LogFAQs > #940334845

Chapter 2 over! I have mixed feelings about Day 2.

But first, the play by play. A bit shorter this time as this segment was gameplay-oriented.

- Back at camp, the new Class VII is left behing to care for Juna. Randy and Machias converse, mentioning "that place" being ready the accommodate Rean & co. Stupidly, my first thought goes to the car from Ao.
- A short while later into Crossbell City, I realize they were (of course) talking about SSS headquarters.
- I go into the Geofront after a few monster quests. Taking the opportunity to say that Machias yelling "You have failed your inspection" during his S-craft is the stupidest catchphrase, and I'm not sure if I love it or loathe it.
- Hmmm, Machias mentions a big bill coming up, possibly side-stepping the Imperial Parliament (which I wasn't sure was even a thing). Wondering if Osborne is planning to abolish the class system.
- Before leaving the city, I bump into Ken and Nana, who reveal that indeed, the Erebonian Juna admired was in fact Rean all along. I dig it.
- Olivier tags along! Yessssss! Emma, meet bench. Bench, meet Emma.
- We bump into Lechter on the way out. Olivier sends a cryptic message to Osborne, though I'm not sure what 'the gun' and 'the rose' are supposed to represent here.

- We're off to Stargazer's Tower! Huh, Osborne had the bell moved into Erebonia? Hmmmmmm he's planning something with it.
- I arrive at the top, and fight a really annoying Knight. He's not exactly hard, but he buffs & heals faster than I can do damage without S-crafts... so I end up spamming S-crafts to take him down immediately. That's pretty lame, but I might have been doing something wrong? Not sure what the optimal combination of moves/Orders/crafts/arts is.
- I arrive at the top, for a completely ridiculous fight against Campanella and McBurn. McBurn one-shots three of my party with Hellhounds on his first turn (3rd on the wheel, 2nd being Campanella), and then proceeds to spam the move every single turn. There's nothing I can do and I hit a Game Over. For the first time in CS3, I end up needing a retry offset because there's no way I can win this currently. The offset goes much, much better and he only uses Hellhounds once very deep into the fight after I've had a chance to buff/offset it with orders.
- My mood is salvaged by the great music - I'll really have to track down that theme, it's super catchy.
- After that, McBurn buffs again for a 2nd round, though he's somehow much weaker? I don't know, Incandescent Hellfire did less damage than Hellhounds and Alisa can tank it just fine with her MQ and heal everyone with Seraphic Ring (whereas for the first fight she just died immediately and did not revive). The difficulty is really all over the place in this game, and I find the system gets increasingly less balanced the further we go into Cold Steel.
- Aion fight is easy as always.

- Done with the fights, time for some dialogue & plot. Campanella mentions "The Professor" won't like the Aion being lost, and I assume they're referring to Novartis even though my translated version of Ao had him as 'Doctor.'
- Vita! Huh, Grianos is gone? Damn. Or did I do that in CS2? I honestly can't remember, it's been too long, though I remember fighting it at one point.
- Masked Man appears! From Rean & Towa's reaction and his name ('Azure Siegfried'), it seems my initial gut Crow prediction was not too far off track. Though I'm wondering if it's actually Crow or a homonculus.
- The Chief of the Gnomes?? Not sure I like this development. I enjoy Trails more when there's not too much magic/mecha and more political intrigue, and this is not the direction I was hoping for. Still, they seem like they might become allies given time.
- Altina recognizes the voice in the sphere, which probably means Black Workshop. I put on my tinfoil hat, go one step further, and ponder if that voice might be Prof Lughman.
- WHAT!? Why/how did Lloyd and co. get freed?? I mean... I guess Alfin going there could have helped a bit, but isn't she a figurehead? Why the hell would Rufus allow this? To be frank, I think this cheapens the punch from yesterday - the SSS should have been freed through my actions, or at least Rean should've been confronted with a difficult decision of SSS vs. Empire. Instead, the whole conflict gets resolved offscreen in a weird way.

Chapter end! As I said, mixed feelings about Day 2, which removes some of the twists I liked the most about Night 1. Big highlight of the chapter (aside from said twists and the party itself) was Juna, who got some really solid development and is now shooting ahead of Rean in my ranking. Ash > Juna/Musse > Rean > Kurt >> Altina.

And to finish things off, one last tinfoil which came to me randomly about Musse - I'm wondering if she might not be Duke Cayenne's daughter. Three pieces of reasoning: one is that Aurelia knows her and what she's all about (which she would given how much she interacted with Cayenne in CS1/CS2); another is that she's clearly a noble, having gone to St. Astraia; the third is that I'm fairly sure we're off to Lamare Province next chapter, which would be the perfect moment for some Musse revelations.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore