LogFAQs > #940144449

Solf reporting in - longtime lurker on this board, through which I discovered the Trails series. Figured I'd do a playthrough topic of the latest game to come out in the West since they seem to be all the rage.

First of all - UNMARKED SPOILERS FOR THE WHOLE SERIES FROM THIS POINT ON. (Up to and including my current chapter in ToCS3.)

I'm about halfway through Chapter 1 (just got to Parm), and have managed to mostly avoid spoilers thus far while I was catching up on the Crossbell arc. Therefore - please avoid spoilers to the extent you can! I look forward to seeing what this game has in store.

A few thoughts about the game thus far:
- Overall impressions are that I'm liking this much more than ToCS 1 & 2. No clear reason why - just a lot of small things, such as toning down the high school tropes a bit (or at least switching perspectives to an instructor role, which is a more nuanced take than standard high school shenanigans), the improved graphics, the returning characters, etc.
- Initial impressions on the party/future party: Ash > Rean > Juna = Musse > Altina = Kurt. Ash is antagonistic and a pain to deal with, but also intriguing as he clearly seems to have a hidden agenda, and is also cleverer than he lets on. Rean is pretty much his same old self, though he has matured a bit which gives slightly more depth. Juna is a straightforward take on a well-known archetype, though I appreciate that she is not as needlessly antagonistic as early Machias (plus, some resentment towards the ones who invaded your homeland is understandable). Musse is a big bag of problems, but I'm curious to see what exactly she's trying to achieve. Altina and Kurt are both boring thus far.
- Love to have Randy back, though it's a bit weird for me because I'm playing this on the tails of Ao, meaning I've literally just left him off.
- Arianrhod is back! Looking forward to seeing what role she plays now that I've seen what she can do in Crossbell.
- Tita/Agate back is nice, though their dynamic has always been a bit uncomfortable. Japan being Japan, I guess. Still fun to see some more familiar faces!
- My big gameplay problem thus far is how constrained I am with orbal slots. I don't actually mind since it's fun to slowly unlock things and it's an interesting obstacle to cope with.
- I made the mistake of doing the forest in St. Arkh before the archaisms - struggled a bit with the spider fight at the end, but prevailed without too much trouble. One big factor hampering me: my obsession with not missing time-limited equipment, which meant I sank all my money into useless trinkets for the exchange shop rather than upgrading my armour. Oops.
- Weirdest thing is Rean's level being downgraded back to 7 (and Altina's to 3!). I totally understand why they did that, since having Rean running round at level 153 while his party is a flimsy level 5 would be ridiculous, but it still creates a situation where a battle-hardened Rean is roughly on par with untested Juna.

Some speculation/things I noted:
- Interesting that Ash was hanging around when Rean & Millium met Lechter at the station. Obvious theory is that he's an intelligence division plant who's there to report on Rean/the Branch Campus to Osborne & co - though I am a bit surprised that Lechter let us see him interacting with Ash.
- Randy seems to have been coerced into joining the Branch school, though I am not sure whether the coercing was done by Osborne's crew or Olivert's (though the game seems to imply it is the former, likely through Rufus). I'm sure he'll be placed in a difficult situation where Lloyd and crew will be in danger from Erebonia - curious to see how he'll play it (and Juna, of course). You can't have two characters from Crossbell and not engineer a situation like this at some point.
- Osborne's comment about Rean being a screw-up - wondering if he actually meant it or if he's playing it up to avoid people thinking Rean is his Achilles' heel. Given Lechter's comment during the scene, I suspect the latter but we'll see.
- Not sure who the snake in the grass will be for this game (there's always one), but I'll be keeping an eye out. There are so many returning characters that they might retroactively reveal one of the old crew as untrustworthy. As for the new ones, I'm not sure what to think about Major Irving.
- The only real thing I've accidentally spoiled myself on is the identity of the mysterious witch who I met in the forest near St. Arkh (I believe her name is Roselia?), which is a shame but hopefully not a key twist.
- Aurelia Le Guin strikes me as altogether a bit sinister, which makes me think she'll likely bail out the party at some point and won't actually betray them. At least we know from her past as a noble that she's probably not in Osborne's pocket, and I doubt she's affiliated with Ouroboros, which removes the two main threats.

Opinions about the series while I'm at it:
- I'm one of those weird people who prefer Sky FC to SC. I loved the world building and character development of the first game more, while I found that SC leaned a bit too hard into anime tropes (with the quirky boss/miniboss squad, people constantly holding back in fights, etc.). Don't get me wrong - I still love the entire Sky series.
- Did not like Cold Steel 1 & 2 remotely as much as Sky. Except for Crow and Jusis to some extent, I found the main party shallow and boring for the most part. The first game is redeemed by the Crow twist (which I absolutely did not see coming!), but Cold Steel 2 in particular was a painful slog at times, and seemed like a blatantly filler game.
- Recently played the Crossbell games with the release of the Geofront patch. Really impressed with Ao in particular, which is hands-down my favourite of the series. Really strong plot, likeable protagonist and side characters, plus Crossbell City is a great locale.
- Towa best girl, but I went with Alisa in the first two Cold Steel games because I felt that's what made the most sense for TOCS1/2 Rean. Not sure where I'll be going for TOCS3 - we'll see how Rean & the others develop.

That's it for now. I might play some more later tonight, though don't expect a ton of progress. I'm taking things slow and interacting with every NPC.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore