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NioA

Member
Dec 16, 2019
3,625
And there's also the demo on the eshop (which I don't think i should play since I still need to play CS2, but so curious about the port...)
 

Ravelle

Member
Oct 31, 2017
17,752
One of these days I'll start this franchise.


Also, that background music they used sounds like an off-brand royalty free Sum 41 - Still Waiting.
 

KernelC

alt account
Banned
Aug 28, 2019
3,561
just started it last night on Steam. It's incredible, a huge upgrade from previous titles. But you can't just jump in blind, you're gonna be incredibly lost, even if it offers recaps and story summaries. Also, no save file carrying over is a huge bummer imo
 

BizzyBum

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,132
New York
Such a bizarre decision to release this without the previous games, too. It's not the type of game where you can jump in and be fine.
 

Korigama

Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,470
Isn't it pretty important to have played the previous two in the series?
Yes (I'm not going to bother telling people to play the Sky trilogy and watch playthroughs/recaps for the Crossbell duology first, even though they would provide greater understanding of the setting/overarching story and make all of the callbacks and character reappearances resonate more, but playing CS1 and 2 is the bare minimum needed for this).
 

Ada

Member
Nov 28, 2017
3,731
Absolutely insane how slow these games are localised. I finished this back in early 2018. Like others have said, without the first 2 games you wont know what is going on at all.
 

TaleSpun

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,449
Downloading demo.

Still not sure if I should get it without the rest of the saga though.

You absolutely shouldn't. June 30 is crazy late as someone that's played these snd was hoping to impulse purchase this as a shadow drop.

For you though, that's plenty of time to play the first two Cold Steels - probably the bare minimum to enjoy CS3.
 

Deleted member 11008

User requested account closure
Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
6,627
I will sacrifice for the better good and download this and waiting furiously for a deal of the first two games on the Vita
 

SaberVS7

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,225
Such a bizarre decision to release this without the previous games, too. It's not the type of game where you can jump in and be fine.

NISA doesn't have the international rights to the previous games in any capacity, other than being the EU distributor for them. And I doubt XSEED will give those up easily.

Absolutely insane how slow these games are localised. I finished this back in early 2018. Like others have said, without the first 2 games you wont know what is going on at all.

1. Localization can't start before the game goes Gold, because Falcom has a fairly bad case of "Constantly editing the script up until the Day 1 Patch"-syndrome.

2. These are extremely text-heavy games compared to most other JRPGs of a similar budget range. While the Main Scenario is only slightly above average in length, the games have an absurd amount of Flavor Text and NPC dialog that catapult it Plus Ultra in a manner comparable to the "GAS, GAS, GAS, I'M GONNA STEP ON THE GAS" meme.

3. The NA/EU sales of Falcom games are rather low as far as we're aware, so there's little incentive or business sense to make the kind of investment needed to speed up localization, and if there was there's serious diminishing returns from putting too many people on one localization project, which can risk a Script losing its identity from too many different translators and editors with different styles and biases - See, in NISA's own history, the DanganRonpa localizations.
 

flohen95

Member
Nov 4, 2017
98
Such a bizarre decision to release this without the previous games, too. It's not the type of game where you can jump in and be fine.

Yeah, very disappointing that this is how it's going to play out, even if it's because of the messy rights situation for markets outside of Asia. NISA probably can't release I and II without Xseed, and Falcom is obviously not interested in releasing any of their games outside of PlayStation systems. It's a dumb situation but it is what it is.

I'm for one extremely excited that I will actually be able to play this game on a handheld. I would never finish it on a home system, and I really don't want to go back to that anyway after playing I and II on Vita back when they first came out.
 

BassForever

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
29,913
CT
Isn't it pretty important to have played the previous two in the series?

Not just the first two cold steels, realistically you want to play both zero and azure which only have fan translated pc releases, and that's not even counting the sky trilogy that also builds into these games.
 

Marche90

Member
Oct 25, 2017
91
I'm surprised at seeing this releasing so far away. I mean, the JP version is out now, and the PC version too, so what's the hold up? Manufacturing and COVID-19-related issues? I wanted to get this version, but ended up grabbing the PC one, so I guess it'll be next time.
 

Deleted member 30681

user requested account closure
Banned
Nov 4, 2017
3,184
Isn't it pretty important to have played the previous two in the series?
frankly it's important to play every game that came before this one, but the absolute bare minimum should be playing CS1 and 2 at least which unfortunately makes the release of this game on Switch extremely awkward.

While the ingame summaries are okay, I wouldn't call them great, and they're at best good for refreshing your memory of what happened in CS1 and 2. Major plot points are brought back from the Sky trilogy and continued in interesting ways too. Then you have the fact that CS3 is as much of a sequel to CS2 as it is a sequel to the final crossbell game, and all these factors make NISA's "perfect starting point" marketing kinda just wrong.

needless to say, I absolutely would not recommend starting with this game if your new to the series. Either play the other games on the platforms they are currently on (Sky/Crossbell on PC, CS1&CS2 PS4+ PC) or wait and hope that the rest of the games come over to Switch. I really would like for the rest of the series to come on Switch, but unfortunately Falcom's decision to have a different localization partner has kinda made the possibility of CS1/CS2 on Switch unlikely for now. I would hope that CS4 and the Crossbell games (when NISA does inevitably localize them) make it to Switch.
 

asd202

Enlightened
Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,535
Absolutely insane how slow these games are localised. I finished this back in early 2018. Like others have said, without the first 2 games you wont know what is going on at all.

