History VideoGame / ZeroNoKiseki

[[redirect:VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesZeroNoKiseki]]

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[[caption-width-right:350:Welcome to Crossbell[[note]]Foreground to background: [[TheHero Lloyd]], [[{{Ojou}} Elie]], [[ChivalrousPervert Randy]], [[LittleMissSnarker Tio]][[/note]]]]
The beginning of the second arc of the ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'' after the ''VideoGame/TrailsInTheSky'' trilogy, ''The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki'' moves the setting to the bright lights of the wealthy-but-corrupt city of Crossbell. Four rookie cops are enlisted to improve the reputation of the police by joining a new group called the Special Support Section. Of course, it doesn't stop there...

One of the game's unique points in comparison to the rest of ''Trails'' is its intense focus on the city of Crossbell as a setting. Unlike the other arcs in the series, which have the player bounce around a number of different cities across a country, Crossbell City is ''gigantic'' and makes up a substantial portion of the entire game. While you will eventually leave the city limits to travel to other parts of the wider Crossbell State, these all really serve as "suburbs" of the city and the focus is on Crossbell City itself, in all its grand, towering, corrupt, decadent glory. When combined with series staples like [[{{Magitek}} orbments]] (this series' equivalent of technology), it creates a fairly unique "UrbanFantasy in TheFifties" atmosphere. The only really comparable games would be the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' games, and even then there's a lot of differences in tone and content.

The game got a sequel called ''Ao no Kiseki'' featuring the same characters and directly continuing the plot. Tropes for both ''Zero'' and ''Ao'' are listed here. Together, these two games form what is often referred to by fans as the "Crossbell Duology"; this is the second arc in the Trails series, after the Trails in the Sky trilogy. The third arc is the ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'' quadrilogy, whose first game was released in September 2013 (December 2015 internationally). In-between ''Ao'' and that game, the spin-off game ''VideoGame/NayutaNoKiseki'' was released.

''Zero no Kiseki'' was originally released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable on September 30th, 2010, and later came to the UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita on October 12th, 2012. A PC version for the Chinese markets came in 2011, with a version for Japan in 2013. As for ''Ao no Kiseki'', it was originally released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable on September 29th, 2011, and later came to the UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita on June 12th, 2014. A PC version for the Chinese markets came in 2013.

On December 18th, 2019, Falcom announced that an UpdatedRerelease of both ''Zero'' and ''Ao'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, alongside announcing an upcoming title to be set also in Erebonia, which ended up being ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesHajimariNoKiseki'' - effectively an epilogue to both the ''Cold Steel'' quadrilogy ''and'' the Crossbell duology. This announcement renewed the hope of fans that the Crossbell arc will eventually be published in the west. The [=PS4=] ports came out in April and May 2020 for ''Zero'' and ''Ao'' respectively. A UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch version for Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea, courtesy of Clouded Leopard Entertainment, is set to release early 2021.

On March 15, 2020, a group known as Geofront released an extensive patch for ''Zero'', ''Trails from Zero'', with a fully edited script intended to match the style of the English translations of the other titles in the series, and other modernization enhancements, including turbo mode, autosaves, a message backlog, higher framerates and resolutions, and various bug-fixes. The same group is working on a similar patch for ''Ao'', ''Trails to Azure'', which as of writing is over 90% through its second editing pass.

A Drama CD titled "Road to the Future" that serves as an {{Interquel}} between the end of ''Zero'' and the start of ''Ao'' has also been released. A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNMww7e2V54 subbed version]] has been released online.

''Ao'' also has two released Drama [=CDs=] titled: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K739BTeJkCs Titan Hotpot Tonight!]]" and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxXHx8CG10M If Cecille Got Angry]]".

