious to anyone.

Osborne's shooting is also going to be a bit of a let down regardless of the resolution. I kind of hope he didn't die because he's an interesting fellow with his hands on a lot of things, but if he didn't then it doesn't make a whole lot of sense why he'd survive a shot that was able to shoot down an airship. Maybe there was an explosive on the ship and Crow shot that to blow it up? Basically have to make up theories on it.

All the politics stuff that was building up at the end was really exciting but it was dampened a lot by everything else. The writing as a whole doesn't feel as strong as the Sky trilogy to me.

And even without CS2, knowing there are games going on simultaneously in Crossbell covering the frequently mentioned but never really detailed events there just makes you want them that much more.
 
Ultimadrago

Ultimadrago

Member
chaosblade said:
After sleeping on it, nothing was really a dealbreaker but
I'm not really into mechs, and they feel kind of shoehorned in here.

And I think the cliffhanger was worse than FC, since CS1 didn't really resolve anything and just felt like it ended halfway through.

Then there were the times it just felt like Falcom was messing with the player. Rean's interactions with Emma through the final chapter were frustrating, at that point the player obviously wants to know what's up with her and she's the only Class VII character you don't really have any background on. She even seems willing to talk about it, but every time Rean blows her off. They also totally botched the "Crow is C" twist for me with the stuff in the mines. Up until that fight with him I was getting pretty confident it was him, but they totally hand waved how he practically had to be in two places at once in the mines to do everything he did in the time that he did and not appear suspicious to anyone.

Osborne's shooting is also going to be a bit of a let down regardless of the resolution. I kind of hope he didn't die because he's an interesting fellow with his hands on a lot of things, but if he didn't then it doesn't make a whole lot of sense why he'd survive a shot that was able to shoot down an airship. Maybe there was an explosive on the ship and Crow shot that to blow it up? Basically have to make up theories on it.

All the politics stuff that was building up at the end was really exciting but it was dampened a lot by everything else. The writing as a whole doesn't feel as strong as the Sky trilogy to me.

And even without CS2, knowing there are games going on simultaneously in Crossbell covering the frequently mentioned but never really detailed events there just makes you want them that much more.
Click to expand...

I agree with you, actually. In fact, (Endgame Spoilers)
making Rean a mech pilot on top of him struggling with his "Super Demonic Power", (which I have an idea about but that's Trails 3rd territory)
lazily doubles down on how "AWESOME and SPECIAL" your main character is without taking any restraint into consideration. Cold Steel 2 has a chance to work with it, but I'm not sure how it will successfully integrate both with the story by the end. In my mind, choosing one might have been the better bet.

It's poor, preferential writing that reminds me more of Dragon Age Inquisition's awful Green Hand than a good LoH title. It ironically gives off the opposite effect and makes me see Rean as an even lamer character. It's a great reason why I dislike Cold Steel's ending the more I think about it. The cliffhanger doesn't feel succinct and tripped over several ideas in the attempt of being an exciting cliffhanger. I won't say my heart didn't beat seeing any of the final events on-screen (I was legitimately surprised by a number of events), but taken as a whole I still see it as a bust.

As for the fight, I never had issues with it on either playthrough (did Nightmare on this most recent one) and it feels to me as if the fight's pattern allows the opportunity for you to win each time. My anecdotal sample is small, however.
 
L

Loz246789

Member
Ultimadrago said:
I agree with you, actually. In fact, (Endgame Spoilers)
making Rean a mech pilot on top of him struggling with his "Super Demonic Power", (which I have an idea about but that's Trails 3rd territory)
lazily doubles down on how "AWESOME and SPECIAL" your main character is without taking any restraint into consideration. Cold Steel 2 has a chance to work with it, but I'm not sure how it will successfully integrate both with the story by the end. In my mind, choosing one might have been the better bet.

It's poor, preferential writing that reminds me more of Dragon Age Inquisition's awful Green Hand than a good LoH title. It ironically gives off the opposite effect and makes me see Rean as an even lamer character.
Click to expand...

You see this is going to be awkward to talk about, since I've played and beaten ToCS 2 on vita, but let me try and organise some thoughts about that specific aspect of the ending.

To say that Rean has preferential treatment by the narrative is probably pretty accurate. He's the main character, sure, but there's a lot of physical... stuff, going on around him, more so than perhaps should be reasonably expected. Even if, post ToCS 1, it turns out to be justified by the narrative, one could still say that this wasn't necessary for Rean's character in a broader sense, since he's established to be pretty powerful from the get go.

BUT, despite having a lot of things in his favour, Rean ultimately loses in the final battle of ToCS 1. What this suggests to me, is that there's been an escalation of power for the plot as a whole, rather than the focus being on Rean specifically. This could also be a problem depending on how it's handled, but it does mean that Rean isn't necessarily a power trip, or worse, a light novel protagonist. Perhaps he's more of a logical explanation as to why a bunch of military academy students are able to meaningfully get involved in... well, the ending and beyond, when several adult characters have taken off the kiddy gloves and are making serious moves.

...Wow talking around what's basically the second half of the plot is more difficult than expected. There are a few other details that I could mention that I honestly can't remember if they're spoilers or not at this point, but hopefully you kind of get where I'm coming from, ish. Rean's definitely not a perfectly written character, but I came out of Cold Steel 1 and 2 liking him overall, and I never really thought him getting a mech was crossing the line. I did roll my eyes at his transformation thing, but that was before I played the third, which (like your experience, seemingly) may have helped soften the blow of that particular aspect.
 
K

kromeo

Member
I'm up to the Nord Highlands now and I'm still feeling this is a far better game that Sky.. I didn't like him at first (obviously) but I think Jusis is my favorite character for now
 
J

Jolkien

Member
kromeo said:
I'm up to the Nord Highlands now and I'm still feeling this is a far better game that Sky.. I didn't like him at first (obviously) but I think Jusis is my favorite character for now
Click to expand...

