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[DrROBschiz]

Yeah its rough

I really want to play all the game in order but i dont think i want to wait too long on CS2

We will see

 

[Gu4n]

Honestly, I wouldn't wait with Cold Steel until a future localisation of Crossbell.

Taking many variable for granted, I personally assume that after The 3rd, XSEED will start working on Ys VIII for a late 2017 release, picking up the PS4 version along the way. At that point in time, XSEED should be able to obtain the rights for Sen no Kiseki III, for a Cold Steel III release late 2019/early 2020 -- that is, assuming the game is approximately the same size as its two predecessors. Taking Zero and Ao's size similar to SC into consideration, people don't realise that their jokes of "Zero in 2022" are certainly not implausible.

On the other hand, once The 3rd hits Steam you'll have had FOUR Trails games within one and a half year. FOUR! Players of the Japanese game have been waiting for two years, and will have to wait another year to continue.

 

[Shahed]

I was thinking of waiting to play CSII after 3rd, or even saving my second playthrough for it as well, but I'm not going to bother. Sure I'll miss out on somethings but I'm not gonna wait. Maybe if we get the Crossbell games I'll replay the Cold Steel arc if they ever re-release it on PS4 or something.

 

[coredecepts]

It's XSEED's incredible pace (4 games in 1.5yrs) that makes me think that we'll get the Crossbell games within the next 2-3 years.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

It's XSEED's incredible pace (4 games in 1.5yrs) that makes me think that we'll get the Crossbell games within the next 2-3 years.

The only problem here is that getting the Crossbell games on a viable platform will be tricky. I'm not sure if the Chinese PC versions can be used. We'll have to see.

 

[DrROBschiz]

The only problem here is that getting the Crossbell games on a viable platform will be tricky. I'm not sure if the Chinese PC versions can be used. We'll have to see.

Its a shame that the PSP fan translations seem to be at a standstill

Translating is just long tedious and tough work. Xseed does appear to work pretty fast for the volume of work they take on so an official translation down the line would be great

Fan Translators do get around the whole business and legal hurdles though

 

[coredecepts]

The only problem here is that getting the Crossbell games on a viable platform will be tricky. I'm not sure if the Chinese PC versions can be used. We'll have to see.

I have faith they'll figure it out. They're dipping into porting to PC with Senran Kagura and Little King's Story. I don't know if they are doing the port work in-house, but they're publishing.

Either way, they are expanding what they do, which I think will help get the Crossbell games out here, either by porting the PSP games to PC (that's a thing, right?) or using those Chinese PC versions, if they can get the legal stuff sorted.

It helps that Falcom seems to be behind them 100%. I think that's a key factor. It's not that XSEED is begging Falcom to let them bring Trails games over here. Falcom is pushing to make Trails a thing here too.

It's not a question of if we'll get Zero and Ao, but when.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

I don't know if they are doing the port work in-house, but they're publishing.

Both of the recent PC ports were done by programmers at Marvelous JP (working with Takaki's team at Tamsoft) and a Japanese port team XSEED tapped for Little King's Story.

 

[chaosblade]

I doubt Ys will get in the way of a Trails game. XSEED has a few more editors than they used to, having someone work on Ys while Brittany continues to work on Trails wouldn't be surprising at all. Seems like more a question of is Trails enough of a priority to jump straight into another game (probably Zero) after 3rd.

 

[thestopsign]

I just started Trails in the Sky SC and my main hope for this game is that Estelle isn't as obnoxious or stupid as she is in the first hour of this game for the rest of it.

 

[Gu4n]

I doubt Ys will get in the way of a Trails game. XSEED has a few more editors than they used to, having someone work on Ys while Brittany continues to work on Trails wouldn't be surprising at all. Seems like more a question of is Trails enough of a priority to jump straight into another game (probably Zero) after 3rd.

Editors, yes, but the games also need to be translated. The translator of Trails of Cold Steel is the same as the one who did Memories of Celceta. And Ys VIII's script is massive for an Ys game; at almost 500k characters, that's almost the size of Final Fantasy XII.

 

[aravuus]

I just started Trails in the Sky SC and my main hope for this game is that Estelle isn't as obnoxious or stupid as she is in the first hour of this game for the rest of it.

Well, she's obviously

Spoiler

heart-broken and in denial

in the beginning of SC, of course she gets better quick. Don't worry, she'll be her bubbly self again very soon.

