LogFAQs > #940297052

Totally agree about Vita. I think any seasoned Trails player would have called her out after Weissman in Liberl and the villain from Zero no Kiseki.

My biggest headcannon/tinfoil hat theory for the Trails series is that Ouroboros will end up secretly working for good (or at least a well-meaning goal), while the higher ups in the Church will be revealed to be worse. Basically a typical Trails twist, but series-wide.

But I digress - just finished the first day. HO-LY CRAP what a scene!! Undoubtedly the best Erebonia sequence since Crow shot Osborne back in the first game. I'm genuinely pumped for the first time in a long, long while in this arc.

Let's resume where we left off:

- I head back to Crossbell City en route to East Crossbell Highway, and bump into Shing/Xin along the way, who offers what has got to be the shadiest sidequest in the series. Why the hell are we accepting to pick up a mysterious suitcase for a Calvardian crime syndicate?? Anyway, I still do it for that sweet, sweet AP, and it turns out their letters from Lloyd & co. Errrrr... Rean, aren't you at least going to read/screen them? From your perspective, they're seditious - there might be some actual plans buried in there. Oh well.

- After that, we're off to East Crossbell Highway. I bump again into a mysterious dude in the boat shack, whom I thought was Nielsen from Ao, but apparently is "Professor Lughman." lol if that isn't the most suspicious guy ever. (1) Creepy design; (2) a professor; (3) voice acted; (4) arrives out of literally nowhere, and with a completely nothing job; (5) party seems to trust him completely; (6) he wants a sample of the special MacGuffin grass; (7) he's unusually interested in Altina... come on, how many red flags can you trip up in a single scene? Anyway, I put this guy firmly in "Will betray me later" territory. Obvious guess is Black Workshop-affiliated, but I'm not sure beyond that.
- THANK YOU REAN for refusing to give the Red Pleroma Grass to the obvious bad guy. Well done!
- Cryptid fight! I like that Rean immediately escalates by calling Valimar - good decision-making even if Campanella blocks it. The fight goes alright though once again, I lose the "guess what status effect the boss will inflict" game in spectacular fashion.
- Emma arrives. Okay. Prof's gone when I'm back, though obviously we'll meet again.
- On the way back, we see the Empire's new railguns, to be stationed in Tangram. Huh, Osborne's not playing around. Though I understand why given the cold war of sorts he's got running with Calvard.

- Sweet! We're invited to the party in Orchis Tower! I relish the chance to interact with series-spanning VIPs in Trails game over spending the night with some random Class VIII/IX students. Rufus, though you're clearly evil and I'm sure we'll fight you in the Axis Pillar equivalent of Cold Steel IV, for now, you're cool.
- Okay, that is entirely too much attention given to Speaker MacDowell's absence. It is noteworthy I guess, but the game is making such a big point of it that it's strange. Is he off rebelling with Lloyd in the Mainz area?
- Alfin reacts to seeing Musse in the crowd - ah, so I was right about her being the girl Elise & Alfin were discussing! And looks I was also right on the money with Rufus forcing Randy over to the branch campus. Makes all tons of sense.
- Cool conversation with Carl & Irina. I live for these convos on socioeconomic schemes - Trails has got to be the only JRPG series around where a taxation scheme is given so much attention. This is why I like Trails.
- Hrmmmmmm Irina lets slip that the whole 'inspection team' was basically planned by Rufus. I don't like this - looks like he's putting a bunch of VIPs within his power at once. I expect foul play.
- Okay Trails, every time a new female character introduced, a Greek Chorus always comments on how pretty they look. Can you please stop doing that?
- Random thought - is Prince Cedric on Gnosis? More than a few characters commented on how he went straight from sickly to strong & forceful. Maybe Rufus got some and shipped a few samples to Osborne?
- Rufus chat! I've been looking forward to this - and he opens right away with Rean's parentage. ...Rean no. no Rean what are you doing. why are you wasting this precious scene with pointless flashbacks and dumb questions. Oh well, at least we got some info on Rufus' backstory with Osborne. Rean should've asked Rufus why Osborne dumped him with the Schwarzers - he might've gotten some ammo, or at least an indication of an Achilles' Heel.
- Musse/Elise/Alfin scene - ah, so Musse Egret is an alias? Her real name starts with 'Mildi'... do I know anyone called that? I'll have to pay attention.

- Ouroboros attacks! Rean rushes off alone with Sharon... errrrrrrrr are you sure you can trust her? I'm not confident about this setup - feels all too easy for Sharon to turn coat once Rean is alone with the Enforcers up top.
- Meanwhile, I struggle to beat some crappy archaisms with the B-team. (Holy crap, Musse is terrible in gameplay. At least Ash seems solid.) Altina and Musse get confused and basically murder each other. Ash and Juna hang on long enough to save the day.
- Cut to Rean & Sharon - cool revelation from Campanella about Sharon being responsible for the distraction that led Cassius out of Liberl during Sky FC. I like those small tidbits.
- The B-team arrives, and it looks like it's B-team vs. Campanella and A-team vs. McBurn. Cool setup!
- Dang, the battle theme for this pair of fights is great! Surprisingly easier than I expected too - Campanella gives me ample time to buff, and then I just have to break him using Juna's order (a favourite of mine, for such a low cost!) and pile on the pain. One S-craft from Juna is enough to bring him down to 0. McBurn is a bit iffier, but one buffed S-craft from Rean does the job.

- Great scene here. McBurn starts things off by revealing that the crew is not "The ones we wanted" (plural, huh?). I'm drawing a blank here, since everybody's at the scene, except... Alfin? Carl & Irina? Seems like small potatoes.
- Olivert comes in and basically asks all the questions I had in rapid succession. Based Olivert is based. Learn from him, Rean!
- Ah! So Vita is no longer in Ouroboros? Damn, the plot thickens. And Olivert is on fire, noting the plural in 'the ones' and trying to figure out who else they're looking for,, AND pointing out the question of who hired the Jaeger King as another unresolved mystery. Rufus, don't hide - I see your eyes narrowed at that last question. It was Osborne, wasn't it?
- Juna interjects and starts laying down the law on Ouroboros. I admire the boldness of that girl, monologuing in McBurn's face. This is a good moment for Juna.
- Revelation - Rufus is holding the rest of the SSS + Arios in Mishelam and is not letting them leave. So that's what Birdcage was (Randy & Tio were talking about this earlier)! I can't even blame Rufus for this, this is just shrewd policy.
- Some great reactions & an emotional moment from Juna. Great character development right here - I'm looking forward to seeing how she rebounds from that. I really like that she's yelling at Rean instead of Rufus - she zeroes in on the sympathetic figure towards whom she's so conflicted, rather than the guy she knows she obviously won't ever convince.
- ....and Rufus just silently walks away while all of this is going on. He knows he's the bad guy here, and he has no reason to stay. Well played, sir.

Great moment here. I hope the second day will be as good as the first!

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore