Board 8 > So. Trails in the Sky 1, right?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Making sure this isn't a Persona situation.
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You may need to elaborate. You mean which game to start with? If so, then yes. You'd ideally want to start with Trails in the Sky FC. You could start with Trails of Cold Steel because it was designed to be an acceptable entry point and is the start of a new arc but it builds off Sky so all things being equal I'd recommend Sky first.
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There's 3 arcs in the Trails series currently. They feature a different cast of main characters, but they are all interconnected; there is a story that progresses through each of them; some characters appear in multiple arcs; etc etc. (They all take place in roughly the same time period. in different locations, sometimes with like 1-2 year gaps or something)

Liberl Arc
1. Trails in the Sky FC (or sometimes just "Trails in the Sky)
2. Trails in the Sky SC
3. Trails in the Sky the 3rd

Crossbell Arc
4. Trails to Zero/Zero no Kiseki
5. Trails to Azure/Ao no Kiseki

Erebonia Arc
6. Trails of Cold Steel
7. Trails of Cold Steel II
8. Trails of Cold Steel III/Sen no Kiseki III
9. Trails of Cold Steel IV/Sen no Kiseki IV (unreleased)

The entire Crossbell arc as well as Cold Steel 3 and 4 don't currently have official English releases, which is why I've also listed the Japanese title for those. (4 is not out in Japan either for another month or two.) It is likely that Cold Steel 3 and 4 will get English releases at some point in the future. However, I would not count on the Crossbell games ever being officially translated. There are unofficial translations which are not all that difficult to find, though I believe the ones currently available are still unedited or something?

Otherwise in general there's two entry points, which are Trails of Cold Steel or Trails in the Sky FC. For various reasons I recommend starting with Trails in the Sky, but if you for whatever reason want to start with Cold Steel that wouldn't be terrible either. (Falcom explicitly designed the game with the idea that it could be a reasonable entry point.)

Obviously any individual arc has to be playedin order. In addition, some points of the Crossbell Arc finish some plot threads from the Sky games, which is why I don't recommend starting there.

I haven't played it, but word on the street is that Cold Steel 3 relies somewhat on knowledge from both the Crossbell and Liberl arcs, so it's recommended that you play everything before moving on to Cold Steel III if possible. (Though I may not be doing this in fairness as I have not played the Crossbell games either. I have a strong preference for only playing officially released stuff, and I've already spoiled myself on 90% of the Crossbell games anyways. We'll see what happens)
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The GOG version doesn't have the FC at the end of the name. Is there a different version?
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That's the right version. I'm like 90% sure "FC" was never an official title but just something fans about to refer to it as a separate entity from later games
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FC is indeed official

https://www.suruga-ya.jp/database/pics/game/177004424.jpg
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pyresword posted...

I'm like 90% sure "FC" was never an official title but just something fans about to refer to it as a separate entity from later games

I don't think FC was part of the official title for the 2004 PC release, but by the time it got ported to PSP in 2006 it was.

PC (2004): https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/979866-the-legend-of-heroes-trails-in-the-sky/images/156554
PSP (2006): https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/psp/933329-the-legend-of-heroes-trails-in-the-sky/images/176165

That said, I don't think XSEED has ever included FC as part of the title when it's been localized. At least not on box art.

BTW, "FC" just means First Chapter here, "Trails in the Sky" is indeed the correct version.
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I was going to say "there's only one version", but then I remembered the Evo versions are things that exist. Does someone who knows more about those want to comment on those?

For LtM, I know the Evo versions are remasters of the Liberl and Crossbell arcs with voice acting, but they don't have official English releases. That's about all I know
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speaking of the Evo the versions

Media: Will Zero no Kiseki and Ao no Kiseki also be released on PlayStation 4?

Kondo: Although I cannot make any specific promises, we do know that lots of fans love these two games, but do not have the consoles necessary to play them. As a precedent, we have previously released Evolution titles for the games, so the fans can look forward to more news in the future.

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granted it might be too late for me I already imported a PC version of Zero no Kiseki just waiting for that new fan translation to be finished
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There's probably somebody out there who started with SC. Imagine how confused they must be.
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Crossbell will get localized for sure

it's a matter of when, not if
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th3l3fty posted...

Crossbell will get localized for sure

it's a matter of when, not if

how are you that confident?

i wish i had that confidence
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Ohhhh god these are all gonna be so long.

This is so daunting.

And it's all on PC so I gotta stay couped up alone in my room to play it.

Ughhhhhh why isn't every game on PS4.
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but they're so good
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tbqh originally I was most of the way through typing up an extended explanation like pyre posted but scrapped it because I didn't want to overwhelm you. >_>
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One of these days maybe I'll go back to FC. It was just rather draining trying not to miss any of the NPC dialogue changes. If ever a game needed fast travel...
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mnkboy907 posted...

One of these days maybe I'll go back to FC. It was just rather draining trying not to miss any of the NPC dialogue changes. If ever a game needed fast travel...

Depending on when you stopped, a turbo mode was added via patch!
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oh the prologue starts pretty slow prepare yourself
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I mean I really like Tokyo Xanadu and I know that's the red headed step child of the series, so I'm pretty sure I'll like them.
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Tokyo Xanadu is right in the middle between Trails turn based action and Ys' fast paced action
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but that also means you already know Towa!


