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The Kiseki / Trails (of the Sky/Zero/Ao/Sen/Etc) Community Thread: SPOILERTAGS OR DIE
- Thread starter Bebpo
- Start date
Haha, well, FC took me 35 hours so I'm seriously doubting SC will be twice that length given the way I play through these games. I do all the sidequests but I don't bother talking to the townspeople all that often.
That's still a pretty chunky JRPG, for sure. Wondering how long 3rd is now...
With the amount of games I am playing, no time to replay FC and SC now before 3rd >.>
Kids, let me tell you about the great JRPGs that launched around the time you were born and that it led to me forgetting almost all parenting duties.
It will be a great family story =)
Kids, let me tell you about the great JRPGs that launched around the time you were born and that it led to me forgetting almost all parenting duties.
It will be a great family story =)
Young Magus
Junior Member
I just finished p5 last night......
BACK TO THE JRPG GRIND IN A WEEK
R_thanatos
Member
only if you speedhack the game at 1.5x speed and play on easy /normal
SatelliteOfLove
Member
"...and thats how you got named Kevin..."
I knew it!
Even if you can, don't. SC is too good and long to rush through it. The 3rd will wait for you.
According to Steam my playime for FC was 45 hours, SC 76 hours. I didn't miss much at all either, even including hidden side-quests.
Dangerous1992
Member
After the slog that P5 was, i can't wait to delve into the 3rd, it looks like it's going to be among my favorites, i always love games in a series that break the conventions and try something different. And not to forget the more mature main characters are a nice change of pace
Anybody know a friend that could be interested in giving the series a try ? With FC and SC both discounted on GOG I'm thinking at throwing one more sales for Xseed to someone who could appreciate it.
No way for me to check but if that person has a decent chance to like the game it would be preferable rather than someone who just want two games for free.
No way for me to check but if that person has a decent chance to like the game it would be preferable rather than someone who just want two games for free.
encephalon
Member
I beat Legend of Heroes IV and really liked it. I wasn't expecting much, so I ended up pretty pleased. I know that it's a remake, but for what was originally a 1996 game it felt fairly sophisticated, not only in terms of writing, but in attention to detail. The game is full of particle effects and unique animations only to be used once and never seen again. For example, during a covered wagon chase you can see bits of wood fly off as they bump into each other. In another scene, a character sways as she sings. Taking their 3D style and converting it to Kiseki's 3D sprites must have been because they wanted to accomplish even more.
There are some parts I thought could be handled better in terms of the story.
I had mixed feelings about Shiroki Majo, but Akai Shizuku is a solid game and I think Kiseki fans would appreciate it. Falcom before Kiseki was not a dark age.
I have Oriuta, but I'll probably try out Legend of Xanadu (PCE) first. Edit: I took a peek and ... It doesn't follow the hefty visual upgrade that IV's remake introduced? What happened here?
There are some parts I thought could be handled better in terms of the story.
By the time Mile reaches out to Avin as a spirit, he should have already been resurrected, unless I skimmed over some crucial text. The game kills Mile two times and brings him back both times. The game would have been better off limiting it to one time or committing to a death, although the final scene where Avin reaches into the depths of the underworld to pull Mile out was done well.
I had mixed feelings about Shiroki Majo, but Akai Shizuku is a solid game and I think Kiseki fans would appreciate it. Falcom before Kiseki was not a dark age.
I have Oriuta, but I'll probably try out Legend of Xanadu (PCE) first. Edit: I took a peek and ... It doesn't follow the hefty visual upgrade that IV's remake introduced? What happened here?
Falcom definitely wasn't a dark age before Kiseki. Even before A Tear of Vermillion, there was the Brandish 2 and 3, which are still very playable to date and I feel they were too far ahead of their times. And I honestly think that even 1987's Sorcerian is still very playable (but only if you turn on the FM synth). Popful Mail's also fun, but I recommend the SNES/PCE version rather than the original PC98.
