Yeah, okay. That's good to hear. I was hoping the pacing would be more even than in FC. Thanks.
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Trails in the Sky Second Chapter out October 29th on PC and PSP
- Thread starter GameE
- Start date
Yeah, okay. That's good to hear. I was hoping the pacing would be more even than in FC. Thanks.
TheyTookOurJobs
Member
I never beat TitS 1. Gotta get on that.
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
That's not very specific, since that's pretty much the "hub" of Chapter 3. You could be either at the very beginning or very end of the chapter, or anywhere between. There's only one more chapter after that, but it's the biggest one by a big margin.
Best idea might be to make a decision based on how much of the game you remember.
Benzychenz
Member
Mmm, I think I'd like to go back to First Chapter on my Vita rather than my physical PSP copy, but it's $45 on the AU store which is too much for me to double dip on.
Anyone know if it goes on sale often?
Anyone know if it goes on sale often?
I am trying to find a fairly detailed story synopsis for the first game and am failing. I remember some stuff, but it's been 3 years, and I could use something to jog my memory and see if it would be worth diving back into the game. If this was a few years back, I would restart without hesitation, but 26 hours of gaming is now like 2-3 weeks for me. Kids take up a lot of your free time
If anyone has a link to a good synopsis, I would gladly accept it.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
I am trying to find a fairly detailed story synopsis for the first game and am failing. I remember some stuff, but it's been 3 years, and I could use something to jog my memory and see if it would be worth diving back into the game. If this was a few years back, I would restart without hesitation, but 26 hours of gaming is now like 2-3 weeks for me. Kids take up a lot of your free time
If anyone has a link to a good synopsis, I would gladly accept it.
Here ya go: keep going from here till you don't remember it.
Thanks! That should help a bunch.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
Is Sophisticated Fight still the regular battle theme in SC? The Zanmai arrange would be perfect for replacing it if so, as I need in-game hype and stuff.
Brawly Likes to Brawl
Member
SC uses a song called Streptioso Fight. I don't that has a good remix yet.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
Yeah, it seems like JDK and the Band have forgotten about this one, and there's already a Sora no Kiseki Zanmai album out.
I can't wait to hear Fate of the Fairies in-game again.
Barrylocke
Member
Well the Evolution version coming out on the Vita will have its own newly arranged soundtrack. You can always pick and choose songs you like from that OST and put them into the PC version. Although that won't be out until December 10th...
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
FC Evo is all over the place in terms of arrangement quality, which is why I don't count on it bringing me a better or worse version. Besides, the new track still has to be converted to .OGG and set to loop according to the game's specifications.
cosmicblizzard
Banned
So is SC less boring and more eventful than FC? It ended just as it was in the process of getting compelling.
theofficefan99
Junior Member
Really sucks how I lost interest in SC because I don't have a gaming PC, nor do I have any space on my 2006 PSP model to download it.
From what I've heard, absolutely. That's a general criticism I've seen lobbed at most of the multi-chapter Trails games from those that've played the Japanese games. Cold Steel apparently runs into similar issues. Part 1 is a pretty damn slow introduction to the story, but the later parts really turn it up and pay everything off.
Nightengale
Member
FC is pretty much a 30 hours prologue. With that being said, don't except SC to be a 80 hour long rollercoaster from start-to-end. It's still a slow burn (faster than FC though), except the stakes are much higher across the board, instead of "Joshua/Estelle resolves small incidents in small towns to earn their Bracer cred."
First-parter Kiseki games are actually all subject to the same criticism, in general (FC, Zero, Cold Steel 1) of varying degrees. The reality of it is that the 1st game isn't too bothered in trying to sell you a grand epic, but rather flesh out the world/characters in a slow, methodical way first before throwing you into the frying pan.
Admiral Woofington
Member
But I liked earning my bracer cred.
Nightengale
Member
To be honest, I could play 200+ hours of "small incident slice-of-life" charming Trails in the Sky. I massively enjoyed the first 40 hours in Trails in the Sky, and the first 15 hours of Suikoden V.
But I also understand why a lot of people aren't excited by them "slow build-ups".
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
If you have any PC from the last decade or so you can probably play it. The minimum requirements are 2001-ish hardware, recommended isn't much more than that.
Admiral Woofington
Member
Same. In fact I tend to love so many jrpgs just fine before the grim dark world ending fuck everything plot begins.
I just want people having adventures and like growing as characters.
DonMigs85
Member
Yep, a mere Pentium III, 512MB RAM and 32MB graphics card. Even a Netbook from 2008 should run it fine.
