Board 8 > TP Link continues to plays Trails: Copaganda Edition

(+) Yeah! (+)

Note: I'm posting this in a discord chat where one of the readers hasn't started the series yet, so I'm using "they" pronouns with Yin most of the time (except when I put it in spoiler tags).

The balloon selling guy is lowkey one of the best npcs. the world may be about to explore, he's just happy to be giving people some balloons

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/1/0/AAO9CbAAE2NS.jpg

When NPCs become self-aware

apparently the testaments floated the idea of attacking the vipers now that they are weak from the infighting, but Wazy veto'd it. Heh.

Lloyd has a little scene at his brother's grave. The game's opening theme starts playing

The cathedral's priest is declaring that is the Gralsritter come take the Magical Bell of Hell, he won't let them.

Heh. I'd love to see Kevin run into this guy.

Lloyd and Dudley talking on phone to share results is cool. Dudley is a jerk, but now that he's on our side, it's a nice dynamic

Dudley hints that the doc is the bad guy. Called it. There isn't a huge pool of plausible characters with face portraits to pick from, tbh. And a specialist in pharmacology and neurology? Heh.

Dudley is showing why he is a good detective, though. He just goes and remembers the connection between the doc and the villain of Chapter 2, who now is clear was also under the effect of Gnosis

Gnosis is this game's version of Weissman finger snap, I guess. It's behind everything.

Did the bad guys just make the hospital hostage or something

The bus to the hospital was, though. This is starting to look like a zombie movie

We are attacked by mindless super mafiosos. Yup. Zombie movie.

Yin to the rescue!

Lloyd: "Yin, wanna be our nakama?"
Yin: "lol ok"

Lloyd and his ability to make the best decision even when all common sense is yelling against it

Yin joins the party!

Just in time for Zombie Hospital: The Movie

Yin's orbment is mirage, the only element that was missing

They also come with a weird 5-2-2 line which I've never seen in the series before. It's both good and bad at magic.

though their ats is not great. But their attack is huge

The bus people are being kept hostage in the dorms

Lloyd: "We will save the nurse who has a face portrait and everyone else too!"

theres a little character thing about how the hospital resident who is always cool because she's great at tests is freaking out, while the resident who is not that much of an ace but is used to working for a calm doctor is handling this situation more easily. Soft skills.

I like Yin but their crafts aren't fantastic and the one that looks cool (basically Dudley's insta death with a slightly lower chance) doesn't work because all the mafiosos are immune to it. And they always start the battle positioned in a way that Yin's AoE attacks don't hit more than one person. Meh.

Rixia lets out her real voice in one of her victory quotes. Heh.

We run into a politician, who demands we escort him alone to safety and leave everyone else to die. Scum.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/1/1/AAO9CbAAE2NT.jpg

Nurse with a face portrait is being surrounded by a pack of cthulhus. Just a normal day in jrpgs
Lloyd is so angry he kills one of the cthulhus before the battle even starts

Ok Yin's crafts are great when the enemies aren't specifically designed to avoid them

The research ward is about as large as the rest of the hospital combined, even though it didnt look like that from the outside

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/1/2/AAO9CbAAE2NU.jpg

tempting

We meet the mastermind behind everything... the guy we arrested in chapter 2

new boss song

ngl A Dude in a Suit is an uncommon boss, but this was a cool fight

the boss escapes by jumping from the 8th floor window and being rescued by a dragon. Showoff

We get some files. One reveals the speaker has been blackmailed by the bad guys the whole time, and also teases a certain Start Door

The other is a list of kidnapped chhildren, Including Renne

So the cult is responsible for Star Door 15. I say kill them all with fire

And theres KeA, our mcguffin girl

Renne is basically Evil Kilika at this point. She knows everything and is 10 steps ahead of everyone

jumping out of windows is modern society's best means of transportation

You guys need to be glad shes on your side. I think

Yin leaves the party. WIll return next game!

The day was saved! Except not.

We go back home and KeA hasn't been kidnapped yet. The devs surely like to hold expectations

We call the bracer guild, and hear it get attacked on the phone. Just normal day for a bracer guild
Bracer guild receptionist is one of the most hazardous jobs ever

Next, we are attacked too. The PCs get ready to escape with the mcguffin kid and the other kid, while Dudley and Sergei guards our backs. Sergei grabs a shotgun because he's cool like that.

