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The Kiseki / Trails (of the Sky/Zero/Ao/Sen/Etc) Community Thread: SPOILERTAGS OR DIE
- Thread starter Bebpo
- Start date
Most English fans played Cold Steel already and the third isn't even out yet, so it's certainly not an uncommon path to take. If you're interested in understanding more references you can always play the third later.
And yes, it's a PC only release for us.
Golden_Pigeon
Banned
All right thanks !
Golden_Pigeon
Banned
All right maybe i ll do this, maybe it s better to have full continuity of event.
I actually like Millium, but no to this. Definitely not.
As for the Thors uniforms, they were alright minus the puffy sleeves for the girls' jackets. The summer uniforms were a bit better.
StarSketch
Banned
My gripe with the uniforms is that the girls seem to have only that jacket, while the guys at least have the vests (even if only two people actually wear them)
Looks like it.
They did. I checked.
Golden_Pigeon
Banned
Does the games are updated as well on VITA and PSP ?
Or steam version is far more updated ?
Or steam version is far more updated ?
Pellegri Testament
Member
The games are finished being updated on PSN and have been for well over a year. They don't see enough profit on those versions to keep having to pay Sony so they can patch the games.
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
More accurately, they have never been patched. Only the PC version has had script updates. The text for FC PSP is still outdated and very inconsistent with more recent releases and the PC versions.
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
It's basically the same system in SC and 3rd with some balance changes and minor tweaks.
Having not played Cold Steel, I'm actually skeptical of the changes in those games since it sounds like they strip away everything interesting about the orbment system in place of more of a materia knock-off system.
There are good things about the Orbment System which CS removed, but there are also a ton of improvements they added to make it not a pain in the ass to use. Overall it's an improvement in CS at the a loss of uniqueness. I hear that the Orbment System in Zero/Ao is an inbetween that is the best of both worlds, but I guess it was still too "complicated" for the mainstream audience Falcom wanted to court.
StarSketch
Banned
Having played both FC and CS1, I like that the Element Math in FC allows you to have much longer lists of spells, as well as stat boosting. There are some characters I have in CS who don't have a lot of arts because they've got stat quartz on with no spells attached to them. I may just be playing CS wrong though.
Basileus777
Member
The orbment system in FC/SC was neat, but really tedious anytime you wanted to change orbments and had to spend time scrolling through menus and redoing the math. Redoing your whole party was work. I didn't miss the old system in CS.
Though the quartz system in the Cold Steel games is simplified compared to the Sky games, it's not something that bothered me all that much, particularly when taking the incorporation of Master Quartz (first seen in Ao, IIRC) into account. Back in something like FC, I would say that combat was far more dependent upon the use of Arts compared to both CS I and II, which had much to do with how underpowered Crafts were and how slowly CP built back then. Crafts were generally stronger and more versatile by the CS games, with CP building much faster and most S-Crafts being more worth the expenditure (I still couldn't believe that there used to be S-Crafts that only hit ONE target back in FC).
While the more complex setups for quartz could be interesting, I don't really miss them, and overall prefer Cold Steel's streamlined approach (though there was a bit more thought to how it worked in CS II, which was good). Having Sepith Mass to sell off instead of having to decide between cash or new quartz/slot unlocks was also appreciated.
While the more complex setups for quartz could be interesting, I don't really miss them, and overall prefer Cold Steel's streamlined approach (though there was a bit more thought to how it worked in CS II, which was good). Having Sepith Mass to sell off instead of having to decide between cash or new quartz/slot unlocks was also appreciated.
It's IP locked on both Vita and PS4, I'm afraid.
hosannainexcelsis
Member
There is nothing good about the Cold Steel orbment system. The battle system balance wants you to just S-Craft everything anyway.
Basileus777
Member
You're conflating two different things.
I enjoy both orbment set ups for different reasons.
FC/SC's orbment system was all about progression. You got access to more powerful orbments as you progressed, and you could feel your characters slowly get stronger. You could sometimes do stuff like early White Gehanna on Joshua, or hook up everyone with Earth Wall, but it was ultimately a balanced system. The best part is that the game didn't demand optimization so you didn't NEED to have the perfect set up for each character. The downside is that character art setups felt a bit homogeneous at times.
CS/CS2's orbment system was about instant gratification. Here, progression is skewed due to the ease of synthesizing powerful quartz. What this meant is that you could completely wreck the game's balance if you wanted to by making a bunch of action/impede quartz. Hell, you didn't even need to do that to break the game, since there were so many blatantly overpowered quartz in the game. Still, that had its own appeal, and building the "right" set up for each character never felt so good. The quartz system lended itself really well to character building. Also, I can't think of an RPG where I felt so excited to open a chest, lol.
