History YMMV / TrailsSeries

* ToughActToFollow: As more widespread knowledge on ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure'' surface thanks to various attempts to translate them by fans, many that have played them claim that ''Azure'' is possibly the best in the franchise.

* ArcFatigue: It's not uncommon for ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel Cold Steel]]'' to get this reaction out of the fanbase, as it is currently the longest arc at four games, two of which end on [[CliffHanger cliffhangers]] so devious they're a borderline NoEnding. It doesn't help that the subseries is the largest case of DevelopmentHell in the franchise, with multiple points where the games' length and pacing had to be compressed or extended to make full titles out of the existing plot. And while the very next game, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsIntoReverie Reverie]]'', isn't technically part of ''Cold Steel'', it still takes place at least partially in Erebonia, complete with Rean as [[RotatingProtagonist one of its three protagonists]][[note]]the other two being Lloyd and a masked character going by the moniker "C"[[/note]]. Needless to say, this can be quite frustrating for those who want to hurry up and get to the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsThroughDaybreak Calvard arc]].

** As dark as the series can get at times, what with the politics, troubled pasts, and the grounded, low-scale setting, the presentation is anything but grim. The main characters tend to be very optimistic people aiding the local community, environments are bright and full of detail, the somewhat cutesy art style, meeting new allies and townsfolk along their travels, and there's always time to take a break and strike up a friendly conversation with the non-playable cast. The franchise rivals the ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' games in how relaxing it is for an Eastern RPG.

* ArcFatigue: It's not uncommon for ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel Cold Steel]]'' to get this reaction out of the fanbase, as it is currently the longest arc at four games, two of which end on [[CliffHanger cliffhangers]] so devious they're a borderline NoEnding. It doesn't help that the subseries is the largest case of DevelopmentHell in the franchise, with multiple points where the games' length and pacing had to be compressed or extended to make full titles out of the existing plot. And while the very next game, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsIntoReverie Reverie]]'', isn't technically part of ''Cold Steel'', it still takes place at least partially in Erebonia, complete with Rean as [[RotatingProtagonist one of its three protagonists]][[note]]the other two being Lloyd and a masked character going by the moniker "C"[[/note]]. Needless to say, this can be quite frustrating for those who want to hurry up and get to the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesKuroNoKiseki Calvard arc]].

%%* CompleteMonster: [[YMMV/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky Georg Weissmann]]; [[YMMV/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure Joachim Gunter]]; [[YMMV/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel Black Alberich & Garrard]]; [[YMMV/TheLegendOfHeroesKuroNoKiseki Gerard Dantes & Melchior]]. See those pages for details.

* FetishRetardant: Once the series made the jump to full 3D, fans have claimed that some of the female characters' models have chests so big that, on top of not always matching the 2D illustrations, look more off-putting than titillating. Rixia gets this the most, especially in the first ''Kuro'' game.

* SignatureScene: [[LateArrivalSpoiler Joshua confesses that he's an Enforcer of Ouroboros, drugs Estelle to sleep by kissing her and saying his goodbyes]] in the last few minutes of ''First Chapter'' pretty much defined the series as a whole where there will be a huge plot twist at the final few minutes of the game. Meanwhile, the brutal death of the shady informant Giacomo (whose corpse is found onscreen by Van and Agnes), and Van having the will to [[MercyKill kill]] an undead Aida in place of Feri, all happening within the first two chapters of ''Kuro'', sets the overall tone for both ''Kuro'' itself and the second half of the series.

** In an extreme version of this trope, ''Reverie'' contains another scenario [[note]]''The Magical Alisa RS'' door[[/note]] that requires one to have played ''VideoGame/TokyoXanadu eX+'' to have full understanding of the story. Otherwise the mention of [[spoiler: Demon Prince Rean suddenly becoming evil again]] would be met with two questions: [[spoiler: ''Why is Rean a Demon Prince?'' and ''He was evil and had a HeelFaceTurn before?'']].

** ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'', and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles''. This is more common among fans of the ''Sky'' and ''Crossbell'' arcs, as these games are also niche [=JRPGs=] with a heavy focus on multi-game story arcs and developed characters that are often overshadowed by their later instalments. The Crossbell duology is also noted to have a few themes and story beats in common with the early ''Xeno'' games.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Newcomers to the series that start with the ''Erebonia Arc'' often assume the school setting, Bonding Events, and calendar system are a transparent attempt to cash in on the success of ''Franchise/{{Persona}}''. While ''Falcom'' has never been shy about incorporating popular trends into their work to draw in new players, the Bonding Points system was used in the ''Crossbell Arc'' to a lesser degree in a setting that had nothing to do with students, ''FC'' had already previously used a school setting for a lengthy sequence, and the calendar primarily helps to keep continuity with the events of Crossbell that take place concurrently with ''Cold Steel''.

** The ''Liberl Arc'' requires a party member to simply equip a quartz with the "Information" trait which reveals enemy stats and have it be automatically jotted down in the notebook after combat. After that from the ''Crossbell Arc'' and beyond, to obtain information on the enemy, outside of certain quartz that allows automatic note-taking upon killing or ''landing the killing blow'', you have to waste a turn either using [[EnemyScan "Analyzer" art, "Detector" crafts or the "Battle Scope" item]] on each type of individual enemy. Not everyone is on board with this change, as players who want to get the information as soon as possible to achieve HundredPercentCompletion have to waste the first few precious turns getting information on the enemy instead, which is suicidal on [[HarderThanHard Nightmare]] difficulty. The second way, hitting it enough times which reveals a portion of the information with each hit, isn't considered much better because there are some enemies like bosses that only show up ''[[UniqueEnemy once]]'' and you might find yourself pulling your punches at the last moment because a stat still isn't revealed, potentially costing you the fight.
** The restriction of carryovers in NewGamePlus from the ''Crossbell Arc'' onwards. Not being able to bring over everything from your playthrough has earned quite a few complaints, especially if they are locked behind '''achievement points''' in the ''Crossbell Arc'' while the first two games of the ''Erebonia Arc'' is locked behind '''the number of times you completed the game'''. This restriction however is lifted in ''III'' and ''IV'' where players can take all of the carryovers for NewGamePlus.

* AccidentalAesop: "Aggressive military expansionism and imperialism brings out the worst in people, on all sides." The main antagonists of ''Sky FC'' and ''Azure'' and the DiscOneFinalBoss of ''Northern War'' are {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s motivated by desperation to strengthen their respective countries enough to fight off an Erebonian invasion; TheHeavy of ''Cold Steel I'' is motivated by {{Revenge}} for a recent Erebonian annexation; and even after Erebonia stops its warmongering ways, President Rocksmith's perceived failure to keep his country's increasingly hostile main rival in check seems to have caused Calvard to elect a PresidentEvil. Meanwhile, the Hamel incident (which was ''also'' a StartOfDarkness for many antagonists, up to and including [[spoiler:Osborne himself]]) was instigated by Erebonian war hawks as an excuse to invade Liberl for their resources.

* MorePopularSpinoff: The series is considerably popular than the ''VideoGame/DragonSlayer'' games from which it ultimately derives.

* AccidentalAesop: "Aggressive military expansionism and imperialism brings out the worst in people, on all sides." The main antagonists of ''Sky FC'' and ''Azure'' and the DiscOneFinalBoss of ''Northern War'' are {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s motivated by desperation to strengthen their respective countries enough to fight off an Erebonian invasion; TheHeavy of ''Cold Steel I'' is motivated by {{Revenge}} for a recent Erebonian annexation; and even after Erebonia stops its warmongering ways, President Rocksmith's perceived failure to keep his country's main rival in check seems to have caused Calvard to elect a PresidentEvil. Meanwhile, the Hamel incident (which was ''also'' a StartOfDarkness for many antagonists, up to and including [[spoiler:Osborne himself]]) was instigated by Erebonian war hawks as an excuse to invade Liberl for their resources.

