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The Kiseki / Trails (of the Sky/Zero/Ao/Sen/Etc) Community Thread: SPOILERTAGS OR DIE

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member

I'm not sure I ever listened to that album, but this arrangement is giving me all the right feels.


And it seems like yet another arrange album I'll probably buy. Falcom was hitting out of the park with every arrange album in 2012-2013. All four Zanmai albums and the Ys Collected Music album are so good.

Kind of a shame they have done so little since. Just Sen no Kiseki Super Arrange (I'll listen to that after I play the game) and We Love Sora no Kiseki, which I need to check out.
 

Baliis

Member
I'm not sure I ever listened to that album, but this arrangement is giving me all the right feels.


And it seems like yet another arrange album I'll probably buy. Falcom was hitting out of the park with every arrange album in 2012-2013. All four Zanmai albums and the Ys Collected Music album are so good.

Kind of a shame they have done so little since. Just Sen no Kiseki Super Arrange (I'll listen to that after I play the game) and We Love Sora no Kiseki, which I need to check out.

The whole Sora no kiseki zanmai album is great. The Sophisticated Battle arrangement on it is fantastic.
 
The difference is in SC
the enforcers on a 1 v 1 standing would beat most of the cast they lose 4 v 1 due to shonen teamwork/friendship. It's also for sure 4 on 1 since if you don't bring specific characters to specific fights the enforcers comment on it and you miss bonus scenes. The game also does a good job of explaining why party members who are strong enough to 1 v 1 the enforcers don't over power them.

In CS2
the cutscenes and gameplay basically make it 10 on 1-2 where even after your team "wins" the bad guy gets up and activates their "true power" before the party gets bailed out by an npc. This inherently makes the team feel like they have no urgency in their own story since all they do 90% of the time is stall for moral victories till the actually strong characters can bail them out. It also creates dissonance when Rean and Sarah should be able to tag team most of the enforcers but for some reason suffer from plot weakness when the story demands someone stronger save the day

If SC was CS2
after beating each enforcer they would power up showing they were holding back against estelle and co, then an npc like killika, cid, richard, or cassius would show up to fight the enforcer on an equal and tell the team to "get going"
 

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.
The dissonance between JP speaking fans and western fans continues to fascinate me. NONE of these problems were brought up in fan communities before CS's localization, but SO MANY people take issue with them. Makes me wonder if there's some culturual dissonance going on here...

(I am an English fan who also takes issue with the
constant need to be saved and tonal dissonance of war/shonen
tropes in CS2)
 

EndcatOmega

Unconfirmed Member
Could also be differences in how it's portrayed in Japanese and the localisation specifically but honestly as little as someone who can't speak Japanese can tell XSeed's localisations seem really, really good (Sky's dialogue in particular flows pretty naturally for a JRPG translation).
 
The dissonance between JP speaking fans and western fans continues to fascinate me. NONE of these problems were brought up in fan communities before CS's localization, but SO MANY people take issue with them. Makes me wonder if there's some culturual dissonance going on here...

(I am an English fan who also takes issue with the
constant need to be saved and tonal dissonance of war/shonen
tropes in CS2)

I saw a similar thing going on with Persona 5 post Japanese and post English release. There's a lot of complaints I didn't see following the Japanese release that started cropping up after it came out in English.

It might just be a result of there being fewer people who played the Japanese version VS people who played the English version. The more people playing it, the more people to take issue with certain things.
 

Taruranto

Member
Ah, this discussion again. Yep, most of CS2
Infernal Castle
was really bad, I also think it really made little sense. (CS2 end-game spoilers)
The game clearly stated Vita needed Rean and Valimar to activate the... thing, so it made little sense to send enforcers after the party at that point of the game. No to mention it made the adults look totally irresponsible, they can't beat Duvalie and Blueblanc so I'm not sure why they expected them to have any chances with the rest of the dungeon.

It's really contrived.

The dissonance between JP speaking fans and western fans continues to fascinate me. NONE of these problems were brought up in fan communities before CS's localization, but SO MANY people take issue with them. Makes me wonder if there's some culturual dissonance going on here...

