There's another game out on mobile as well. Not that I play much mobile games (the grindy nature of most turns me off), but I'm salty this had to come out in my home region when I don't live there anymore. :(
Yeah, it was briefly discussed earlier in the thread. Seems pretty crap at first glance, Akatsuki looked to have way more effort put into it than this.
Ao rough edit is over 50% according to Guren. Still think it's silly people were going crazy over the delay acting like it was basically the death of the project. Seems like it will probably be out before May.
I'd imagine that the 3rd game is the most polarizing for TiTS fans, because it's much more like a dungeon crawler than the first two. However, it does have some great story elements, you get a chance to see what your favorite characters got up to after SC, and it is absolutely worth seeing the game through just for the ending. The 3rd also has a great soundtrack; maybe the best in the Liberl arc, and the first two games are absolutely no slouch.
The Third is great. I love it because it's so different, and it's actually the only one of the first three games to actually suck me in from the start. It's missing some of my favourite trademarks from the other games in the series (namely, the extensive NPC dialogue), but it's also missing some of the series' recurring features that I dislike (like the limited time events that force me to use a guide to get max BP/AP). It's got the best gameplay of the original trilogy, and I'd say the best soundtrack, too (I think the first two Sky games get way too repetitive with their music). I haven't replayed the Third, but I could see it having the best replay value, due to the many party setups it offers for combat and its additions to the Trails games' lore.
Ao rough edit is over 50% according to Guren. Still think it's silly people were going crazy over the delay acting like it was basically the death of the project. Seems like it will probably be out before May.
Guren did say he was thinking of releasing it on Valentine's Day, so I could see some people panicking since he changed his mind and decided to do more editing first. Personally, I'd say it's for the best if they get rid of some of the embarrassing errors that plagued the leaked Zero patch. As for the release date, I just want to play the game before Cold Steel 3 comes out in English...which doesn't seem to be any time soon.
Ao rough edit is over 50% according to Guren. Still think it's silly people were going crazy over the delay acting like it was basically the death of the project. Seems like it will probably be out before May.
Ao rough edit is over 50% according to Guren. Still think it's silly people were going crazy over the delay acting like it was basically the death of the project. Seems like it will probably be out before May.
I wonder if there being a "rough edit" might make the proper editing later a bit faster? It might iron out some of the weirder stuff, so having a better initial translation might make it easier to find something that sounds natural in the final script.
I haven't started Cold Steel yet, because I haven't finished 3rd yet.
I've played through FC about three times now, and SC only once(I did start a new game in SC, but haven't finished it yet).
And on 3rd I'm
Right after you finish the Jenis Royal Academy section. I had a hard time finding the last soldier and converting everything from black and white. And where you fight Phillip Runall.
About how far am I through with the game? Halfway?
I haven't started Cold Steel yet, because I haven't finished 3rd yet.
I've played through FC about three times now, and SC only once(I did start a new game in SC, but haven't finished it yet).
And on 3rd I'm
Right after you finish the Jenis Royal Academy section. I had a hard time finding the last soldier and converting everything from black and white. And where you fight Phillip Runall.
About how far am I through with the game? Halfway?
if you have been keeping up with your doors you're actually over halfway, the chapter you're on is quite long but then it kicks up the gears for the finale
I wonder if there being a "rough edit" might make the proper editing later a bit faster? It might iron out some of the weirder stuff, so having a better initial translation might make it easier to find something that sounds natural in the final script.
Maybe a little. I think they are primarily just checking consistency and fixing blatantly terrible things like Zero's *flap flap.* Zerker said he's been talking to one of the people going over it and that he appreciates the effort.
So I'm onto the chapter 2 field mission... getting into a nice rhythm with CS1 now. Was supposed to go see Black Panther with the gf tonight but it's gonna be a blizzard up here so I'll probably get to play a whole ton (and I'm gonna roast a rack of lamb while doing it!)
So far I've been playing 19h, am I going too slow or does that seem right? As per tradition I talk to everyone after every story event...