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!!This game contains examples of:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder: A - D]]
* ACupAngst: Tio, Sully and Shirley all have a bit of this.
* AbandonedLaboratory: Any location the D∴G Cult has left behind is pretty much one of these by definition and that means that they tend to house various demons summoned by the Cult [[spoiler:and sometimes monsters that [[BodyHorror used to be human]] before Gnosis was used on them]]
* AbandonedMine: There are two mines in Mainz, one of which has been shut down and can only be entered in the second game. It's the first area where you observe higher dimensional phenomena at work in the form of the very first Phantom Beast.
* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap:
** ''Zero'' has the FinalBoss at around the level 45. The limit is 50. The BonusBoss is at level 50. The SSS can reach that level after defeating it due to massive amounts of ExperiencePoints gained, making the rest of the game a joke.
** ''Ao'' has the FinalBoss at level 120. The limit is 150. Even the BonusBoss is only at level 130.
* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: The Geofront complex is a high-tech combination of sewage treatment and recycling, power distribution and the location for all the cabling and many access terminals for the experimental Orbal Network. It's designed on a large scale to permit easy access, repair and expansion.
** [[spoiler:And it houses all the machines necessary to complete the alchemical circle encompassing the entire country, providing additonal justification for all that space]]
* AIBreaker:
** Bosses that have impede crafts will prioritize impeding your casters. This can be exploited if the impede craft isn't too damaging, though this behavior is harder to exploit if a character uses the [[DrawAggro Keeper]] Master Quartz, which makes the enemies' AI less predictable because it might prioritize attacking the Keeper user rather than the caster, unless you have the user cast instead.
** The second-to-last boss, [[spoiler:Mariabell]], will teleport nearby party members to a corner of the battlefield if they get too close to her. If she's dragged to a corner, it's possible for her to teleport a party member right next to her, thus causing her AI to want to teleport them again. While this won't completely lock down her AI, it will force her to waste more turns teleporting party members rather than hurting them or summoning minions.
* AirVentPassageway: Some of the ducts in the Geofront are large enough for grown adults to walk through. Definitely not true for air vents in buildings though.
* AllChinesePeopleKnowKungFu: Toyed with, because while the entire staff of Heiyue does know martial arts and are as close to Chinese as it's possible to get in Zemuria, they're also all trained to fight because they're ''gangsters'', not because they're Chinese. The rest of the Chinese-inspired characters in Crossbell don't play according to this trope.
* AlternateTimeline: [[spoiler:[=KeA=] essentially created one, with the original timeline completely overwritten aside from the (supressed) memories of the people most directly affected by the manipulation. ]]
* AmazonBrigade: The Stahlritter, Arianrhod's bodyguards.
* AnachronismStew: Applies a fair bit once again. While ''most'' of Crossbell is styled heavily on [[GenteelInterbellumSetting the 1930s]]-to-[[TheFifties 50s]], there are still things like Lloyd's very modern-looking jacket, most of the Bracers insist on using melee weapons (so do Lloyd and Randy, for that matter, despite being ''police officers'' with access to government-issue firearms), and the beginnings of an ''internet'' being worked on in Crossbell (a technology that wouldn't really get serious use until the latter parts of TheSixties in reality). Crossbell itself is also a bit of an anachronism in the wider setting, given how much higher the technology base is comparatively (but then, non-Crossbellans [[LampshadeHanging point out in-universe]] how disorienting they find modern Crossbell at times, so this is likely intentional on Falcom's part).
* AmusementPark: Michelam Wonderland, complete with ferris wheel, roller coaster, minigames galore and its mascot character Michey(Mishy). Some of the developments outside the park proper are visited in Zero while the park itself becomes open to the player in Ao.
** AmusementParkOfDoom: [[spoiler:Briefly becomes this when Campanella uses his powers to change Michelam Wonderland into Fool's Wonderland, complete with creepy clown imagery and ghost monsters. It's all an illusion. Becomes this ''again'' when the Pleroma Flowers start blooming among its grounds]].
* AngelUnaware: [[spoiler:The Hayworths assume this to be the case when they hear from Colin that "a girl with purple hair just like Papa's" appeared to save his life, then vanished. They're, oh, about 25% right. Renne has been called an angel before, but of [[RedBaron a]] [[AxeCrazy rather]] [[TykeBomb different]] [[PersonOfMassDestruction kind]]]].
* AntiFrustrationFeatures: You can buy or find some of the Great Success/Epic Failure cooking items that need to be exchanged as part of sidequests, in case you missed finding the recipe. Ao also provides a way to acquire a second Zemurian Stone (three in NG+) which isn't linked to finding fourteen books with very limited acquisition windows.
* ArcWords: Get Over The Barrier.
* ArtShift: Although the sprites and world design remain the same, the characters got a very different art style this time. Just compare Joshua in this game with ''Trails in the Sky'' Joshua, or Estelle. A little justifiable in that they're older now, but still.
** Also, (late-game spoiler) [[spoiler:Renne got somewhat more redesigned than one would think. She looks a bit older, sure, but her hair, which was a kind of pale lavender in SC and was a ''little'' brighter in Third, is now a ''violent'' shade of electric pink. Even more hilariously, [[RealMenWearPink she has her dad's hair]].]]
* AscendedExtra: Anton and Ricky, two popular [=NPCs=] from ''Trails in the Sky'', have a fun cameo in Zero.
** Abbas, Mireille, Sully and Michel are upgraded with portraits in Ao no Kiseki. The latter three are also integrated into main plot (in Zero, they're just parts of sidequests). [[spoiler:Abbas, on the other hand...]]
* ATasteOfPower: Subverted in Zero where it looks like this will be the case at the start but the scene ends without any action. Played straight in Ao when you start with Arios and Dudley in your party, many levels higher than Lloyd and Noel and with a set of extremely powerful Crafts and high-level Master Quartz.
* AuctionOfEvil: Crossbell annually hosts a Black Auction, where [[TheMafia Revache and Co]] auction off [[BlatantLies totally legitimately acquired art]] to the rich and powerful. The police can't do anything about it because Revache has very powerful friends in Crossbell's government (including the man hosting the event) and it's regularly attended by scores of legitimate tax-paying citizens. The centerpiece of the auction during the events of Zero is a new Rosenberg doll, which actually is a legitimate sale. [[spoiler:Except that it's a cover story for the ''real'' 'item' being auctioned: A little girl named [=KeA=]. In a bit of a twist on the trope, this actually ends up being a ''big problem'', because Revache is at least smart enough to stay the hell away from human trafficking, they have no idea how the hell they got [=KeA=] when they ''genuinely'' thought they were acquiring a doll, and Revache's backer in the Crossbell government is furious with them for appearing to flirt with trafficking, which signals the beginning of Revache unraveling.]]
* AwesomeByAnalysis: Tio.
* AxCrazy: Shirley, dear God Shirley.
* BadassFamily: [[spoiler:The Brights were already this, then they adopted Renne]]
** Also, the [[spoiler:Orlando family, who are the leaders of the Jaeger group Red Constellation. Very badass and ''very'' scary]]
* BadassInANiceSuit: Befitting his role as chief enforcer of the local mob boss, Garcia 'Killing Bear' Rossi wears a nice suit when he's at a fancy party and when he's beating you within an inch of your life. Dudley also wears a very nice suit, though he'll take the jacket off before using his S-Crafts to knock you into next week.
* BareYourMidriff: Rixia, Ilya, Wazy, Wald and Shirley, although the latter two barely cover ''anything''.
* BarrierWarrior: Tio, a somewhat straighter example than [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky Kevin]] because at least she's [[SquishyWizard kinda frail]] and her normal attack is weak. On the other hand, when she's not protecting the team with Zero Field, she's also one of the best Art users in the party. In Ao we also see [[spoiler:Kevin extending his Grail Sphere barrier to an entire airship]]
* BattleAura: [[spoiler:Wazy gets one when he [[CurbStompBattle decisively ends the rivalry between Testaments and Saber Vipers]]. This is [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadowing.]]]]
* BeachEpisode: Done literally in the Intermission of Ao as Mariabell provides most of the cast with an all-expenses-paid trip to Michelam Wonderland for some much-needed time off. The trip includes a morning of exclusive access to the newly opened Lake Beach. Pretty much every [[BeachTropes staple of the trope]] either appears or is name-dropped.
* BeliefMakesYouStupid: [[spoiler:The D∴G Cult believe this to be true of belief in Aidios]]
* BewareTheNiceOnes: This game and its prequel series will have you second-guessing everybody's motives.
* {{BFG}}: Randy and Shirley's weapons in Ao incorporate these.
* {{BFS}}: Randy's Berserga in Ao incorporates one. Yin wields a large blade[[spoiler:, which is amusing because underneath that outfit, Rixia is a fairly skinny girl]]. Arios' katana is also rather long, and while it's technically a Big Fricking [[ChainsawGood Chainsaw]], the size of Shirley's weapon counts.
** Also, [[spoiler:Earnest's sword is fairly big and gets even bigger in his Demon and True Demon forms]]. And along the same lines [[spoiler:Demon Wald's sword is enormous]].
* BigApplesauce: While clearly not ''actually'' New York, Crossbell City as a setting takes a lot of obvious cues from the New York of the 1930s-to-50s in terms of fashion, design sense and culture.
* BigBadFriend: [[spoiler:Arios was this to Guy until the latter figured things out. Then when Guy attempted to reason with Arios, Ian shot him in the back. Arios winds up becoming this to your party as well since he becomes friendly with you over the course of the first game (out of a sense of loyalty to Guy and his massive guilt complex) until you get too close to uncovering the same conspiracy that got Guy killed three years ago...]]
** [[spoiler:Also, Mariabell to Elie since the two were close friends before TheReveal]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Arios seems to have this as a hobby. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Randy, who suspects he does it on purpose.
** Arios actually does it on purpose in some cases; he usually waits and sees if Lloyd and co. can solve the problem at hand by themselves. [[StealthMentor He only steps in if they bite off more than they can chew]]. This is likely due to the fact that [[spoiler:Arios and Guy (Lloyd's brother) were close friends and worked as a team before Guy's death so Arios is looking out for Lloyd in Guy's place]].
** Absolutely ''everyone'' during the events of Crossbell's Longest Day.
** Ao no Kiseki is full of too many of these to count.
* BishieSparkle: [=KeA=] gets these with some frequency. Other characters occasionally get in on the fun too.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:At the end of Ao no Kiseki, Lloyd and co. manage to save [=KeA=] and stop the Sept-Terrion of Zero from going on further rampage. However, Crossbell City is taken over by TheEmpire and Ouroboros gets away with everything and even manages to add Shirley and Mariabell into their ranks. Plus, Chancellor Giliath Osborne of the said empire, who is allied with Ouroboros[[note]]Although it's revealed in ''Cold Steel'' that not only is he not allies with Ouroboros at this point, he also outmaneuvered them.[[/note]], wins over the nobles of TheEmpire and gains nearly complete control of Erebonia, which can only mean trouble. Although it's implied in the final ending CG that Crossbell city will get liberated within few years, the ending is hardly uplifting.]]
* {{Blackmail}}: [[spoiler:One of the ways D∴G increased their influence and cash reserves at the same time, and a particularly disgusting example: Kidnap children and force them into prostitution as well as using them in Gnosis experiments. Encourage the rich and famous to patronize Paradise, then blackmail them to keep their crime a secret. The Cult effectively controls Representative Hartmann in this way.]]
* BladeOnAStick: Arianrhod's massive lance. Next to that, the Stun Halberd used by members of the Crossbell Guardian Force (including Randy) barely rates a mention.
* BlatantLies: When asking for information on [[spoiler:the Pleroma Flowers, Bishop Eralda]] clearly knows more than he tells you and even the characters comment on it. Of course, the information is [[spoiler: [[JustifiedTrope contained in scriptures that the general public isn't supposed to know about]]; you only learn more because someone else with access to those texts entrusts the SSS with the information]].
* BluffTheImpostor: In one sidequest in Ao, the SSS is trying to determine which passenger on a train stole a ticket to Ord. When they've narrowed it down to the ones heading to that country (both of whom claim to be from there), Shin appears to lend a hand, asking one of the suspects which of three names belongs to Ord's famous hot spring. After the man picks one of the answers, Shin tells him that Ord doesn't ''have'' any hot springs, as anyone who lived there would know.
* BodyguardBabes: The Stahlritter, three ladies who serve as bodyguards to [[LadyOfWar Arianrhod]]. Their prowess is comparable to [[SuperSoldier Ouroboros Enforcers]].
** BodyguardingABadass: When your job is to protect Arianrhod it's kind of a given. Well, they are more like students and soldiers to Arianrhod, she doesn't really need protection, just that they surround her and does the fighting for her since little people can even get pass them.
* BodyHorror: [[spoiler:Blue Gnosis [[SuperSerum boosts the natural abilities of the human body]] but it also allows Joachim to [[MeatPuppet control your actions]]. Red Gnosis, will transform you into a groteseque monster... and the resulting body is [[SuperpowerMeltdown unstable]]]].
* BonusBoss: Zero has one (found in a BonusDungeon) which is only available in NewGamePlus. Ao has ''six'', also exclusive to New Game + though they don't come with bonus dungeons.
* BoomStick: Tio's Orbal Staff, which shoots spreads of energy orbs and can transform into an [[{{BFG}} energy cannon]].
* BossBonanza: The final dungeons of both games, naturally. Also [[spoiler:Monastery of the Moon and Stargaze Tower]] in Ao featuring four bosses each, including ThatOneBoss.
* BossRush: [[spoiler:The second visit to Michelam Wonderland]] in Ao begins with a string of fights against powered-up versions of previously fought Phantom Beasts.
* BraggingRightsReward: Some of the monster chest treasures become this by default because they are almost impossible to earn on a first playthrough due to the levels of the monsters in question. You can deliberately avert this on a replay by choosing not to carry over certain things like levels or equipment, thus making it possible to actually get the chest treasures while making them much more useful.
* BreatherEpisode: The Intermission in both Zero and Ao is one of these.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler:Earnest especially but anyone using Gnosis in Zero qualifies as the person who created it specifically designed it to have this effect in addition to the usual properties]]
* BrickJoke: A bit of post-sidequest NPC dialogue in SC has a character thinking up names for kittens and musing that ''Kuro'' could be a shortening of Klaudia ([[ItMakesSenseInContext it makes sense in Japanese]]) as well as a reference to the kitten being black. In Zero, Lechter finds a black cat and [[ShipTease calls it Kuro]].
* BusmansHoliday: Intermission in Ao turns into this when optional quest prompts you to fight [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins evil penguins]]
* CatGirl: The sensors on Tio's headband look remarkably like cat ears.
* CallBack: Lots, to the previous trilogy. Chapter 2 (Day 2) of Ao is loaded with these, since it's when so many familiar faces arrive in Crossbell. In short order, references are made to Julia's fan club, [[spoiler:Renne and the Brights]], R&A Research, the Non-Agression Treaty and Axis Pillar.
* TheCameo: The Wildcat appears in the background at Crossbell's airport during part of Zero no Kiseki, in a sequence [[{{Foreshadowing}} set up during The 3rd]]. It appears again in Ao and is part of a Support Request.
* CargoCult: [[spoiler:The village where Wazy was born worshiped a deity who turned out to be an Artifact. Wazy was viewed as blessed because his partially awakend Stigma allowed him to hear the 'Voice of God']]
* TheCavalry: This happens at least once every Chapter.
* CharityBall: Ao features one of these as a sidequest where the SSS is asked to help with the preparations for one [[spoiler:after Red Constellation wrecks the Entertainment and Waterfront Districts and the IBC Building]]. One of the female characters will be roped into the Miss Crossbell Contest after another entrant isn't able to participate. She can't actually win though.
* ChasteHero: Lloyd, although apparently it's in the blood.
-->'''Lloyd''': Guy... yeah, I have to admit, he really was either kind of unsociable, or just a bit dense. He took so long to realize what Cecille felt for him, too... [[IronicEcho sometimes I just wanted to kick him to drive it all into his skull!]]
-->'''Tio''': ... *kicks Lloyd*
* ChillyReception: All of Crossbell City to the newly formed SSS, including the rest of the police force. They're seen as 1) A rookie, a dilettante, a little girl and a washout respectively 2) Wannabe Bracers, 3) A glorified publicity stunt and 4) A laughingstock after their first mission. It takes quite a while before things get better.
* CityOfAdventure: Considering that Falcom managed to squeeze as much content into Crossbell City as they did in the entire Kingdom of Liberl, it ''definitely'' counts.
* CityOfSpies: Crossbell edges into this trope, given that the city is divided into factions that support Erebonia and Calvard and agents from both countries are active in the background, along with [[spoiler:Wazy and Abbas keeping tabs on things for the Church and later Ries keeping tabs ''on'' the Church]]. During the final chapter, it's possible to find out that [[spoiler:Reins, a reporter at CNS, is actually an R&A Research employee, meaning Liberl is spying on Crossbell too]].
* CombinationAttack: Replacing the Chain Craft system from the previous trilogy are Combo Crafts, which are learned through the plot or sidequests and involve two characters performing a unique attack. They require 100 CP from each character but won't drain excess unlike S-Crafts (nor can they be used to S-Break) and they are ''extremely'' powerful.
* CommLinks: The Enigma model of Tactical Orbment functions somewhat like this, although their range is limited by the reach of Crossbell's Orbal Network. Both the CSPD and the Bracers have been assigned the Enigma to test all its capabilities.
* ContinuityLockout: Ao no Kiseki. ''Sweet Aidios''. It requires at least basic knowledge of what happened in Zero and SC. Then, some characters' goals, behavior and interactions won't make a lot of sense if one hasn't played The 3rd.
* ConvenientDecoyCat: [[spoiler:Lechter arranges this to deflect suspicion from the fact that several individuals the Mafia would like a word with are hiding behind the curtains of his room]].
* CoolAirship:
** The Red Constellation has a customized airship called the Beowulf.
** [[spoiler:Being a Dominion, Wazy has access to a Merkabah of his own and Kevin also arrives with his. The class gets retroactively more awesome with the reveal that they have optical camouflage, beam weaponry and Mode-S, which allows a Dominion to channel the power of their Stigma through the ship for massively increased effects. Kevin is able to extend his Grail Sphere barrier to protect the entire ship... and use the [[CallBack Stigma Cannon]]]].
** Also, the two terrorist groups that attack Orchis Tower in ''Ao'' have advanced military-grade gunships designed by the premier manufacturers of their respective countries.
* CoolCar:
** The SSS gets one in ''Ao'' and the player can customize it with both aesthetic and functional parts. [=KeA=] gets giddy when she gets to ride in it for the first time.
** Noel also has a [[WeaponizedCar pretty cool car]] she operates while working with the Crossbell Guardian Force. Some mention also has to be given to Dieter's limousine, which is a fancy looking car designed by the Reinford Company for [=VIPs=], bulletproof armour plating and glass included.
** CarFu: Dieter is happy to use said limo as an improvised weapon while helping extricate the SSS from a tight spot. Noel then takes the Car Fu Crown by doing this with her armored car, forcing several other armored cars off the road near Zero's climax.
* CoolSword: Wald fights with a [[WoodenKatanasAreEvenBetter wooden sword]] [[ImprobableWeaponUser wraped with a length of chain]]. Also, Yin's sword ''Yatagarasu'' and [[spoiler:the sword Ernest uses, which gets progressively [[{{BFS}} larger]] as he transforms multiple times]].
* CoolMask: Arianrhod. Yin combines this with BadassLongcoat.
* CopShow: The heroes issue parking tickets as well as fight monsters.
* CosmicRetcon:
** [[spoiler:[=KeA's=] rewriting of history to bring the SSS and the Brights together is one of these on a massive scale, undoing the 'original' ending of Zero and making the subsequent games possible. It also [[FridgeBrilliance may explain]] the timeline discrepancy between when Estelle and Joshua arrived in Crossbell according to The 3rd (mid 1203) and Zero (early/mid 1204).]]
** [[spoiler:This was also the entire goal of the Azure Zero Plan, rewriting Crossbell's history in the hope that the result would be a more powerful and independent state.]]
* CoverIdentityAnomaly: At one point the SSS is trying to find a criminal suspected of smuggling counterfeit goods into Crossbell. The clue to discovering which of several possible parties is the guilty one is to find the one who forgot to research their excuses properly, specifically by stating they've been to Michelam Wonderland before... but it wasn't open yet the last time they claim to have visited Crossbell.
* CrashIntoHello: Kirika meets the SSS through one of these by deliberately crashing into a suspect they were pursuing.
* CrapsackWorld: The premise of the arc. Crossbell State is a young country situated in what used to be a hotly disputed area between the much larger Erebonian Empire and the Republic of Calvard. Both nations still want that territory for themselves and take every opportunity to try to upstage the other, to the inevitable detriment of Crossbell itself. The city is internationally known as the "City of Sin" and is famous for its [[AuctionOfEvil Black Auction]]. The government is divided into factions. The Mafia has ties to major government figures so they can operate more or less with impunity and there's a second underworld group starting to engage in a shadow war with them at the start of the games, making everything worse. The downtown area experiences regular violence as its two resident gangs fight for dominance. The police who really care and try to do the right thing aren't allowed to make a difference to Crossbell's biggest problems because of the political situation. The people have basically given up on their government and its officers and have turned to the Bracers... and this is the situation Crossbell is in when the game starts and the [[NaiveNewcomer idealistic Lloyd and company]] are assigned to the newly formed Special Support Section.
** [[FromBadToWorse It gets worse]], of course. [[spoiler:First there's Joachim, a survivor of the demon-summoning, child-enslaving D∴G Cult who wants to unleash a ZombieApocalypse on the city to further his research into Gnosis and the goals of his Cult. Then there's the people behind D∴G who have been using the city as a staging area for centuries to try to recreate the power of one of the [[ArtifactOfDoom Sept-Terion]]... and then Ouroboros gets involved and everything ''really'' goes to hell.]]
** Just to give you an idea how much the setting sucks, realize that Elie's parents divorcing due to Crossbell's factional tensions and leaving their young daughter alone with her grandfather is one of the ''least'' traumatic backstories and/or plot developments in the arc.
* CrutchCharacter: At the start of Ao, Arios and Dudley are many many levels higher than Lloyd and Noel and they have high-level Master Quartz equipped while you have brand new ones. Arios can probably solo the entire first dungeon... [[SubvertedTrope which is why the plot deprives you of your crutch partway through, forcing Lloyd and Noel to go it alone for most of the dungeon]].
* CurbStompBattle: Arianrhod vs everyone in [[EstablishingCharacterMoment her first appearance]].
** Before that, we have [[TeenGenius Tio]] defeating [[spoiler:'''Campanella''', '''''in A FREAKING PUYO GAME''''']].
** Also [[spoiler:the three Aion units versus the combined military forces of Erebonia and Calvard. It ends with two completely destroyed divisions and Garelia Fortress being reduced to a perfectly spherical hole in the ground]]
* CurtainCamouflage: Your party hides from Mafia pursuit by ducking behind some heavy curtains. This really only works because the room you're hiding in belongs to someone the guards trust, he's covering for you and he arranges an additional distraction.
* CuteAndPsycho: Shirley is easy on the eyes and her introduction is cute (for a given value of [[SkinshipGrope cute]]) but you don't want to be there when she loses it.
* DeadlyUpgrade: Lloyd's Burning Heart Craft which raises all stats for five turns. At the end of those turns, he takes damage and is inflicted with Faint, which can't be prevented even with a Grail Locket.
** [[spoiler:Taking Gnosis will increase your natural abilities. Side effects may include [[MeatPuppet becoming a meat puppet]] and [[BodyHorror unstable transformations]]]]
* DeathTrap and DeadlyGame: Campanella lures the SSS to Jona's HackerCave, locks them inside with a large amount of explosives and tells them he'll unlock the door if you can beat him at Pomtto in a best out of three match. He's a good enough sport to not only allow you to substitute a player but to actually let you out after he [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments gets his ass handed to him]].
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Did you just stop [[spoiler:an out of control homunculus carrying the combined power of ''three'' [[ArtifactOfDoom Sept-Terion]]?]]
* DigitalAvatar: Players of Pomtto have avatars similar to the actual appearance of the person. Similarly, during the hacking plotlines, the users are visually represented by an abstracted figure amid lines of code.
* DisabilitySuperpower: Since she is blind, Shizuku has developed her hearing to the point where she can identify both the identity and the number of people in her vicinity just by their footsteps.
* DiscOneFinalDungeon: [[spoiler:The inner levels of Orchis Tower. Following a whirlwind tour of the plot-significant dungeons from the previous game (including a fight with ThatOneBoss, a sign in previous games that you're getting close to the end), you fight to the obvious location where the people behind everything are controlling events, fight your way to the top... and then you realize that you've forgotten something. Namely, that huge tree that appears in the opening movie but hasn't yet shown up in the game...]]
* DistantFinale: The last part of Ao's ending takes place about two years after the rest of the game and the series hasn't yet caught up to that point.
* TheDogWasTheMastermind:
** From Zero: [[spoiler: You know Joachim Gunter? That easygoing, somewhat lazy doctor that perpetually pushes work off onto his subordinates so he can cut out of work and go fishing? Turns out he's a high priest of the D∴G Cult who is responsible for some of the series' most horrific atrocities and who was secretly perfecting the recipe for Gnosis in the hopes of awakening the Cult's dormant god.]]
** And Ao has one of its own. Turns out that the one pulling the strings behind ''everything'' that's been happening in the Crossbell games, the mastermind behind the entire devilish plan that included the manipulation of multiple governments, terrorist organizations, and some of the most powerful people on the planet is none other than [[spoiler: Ian Grimwood, the humble lawyer with a generous midriff who is affectionately known as "Mr. Beardy-Bear".]]
* DoppelgangerAttack: Yin can create duplicates during battle. Fortunately they have less HP and fewer attacks than the original. Unfortunately, they still have the attack with the 90% chance of inflicting Death. [[spoiler:Rixia manages to lose this ability when she joins you, both masked as Yin and as herself, probably because it would break the difficulty otherwise]].
** Duvalie also has this ability. In a departure from series tradition, her duplicates have ''more'' health than she does.
* DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent: Trying to figure out whose side [[spoiler:Lechter]] is really on can make your head spin and there's a [[WildMassGuessing certain amount of suspicion]] that even now we haven't seen all the levels of deception at work.
* DraggedByTheCollar: How the Seeker sisters persuade Lloyd to go on a date with the two of them during Crossbell's anniversary festivities.
* DrivingQuestion: Who killed Guy Bannings?
* DualWielding: Lloyd does this with tonfas, Noel packs dual [=SMGs=] and Sigmund swings around a pair of enormous axes. Elie normally only uses a single pistol but can pull out a pair when executing Divine Crusade.
* DuelBoss: [[spoiler:Lloyd convinces Noel to abandon Dieter's plan and join LaResistance after beating her in a one-on-one duel]]
* DuelingHackers: Tio and Jona versus [[OnlineAlias Kitty]]. Since the Orbal Network that functions as a rudimentary internet also provides the power to the computers and those computers are running the International Bank of Crossbell, the simple solution of unplugging the machines either from the network or entirely isn't really an option.
** In Ao, Tio and Jona versus [[spoiler:Campanella]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder: E - M]]
* ElementalAbsorption: A pair of Quartz (The Helios Orb and Selene Orb) allow a character to absorb all elemental attacks from either the basic four elements or the higher three.
* ElementalPowers: Because of the way Orbments work, all characters except for Lloyd have at least one Slot restricted to one of the seven types of Quartz, giving them a natural inclination towards one element or another. Despite this, actual specialization is mostly a matter of player choice combined with line setups. The presence of Master Quartz in Ao (which take the place of the previously restricted central Slot) let pretty much any character accumulate a lot of points in any of the seven Art families.
** [[DishingOutDirt Earth Element]]: Noel
** [[MakingASplash Water]] [[AnIcePerson Element]]: Tio
** [[PlayingWithFire Fire Element]]: Randy
** [[BlowYouAway Wind]] [[ShockAndAwe Element]]: Elie
** [[TimeMaster Time]] [[CastingAShadow Element]]: Dudley and Arios
** [[SpaceMaster Space]] [[GravityMaster Element]]: Wazy
** [[LightEmUp Mirage]] [[{{Lunacy}} Element]]: Yin
* EnemyScan: Tio's Analyzer skill lets you see all stats and item drops, plus the [[FlavorText enemy description]] and then it lowers DEF and ADF as a bonus. The Battle Scope item and Analyze spell perform the same task minus the debuffing. The Information Quartz provides a temporary version of this that doesn't result in a Monster Encyclopedia entry while the Dragon's Eye Quartz lets you get an Encyclopedia entry by killing that enemy while it's equipped.
* EngineeredPublicConfession: [[spoiler:Lloyd gets Rixia to admit to a large group of people (including her current employer) that it's obvious that what's most important to her is Arc en Ciel. This forces her to deal with that side of herself and convinces Cao to cancel her contract.]]
* EnsignNewbie: Noel joins the SSS at the start of Ao and is technically a rookie to that group but seeing how she's already an officer in the CGF she's hardly a newbie. Played a bit closer to straight with Wazy since his prior occupations were running a bar and a gang.
* EpicFail: A new feature introduced into the cooking system is multiple outcomes. Depending on a variety of factors, you can produce what you were trying to cook, something better than you were trying for or epic failure. You're actually rewarded for getting all the 'bad' results since both games provide someone who wants the things. There's also results beyond epic failure, producing cat food, fishing bait and 'a failed cooking experiment serving as a warning to others'. There's also the ''extremely'' rare Epic Fail that produces [[ItemCrafting U-Material]]. Somehow.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Shirley's introduction, when she bites Lloyd's ear and [[SkinshipGrope gropes Elie]].
** Her father gets his own such moment almost immediately afterwards.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: In Azure, [[spoiler:Chairman Hartmann and Earnest both respond to each other in this way. Hartmann calls Earnest insane for his actions trying to bring about the will of the D∴G Cult and Joachim, and Earnest responds by saying that [[WouldHurtAChild someone who used]] [[SexSlave Paradise]] has no room to talk.]]
* EveryoneMeetsEveryone: Happens ten minutes into Zero when all four main characters meet each other for the first time. It makes sense as the SSS was ''just'' formed and officially commissioned as the game began.
* EvilEye: [[spoiler:Joachim is able to recreate Weissmann's power, although this may also be somewhat recursive since it's suggested Weissmann may have gotten the power from researching demons, which is also in part where Gnosis comes from... though it turns out the powers were ultimately an illusion so who knows.]]
* EvilutionaryBiologist: [[spoiler:Dr. Joachim Gunter. The D∴G Cult believe that the Septian Church and belief in Aidios are holding humanity back. Their Gnosis experiments were intended to put humanity where it 'should' have been. Said experiments included summoning demons and creating drugs based on researching the demons, kidnapping children and testing the drugs on them to inevitably horrifying results and using some of the survivors as child prostitutes for blackmail purposes.]]
** [[spoiler:Surprisingly, manages to avert the usual ScienceIsBad aspect of the trope since it's clear they're an abberation... and ultimately revealed to be ThePawn in someone elses scheme]].
* ExpositionCut: Used frequently to keep the characters from repeating things the player already knows. Also used on occasion to avoid repeating things the player is ''presumed'' to already know, such as the main plot of the previous trilogy when Estelle and Joshua explain why they're in Crossbell.
* {{Expy}}: by appearances alone: Lloyd and Randy, meet [[VideoGame/TalesofHearts Shing and Creed]].
** A number of the characters also resemble various characters from other works by Katsumi Enami:
*** Lloyd looks ''really'' similar to [[LightNovel/{{Baccano}} Firo Prochainezo]], especially when comparing certain promotional images for both titles. Firo ''technically'' has a thinner face, but it can be really hard to tell sometimes. [[MrFanservice It does not help that the girls go crazy for both of them.]]
*** Likewise, Dieter Crois is appearance-wise a dead ringer for Ladd Russo, especially his anime incarnation due to him being blonde.
*** Randy looks pretty similar to [[VideoGame/StarOceanTheLastHope Crowe]], straight down to the same hair color and style. It's really temperament that makes them easy to tell apart. [[spoiler:Usually.]]
*** From the same game, Wazy looks very similar to Faize. It's the haircut and hair color that really does it. They are primarily differentiated by eye color and Faize's [[SpaceElves Space Elf]] ears.
** Sigmund is a dead ringer for [[LightNovel/FateZero Alexander the Great]]
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Lloyd's innocent charm makes him popular with all the ladies - and some guys. It earned him the FanNickname of "Capturing King Lloyd" in Japanese fandom.
* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler: Dieter, Mariabell and Arios. In the end even [[TheDogWasTheMastermind Ian]] is also evil...]]
* EvilCostumeSwitch: [[spoiler:Mariabell Crois. Good ''grief'', girl.]] Also overlaps a bit with SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains ''on the same character'', since [[spoiler:she]] is quite sensibly-dressed when seemingly allied with the heroes, and then the new outfit is... yikes.
** [[spoiler:Dieter, Noel, Arios, Sonya and the rest of C.G.F. wear white suits after Dieter revealed his 'plan'. Fortunately, everyone minus Dieter changed their mind.]]
* EvilVersusEvil: [[spoiler:In the backstory, at least. Ouroboros and the Cult of D∴G absolutely ''hate'' each other and take practically any opportunity to do harm to one another, much to the relief of anyone else in the know.]]
** Bigger spoiler: [[spoiler:Of course, in the end, it's all an act; the Cult was a ''lie'' from the very start, and Ouroboros knew this. They just kept the pressure on to encourage the "growth" of a being like [=KeA=].]]
* ExactEavesdropping: [[spoiler:Renne's]] parents just happen to explain their side of the story of what happened to their missing and believed long-dead daughter in Lloyd's apartment while she is hiding in Lloyd's closet in order to avoid them. Though Lloyd did specifically ask them of it at that moment, likely because he knew [[spoiler:Renne]] would be listening in, and as revealed in Azure, [[spoiler:KeA changed history so that the SSS were closer to Renne so that they wouldn't be killed by Joachim, and this is likely a result of that as well.]]
* ExpositingTheMasquerade: Some of the crazy things the SSS runs into have been known by [[spoiler:the Bracers, the Church and/or higher ups in the CSPD]] for years. Once you start to run into it, they help explain things to you, to the extent of their own knowledge.
* FallingChandelierOfDoom: [[spoiler:Shirley cuts the chain holding up the massive chandelier above the Arc en Ciel stage, which falls and severely injures Ilya. [[ForTheEvulz So she could get Rixia to fight her]].]]
* FalseFlagOperation:
** Chapter 2 of ''Zero'' centers around a plan to make [[spoiler:the assassination of Mayor [=MacDowell=]]] get blamed on the Calvard faction by stirring up fears of the legendary Calvardian assassin Yin. [[spoiler: Which fails because one of the first people the perpetrator tries to use to start spreading the story happens to be Yin's civilian identity.]]
** Since Red Constellation had openly done a job for Osbourne earlier in ''Ao'', everyone assumed they were still working for him when they [[spoiler:launched a terrorist attack that destroyed a good part of Crossbell City]]. This caused everyone to blame the Empire for their actions. But their true employer at that time was [[spoiler:Dieter Crois, in order to cause outrage against the empire and make people more willing to back his independence referendum.]]
* {{Fanservice}}: Not really so prevalent in the games ''themselves'', but the promotional material for the Crossbell games tends to pile the sexy on fair bit harder than older Falcom titles (bar perhaps ''Brandish''). Reactions to this tend to be a bit mixed, particularly from older [=LoH=]/Falcom fans who were attracted to the series and company for being a bit more sedate than other, contemporary game companies.
** The mixed reaction was ''really'' not helped by the President of Falcom [[http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134952/a_30_year_fantasy_the_story_of_.php?page=2 giving a big interview]] about how Falcom explicitly ''doesn't'' focus on that sort of thing, when some of the promotional material seems to run counter to that.
* FellAsleepCrying: [[spoiler: After Pater-Mater's HeroicSacrifice, you can find the Brights in an inn in Mainz. Poor Renne is asleep on a bed on the upper floor, having cried herself to sleep, and if you try to speak to her the party will hear her calling out first for Pater-Mater, then for her mother and father.]]
* FerrisWheelDateMoment: The player can invoke this by taking Lloyd and a character of your choice to the wheel in Michelam Wonderland.
* FieryCoverup: [[spoiler:Dieter and Mariabell arrange for this to happen to the IBC, at the hands of The Red Constellation]].
* FinalDungeonPreview: The game [[HowWeGotHere starts with]] Lloyd and the team entering the underground tomb where the mastermind of the recent crimes in Crossbell is waiting and begins to head in, [[spoiler:though said introduction actually occurred in an entirely different AlternateTimeline.]]
