Yeah. I was late to Trails, and I generally don't dig JRPGs (like, at all), but I buy all these games the moment they arrive in the store now, and I've also bought copies for friends.
I understand the complexities around the Crossbell arc and the fan translation, but I'll buy multiple copies, if that helps! ;)
Yeah. I was late to Trails, and I generally don't dig JRPGs (like, at all), but I buy all these games the moment they arrive in the store now, and I've also bought copies for friends.
I understand the complexities around the Crossbell arc and the fan translation, but I'll buy multiple copies, if that helps! ;)
So apparently the next arc will start in 2-3 years? Given that XSEED didn't start Crossbell after CS2 I'd say that kills about any hope of them coming after CS4. We'll probably get CS4 around the time the next arc starts in Japan, if not a bit after.
Hope they bring back zero character designer for next arc or someone new.
Anyway was such a big spoiler the promo Art of sen 4? I saw It in the recap news of siliconera without even clicking to read the article...
So apparently the next arc will start in 2-3 years? Given that XSEED didn't start Crossbell after CS2 I'd say that kills about any hope of them coming after CS4. We'll probably get CS4 around the time the next arc starts in Japan, if not a bit after.
I don't think everything has been set in stone just yet. Falcom has to be interested in increasing their international market share. Bringing in official localisation for Crossbell could improve their position in North America, at least. However, I do feel that when XSEED finally get the chance to localise Crossbell games, it would be after Erebonia arc is finally finished, and localised fully in the west.
I have confidence that XSEED even could do simultaneous multiplatform release (PS4/PC). Especially after Hatsuu's verbose explanation.
Hi, looking at the Steam Sale, which of the Trails titles are confirmed coming to PS4 so far?
Would prefer to play them there than on PC, but not sure if it was just rumored as being ported or official?
Hi, looking at the Steam Sale, which of the Trails titles are confirmed coming to PS4 so far?
Would prefer to play them there than on PC, but not sure if it was just rumored as being ported or official?
Embrace the game's comfy atmosphere and treat it like a book. Each story is like reading a small chapter and you slide in your bookmark when you're done for the day.
Once you get engrossed in the main story and the underlying stories it's kind of addicting and hard to stop playing (warning).
Make sure you have Turbo on hand in case you get annoyed at the battle speed. Enjoy yourself and good luck.
Embrace the game's comfy atmosphere and treat it like a book. Each story is like reading a small chapter and you slide in your bookmark when you're done for the day.
Once you get engrossed in the main story and the underlying stories it's kind of addicting and hard to stop playing (warning).
Make sure you have Turbo on hand in case you get annoyed at the battle speed. Enjoy yourself and good luck.
So apparently the next arc will start in 2-3 years? Given that XSEED didn't start Crossbell after CS2 I'd say that kills about any hope of them coming after CS4. We'll probably get CS4 around the time the next arc starts in Japan, if not a bit after.
i'm honestly still gunning that they might make an end of 2018 release for Sen3 and that by that time Falcom finally will be getting to their ancient senses and at least realises that they need to negotiate contracts before a game releases because that is so dated and annoying tbh.
And if XSEED would ever commit to Crossbell they still could have a two-team effort to speed things up. They did this with SC and Cold Steel with a team of CS and a team on SC.
my only tip is to not be discouraged by the slow pace; FC spends a lot of it's time building the world of Zemuria and Liberl which does pay off but not until a long time
i'm honestly still gunning that they might make an end of 2018 release for Sen3 and that by that time Falcom finally will be getting to their ancient senses and at least realises that they need to negotiate contracts before a game releases because that is so dated and annoying tbh.