Oh nice the country's army has been zombified too

Yin said she had someone to protect. Turns out it's Ilya

The NPCs stay behind so the PCs can escape. Classic.

zombifying half the country's army is smart, but that means the other half can form a barrier against you

We area attacked by 10 mafia goons and Randy wants to run away. No, you idiot, 10 goons isn't that much at this level! Damn PCs who can't powergame

Then the Richest Man in Zemuria decides he also wants to participate in the Last Minute Rescue thing and does just that

no way all those plebs will participate in heroic action and he won't get to buy his way into it too

the time stamps showing every scene is a cool feature

we are now in the bank, which is a safe zone. Well not safe from hacking, but the hacker is our friend so it's cool

The bank provides item shops so we can prepare for the final dungeon. Convenient

ZeldaTPLink posted...

Oh nice the country's army has been zombified too

Fun Fact: Either earlier that day or maybe the day before, if you go to Bellguard and talk to Mirelle she mentions that St. Ursula sent them some new supplements.

Also in what I think is one of the odder moments where the game remembers what you did, IIRC the dialogue is changed during the scene where the party is running through Crossbell when you run into Ilya. If, during the Intermission, you brought KeA with you to Ilya's apartment you find her sleeping and KeA remarks on it again here calling her something like "the lady who sleeps funny!"

On a more serious level, I absolutely love how the game's BGM changes to Ancient Pulsation (the Ancient Battlefield music) once the SSS and Dudley figure out Joachim's involvement. Such a good song and I love the atmosphere it gives at that moment.

Oh yes KeA said that about Ilya in my playthrough but I'd forgotten what the reference was.

I was thinking she was talking about Rixia since she went to the auction.

Lloyd gets his bonding scene with Elie. It's pretty sweet, and it's more about Lloyd than it is about Elie, really. How he still feel like he's stuck in his brother's shadow, but Elie lifts him up.

Also they almost kiss

Now to watch the two other bonding scenes on youtube, because you can only bond with whatever character you befriended the most, and you need to replay the game if you want to see the other scenes. This is the series now, character development scenes gated behind friendship systems, and romances that will never be canon since the player might see something else instead

(yes I've heard this will get worse as the series progresses and the devs work harder to compete with Persona in the harem market)

Randy's bonding scene is more about Randy, because in this version, Lloyd already reached his character arc conclusions by himself (though he does mention them)

We get Randy's full backstory. That he killed a shitload of people was possible to imagine, but the most interesting bit is the reason he was kicked out of the CGF: because he didn't want to ever touch a gun again. That's a really cool reveal. Thanks Youtube!

Tio's scene is even less about Lloyd. There's a bit of him talking about his bro, but it's not much. It's mostly Tio worried that she might get called away from Crossbell if the situation keeps escalating, and a follow up on his "promise to make her a promise" that he made early. It's pretty sweet, and some light ship teasing too.

Aside from the dual shipping (Lloyd x Elie is my only ship at this point), I kind of want to imagine those 3 scenes all happened, because they have some really great character bits, tbh. Meh.

zombie soldiers are arming bombs at the gate so we are going there to try to disarm them. It's nice this is an option, but if this is where the good guys' "plan" is at, we are screwed

Oh ok they are hoping for non-zombie soldiers to arrive and bail us. Fair.

time to defend the bank from the incoming state attack. For capitalism!

the soldiers make a funny girly cry when we knock them down

The Chinese mafia watches us from the roof while going "hehehehe, impressive" like freaks

Grace also watches from the roof. Articles incoming tomorrow

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/8/0/AAO9CbAAE2TE.jpg

The cabal of Zemurian journalists cannot be stopped

next is office Mireille, the de facto commander of the west gate since the real commander is an useless politician

She hits hard but isn't particularly bulky. Randy is pissed though

Even Lechter is watching huh

Randy's rage gives him 200 cp and I use it to unleash a max Death Scorpion on the next wave, almost taking it down

And Lloyd finishes it off, before they even attack, with a Flare Butterfly, courtesy of Elie's turn accelerate

