Trails franchise (Trails In The Sky, Trails Of Cold Steel etc)

I do, but according to Steam the games only work on Windows OS.

The two starting points imo are Sky or Cold Steel 1/ 2.

I would advice not playing Cold Steel 3 till playing both.

Edited by Memers on Mar 30th 2020 at 10:27:51 AM

You can always try programs like Wine or Play on Mac. And there's also the GOG versions which are identical.

I can't confirm if it's April fools or not, because apparently this article spoils Cold Steel III.

But announcement Cold Steel IV?

Skipping past any potential spoilers for my own sake, as well, it says PS4 release this fall, and PC/Switch release next year.

It seems believable enough at least.

That's the secret behind any sucessful April Fools!

Also, we're now a 100 pages thread! 🥳

I mean, there's a trailer with full blown English voice acting. Even promotes pre-orders.

At the very least, they're probably working on it.

So I found working roms for Sky I and II. Is III important, or ignorable since it's just the epilouge according to the trope page?

III is more accurately a separate story, but honestly even if you could skip it, it’d be worth playing just for its own story. That said, it does set up later games, most notably in the various side-story scenes present.

Sky III has some of the best scenes in the franchise. It's technically skippable, but I don't recommend it.

The Cold Steel IV announcement is legit btw.

Proof?

In the pudding.

The author of the article saying that it's not a joke.

Also the Steam page.

Yes!

Weirdly, I may be more excited for Cold Steel IV than FFVII, and I'm already looking forward to FFVII.

PS 4 this fall, Switch and PC some time in 2021.

Sky 3rd honestly is one of the most important games in the series. it is seemingly a side story but it sets up basically the entire franchise after it, it sets up plot lines we still haven’t gotten to yet.

And it has the best plot!

Speaking of plot lines we haven’t gotten to yet...

I finished Chapter 2 of Ao yesterday. Great chapter, though it ended a touch abruptly.

The approaching Calvard arc made me regard Rocksmith with considerable interest. Didn’t really learn much, though the man certainly has a great deal of self-control, both in his calm reaction to the terrorist attack and how he seems to react to just about everything with cheerful good humor. His relationship with Heiyue intrigues me - he doesn’t really bother to hide it, and yet at the same time doesn’t really come across as being or perceived as being corrupt.

I don’t know how the events of the Cold Steel games affect the internal politics of the Republic, but it might be interesting if the Calvard games have an election plot line. What do you guys think?

Edited by KarkatTheDalek on Apr 1st 2020 at 4:43:26 AM

Sky 3rd is also just a blast to play. All the playable characters and all the boss battles makes it feel like a sandbox game practically.

And it has my favorite final boss theme.

Yeah, 3rd's like a sandbox with tons of playable characters and a Metroidvania-esque progression and excitement for which party member you'll unlock next, or who the next Door's for. It's really fast paced and snappy with the gameplay, and there's tons of fun optional challenges to do.

I know the lack of towns and side characters, and sidequests is a bit too different from the other game's identity, but the trim the fat approach was really refreshing.

And in general the darker, more personal/psychological bent to the characterization produces some of the best written scenes in the franchise even now.

I came out of SC expecting that there'd bee no way for 3rd to top it, only for it to end up my favorite game in the series.

Its got all the best themes, Like who would have thought Prog Fusion would work for a Danger Theme but 'Close to the Brink' pulls it off.

'Genuine Devil' really gets it across that This Is Gonna Suck.

Then there is 'The Crimson Stigma' and 'Overdosing Heavenly Bliss' dynamic.

Then there is 'The Final Choice' which has appeared in 5 games now in various forms.

Edited by Memers on Apr 1st 2020 at 3:17:56 AM

Well, I think I found a method to run the Window version of Steam through Wine, so if that works, I'll try 3rd provided I and SC hold my interest.

If not, got to be a playthrough I can watch on Youtube somewhere.

And some of the most impactful.

I mean the Gehenna sequence and "that" scene are stuff straight from psychological horror like Slient Hill.

Yeah, 3rd just has this psychological focus the other games tend to downplay. Chapter 7 and a certain spoiler character's Door are practically Psychological Horror. It's also nice to just have a faster paced narrative than usual. There's a lot less faffing about, and I'm still impressed Kevin got a complete character focus in just one game.

I like the fact is so different from the other two in the trilogy.

It's a nice palate cleanser.

Having only a couple of missables is also pretty nice.