 

[DrROBschiz]

I just started Trails in the Sky SC and my main hope for this game is that Estelle isn't as obnoxious or stupid as she is in the first hour of this game for the rest of it.

I thought that part of her mostly melted away in the first game but it was a blur.

Maybe i need to replay them or skip through a lets play again.

Obnoxious well she certainly can be but i never found her stupid

 

[chaosblade]

Editors, yes, but the games also need to be translated. The translator of Trails of Cold Steel is the same as the one who did Memories of Celceta. And Ys VIII's script is massive for an Ys game; at almost 500k characters, that's almost the size of Final Fantasy XII.

They have quite a few translators they could potentially tap. Unless they just want to keep contracting Varion for every Falcom game, but that seems pretty inefficient.

 

[omgfloofy]

They have quite a few translators they could potentially tap. Unless they just want to keep contracting Varion for every Falcom game, but that seems pretty inefficient.

We don't know if all of their translators are tapped out or not at the moment. Falcom's games aren't the only ones they translate, afterall.

There's not enough info to really do any speculation in either direction on this subject.

 

[thestopsign]

I thought that part of her mostly melted away in the first game but it was a blur.

Maybe i need to replay them or skip through a lets play again.

Obnoxious well she certainly can be but i never found her stupid

She was by far my least favorite character in the first game and the beginning of the 2nd hasn't instilled much confidence in me so far.

 

[DrROBschiz]

She was by far my least favorite character in the first game and the beginning of the 2nd hasn't instilled much confidence in me so far.

Wow we are on different spectrums then

I only didnt like her at first and now consider her one of the best female protagonists ever

 

[Gu4n]

They have quite a few translators they could potentially tap. Unless they just want to keep contracting Varion for every Falcom game, but that seems pretty inefficient.

Translations aren't homogeneous. I think one of the reasons XSEED is advancing at a reliably steady pace right now is because Varion is a hardcore Falcom fan himself; he translates series dear to him as a fan. He has a really good grasp on this complex material. What you call inefficiency is what this series needs in my eyes.

 

[coredecepts]

Translations aren't homogeneous. I think one of the reasons XSEED is advancing at a reliably steady pace right now is because Varion is a hardcore Falcom fan himself; he translates series dear to him as a fan. He has a really good grasp on this complex material. What you call inefficiency is what this series needs in my eyes.

Agreed. It definitely helps if the translators/editors/etc are also fans. They're going to be more enthusiastic and see themselves as a steward of the material rather than just a contractor/employee.

 

[DrROBschiz]

Agreed. It definitely helps if the translators/editors/etc are also fans. They're going to be more enthusiastic and see themselves as a steward of the material rather than just a contractor/employee.

If only they could have saved Cold Steel 1 from itself

I dont blame them and there is plenty of great translation and writing in there

 

[Son Of Sparda]

Any news on CSII's western release date?

 

[omgfloofy]

Any news on CSII's western release date?

It's still officially 'Fall 2016.'

 

[Son Of Sparda]

It's still officially 'Fall 2016.'

Thanks.

I hope we get a concrete date soon.

 

[chaosblade]

Translations aren't homogeneous. I think one of the reasons XSEED is advancing at a reliably steady pace right now is because Varion is a hardcore Falcom fan himself; he translates series dear to him as a fan. He has a really good grasp on this complex material. What you call inefficiency is what this series needs in my eyes.

For Trails I agree, that's basically what I meant. Him and Brittany could work on a Trails game while Ys is handled by someone else.

 

[perorist]

Started up 3rd again, in chapter 2 and just got

Spoiler

Josette.

Someone forgot to reverse her cap text for right-facing dialog cut-ins.

So I don't know if that scene with Rufina kiss feeding Kevin chocolate in his flashback was supposed to be some kind of weird fanservice, but it was the most tonally inconsistent scene I've seen in the series so far. Really weirded me out.

Other than that really enjoying the structure of the game so far. The vignettes are a great way to learn more about characters I didn't get to see as much of in previous games while bypassing the re-traversal of a world I've already walked across front to back.

Also I'm playing on normal and maybe it's just the evo version, but even without considering the no cost craft bonus turns the game seems excessively easy so far. All the story minibosses I've come across have been one-shottable in one turn with basically anyone's offensive S-Craft. Maybe I should've upped the difficulty to hard before starting.

Edit - just got into the yamaneko airship shooting minigame, this is the best lmao

 

[zakujanai]

So many enticing black bars, especially since mobile still doesn't hide images in spoiler tags so I can see who it must be about.