FC/SC's orbment system was all about progression. You got access to more powerful orbments as you progressed, and you could feel your characters slowly get stronger. You could sometimes do stuff like early White Gehanna on Joshua, or hook up everyone with Earth Wall, but it was ultimately a balanced system. The best part is that the game didn't demand optimization so you didn't NEED to have the perfect set up for each character. The downside is that character art setups felt a bit homogeneous at times.
CS/CS2's orbment system was about instant gratification. Here, progression is skewed due to the ease of synthesizing powerful quartz. What this meant is that you could completely wreck the game's balance if you wanted to by making a bunch of action/impede quartz. Hell, you didn't even need to do that to break the game, since there were so many blatantly overpowered quartz in the game. Still, that had its own appeal, and building the "right" set up for each character never felt so good. The quartz system lended itself really well to character building. Also, I can't think of an RPG where I felt so excited to open a chest, lol.
I think the actual interface is clearly better. It's much clearer what does what, and how spells work. In terms of the actual Orbment customization, it's definitely a step back.
Mr.Deadshot
Member
Thanks for the information. Another reason to start this over on PC instead of go on with my physical PSP-version (I am only 10 hours in).
Any chances of a trilogy/complete collection-pack on Steam? Or even a physical PC-release?
Physical PC release, no way in hell. During the last Xseed stream they said they'll probably look to make a package but it's not gonna be for the 3rd release it's gonna be down the line.
XSEED's PC version is the superior version of the game by far. Unless the lack of portability is an absolute deal breaker for you, I see no reason to not play that version. The terminology corrections when going into SC (PC or PSP) would be confusing coming from FC PSP and you would be ending up on PC with The 3rd anyway -- might as well make your carry-overs count, especially for The 3rd.
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
Brittany said they plan to do a bundle for the games on Steam after 3rd is out, but it didn't sound like it would be an immediate thing.
BassForever
Member
Considering I've seen people get to the end of sky sc and not at all understand how orbment was suppose to work I feel they had to simplify it for the masses.
To me, one of the worst parts of the Orbment system was that in FC there weren't even colored lines -- and FC is where you're first learning the system, after all.
I later added a feature to the English PC version that colored the lines, so that it would be more like SC.
I think that helps the learning curve for FC a great deal.
It's still a bit "impenetrable" if you don't manage to grasp the basics at first, though.
Cold Steel's is certainly much more "accessible" for a new player.
I later added a feature to the English PC version that colored the lines, so that it would be more like SC.
I think that helps the learning curve for FC a great deal.
It's still a bit "impenetrable" if you don't manage to grasp the basics at first, though.
Cold Steel's is certainly much more "accessible" for a new player.
ShadowSoldier89
Member
Cold Steel's orbment is so boring compared to FC/SC. Coming up with that combination to get the spell you want with the stats you want was a great feeling.
I can't believe people had so many issues learning the orbment system. Cold Steel works but it drops a part that was more strategic, took me like 5 minutes and I got it, and I don't consider me smarter or anything like that. It was a huge drawback for me back when I started Cold Steel but I got over it. Crafts and S-Crafts vastly exceed Arts damage, hopefully they balance it out a bit better in CS3.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Though I know someone that, by act 3 in Cold Steel II, they were able to break 200k damage on a regular basis with Emma casting various arts due to the orbment setup they did. Arts can easily be just as broken with the right combination of accessories, quartz, and master quartz.
You're the bestest. <3
hosannainexcelsis
Member
I just mean Cold Steel is balanced in such a way that extensive customization becomes pointless, because the game wants you to break it instead of perfecting the system. Thus the orbment system from FC/SC becomes unnecessary, but that's a sign of a step back in depth for the overall combat.
Indeed.
Holundrian
Unconfirmed Member
Going to be blasphemous here, not saying I like the CS orb system more but there's something to be said for the freedom of having access to single super high level arts without having them require prerequisite specific quartz lines. I can easily see a system that sticks with what CS does and adding more depth in other ways that I might prefer.
Basileus777
Member
The customization is how you break it. CS doesn't make tweaking orbments pointless at all.
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
For real. Love the dedication to making the games better.
What kind of monster doesn't like Fie? I am confused and outraged.
It was much appreciated!
Are you talking about Wandering in the Darkness, maybe? I might be remembering things wrong, it's been a while
That's the one! I was going through a playlist but couldn't find it.
Great track by the way. Not a big fan of the ost so far, but there a a few standouts.
Yeah it's one of my favorites
I think it's probably the weakest soundtrack from the localized games but it's still fairly good imo
My best friend absolutely reviles this piece, haha. I like to randomly send it to him just to piss him off.