Current Events > Trails in the Sky had damn good writing

(+) Yeah! (+)

It just feels alive and real

With a sprinkle of anime of course

Meant to say HAS good writing. Still playing it

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Yeah it had good writing but it doesn't have good writing anymore.

The entire series is good, but takes a little bit of a dip in the Cold Steel arc imo.

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started playing it myself, kinda funny that everyone else is also getting into it just now

thanks steam sale

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obsolete posted...

Yeah it had good writing but it doesn't have good writing anymore.

Disagree

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I'm playing SC as I type this. Trying to finish the Sky games before CS4. I imagine that has as much to do with people playing the Sky games lately as the Steam sales. As for writing quality, the only real issue I have with the CS games is fakeout deaths. That can get pretty ridiculous in that series. Overall though solidly written games I think. Falcom is a good dev.

Yes, Trails in the Sky is probably one of the best RPG series of all time. The only mild "issue" the series has is the large amount of dialog that drags on sometimes, but otherwise, it's an amazing series. I'm currently playing Ao no Kiseki, trying to complete the intermission chapter by going through all the dialog options.


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LordFarquad1312 posted...

The entire series is good, but takes a little bit of a dip in the Cold Steel arc imo.

if by a little you mean a lot then yes

Yamata_Demon posted...

I'm currently playing Ao no Kiseki, trying to complete the intermission chapter by going through all the dialog options.

enjoy the pinnacle of jrpg and weep at its decline when you play the cs games

I just got to the 7th chapter of SC and man have I been having a good time playing through it. I like enough of the characters that I regret not having enough space to bring them all onboard. Olivier da goat tho.

Ive eyed the Cold Steel series but from what I saw it was anime highschool with what looked like harem MC type so... kinda didnt want to bother, but might anyway someday probably (not).

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I started FC

Didn't get very far though >_>
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Ving_Rhames posted...

I just got to the 7th chapter of SC and man have I been having a good time playing through it. I like enough of the characters that I regret not having enough space to bring them all onboard.

Ive eyed the Cold Steel series but from what I saw it was anime highschool with what looked like harem MC type so... kinda didnt want to bother, but might anyway someday probably (not).

bro you're like the only other person on this board with any semblance of taste so let me tell you that what the cs games look like on the surface are... exactly what they are

dudes like @DezDroppedFreak can corroborate that

I wish we could play the whole series on Vita, it is really suited for handheld rather than pc.

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I gotta say Cold Steel, at least 1 and 2, are better. So much faster, cooler story overall, better side characters, deep lore, way better gameplay. I don't understand the hate

The relationship between Joshua and Estelle is great though and may be the best writing in the series. But I'm only about half way through Sky 1, so

Ah the hate is because of the school stuff huh

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there is literally nothing the cold steel series does better than either previous arc except streamlining the gameplay, which isn't even the reason you play the series to begin with

also if you havent played sc or ao your opinion is quite literally irrelevant

Reis posted...

there is literally nothing the cold steel series does better than either previous arc except streamlining the gameplay, which isn't even the reason you play the series to begin with

also if you havent played sc or ao your opinion is quite literally irrelevant

Lmao stfu

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oh okay cool retort

you gotta love how that vast majority of the people who defend the godawful writing of the cold steel arc havent even played the rest of the games

It's ok if you wanna be butthurt about my opinion. Just let it all out

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Reis posted...

bro you're like the only other person on this board with any semblance of taste so let me tell you that what the cs games look like on the surface are... exactly what they are

dudes like @DezDroppedFreak can corroborate that

Shir, thats kind of upsetting. >_> Theres so much charm to the writing in FC/SC and unlike with the majority of dialog heavy games I never start groaning and wanting everyone to shut up.

Smackems posted...

Ah the hate is because of the school stuff huh

Eh, the issue that usually comes with school settings and harem looking MCs is... over focus on said harem MC and a lack of development between characters who arent just the harem MC and the people who idolize him. Ofc I dont know shit about CS outside of it being set in Erebonia and the pictures Ive seen.

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Ving_Rhames posted...

over focus on said harem MC and a lack of development between characters who arent just the harem MC and the people who idolize him. Ofc I dont know shit about CS outside of it being set in Erebonia and the pictures Ive seen.

this is literally exactly what its like in the games. granted that rean is actually a good mc, but he is quite literally jesus and everyone is always on his dick 24/7, and its especially egregious in 3/4 when he's the shit

_____Cait posted...

I wish we could play the whole series on Vita, it is really suited for handheld rather than pc.

Weirdly nuff, I couldnt get very far in FC on the PSP, think I got to Zeiss and was like This tiny ass screen is a pain lol

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Ving_Rhames posted...

Shir, thats kind of upsetting. >_> Theres so much charm to the writing in FC/SC and unlike with the majority of dialog heavy games I never start groaning and wanting everyone to shut up.

Eh, the issue that usually comes with school settings and harem looking MCs is... over focus on said harem MC and a lack of development between characters who arent just the harem MC and the people who idolize him. Ofc I dont know shit about CS outside of it being set in Erebonia and the pictures Ive seen.

Side characters get a good bit of screen time and development in CS. And I dunno it's no more harem than any other game. There's 1 relationship that's kinda pushed over the others so I guess you could say one is probably more developed than the others

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side characters only get development by virtue of the fucking awful bonding system, which has limited points in the initial playthrough

the harem shit is in full effect in cs3 when literally every female character is on rean's dick

and also the point he's making is that characters do not interact with each other much on their own without the presence of rean which is completely true outside of the initial squabbles in cs1

I wanna get into the games again. Loved FC and stopped playing on ch8 I think on CS when I had to revisit a lot of places and stuff.

Not sure if I can pick it up again or replay.

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FF_Redux posted...

I wanna get into the games again. Loved FC and stopped playing on ch8 I think on CS when I had to revisit a lot of places and stuff.

Not sure if I can pick it up again or replay.

Is it the revisiting old places that got to you? I actually liked that aspect a lot. But if it bothers you that much, there's a lot of it in 2 as well

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Smackems posted...

Is it the revisiting old places that got to you? I actually liked that aspect a lot. But if it bothers you that much, there's a lot of it in 2 as well

Not really, but I was bit burnt out and newded a break but got into other games and it was harder to go back. And at that point you have to limit yourself too and now I would have no idea what to do with that.

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FF_Redux posted...

Not really, but I was bit burnt out and newded a break but got into other games and it was harder to go back. And at that point you have to limit yourself too and now I would have no idea what to do with that.

I used to have that mindset about long games and coming back to them. I would get burnt out, start over a year or two later on it, then get burnt out again.

The way I got over that habit was simply bite the bullet and dive back in on my save. ToCS is good about showing you what to do (something Sky lacks a bit of) and I think there is a story summary page as well. It's a great series imo. I like it more than what I've played of Sky.

Honestly my complaints with Sky are kinda making it a little bit of a chore to play through, but I wanna get as much story as I can that came before CS3 before moving on

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I've only played Cold Steel 1+2 (well also all the Skies and Zero), my issue with Cold Steel mostly comes from the harem aspects, and the bond system.

The games seems to really have set Alisa up as Rean's main love interest, but the harem aspect means he can wind up with any of the girls. Furthermore the occasions that the characters push Elise+Rean comes off as creepy.

Finally the bonding system seems to more be a way to encourage replays then a good way of developing characters. If you don't do characters bond events they often feel undeveloped to me. In the Persona series (well 3+) it's pretty easy to max out your relationship with all the main characters in your first play through, while you can't do that at all in Cold Steel.

I really tried to like the first one. Tried a few times in fact. I just couldnt see the hype.

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JE19426 posted...

I've only played Cold Steel 1+2 (well also all the Skies and Zero), my issue with Cold Steel mostly comes from the harem aspects, and the bond system.