 

[Gu4n]

Started up 3rd again, in chapter 2 and just got

Spoiler

Josette.

Someone forgot to reverse her cap text for right-facing dialog cut-ins.

I reported the mirrored cap to Chara-Ani, but apparently they haven't been bothered enough to fix it.

Spoiler

So I don't know if that scene with Rufina kiss feeding Kevin chocolate in his flashback was supposed to be some kind of weird fanservice, but it was the most tonally inconsistent scene I've seen in the series so far. Really weirded me out.

It's supposed to be radically different, tonally. The scene gets referenced a number of times during the game because it was so different.

Spoiler

Other than that really enjoying the structure of the game so far. The vignettes are a great way to learn more about characters I didn't get to see as much of in previous games while bypassing the re-traversal of a world I've already walked across front to back.

Also I'm playing on normal and maybe it's just the evo version, but even without considering the no cost craft bonus turns the game seems excessively easy so far. All the story minibosses I've come across have been one-shottable in one turn with basically anyone's offensive S-Craft. Maybe I should've upped the difficulty to hard before starting.

Edit - just got into the yamaneko airship shooting minigame, this is the best lmao

The 3rd Evolution, like its two predecessors, is a mess gameplay-wise. The first few chapters are ridiculously easy to the point that the most feared boss fight in the series by Japanese players becomes a complete joke, then in the latter half bosses become massive HP sponges that take ages to beat because even your strongest Arts hardly do any damage. In the end, to save the game from becoming a drag itself, I resorted to equipping a quartz that raising your ATS the lower your HP is. I reduced Klose's HP to ~100, having Estelle insta-cast Earth Guard/Wall (yes, that's possible) on her so she could fire at max. ATS. And then someone 50% heal AT bonuses become your worst enemy.

This is exactly why the plea for the Evolution versions make my skin crawl; they're bad versions of brilliant games. You wouldn't want to play Brandish on PC-Engine while a PC-9801 version exists, now would you?

 

[aravuus]

You wouldn't want to play Brandish on PC-Engine while a PC-9801 version exists, now would you?

Hell of a comparison lol

Were the Evo versions done by a completely different team or something? Weird how much they seem to have fucked up.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

I wish there was a way to add Evo voices to PC/PSP releases.

 

[Gu4n]

Hell of a comparison lol

Were the Evo versions done by a completely different team or something? Weird how much they seem to have fucked up.

Kadokawa/Chara-Ani handled the publishing of all Evolution versions, but they changed developers with the Sora arc.

I wish there was a way to add Evo voices to PC/PSP releases.

Plenty of talented hackers out there how are currently looking into backporting the voices into the Steam version. I believe the Evolution versions make use of the same voice engine as Ao, meaning with some technical wizardry it's certainly within the realm of possibilities. The problem so far was getting access to the actual sound files, this proved to be an easy task thanks to the recent Vita hack.
_

Also, during data-mining The 3rd Evo I found re-drawn visuals of that censored door. They even added censorship within the images, yet the door is the same censored version as the PSP game. To me it seems there had been plans to include the full door episode at one point during development.

 

[preta]

Kadokawa/Chara-Ani handled the publishing of all Evolution versions, but they changed developers with the Sora arc.

Plenty of talented hackers out there how are currently looking into backporting the voices into the Steam version. I believe the Evolution versions make use of the same voice engine as Ao, meaning with some technical wizardry it's certainly within the realm of possibilities. The problem so far was getting access to the actual sound files, this proved to be an easy task thanks to the recent Vita hack.
_

Also, during data-mining The 3rd Evo I found re-drawn visuals of that censored door. They even added censorship within the images, yet the door is the same censored version as the PSP game. To me it seems there had been plans to include the full door episode at one point during development.

Any chance you could upload the re-drawn parts of the door? And video of the door itself? I'm curious now.

 

[Gu4n]

Any chance you could upload the re-drawn parts of the door? And video of the door itself? I'm curious now.

Shocking spoilers for The 3rd: http://imgur.com/a/XStfQ

As for the door, it's the same as the PSP version. If you only know the PC version, the censored version doesn't start until the raid.

 

[preta]

Shocking spoilers for The 3rd: http://imgur.com/a/XStfQ

As for the door, it's the same as the PSP version. If you only know the PC version, the censored version doesn't start until the raid.

Wow. They went further with the censorship than I would have expected, plus the atmosphere is kind of lessened by the general lightening of the first two images. Are the fire effects still there ingame?