And if XSEED would ever commit to Crossbell they still could have a two-team effort to speed things up. They did this with SC and Cold Steel with a team of CS and a team on SC.
my only tip is to not be discouraged by the slow pace; FC spends a lot of it's time building the world of Zemuria and Liberl which does pay off but not until a long time
That's pretty much the only way it would happen. CS and SC happening simultaneously seems like an exception rather than something to expect though. SC took far longer than intended and if they didn't pick up CS1 Falcom would have just licensed it to someone else. Crossbell isn't really in that situation, Falcom probably isn't going to throw the series at other publishers until XSEED isn't willing to work on the latest entry.
That's pretty much the only way it would happen. CS and SC happening simultaneously seems like an exception rather than something to expect though. SC took far longer than intended and if they didn't pick up CS1 Falcom would have just licensed it to someone else. Crossbell isn't really in that situation, Falcom probably isn't going to throw the series at other publishers until XSEED isn't willing to work on the latest entry.
there still is the possibility they actually remake Crossbell in the years they develop Calvard but that is like a 1% chance of happening tbh
but for what it's worth it i do think XSEED is working on it and they will announce it when CS2 has released so that the port has it's time to chance and maybe even drive the sales through the premise that CS3 is happening. Anyway it would really surprise me if someone else got sen3 due to it's nature as storyheavy, XSEED having invested a lot in it including fresh PC ports that have become the definitive version, NISA getting ys8 backfiring, the general niche size of these games (although NISA knows the numbers, they published CS in Europe) and fan demand in general.
The only downside to XSEED having Sen3 is that it probably will not have dual-audio according to the rumours that Kadokawa has banned them, and that only is because i'm bloody tired of all the dub/sub wars.
The only downside to XSEED having Sen3 is that it probably will not have dual-audio according to the rumours that Kadokawa has banned them, and that only is because i'm bloody tired of all the dub/sub wars.
It's only a downside if the English dub was inferior, which is obviously not the case. I'm pretty sure the English cast will bring out their best abilities for Sen III.
there still is the possibility they actually remake Crossbell in the years they develop Calvard but that is like a 1% chance of happening tbh
but for what it's worth it i do think XSEED is working on it and they will announce it when CS2 has released so that the port has it's time to chance and maybe even drive the sales through the premise that CS3 is happening. Anyway it would really surprise me if someone else got sen3 due to it's nature as storyheavy, XSEED having invested a lot in it including fresh PC ports that have become the definitive version, NISA getting ys8 backfiring, the general niche size of these games (although NISA knows the numbers, they published CS in Europe) and fan demand in general.
The only downside to XSEED having Sen3 is that it probably will not have dual-audio according to the rumours that Kadokawa has banned them, and that only is because i'm bloody tired of all the dub/sub wars.
It's only a downside if the English dub was inferior, which is obviously not the case. I'm pretty sure the English cast will bring out their best abilities for Sen III.
Of course XSEED employees deny it if true, Tom did on the XSEED forums but of course there also is the thing that Rean's seiyuu especially is bloody expensive for some mundane reason because he isn't even that amazing imo
I think we have a different opinion on complexity then.
Just upping the difficulty doesn't make it more satisfying to play. First timers probably wouldn't be able to abuse the system a lot and FC doesn't provide much tools until later on anyway.
If we were talking about one of the other games, it would make more sense to up the difficulty. Either you're more accustomed to the workings of the system or the game has better tools for handling difficulty.
Also to use items instead of crafts always feels like taking the easy way out in rpgs and it shouldn't be used to gauge difficulty.
Also keep in mind, while some people equate challenging game to fun, not everyone does. People play games for all sorts of reasons and with a JRPG lauded for it's story/lore/talking to NPCs, some may not care if a game is challenging and would rather just enjoy the story elements (at least on a first playthrough.
I tend to always play JRPGs on the normal basic difficulties for this reason myself. I don't care much if a game is challenging or not as long as the story is good.
Just thought I'd put this in from the perspective of someone who doesn't care too much if a game is difficult (at least on a first playthrough, if a game is fun enough to play again, I may up the difficulty for a challenge but that's when I already know and have enjoyed the other elements I find fun such as the story)
Starting on hard with Cold Steel is fine. The game was balanced so that normal was a cake walk for people who just wanted to experience the story, and hard actually pushes back a little.