We win, but now we get to see the protagonists tired since this game demands all major conflicts are won in cutscenes, preferrably with someone else showing up to save us

The big bad shows up, possessing the body of a random soldier. Interesting

So KeA is their holy child. Huh

We don't get saved. Instead, the McGuffin Child turns herself in

She glows. The bad guys may have a point

Then the PCs make heatfelt speeches and convince her not to turn herself in. Cool. Except we are all gonna die now

Then Arios to the rescue! The game reminds us once again of its kickass sprite animations

And a few other NPCs

A lot of NPCs, actually. It's that part where the entire cast shows up to help the PCs

There is some poetry to the vipers and the testaments finally working together

I mean they did in the prologue, but that was a long time ago

And the guild fixed the telephones. You can always count on the Bracer Guild's Phone Repair Service

But the Bid Bad escapes by unpossessing the random soldier. Ofc.

He has a mean evil laugh, though

But Estelle and Joshua already went to the final dungeon to take him down. It seems they still have that protagonist spirit

In the end, KeA did not get kidnapped at all. The quote at the start was just misleading.

The game uses that in an interesting way, though. Because now comes that time where it has to explain why the weaker PCs are going to face the Big Bad alone instead of the much more competent veterans.

Why, if the mcguffin girl DID NOT get kidnapped, then it makes much more sense to leave the veterans guarding her, since she is integral to the villains' plot. The game solves the Cassius Bright issue by subverting the rescue plot and giving Cassius Bright a logical reason to stay behind. And Lloyd gains points for being the one to come up with that plan. Brilliant.

Epic music plays and we drive to the final dungeon

Next we get a chase sequence with tanks as Noel appears to bails us and engages in tank vs tank warfare. This ending sequence keeps delivering

Estelle and Joshua opened the front gate of dungeon while we were coming. Can't clear the whole thing, though. No longer main characters and all.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/8/1/AAO9CbAAE2TF.jpg

That's a goal to strive for. Especially since "half decent" is better than 99.99% of police

We finally arrive at the in medias res scene, except I'M PRETTY SURE Estelle/Josh weren't with us last time. Alternate timline? Whatever I'll take it.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/8/2/AAO9CbAAE2TG.png

NOW we are talking

the Randy scene is easily the most interesting (and probably most plot relevant) of the three, so naturally it's the one the fewest people see

...not that Falcom cares, considering how they hide major plot-relevant scenes in the dumbest ways in future games

Yeah, Randy's Bond Scene is definitely the best of the Zero ones IMO.

But this is the start of Falcom gating crucial character stuff behind bond events. I'd actually argue that Azure might be the worst of them in that regard lol.

ZeldaTPLink posted...

She glows. The bad guys may have a point

Lol. Accurate

Lloyd x Elie for life

ZeldaTPLink posted...

watches us from the roof while going "hehehehe, impressive"

Ok to be fair though this is pretty much the MO of every villain in the series and at least half the non-main-party good guys on top of that.

So we learn the cult is ancient. It's also the one responsible for summoning demons. Wonder if this is any related to the stuff in Trails 3rd of if it's just a coincidence. The demons there had a very specific explanation that is probably not present here.

I mean, other than the devs wanting to reuse assets from that game ofc

on another note it's pretty impressive that we are four games in (getting to 5 soon) and we are pretty much using the same engine, gameplay system, and stuff, which minor changes each game. Like, it's the 4th time i'm controlling Josh and Estelle and they are using the same moves, with the same sprites. Most series tend to build everything again from scratch way sooner than that. And I don't think that's necessarily better: trails built a system that worked, and it's using it as long as it can.

And it leads to stuff like Estelle and Joshua's combo craft. A new mechanic which uses things the characters already had, and fits their themes like a glove

We get to the next scene from the intro, where Lloyd's cheesy speech is slightly change to account for the fact KeA was not, in fact, kidnapped in the end

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/3/6/AAO9CbAAE2lI.jpg

chest-kun may have a point

It's funny that the villain of this game likes to fish too.