 

[Gu4n]

Wow. They went further with the censorship than I would have expected, plus the atmosphere is kind of lessened by the general lightening of the first two images. Are the fire effects still there ingame?

Yes, though not as intense as I remember them from the PC version.

To "compensate" for the censorship, Chara-Ani received the script of the uncensored door from Falcom which you can look at in one of Chara-Ani's stores. I really had hoped they would've sticked with the original version, especially since both Ao Evo and SC Evo were CERO C rated (all others, both vanilla and Evo, are B).

 

[Glix]

Sorry if this has been answered, i tried to read through the last few pages but everything is so spolier tagged and stuff...

Anyway, I'm about to finish TitS and I want to know if I should play SC or Cold Steel next. I own them both.

Thanks!

 

[Gu4n]

Sorry if this has been answered, i tried to read through the last few pages but everything is so spolier tagged and stuff...

Anyway, I'm about to finish TitS and I want to know if I should play SC or Cold Steel next. I own them both.

Thanks!

SC is the second half of TitS (FC).

 

[Glix]

SC is the second half of TitS (FC).

Hehe, yeah I'm aware. But I mean, I'm gonna play Cold Steel before Third Chapter right?

So I figured if I am playing cold steel in between chapters maybe it fits between 1 and 2 nicely or something? I know very little about this series.

Or am I supposed to wait for third chapter before even starting cold steel? Why would they release them in that order then??

Oh, also.... I FUCKING LOVED playing TitS. I was afraid I couldn't make it through an old school rpg, its been a long time since I have (DS release of Chrono Trigger is one of the last I remember). As an adult my time is so limited now. But the game is really really good.

 

[Aaronrules380]

Hehe, yeah I'm aware. But I mean, I'm gonna play Cold Steel before Third Chapter right?

So I figured if I am playing cold steel in between chapters maybe it fits between 1 and 2 nicely or something? I know very little about this series.

Or am I supposed to wait for third chapter before even starting cold steel? Why would they release them in that order then??

Oh, also.... I FUCKING LOVED playing TitS. I was afraid I couldn't make it through an old school rpg, its been a long time since I have (DS release of Chrono Trigger is one of the last I remember). As an adult my time is so limited now. But the game is really really good.

Third is more loosely connected to the other sky games as opposed to the very close and direct connection most of the trails games have to others in the same group (Ie, sky games, crossbells ones, and Cold Steel games)

Trails in the sky 1 and 2 are pretty much a complete, if somewhat open ended story that lead into the third and the other games in the series. You could play Cold Steel after trails in the sky fc, but I'd recommend going into sc first to finish the story, especially since playing cold steel will spoil you on one of my favorite twists of SC

 

[Gu4n]

Hehe, yeah I'm aware. But I mean, I'm gonna play Cold Steel before Third Chapter right?

So I figured if I am playing cold steel in between chapters maybe it fits between 1 and 2 nicely or something? I know very little about this series.

Or am I supposed to wait for third chapter before even starting cold steel? Why would they release them in that order then??

Oh, also.... I FUCKING LOVED playing TitS. I was afraid I couldn't make it through an old school rpg, its been a long time since I have (DS release of Chrono Trigger is one of the last I remember). As an adult my time is so limited now. But the game is really really good.

There is a reason it's called 'The 3rd' and not 'The Third Chapter'. This might sound like nitpicking, but it really is a third Trails in the Sky (starring new character you meet soon in SC) instead of Estelle. So yes, SC first and Cold Steel next is good. If by the game you're done The 3rd is out, pick up that one before Cold Steel II -- hoping I didnt confuse you even further there.

Funny you make mention of Chrono Trigger; this series regularly reaches the brilliance of Chrono Trigger, even though it's far, far longer!

 

[coredecepts]

We're getting 3rd after Cold Steel 1 and 2 because of a bunch of reasons.

Mainly: We got Cold Steel before 3rd because the CS games are on PS3 and Vita, and if we're going to get these games at all, they needed to be released ASAP. The PS3 and Vita aren't getting any younger. So Cold Steel took precedence over 3rd and the Crossbell games.

And it seems like Trails FC and SC did well enough on PC to justify bringing over 3rd.

 

[preta]

Hehe, yeah I'm aware. But I mean, I'm gonna play Cold Steel before Third Chapter right?

So I figured if I am playing cold steel in between chapters maybe it fits between 1 and 2 nicely or something? I know very little about this series.