* AccidentalAesop: "Aggressive military expansionism and imperialism brings out the worst in people, on all sides." The main antagonists of ''Sky FC'' and ''Azure'' and the DiscOneFinalBoss of ''Northern War'' are {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s motivated by desperation to strengthen their respective countries enough to fight off an Erebonian invasion; TheHeavy of ''Cold Steel I'' is motivated by {{Revenge}} for a recent Erebonian annexation; and even after Erebonia stops its warmongering ways, President Rocksmith's perceived failure to keep his country's main rival in check seems to have caused Calvard to elect a PresidentEvil. Meanwhile, the Hamel incident (which was ''also'' a StartOfDarkness for many antagonists, up to an including [[spoiler:Osborne himself]]) was instigated by Erebonian war hawks as an excuse to invade Liberl for their resources.

* AccidentalAesop: "Aggressive military expansionism and imperialism brings out the worst in people, on all sides." The main antagonists of ''Sky FC'' and ''Azure'' are {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s motivated by desperation to strengthen their respective countries enough to fight off an Erebonian invasion, while TheHeavy of ''Cold Steel I'' is motivated by {{Revenge}} for a recent Erebonian annexation. Meanwhile, the Hamel incident (which was ''also'' a StartOfDarkness for many antagonists, up to an including [[spoiler:Osborne himself]]) was instigated by Erebonian war hawks as an excuse to invade Liberl for their resources.

* AccidentalAesop: "Aggressive military expansion and imperialism brings out the worst in people, on all sides." The main antagonists of ''Sky FC'' and ''Azure'' are {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s motivated by desperation to strengthen their respective countries enough to fight off an Erebonian invasion, while TheHeavy of ''Cold Steel I'' is motivated by {{Revenge}} for a recent Erebonian annexation. Meanwhile, the Hamel incident (which was ''also'' a StartOfDarkness for many antagonists, up to an including [[spoiler:Osborne himself]]) was instigated by Erebonian war hawks as an excuse to invade Liberl for their resources.

* AccidentalAesop: That aggressive military expansion and imperialism beings out the worst in people, on all sides. The main antagonists of ''Sky FC'' and ''Azure'' are {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s motivated by desperation to strengthen their country enough to fight off an Erebonian invasion, while TheHeavy of ''Cold Steel 1'' is motivated by {{Revenge}} for a recent Erebonian annexation. Meanwhile, the Hamel incident (which was ''also'' a StartOfDarkness for many antagonists, up to an including [[spoiler: Osborne himself]]) was instigated by Erebonian war hawks as an excuse to invade Liberl for their resources.

* LGBTFanbase: Perhaps due in part to [[ActionGirl Estelle]] [[TomBoy Bright]] being the protagonist of the first arc, the series seems to have a ''lot'' of transwomen interested in it.

* ContestedSequel: ''3rd'' deviates greatly from the previous two entries; the well-liked protagonist Estelle takes a backseat to [[AscendedExtra Father Kevin]] and newcomer Sister Ries, the open, populous setting of Liberl is traded for a more linear pocket dimension with few NPCs, the plot is a grimmer, more personal affair centered on Kevin's past, and the gameplay has a more sandbox-like approach, letting you freely customize your party. The fanbase is split, with one camp finding the game superfluous or even skippable while the other camp considers the game one of the best in the series precisely because of all its deviations from the norm, with some even preferring Kevin over Estelle.

* ContestedSequel: ''The 3rd'', almost by design. In a series that's favored a heavy focus on sidequests, NPC dialogue, expansive towns, and a very linear structure starring one of the most likable heroines in an RPG, ''3rd'' is drastically different in tone from the ''Sky'' trilogy, and indeed any succeeding game in the series. Kevin steps up from his position as a reoccurring side character to a full protagonist, the sidequests and non-playable townsfolk have been entirely dropped, the game takes place a while after the current threat has been dealt with, and the gameplay is centered around an expansive series of interconnected dungeons with nonlinear sidestories catching the player up with what the rest of the cast's been up to off-screen. On one hand, many players felt disappointed that several aspects of the series that stood out from other games of the genre were done away with, and dislike the longer stretches of gameplay, especially if [[EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame they mainly played for the story]]. For the other camp, ''3rd'' gets praise for its radically unique approach to conveying story and lore that would've been difficult to fit in otherwise, it's large cast of party members and customization, and generally [[RuleOfFun letting players engage in entertaining scenarios for the heck of it]]. There's also some debate as to Kevin's merit as a starring lead, and the darker, more personal approach to his story. Most of the fanbase will agree it's a game worth playing for its sendoff to the Liberl cast and foreshadowing story developments that was to come in later arcs, but not everyone will like the game for its changes to the formula. Nonetheless, much of ''Third's'' formula, including the doors system, was reused in ''Trails Into Reverie''.

%%* EnsembleDarkhorse: For the ''Sky'' games, there's Anelace, resident girly girl and goofball who manages to out ditz the already ditzy Estelle as she matures over the course of ''SC'' to give her a counterpart to bounce off of. Despite her weirdness, she's a practitioner of the Eight Leaves like Rean, and remains a fairly accomplished swordsman in her own right.
* EvilIsCool: The Enforcers of Ouroboros are strong enough to give the heroes hell, have SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic that accompanies their fights, and thanks to the recruitment policy, are all but guaranteed dark and interesting backstories. %%unsure because I'm not sure if she's a fairly major character or not%%

* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** The poster boy for the series without a doubt is Olivier Lenheim, wandering musician and poet who gets into several misadventures, particularly in the Liberl arc. With his antics, PurpleProse, and inflated opinion of his abilities with occasionally questionable sanity, he remains the only character in the series to make a significant appearance across every game. He has been consistently the second most popular character of the franchise, only beaten by Estelle. He's still this in the polls of ''Cold Steel IV'' where he manages to tie with Millium and Duvalie, placing the three at twelfth place while Lloyd is at a respectful 17th and Estelle barely didn't get to break top 20, placing 21 herself.
** For the ''Sky'' games, there's Anelace, resident girly girl and goofball who manages to out ditz the already ditzy Estelle as she matures over the course of ''SC'' to give her a counterpart to bounce off of. Despite her weirdness, she's a practitioner of the Eight Leaves like Rean, and remains a fairly accomplished swordsman in her own right.
** Loewe died back in ''SC'', and his last appearance (''The 3rd'') is over ''a decade old''. In spite of this, he managed to place in top 20 of the latest ''Falcom'' 40th anniversary poll.
* EvilIsCool: The Enforcers of Ouroboros are strong enough to give the heroes hell, have SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic that accompanies their fights, and thanks to the recruitment policy, are all but guaranteed dark and interesting backstories.

* ArchivePanic: The series has a ton of content; not only are there over ten games within the series (each clocking in at around 40-60 hours of playtime), there's also various official side media such as novels, manga, Drama [=CDs=], and an anime series [[{{Interquel}} set between]] Cold Steel II and Cold Steel III, all of which are part of the series' continuity. As such, new fans might be overwhelmed by the amount of content, [[ContinuityLockout especially if they attempt to jump into the series at any point except the beginning]].

* ArchivePanic: The series has a ton of content; not only are there over ten games within the series (each clocking in at around 40-60 hours of playtime), there's also various official side media such as novels, manga, Drama CDs, and an anime series [[{{Interquel}} set between]] Cold Steel II and Cold Steel III, all of which are part of the series' continuity. As such, new fans might be overwhelmed by the amount of content, [[ContinuityLockout especially if they attempt to jump into the series at any point except the beginning]].

