This is going to be a very abbreviated set of thoughts because there's just too much to cover. And I feel like my general impression/view of it all went through some shifts as it all unfolded too. Going around talking to everyone on the Pantagruel was great. This was basically the EVERYONE IS HERE moment with Kloe, Cassius, Prince Albert, President Rocksmith joining up with the majority of the FC Party, Josette, the OG SSS, KeA, Rosine, Lucy, Kaela, Aurelia, Bardias like it was nuts. Some real fun and cool interactions like Joshua talking about Hamel, Kloe and Lucy reminiscing on the old Jenis Student Council Days, and Duvalie declaring Anelace her rival just off Rean's hearsay (make this happen falcom. MAKE. IT. HAPPEN.)
Ouroboros crashing the party with the Glorious was also hype though I wish the "dungeon" part of this was a lot longer. We get all these guest characters and then it's basically a short hallway to the boss fight. lmao Estelle, Renne, and Duvalie reacting to Gilbert. Altina mentions the "Court of Shadows" as when Gilbert teamed up with Estelle and unless I'm blanking on 3rd stuff did she mean the Castle of Illusions (or do I only think of it by that name because of the OST?) Or just Phantasma in general? I mean either way I knew what she was talking about but I don't remember that specific term.
Boss banter and fights were cool too except you gotta let me equip accessories to guest characters if you're gonna force everyone to fight and then toss out deathblow and petrify like candy. Only Renne came to this thinking like I do!
Things turning bad after this was also really well done though I've got questions about those Aions. Musse revealing her plan to ram the Glorious and Aurelia ordering everyone to evacuate or else she'd cut them down was also powerful... and then this all took quite the turn. On the balance I'm not all that happy with how things proceeded from here. Like obviously I knew that they weren't really going to have Musse sacrifice herself like this, and because this is Trails you just always knew actually everyone survived the Courageous explosion but ugh it's like they literally came back from the dead to ensure that no one dies in Trails period. And after a bunch of realist talk where you got even Cassius Bright and Kloe resigned to Mille Mirage and that sometimes things are just bad and ugly but you have to do what you can... I'm not really up for Olivier coming in with "I'm here just to give Class VII a ride. Legit no plans beyond that." I was fine with Estelle, the SSS, and Class VII rejecting the idea of officially joining the plan but it started to get to be a bit too much of vague unspecified hope talk at this point.
Cedric unraveling is always... a sight to watch and Osborne skyping into the meeting was a mixed bag. Alberich's VA is just amazing at the role and gives a great performance but I'm not feeling this Victor plotline. The whole thing behind them all surviving CS3 was already a bit much but then throwing on, "actually the curse can also just force people to act how it wants a la Phantasma... only in the real world and not inside the Recluse Cube's very unique situation" is like "really now?" Also major props to Lloyd's VA for the delivery on his parting shot to Rufus. Might be the best delivered line in the game so far, the emotion and anger rising through it was pitch perfect.
Anyway we're in Act 3 now and I guess Roselia is like "Shit, maybe I shouldn't just sit on this information any longer" so it sounds like we're heading to the Luna Shrine next.
...god and that is genuinely the short version. I skipped over so many things and really went light on my own thoughts/reactions too.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?