We are going to eventually find out the Grandmaster of Orobouros also likes to fish, aren't we

Estelle lost Wheel of Time

I was prepared to be pissed. But then I realized he new s-craft is the same as her father's. Which is really cool

I've always thought it was cool how Cassius abandoned sword fighting to use a staff, and ended up creating a Bright style of staff fighting that was inherited by his daughter

She is not a master of the sword like her dad once was, she is a master of the staff like he is

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/3/7/AAO9CbAAE2lJ.jpg

You can run, but you can't hide

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/3/7/AAO9CbAAE2lJ.jpg

My point exactly. And the blue hair! And the glasses! Come on!

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/3/8/AAO9CbAAE2lK.jpg

I'd listen to her

oh cool people turning into demons. We are now Tales of Berseria

is this the biggest dungeon in the series so far? because it feels like it

we find the missing people in some cells

if I was writing this game I'd make Gilbert randomly appear in one of the cells with no explanation. Just for the gag.

we find the mafia godfather, imprisoned with some of his goons. Lloyd then proceeds to give him the verbal beatdown of the century. Yeah guy, let it all out, those assholes have been giving you the slip all game

the bad news is that the strongest of the bunch is missing, which can only mean one thing. he's gonna come as a zombie/demon version of himself

but we also let them out because we are the good guys. And because they make for good recurring villains, I suppose

Randy's support craft is good but it also makes him look like the biggest kill stealer of trails. we are here busting our asses for a dozen turns then he shows up from nowhere to get the last hit and take the kill.

Lloyd when about to face a giant demon with a sword and two dragon minions: "You are under arrest for obstruction of justice!"

Cops.

this time it's an actual tough boss. He manages to take all of Estelle's HP in one hit when she has 194 CP

Estelle makes a Gilbert reference. I'll take it.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/3/9/AAO9CbAAE2lL.jpg

Jokes on you chest, I'm not playing for achivements

Time to beat Garcia. I wasn't expecting him to be the penultimate boss, but it works. Definitely more threatening than Ernest

He goes out like an absolute chump though. Which means theres another round

multi-phase penultimate bosses are not very... common in gaming

Awesome. The 2nd round is avoided because Randy makes him snap out of it by talking about shared jagger experiences

Garcia is a shithead, but he's a cool shithead

Final boss time

Ok who do I bring

the storyteller in me wants to bring the SSS four because this is their game. But the fanboy in me wants the best duo

ok you know what, it will be like, 5 games until I get to use Estelle and Josh again? Let's use them

Also Lloyd cuz he's the MC and doesn't depend on status like Randy (chances are the final boss will be immune to everything)

And Elie cuz shes more OP than everyone else combined

let's GO

(also Tio's support craft is great and Josh's a shit. Though I dunno about Estelle's support craft because I haven't dropped her from the party a single time since the dungeon started)

(ok Josh's not bad but it seems to only hit when I'm facing something immune to delay. Would rather have him in the front spamming dual strike)

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/4/9/AAO9CbAAE2lV.jpg

I cross the Bridge of Ending Tension and enter the Tunnel of Final Confrontations

Eh Guenter I dunno if you are really rocking that priest look. Might want to lose the scientist glasses

The game tries to hype Guenter by having Josh say he's crazier than Weissmann. I can buy it, but I need to see it first. Weissmann was something else.

""The rules of the cult forbid me from revealing our lore but I own the cult so who cares""

The reveal is that KeA is 500 years old. The other reveal is not even the Big Bad of this game knows where she came from. I guess you'll have to ask the Big Bad of the next game

So they aint satanists, they are just atheists

I'm not sure how I feel about the game trying to paint atheists as evil tho

I mean, sure the guy's actions speak for him, but there aren't any "good" atheists in this setting to compare him to. So it's a strawman.

I love how Estelle and Joshua are much more calm and collected while facing this monster than the other 4. The shit they went through. This is like tuesday to them

Hartmann was helping the cult because they had evidence that he went to a child brothel. I'm not sure if I'm more disgusted at the reveal or marveled at the series' continuity

Next one: the kids in Renne's mind at SD15 were both real and fake. She used Gnosis to absorb the personality of kids around her and create splits in her own personality. Weird.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/5/0/AAO9CbAAE2lW.jpg

Unlawful occupation of property, dude. That's what makes villains fall.

