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[squall211]

Nice thread OP. Enjoyable read.

I'm 15 hours into SC, and have barely scratched the surface of Chapter 2. I do love and appreciate how much detail has gone into crafting the world and its inhabitants. This is one of the few RPG series where I will go out of my way to talk to almost all NPCs since they almost always have something interesting to say.

And like everyone else here I really appreciate all the effort and headaches XSEED put up with in order to get this thing finally localized. Because of that, I will absolutely be picking up Cold Steel on day 1, even though I know for a fact I won't get around to playing it for many months down the road.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

It's easier to think about in Japanese as the "Kiseki" games. Trails in the Sky is the 6th Legend of Heroes title.

Legend of Heroes VI: Sora no Kiseki First Chapter (Sora no Kiseki is Trails in the Sky)
Legend of Heroes VI: Sora no Kiseki Second Chapter
Legend of Heroes VI: Sora no Kiseki the 3rd
Legend of Heroes VII: Zero no Kiseki (Trails of Zero)
Legend of Heroes VII: Ao no Kiseki (Trails of Azure)
Legend of Heroes VIII: Sen no Kiseki (Trails of Cold Steel)
Legend of Heroes VIII: Sen no Kiseki II
Legend of Heroes VIII: Sen no Kiseki III

The first 3 take place in the same nation.
The next 2 take place in Crossbell.
The next 3 after that are set in Erebonia.

Thanks!

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Oh sweet Jesus the music....oh dear me. Oh you people need this shit in your lives.

Steel Floor Blocking the Way

Leiston Fortress

Studio City of Zeiss

Hollow Light of the Sealed Land

Welcome to Le Locle!

A Fateful Confrontation

Infiltration

Silver Will (Super Arrange)

The Merciless Savior <--- Life-changingly, heart-achingly epic beyond any and all reason

Fighting Right On

Overdosing Heavenly Bliss

Because the story is given so much time to be told over the course of multiple games, the characters' growth feels authentic and happens at a natural pace. You'll never see a character change their personality with a haircut

Estelle. Fucking. Bright.

Her arc in SC turned her from a foil to other more wacky characters that set her off in snark blasts to this really, really cool woman with some deeply killer scenes.

I could go on for post after post about the theming, dialogue, and characterization in these games. They're on a level rarely touched in the medium, people don't have dialogue, they converse. The countries ain't a setting, it's a world. The people ain't mere archetypes, they are characters.

And they do this without info dumps and encyclopedia dives. Everything is on a need to know basis (you'll have a real good jist on how Erebonia is without having the Cold Steel games just from their influence on Liberl's history and people (we don't talk about Olivier ) Then, they have deep dive lore from NPCs, books, side quests, the Bracer Handbook, the manual, and more if you're like me and a voracious devourer of quality game lore.

YOU say you want "JRPGs like they used to be" and YOU say you want "JRPGs that aint all creepy and broken-minded mess" and YOU say you want quality, well, here it is!

Don't tell me how to live my life

YOU BUY TRAILS NOW.

 

[Dio]

Oh sweet Aidios the music....oh dear me. Oh you people need this shit in your lives.

Hollow Light of the Sealed Land.

Hollow Light of the Sealed Land Zanmai version

I'll add even more music onto what you've got.

Overdosing Heavenly Bliss - Trails in the Sky the 3rd

Overdosing Heavenly Bliss - Trails in the Sky the 3rd Zanmai version

Unfathomed Force - Trails of Azure

Unfathomed Force - Trails of Azure Evolution version

Trails of Zero - A Light Illuminating The Depths

Trails of Zero Evolution version - A Light Illuminating The Depths

Don't be Defeated by a Friend! - Trails of Cold Steel

Heated Mind - Trails of Cold Steel II

Phantasmal Blaze - Trails of Cold Steel II

 

[SolVanderlyn]

The music is truly a treat, especially in the latter two sets of games. Zero/Azure and Cold Steel have some truly amazing themes. It's straight up Falcom goodness all the way through. FC and SC have their share of nice tunes, too, though. Fight of the Fairies being one of these tunes.

Cold Steel II has one track in particular, Still Countryside, that almost gives off slight David Wise vibes. It reminds me a lot of Life in the Mines from Donkey Kong Country.

 

[InsaneTiger]

Good thread.

If our Suikoden Press Champion posts then it must be good.