FrenchMovieTheme
Member
wish the first one would go on sale for psp!
It's still pretty slow and boring.
cosmicblizzard
Banned
Well damn, now I'm worried about Cold Steel. That sucks :/
Anyway, good to know the stakes are raised here. I seriously had to force myself through FC. Slow world building, slice of life and low-scale conflicts are not my thing.
Also, is there more variety in battle? That was also a complaint I had. The battle system itself was fantastic (anything similar to Grandia is), but I felt like there really weren't enough techniques/magic/etc.
Nightengale
Member
I'm speaking off ancient memory here... There is more variety in SC, but I don't recall there being sizable, tangible updates. The core of it is pretty much still the same.
Leaps of combat system improvements come from shifts to the new duologies, so Zero/Cold Steel are much improved over Trails.
theofficefan99
Junior Member
I think I'll just start off with Cold Steel. Managed to play the Japanese demo and even though I had no clue what I was doing, I was having a blast. I'd love to play Zero and Ao but sadly, I don't think I ever will.
Ultimadrago
Member
Yeah, I anticipate, yet don't empathize with the sentiment of FC being 'unbearable in its slowness' myself. Before I played the game a few months back, all the criticism I heard were horror stories about how slow FC was and it made me initially hesitate getting into it seeing how much enthusiasts on GAF relied on the "writing and characters" without going into details of the combat or action. But I came to find nothing less than pleasure getting to see the characters interact, reading the various little books, talking to NPCs that said different statements after each mission and watching those elements come all together.
Don't get me wrong, the combat still isn't very notable. However, with the manner in which the story presents itself, the pacing was fine.
max_505
Member
Same here as well. A lot of forum posts tell the player to wait until the school play before the game really picks up, which is true, but that didn't apply to me. In my experience, the game was already fun (albeit slow) at the start and it got a lot better when Olivier appeared in Chapter 1.
Can't wait to see that blonde-haired buffoon again.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
FC suffers less from giving you Crafts/Arts/items worth using in battle vs. the dearth of complex encounters and bosses compared to something like Grandia or, presumably, SC. I still greatly enjoy the game's fights, but I only stopped noticing the slow battle animations while I was thinking of how to beat the potentially unwinnable boss in chapter 4. Meanwhile slowing things down and focusing on more subtle writing (erring on Tolkien levels of gratuity) makes FC's cast a lot more well-developed than their tropes would suggest, and I wish more players could entertain the idea that you don't need a wiz-bang-fast plot to have big stakes and conflict at the essential level.
Well damn, now I'm worried about Cold Steel. That sucks :/
Apparently it's even worse with Cold Steel as a good chunk of that focuses on anime school drama. Reaction to Part 2 is that it absolutely pays that off and makes Cold Steel 1 worth slogging through. Defiantly seen CS2 called one of the best games in the series.
Nightengale
Member
I'd say a problem with FC's criticism of its pacing/story beats is the difficulty to shake away the core the perception of what it is, in that it's not a story about a grand epic, but a teenager coming-of-age-story, with a sequel hook.
I'm not applying this as a blanket statement, so forgive me if it sounds rude to you, but I feel like some people are overly focused on what FC is not for 80% of the game, and can't look at what those 80% of the game actually is.
I'm not applying this as a blanket statement, so forgive me if it sounds rude to you, but I feel like some people are overly focused on what FC is not for 80% of the game, and can't look at what those 80% of the game actually is.
Chaosblade mentioned that this will run on virtually any PC, which is true, but I'd also like to point out that not having any space on your PSP is an easily remediable problem too -- you just need to buy another memory stick! Memory Stick Pros aren't as common as they used to be, but an 8 GB stick should still be dirt cheap, and likely won't pose much of a problem at all to find online.
Really, there's likely no reason you couldn't play EITHER version of the game, as they're both fairly accessible.
-Tom
BassForever
Member
Golden Sun does establish the big stakes very early on though so even if large chunks of the game are still slower paced and smaller stories that build a bigger world you always know your goal is stop the bad guys from lighting the lighthouses to save the world. Trails "get your bracer license and find your dad" really isn't the same. Of course just from the trailer for sc and ending of fc even if sc has a slow building world (which I hope for) the stakes are better established from the start which should help some people get over that feeling of the opening being slow.
Nightengale
Member
thekiddfran
Member
Christ this is great news, I only started the first game though so I need to finish that!
The computer I had in the early 2000s exceed the minimum required specs for FC.