Also, I like how Cold Steel II's endgame echoed the endgame of A Tear of Vermillion. Was slightly disappointed with the final boss, but the staff roll scenes were amazing. So good.
Still, I liked Shiroki Majo better.
encephalon
Member
The battle gameplay of Shiroki Majo feels sloppy to me. I think I also prefer IV's story, though.
The final dungeon of IV reminded me of Zero no Kiseki.
Golden_Pigeon
Banned
I am asking for some clarification Trails GAF.
If i understood correctly, there is actually three series, but the middle one was not released in the West nor translated, nor there is no intention to do it ?
For those who did played it, are we missing much on the story ? How can we explain that it was not released ?
Thanks !
If i understood correctly, there is actually three series, but the middle one was not released in the West nor translated, nor there is no intention to do it ?
For those who did played it, are we missing much on the story ? How can we explain that it was not released ?
Thanks !
Simply put, there's the (a) Liberl arc, the (b) Crossbell arc and (c) the ongoing Erebonia arc.
XSEED skipped (b) primarily because the platforms of (c), Vita and PS3, were on their last legs.
Falcom also urged them to work on the games, arguing it is safe to skip (b) since (c) serves as a new entry point in the series.
XSEED states that if (a) and (c) sell good enough, they want to work on (b).
As for your question regarding the story: (b) and (c) have taken place concurrently (so far). There is conflict between (b) and (c), meaning you'll learn some things about the other without playing it -- enough to be spoiled, enough to starve for more.
They are separate, more or less self-contained stories that can take place in separate, neighbouring countries with mostly new casts of characters & conflicts more or less unrelated to what happened before (at least on the surface level), though events of other games might affect & be referenced in other games. There are some repeating themes, recurring character appearances & some references & connections to other games in subsequent games but by large the different sagas do still contain somewhat self-contained stories you can enjoy without having to have played the other sagas (though they can be seen as something growing into a bigger conflict or... thing in the long run, since there is a sinister group that has a large part in all of the games, in addition to turmoil & political scheming & supernatural threats that otherwise threaten these lands)
There's
1) Trails of the Sky trilogy that includes Trails in the Sky First Chapter, Second Chapter and The Third. The Third is releasing in about a week, so this is fully localized
2) Crossbell games Trails to Zero and Trails to Azure (or in Japanese Zero no Kiseki and Ao no Kiseki). They take place in a small (citystate?) of Crossbell. These two have NOT been localized. The reason is mostly because these are two of the biggest games in the franchise in terms of pure text to translate AND the fact that the PC versions of these two have problematic DRM crap that would need to be painstakingly removed from them to be fit of a western Steam/GOG release, Azure even more than Zero since it was never released on PC in Japan and only has a Chinese version riddled with really invasive DRM shit.
3) Trails to Cold Steel trilogy. This is the most recent one. Two of them have been released in English and the third one is still in development and hasn't even been released in Japan (will be released in Japan in Fall this year, add 12 +/- a few months until an English release, at the very least).
Trails of Cold Steel does spoil some stuff from the Crossbell games but knowledge of those really isn't necessary because the Cold Steel games take place in a different country with a new cast of characters and have a conflict of their own (with some connections to what is happening in Crossbell). Although it this franchise sinks its hooks into you, then you'll probably desperately want to experience every game in the saga, especially since most people who've played all of the games consider one or both of the Crossbell games the best in the franchise
Golden_Pigeon
Banned
Thanks you so much fam. I really like what i am playing right now so i hope that they will eventually release zero in english. Do you think the serie will eventually get out of it's niche ? If i understood well, it's a big deal in japan. It's a shame that it doesn't get more popular in the west, I think it deserve more.
I've gotten the impression that the slightly more modern look (+ waifuuuuus~) led to Trails of Cold Steel (1, at least) to do decently well for XSeed or at least noticeably better than Trails in the Sky games which have sold pitifully badly, except First Chapter on PC but that's been a part of Humble Bundles and such so I'm not sure how well it did before that. I imagine the franchise could have a good chance to increase in popularity a bit with Trails of Cold Steel I & II's PC release + Trails of Cold Steel III arriving to platform(s) that are not near-death like Vita & PS3 were in the west at the time of 1 & 2's release.