 

[Ratrat]

As a Trails fans, I just started Suikoden 1 a few days ago. Its excellent so far and I can see the similarities,

 

[Gu4n]

Phantasmal Blaze - Trails of Cold Steel II

Phantasmal Blaze is actually an amazing arrangement of The 3rd's Final Choice. It doesn't show up in the Crossbell arc, but becomes a leitmotif throughout the Erebonia arc. I love it.

And yes, I could polish up my sketches of Zemuria and share it.

 

[Chaos17]

I liked Suikoden serie but I feel that they lost something along the way that made their games interesting.

 

[AtomskEater]

Awesome thread, more rpgs fans should play this series. It's so good and a nice dose of classic goodness yet I don't often see people talking about it! Hopefully with SC out and Steel out soon more people will notice the series, Xseed deserves success for being the only company to take a risk on these games.

I liked Suikoden serie but I feel that they lost something along the way that made their games interesting.

Y'know oddly enough as much as 5 is praised I didn't have that much fun with it. 3 was the last one I really, really enjoyed and that was accompanied with a certain level of jank found in a lot of games just starting to make the jump over to 3D. I really wish the series would get back to its roots (or even get mainline releases, the last one were spinoffs on PSP some years back), but at this point it'd be a miracle to so much as have a Xenogears-ish "perfect works" book that at least reveals how the rest of the series was planned out. ;_;

 

[Bebpo]

I liked Suikoden serie but I feel that they lost something along the way that made their games interesting.

That something was called Murayama.

I know a lot of people like V, but everything after 3 when Murayama left is a pales imo since it doesn't have that world building and single overarching grand story focus that Murayama had for his series.

 

[rockmanjoe]

My favorite jrpg series by far. The writing, characters and world are all so good!

 

[KAL2006]

Nice OP as a huge Suikoden fan you have my attention. I have heart it takes a while to get going however I didn't mind the slow introduction in Suikoden V so this shouldn't be a problem.

 

[expel]

Ahem...careful posting those youtube audio sometime the cover thumbnail pic has spoiler esp

Spoiler

cols steel 2

Oh and <3 Rixia Mao

 

[Arthea]

it's a great thread, agree with mostly everything said in OP

Suikoden is my favourite franchise of all times, it's still a king, although Trails comes close. As Suikoden games were overlooked back in day, sadly the same is with Trails.
It's such a pity.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

I love Suikoden and I love trails for very similar reasons. Suikoden still the best though. Playing SC like crazy right now. But I'm sure trails will pass suikoden, so many good ones left.

 

[Rhysser]

I do, and I want to. I'm worried about playing incomplete series though. I need closure. Do I need to wait for the third part?

 

[Arthea]

I was looking for a full (known) map of Suikoden as there is only part of it in OP, finally found

What would I give for a new Suikoden, so many places yet to explore

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Great take on what Trails derives from Suikoden.

I do, and I want to. I'm worried about playing incomplete series though. I need closure. Do I need to wait for the third part?

The 3rd takes place in both parts of Liberl and an alternate dimension (the latter for the most part), focusing on Kevin Graham (introduced in SC) a bit after the main story in FC/SC has finished. You can safely play the games available via Steam/GOG/PSN and not be left with a boiling cliffhanger. Others call it Third Chapter (a misleading title), but The 3rd's both a gaiden and the missing link between the Crossbell and Erebonia arcs of the Kiseki series.

 

[Neoweee]

Aaaand preordered.

Thanks for pushing me over the edge. I wish they'd go back and implement the battle speed-up/skip options into FC and SC, as slowness has become a dealbreaker for me.

 

[Lucreto]

Love the Suikoden series but I could not get into Trails. I tried 3 or 4 times but I can't get into it.

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

I bought Trails in the Sky during the last steam sale and I am now in the final chapter. OP is correct, the game is well made, and more importantly for me it has very good pacing. Would highly recommend.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

I feel like the Trails games being very slow and deliberate kind of kills the comparison. I still play them because there's no high effort traditional turn-based RPGs anywhere else, but I'd trade Trails for Suikoden being alive again (unless SC and Cold Steel can convince me otherwise).

 

[skLaFarebear]

Trails is some good shit. Probably the best game I've played this year and this year was full of some of the best games I've ever played.

I bought Trails in the Sky during the last steam sale and I am now in the final chapter. OP is correct, the game is well made, and more importantly for me it has very good pacing. Would highly recommend.

You haven't seen anything yet.