That's not as true with Sky. Normal is both harder than Cold Steel's normal across the trilogy and the games weren't originally balanced around difficulty modes. IIRC 3rd is a bit better in that regard, but FC and SC have some wonky difficulty curves on higher difficulties due to it just being some quick stat modifiers Falcom threw in as a bonus on the PSP ports.
Starting on hard with Cold Steel is fine. The game was balanced so that normal was a cake walk for people who just wanted to experience the story, and hard actually pushes back a little.
I beat the first TitS game and while it was definitely a difficult start, I really enjoyed the story, world building and complexity of the battle system (which wasn't apparent at first glance lol). I began SC but I put it on hold for now (Xenoblade 2 lol).
Anyway I wanted to ask : How's trails of cold steel on PS3 ?
I have the games on VITA (I'm just waiting to finish TitS 2 at 3 after Xenoblade 2) and I have a PSTV, but I'd rather play a better version.
Is the cross save feature still working ?
So I'll either play them on PSVita/PSTV :
- Pros : I already have the games and won't have to buy them again. Cross save won't be a problem
- Cons : Vita resolution might by nasty on my big HDTV. I'll have to swap cards each time I want to change platforms (Switch has spoilt me). I'll have to use the PSN save transfer feature
Or I could buy them digital on sale and play them on PS3 and Vita
- Pros : better performance on PS3.
- Cons : Using a DS3. I'll be dependant on Falcom's implementation of cross save.
I beat the first TitS game and while it was definitely a difficult start, I really enjoyed the story, world building and complexity of the battle system (which wasn't apparent at first glance lol). I began SC but I put it on hold for now (Xenoblade 2 lol).
Anyway I wanted to ask : How's trails of cold steel on PS3 ?
I have the games on VITA (I'm just waiting to finish TitS 2 at 3 after Xenoblade 2) and I have a PSTV, but I'd rather play a better version.
Is the cross save feature still working ?
So I'll either play them on PSVita/PSTV :
- Pros : I already have the games and won't have to buy them again. Cross save won't be a problem
- Cons : Vita resolution might by nasty on my big HDTV. I'll have to swap cards each time I want to change platforms (Switch has spoilt me). I'll have to use the PSN save transfer feature
Or I could buy them digital on sale and play them on PS3 and Vita
- Pros : better performance on PS3.
- Cons : Using a DS3. I'll be dependant on Falcom's implementation of cross save.
The PS3/Vita versions of the Cold Steel games are very similar. The only real difference is the performance, and that's only really an issue in specific graphically intense scenes. Cross-save should still work the same as it ever has.
The PC versions are vastly superior to either of these, however.
Yeah, the PC version is the way to go if you want the superior version. Not only better on the technical side but has quality of life improvements like turbo mode and a lot more voice acting.
Gotta agree on the Normal recommendations as a first-timer(at least for Trails in the Sky 1 which is all I have played), and I normally am one to jack the difficulty to the max in most games.
Too often in my Hard run I found myself frustrated at first-round shenanigans that crippled my team to the point of frustration and a near inability to claw my way to victory even before I can choose commands for someone. Fortunately the game does ease up on the difficulty with retry's(an option you can opt in to allow the game to lower the difficulty a step for that fight), but I found my 'Hard' run play too often had me abusing this feature to the point I just entered most boss fights and allowed defeat to normalize the challenge somewhat. And normal difficulty is actually an alright balance unlike most jRPG's, even for someone that grinds out sidequests.
Yeah, the Sky trilogy is really fine in the normal difficulty. I found the games rather well balanced.
On the other hand, Cold Steel pretty much requires hard to approach the same level of challenge. My brother could even finish his normal CS1 run believing that all the "support Arts" (the one in the "support" section of the arts in battle) were only available outside of battle. He used cooking a lot :D.