If you mean JP speaking fans on western boards I don't see how it is weird, more people played the games so more people are going to discuss them/have different issues with them.
 

Nyoro SF

Member
The dissonance between JP speaking fans and western fans continues to fascinate me. NONE of these problems were brought up in fan communities before CS's localization, but SO MANY people take issue with them. Makes me wonder if there's some culturual dissonance going on here...

(I am an English fan who also takes issue with the
constant need to be saved and tonal dissonance of war/shonen
tropes in CS2)

Are you sure about that? Amazon and fansite reviews for the game are pretty diverse in JP. In fact, one of the top 3 Amazon reviews written for CS2 after it released, mentions this problem of excessive losing as one of its first points.

In fact, I see a lot of other notes that line up between USA and Japan, mentioning the story and other things. I think USA and Japan are actually in agreement for both the positive and negative things, there are no real differences that I noticed.

It was the same for Cold Steel 1 too.
 

Psxphile

Member
dat unused SC/3rd content

(one of those vids is an alternate/unsused take on Star Door 15, but should be considered a spoiler)

Shame that sugoroku minigame wasn't completed, could have been fun.



also this:
eEEOOBB.jpg



I feel like these things may have already been discussed before? I'm getting a weird sense of deja-vu now that I'm posting this.
 

Vamphuntr

Member
dat unused SC/3rd content

(one of those vids is an alternate/unsused take on Star Door 15, but should be considered a spoiler)

Shame that sugoroku minigame wasn't completed, could have been fun.



also this:
eEEOOBB.jpg



I feel like these things may have already been discussed before? I'm getting a weird sense of deja-vu now that I'm posting this.

Julia with long hair. I guess they wanted to use it in a flashback.
 

DPB

Member
What's the title of the 3rd's version of Fateful Confrontation? The one that plays when
you're fighting Luciola, Walter and Bleublanc.
I can't seem to find it anywhere on Youtube.
 

Tonton

Member
What's the title of the 3rd's version of Fateful Confrontation? The one that plays when
you're fighting Luciola, Walter and Bleublanc.
I can't seem to find it anywhere on Youtube.
Is it not regular Fateful Confrontation?
 

desmax

Member
What's the title of the 3rd's version of Fateful Confrontation? The one that plays when
you're fighting Luciola, Walter and Bleublanc.
I can't seem to find it anywhere on Youtube.

It's called "Maybe it was Fated"

It's on the FC & SC super arranged ost
 
Nope, I found it though. Strangely it doesn't seem to be part of the OST.

Original version from SC

3rd

Sounds like the Super Arrange version

It's an unused, different version left in the game's code
Which apparently XSEED translated on their build?

Yeah, I read that the PSP version is toned down from the PC version, so thought it might be that, but apparently the PSP one just cuts out the first half of it.
 

Tonton

Member
It's called "Maybe it was Fated"

It's on the FC & SC super arranged ost
There song in particular is pulled from the Super Arrange Sora album which is probably why it wasn't included with the 3rd's OST.
Sounds like the Super Arrange version.
Ah so they did like Holy Saint, Holy Spirit in Cold Steel 2, cool hadn't noticed

Yeah, I read that the PSP version is toned down from the PC version, so thought it might be that, but apparently the PSP one just cuts out the first half of it.
Really? I thought the problematic part would have been a certain CG near the end
 

Baliis

Member
Really? I thought the problematic part would have been a certain CG near the end

Nah they cut out the entirety of
Paradise
, not just the scene at the end. There was no way that game was hitting the rating they wanted for it if they kept any of that in.

The psp version cuts everything before
Joshua and Loewe
enter, and then cuts the image of
Renne laying on the floor
 
dat unused SC/3rd content

(one of those vids is an alternate/unsused take on Star Door 15, but should be considered a spoiler)

Shame that sugoroku minigame wasn't completed, could have been fun.



also this:
eEEOOBB.jpg



I feel like these things may have already been discussed before? I'm getting a weird sense of deja-vu now that I'm posting this.

:OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Bookmarked for latah.

I so love Falcom opening up this stuff to the outside world like with this and "8 Leaves Alisa" and "Crow-Rean" from before CS3 was revealed. Just all sorta stuff to ponder over.

It's the best thing Rean can teach : Losing.

CS1&2 spoilers:
And JOBBING. He'll job for his old man now, with Agate's party, Sara's party, and Lloyd's party (plus who knows how many more) getting put over by whooping up on him. It's how his character arc can WORK up to this point, otherwise CS2 has huge issues of jobbers getting powerups after getting wrecked many times before and the fact Rean and the crew does "OK", but it all breaks bad is ignored.

It's not the arcs the others had, but if he breaks out of this, legitimately breaks out of this, then he's a Trails Hero.
#faithinCS3

Julia with long hair. I guess they wanted to use it in a flashback.

:OOOOOOOO

I couldn't place that face, but I knew it was familiar.
 

PK Gaming

Member
31CDD9FBC70701248990B6B51CAB2695DD3344C0
FFF1C27C4F6D8B6230C2AAF34811AF5A9B0C23F0

CED1845760FABC20055A9D6D5E762A610F1C1470
006CA83744B8A7E281AE7E73F5DC6A4EA3763A30


Picture above, one of the best scenes series


Estelle's friendship with Kloe is just... the best. It's sweet and natural, and actually developed. It's not just "okay we're friends now BYE" window dressing that permeates RPGs. When Estelle and Kloe become best friends, it sticks. It's pretty rare to get good female-female friendships in gaming, which makes it stand out even more. The scene from the screenshots was also fantastic. What a great way follow up to the relationship that was set up in FC. A lesser RPG definitely would have used
Kloe's crush on Joshua as a dumb plotpoint for drama
, but the game succeeds in having Estelle and Kloe act like normal people, despite the fantasy setting.

Related, but I don't understand some of the Kloe hate. Kloe is this super well realized character, that grows and develops alongside Joshua and Estelle. She has a cliche set up, but it's a testament to the game's writing that Kloe ends up feeling like a real person.. She's not my favorite by any stretch, but to call her a bad character... no way. She's inoffensive at worst.
 

Nyoro SF

Member
Estelle's friendship with Kloe is just... the best. It's sweet and natural, and actually developed. It's not just "okay we're friends now BYE" window dressing that permeates RPGs. When Estelle and Kloe become best friends, it sticks. It's pretty rare to get good female-female friendships in gaming, which makes it stand out even more. The scene from the screenshots was also fantastic. What a great way follow up to the relationship that was set up in FC. A lesser RPG definitely would have used
Kloe's crush on Joshua as a dumb plotpoint for drama
, but the game succeeds in having Estelle and Kloe act like normal people, despite the fantasy setting.

Related, but I don't understand some of the Kloe hate. Kloe is this super well realized character, that grows and develops alongside Joshua and Estelle. She has a cliche set up, but it's a testament to the game's writing that Kloe ends up feeling like a real person.. She's not my favorite by any stretch, but to call her a bad character... no way. She's inoffensive at worst.

That IS one of the best scenes in the whole series. I assume this is your current chapter, good work and keep on rocking.
 

Oreiller

Member
Yeah, it's probably my favorite scene in the series, along with some from Third. It's so well written and nuanced, it's pretty fantastic.
It also cemented Kloe as one of my favorite characters, she doesn't have an exuberant personnality or anything but there is a lot of subtlety to her imo.
 
Kloe is nothing short of magnificent

Excellent healer , very good arts cannon , overall very usefull with the right equips as supprts.

ON the game itself , she actually has issues that make her grow and evolve as a character... She could have been generic as heck if she didn't get motivated by her beliefs in FC , then still try to struggle to not be used.

Overall kloe is a sure bet if you want some arts in there
 

jb1234

Member
I have discovered the joys of Cheat Engine. Suddenly, the battles in SC have become about five times more tolerable. Urge to play the game rising again!
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
https://twitter.com/endlesshistory/status/866485527301812224

7BhKJNh.jpg


The whole Tokyo Xanadu/Ys 8/Kiseki cross promotion is gotta be pretty awkward for the localization parties involved, right?