 

[Safeto20Scroll]

I finally started playing Trails in the sky after purchasing it earlier in the year.
10 hours in and I finally got passed the prologue

its been awhile since I've played a deep traditional JRPG

 

[Nabae]

Good topic. SC is my favorite release of 2015. That being said, with the pacing and the length, I can't imagine anyone playing FC and SC back to back and not taking issue with the first half of SC. As tempting as it is to jump right into the sequel, I do recommend that newcomers take a bit of a break in between.

 

[EricB]

As a fan of both series, I would be wary of recommending one based off of enjoyment of the other. While Suikoden and the Kiseki games do have similarities as far as world-building is concerned, to me they have different strengths. While I love the Trails games, the overall atmosphere and feeling cannot compare to Suikoden at its best (IMO of course).

So far, after playing Trails FC, up to ch 4 of SC, and part of Cold Steel (Korean version), the biggest weakness with the series compared to my favs in the genre has to be the music. It seems to win some fans here, but I played through the entire FC without really enjoying a single track as far as I can remember. Part of what made Suikoden so fantastic to me was the music. Just hearing some of the tracks from Suikoden I and II (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PajKwn18Pfk, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0or3glcLbCE anybody?) makes me feel all nostalgic - and I remember loving it the first time I heard it. Perhaps the Trails soundtrack is more of a slow burner, but I've yet to really love anything about it. In fact, I actually have an active dislike of some of it and it reminds me of Japanese convenience store music much of the time. Nothing wrong with that, but I wanted this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mhgseqsyFg

when what I got was this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRi8AsB8BP0

I guess I'm kind of playing devil's advocate here, but I say it as someone who has played Legend of Heroes 1 and Trails in the Sky FC, is currently playing SC, will buy Cold Steel 1 and 2 day one, and owns copies of both Zero and Ao in Japanese despite no language ability. I definitely like the games a lot, but I think that something very special about Suikoden is missing from the series overall. The music has a lot to do with it for me, but I don't think it is everything. The series overall has yet to impact me in the same way as Suikoden did. I hope my opinion changes as I play more. Thankfully, one big advantage Kiseki has is that games are still being made.


Despite my criticisms here, I am a fanatic of the series and would definitely recommend it to everyone - just not based off of their love of Suikoden as I feel that could (at least initially) set them up for disappointment. Not because the Trails games are inferior necessarily, but because they are different in what I feel are very significant ways.

 

[Dio]

Despite my criticisms here, I am a fanatic of the series and would definitely recommend it to everyone - just not based off of their love of Suikoden as I feel that could (at least initially) set them up for disappointment.

I posted earlier on this page some of my favorite tracks from Kiseki. You'll notice that the tracks I linked to are from Zero/Ao/CSII rather than FC/SC and the first Cold Steel.

All three of the titles are to my personal taste - as I am more of a fan of the Ys style of JDK music. Every single song I've posted on this page has stuck with me for a while after listening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6MLMmq0CRw

I mean seriously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvpT1eAzdZY

This shit is fucking awesome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CivjIKXYPO4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SJr3t7pHi8

 

[BassForever]

Been meaning to make a thread like this for awhile bravo op, trails and suikoden are both magical series.

 

[max_505]

Thanks for posting this, OP. The Trails series should definitely get more love. On the other hand, as much as I love the Trails series, I still haven't played a single Suikoden game. Maybe I'll start with 2, since that's the one I got from the PSN store I while back and just threw into the backlog.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

As a fan of both series, I would be wary of recommending one based off of enjoyment of the other. While Suikoden and the Kiseki games do have similarities as far as world-building is concerned, to me they have different strengths. While I love the Trails games, the overall atmosphere and feeling cannot compare to Suikoden at its best (IMO of course).

So far, after playing Trails FC, up to ch 4 of SC, and part of Cold Steel (Korean version), the biggest weakness with the series compared to my favs in the genre has to be the music. It seems to win some fans here, but I played through the entire FC without really enjoying a single track as far as I can remember. Part of what made Suikoden so fantastic to me was the music. Just hearing some of the tracks from Suikoden I and II (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PajKwn18Pfk, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0or3glcLbCE anybody?) makes me feel all nostalgic - and I remember loving it the first time I heard it. Perhaps the Trails soundtrack is more of a slow burner, but I've yet to really love anything about it. In fact, I actually have an active dislike of some of it and it reminds me of Japanese convenience store music much of the time. Nothing wrong with that, but I wanted this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mhgseqsyFg

when what I got was this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRi8AsB8BP0

I guess I'm kind of playing devil's advocate here, but I say it as someone who has played Legend of Heroes 1 and Trails in the Sky FC, is currently playing SC, will buy Cold Steel 1 and 2 day one, and owns copies of both Zero and Ao in Japanese despite no language ability. I definitely like the games a lot, but I think that something very special about Suikoden is missing from the series overall. The music has a lot to do with it for me, but I don't think it is everything. The series overall has yet to impact me in the same way as Suikoden did. I hope my opinion changes as I play more. Thankfully, one big advantage Kiseki has is that games are still being made.