Ok with the hair and the eyes I'm starting to buy the look more

phase 1 beaten. now time for him to turn into things

Dude can look into characters' minds to copy abilities from past games' final bosses. Now THAT'S an useful skill. Especially in a series like Trails

Big Bad reveals his trap card. He let the heroes come to him because once he beats them, KeA will want to come for them. It's the reversal of the damsel in distress play. Capture Spider Man to lure Mary Jane out

Of course that means you must be confident that you can beat spider-man though. But this guy apparently can

Another villain admits he did NOT kill Guy. Another plot for the next game. I'm starting to feel this is going to be something minor and none of the major villains will be the culprit. Like it will be some anti-villain civilian or something

Lloyd exposes Guenter's status as a small time villain. I think that hurt even more than Estelle's speech at Wiessman

And this is why Orobouros didn't even bother to recruit this guy

They break through his evil eye like it's glass. No need for a Loewe bail out this time. Small time villain indeed

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/5/1/AAO9CbAAE2lX.jpg

Oh shit he went alt-right. He went alt-right! Take him down!

The falling battlefield pieces are pretty cool

This is a tough fight. He almost TPK'd me with his s-craft, if it wasn't for Estelle being a bit far away

Estelle and Josh use a combo craft and deal 6666 damage. The boss immediately changes forms and becomes golden. Perfect timing lol

what is this anime in my trails. The guy is making backflips for no reason at all

Tio misses the timing the first time by casting earth wall right after everyone gets KO'd. But the second time she casts it right as the boss starts casting something. Perfect

He then casts 3 spells in one turn, ignores my earth wall and leaves Lloyd at 100 HP and everyone else down. Last zeram powder. Let's go

Trails from Zero ends with Estelle, Joshua, Lloyd and Elie using a team rush. Perfection

I mean I hope it ended cuz this was the most difficult final boss in the series and it wasn't even close. It only took one try but had a lot of close calls

(SC Loewe still harder though)

Boss still alive shit shit shit

Where's Cassius Bright when you need him

Oh yes, it won't be Trails from Zero if somebody doesn't bail us right after we think we beat the boss ourselves. Renne to the rescue!

I'm okay with Renne stealing my kill.

theres a phase 3 but its like in FC. everybody gets max CP and it's just a victory lap

Trails 4: beaten (on hard difficulty)

Then Estelle takes over the scene to remind everyone why she is still the best trails character

Peter Mater defying Renne's orders is a nice touch. It is linked to her mind, so it's showing what she feels

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/5/2/AAO9CbAAE2lY.jpg

GG

Plot of Sky arc: finally completed

This scene is catharsis in videogame form

And now for the usual epilogue greetings and attaboys

perhaps with a sudden snap of fingers and an Orobouros reveal. Maybe

Nah it's just Grace, with her camera

You know if Renne appears in the newspaper her parents will larn she's alive, right

lol the photo is all sprites. I was expecting an anime photo

Lloyd talking about finding the truth reminds me of Miles Edgeworth.

The PCs actually got to adopt KeA, apparently

The credits roll. No orobouros reveal this time, huh.

Cya in Trails 5. Same thread, some time later this week prob. Or maybe a couple weeks.

You double-image-posted. Is this the chest you were referencing?

Sun Fort - First Stratum
EP Charge II
An unassuming-looking, middle-aged scholar who turns out to be evil? " with "An unassuming-looking, middle-aged scholar who turns out to be evil? In MY Trails game?! ...It's more likely than you think.

ZeldaTPLink posted...

is this the biggest dungeon in the series so far? because it feels like it

If you count Liber Ark as one big dungeon, absolutely not LOL. If you don't... I think so?

ZeldaTPLink posted...

The game tries to hype Guenter by having Josh say he's crazier than Weissmann. I can buy it, but I need to see it first. Weissmann was something else.

I love all the smack talk Estelle and Joshua casually drop here that only they would get by comparing Joachim unfavorably to Weissmann. Like you know it's bad when these two are like, "Weissmann had more of a moral center than this guy."

ZeldaTPLink posted...

Oh shit he went alt-right. He went alt-right! Take him down!

I LOL'd when you said it could have been worse if they'd been taking red pills back in Chapter 4 when Lloyd foudn the Gnosis on the gambling miner knowing this would come.