I love how this game handles being a sequel. Instead of rolling back the clock on your crafts and ARCUS, you keep all your crafts and just get better versions of them and all your ARCUS slots remained unlocked but now they can be leveled up. I'm also surprised that the game starts you at level 40 because I was curious on how they were gonna do that it being a sequel. 40 is pretty appropriate too considering you finish CS1 around level 60-70, Rean being dormant for a month and not exactly being up to where he was prior to that makes sense to take a small dip in levels. Really impressed with how this series implements it's mechanics into the lore and expands upon them to accommodate for time passing. It's really, really, really frickin' cool.
That's about the pace I went. Took me like 10-15 hours a chapter. I ended the game at about 100 hours, but you could probably shave off 5-10 hours of that being idle time considering I couldn't find a way for the clock to stop on the PS3 version once I switched over to that from Ch3 onward.
So I'm onto the chapter 2 field mission... getting into a nice rhythm with CS1 now. Was supposed to go see Black Panther with the gf tonight but it's gonna be a blizzard up here so I'll probably get to play a whole ton (and I'm gonna roast a rack of lamb while doing it!)
So far I've been playing 19h, am I going too slow or does that seem right? As per tradition I talk to everyone after every story event...
Guren would agree with you, he was ready to release it last month and has been done with the game since. He seems displeased with the situation surrounding both Zero and Ao and doesn't seem sure if he'll do anymore fan translations for games. Don't know how serious that comment was though.
this is not really directed at you but the constant mulling of Flame holding back the release because he was not satisfied with the current state is also pointless. It will release in two months max. It wasn't going to release the 14th of February anyway because it still had game breaking bugs that he was working on.
Next week marks the end of the three-month drought on Sen IV news.
March 24th (this Saturday), the Sen III Official Visual Collection artbook will be released, both as paperback and as Kindle version.
March 29th (next week's Thursday), the Sen no Kiseki Magazine Vol. 3 will be released. It features information on Sen IV, an interview with Kondo, apparently lists the 1000+ characters that appeared in the trilogy so far and contains a (separate) appendix with material from Sen I's early development.
March 29th is also the date the new Dengeki PlayStation drops, expected to cover roughly the same information as the Sen Magazine, confirmed to have an interview with Kondo and introducing new characters.
Information from these magazines is expected to leak on March 27th (maybe late 26th).
How would you feel if all you did your entire life was waiting until some party of heroes comes by and steals everything inside you, without even giving thanks?
So I just saw the NG+ exclusive scene in the Epilogue of CS2
a certain encounter on the rooftop (just whoa)
and wtf I can't believe Falcom locked that behind NG+.
Like seriously. Who the hell thought this was a good idea. WHO!?
Man I'm so glad the games are on PC now so I can just circumvent their bullshit locking of stuff behind NG+.
Oh, so those weren't voiced before. I noticed a certain character got preferential treatment with their second(?) last bond event being voiced too. Not that I mind though, it was great.
So I just saw the NG+ exclusive scene in the Epilogue of CS2
a certain encounter on the rooftop (just whoa)
and wtf I can't believe Falcom locked that behind NG+.
Like seriously. Who the hell thought this was a good idea. WHO!?
Man I'm so glad the games are on PC now so I can just circumvent their bullshit locking of stuff behind NG+.
So I just saw the NG+ exclusive scene in the Epilogue of CS2
a certain encounter on the rooftop (just whoa)
and wtf I can't believe Falcom locked that behind NG+.
Like seriously. Who the hell thought this was a good idea. WHO!?
Man I'm so glad the games are on PC now so I can just circumvent their bullshit locking of stuff behind NG+.
That truly is the biggest WTF yes, bonding events are too to be honest but that scene definitely is too far. Having it voiced now too was amazing though.
since it actually explicitly teases Millium being a homunculus, or gives Gaius an actual personality
That truly is the biggest WTF yes, bonding events are too to be honest but that scene definitely is too far. Having it voiced now too was amazing though.
The one with Instructor Thomas? Not sure how Millium and Gaius factor into that scene, lol.
Anyways, I finished the game. Really enjoyed it.
Bonding stuffs continues to suck and the NG+ exclusive content is, as mentioned, wtf where they thinking territoriy, but I had a blast regardless.