Despite my criticisms here, I am a fanatic of the series and would definitely recommend it to everyone - just not based off of their love of Suikoden as I feel that could (at least initially) set them up for disappointment. Not because the Trails games are inferior necessarily, but because they are different in what I feel are very significant ways.

As a fellow Miki-Chang-a-phile, you should give the links in my post a go.

 

[Sumio Mondo]

Honestly, I feel Growlanser is another series Suikoden fans will like.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

As a fan of both series, I would be wary of recommending one based off of enjoyment of the other. While Suikoden and the Kiseki games do have similarities as far as world-building is concerned, to me they have different strengths. While I love the Trails games, the overall atmosphere and feeling cannot compare to Suikoden at its best (IMO of course).

I guess I'm kind of playing devil's advocate here, but I say it as someone who has played Legend of Heroes 1 and Trails in the Sky FC, is currently playing SC, will buy Cold Steel 1 and 2 day one, and owns copies of both Zero and Ao in Japanese despite no language ability. I definitely like the games a lot, but I think that something very special about Suikoden is missing from the series overall. The music has a lot to do with it for me, but I don't think it is everything. The series overall has yet to impact me in the same way as Suikoden did. I hope my opinion changes as I play more. Thankfully, one big advantage Kiseki has is that games are still being made.

Despite my criticisms here, I am a fanatic of the series and would definitely recommend it to everyone - just not based off of their love of Suikoden as I feel that could (at least initially) set them up for disappointment. Not because the Trails games are inferior necessarily, but because they are different in what I feel are very significant ways.

This is a great post. Suikoden and Trails are very different beasts. Suikoden has a more serious setting with a sweeping political theme to its story, where Trails is much more lighthearted and character focused in its storytelling. However, on the other hand, starting with the second half of SC (arguably even sooner than that), Trails becomes more heavy handed with politics and plot, which continues into the other games in the series. Like I said in the OP, it's a bit of a slow burn, but the payoff is huge. At the same time, the low key atmosphere is something unique to Trails, and gives it a sense of identity compared to other RPGs. What FC does do fantastically is lay the groundwork for the rest of the series, introducing you to the basics of its world. It's not as if FC is a borefest - far from it, as there are several segments that are quite exciting - but rather that the main plot doesn't become the high stakes affair that people might be used to until the final chapter of FC. Trails is most definitely its own thing, but it's a beautiful thing. Any fan of RPGs should give it a shot.

I do think it would be remiss not to note the similarities in how well built their worlds are, however, which is the point I'm trying to make here. I'm not trying to sell Trails as a spiritual successor to Suikoden in any way, but rather let people know that it takes a page from Suikoden's book in the sense that its world is extremely detailed and shares many recurring themes across its various games, which was a huge appeal of the Suikoden games. If you liked that aspect of Suikoden, you're likely to love the way that Trails treats its world and characters. There is most definitely some overlap in the way that their stories are told, and many Suikoden fans are likely to feel at home in that sense, despite each series boasting its own unique personality.

 

[Gu4n]

SC's plunge into darkness is actually just the start of things. The 3rd is drenched into stories that made me sick and tremble, and the Crossbell and Erebonia tell a long tale of international political enigmas.

 

[FStubbs]

While Trails has world building similar to Suikoden and has a bigger-scope arc (based on what I've seen in FC/SC anyway), it's not really like Suikoden.

I think a better comparison would be to Lunar. I've called Trails the Lunar 3 we never got.

 

[Aveyn Knight]

As somebody who got into Suikoden late and went on to play 5 games from the Trails series, I can definitely see the parallels.

While Trails doesn't have as much of a focus on politics (although it is there and grows more and more with each game) and far less characters, it's definitely filling in the gap in me that Suikoden left behind in terms of world-building and a story you can invest in.

EDIT

Man, I'd love a bigger map of the Zemurian continent.

 

[Sheentak]

Wish if ps4 had a vita emulator sounds could play these

 

[MotherFan]

Picked up the FC during the last steam sale but have not played it yet. After i finish xenoblade and tales am going to dive in.