The games seems to really have set Alisa up as Rean's main love interest, but the harem aspect means he can wind up with any of the girls. Furthermore the occasions that the characters push Elise+Rean comes off as creepy.

Finally the bonding system seems to more be a way to encourage replays then a good way of developing characters. If you don't do characters bond events they often feel undeveloped to me. In the Persona series (well 3+) it's pretty easy to max out your relationship with all the main characters in your first play through, while you can't do that at all in Cold Steel.

I wasn't bothered that I couldn't max all the relationships. And yeah the pushed girl thing is kinda weird sometimes.

Like.. Get the fuck off me girl I'm trying to get with the instructor

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Smackems posted...

I gotta say Cold Steel, at least 1 and 2, are better. So much faster, cooler story overall, better side characters, deep lore, way better gameplay. I don't understand the hate

The relationship between Joshua and Estelle is great though and may be the best writing in the series. But I'm only about half way through Sky 1, so

Ah the hate is because of the school stuff huh

Disagree. Estelle is the best protagonist in the series imo. The characters in Cold Steel suffer from not having established romantic relationships, females feel like they are there just to join the Rean harem. CS1 also feels very similar to Sky FC structure wise, and since I played Sky first it felt like a huge step back.

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I suppose

It didn't really get going until FC's epilogue though

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I'm trying to get my best friend through the first Sky game right now. Honestly when I played it I almost gave up. I love Estelle and Joshua but you're usually stuck with a limited party and the story just doesn't have the oomph every other game has. But once you get to the end the quality goes way up and stays there in every game I've played since.

Anyway I'm at the end of Trails of Zero right now. I still don't like Lloyd or Ellie very much, but the game is still the best I've played by a long shot. Big last chapter of Zero spoilers I couldn't believe what I was seeing when three Gundams float down from the heavens and make every countries military look like chumps. Ouroboros is so far above everyone else in terms of power that it's ridiculous. The only exception might be the church. I'm also getting eager to see what the heck is going on over in Erebonia, sounds like that's where the party's at.

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Sweet a steam sale! Finally can get Xcom 2 for a reasonable price. Anyways, I love the Trails series. Waiting for CS4 is painful.

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LordFarquad1312 posted...

Disagree. Estelle is the best protagonist in the series imo. The characters in Cold Steel suffer from not having established romantic relationships, females feel like they are there just to join the Rean harem. CS1 also feels very similar to Sky FC structure wise, and since I played Sky first it felt like a huge step back.

Yeah that's a good complaint

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If people think the Rean harem vortex is bad now, just wait until they see how bad CS4 gets

OmegaShinkai posted...

If people think the Rean harem vortex is bad now, just wait until they see how bad CS4 gets

Lol. Instructor Sara > all anyway

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Yeah, I can't do the harem thing. Which sucks cuz I do wanna see what the fuck is going on in Erebonia. Should I watch Youtube playthroughs instead? Just reading a summary isn't the same lol

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Ving_Rhames posted...

Yeah, I can't do the harem thing. Which sucks cuz I do wanna see what the fuck is going on in Erebonia. Should I watch Youtube playthroughs instead? Just reading a summary isn't the same lol

You should bite it and just play them. They're great. Why does everyone hate the harem stuff lol just go with the character that's pushed to be Reans love interest and ignore the rest

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Smackems posted...

You should bite it and just play them. They're great. Why does everyone hate the harem stuff lol just go with the character that's pushed to be Reans love interest and ignore the rest

For me its less the overall romance aspect (I don't mind romance, they're generally horribly written in videogames but I usually at worst just laugh them off) and more that every other character thats a part of said potential harem ends up inadvertently suffering from development/focus issues as a result. I don't like it when one character is the center of attention at all times, I like it when characters got their own shit, strong relationships, and whatnot going on outside of the MC being the thing that ties it all together. Things that make them interesting characters on their own merits not in relation to the MC.

