Simply put, these two games are great and highly recommended for any RPG fan. I got more invested in the story and characters than in any RPG I was genuinely emotional when my time with them came to an end. Be warned though that the first game ends on such a massive Cliffhanger that I recommend playing both CS 1 and 2 back-to-back. While doing this with two 100+ hour RPGs may sound daunting, it's worth it.
World Building is a major strength of these games, with nearly every major city and person in Erebonia fleshed-out. And the music, oh MAN the music. A warning that the first game is very linear, with you being restricted to one place at a time and most of them can't be returned to. But in each area, every NPC has something different to say about every single story development. Seriously, Talk to Everyone at every chance you get, there was so much work put into NPC dialogue. (You'll also discover hidden quests this way)
The second game starts similarly, but opens up a lot past the 1/3rd point. It has a much grander story with higher stakes, building up to an epic finale, though the story suffers from an extreme overuse of the Big Damn Heroes trope. It resolves most of the hanging threads of the first, but throws in a few big new ones at the end. Thankfully a third game is coming.
I'd describe the battle system as Final Fantasy X's turn order system meets Turn Based Strategy positioning. Like any good RPG, buffs are useful and no party member feels particularly underpowered. The second game tweaks the balance a bit to make Arts more useful while slightly nerfing physical attacks, and adds the Overdrive mechanic, but other than that it plays almost identically to the first game.
The English voice acting and localization are top-notch, with a great script that makes you both laugh and cry. It's not afraid to Lampshade the sillier anime tropes at play or cheesy moments, but still knows when to be serious.
I'll definitely be picking up both chapters of Trails in the Sky now that I'm done with this.
One of the best JRPG Gems of Recent Years
Simply put, these two games are great and highly recommended for any RPG fan. I got more invested in the story and characters than in any RPG I was genuinely emotional when my time with them came to an end. Be warned though that the first game ends on such a massive Cliffhanger that I recommend playing both CS 1 and 2 back-to-back. While doing this with two 100+ hour RPGs may sound daunting, it's worth it.
World Building is a major strength of these games, with nearly every major city and person in Erebonia fleshed-out. And the music, oh MAN the music. A warning that the first game is very linear, with you being restricted to one place at a time and most of them can't be returned to. But in each area, every NPC has something different to say about every single story development. Seriously, Talk to Everyone at every chance you get, there was so much work put into NPC dialogue. (You'll also discover hidden quests this way)
The second game starts similarly, but opens up a lot past the 1/3rd point. It has a much grander story with higher stakes, building up to an epic finale, though the story suffers from an extreme overuse of the Big Damn Heroes trope. It resolves most of the hanging threads of the first, but throws in a few big new ones at the end. Thankfully a third game is coming.
I'd describe the battle system as Final Fantasy X's turn order system meets Turn Based Strategy positioning. Like any good RPG, buffs are useful and no party member feels particularly underpowered. The second game tweaks the balance a bit to make Arts more useful while slightly nerfing physical attacks, and adds the Overdrive mechanic, but other than that it plays almost identically to the first game.
The English voice acting and localization are top-notch, with a great script that makes you both laugh and cry. It's not afraid to Lampshade the sillier anime tropes at play or cheesy moments, but still knows when to be serious.
I'll definitely be picking up both chapters of Trails in the Sky now that I'm done with this.