* FlashbackNightmare: Lloyd has a nightmare in Ao, flashing back to the end of the final boss battle of Zero. Except that unlike what really happened, in his nightmare [[spoiler:Estelle and Joshua aren't present, Renne doesn't arrive and Joachim's TakingYouWithMe [[{{Foreshadowing}} succeeds...]]]]
* ForceFieldDoor: A set of doors in the Revache building are guarded by both a physical door and an energy barrier, both of which have to be disabled before you can proceed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In his first appearance in Ao, Olivier mentions 'the Military Academy' and though it isn't named he's referring to Thors, the setting for the immediate next game.
** At the very beginning of Ao [[spoiler:Kevin]] mentions that the Grals Ritter are forbidden from operating in Crossbell by order of Bishop Eralda. [[spoiler:This is why Wazy is posing as a gang leader/bartender]].
* ForWantOfANail: The cause of [[spoiler:why [=KeA=] altered the timeline. Originally the SSS only met Estelle and Joshua in passing, they didn't get involved in the plot and the SSS went after Joachim without them. As a result Renne didn't follow, and wasn't there to use Pater Mater to rescue them from Joachim's demon form.]]
* FourElementEnsemble: While there are seven elements, the final three become subject to the same mechanics regarding elemental weaknesses and resistances only in some instances. It's also highly relevant to the plot when this happens. [[spoiler:The Crois family was attempting to recreate the lost Sept-Terion 'Demiourgos' which goverened Mirage. What they got was the 'Sept-Terrion of Zero', [[InfinityPlusOneElement all three higher elements in one]]. The work involved in creating that power led to the weirdness with the higher elements]].
* FriendlyLocalChinatown: East Street, where many immigrants from Calvard (or Calvard by way of the countries further east) live. It's not limited to that ethnic population though; the Bracers Guild and Fishing Guild are both set up there and the Seeker sisters live in an apartment within the district.
* FullBodyDisguise: Yin's mask and all-concealing hooded coat which serves two purposes: [[spoiler:First, to hide that 'Yin' is a LegacyCharacter and second, to hide that the current Yin is Rixia]].
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Thoroughly averted. Arios' ability to pull off BigDamnHeroes moments in Zero carries over to Ao when he's playable. Arianrhod is just as nasty in gameplay as the reputation that preceeds her.
* GeometricMagic: Alchemy is mentioned a fair amount in Zero and in Ao the subject of the books stored in Stargaze Tower become important. [[spoiler:It turns out that the Geofront complex is in fact a ''massive'' alchemical circle which is crucial to the plan to reawaken the power of Demiourgos]].
* GirlsWithGuns: [[TheGunslinger Elie]] and [[WalkingArsenal Noel]].
* GirlInABox: Lloyd's first encounter with [=KeA=] is this.
* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: Tio loves Michey(Mishy), the cat mascot of the local theme park, and keeps several dolls in her room. Virtually all of [=KeA=]'s furniture accessories are plushies of some kind.
* GoneHorriblyRight: [[spoiler:The attempt to recreate Demiourgos turned out a little too well...]]
* GoneHorriblyWrong: [[spoiler:Dieter's attempt to make Crossbell independent ends up resulting in an Erebonian occupation, and it's implied it could just as easily have been Calvard.]]
* GoofySuit: One sidequest has Lloyd acting as a stand-in for the actor who wears the Mishy costume for a day. Tio spends the day wearing the Mishette costume, ready to kick Lloyd if he plays the role wrong.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Erebonia and, to a lesser extent, Calvard loom large over everything that's happening in Crossbell.
* GuideDangIt: As with ''Trails in the Sky'', these games are absolutely loaded with it. Between getting max DP, collecting all the books/recipes, finding hidden quests and all those Quartz and other items with secret requirements, players will be uttering this ''a lot''.
** One standout example in Zero should suffice to illustrate the depths of GuideDangIt present in the games: In Chapter 4, there's a quest that takes you to Rosenberg Studio and is the only time you'll be allowed past the gate. It's a hidden quest so you have to talk to the right person to trigger it and you can't even do that unless you have almost all possible DP up until that point. Miss a couple of earlier hidden quests or fail a couple of bonus DP conditions and you'll never know this quest exists. You also ''need'' to clear this quest if you want to get the rewards for having a full Monster Encyclopedia from Rebecca and for the in-game Record.
** Ao has a particularly fun one: A series of hidden quests that are all required for Lloyd to realize something during a story event (which gets you one of the Records) so if you miss finding even one of them, you're out of luck. Finding these quests requires you to go out of your way as the giver likes to hang out in places away from where the player is supposed to be at the time.
** Annoyingly, there are several fights in the game that have extra conditions that must be satisfied in order to gain the most DP, such as finishing the fight within a specific timespan. Notably, this includes defeating several bosses that seem like [[HopelessBossFight Hopeless Boss Fights]] (and that the game treats that way, not even bothering to give the player an option to retry if they die and instead simply progressing with the story), including the first fights against [[spoiler: Sigmund Orlando and Arios, as well as a particularly egregious case in the battle against Arianhod]]. Most of the time these conditions aren't even hinted at and since the DP is bonus DP, you'll never know that you missed it unless you look at a guide.
* TheGunslinger: Elie, Dudley and Sergei all use handguns and the latter two include [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter shotguns]] in their arsenal. Noel is MoreDakka personified with an arsenal starting at the dual-SMG level.
* HackerCave: Jona has a nice setup in the Geofront. The floor is, naturally, strewn with empty food and drink containers. Apparently Crossbell's pizza delivery boys are ''really'' brave because they do deliver down there. [[spoiler:It gets cleaned up by Campanella in Ao. [[StuffBlowingUp With fire]].]]
* HauntedCastle: The Monastery of the Moon appears this way when you first visit it, being haunted by undead spirits and demons. Once you clear it out, it's actually quite pleasant. The Fortress of the Sun also comes off this way, being a largely ruined and monster-infested structure. [[spoiler:The D∴G Cult sets up shop in its depths, thus contributing to the atmosphere]]
** The Horror Coaster at Michelam Wonderland is set up as one of these. Elie wonders if Mariabell [[{{Troll}} had it made specifically to scare her]].
* HealItWithFire: In a sign of DevelopersForesight, as of Zero no Kiseki it is possible to 'heal' the Frozen status effect by hitting the victim with a fire-elemental attack. Potentially doubles as WorstAid if accidentally done to you by the enemy. The reverse is also true as the water-elemental Tear spells cure the new status effect Burning.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler:The reason for Guy's death. Guy realized the plan to use the Sept-Terrion of Zero for Crossbell's independence and confronted Arios about it. Ian, who knew Guy would not join them, murdered Guy while Guy was busy trying to persuade Arios to stop the plan.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: Both [[spoiler:Lloyd]] and [[spoiler:Randy]] try to pull this, but get interrupted.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Even moreso than in ''Trails in the Sky''; Investigator Dudley, Arios [=MacLaine=], Wazy Hemisphere and the Seeker sisters all definitely feel like this and many join the party for a bit. Natch for Estelle & Joshua, too. [[spoiler:In fact, those two quite ''literally'' have another story going on in the background for a significant portion of the game, in the form of their search for Renne, which eventually intersects violently with the main plot.]]
** Interestingly, ''most'' of these characters also join the party in ''Ao no Kiseki'', with Noel and Wazy acting as more or less permanent party members. [[spoiler:The Brights (now including Renne) also reappear in Ao. and played major role in the Crossbell invasion.]]
** [[spoiler:Lechter and Kirika, Kevin and Ries, Olivier, the four Bracers of Crossbell, and Mireille are this in Ao.]]
* HeroOnHiatus: Ao no Kiseki starts this way for the entire SSS, with Lloyd performing counter-terrorism work, Elie helping out her grandfather, Randy working with the CGF after the events of Zero and Tio back with the Epstein Foundation. Upon returning to Crossbell after the Prologue, Elie joins up again and Noel and Wazy become new members to bring the team up to four. Tio and Randy rejoin in due time, having finished the duties that were keeping them away.
* HeroWithBadPublicity: At the beginning of the game, many in the CPD, bracers, and general public see the SSS as a publicity stunt and cheap imitation of the bracers. Though their attitudes slowly change as the SSS solve major cases.
* HeroesPreferSwords: As with the previous trilogy, averted. Nobody in the SSS uses a sword, the closest we get being the bladed part of Randy's [[SwissArmyWeapon Berserga]] near the end of Ao and the Beam Zanber mode of Tio's staff. [[spoiler:Rixia uses a sword but she's not an SSS member and doesn't become a permanent ally until the end of Ao.]]
* HopelessBossFight: Surprisingly averted, although several of them - most notably [[spoiler: Sigmund Orlando, Arios, and Arianhod]] - certainly look like they are (and if you lose the game does allow you to progress). [[spoiler: Arianhod]] is a particularly egregious example, as once she TurnsRed her stats get buffed so high that all her attacks are almost guaranteed one-hit kills, she will get multiple turns in the same span each of your team gets one, she will periodically fire off an S-craft that can easily wipe the entire party, and your own attacks will barely be doing more than ScratchDamage. However, it *is* possible to beat her with very specifically-tailored builds and the game rewards you for doing so with 5 bonus DP.
* HostClub: Toyed with. Trinity doesn't function as one but Wazy moonlights as a host and is in much demand with Crossbell's ladies.
* HowWeGotHere: ''Zero'' opens with Lloyd and the team entering the base where the one responsible for most of the crimes they resolved is located and prepare to put an end to it, with the story shifting back to the start of Lloyd's arrival in Crossbell and following the events leading up. [[spoiler:However, it is revealed in the sequel that the introduction was the lead-in to a BadFuture where the team was killed in the battle, causing Kea to have a TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening to move time back to the beginning. In the process, making alterations that would allow Estelle and Joshua, along with Renne to rescue them at the right moment.]]
* HumongousMecha: [[spoiler:Pater Mater returns in the climax of Zero and again in Ao]]. Workshop Thirteen has been busy producing more mechanical terrors for you to fight, chief among them the [[SuperPrototype Aion Series]], which can operate autonomously or be piloted by a human as needed.
* IsThatCuteKidYours: At first, Cecille thinks [=KeA=] is actually Lloyd's daughter.
* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: Most of the cast. Randy. Elie and Arios sport [[BadassLongcoat awesome coats]] and Yin takes this UpToEleven with a coat consisting of multiple overlapping featherlike segments, Noel shows off FashionableAsymmetry combined with a CoolHat, [[spoiler:Rixia in Ao sports a very fancy [[{{Qipao}} Chinese-style]] dress]] but the absolute master of this trope is Wazy with absolutely everything he wears, even the swimsuit.
* ImpossibleThief: Bleublanc managing to steal a statue requiring a team of people to move from City Hall without being seen would qualify on its own. [[spoiler:The fact that he hid it ''in the Mayor's house'' without anyone noticing makes it all the more amazing. Then he impersonates the official you return the statue to so he can [[RefugeInAudacity compliment you on your work and give you a reward for your efforts]]]]
* ImprovisedWeapon: [[spoiler:Lloyd and Garcia]] create some improvised armaments while in captivity and use them in their escape.
* InfinityPlusOneSword: As with FC and SC, your ultimate reward for completing the book collection quest is the strongest weapon for your character of choice. Also as with FC and SC, actually getting all the books is a massive GuideDangIt. Ao no Kiseki has a bit of mercy on you by providing the means to acquire a second Zemurian Stone without having to collect all the books, which in turn lets you get two per playthrough if you're diligent and three in New Game + after you fight [[BonusBoss the optional bosses]].
** There's also character-exclusive Infinity+1 Armor for each SSS member in Zero and for everyone in Ao, plus gender-exclusive Infinity+1 Shoes. All of these can be synthesized and getting the item(s) necessary is much less of a GuideDangIt than the Zemurian Stones are.
* InnerCitySchool: Actually completely subverted, there's a running background story where a nun at Crossbell Cathedral is trying to get the youth of Downtown to attend Sunday School without much success. The big fancy church that also educates the children of the rich and powerful is open to ''everyone'', the kids in question just aren't going. [[spoiler:This becomes HilariousInHindsight since one of Downtown's two gangs is led by a high-ranking agent for the Church in disguise]]. When Ries arrives in Ao, she has somewhat better luck getting the kids to attend.
* InstantAIJustAddWater: [[spoiler:Pater Mater was already intelligent but by the end of Zero it's grown enough that it is able to chose to [[AIIsACrapshoot ignore what Renne tells it to do]] in favor of doing what Renne really ''wants'' but is too scared of rejection to contemplate.]]
** In Ao [[spoiler:it even uses its newfound sentience to pull a HeroicSacrifice in order to protect Renne]].
* InstantRunes: Falcom likes these in general but they took the opportunity to really go all out in these games. These appear during chants and in a couple of Arts, as well as in a number of Crafts and Combo Crafts.
* InterfaceScrew: An unusual example of one happens early in Ao. The party is required to look at all the Support Requests under the guise of getting new members Noel and Wazy up to speed on how the SSS works and one of those requests is an optional monster hunt. You're forced to pass through the area where those monsters are, only to find that someone has already slaughtered them. The request then vanishes from the list as it only existed to set up this encounter. Yes, the game uses its own mechanics as foreshadowing.
* TheInternet: Crossbell has a rudimentary one in the form of the Orbal Network, installed and undergoing testing by the Epstein Foundation. Originally it was going to be tested [[ContinuityNod in cooperation with Zeiss Central Factory in Liberl]] but the IBC was able to offer more money and the convenience of Crossbell's existing Geofront system. The Network plays a minor role in the plot of Zero and a larger one in Ao, while being generally important because it's the reason your characters get cellphone Orbments.
** [[spoiler:Late in Ao it's revealed that the Orbal Network (like so many other things in Crossbell) was developed for the sole purpose of turning the entirety of Crossbell State into an enormous [[GeometricMagic alchemical circle]] to complete the ritual that will recreate one of the Sept-Terion]]
* InvoluntaryGroupSplit: Happens to the party in Ao's Prologue, forcing Lloyd and Noel to go on alone. Much later, you'll run into a PartyScattering situation that forces you to reassemble the entire team.
* ItemCrafting: A new feature in the Crossbell Arc is the ability to upgrade your weapons or create new items from raw materials. Weapons (and certain protective gear) can be upgraded through the use of U-Material and occasionally Sepith. Accessory upgrades/creation sometimes require NoodleImplements like fish.
* ItemAmplifier: The effect of the Master Quartz 'Moebius'. It increases the amount of restored HP/EP, increases the range at which you can use items and at max level, even makes the items possess an area of effect. Once you have a few Zeram Capsules, this becomes [[GameBreaker game-breakingly powerful]].
* ItsTheJourneyThatCounts: [[spoiler:Lloyd's reasoning for not using [=KeA's=] Power of Zero to rewrite the history of Crossbell]].
* JurisdictionFriction: The 1st Department of the Crossbell Police like to step in on all the interesting cases, to the annoyance of both the 2nd Department and the Special Support Section. Also, this exists between the Bracers Guild and the CSPD as a whole during the events of Zero. Both issues generally go away after the SSS proves themselves to the rest of the city and restore the faith of the people in their police.
** Bishop Eralda does not like the Grals Ritter, which forces their people to operate undercover, such as when Ries arrives in Ao [[spoiler:and Wazy and Abbas for the bulk of the games]].
* KarmaHoudini: The worst thing that the CSPD can do to criminals from Calvard or Erebonia is pull their visa and deport them, with no guarantee that their home government will do anything to punish them for their crimes.
* KatanasAreJustBetter: As in the original trilogy, they're the preferred weapon of Hachiyou Ittou practitioners. Arios does pretty ridiculous damage with it. Of course, he's also twenty levels higher than you are with an amazing assortment of Crafts and a high-level Master Quartz.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: [[spoiler:Demon-transformed Earnest is DrunkWithPower and zaps Hartmann... who was actively conspiring with Erebonia to return Crossbell to the Empire in return for power. Oh, and he was a former patron of Paradise, meaning that he enjoyed raping little children]]
* LadyLooksLikeADude: Sully, who talks like a boy, dresses like a boy and has extremely short hair. Lloyd even mistakes her for a boy when they first meet. Sully is [[AccidentalPervert not amused]].
* LandOfOneCity: Crossbell State does have some smaller towns and developments but mostly, it's Crossbell City. Justified in universe by the political situation that led to its existence in the first place and the fact that it's so small that there isn't really room for a second city.
* LaResistance: [[spoiler:The SSS and the remnants of the CGF form the core of this after Erebonia occupies the country, with covert assistance from a number of characters from the previous trilogy.]]
* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler:Joachim is beaten to the point of BodyHorror by a party including one of the victims of the cult he helped lead, then additionally fried by yet another survivor of the Gnosis experiments, using technology she can only operate ''because'' of those experiments]].
* LateArrivalSpoiler: ''Ao no Kiseki'''s promotional materials have ''oodles'' of these for ''Zero'', especially concerning [[spoiler:Rixia and her actual skills and place in the world]]. Magazine promotional articles have also openly spoil many plot elements from ''Trails in the Sky SC''.
** [[DoubleSubversion Double Subverted]] by Lechter. The promotional materials for Zero and Ao didn't shy about revealing [[spoiler:his occupation and alignment]]; yet they keep their mouth shut when it comes to [[spoiler:his relationship with Kloe (which is half of the reason of his existence in the first place)]].
** It also generally is a LateArrivalSpoiler for the original Sky series as a whole. A good number of major plot twists, as well as what happened to numerous characters, are casually mentioned
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: At one point, an exasperated Lloyd tells Randy that no, Cecile wasn't [[SayItWithHearts Saying It With Hearts]], in response to Randy putting those marks in his own speech when mimicing her.
* LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub: The Crimson Group is the [[SarcasmMode creatively named]] front used by [[PrivateMilitaryContractors Red Constellation]] when they need a base of operations in a country. They sometimes even transact vaguely legitimate business. They open up an establishment in Crossbell in Ao.
* LuckBasedMission: The fishing contests in Ao can become this, particularly the final match against Lakelord. There, victory is determined by three things: Whether you have a wide selection of bait and can remember which ones attract which fish, whether you triggered the conditions necessary to have a Royal Bait EX and the Aqua Ruler needed to use it and whether the RNG decides to play nice when you use a bait that can catch more than one kind of fish.
* LuckManipulationMechanic: When playing Poker at the casino, you can fold once per 'level' for a nominal loss of tokens and replay the hand. Since the game already runs on video game logic (to prevent SaveScumming your way to infinite Mira from the start of the game) this is [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality understandable]] from a challenge perspective, even if real gambling doesn't work that way.
** Of course, the computer seems to enjoy allowing you to fold [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard only to give you an even worse hand if you do...]]
* MadDoctor: [[spoiler:While Joachim is more a MadScientist EvilutionaryBiologist in his goals, he hides in plain sight as a doctor.]]
* MagicStaff: The Orbal Staff is a high-tech version of this, based off the [[MagicFromTechnology technology]] of the setting.
* MakeAWish: The centerpiece of the Mirror Castle attraction at Michelam Wonderland is a bell and a mirror. After you ring the bell, you look into the mirror while making a wish and it's believed your wish will come true. Lloyd can take a large number of characters with him and see what their wishes are. Sometimes, what they say they wished for isn't what they ''really'' wished for. [[spoiler:Every wish winds up coming true, eventually]].
* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler: Mariabell who is behind pretty much everything.]]
* MarathonBoss: As per tradition in the series. In case you die in a phase, you can restart again from the beginning of that phase rather than having to replay the entire sequence.
* MasterSwordsman: Arios.
* MeaningfulName: Arianrhod's Stahlritter is a reference to the Eisenritter, a group of warriors who fought in a civil war in Erebonia 250 years ago. [[spoiler:Arianrhod is in fact Lianne Sandlot, the leader of the Eisenritter who was supposed to have died under mysterious circumstances.]]
* MerchantCity: Crossbell is a trade hub between Erebonia and Calvard to the west and east and Liberl and Remiferia to the south and north. It's the capital and heart of Crossbell State and unlike its Liberlian equivalent of Bose, there ''is'' a thriving BlackMarket run by the Mafia. It's also the second-largest city in western Zemuria, after Erebonia's capital Heimdallr.
* {{Metamorphosis}}: The end result of [[spoiler:Red Gnosis use is becoming a gigantic demonic creature.]] This turns out to have been foreshadowed in The 3rd with [[spoiler:the strange substance Renne was made to take in Paradise and (sort of) by the boy who transformed into a demon that Kevin was forced to kill]].
** This also happens to [[spoiler:Wald, who uses a new kind of Gnosis where the transformation was caused by Wald's will to gain more power, rather than as an inherent property of the drug itself.]]
* MeteorMove: Garcia does this with his S-Craft Killing Drive.
* MilitariesAreUseless: Due to its status as a buffer state between two major powers, Crossbell isn't permitted to have a military large enough to be any real threat to either of them, which also means they don't have enough firepower to handle the problems that their military is supposed to be dealing with. Erebonia and Calvard use that (and the fact that some of the Guardians got caught up in the Gnosis incident of Zero) to try to get it replaced with garrisons from their own militaries.
* MinigameZone: In Zero, the casino in the Entertainment District offers ShoutOut fun, three different games to play and a nice assortment of items you can purchase with your winnings. Evolution adds even more minigames scattered throughout Crossbell. Ao adds Michelam Wonderland. Getting SidetrackedByTheGoldenSaucer is entirely possible in these games, even moreso when you include [[SeriousBusiness fishing]].
* MoreDakka: Noel, who carries around dual [=SMGs=], an assault rifle, an electromagnetic net caster and a rocket launcher. Her Blast Storm S-Craft gives Tita a run for her money. [[UpToEleven Then she calls in the fire support for her second S-Craft]]
* MysteriousPast: Randy and Wazy prior to their arrival in Crossbell and to a much lesser extent [[spoiler:what Elie was doing abroad]] prior to the start of the games.
* MythologyGag: Halfway in the game Lloyd and a character he choose disguises themselves and Lloyd uses his dead family member (in his case brother) Guy's name just like what Estelle and Joshua did in ''Trails in the Sky''.
** The way [[spoiler:Olivier]] appears in front of the party in Ao is basically this. To elaborate: [[spoiler:he appeared out of nowhere and proceed to sing "Amber of Love" when two of Wald's lackeys were arguing. He did the same when two factions of new Ruan's Mayor supporters were arguing in SC.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder: N - R]]
* TheNicknamer: Randy likes coming up with nicknames: Tiosuke, Ke-bou, Jona-kou...
** [=KeA=] does it as well; she at least has the excuse of being nine.
* NobleWolf: Zeit, a big badass wolf who chooses to hang out with the SSS [[spoiler:and whose true form is one of the Sacred Beasts tasked with watching over the Sept-Terion]]
* NoisyRobots: The Angel Doll and Tyrdon Doll enemies are visually indistinguishable from the Blade Angel and Tyrdon enemies from the previous trilogy... except that it's noted in their flavor text that they emit obviously mechanical sounds when they move.
* NonHumanSidekick: Zeit, to Tio
* NonUniformUniform: The only members of the SSS who bother ''wearing'' uniforms are Lloyd and Noel, and Noel's is actually a CGF uniform, not a CSPD uniform.
* NostalgiaLevel: The SSS will fight monsters from the ''Sky'' trilogy [[spoiler:in Revache's warehouse, due to the mob importing monsters from Liberl]].
* NotCompletelyUseless: In case you didn't fully appreciate the value of an area-of-effect 50% AGL buff in Zero (shame on you!), you ''will'' in Ao where it's essential if you want to [[BraggingRightsReward actually beat]] [[ThatOneBoss Arianrhod]].
* ObviouslyNotFine: After [[spoiler:discussion of Gnosis]] causes Tio's memories of [[spoiler:being held captive by the D∴G Cult]] to [[TraumaButton come flooding back]], the others notice something's wrong as they leave for the bus. She insists she's fine even as she's noticeably pale and on the verge of collapsing.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome:
** [[spoiler:Rixia and Walter fought offscreen prior to the events of Zero, a fight that ended in a draw. Renne speaks for the audience when she's impressed and wishes she could have seen that]].
** In ''Ao'' Chapter 3, Peter states that of the Fisherman's Guild members, he's the only one who has yet to beat one of the Elite Four of the Imperial Fishing Club, which means the other two members did manage to beat at least one of the Elite Four.
** Also happens in ''Ao'' with the Chapter 3/4 transition. We have the fights between [[spoiler:Rixia and Shirley]] and [[spoiler:Abbas and Ashley versus Wald]] off-camera.
* {{Ojou}}: Elie, of the ProperLady subtype. She has the social standing based on her relationship to Crossbell's mayor and her household calls her by the title. Randy also calls her this ''before'' the SSS realizes the implications of her last name and keeps calling her that throughout the series in lieu of her name.
* OneWingedAngel: The final bosses has several forms, each more over-the-top than the last.
** [[spoiler:Earnest]] does so as well.
** And [[spoiler:Wald]]
** [[spoiler:[=KeA=] or rather her power of Zero]].
* OnlineAlias: The hacker the IBC is looking for during the events of Zero goes by the alias of Kitty. [[spoiler:Players were not entirely surprised to find out that this was [[AnimalMotifs Renne]]]]
* OnlyOneName: Curiously, Mireille is never given a family name despite being promoted to [[NominalImportance portrait status]] in Ao.
* OverrankedSoldier: Noel is either a Master Sergeant or a Sergeant Major depending on how you translate her rank. Either way, at eighteen she is ''impossibly'' young for her age in the real-world and that's allowing for the fact that you can become a Bracer (non-military but at least as hazardous) at sixteen in Zemuria. Possibly justified by the CGF not technically being an army.
* PartsUnknown: Sully and Wazy both start out as this, although it's only parts unknown to the audience and both characters are fully aware where they're from. In Sully's case, it's because her place of origin is a ContinuityNod and in Wazy's it's done deliberately to add to the aura of mystery he deliberately cultivates. All we ever learn about ''his'' origins are that they lie somewhere in 'Eastern Central Zemuria'.
* PersonalityBloodTypes: The fortune-teller at Michelam Wonderland askes Lloyd and his chosen partner for their blood type before answering questions, stating it's important to her method of divination.
* PlayerHeadquarters: The SSS Building contains the only terminal where you can file your reports and get quest completion rewards, along with containing everyone's rooms which provide free HP and EP healing. In Ao, the CoolCar actually serves as an even better example (and a mobile one at that) since you can rest in it to heal CP as well, once you've purchased the right part.
* PlayfulHacker: Jona and Tio both have elements of this, as does [[spoiler:Renne]] although mixed with TheCracker.
* PointOfNoReturn: Walking into [[spoiler:Marconi's secret vault]] in Zero functions as one of these, as afterwards you completely lose the ability to wander around freely. The game flat-out tells you this and to not proceed until you're sure you've done everything you want to.
** As does ''[[spoiler:walking into the very same room]]'' in Ao. Again, the game warns you beforehand that you'll be greatly restricted in your movements for quite some time.
** There are also a host of lesser points where doing something will cut off certain opportunities. For major things like Chapter or Day endings, you'll usually be warned ahead of time.
* PoliceAreUseless: Between Crossbell's status as a buffer state, the political need to keep balance between the pro-Empire, pro-Republic, and anti-Both factions, and the fact that many of the major criminal groups have ties to one of those factions to allow them to bribe their way out of trouble (and the government's limited ability to arrest and hold foreign nationals), the police basically isn't ''allowed'' to be useful. This has resulted in the public putting more trust in the Bracers, who aren't hamstrung by the highly corrupt government, than in the police force. The SSS is basically a political boondoggle to have cops do Bracer work in the hopes of winning back public trust, a stunt that only really works because the SSS takes its duties seriously, even if the rest of the CPD considers them a joke.
* PowerIncontinence: [[spoiler:Earnest suffers from this when he's transformed into a demon during the events of Ao's prologue. Fortunately, [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Kevin is there to save him]].]]
* PrincessCurls: Mariabell sports [[MegaTwintails a pair]], befitting her social position.
* PrivateMilitaryContractors: Jaeger groups, who are a cut above regular mercenaries. In the Crossbell games the most prominent group is the Red Constellation [[spoiler:which is led by members of the Orlando family. Sigmund and Shirley come to Crossbell in Ao in part to [[ResignationsNotAccepted get Randy back]]]].
* PurposelyOverpowered: Arios is an A-Rank Bracer with a pending application to raise him to S-Rank. Given that the one S-Rank Bracer we know about in the series is [[TheAce Cassius Bright]], it's entirely to be expected that Arios is just ''that'' powerful when he joins your party. [[spoiler:Given the stats and crafts he has as a boss, it's clear he was holding back as a party member.]]
* PushPolling: In ''Ao'', President Dieter Crois starts a referendum (actually a non-legislative opinion poll) asking for citizen opinions on the topic of Crossbell independence. However, he never mentions the obstacles they would have to face to achieve independence, skewing results towards pro-independence because people don't understand the full consequences of this decision. [[spoiler:He also hires the Red Constellation to start a FalseFlagOperation against Crossbell to further push the poll towards independence. While the poll isn't supposed to actually determine policy, Dieter has all other legislators secretly placed under house arrest, and then uses the results of the poll to make his forceful actions toward independence seem legitimate.]]
* QuirkyTown: Played for laughs in a scene in Ao. When a (justifiably) worried mother asks her daughter if she's seen anyone strange walking around the city lately, she says that she sees a ''lot'' of strange people and mentions several who stood out from the rest, then remarks that one of the SSS members who just left is pretty weird himself. For added points, the people she mentions (a young man who looks like he's on vacation and a nun carrying a mountain of bread) are known to the player.
* RapidFireTyping: Jona, Tio [[spoiler:and Renne]] engage in this. [[spoiler:Rather justified for the latter two since both are victims of Gnosis experimentation and are faster and smarter than normal humans]].
* RealityWarper: [[spoiler:The Crois family was just trying to recreate Demiourgos' powers which influenced 'fate', what they got was Azure Demiourgos, capable of rewriting time and space as well.]]
* RealMenWearPink: And so does Michael and Lechter [[spoiler:(in both of his outfits).]]
* RedBaron: These come up again, naturally.
** Arianrhod: The Steel Maiden
** Ines the Steadfast
** Ennea the Freeshoter
** Duvalie the Swift
** Arios [=MacLaine=]: The Divine Blade of Wind
** Garcia Rossi: The Killing Bear
** Kevin Graham: The Thousand Protecting Hands
** [[spoiler: Randy Orlando]]: The Son of The War God, The Red Reaper
** Sigmund Orlando: Ogre Rosso
** Shirley Orlando: Bloody Shirley
** [[spoiler: Wazy Hemisphere]]: The Blue Testament
* RedEyesTakeWarning: [[spoiler:Overuse of the refined form of Gnosis leads to the user developing reddish eyes, as opposed to the gold eyes characteristic of the victims of earlier experiments.]]
* RedHerring: [[spoiler:Baldur Orlando is set up as an imposing figure, the strongest member of the strongest Jaeger group in western Zemuria, father to Randy and known as [[RedBaron The War God]]. Ao no Kiseki reveals that he's been [[BusCrash dead]] since around the time that Zero no Kiseki started.]]
* RedOniBlueOni: Randy and Tio respectively, including hair colors.
* RefugeInAudacity: Basically everything Lechter does when you first meet him. First, he openly admits to the SSS that he's an Erebonian agent and working with the guy whose party you're about to infiltrate. He also suggests that now that you know he's going to have to kill you (complete with musical sting). When the party begins, you see him fishing in his host's ornamental pond, then feeding his host's fish to his host's cat, who he's come up with a new name for. Later when all hell has broken loose, you're forced to take refuge in his room. When the guards show up, he then tells them he just saw something move behind the curtain... which turns out to be the cat but your party was also behind those curtains... then the Chapter ends with him beginning a conversation with a known agent of Calvard.
* ReligionOfEvil: [[spoiler:The D∴G Cult, which believes that Aidios is a lie spread by the Church and has been conducting rituals to bring about the revival of the 'True God <D>' discovered by the Cult's founder. These 'rituals' take the form of summoning demons and performing horrific medical experiments on children.]]
* TheRemnant: [[spoiler:Joachim Gunther]] is a surviving member of the D∴G Cult, which got wiped out by the Bracers, the Crossbell police, and [[EvenEvilHasStandards Ouroboros]] few years prior to the start of the game. [[spoiler:Ouroboros' involvement in suppressing the Cult is in fact how they came to recruit Renne.]]
* TheReveal
** [[spoiler: Dr. Joachim Gunter, the lazy doctor who perpetually pushes his work on his juniors so he can skive off and go fishing is actually a high priest of the D∴G Cult.]]
** [[spoiler: The Crois family are from an alchemist lineage that founded the D∴G cult, in order to recreate the lost Sept-Terion Demiourgos. They are also indirectly working with Ouroboros]]
** [[spoiler: [=KeA=] is the "Sept-Terrion of Zero", which is artificially created to replace the lost Demiourgos (the "Sept-Terrion of Mirage")]]
** The one that killed Guy is [[spoiler: Ian Grimwood.]]
* {{Roboteching}}: Aion Type-Beta has a scattering beam cannon whose shots can be bent to hit from unexpected angles. [[spoiler:So do the Grals Ritter's Merkabah airships]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder: S - Z]]
* SadisticChoice: [[spoiler:Dieter takes military action against Erebonia and Calvard in order to make Crossbell independent, but relies on [=KeA=] to maintain the power to keep the other nations in check. This means the SSS has to choose between [=KeA=]'s mental health and Crossbell's independence, since taking away [=KeA=]'s power will make Crossbell vulnerable to Erebonia and Calvard, who intend to retaliate against Dieter's actions. The SSS saves [=KeA=] in the end, leading to Erebonia annexing Crossbell.]]
* SamusIsAGirl: The stalker that you encounter in Zero who looks and talks like a boy? Yeah, she's not. [[spoiler:Also, Yin is a girl.]]
* ScarfOfAsskicking: Wazy sports one in Ao and he can [[ArmedLegs literally]] kick a lot of ass.
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Lloyd and Randy, Wazy and Abbas... pretty much Wazy and anyone actually. Note that being the sensitive one in the pair in no way makes Lloyd or Wazy less badass.
* SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains: Played straight and subverted. Playing this trope arrow-straight is [[spoiler:Mariabell, who goes from a business suit to... yeow]] while subverting the trope is [[spoiler:Rixia, who is much more sensibly dressed as Yin (dressing scantily is a necessity in her civilian persona as a professional dancer), who you have to fight. When she drops the disguise, she starts showing a lot more skin]]. The latter [[JustifiedTrope actually makes sense]] because [[spoiler:the Yin costume both hides that 'Yin' is a LegacyCharacter and the identity of the current Yin. Once hiding her identity because pointless, she shifted to something that allowed freedom of movement]].
* SentientPhlebotinum: [[spoiler:Demiourgos apparently was aware of the [[Series/BabylonFive Third Principle of Sentient Life]], choosing to [[HeroicSacrifice destroy itself]] rather than allow its misuse. Unfortunately, the people who relied on it for their power then spent the next 1200 years trying to recreate the thing through alchemy and [[GoneHorriblyRight succeeded]]]].
* ShoutOut: Plenty to events and regions in ''Trails in the Sky''. Characters even talk about a book from FC!
** You can decorate [=KeA=]'s room with Penpen doll from ''Zwei II''.
** Randy's Jukebox plays a jazz remix of [[VideoGame/{{Ys}} Tower of the Shadow of Death]].
** Elie's music box is Chris' from ''Legend of Heroes III: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch'', down to the tune it plays.
** The slots minigame has characters from [[VideoGame/{{Ys}} Ys I]].
** The Jack, Queen, and King cards used in the Poker and Blackack minigames have characters from both Zwei games, ''{{VideoGame/Brandish}}'' and ''{{VideoGame/Gurumin|AMonstrousAdventure}}''.
** A state surrounded by [[TheEmpire an empire]] and a republic? TheHero comes from outside of the capital? [[spoiler:Said empire occupying the state and our heroes must free their hometown from their grasp? And super-powered humans who play a crucial role in the story?]] Hello VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles!
** Lloyd's final S-Craft (Meteor Breaker) and Dudley's first S-Craft (Justice Hammer) are references to Gawaine from ''The Legend of Heroes Gagharv Trilogy: A Tear of Vermillion''.
** Again from ''A Tear of Vermillion'', you can fight a soldier named Douglas as part of sidequests.
** Ao no Kiseki's title screen song is titled "Aoki Shizuku" (lit. "Blue Tears"). The Japanese title of ''A Tear of Vermillion''? "Akai Shizuku".
** Tio's Orbal Staff exhibits a few similarities to the Intelligent Devices from [[{{Franchise/LyricalNanoha}} Nanoha]], Raising Heart in appearance and Bardiche in function.
* SiblingYinYang: [[spoiler:It is almost unbelievable that Renne and Colin are ''siblings''. Then again, Colin hasn't suffered from half a year of terrible physical and mental abuse and medical experimentation followed by half a decade being molded into a TykeBomb assassin]].