Can't believe I'm up-to-date with the english releases now o.O
I don't know how CS3 and 4 will handle it, but I really hope they drop bonding stuff for Calvard. It's nice for self-contained stories like Persona, but it really has no business in a long-running series like Trails.
I am staunch believer that it leads to unavoidably weaker character/relation writing.
You can't have romance drama like Estelle/Joshua/Kloe/(Josette) because every girl can potentially be interested in Rean (Joshua rejecting Kloe in the 3rd was such a great moment. Impossible to have something like that in the Cold Steel games). You can't really use romance for plot points too, because again Rean can be interested in anyone or noone.
You can't have relationships between the girls and other boys, because all of them have to be 'available' for Rean in case you choose them. None of the boys in Class VII show any romantic interest in the girls either, and vice versa.
It's my biggest gripe with the Cold Steel games and it suuuuucks.
The one with Instructor Thomas? Not sure how Millium and Gaius factor into that scene, lol.
Anyways, I finished the game. Really enjoyed it.
Bonding stuffs continues to suck and the NG+ exclusive content is, as mentioned, wtf where they thinking territoriy, but I had a blast regardless.
Can't believe I'm up-to-date with the english releases now o.O
I don't know how CS3 and 4 will handle it, but I really hope they drop bonding stuff for Calvard. It's nice for self-contained stories like Persona, but it really has no business in a long-running series like Trails.
I am staunch believer that it leads to unavoidably weaker character/relation writing.
You can't have romance drama like Estelle/Joshua/Kloe/(Josette) because every girl can potentially be interested in Rean (Joshua rejecting Kloe in the 3rd was such a great moment. Impossible to have something like that in the Cold Steel games). You can't really use romance for plot points too, because again Rean can be interested in anyone or noone.
You can't have relationships between the girls and other boys, because all of them have to be 'available' for Rean in case you choose them. None of the boys in Class VII show any romantic interest in the girls either, and vice versa.
It's my biggest gripe with the Cold Steel games and it suuuuucks.
I don't know how CS3 and 4 will handle it, but I really hope they drop bonding stuff for Calvard. It's nice for self-contained stories like Persona, but it really has no business in a long-running series like Trails.
I am staunch believer that it leads to unavoidably weaker character/relation writing.
You can't have romance drama like Estelle/Joshua/Kloe/(Josette) because every girl can potentially be interested in Rean (Joshua rejecting Kloe in the 3rd was such a great moment. Impossible to have something like that in the Cold Steel games). You can't really use romance for plot points too, because again Rean can be interested in anyone or noone.
You can't have relationships between the girls and other boys, because all of them have to be 'available' for Rean in case you choose them. None of the boys in Class VII show any romantic interest in the girls either, and vice versa.
It's my biggest gripe with the Cold Steel games and it suuuuucks.
I can't speak for the rest of the CS games since I'm trying to be on a blackout (and failing terribly - I know wayyy more than I should), but I think the bonding system was appropriate to the setting of the first two CS games; It's all about Rean's POV after all. Obviously such a thing wouldn't work for the nation-trotting group in Sky (and presumably Zero/Ao). I don't want to speak for the devs but I don't expect mechanics outside of battle to move over from each game if only due to their different set-up.
The system is much worse, at least in CS it's easy to get everything with cheatengine or on NG+ and the points are made very clear, in Ao things are hidden and there's a lot of stuff that affects it instead of easily getting it with bonding events
Although getting stuff for the room of SSS members is cool wish that had carried over to CS
The system is much worse, at least in CS it's easy to get everything with cheatengine or on NG+ and the points are made very clear, in Ao things are hidden and there's a lot of stuff that affects it instead of easily getting it with bonding events
Although getting stuff for the room of SSS members is cool wish that had carried over to CS
The system is much worse, at least in CS it's easy to get everything with cheatengine or on NG+ and the points are made very clear, in Ao things are hidden and there's a lot of stuff that affects it instead of easily getting it with bonding events
Although getting stuff for the room of SSS members is cool wish that had carried over to CS
Just finished CS2 PC version, what a nice ride. I can't wait for Cold Steel 3 to be announced. I found a very broad chapter by chapter recap of CS3. I'm thinking about trying to play CS3 in Japanese if Xseed doesnt announce it by the time E3 comes around. I wonder how possible it is to complete a game without being able to read anything lol.