Minimum:
OS: Windows XP
Processor: Pentium III 550 MHz
Memory: 512 MB RAM
Graphics: 32 MB VRAM, 3D accelerator compatible w/ DirectX 9.0c
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Hard Drive: 3 GB available space
Sound Card: Compatible with DirectX 9.0c
What are your specs?
skLaFarebear
Member
People can call FC's early game slow. I just appreciate the fact that it gives me time to understand and grow to like the characters without having them quickly thrown into dramatic situations with me wondering why I should be giving a fuck.
FC was one of the few games where it just nice that they would just throw cutscenes in there of the main characters just eating food or sitting on a bench just to take in the ocean/sun. If you really feel the need for climactic events to constantly be happening to avoid being "bored", well all I can say is that I just honestly can't sympathize with that feeling, especially when I thought the characters were interesting enough on their own to drive the game forward through the points of nothing major happening.
FC was one of the few games where it just nice that they would just throw cutscenes in there of the main characters just eating food or sitting on a bench just to take in the ocean/sun. If you really feel the need for climactic events to constantly be happening to avoid being "bored", well all I can say is that I just honestly can't sympathize with that feeling, especially when I thought the characters were interesting enough on their own to drive the game forward through the points of nothing major happening.
Nightengale
Member
Especially when the core duo is a bunch of... gasp! "teenagers!" Teenagers in JRPGs, teh horror!
If anything, something like FC is one of the stronger executions of what it means to employ young characters that are definitively young in JRPGs.
Adventures befitting of their age, the fact that an older, more experienced is always present to give them some guidance and story-beats that never go above the realm of "why are teenagers saving the world?" Even the final beats of FC, where it's about saving the country didn't revolve around them, but they just so happened to be involved in a story-beat that involved more capable, stronger adults in a larger capacity. It's for all accounts, a very "believable" teenager story set in a fantasy world... for most parts.
Yes, that means a slower story, but honestly, a more epic story in FC's situation, with Joshua/Estelle's background and character as rookie Bracers would've been "less" realistic.
Heck, I think one of the early parts of SC is probably going to be divisive to some people, in consideration of this point as well. SC Spoiler
The fact that Estelle has to undergo "training"
Am I the only person who thought FC wasn't a slow story at all? I thought it had a nice pace to it. The only part that really dragged a little for me was the Ruan + orphanage + school part.
Now if you (foolishly) compare it to an Ys game, yeah, it's pretty slow.
What I'm learning from this is that people need to read more books. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Now if you (foolishly) compare it to an Ys game, yeah, it's pretty slow.
What I'm learning from this is that people need to read more books. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Nightengale
Member
Recent Ys games have received some complaints though, for having too much story, bloat & characters. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
If anything, the past 2 Ys games (SEVEN & Celceta) feels like there's small building blocks there to potentially culminate to even more storytelling depth in the series. (which is a YESYESYES in my book)
I loved FC's pacing. I mean, yeah, it's pretty sedate and you'd be disappointed going in expecting the usual bombastic adventure, but there was something really comforting about the tone and atmosphere of most of the game. Just walking around, taking in the sights, and soaking up the world. That felt really enjoyable.
YianGaruga
Banned
I can see why people call FC "slow" but I enjoyed it from start to finish. I value characters and a sense of adventure very very highly though. I can't remember details of FC's story anymore, but I still remember how it feels to be in that world and how great Estelle is and that's much more important to me.
Very, very rarely. And the EU version is published by Ghostlight so I wouldn't hope for a sale to tie in with the release of SC
Very, very rarely. And the EU version is published by Ghostlight so I wouldn't hope for a sale to tie in with the release of SC
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
One of the ideas best explored in FC is how quickly you have to grow up once the world (as you know it) is at stake. This game's minutiae and slow but measured pace, which eventually accelerates, brings contrast. Players eventually learn that, beyond just this style of storytelling, main characters grew up too fast, and not in a stable way given the trials to follow; Cassius gave Estelle and Joshua a blunt education, but he for the most part hovered over and graduated his children steadily, not in desperation or haste. Many characters, as a result of the events before and following chapter 4, find themselves in new positions and states of mind, each befitting the role they could play for or against the Society.
Thanks for this, now I know to adjust my expectations. One of the things why I felt a bit let down by FC definitely was the fact that I thought it was going to be a fairly regular JRPG with a praised story.
Just wait'll we release Return to PopoloCrois! Even younger characters with even better execution and pacing, if you ask me.
...But FC's good too.
-Tom