 

[HouseofGlass]

I'm sort of torn on this topic. On the one hand, I think it's cool to introduce more people to Trails and I think there might be some crossover appeal because both series are about big expansive worlds with overarching stories and lots of details.

But on the other hand, part of the reason I started playing Trails was for that reason, and I could not be more disappointed with it in comparison with Suikoden. I'd say Suikoden 2 is one of my favorite RPGs of all time. By comparison I've played Trails in the Sky FC, SC, and Third and I would say they are "Decent", "An agonizing disappointment" and "A little better than decent" in that order.

If I had to give the big number one reason why I feel the Trails series pales in comparison to Suikoden for me personally, I think it would be that while it shares Suikoden's love of fleshing out a vibrant living world and trying to connect the whole thing over a long story arc, what it really lacks is...well, pacing and a plot that's worth caring about. I found FC's pacing dreadfully dull but as it started to pick up towards the end I found myself more and more engaged. I finished the game expecting to see SC continue this upward swing and bring the series to new heights... instead what happened what the pacing went right back to 0 and bored me for another 20 hours. And all that was in service to a plot that was so dreadfully dull and cliche that it made the whole effort feel like it wasn't worth the time I spent on it. I enjoyed Third the most of the three because the plot felt more unique and the pacing was better, but I still wouldn't say it was that amazing.

The (first three) Trails games also lack A) the willingness to kill civilians, which might seem like a silly minor point but it goes a long way to making a war feel like it has consequences and making the villains seem like they are serious about their goals. Luca Bright seems scary as shit because of what he's willing to do. No villain really matches that in the Trails universe. B) a large amount of political intrigue. I'd say there are some political details, and there's a couple very interesting scenes in SC that revolve around politics and make you question what is going on behind the scenes. But when you get right down to it, the motivations and the general thrust of the plot is a very generic one where the machinations of politicians seems like an afterthought. FC starts to build towards the idea of political elements within Crosbell but it sort of peters out and the main villains of SC are not really all that tied up in political stuff.

By comparison I would say that Suikoden I has decent pacing and although it's a flawed game in a lot of ways it still managed to do something interesting things. Suikoden II is a huge improvement and it feels like it both builds on the first game and ramps up the excitement, the political intrigue, and the depth of the characters. In the case of both games, the political motivations of the characters and the countries they live in seems to be an actual deciding factor in how the story moves along. Although the game does ultimate boil down to a lot of silly RPG stuff, it still feels like the politics and the world inform the plot instead of just provide pretty background decoration for it.

So I guess my long, rambling point is that while I think the Trails games are decent and every RPG fan should absolutely give them a try (after all, lots of people really love them and they were obviously just not for me), I just feel like the comparison to Suikoden is sort of superficial. In the end, the Trails games ARE about hugely detailed worlds. But unlike Suikoden, I'd say those worlds exist for their own sake instead of to serve an interesting plot.

 

[mikefrails]

I own both games releases in English. My only issue with starting is that whenever I'm being described how great the series is, "story driven" is always the main point of interest.

I don't mind story driven games, but how are the gameplay mechanics? I can't justify logging hours upon hours into a game that doesn't have engaging gameplay.

 

[YianGaruga]

I own both games releases in English. My only issue with starting is that whenever I'm being described how great the series is, "story driven" is always the main point of interest.

I don't mind story driven games, but how are the gameplay mechanics? I can't justify logging hours upon hours into a game that doesn't have engaging gameplay.

- Battle system is average. Nothing special, but not bad. You never have to grind since EXP scales with levels. There are ways to practically skip all normal battles if you want to. I usually only fight enemies for the item drops and currency if I want some. Bosses can be challenging and require specific strategies.

- Character customization is really neat. "Quartz" are like materia, but slightly different. Every Quartz has an effect (like + x% strength/defense/speed, higher drop chance, avoid encounters) and an elemental value. If you add a certain number of elemental points together you unlock a spell your character can use. Equipment is relatively standard but there's good hidden optional stuff that makes exploration satisfying and rewarding.

- The game has some of the best side quests out of any JRPG I've played. Amazing stuff.

But the main draw is still the characters/world building/story. Every part of the game is at least solid, and the combination is amazing.

So I guess my long, rambling point is that while I think the Trails games are decent and every RPG fan should absolutely give them a try (after all, lots of people really love them and they were obviously just not for me), I just feel like the comparison to Suikoden is sort of superficial. In the end, the Trails games ARE about hugely detailed worlds. But unlike Suikoden, I'd say those worlds exist for their own sake instead of to serve an interesting plot.