Gonna post some more thoughts on Cold Steel 2 here too, because why not.
What a ride, I had a blast (despite disliking some of Falcoms modern design tendencies, which thankfully can at least be mostly circumvented on PC. Fuck locking important story content and character development behind NG+ in a story-driven linear game that is already 70 hours long.)
I can see how it's divisive, how you'll feel about it will mostly be determined by how you feel about the Epilogue of Cold Steel 1 I think. Personally this was just my jam :P
I'm also pretty sure that this is a severe case of 'you get as much out of it as you put into it'. More specifically, if you don't put much into sidequests and NPC-talking in CS1 I can see how a large part of CS2 could feel rather meh. If you do however put a lot into CS1... then CS2 is full of pay-offs and it's just great.
Current Trails ranking (though it's more nuanced than that, as the games have different strengths and weaknesses):
3rd > CS2 > SC > FC >= CS1
None of them are bad though.
I can't speak for the rest of the CS games since I'm trying to be on a blackout (and failing terribly - I know wayyy more than I should), but I think the bonding system was appropriate to the setting of the first two CS games; It's all about Rean's POV after all.
Poor excuse to include harem elements, if you ask me. You can write a story from a single character's POV without having to hamfist harem elements into it to satisfy the waifu/otaku fandom. The whole "MC is the only one with free time to go spend time with others while everyone else seem busy because reasons" shtick is pretty contrived, to say the least. Estelle going around talking to everyone on the airship between trips was actually one of the more logical implementations of that idea; and in her case, you actually had to talk to everyone for the story to advance.
The male characters tend to be pretty good, mainly because they're not bogged down by an annoying romance checklist they have to go through for every girl so that they can potentially hook up with the MC. It's why Randy is so awesome despite how lackluster of a MC Lloyd is in the Crossbell games. I think overall the writing for the girls Zero and onwards is a lot more shallow compared to the boys respectively. But you do get stand-outs like Mireille (especially Mireille), the NPCs, and so forth. Millium's pretty good too (thanks, Jusis).
In other words, husbandos are the way to go for Trails. Waifus need to go.
I didn't like the Doors in the 3rd at first but I have to say I'm warming up to them. It was mainly because of the first Moon Door with Tita, which felt really long and boring, so much that I gave up on doing them for a while. But now I completed Moon Door 2 and... it was actually good. Interesting story that develops some characters and being playable also helped it not feel as monotonous as door 1. I'm now excited to check out the rest.
Also, as I said earlier this game has way too many characters and I can't decide who I want to have in my party. I want to use everyone lol.
I don't want to judge Lloyd completely as of yet since Estelle got the premium Xseed treatment for 3 whole games while my exposure to the Crossbell cast was purely through a shaky beta patch for zero and an incomplete spreadsheet for Ao.
Though from CS2 alone I'm 100% sure he will be higher up on my favorite list than Rean.
Taken individually, I generally like all the bonding scenes with each character. My problem is that they focus so much on Rean's one-on-one interactions with little involvements from other members. Added with the fact that there's little to no independent interactions between Class VII members (I think there's only one instance in CS2 when they talk to each other without Rean present, and what they talk about is Rean anyway), it feels like one came at the expense of the other.
It's natural that Millium comes off as a more well-rounded character because she feels the most like she has life outside of Rean. Whereas every other members focus solely on Rean during their reunions, Millium also has Claire and Jusis to greet. For serious I was pretty disappointed by the subdued reactions when Fie meets Emma and Laura, or when Machias meets Jusis.
I didn't like the Doors in the 3rd at first but I have to say I'm warming up to them. It was mainly because of the first Moon Door with Tita, which felt really long and boring, so much that I gave up on doing them for a while. But now I completed Moon Door 2 and... it was actually good. Interesting story that develops some characters and being playable also helped it not feel as monotonous as door 1. I'm now excited to check out the rest.
Also, as I said earlier this game has way too many characters and I can't decide who I want to have in my party. I want to use everyone lol.
That's kind of how Moon doors go, unfortunately. Moon door 2 was the only one I really liked. Sun doors (minigames) aren't great either. Star doors are the really good ones, for the most part.