Or am I supposed to wait for third chapter before even starting cold steel? Why would they release them in that order then??

Oh, also.... I FUCKING LOVED playing TitS. I was afraid I couldn't make it through an old school rpg, its been a long time since I have (DS release of Chrono Trigger is one of the last I remember). As an adult my time is so limited now. But the game is really really good.

FC and SC are essentially two halves of one larger game. The 3rd (not Third Chapter) is not another direct continuation of that story, but more of a bridge between that arc and the later games in the series. In an ideal world, you'd play 3rd before Cold Steel, but it's not necessary. You should definitely play SC before Cold Steel though.

 

[perorist]

3rd, end of chapter 3 boss

Spoiler

Holy shit this must be what bosses feel like when I use Kevin. I may have made some bad choices and put the more useless team members on Ries' squad. I've got Tita, Josette, Klaudia, and accidentally let Tita and Klaudia die to an enemy's death-counterattack so their CP gauges are empty right before the fight.

Kevin can get grail sphere off (then full heal) before I kill anyone and the death sluggers generally stun 2-3 party members at once on their turn. They can also OHKO poor Tita by running her over when buffed. Feels like I came in unprepared and am frantically trying to pick up the pieces. Not sure what I should do other than try again after grinding up Tita and Klaudia's CP gauges again or pray for zero craft turns to come up before Kevin gets grail sphere off for the first time.

 

[omgfloofy]

3rd, end of chapter 3 boss

3rd spoilers! Relevant to the previous spoiler.

Spoiler

I did this in Nightmare not too long ago, and the big piece of advice for fighting it on Nightmare will help you out on normal, too. Force the boss to his second form by hitting him with everything you've got right from the start.

In my case, I hit him with food, then plowed through with S-Crafts, and left Kloe there to heal in an emergency. (My party was Ries, Kloe, Joshua, and Josette.)

If you want, I can provide a link to my youtube video to see how I ended up doing it on Nightmare if it helps for you.

 

[perorist]

3rd spoilers! Relevant to the previous spoiler.

Spoiler

Completely forgot about food, although he still uses grail sphere even in his second form I think. Either way ended up grinding Kloe's CP gauge back to max and switching her S break from the healing one to sanctus nova. Turns out it AOE one-shots the death sluggers since her ATS was so high from accessories ┐('～`&#65307┌

Fight was pretty manageable after that.

 

[Glix]

Thanks so much for clearing that all up, guys (and gals)!!

Alright gonna blow through the rest of FC and then jump into SC!

 

[perorist]

3rd, star door

Just opened the star door with the

Spoiler

history of the salt pillar incident.

Not sure if this was the same in the original graphic but I love how someone at falcom put in a bit of effort writing some engrish text and then just said fuck it and started mashing "asdfjklasdfjasdf" on the keyboard for the rest.

Spoiler

http://i.imgur.com/ANh9BZy.jpg

Spoiler

Sun door 3 - I'm dying here

 

[zakujanai]

Thanks so much for clearing that all up, guys (and gals)!!

Alright gonna blow through the rest of FC and then jump into SC!

I understand now how you could even ask about skipping SC. Once you see how FC ends there's no way you'll want to do anything other than immediately start up SC.

 

[Fruity Insanity]

Spoiler

Sun door 3 - I'm dying here

Normal, Hard, or Nightmare?

Shocking spoilers for The 3rd: http://imgur.com/a/XStfQ

As for the door, it's the same as the PSP version. If you only know the PC version, the censored version doesn't start until the raid.

Hnnnnnng.
I'm mad.
Chara-Ani, why.

...At least XSEED will keep the original...

Do you know if the script for the censored portions were voiced, too?
Or did they just re-draw the CGs and leave it at that?

 

[omgfloofy]

Just opened the star door with the

Spoiler

history of the salt pillar incident.

Not sure if this was the same in the original graphic but I love how someone at falcom put in a bit of effort writing some engrish text and then just said fuck it and started mashing "asdfjklasdfjasdf" on the keyboard for the rest.

Since I do UX/UI design, I think it's hysterical. It's like when I'm trying to put stuff together and I'm all 'OHSHIT GET ME SOME LIPSUM, STAT'

I am guilty of doing exactly what they did in that screenshot- I've only done it TONS of times. rofl

 

[perorist]

Normal, Hard, or Nightmare?

Not the difficulty, the minigame start menu graphic. So good.

Spoiler

http://i.imgur.com/CuUn4jX.jpg