That's not all we still haven gotten Zero and Ao and we probably never will. Thank god for fan translations, that Zero one is amazing.
 

Deleted member 30681

user requested account closure
Banned
Nov 4, 2017
3,184
That's not all we still haven gotten Zero and Ao and we probably never will. Thank god for fan translations, that Zero one is amazing.
I wouldn't expect them anytime soon, and for the near future fan translations are likely all we'll have to work with, but I think Zero and Ao getting localized is an inevitability at this point and is probably one of the major factors for why the games are getting re-releases on PS4 in Japan and coming out relatively soon (in a month or two).

The problem is when to expect them largely because no company can keep up with Falcom's output and so far it definitely seems like NISA can't. All things seem to be pointing to 2021 for CS4 on top of the other Falcom games like Ys IX, Hajimari and the two Crossbell games.

Makes me wonder if someone else will handle Crossbell, but I suppose we'll see.
 
OP
OP
Hero of Legend
Oct 26, 2017
13,597
DEMO SAVE WILL CARRY OVER TO THE FINAL GAME!

Trails of Cold Steel III on Nintendo Switch™ will release on June 30 in North America and Europe and July 7 in Oceania! A free demo is available to download on Nintendo eShop. Experience the legend of Class VII and carry over save data to the full game upon release!

Just got the email about it! :D Was the PC demo able to do that? UPDATE: Well the NA email said so, not the EU one oddly. No reason for the EU demo to not have that also.

Also trailer!

 
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Imitatio

Member
Feb 19, 2018
14,560
Still wanted to play 1&2 on Vita before jumping into this, but looking at my current time schedule, might be tricky.
I'm about to risk jumping into this in June without playing the other two.
 

theorder14

Banned
Mar 19, 2020
50
Still wanted to play 1&2 on Vita before jumping into this, but looking at my current time schedule, might be tricky.
I'm about to risk jumping into this in June without playing the other two.
I recommend you to start with 1 and 2 at the very least. Starting with CS3 is like watching avengers infinity war as your first marvel movie.
 
OP
OP
Hero of Legend
Oct 26, 2017
13,597
I recommend you to start with 1 and 2 at the very least. Starting with CS3 is like watching avengers infinity war as your first marvel movie.
I dunno. I think you can jump into Infinity War just fine without seeing the prior films. But yeah it would certainly help a lot. Plus most know who the characters are even just from seeing them around throughout the years, unlike the Trails series. :P
 

Busaiku

Teyvat Traveler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,372
Not just the first two cold steels, realistically you want to play both zero and azure which only have fan translated pc releases, and that's not even counting the sky trilogy that also builds into these games.
I went into Cold Steel without playing previous games, and I never felt lost.
 

BassForever

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
29,913
CT
I went into Cold Steel without playing previous games, and I never felt lost.

Cold Steel 1 works as a solid beginner entry point into the series, you can even play Cold Steel 2 and 95% works having just played CS1.

Just from the trailers of CS3 there are a lot more Sky and Zero/Azure characters running around, and talking from people who've played CS3/4 it sounds like the further you get into those games the more they call back and assume you know of events that happened in the older games.
 

Mentosrock

Member
Nov 4, 2019
650
I feel like the switch would be the perfect machine to go through these series on for those who have missed out so far... I'm one of them.

I'd love to buy the 3rd game in the series, but I wouldn't knowing I'd be missing out on a TON of background. It looks good.. But bring the rest of the games so we can at least play this one.
 

Redcrayon

Patient hunter
On Break
Oct 27, 2017
12,713
UK
I feel like the switch would be the perfect machine to go through these series on for those who have missed out so far... I'm one of them.

I'd love to buy the 3rd game in the series, but I wouldn't knowing I'd be missing out on a TON of background. It looks good.. But bring the rest of the games so we can at least play this one.
Considering the price this is listed for on Switch, you could probably grab ToCS I and II and a second-hand Vita to play them on for not much more if you want them portable?
 

Marche90

Member
Oct 25, 2017
91
Falcom not starting localization talks with partners until after the JP release of their titles is the main reason for this.

Yep. In interviews as recent as this year, they keep reiterating that they won't talk with anyone (other than Sony for the Asian market, I guess) about localization until the game is out, supposedly citing concerns about how they change stuff up until the last minute. Which is stupid, but hey. I love the games, not the company, and I would love to see a shakedown of their business unit due to stuff like this.
 

HeRinger

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,299
Sorry for the bump, but I couldn't find an OT for the game, which is releasing soon.

So, is this worth playing if you didn't play the first two games? I know the game has a summary of.previous events, but is that enough? Is there some sort of "movie" compilation on YouTube?