* ArchivePanic: Attempting to binge the entire series will set you back quite a while. For a series that's famous for it's DoorStopper-length scripts in the hundreds of thousands of words per game, between all the sidequests, lots and lots of NPC dialogue that changes every time there's a plot development, and intricate WorldBuilding, it'll take anywhere between 40 to 80 hours on average to fully complete a game, and unlike most Eastern RPG developers, every Trails title takes place concurrently in the same continuity with several references made between games with quite a few character cameos. Between the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky Trails in the Sky trilogy]], the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure Zero/Azure duology]] that got a [[LateExportForYou very belated localization]], the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel Cold Steel tetralogy]], [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsIntoReverie Reverie]] and [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesKuroNoKiseki Kuro]] you're looking at '''over ten games''' that will take hundreds of hours to read. Not to mention the novel adaptations, manga that retell each game with their own sidestories, drama [=CDs=] that are largely canon, an adaptation of Trails in the Sky running for two 45 minute OVA episodes, another anime that serves as an ''{{interquel}}'' between ''Cold Steel II'' and ''III'', and ''two'' mobile games [[note]]one being a gaiden game which conflicts with the accounts of the final chapter of ''Azure'' and is probably non-canon, [[DefunctOnlineVideoGames and has not been available to download outside Japan since late 2017]], and another said to run in parallel with the ''Sky'' trilogy all the way up to ''Cold Steel IV'' that is also largely considered non-canon[[/note]], you'll be spending a lot of time exploring its world. Missing one of the main games? Get ready to run into ContinuityLockout as explained below.

* ToughActToFollow:
** Subverted with the stories themselves. Most fans can agree the writing is consistently good despite the differences in tone and setting. Played straight however, with the protagonists after ''Trails In the Sky'': Estelle grew into such a beloved and likable heroine she became the standard by which other protagonists are judged. [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff At least in the West]] as Rean is ''huge'' in Japan after ''Cold Steel III'' and ''IV''. Cemented when Falcom released a poll for the fans favorite character for the [[MilestoneCelebration company's 40th anniversary]], [[https://i.imgur.com/JhSWzac.jpg Rean is ahead of Estelle]], only beaten by Falcom's flagship character, Adol Christin. And in an [[https://youtu.be/HjI7CMOGh2s even more recent poll]], Rean actually ''beats Adol'', [[https://i.imgur.com/MFtqgWE.jpg making Rean Falcom's flagship character.]]
** As more widespread knowledge on ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure'' surface thanks to various attempts to translate them by fans, many that have played them claim that ''Azure'' is possibly the best in the franchise.

* CompleteMonster: [[YMMV/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky Georg Weissmann]]; [[YMMV/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure Joachim Gunter]]; [[YMMV/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel Black Alberich & Garrard]]; [[YMMV/TheLegendOfHeroesKuroNoKiseki Gerard Dantes & Melchior]]. See those pages for details.

* ContinuityLockOut: While each story arc has a more or less self-contained plot taking place in different countries across Zemuria, there are many, many side characters from other parts of the franchise that make extensive cameos and references to other events. The games set in Crossbell used to be an enforced example due to [[LateExportForYou taking over a decade to localize]], made worse by how several characters from that titular arc are referenced, and the protagonists from those games are even briefly playable, not to mention some other Crossbell cast members making their appearances in the third ''Cold Steel'' game, making players wonder who the hell these people are.

* SugarWiki/SweetDreamsFuel: As dark as the series can get at times, what with the politics, troubled pasts, and the grounded, low-scale setting, the presentation is anything but grim. The main characters tend to be very optimistic people aiding the local community, environments are bright and full of detail, the somewhat cutesy art style, meeting new allies and townsfolk along their travels, and there's always time to take a break and strike up a friendly conversation with the non-playable cast. The franchise rivals the ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' games in how relaxing it is for an Eastern RPG.

** As more widespread knowledge on ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure'' surface thanks to various attempts to translate them by fans, many that have played them claim that ''Azure'' is possibly the best in the franchise.

* ThatOneAttack: Any attack with the "Vanish" status aliment, introduced by the second game's FinalBoss. Upon hitting the target, the character disappears from the field altogether for a few turns while reducing his EP to zero. Nine games in and there is still no reliable way to protect your party from it outside of a few gimmicks like Perfect Reflect.

* ContinuityLockOut: While each story arc has a more or less self-contained plot taking place in different countries across Zemuria, there are many, many side characters from other parts of the franchise that make extensive cameos and references to other events. The games set in Crossbell are an enforced example thanks to [[NoExportForYou not being localized yet]], made worse by how several characters from that titular arc are referenced, and the protagonists from those games are even briefly playable, not to mention some other Crossbell cast members making their appearances in the third ''Cold Steel'' game, making players wonder who the hell these people are.