LogFAQs > #900200311

I mean, I understand that we're not up to that part yet (CS3 will get there) but I, like some others, was under the impression we would get to visit some new locations heard about in CS1, but that's not the case. It cheapens the feel of the game, but I'm sure this will change once CS3 and CS4 are released. Most of the core character cast doesn't really get any big developments. Sure, you may find out some things about them but not enough for how well they were presented in the first game. Machias felt like an afterthought, he had like no presence.

The finale finally wraps some of the story up and the final dungeon is epic and well-designed, but the ending (not the epilogue ending) feels like CS1's ending in that it's not a cliffhanger, but a series of revelations that are left unanswered. The end of CS2, like CS1 before it, left me wanting way more. There's a bunch of new questions and too few answers and we're left with a feeling of emptiness inside. There's a timeskip after that and we go to a Crossbell scenario which leaves us wanting freaking CROSSBELL, and then we're back to another timeskip with Class VII chillin' like the old days and the same revelations from before not expanded upon. The scene with Claire and Rean in Trista's train station put a tear in my eye. I wanted to see more of Rean immediately after the final chapter's final boss and what he has been up to, but I knew the game had to end soon. I also shipped ReanxClaire.

Oh, and I also felt like no matter how powerful I was gameplay-wise, the game never displayed it story-wise. It overuses the big damn heroes that is prevalent in the series but here it's really bad. I can wreck a boss but the scene after that shows it getting back or him/her using some special move and then we don't a chance...but wait, X guy or X girl from the previous game suddenly shows up to save the day! This literally happens all.the.time. The worst instance of this is in Act 2 when storming an enemy base. You run into random mooks that look the same and then at the end of the dungeon is the random mook commander (who has the same exact character model as the other random mooks) holding a hostage captive. Nevermind the fact that we just S-Crafted the shit outta his buddies and got shot hundreds of times, he has a gun pointed to the hostage and we can't do anything! He sics some soldiers, then the big dog bosses on me, then still tries to blackmail us afterwards and we don't stand a chance against him! Fortunately, a character from the previous game makes an appearance just in time and everyone's saved! This becomes a nuisance later on, where we face a bunch of the villains in the final dungeon and beat them but then they come back and nearly kill us before some big damn hero shows up. It's funny, because I absolutely wrecked the final chapter final boss within moments. They had an epic boss track that I didn't get to hear because I beat him in less than a few minutes, which is why I linked to it above.

But, at the end of the day, I nitpick a lot, and CS2 is still amazing and an essential game to play. I reckon it will be a much better experience when CS3 and later 4 are released in the west, because it'll feel like a part of a package. I wish it were paced better, yes, but what we got was worth the price of admission and then some. It's still a Trails game and an excellent one at that. If you're a fan you'd be doing yourself no favors skipping out on it, and even if the story has its faults and doesn't flow smoothly and ends sorta anticlimactically, it's still a freaking Trails game! These games have the best RPG storyline in this day and age, and it's still ongoing. I loved Suikoden for its various lore, backstory, and worldbuilding, and how it built upon a larger storyline in every entry of the franchise. And I love Trails for doing the same exact thing except doing it even better, and I know one day it will pay off.