If all three games have content like that from the other two they will probably all three agree to keep it simple and basically treat it as regular game content instead of jumping through a bunch of extra hoops. But one of the companies might be assholes about it and then we may get none of the content in any of the three games.
 

MSMrRound

Member
Kloe is nothing short of magnificent

Excellent healer , very good arts cannon , overall very usefull with the right equips as supprts.

Yea Kloe's part in Trails 3rd so far was also pretty well done imo.

Other than healing, arts..and not forgetting...

"SIEG! TAKE 'EM DOWN!!"

Saved my bacon so many times (unless the bosses resist those...)
 
Speak of the genuine devil, I just finished Cold Steel I myself.

It's a strong and ruthless one, but I'm fine with Cold Steel's cliffhanger. Really, it only works because it's so bizarre, and even takes place in the
most mundane place for a climactic confrontation
(
a flippin' plain highway
). Thematically it wraps up some things in an abrupt, tragic way (
particularly Rean's selfish selflessness, and the kind of cruel betrayal that pisses even him off because he doesn't know where punishment will come from next
).
"LET ME STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"
is a funny but earned moment for our protagonist (maybe it's because of Chiplock getting intense at the last minute). I also like the absurdity of
Crow turning heel
, at least insofar as
Class VII knows they had enough of a connection to make any of his edgy comments seem fake or simply dishonest
.
Crow's own hesitation before committing to a Divine Knight fight tells me this much, and that's the moment when I questioned whether or he can really outsmart both Osborne and the Ouroboros operatives who have made him their chosen one
. Everything building up to the ending,
from the moment you learn about Garrelia Fortress, serves the question of how much a multi-factional conflict can build before wrecking even the most sheltered and capable young Erebonians
.
And it's funny how the best thing Rean could possibly get—a functional Divine Knight—literally expels him from Thors, mainly because Rean had no time and expectations to prepare for his true test
.

The wait for SC was still worse than a year between CS entries, that's for sure.
 

jb1234

Member
Finished SC's fourth chapter. The game's formula has gotten really old.
Go to region that I've already thoroughly explored in FC! Something goes wrong! Some Ouroboros member we haven't met yet is inevitably involved! Confront said person! Difficult battle! Enemy taunts you and then flees the scene! Rinse and repeat!

I still mostly like the game, due to the charm of the character writing (even if Estelle is significantly more irritating without Joshua around as balance) but it's hard not to feel like it's spinning its wheels, even more so than FC did because at least that game had the benefit of all its areas being fresh. Hopefully things pick up soon.
 

Thud

Member
Is this your first trails game?

Nope. Cold Steel leaves everyone in an awkward position. Probably because there is no good point to call it quits. Wouldn't even suprise me if it's done to
give Rean an excuse to travel to different places again in II
.

Love the amount of lore dropped in the game tho, definitely adds to the world building.
 

Nyoro SF

Member
I have no problems with cliffhangers as long as I know sequels are coming. Increases the hype and the mystery.

...Is it September 28th yet?
 
Yea Kloe's part in Trails 3rd so far was also pretty well done imo.

Other than healing, arts..and not forgetting...

"SIEG! TAKE 'EM DOWN!!"

Saved my bacon so many times (unless the bosses resist those...)

If someone doesn't like her character by the end of 3rd, they are bad and should feel bad.
 

desmax

Member
Finished SC's fourth chapter. The game's formula has gotten really old.
Go to region that I've already thoroughly explored in FC! Something goes wrong! Some Ouroboros member we haven't met yet is inevitably involved! Confront said person! Difficult battle! Enemy taunts you and then flees the scene! Rinse and repeat!

I still mostly like the game, due to the charm of the character writing (even if Estelle is significantly more irritating without Joshua around as balance) but it's hard not to feel like it's spinning its wheels, even more so than FC did because at least that game had the benefit of all its areas being fresh. Hopefully things pick up soon.

It's my least favorite of the franchise sorely because of that
 
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