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

So Kurt was the man who retrieved the black orbment. And of course he was sent by Cassius Bright.

Moving on, it appears that his issues with amnesia happened due to some drug from Spec Ops. So now we know for certain that Spec Ops have access to drugs that can remove memories, and mind control people.

............D∴G isn't involved yet are they? I'm getting some Joachim vibes right now.

Let's hope Estelle or Joshua don't get mind controlled then.

Alright! Planning out the infiltration of the villa is underway, let's see what wacky antics ensue!

...Please let me bring Oliver. I PUT SO MUCH INVESTMENT IN HIM! GIVE HIM BACK!

I'll teach you a lesson about just how cruel the world can be. That's my job, as an adult.

LET HIM OUT! DAMN YOU! I NEED HIS ARTS. AND HE HAS ALL MY GOOD GEAR AND QUARTZ NOOO!!!!

So we're invading the royal villa where the royal family or princess in this context is held hostage by people rebelling against the crown and we're here on request of the one member of the royal family member.

Damn, history really does go in circles in the Trails universe.

This would go a LOT more smoother if the game gave me back the CP restoring belt I have Oliver, and the game right now just LOVES spamming enemy encounters.

This late in the game must mean that the game is pulling all sorts of dirty tricks to pad out the game length just a little bit longer.

I'll teach you a lesson about just how cruel the world can be. That's my job, as an adult.

She pretty much gets the same dorm room scene as everyone else in CS 2 and then the scene where she arrives on campus with Elise changes to where she whispers to Rean that she is thinking of telling Elise about that... just to see what happens but she backs off when Elise gets pissy about the whispering, knowing Alfin's habit of trolling.

Ah, I was just very curious because I'm pretty sure Alfin would certainly pull rank on Osborne for trying to force Rean into the puppet role and tell him to knock it off.

But she can't because the plot says so.

Alright, found the hostages in the villa.

I'll teach you a lesson about just how cruel the world can be. That's my job, as an adult.

....I admit, now that I see Princess Kloe up close, I get why people would be fooled. FROM AFAR! Anime rules be damned, they have the same hair color. Ah well, she was hidden from the public and all that. In plain sight.

Is it just me, or maybe it's the artstyle but she really looks like Joshua's princess costume but with purple hair.

Must be because of how pretty Joshua is.

I'll teach you a lesson about just how cruel the world can be. That's my job, as an adult.

Yep, took Estelle QUITE a bit of time to realize she's the same Kloe.

Of course, so Klaudia reiterates that she uses wigs and the fact the public doesn't generally know her face to get around.

As for where the name Kloe comes from?

....I can't put my finger on it, but that explanation doesn't hold up for reasons I can't put into words.

Schera is back!

OLIVER IS BACK! YEAH THE LEADING MAN IS HERE!

I'll teach you a lesson about just how cruel the world can be. That's my job, as an adult.

There is really no Rank to pull, the Princes and Princess do not have any power outside of what the government allows them to have and royal lands, money and such.

And... Osborne has the full backing of the Emperor himself.

Oh right, shit, I forgot, my bad. That's why Oliver has to work to politically outmaneuver Osborne.

I get that Osborne is based on Otto Bismarck, but I swear, sometimes Osborne comes off as more of an emperor than the actual emperor who doesn't play much of a role on-camera, just giving support to Osborne.

And he IS loyal to the Emperor from what I can tell. I really have to go over Cold Steel 2's civil war plot line all over again, because there's some details I want to discuss.

But later.

Edited by RedHunter543 on Mar 30th 2024 at 11:56:00 PM

I'll teach you a lesson about just how cruel the world can be. That's my job, as an adult.

There are multiple reasons why the Emperor gives his full support, one of em was an offhand mention in CS 2, but gotta play Trails to find out to find out the rest.

Yeah Sky is bad about unequipping characters in Grancel, probably cause they are not gone for very long. One really good thing about the games starting with CS 3, when people leave the party you still have them in the menu to rip off their gear if needed.

Also Sky SC is more like Cold Steel 2, people don't leave often and party management becomes a thing...

So now that I got Oliver back, how is this build for him? It's done wonders for me.

I'll teach you a lesson about just how cruel the world can be. That's my job, as an adult.

Would probably rec slotting mind 3, action 3 and evade 3 for the heal spells along with the OP Aerial with Cast 2 and EP Cut 3 giving you access to Clock up EX and White Gehenna.

Whoops, in the time it took you to post that, I bought Shield 3.

Ah well, some modifications will make this work, thanks.

I'll teach you a lesson about just how cruel the world can be. That's my job, as an adult.