* SignatureTeamTransport: The SSS gets one in ''Ao'' in the form of a car that the player can customize the hell out of. Being the only SSS member with a drivers license, Noel is usually the one operating it. She also has a separate armored car she uses as a member of the CGF. With guns. [[MoreDakka Lots of guns]]. [[spoiler:In the Finale, the role was transferred to Wazy's Merkabah 9 as the car in question got impounded in Crossbell and was wrecked in the raid on Orchis Tower, rendering it unusable for the rest of the game]].
* SilkHidingSteel: Elie is a ProperLady through and through and can get the SSS into meetings with the wealthiest and most powerful people in the city. When politeness fails, the handgun comes out.
* SinisterMinister: [[spoiler:Joachim is really a priest of the heretical D∴G Cult, [[LastOfHisKind possibly the last one remaining]]]].
* SixthRanger: A succession of characters fill this role in Zero, [[GuestStarPartyMember temporarily joining the fixed party of four]] at one or more points. Wazy and Noel each do this twice, Dudley and Yin do it once as do [[spoiler:Estelle and Joshua]] in the final dungeon. Everyone but [[spoiler:the Brights]] become permanent allies by the end of Ao, with Wazy and Noel being playable for almost the entire game.
* SkinshipGrope: Elie is the victim of this multiple times.
* TheSlacker: Throughout Zero, Sergei seems to make it his job to do as little actual work as possible while commanding the SSS. Thus, he spends most of his time in his office while Lloyd and the others do anything remotely difficult. [[spoiler:Until circumstances demand action at the end of Zero and Ao, at which points we realize why Sergei is famous within the CSPD]]
* TheSnackIsMoreInteresting: Throughout a rather tense conversation between Sigmund and the SSS on the subject of [[spoiler:the former trying to convince Randy to become the next leader of Red Constellation]] and more generally what the most feared mercenaries around are doing in Crossbell at a tense time, Shirley is stuffing her face with parfait and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking sometimes even talking with her mouth full]].
* SoleEntertainmentOption: Averted. Crossbell has an entire entertainment district including a casino and a theater that the player can visit and other locations implied but not accessible by the player. There are also bars scattered throughout the city (Ignis doubles as a music venue and Trinity has billiard tables), people go to Armorica for relaxation and there's an entire theme park that attracts residents and tourists alike.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Yep, this comes up again.
** Our female lead here is usually spelled "Elie" by Falcom sources. Problem is, that's the ''male'' version of that name; many Western sources correct it to "Ellie", the female version. (It's worth noting that [[VideoGame/{{Atelier}} a certain famous-in-Japan alchemist heroine]], who may have inspired the name, runs into the exact same problem.) XSEED, however, stuck, with the original "Elie" in their translation.
** The game's star female nurse and Lloyd's surrogate sister was named "Cecil" in Falcom materials which, as in the above example, is the male version of the name. Notably, this even tripped up NISA who, when translating ''Trails of Cold Steel III'', came across a reference to Cecil and referred to her using male pronouns by mistake. A subsequent patch corrected the error and changed her name to "Cecile", the feminine version of the name.
** The single absolute worst of the lot, however, is "Wazy" (going by kana phonetics) Hemisphere. That's based mostly on a the katakana given for his name. The way Falcom prints his name? Łazy. That is, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%81 the Polish/Slavic "dark L"]]. That's the proper use of a dark L, but... ''yeah''. Needless to say, most Anglophones don't even know how to ''pronounce'' that at a glance. XSEED apparently decided to dodge the issue and localized the name as "Wazy" when they translated the ''Trails of Cold Steel'' games.
** Don't forget that Lechter receives ANOTHER spelling change in Ao. First it's "Lechter Arundel" in The 3rd, "Lecter Arandor" on the official website, and finally "Lector Alandor" in the in-game picture viewer. FALCOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!
* SpoiledBrat: Jona, who is completely full of himself. He's also nearly good enough to justify it.
** Shin initially comes off as one of these, being the son of the head of [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Heiyue]] in Calvard, on a trip to Crossbell to familiarize him with the organization's newest area of operations. He initially acts the brat full force when the SSS escorts him around the city (Cao wanted Arios but he wasn't available) but Elie's diplomacy (politely ignoring his attempts to be KidAnova) wins him over. He soon reveals that his father did teach him ''some'' manners and he eventually starts acting like a perfect gentleman around [=KeA=] and Shizuku. He even helps out the SSS with a case, while increasing Heiyue's influence in the bargain.
* SquishyWizard: Tio's arts attacks are really powerful but her defense is abysmal.
* StandardStatusEffects: The same as in the previous series, plus [[KillItWithFire Burning]], which functions like Poison except that it hurts more and can intuitively be [[HealItWithFire 'healed' by targeting the victim with a Water-based attack]] or the [[DevelopersForesight Water-based Tear spells]].
* StatSticks: Zero and Ao both introduce weapons that can inflict status effects without needing a Quartz. These can remain handy even when outclassed in STR, especially as they allow you to double up on inflicting these conditions and some have very nice effects indeed.
* StockCostumeTraits: Revache's rank and file are apparently traditionalists and have the fedoras to prove it.
* StormingTheCastle: The end of Zero, in which the party finally penetrates the depths of the Fortress of the Sun. Done in epic style in Ao as well [[spoiler:except replace 'Castle' with 'Orchis Tower']]
* StoryBreakerPower: Arianrhod who is by far the strongest character in the Kiseki series.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Illya and Rixia, though it's given due to their job.
** [[spoiler:And even Rixia takes it UpToEleven in her coat-less Yin outfit in Ao.]]
** And then there's [[spoiler:Mariabell's EvilCostumeSwitch.]]
** Shirley. Just Shirley.
* StuffBlowingUp: [[spoiler:Large parts of Crossbell, courtesy of The Red Constellation, most prominently the IBC Building in full FMV.]]
** Also every cutscene involving the Aions tends to involve a ''lot'' of things blowing up.
* SuddenlyVoiced: [[spoiler: Mariabell]] in Ao.
* SummonMagic: The most powerful attack Arts in Ao visually function like this, summoning dragons, giants and even battleships. Tio can also do this with one of her Crafts, summoning Zeit as a one-shot Support Character.
* SuperpowerMeltdown: [[spoiler:After taking Red Gnosis, Joachim transforms into a [[OneWingedAngel massive demonic figure]]. Once he's sufficiently wounded, he finds out the hard way that his new form is... unstable.]]
** [[spoiler:Something rather similar happens to Ernest, except that Kevin was there to save him]].
* SuperPrototype: Ao no Kiseki ultimately averts this [[spoiler:as Pater Mater is no match for the newer Aion models of the Gordias Series for which it was the prototype]].
* SuperSerum: Blue Gnosis works like this, greatly increasing some ability of the user, such as intellect, speed, strength or even luck. [[spoiler:It works by forming a connection between the user and Demiourgos, for the purpose of ultimately reviving the latter; the powers obtained by the Gnosis users was a side-effect.]]
* SuperweaponSurprise: [[spoiler:Crossbell does not have an army, they have a small self-defense force which has its hands full dealing with less than a hundred mercenaries. A full army would roll right over the place and everyone knows it. Except that they also have [[RealityWarper Azure Demiourgos]] and the [[HumongousMecha Aion series]] machines empowered by it which are on loan from Ouroboros. Erebonia stops snickering after Garelia Fortress becomes Garelia Crater.]]
* SurvivorGuilt: [[spoiler:Tio, who was the only survivor in a base of the D∴G cult where she was experimented on.]]
* SwissArmyWeapon: Ao no Kiseki introduces two, Randy's Berserga ([[{{BFG}} Rifle]] and [[{{BFG}} Sword]]) and Shirley's Testarossa ([[{{BFG}} Rifle]], [[ChainsawGood Chainsaw]] and [[KillItWithFire Flamethrower]]).
* SwordBeam: Arios' field action creates a huge wave of energy, overlapping with RazorWind given his [[RedBaron title]].
* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:Once it becomes apparent that he's going to die one way or the other, Joachim uses what strength he has left to trap the party so they'll go when he does.]]
* TeaserEquipment: Everything sold at Imeldas and most of what is offered at Nine Valley exists to tease you; you won't have the Mira or [[ItemCrafting necessary items]] to obtain those goods until ''much'' later.
* TeenGenius: Jona, Tio [[spoiler:and Renne]]. There is dark side to the latter two as [[spoiler:their intellect is developed from horrific experiments by the D∴G cult]].
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Any time the Saber Vipers and Testaments work together in Zero is an exercise in this, starting with their teaming up to fight your party because you're getting in the way of ''their'' fight. Played more heroically later when they work together to fight off the Mafia [[spoiler:and later the Gnosis-controlled CGF]].
* TemptingFate: [[spoiler:Wazy, you just ''had'' to dismiss the idea that the Railway Cannons would ever be fired at Crossbell, didn't you?]]
* ThatOneCase: The murder of Guy Bannings was never solved and continues to trouble his friends and family and it's a running plot thread in both games. [[IntrepidReporter Nielsen]] continues to work on the mystery in Ao.
* TheCityNarrows: Played straight and subverted at the same time. The warren of alleys between Central Square and the Entertainment District contains the headquarters of the Mafia [[spoiler: and later, Red Constellation]] and is hinted to contain some of the seedier establishments but it also contains a rather pleasant jazz bar and an antique shop which sells some of the most expensive and useful items in the game.
* TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether: [[spoiler:The Orlandos, heads of the Red Constellation. They consider work as highly skilled mercenaries to be a fun activity for the whole family and one that can be enjoyed by children as young as nine.]]
* ThereAreNoTherapists: So many characters.
** Actually averted in the case of [[spoiler:Tio, who recieved months of care at St. Ursula after she was rescued from the hands of the D∴G Cult. This explains why she is so much better adjusted than fellow victim [[AxCrazy Renne]]]]
* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: In-universe example. This is the public's opinion of the SSS when the group is first formed. Everyone writes them off as police officers trying to rip off the success of the bracers, who are more popular with the public. Only when they manage to get some success under their belt does the public start respecting the group.
* TookALevelInBadass: And how. The Special Support Section start out as nobodies with no respect from anybody. By the end of Zero no Kiseki they've outsmarted a threat that no one else could stop.
** Estelle and Joshua most certainly count too. They are now internationally known Bracers and Estelle getting closer to Cassius' level of combat skill now, given that she can use his S-Craft ''Houou Reppa''. As for Joshua, he's at last made peace with the idea that his ferocious potential doesn't have to be used for murder and terror and can be used for good - meaning he's one of the most skilled Bracers living. [[TechnicalPacifist He won't kill you, but that's the only break you'll get]].
* TheTower: Stargaze Tower, a ruin from the Middle Ages. [[spoiler: Also, Orchis Tower, built by the descendants of the people who built Stargaze Tower, for much the same purpose.]]
* TrafficWardens: One sidequest has the SSS checking parking registrations and ticketing illegally parked vehicles.
* TransformingMecha: The Aion Type-Beta has both humanoid and flying configurations. The Aion Type-Alpha and Gamma do not but they do have a shooting mode.
* {{Tsundere}}: Tio and Mireille, towards Lloyd and Randy respectively.
* UltimateAuthorityMayor: Justified, due to the small size of the country the mayor of Crossbell City is also the head of Crossbell State.
* UnblockableAttack: [[spoiler: Azure Demiourgos' Spacetime Collapse.]] Absolutely nothing will prevent it from wiping out your entire party if it gets used.
* {{Unobtanium}}: Zemurian Stones function this way, described as an ore with unusual properties. It was rare 1200 years ago when the Ancient Zemurians used it and it's rarer still in the present. They're used to synthesize the [[InfinityPlusOneSword strongest weapons]] in both games.
* TheUnreveal: Too may to count in Zero, because they were [[SequelHook setup for the sequel]]. Ao's ending includes a few as well, setting things up for the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel next arc.]]
* UnwantedHarem: There's a reason Lloyd is known among the fandom as the "Capturing King." Pretty much every girl in the games expresses at least some level of interest in him [[EvenTheGuysWantHim and some of the guys do too.]]
** [[spoiler: In retrospect, the fact that Mariabell not only isn't affected by Lloyd's charm but actively seems to dislike him might have been intended by Falcom as a hint...]]
* UpdatedRerelease: Zero and Ao no Kiseki Evolution, for UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita. They add full voice acting for the main plot, rearranged music, enhanced graphics and a few extra sidequests, among other minor changes.
* UrbanFantasy: Very much so; Crossbell is a big city, and much of it and its residents are styled on [[TheFifties 1950's,]] especially the suits ([[CostumePorn sweet Aidios, the suits]]) and the cars ([[TechnologyPorn SWEET AIDIOS, THE CARS]]). This is a bit of a departure from the previous games, which were rather more SteamPunk 19th century-ish than this. (Estelle and Joshua [[LampshadeHanging do express some surprise]] at the technology they find on display in Crossbell, though.) This also gives the game quite a different feel from the previous Trails games, since so much of it is focused on one city; while you do visit some of what basically make up the "suburbs" of Crossbell, the focus is on events in the city limits.
* UrbanSegregation: Played kinda straight in gameplay terms since there's no way they could either show the entire city or fit what they do show on a single map. The result is that the city is divided up into a whole lot of individual maps each representing a district of the city. In story terms, the usual elements of the trope are very much averted. There is a distinctly poorer segment of town left behind by the pace of development and there is a posh district where the wealthiest citizens live but absolutely nothing prevents anyone from one part traveling to the other and hanging around, nor are the elite 'out of touch' or the Downtown inhabitants the poor or the scum of society. Several major characters live Downtown and others in the upper-class Residential District and they mingle frequently and even work together.
* UselessUsefulSpell: Generally averted. Most mooks remain vulnerable to at least some of the effects and stat downs and the effects themselves are nasty enough to remain potent throughout the game. Plus, the Arts that inflict the effects tend to either have the infliction as a secondary property or they're impressive in their own right. Luna Craze for example makes a lot of mooks much easier to fight since they'll ''all'' start killing each other. Even some of the hardest bosses are vulnerable to a status effect or two.
* VillainHasAPoint: Between Calvard and Erebonia helping themselves to a tenth of Crossbell's tax revenue each for the "privilege" of being a buffer state and their hamstringing Crossbell's ability to handle its own internal affairs, it's not hard to understand why a lot of the villains in ''Ao'' want Crossbell to be independent.
* ViceCity: Crossbell is presented as this during the events of the previous trilogy. It's not ''quite'' as bad as the reputation that preceeded it [[spoiler:but considering that our primary point of reference was the little girl whose parents apparently sold her into sex slavery at the age of five, you can forgive players for taking a dim initial view of the place]] but it still has a powerful underworld with ties to City Hall, sharply divided politics and police that are generally perceived as useless. Oh, and it ''is'' still internationally known as the City of Sin.
* WatchingTroyBurn: [[spoiler:An iconic scene where Arianrhod watches Crossbell burn during Red Constellation's attack]]
* WaterWakeup: Ice wakeup actually; Tio does this to Lloyd with a dialed down version of [[KillItWithIce Diamond Dust]] at one point.
* WeaponizedExhaust: Aion Type-Beta's energy propulsion system doubles as a melee weapon, as a lot of airships found out the hard way.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Ian, Arios, and Dieter. The first two have lost their loved ones due to the political state of Crossbell City. They are trying to liberate Crossbell City from influence of neighboring countries, regardless of consequences.]]
* WesternZodiac: A series of twelve extremely powerful Quartz found in Zero are named for the twelve constellations.
* WhamLine: ''Ao'' delivers this which turns the ''entire duology'' on it's head. [[spoiler:In the core of the Azure Tree, when the SSS confront Mariabell, they are bamboozled by the sheer ridiculousness of the Azure Zero Plan, which involves ''rewriting the history of Crossbell'' with [=KeA's=] power. Mariabell's response?]]
--->'''[[spoiler:Mariabell]]''': (''chuckles evilly'') You say strange things. [[spoiler:Since even you have been saved by that once]].
* WigDressAccent: Lloyd and an SSS member of your choice don fancy clothes to infiltrate a posh auction run by the Mafia. It's done less to fool anyone that might recognize them ([[PaperThinDisguise it doesn't]]) but to make them look like they belong at the event.
* WindsOfDestinyChange: [[spoiler:One of the effects of Blue Gnosis and one of the first noticed by the characters is that it can enhance 'luck'. A miner from Mainz makes an absurd amount of money this way, until his luck finally runs out when he comes across [[ProfessionalGambler Lechter]]]].
** [[spoiler:This is also hinted to be one of the powers of the original Demiourgos, before it was combined with elements of Space and Time manipulation to turn it into a RealityWarper. Since Gnosis forms a link between the user and Demiourgos, increased luck would be a natural byproduct]].
* WouldHurtAChild: The D∴G Cult.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: In Zero: [[spoiler:Renne technically ''can'' go home after the events of the game but she chooses not to, believing it best for all concerned if her parents don't learn what happened to their missing daughter over the past eight years, especially as she is wracked with guilt once she understands their side of the story. It isn't all bad, though, because she [[EarnYourHappyEnding has a new home by the end of the game]].]]
** Ao reveals this to be the case for [[spoiler:Wazy. How his Stigma appeared resulted in the people of his hometown considering him a 'godslayer' and banishing him. Lloyd invites him to consider Crossbell his second home near the end of the game if you see his special bond scene]]
* YouShallNotPass: [[spoiler:Garcia of all people does this for Lloyd when they are escaping from prison together in Ao no Kiseki.]]
** During the crisis at the end of Zero, Sergei and Dudley stay behind to buy time for the SSS to escape with [=KeA=] and Shizuku. The party then does this themselves, holding the line [[spoiler:at the IBC against the controlled CGF forces attacking the city.]] Fortunately, multiple BigDamnHeroes prevent the scene from turning into a LastStand.
* YouShouldKnowThisAlready: The plots of both games assume the player has a working knowledge of the previous trilogy and thus freely spoils the hell out of most of the major twists.
[[/folder]]