I have no interest in playing the previous games because I only play JRPGs on handhelds nowadays, and I don't have a Vita.
 

Redcrayon

Patient hunter
On Break
Oct 27, 2017
12,713
UK
Sorry for the bump, but I couldn't find an OT for the game, which is releasing soon.

So, is this worth playing if you didn't play the first two games? I know the game has a summary of.previous events, but is that enough? Is there some sort of "movie" compilation on YouTube?

I have no interest in playing the previous games because I only play JRPGs on handhelds nowadays, and I don't have a Vita.
There's a free demo that carries over. You can use that to check out the summary.

CS III is a better jumping on point than CSII or IV- it's giving you a new team of characters for that reason, and so plenty of reason for exposition, explanations and introductions to them.

I'd say give it a go, and if anything seems confusing, you can look it up in the game. It's more a matter of understanding the various factions in play in Erebonia, but it's not so complex that it's impenetrable. By CSIII, much of the events that occupied the bulk of the previous two games has been resolved (The civil war), and so it's the list of outstanding plotlines and esoteric enemy sub-factions, and particularly how they impact Rean, that you need the recap for.

I get where you're coming from, I only play JRPGs on portables too but did play CS 1/2 on the Vita. It's been four years since CS2 released on Vita though, I needed the recap when I looked at the demo as I'd forgotten most of the interlocking factions in play too!
 
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sredgrin

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
12,276
Sorry for the bump, but I couldn't find an OT for the game, which is releasing soon.

So, is this worth playing if you didn't play the first two games? I know the game has a summary of.previous events, but is that enough? Is there some sort of "movie" compilation on YouTube?

I have no interest in playing the previous games because I only play JRPGs on handhelds nowadays, and I don't have a Vita.


I probably wouldn't bother, each game is more dependent on the last, and the Cold Steel series has as time has gone on even connected more to the other older series as well.

Might be a good youtube summary out there for all I know, ymmv on that.
 

Jonnax

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,918
Sorry for the bump, but I couldn't find an OT for the game, which is releasing soon.

So, is this worth playing if you didn't play the first two games? I know the game has a summary of.previous events, but is that enough? Is there some sort of "movie" compilation on YouTube?

I have no interest in playing the previous games because I only play JRPGs on handhelds nowadays, and I don't have a Vita.
Battles are kinda fun for a JRPG.

btw, the games isn't actually the 3rd in the series.

Trails in the Sky First Chapter
Trails in the Sky Second Chapter
Trails from Zero
Trails of Azure
Cold Steel 1
Cold Steel 2
Cold Steel 3
Cold Steel 4

It's just the third game starring Rean in Erebonia.
There's a lot of events that are contextualised when you know the chracters and stories of the previous games.
It's like a continuous timeline where there isn't much time passing between the games.

Also there's the familiarity with the player, like you visit a town from an older game but it's now in 3D.
So there's the fun of exploring where you know where everything is.
c3g8LmZ.png



Honestly I think the series is worth playing if you start with Trails in the Sky. (It's only available on steam unfortunately)
You can still enjoy it if you dive in at CS3.
 

Rotobit

Editor at Nintendo Wire
Verified
Oct 27, 2017
10,196
Sorry for the bump, but I couldn't find an OT for the game, which is releasing soon.

So, is this worth playing if you didn't play the first two games? I know the game has a summary of.previous events, but is that enough? Is there some sort of "movie" compilation on YouTube?

I have no interest in playing the previous games because I only play JRPGs on handhelds nowadays, and I don't have a Vita.

There's an in-game summary of the first two Cold Steel games and a few important locations for context.

This channel has uncommentated cutscenes that are very solid too IMO, I used them to cross-check a few things. It has Trails in the Sky as well but that'd be a LOT of hours of catching up. If you're genuinely interested though you could watch these in the background while doing something else.




Personally I'd be sure to watch a few things and read the summaries and not worry too much. Almost every English speaker is in pretty much the same boat when it comes to missing context from two officially unlocalized games, after all.

I'm someone who played a snippet of Trails in the Sky years ago, then completed Cold Steel, then went back to finish Trails in the Sky 1, then played Cold Steel 2 and 3. Events have been spoiled to me from the earlier games but I honestly don't mind it, it's kinda fun in a prequel-y sort of way, considering the main protagonist from Cold Steel is just as clueless about a lot of it.
 

Kass15

Member
Jan 14, 2018
1,147
Sorry to bump again. Regarding the demo, I read it is roughly 2-3 hours. Is it possible to continue playing before the cutoff point and grind and explore? Would like to start this weekend and just keep playing until my copy arrives on Monday. Thank you in advance for any insight.
 

Deleted member 9746

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
5,406
There's an OT you guys can use if you want.

www.resetera.com

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 3 |OT| The Embers of War

Platforms: Playstation 4 Developer: Nihon Falcom Publisher: NIS America Release Date: JP: September 28th, 2017 NA: October 22nd, 2019 EU: October 22nd, 2019 Game Editions: Early Enrollment Edition: MSRP $59.99, £54.99 Digital Deluxe Edition: MSRP $59.99 (PS Plus price) $79.99 £48.74...