It's a minor localization hiccup. In Japan, her disguise name is "Klose", from "Klau"dia and "Aus"lese.

The English name Kloe sounds more like a real name but is slightly more obtuse in how to derive it from her real name.

You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!

Wouldn't it be better to use a pseudonym that doesn't resemble her real name?

Also, the Emperor of Erebonia is treated weirdly positively by the narrative, even though he's probably Osborn's biggest political ally.

Nach jeder Ebbe kommt die Flut.

Yeah, that's it. Where does the o and e come from?

Well I've been going on and on about how Osborne acts more like the Emperor than the actual Emperor, so why isn't he Oliver and Alfin's dad? Maybe it's because I'm used to fantasy stories with Empire having the Emperor as the absolute most powerful man in the nation, but even narratively, he's the guy driving most of the Erebonian plotline, it's his policies that the noble alliance are rebelling against, he's the man Crow has the most beef with, he's Rean's father, and it's his plan that results in Erebonia becoming stronger and taking more land.

The actual Emperor is barely a character and is just ineffectively a hostage for most of the 2nd game. Maybe if he was a frail old man that would explain things, but nope, he looks like a regular guy.

Like I said, I get that Osborne is based on Bismarck, and also because the structure of the Empire is a lot different from normal fantasy empires but it creates this weird dissonance.

But I guess the writers also wanted a way to establish that Oliver and Alfin are heroes and against war and Imperialism but also have the Empire they are the royalty of, still be Imperialist so that's why Osborne is in that role of Chancellor but is basically the Emperor in all but name.

Edited by RedHunter543 on Mar 30th 2024 at 11:08:15 PM

I'll teach you a lesson about just how cruel the world can be. That's my job, as an adult.

Perhaps they wanted Rean to be Osborn's son, but didn't want the baggage of making Rean royalty. Or so Alfin could be a potential love interest.

Nach jeder Ebbe kommt die Flut.

Thank you for confirming that Osborne really has no relation to the royal family, now I can fully cross that off my list of possibilities. Still, I'm going to bet that Osborne is truly loyal.

Wait what? I actually defeated Richard's second in-command? She didn't invoke cutscene incompetence and reveal that she's been taking steroids and beats us up only for Cassius Bright to show up?

Is this legal? Estelle actually defeated her in a fair fight?

Does not compute.

Edited by RedHunter543 on Mar 30th 2024 at 11:30:15 PM

I'll teach you a lesson about just how cruel the world can be. That's my job, as an adult.

Dunan: I AM RIGHTEOUSNESS! AND RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL PREVAIL!

Points if anyone can get that reference.

You tell em, Estelle. There's a 5000 mira fee for bowlcuts in this country!

And of course, Lord Dunan still fails to recognize his own niece or that he met Estelle and friends before. Till Kloe spells it out to him, and then:

...I'll just let Schera speak for herself.

Wait, I can actually beat the shit out of him?

....This is going to come with some drawbacks isn't it?

I'll teach you a lesson about just how cruel the world can be. That's my job, as an adult.

Sky was apparently back when the heroes could actually win a fight.

Nach jeder Ebbe kommt die Flut.

SO! We have you cornered at last. So this guys goes on a rant comparing countries and politics to Orbment tech and that's why Kloe isn't fit to be queen because she doesn't understand the intricacies at play of the situation.

And so, Lorence unmasks himself.

CROW!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?

Jokes aside, for a while there I thought Crow somehow crawled from his grave now that I have a better look at totally not Weisemann here. But then I remembered this is before Cold Steel. So yeah, this is the man from the school play, the silver haired man that Joshua knows.

Welp, time to fight.

Edited by RedHunter543 on Mar 31st 2024 at 12:05:30 AM

I'll teach you a lesson about just how cruel the world can be. That's my job, as an adult.

Oh so it's another fight I could lose.

Uhhh... lemme get some anti-confuse gear first.

I'll teach you a lesson about just how cruel the world can be. That's my job, as an adult.

Just like with the counterfeit dealer in Azure, you do get docked BP for clobbering Duke Dunan since he's a non-combatant, so yes, there is a penalty for that.

But it is really hard to resist.

You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!

Ah yes, I remember the long time I spent having to beat this fight.

But damn if getting to hear the song wasn't motivating to kick his ass.

He keeps healing himself with Tearal, and spamming Earth Guard.

Damn it, if only I had Oliver here, I'm so unused to Schera and Kloe after so long.

Edited by RedHunter543 on Mar 31st 2024 at 12:19:31 AM

I'll teach you a lesson about just how cruel the world can be. That's my job, as an adult.