On December 18th, 2019, Falcom announced that an UpdatedRerelease of both ''Zero'' and ''Ao'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, alongside announcing an upcoming title to be set also in Erebonia, which ended up being ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfOrigins'' - effectively an epilogue to both the ''Cold Steel'' quadrilogy ''and'' the Crossbell duology. This announcement renewed the hope of fans that the Crossbell arc will eventually be published in the west. The [=PS4=] ports came out in April and May 2020 for ''Zero'' and ''Ao'' respectively. A UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch version for Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea, courtesy of Clouded Leopard Entertainment, is set to release early 2021.

On March 15, 2020, a group known as Geofront released an extensive patch for ''Zero'', ''Trails from Zero'', with a fully edited script intended to match the style of the English translations of the other titles in the series, and other modernization enhancements, including turbo mode, autosaves, a message backlog, higher framerates and resolutions, and various bug-fixes. The same group is working on a similar patch for ''Ao'', ''Trails to Azure'', which as of writing is over 80% through its second editing pass.

On December 18th, 2019, Falcom announced that an UpdatedRerelease of both ''Zero'' and ''Ao'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, alongside announcing an upcoming title to be set also in Erebonia. This announcement renewed the hope of fans that the Crossbell arc will eventually be published in the west. The [=PS4=] ports came out in April and May 2020 for ''Zero'' and ''Ao'' respectively. A UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch version for Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea, courtesy of Clouded Leopard Entertainment, is set to release early 2021.