Moon door 3 is also dreadfully boring IMO, but it has some important developments. 4 is a bit better just because of the characters involved, and 5 is, well, "smoke happiness everyday."
Poor excuse to include harem elements, if you ask me. You can write a story from a single character's POV without having to hamfist harem elements into it to satisfy the waifu/otaku fandom. The whole "MC is the only one with free time to go spend time with others while everyone else seem busy because reasons" shtick is pretty contrived, to say the least. Estelle going around talking to everyone on the airship between trips was actually one of the more logical implementations of that idea; and in her case, you actually had to talk to everyone for the story to advance.
I mean, harem elements is one thing and will continue to be controversial. I don't really mind them in of themselves but they're definitely unnecessary, given how
the ending is designed to try and wrap up the romances while maintaining the status quo
As for the bolded, CSII is particularly guilty of that given the sheer amount of people they had to jam into certain locations, but I thought CSI managed to provide reasonable justification. Most people are in clubs or otherwise have consistent schedules, while Rean runs around as the Student Council's errand boy. Contrived? Sure. But it's still a decent framing for the trope.
As for the bolded, CSII is particularly guilty of that given the sheer amount of people they had to jam into certain locations, but I thought CSI managed to provide reasonable justification. Most people are in clubs or otherwise have consistent schedules, while Rean runs around as the Student Council's errand boy. Contrived? Sure. But it's still a decent framing for the trope.
Even with most other Class VII in clubs, I feel like they could stand to have more cross-bonding involvements. If I remember correctly, there's only one instance of that in CS1,
when Jusis appears in Machias bonding event for the decisive chess match. And that's great. But, like, nobody besides Rean comes to Elliot's concert. Not even Gaius. It's not like he's busy; he's just hanging in the cafe that day! And that's sad.
I mean, harem elements is one thing and will continue to be controversial. I don't really mind them in of themselves but they're definitely unnecessary, given how
the ending is designed to try and wrap up the romances while maintaining the status quo
I'm sure there would be a lot less complaints if they had just cut any form of romance from the game altogether, to be honest. I know I would complain less. But since they included it, they deserve the flak for it. I, for one, think Rean would be a better character overall if he had a canon romance, but alas, we can't have nice things. Though that should also entail changing a number of things in the story so they could frame it better in the story (so in my head, that means cutting the harem superfluous fluff as well as a variety of adjustments to how bonding events play out).
A lot of people talked about how Cold Steel is so much easier than the other games(to the point where Hard is equivalent to normal mode of some other games) and man. I don't know what those people are on.
I've gotten twice as many game overs so far just in the first 3 chapters than I have in every other game combined.
The hand wringing regarding bond scenes will always be completely ridiculous to me
It's like you have these easy-to-implement scenes that further develop the characters in a way that works alongside the main narrative (unlike Persona), and yet it's consistently painted in a negative light because...?
Sure, it's a bit silly how the other class VII members aren't involved, but people swing to this ridiculous extreme of "harem bait", with no middle ground and it's just... wow okay.
Like really? Rean fixing fences with Gaius or watching Laura teach someone else how to swim and gain more confidence is bad? Machias's further growth in accepting nobles via the chess team is bad? Fie further development in a school environment is bad? Emma's stupid yaoi adventures are bad? There's this ridiculous idea that removing them would somehow make room for more, better interactions between characters but I don't think that's how development. These are sequences that completely define a character's school life, without them you end up with class VII having completely blank club school experiences. How on earth is that a bad thing? Wanting more interpersonal relationships between characters is fine, but bond scenes absolutely don't get in the way in that. Not to mention the "waifu checklist" comment is pretty much fiction (for the most part)
t's why Randy is so awesome despite how lackluster of a MC Lloyd is in the Crossbell games. I think overall the writing for the girls Zero and onwards is a lot more shallow compared to the boys respectively. But you do get stand-outs like Mireille (especially Mireille), the NPCs, and so forth. Millium's pretty good too (thanks, Jusis).
The only thing I dislike about bonding events are gating them behind limited points and the lack of interactions between the main cast, though I hear that was alleviated in CS3 and bond scenes usually include more people. Is that true?