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The harem stuff doesn't bug me too much because it's kind of the shtick of the CS games. Doesn't Hajimari get rid of the harem stuff anyway? Thought I heard that somewhere. Not following Hajimari very close to avoid spoilers but I remember something about that stuff being gone.

Ving_Rhames posted...

For me its less the overall romance aspect (I don't mind romance, they're generally horribly written in videogames but I usually at worst just laugh them off) and more that every other character thats a part of said potential harem ends up inadvertently suffering from development/focus issues as a result. I don't like it when one character is the center of attention at all times, I like it when characters got their own shit, strong relationships, and whatnot going on outside of the MC being the thing that ties it all together. Things that make them interesting characters on their own merits not in relation to the MC.

There's plenty of character development for them that doesn't revolve around banging Reanie Beanie. Would there be more if there were established relationships? Yeah, but they aren't neglected or anything.

I imagine CS1 is pretty cheap. Give it a shot when you see it on sale, that's really the only way to know if you would like it

It is pretty slow though. It's all about the journey of the students. The real shit doesn't start till 2. Not saying there's no excitement in 1, but you know what I mean

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Estelle is the daughter of a famous S-rank bracer.
Lloyd is a beat cop in Crossbell.
Rean is a master of the most famous sword style in Zemuria, is known across half of the continent, has an ancient mecha knight who is completely loyal to him, is the son of the reincarnation of the most legendary emperor in Erebonia, has demon powers that stem from a literal alien curse that exists in a different reality from the rest of Zemuria, and pretty much every girl he ever interacts with wants to drop their pants for him, including the princess of Erebonia.

One of these things is not like the others.

Grischnak posted...

Doesn't Hajimari get rid of the harem stuff anyway

There's no bonding events in Hajimari, but the harem stuff is very much still there.

Im playing Trails from Zero right now, im near the end I think (chapter 4 day 3). I absolutely love this series

Does it actually get worse in cold steel

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Rika_Furude posted...

Im playing Trails from Zero right now, im near the end I think (chapter 4 day 3). I absolutely love this series

Does it actually get worse in cold steel

No, ignore the angry nerds in this topic

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Rika_Furude posted...

Im playing Trails from Zero right now, im near the end I think (chapter 4 day 3). I absolutely love this series

Does it actually get worse in cold steel

Cold Steel is great. I have no way to play the crossbell games, so I can't compare them. But imo after getting halfway through Sky CS is better.

OmegaShinkai posted...

Estelle is the daughter of a famous S-rank bracer.
Lloyd is a beat cop in Crossbell.
Rean is a master of the most famous sword style in Zemuria, is known across half of the continent, has an ancient mecha knight who is completely loyal to him, is the son of the reincarnation of the most legendary emperor in Erebonia, has demon powers that stem from a literal alien curse that exists in a different reality from the rest of Zemuria, and pretty much every girl he ever interacts with wants to drop their pants for him, including the princess of Erebonia.

One of these things is not like the others.

There's no bonding events in Hajimari, but the harem stuff is very much still there.

As of CS3 he's not a master of that sword style

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Smackems posted...

As of CS3 he's not a master of that sword style

As of CS4 and Hajimari he's the Divine Blade of the Void style of Eight Leaves One Blade

OmegaShinkai posted...

There's no bonding events in Hajimari, but the harem stuff is very much still there.

I guess it wouldn't make sense if the girls suddenly thought he was ugly or something. But with bonding events gone I can't imagine there's really any choices to be made that affect the game or whatever.

OmegaShinkai posted...

As of CS4 and Hajimari he's the Divine Blade of the Void style of Eight Leaves One Blade

I believe you. I don't wanna read that

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Lloyd was the first harem master. Rean just took it to a new extreme.

Not gonna pretend like it was a good thing for the series because it wasn't, but it doesn't fucking ruin all of Cold Steel. Let's just hope they drop it in future arcs.

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