LogFAQs > #961024061

Sometime back in 2020, ToCS3 got announced for a US release on the Nintendo Switch, and seeing all the hype around it, I finally decided "huh maybe I should check this series out". For years, you guys here on B8 have been raving about the Trails series, and I really digged the music I heard from it in VGMC. This video here ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkSIxrYmnBI ) was actually what got me to pick up the first game in the series during a Steam sale. (also PSA to anyone on the fence about getting started on this series, play the games in release order and don't skip any)

And it turns out, you guys were right! I was a bit worried that these games wouldn't live up to the mountain of hype, but midway through Sky FC, I went ahead a grabbed SC too! After Sky 3rd, I took a break and played a couple other RPGs on my backlog (just long enough for the Geofront translations to be finished), but two years and many hiatuses later, I've finally finished both the Sky and Crossbell arcs.

I guess B8 in general just has good taste in games. A lot of the stuff that gets recommended here specifically (e.g. Trails/Umineko/Utawarerumono) just so happens to be the exact kind of stuff I'm looking for games, so uhhh thanks!

What I loved most about these games was how in-depth the worldbuilding is, and how every single NPC in the game has a developed backstory. The characters would usually have deeper motives behind their actions, and larger scale forces would shape the plot rather than just leaving everything to powerlevel cliches deciding everything like you'd see in a lot of other anime/JRPGs. There's definitely the feeling of all the characters growing as the story progresses and I found myself surprised at just how much I liked basically everyone in these games. Kinda an interesting choice in that the series very rarely actually kills characters off, but it doesn't really need to with how dark it gets at points.

So yeah, I just wanted to talk about how much I LOVE this series, to the point where it's my new favorite RPG franchise. I already have the first three Cold Steel games sitting in my Steam library, but I may choose to play something else in the meantime so that I don't get burnt out.

spoilers for the first five games after this post I guess