Since he found out in CS2 that he can indeed heal in battle, he kind of regrets playing on normal.
On the other hand, Cold Steel pretty much requires hard to approach the same level of challenge. My brother could even finish his normal CS1 run believing that all the "support Arts" (the one in the "support" section of the arts in battle) were only available outside of battle. He used cooking a lot :D.
Since he found out in CS2 that he can indeed heal in battle, he kind of regrets playing on normal.
Excellent choice. If you can finish 3rd in 4 weeks, we can aim for Kiseki games reaching top 20 GOTY, freed from the eternal shackles of "honorable mentions" :-P
Yeah, the Sky trilogy is really fine in the normal difficulty. I found the games rather well balanced.
On the other hand, Cold Steel pretty much requires hard to approach the same level of challenge. My brother could even finish his normal CS1 run believing that all the "support Arts" (the one in the "support" section of the arts in battle) were only available outside of battle. He used cooking a lot :D.
Since he found out in CS2 that he can indeed heal in battle, he kind of regrets playing on normal.
Wow, this game. Currently on Chapter 2 and I'm loving it so far! The structure's so different from the previous two games and it's such a refreshing change of pace. The music is so good it makes SC's soundtrack sounds average by comparison and that game had an amazing soundtrack. Here are my impressions so far:
The game kicked into high gear right on the prologue. Kevin is one badass priest, isn't he? I was surprised they were name-dropping so many things from the later games. Bareahard, the northern jaegers, etc. It's a lot of fun picking up on these things. Maybe if I hadn't played Cold Steel before I wouldn't have paid attention.
Then he goes back to Grancel. I was really happy to run into Dorothy and Nial so early in the game. They're one of my favorite side characters. Dorothy's still as funny as ever. The Onion Graham and Jasmine Graham exchange was comedy gold. And Erika is hilarious. So is Ries with her bottomless stomach. She's basically the Aina of eating. Speaking of Ries, I really like her. I'm excited to see more of hers and Rufina's backstory. Speaking of Rufina... that chocolate scene was. So. GOOD. She's a force of nature.
Anyway, I currently got Tita, Julia, Josette and Mueller. I didn't expect to get Julia, Mueller and Josette so early in the game. Since they're in Grancel, I hope that means I'm getting Kloe soon. Phantasma is an interesting place and I wonder who Schwarzritter is. He resembles Loewe.
And that's all for now. I'll write about the doors I've completed so far after I finish Chapter 2. Suffice to say, most of them have been great. Now back to playing!
Wow, this game. Currently on Chapter 2 and I'm loving it so far! The structure's so different from the previous two games and it's such a refreshing change of pace. The music is so good it makes SC's soundtrack sounds average by comparison and that game had an amazing soundtrack. Here are my impressions so far:
The game kicked into high gear right on the prologue. Kevin is one badass priest, isn't he? I was surprised they were name-dropping so many things from the later games. Bareahard, the northern jaegers, etc. It's a lot of fun picking up on these things. Maybe if I hadn't played Cold Steel before I wouldn't have paid attention.
Then he goes back to Grancel. I was really happy to run into Dorothy and Nial so early in the game. They're one of my favorite side characters. Dorothy's still as funny as ever. The Onion Graham and Jasmine Graham exchange was comedy gold. And Erika is hilarious. So is Ries with her bottomless stomach. She's basically the Aina of eating. Speaking of Ries, I really like her. I'm excited to see more of hers and Rufina's backstory. Speaking of Rufina... that chocolate scene was. So. GOOD. She's a force of nature.
Anyway, I currently got Tita, Julia, Josette and Mueller. I didn't expect to get Julia, Mueller and Josette so early in the game. Since they're in Grancel, I hope that means I'm getting Kloe soon. Phantasma is an interesting place and I wonder who Schwarzritter is. He resembles Loewe.