It really depends on what parts you like about Suikoden. Not everyone who loves Suikoden will like Trails (as seen by your example), but there is definitely potential.
Trails focusses more on characters and personal stories, while the politics play out in the background for the most part. What I like about Trails (in the Sky) is exactly that. It's a world with an incredible amount if extremely powerful people, and you're just a lowly Bracer who somehow got mixed up in it and has to deal with it to the best of your abilities.

The pacing is not bad. It's a slower game that focusses on your journey as a bracer for the most part. You may not like it if you expected something different, but there really is no problem with it in and of itself.

 

[Heartfyre]

Having Suikoden in a thread title when Jump Festa is ongoing is unintentionally cruel, OP.

I've had a copy of the first on my Vita for a long time, but I've found it hard to make the time for it. A great thread to convince me to move it up a few ranks in my back catalogue, though.

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

So, Suikoden is one of my favourite rpg series, and Suikoden II might even be my favourite rpg ever.

But my only experience with the Eiyuu Densetsu series is the first Legend of Heroes that they released on the PSP in the West (I think it was Tear of Vermillion), and it was so boring and generic that I literally couldn't get more than half way through. Stylistically, it doesn't seem as unique as Suikoden either; that series had such awesome character designs.

 

[Dark_castle]

Just going to repeat what I said in another Trails thread.

Why do you consider it 'definitely not for everyone'?

 

[Chaos17]

Honestly, I feel Growlanser is another series Suikoden fans will like.

Played it also, I liked it specialy when they try to connect some stories together.

I think Pc is saving under rated rpgs that on consoles didn't do well.
I hope to see more port in the futur.

 

[Shouta]

Is anything lost by jumping from TitS 3rd straight to Trails of Cold Steel? Also, what's the general consensus of the Cold Steel series compared to TitS

The 3rd acts as a bridge between Trails in the Sky and the later games. It fleshes out Sky's cast even more and sets the stage for Zero/Ao and Cold Steel by giving the player glimpses of the pieces that will be involved in those games.

Going from SC -> Cold Steel, you'll be fine. Falcom knew that their story was getting extremely complex so what they do with each game subset is write it in a manner that's accessible to players that have not played the other series. At the same time, they sprinkle a lot of stuff in the game for folks that are caught up and know what's going on. It's usually an extremely difficult thing to do but they've done it in spades.

The one exception is going from SC -> Zero. There's an event in Zero that has a direct connection to information you learn in 3rd. The event in Zero is written in a way that includes new players that haven't touched 3rd but for folks that did play 3rd, it's a very cathartic moment. Thanks to that writing though, it also works for folks that go Zero -> 3rd though the type of moment you'll get is a little different. (Don't talk about the details folks. Black bars are too tempting.)

Trails has long surpassed Suikoden for me. While I'm fond of the motifs and concepts used in Suikoden, I think Trails does pretty much everything better. It's much more apparent once you get to the games after Sky and get to see how big of a picture the series is.

 

[YianGaruga]

Why do you consider it 'definitely not for everyone'?

It's not a game that is immediately rewarding or satisfying. That's why you hear so many complaints that the pacing is bad or that it's too slow. The way Trails builds the world and the characters just isnt for everyone.

 

[Nightengale]

The one exception is going from SC -> Zero. There's an event in Zero that has a direct connection to information you learn in 3rd. The event in Zero is written in a way that includes new players that haven't touched 3rd but for folks that did play 3rd, it's a very cathartic moment. Thanks to that writing though, it also works for folks that go Zero -> 3rd though the type of moment you'll get is a little different.

Star Door #15?

 

[Shouta]

Star Door #15?

Don't talk about it. >=o

 

[Barrylocke]

Why do you consider it 'definitely not for everyone'?

It's a very dialogue heavy game for one. This is how all of that world building and great endearing characters is given to the player, with a lot of (very well written and localized dialogue). Many players are the sort that find too much of it to be a drag, so they may het bored with it.

It's also very low key, at least in the case of First Chapter and much of what Ive played in Second Chapter (close to the halfway mark). First Chapter never becomes an epic save the world from destruction game, for much of the game the stakes are "Travel the world and investigate a mysterious incident or two". I relished this because I often find these scenarios to be more interesting. You're part of a much bigger whole, a cog in a huge world that you only have but so much influence over. But many people prefer feeling like their actions are more important or impactful.

And finally the battle system bores many people. I love it its balance of turn order and positioning (I'm playing Second Chapter on Hard Mode which most people recommend you not do and enjoying myself) but some people find it to be dull and lengthy.