On March 15, 2020, a group known as Geofront released an extensive patch for ''Zero'', with a fully edited script intended to match the style of the English translations of the other titles in the series, and other modernization enhancements, including turbo mode, autosaves, a message backlog, higher framerates and resolutions, and various bug-fixes. The same group is working on a similar patch for ''Ao'', which as of writing is over halfway through its second editing pass.

''Zero no Kiseki'' was originally released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable on September 30th, 2010, and later came to the UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita on October 12th, 2012. A PC version for the Chinese markets came in 2011, with a version for Japan in 2013. As for ''Ao no Kiseki'', it was originally released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable on September 29th, 2011, and later came to the UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita on June 12th, 2014. A PC version for the Chinese markets came in 2013.

On December 18th, 2019, Falcom announced that an UpdatedRerelease of both ''Zero'' and ''Ao'', which were ported and released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, alongside announcing an upcoming title to be set also in Erebonia. This announcement renewed the hope of fans that the Crossbell arc will eventually be published in the west.

On March 15, 2020, a group known as Geofront released an extensive patch for ''Zero'', with a fully edited script intended to match the style of the English translations of the other titles in the series, and other modernization enhancements, including turbo mode, autosaves, a message backlog, higher framerates and resolutions, and various bug-fixes. The same group is working on a similar patch for ''Ao'', which as of writing is partway through its second editing pass.

** [[spoiler:Being a Dominion, Wazy has access to a Merkabah of his own and Kevin also arrives with his. The class gets retroactively more awesome with the reveal that they have optical camoflage, beam weaponry and Mode-S, which allows a Dominion to channel the power of their Stigma through the ship for massively increased effects. Kevin is able to extend his Grail Sphere barrier to protect the entire ship... and use the [[CallBack Stigma Cannon]]]].
** Also, the two terrorist groups that attack Orchis Tower in Ao have advanced military-grade gunships designed by the premier manufacturers of their respective countries.
* CoolCar: The SSS gets one in Ao no Kiseki and the player can customize it with both aesthetic and functional parts. [=KeA=] gets giddy when she gets to ride in it for the first time.

* SiblingYinYang: [[spoiler:It is almost unbelievable that Renne and Colin are ''siblings''. Then again, Colin hasn't suffered from half a year of terrible physical and mental abuse and medical experimentation followed by half a decade being molded into a TykeBomb assassin.]]
* SignatureTeamTransport: The SSS gets one in Ao in the form of a car that the player can customize the hell out of. Being the only SSS member with a drivers license, Noel is usually the one operating it. She also has a separate armored car she uses as a member of the CGF. With guns. [[MoreDakka Lots of guns]].

* BadDreams: [=KeA=] having one precipitates the developments in the end of Ao's Intermission. Lloyd has one immediately afterwards. [[spoiler:In [=KeA's=] case, her powers are beginning to awaken and she's starting to realize [[ArtificialHuman what she is]], in Lloyd's case he's [[FlashbackNightmare starting to remember]] [[KillEmAll what happened]] before [=KeA=] unconsciously [[RealityWarper rewrote history]] at the end of Zero.]]

* AxeCrazy: Shirley, dear God Shirley.

* CosmicRetcon: [[spoiler:[=KeA's=] rewriting of history to bring the SSS and the Brights together is one of these on a massive scale, undoing the 'original' ending of Zero and making the subsequent games possible. It also [[FridgeBrilliance may explain]] the timeline discrepancy between when Estelle and Joshua arrived in Crossbell according to The 3rd (mid 1203) and Zero (early/mid 1204).]]

* WindsOfDestinyChange: [[spoiler:One of the effects of Blue Gnosis and one of the first noticed by the characters is that it can enhance 'luck'. A miner from Mainz makes an absurd amount of money this way, until his luck finally runs out when he comes across [[ProfessionalGambler Lechter]]]]

On March 15, 2020, a group known as Geofront released an extensive patch for ''Zero'', with a fully edited script intended to match the style of the English translations of the other titles in the series, and other modernization enhancements, including turbo mode, autosaves, a message backlog, higher framerates and resolutions, and various bug-fixes.

* ObviouslyNotFine: [[spoiler:After discussion of Gnosis causes Tio's memories of being held captive by the D∴G Cult to come flooding back, the others notice something's wrong as they leave for the bus. She insists she's fine even as she's noticeably pale and on the verge of collapsing.]]

On March 15, 2020, a group known as Geofront released an extensive patch for ''Zero'', with a fully edited script intended to match the style of the English translations of the other titles in the series, and other modernization enhancements, including turbo mode, autosaves, a message backlog, higher framerates and resolutions, and varous bug-fixes.

A Drama CD titled "Road to the Future" that serves as an {{Interquel}} between the end of ''Zero'' and the start of ''Ao'' has also been released. A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNMww7e2V54 subbed version]] has been released online.

* SadisticChoice: [[spoiler:Dieter takes military action against Erebonia and Calvard in order to make Crossbell independent, but relies on [=KeA=] to maintain the power to keep the other nations in check. This means the SSS has to choose between [=KeA=]'s mental health and Crossbell's independence, since taking away [=KeA=]'s power will make Crossbell vulnerable to Erebonia and Calvard, who intend to retaliate against Dieter's actions. The SSS saves [=KeA=] in the end, leaving to Erebonia annexing Crossbell.]]

* PushPolling: In ''Ao'', President Dieter Crois starts a referendum (actually a non-legislative opinion poll) asking for citizen opinions on the topic of Crossbell independence. However, he never mentions the obstacles they would have to face to achieve independence, skewing results towards pro-independence. [[spoiler:He also hires the Red Constellation to start a FalseFlagOperation against Crossbell to further push the poll towards independence. While the poll isn't supposed to actually determine policy, Dieter has all other legislators secretly placed under house arrest, and then uses the results of the poll to make his forceful actions toward independence seem legitimate.]]

* PurposelyOverpowered: Arios is an A-Rank Bracer with a pending application to raise him to S-Rank. Given that the one S-Rank Bracer we know about in the series is [[GodModeSue Cassius]] [[MemeticBadass Bright]], it's entirely to be expected that Arios is just ''that'' powerful when he joins your party.

* AIBreaker: Bosses that have impede crafts will prioritize impeding your casters. This can be exploited if the impede craft isn't too damaging, though this behavior is harder to exploit if a character uses the [[DrawAggro Keeper]] Master Quartz, which makes the enemies' AI less predictable because it might prioritize attacking the Keeper user rather than the caster, unless you have the user cast instead.

* CityOfWeirdos: Played for laughs in a scene in Ao. When a (justifiably) worried mother asks her daughter if she's seen anyone strange walking around the city lately, she says that she sees a ''lot'' of strange people and mentions several who stood out from the rest, then remarks that one of the SSS members who just left is pretty weird himself. For added points, the people she mentions (a young man who looks like he's on vacation and a nun carrying a mountain of bread) are known to the player.

The beginning of the second arc of the ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'' after the ''VideoGame/TrailsInTheSky'' trilogy, ''The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki'' moves the setting to the bright lights of the wealthy but corrupt city of Crossbell. Four rookie cops are enlisted to improve the reputation of the police by joining a new group called the Special Support Section. Of course, it doesn't stop there...

* CityOfSpies: Crossbell edges into this trope, given that the city is divided into factions that support Erebonia and Calvard and agents from both countries are active in the background, along with [[spoiler:Wazy and Abbas keeping tabs on things for the Church and later Ries keeping tabs ''on'' the Church]].

* {{BFS}}: Randy's Berserga in Ao incorporates one, Yin weilds a large blade [[spoiler:which is amusing because underneath that outfit, Rixia is a fairly skinny girl]]. Arios' katana is also rather long and while it's technically a Big Fricking [[ChainsawGood Chainsaw]] the size of Shirley's weapon counts.

[[folder: E -M]]

* YouShouldKnowThisAlready: The plots of both games assume the player has a working knowledge of the previous trilogy and thus freely spoils the hell out of most of the major twists.