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Wasn't a fan of Towa in Xanadu, but I'll have to see the roots.

I played that Ys VIII demo and wow did I ever haaaaaaaaaate it.
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if it was NISA's translation understandable

if it's the gameplay u crazy boi
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Tokyo Xanadu is really excellent. I'm actually about to finish a replay of it.

I don't think it compares unfavorably to Trails at all, honestly. Structurally, it's basically Falcom taking their gameplay flow/assets from Cold Steel and reworking them into a different setting. ...And taking Towa with them. >_>

Edit: Towa in Cold Steel is much better than Tokyo Xanadu Towa.
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It was the gameplay. I couldn't even play long enough to dialogue!
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LapisLazuli posted...

Wasn't a fan of Towa

It's like being hit in the FACE with raw heresy.

mnkboy907 posted...

One of these days maybe I'll go back to FC. It was just rather draining trying not to miss any of the NPC dialogue changes. If ever a game needed fast travel...

This might be blasphemy among the Trails fanbase but I don't advise obligating yourself to keep up with this.

The NPC's in this series have substantial/meaningful dialogue that updates rather frequently, which is one of the things Trails does that other RPG series just don't. (Though I'm told Tokyo Xanadu might be similar? Haven't played it myself) In any case, keep up with this as much or as little as you like. Personally there were some NPC's that I was drawn to for whatever reason and always tried to keep up with, but there were some that I didn't care about and just ignored after the first 1-2 times I talked to them.
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Ive been meaning to get into this series. Any idea when we are getting Cold Steel 3? I feel like its been out in Japan for a while since theyre getting ready to put 4 out

Are there benefits or rewards to completing NPC dialogs like in Xanadu?
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swordz9 posted...

Ive been meaning to get into this series. Any idea when we are getting Cold Steel 3? I feel like its been out in Japan for a while since theyre getting ready to put 4 out

Probably next year.

CS1 and 2 were both 2 years after their release in Japan and its only been less than a year since 3 so far.

pyresword posted...

(Though I'm told Tokyo Xanadu might be similar? Haven't played it myself)

It does. It's also by Falcom.

It's basically Cold Steel set in Japan after Falcom played Persona 3.
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LapisLazuli posted...

Ohhhh god these are all gonna be so long.

This is so daunting.

And it's all on PC so I gotta stay couped up alone in my room to play it.

Ughhhhhh why isn't every game on PS4.

Wait can i not get these on vita??
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LapisLazuli posted...

Are there benefits or rewards to completing NPC dialogs like in Xanadu?

You have the same character notebook thing you had there and you can get quartz (Elements) or an accessory for reaching certain % milestones in it.

Edit: Cold Steel only. In Sky there's usually not a reward past any entertainment/interest you get out of it.
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SantaRPidgey posted...

Wait can i not get these on vita??

Only Cold Steel 1 and 2

Sky 1 and 2 are also on PSP but they lack update patches (including turbo mode).

Trails FC/SC are on PSP so you could play them on Vita, but 3rd is PC only so you'd miss out on save data transfers (although you could probably just download a save)

Cold Steel 1 and 2 are PS3/Vita and recently got PS4 ports although those aren't available in english
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Cold Steel 1 and 2 came out here about 2 years after they released in Japan, and it's been about 1 year since Cold Steel 3 released there. As far as I can tell we're still on track to get Cold Steel 3 on a similar timeline of about 12-18 months from now.

(Though the reason for that is that we have heard nothing so far when we haven't really expected to hear anything by this point anyways, given that XSEED likes to make announcements late into the localization process. So really this could mean anything)
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SantaRPidgey posted...

LapisLazuli posted...

Ohhhh god these are all gonna be so long.

This is so daunting.

And it's all on PC so I gotta stay couped up alone in my room to play it.

Ughhhhhh why isn't every game on PS4.

Wait can i not get these on vita??

You can get FC, SC, CS1, and CS2 on Vita. FC/SC via PSP backwards compatability digitally. CS1 and CS2 have actual Vita releases.

Trails in the Sky the 3rd is PC only for the English version though.
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tcaz2 posted...

swordz9 posted...

Ive been meaning to get into this series. Any idea when we are getting Cold Steel 3? I feel like its been out in Japan for a while since theyre getting ready to put 4 out

Probably next year.

CS1 and 2 were both 2 years after their release in Japan and its only been less than a year since 3 so far.

Oh, ok. I guess now I just need to wonder if the PS4 port of Cold Steel 1-2 are coming to America. It would be nice to play them all on the same console

tcaz2 posted...

Sky 1 and 2 are also on PSP but they lack update patches (including turbo mode).

So i can play it but it will be crazy slow?
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I dunno I played them before turbo mode was implemented and it was fine
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I mean if you're okay with the pace of the gameplay it's fine. One of the common complaints about Sky is that there's both too much walking with no fast travel and that combat animations are too slow, and turbo mode fixes both problems quite well.

But if it doesn't bother you or you can deal with it its not necessary.

There's also a few names that are wrong in FC's PSP version (A character named Zin was originally translated as Zane, for instance) but as long as you know the names will change in SC and 3rd, its not much of a problem.

Turbo Mode is a blessing for all of the Trails games on PC.
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This Turbo Mode is good to know about.
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Random fun fact Akibas Trip is actually what introduced me to Cold Steel because it was one of the real games being shown on tv screens in the game.