ShadowSoldier89
Member
they are getting a PC sale double dip from me just so I can hear all the added voice lines.
FC was a over 200k on steamspy before being featured in a Humble Monthly earlier this year, it was now at around 270k last I checked
I think it's been a part of Humble Bundles (not the monthly thing) or similar sites' offerings, like, 2-3 times already? Not 100% sure about that but I have some kind of memory of seeing it as a part of some bundle, like, 1-2 years ago already.
Basileus777
Member
FC sold really well before any bundling, but it also launched years ago when games got a boost from the novelty of being a Japanese game on Steam.
Don't think it was on anything other than that Humble Monthly. I think the only times a XSEED game has been in a bundle was Ys Origin in a Humble BTA some years ago and TitS on the Monthly
Tried to check isthereanydeal to check but I don't know how to use that site
Dragon1893
Member
The amount of insanely attractive female party members in CS2 is indeed quite impressive lol. It's a shame the character models don't come close to doing the artwork justice.
Gonna jump on 3rd on day 1 even though I still haven't finished CS2 and Persona 5 (not even close on either), these days playing through a game like this can take me 6 months, I wonder if I can even tackle anything else for the rest of the year while also beating these 3...
Gonna jump on 3rd on day 1 even though I still haven't finished CS2 and Persona 5 (not even close on either), these days playing through a game like this can take me 6 months, I wonder if I can even tackle anything else for the rest of the year while also beating these 3...
https://twitter.com/XSEEDGames/status/857305534583537664
guess we're getting one of these a day until the game releases
Jampsuliini
Member
Oh my god! The switch port begging is real. So it's not just GAF...
https://twitter.com/XSEEDGames/status/857305534583537664
guess we're getting one of these a day until the game releases
Oh, the port begging with this series is bad, period.
StarSketch
Banned
Yeah, they did the Zin patch already, not sure what this is.
Probs fixing behind-the-scenes stuff that might have been broken by the previous patch.
At one point, I thought there might have been some possibility of accounting for Switch for Trails of Cold Steel III down the line, given Falcom (thankfully) dropping Vita so that it couldn't hold them back from doing everything they wanted to do as it had before with CS II. But, apparently Falcom don't have any plans to support the Switch, not even for the sake of continuing to have portable versions of their games to keep Japanese consumers happy (even as lesser ports, the Vita versions of the first two sold better than the PS3 ones there).
Competition between publishers for localizing their properties has gotten greater over the years, and it seems Falcom are keen on having said publishers make PC versions of their games as part of their agreements (continuing to increase their presence on Steam would certainly help to make up for Japanese consumers' continued indifference to console gaming). If I were to guess, anyone hoping for anything other than PS4 or PC for this series specifically moving forward is quite likely wasting their time.
Basileus777
Member
Kind of inevitable when it's been tied to a bunch of niche/old platforms in the West.
Was there ever much of a push to try and get the PS3 ports released? I seem to remember reading a reason why they couldn't be, but I can't recall what it was.
Sony wasn't a fan of releasing PSP Remasters here, simply because they didn't have any trophies or anything. So it seemed like it would be an uphill battle to get them released, much like the Evolution versions on Vita would be, as well.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
Based Sara becoming more Based.
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
The opening for 3rd they showed on the stream looked really clean, and they said the source was like 480 x 360. I have no idea what she did to clean it up but the results are great.
Holundrian
Unconfirmed Member
Everyday being thankful for matching up this localization team with this series.
Thanks for the hard work to improve the experience in all of these ways.
Thanks for the hard work to improve the experience in all of these ways.
NoctisCaelum
Member
Excited for Sky 3rd. Will finish persona 5 tonight then Cold Steel 2. 3rd is the most linear in the sky series am I correct?
R_thanatos
Member
damn i finished my replay of SC last week