And that's all for now. I'll write about the doors I've completed so far after I finish Chapter 2. Suffice to say, most of them have been great. Now back to playing!
the soundtrack of 3rd and Ao are god tier from Falcom, it's nice to hear you're enjoying yourself so far. i had some trouble getting into the game at the beginning.
I've just picked up cold steel on PC and played until chapter 3. So far it's amazing. The story seems mundane and "anime-y" at first but it pick ups along the way. There are also several foreshadowing that was done quite well.
Ohh and Durante's QoL Improvement is also godsend. Thanks a lot man.
Now, I'm just contemplating how long should I wait for part 2 and 3 T_T. Meanwhile I think I'm going to have a good time.
I've just picked up cold steel on PC and played until chapter 3. So far it's amazing. The story seems mundane and "anime-y" at first but it pick ups along the way. There are also several foreshadowing that was done quite well.
Ohh and Durante's QoL Improvement is also godsend. Thanks a lot man.
Now, I'm just contemplating how long should I wait for part 2 and 3 T_T. Meanwhile I think I'm going to have a good time.
Wow, this game. Currently on Chapter 2 and I'm loving it so far! The structure's so different from the previous two games and it's such a refreshing change of pace. The music is so good it makes SC's soundtrack sounds average by comparison and that game had an amazing soundtrack. Here are my impressions so far:
The game kicked into high gear right on the prologue. Kevin is one badass priest, isn't he? I was surprised they were name-dropping so many things from the later games. Bareahard, the northern jaegers, etc. It's a lot of fun picking up on these things. Maybe if I hadn't played Cold Steel before I wouldn't have paid attention.
Then he goes back to Grancel. I was really happy to run into Dorothy and Nial so early in the game. They're one of my favorite side characters. Dorothy's still as funny as ever. The Onion Graham and Jasmine Graham exchange was comedy gold. And Erika is hilarious. So is Ries with her bottomless stomach. She's basically the Aina of eating. Speaking of Ries, I really like her. I'm excited to see more of hers and Rufina's backstory. Speaking of Rufina... that chocolate scene was. So. GOOD. She's a force of nature.
Anyway, I currently got Tita, Julia, Josette and Mueller. I didn't expect to get Julia, Mueller and Josette so early in the game. Since they're in Grancel, I hope that means I'm getting Kloe soon. Phantasma is an interesting place and I wonder who Schwarzritter is. He resembles Loewe.
And that's all for now. I'll write about the doors I've completed so far after I finish Chapter 2. Suffice to say, most of them have been great. Now back to playing!
If you're already loving it, then I can`t wait to read your thoughts when you finish.
I'm replaying Cold Steel because I have time and I can use a refresher for Cold Steel 2.
The talk between Rean and Jusis in Ch. 2 was my probably favorite moment in my first playthrough. This time, what stands out to me is in Ch. 6, when Rean sneaks out to see Claire and Fie wants to have a walk around to get comfortable first, after Rean catches her and says he'd prefer some company. I like how Fie phrased it like a selfish request, without being direct about wanting to survey the area to protect him. It's such a jaeger thing to do, but I also found it sweet. And then when they're at the dining bar, the way she teases him is hilarious.
I also like how Millium annoys Jusis more than anyone else in Class VII. That moment when she compared his stubbornness to his father's was priceless. Can't wait for more of their interactions in CS2.
With the Old Schoolhouse's giant doors having trials that led to Valimar, I have to wonder, since there's a similar giant door in Lohengrin Castle, what Divine Knight is associated with it? Dreichels left specific instructions for the Old Schoolhouse, and Lohengrin Castle was St. Sandlot's stronghold. Coincidence? I hope not. Then there's belief that St. Sandlot was a changeling, her death being mysterious, the Steel Maiden's similarities to her, and her second-in-command being Laura's ancestor. Maybe I'm just being overly suspicious, but I want to believe that Falcom didn't come up with all that just to draw some parallels. I'm also extremely curious about Bryonia Island, since it's said to have ruins and a giant statue like the Guardian of Nord.