To each his own, personally I think CS1 is the weakest of all the trails game. (Mind you it's an excellent series and the lowest entry is still better than pretty much all the other jRPG out there imo)
 
S

Sinh_Magnus

Member
Funny thing, Chapter 3 was the moment when I started to really get into the game. Thinking it in retrospective, is thank to it that I got interested in finishing SC and the series as a whole. I liked FC, but those 4? years of waiting for the sequel really hurt my excitement for the series.
 
L

Loz246789

Member
If I had to do a ranking, it would be Sky the third > Sky FC > Cold Steel 1 = Cold Steel 2 > Sky SC. Although they're all REALLY intertwined, and I wouldn't like FC and the third so much if it wasn't for what SC and the Cold Steel games brought to the table, if that makes sense.

(Also, Jusis is in fact great. He was my top priority free time event barring any events with other characters that coincided with the plot for my first playthrough, and I do not regret it at all.)
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
kromeo said:
I'm up to the Nord Highlands now and I'm still feeling this is a far better game that Sky.. I didn't like him at first (obviously) but I think Jusis is my favorite character for now
Click to expand...

I liked him by the end of the game, he was the logical one that questioned the stuff everyone else was just happy to ignore or just go along with.
 
Ultimadrago

Ultimadrago

Member
I like Jusis too! I found him to be a rather balanced character as far as subject matter was concerned. Aside from being mutually tsun for Machias, he never got stuck in a corner always talking about any certain something or someone. It really allowed him to flow with the narrative between story and Bonding Events quite well.

Loz246789 said:
You see this is going to be awkward to talk about, since I've played and beaten ToCS 2 on vita, but let me try and organise some thoughts about that specific aspect of the ending...
BUT, despite having a lot of things in his favour, Rean ultimately loses in the final battle of ToCS 1. What this suggests to me, is that there's been an escalation of power for the plot as a whole, rather than the focus being on Rean specifically. This could also be a problem depending on how it's handled, but it does mean that Rean isn't necessarily a power trip, or worse, a light novel protagonist. Perhaps he's more of a logical explanation as to why a bunch of military academy students are able to meaningfully get involved in... well, the ending and beyond, when several adult characters have taken off the kiddy gloves and are making serious moves.

...Wow talking around what's basically the second half of the plot is more difficult than expected. There are a few other details that I could mention that I honestly can't remember if they're spoilers or not at this point, but hopefully you kind of get where I'm coming from, ish. Rean's definitely not a perfectly written character, but I came out of Cold Steel 1 and 2 liking him overall, and I never really thought him getting a mech was crossing the line. I did roll my eyes at his transformation thing, but that was before I played the third, which (like your experience, seemingly) may have helped soften the blow of that particular aspect.
Click to expand...

I understand what you're getting at and honestly, I'm not asking for a perfect character. It's easy to see in multiple ways that Estelle nor Kevin are perfect executions. I suppose there's something that makes me tick towards Rean in CS1; it's not exactly a "light novel protagonist" as you accurately stated, but I find them very much closer than I'd like. It's this concern that leaves me on edge about the character and left me cold through the first chapter of Cold Steel. The mech was more an extra scoop on top of what I saw as a pile of undesirable characterization than the straw that broke the donkey's back.

(Trails 3rd Spoilers)
Ah, it seems we're speaking of the same thing as far as 3rd. On that note, while this would soften the blow, as you said, the story implications of its existence would be the true decider for me. As in, keeping the respective leading events and main character personas of either title into consideration, there's a reason it made me roll my eyes to begin with in this instance and not in 3rd's. One has a deliberately more sinister take on the cost/effect, while the other, seeming more of an inconvenience. Now, I can't draw full equivalence here as Cold Steel 1 does not give the full origin story for Rean's condition, unlike 3rd. Speaking for myself, the previous game never made me feel as if the power wielded was (at least initially) a desirable arsenal for the wielder. Sure, Rean doesn't love it, but the cost of its emergence in 3rd was massive in comparison. I don't wish all revelations like this to be the same level of dramatic, but hoisting weight upon it does help sell it better. It does help that the transformation is a potential retreading, but the execution matters all the more in that case.

I hope you understand my being vague even in spoilers tags, but I want to ensure no one that skims unknowingly highlights anything. The post got a bit speculative for my liking anyways, as I'm not positive if they're one in the same yet (unless you confirmed it, I'm not sure). I hope my point is still clear through the similarities.

I appreciate you leaving out CS2 details for me and do see where you are coming from, I believe.
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
So what are the NG+ scenes, do I have to replay the whole game to see them? Hiding scenes behind NG+ is really lame. And is that drama CD script very important?

Also curious about what you're referring to with Sky 3rd. I'm kind of drawing a blank.
Doesn't seem like a Stigma to me, though Gaius's S-craft seems very suspiciously similar. Doesn't seem like he's really met the "conditions" for one though? And speaking of 3rd and S-crafts I can't help but wonder about Emma's, the whole concept of hers is really reminiscent of Anima Mundi's attack big attack.
 
P

preta

Member
chaosblade said:
So what are the NG+ scenes, do I have to replay the whole game to see them? Hiding scenes behind NG+ is really lame. And is that drama CD script very important?
Click to expand...

As I recall, there are two NG+ scenes in CS1, and neither of them are ultimately very important.
You can choose to dance with no one at the festival, and going with Emma to pick up the clothes for the performance yields an additional scene with Vita.

CS2, on the other hand, has an entire NG+ exclusive book series, which is very important.

I'd recommend reading the drama CD, but it's not strictly necessary.
 
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