Trails of Azure hype. It's sooooooo good.

Ok some bullet points:

FC: 57h
SC: 91h
3rd: 58h
Zero: 77h

So far: 283 h

I actually took as many days to beat Zero as I did FC. But I played 20 more hours. This means I'm playing more hours a day (though there have been 3 holiday days this month, that may be a factor). I need to slow down, though, this isn't healthy. I'll probably force myself to play fewer hours/day next game.

Now where do I rank this? This is tricky.

Remember when I said FC was my favorite game because of the insane worldbuilding? Zero did it again. I absolutely care about Crossbell and its people. Now FC was more subversive for how it avoided even trying to be epic, but Zero is more fun because it did not.

The longer hours speak for this game: this is the most fun one in the series so far. Battle system, exploration, the plot, everything is so entertaining. The battle system has been nearly perfected, I hardly see it getting much better. Just bring back Haze and let me move my characters in battle already. Crossbell is my favorite location in the series. And the plot isn't super elaborate but it's thrilling and full of political intrigue, which I love.

Where this game does not beat the others is when I try to look at the "artsy" stuff though, namely character arcs. I had more fun playing this, but I care more about Estelle and Joshua's story. That one resonated with me like nothing else did, and the Renne plotline is a second, actually being the most emotional part of Zero (hey, kudos to Zero for pulling off the conclusion, but I'm waiting to see it set up something as good as that on its own). The villain is fun, but he doesn't hold a candle to Weissmann, or to Richard (but I'll take him over whatever that thing from 3rd was).

All in all, Zero is a better videogame, but FC and SC are a better story. But it's 1 vs 2, so let's see if Azure can lift this duology to that level in terms of story too.

I do have good things to say about the characters, though. While I don't like any of the main 4 as much as Estelle (or Olivier, or Renne), I REALLY like the group. They are not as deep or as quotable maybe, but they are such a pleasant bunch. All of them are people I'd like to hang out irl. They get along well, they don't bicker, they always contribute. I enjoy seeing them trying to solve cases and I enjoy seeing them chat. I was expecting them to follow anime stereotypes (i e. Randy being an annoying pervert or Elie being a rich fop) but nah, they are just nice people.

I don't even know how to rank them anymore. Randy was my favorite at the start, but the other 3 caught up. Elie is just a sweetheart, similar to Kloe, but she's got a little more snark which makes her more entertaining. Tio is also snarky too and when you learn her story you just want to give her a hug. She is basically just a good person who wants to be happy. And Lloyd is a stereotypical shonen hero but he has a trait I love, which is being intelligent and good at figuring things out. I enjoy competing with him to try to figure out the cases, and he often makes incredibly good insights that throw everything upside down.

Anyway, great game, Trails continues to deliver.

Mega_Mana posted...

You double-image-posted. Is this the chest you were referencing?

Sun Fort - First Stratum
EP Charge II
An unassuming-looking, middle-aged scholar who turns out to be evil? " with "An unassuming-looking, middle-aged scholar who turns out to be evil? In MY Trails game?! ...It's more likely than you think.

Yes, I fixed the post. Thanks.

my favorite one was

ZeldaTPLink posted...

Gnosis is this game's version of Weissman finger snap, I guess.

The Lloyd/Elie and Estelle/Joshua final team was a nice touch. Thanks so much for the writeup! Take all the time you want but I'll be looking forward to seeing you finish Azure. Personally it's my favorite Trails game of all time :)

azure is zero on roids, very excited for you

but also dont expect anything to reach the heights of estelle and joshua again, that duo is just an all-time great

glad you enjoyed it! i think you will really enjoy azure as it is (imo) even better in almost every way if you can believe that. the crossbell arc is phenomenal

this topic is tons of fun and is what made me decide to replay zero. i am currently in chapter 3 of first replay of it and will do azure next

zero >> azure

I think you misspelled your username it's supposed to be NOFUN

NFUN posted...

zero >> azure

i disagree but both are phenomenal games imo

my copy of nayuta boundless trails arrived yesterday and will probably play that after zero and before i replay azure and reverie

_stingers_ posted...

I think you misspelled your username it's supposed to be NOFUN

wow epic and original joke

I started playing Hollow Knight (actually restarted, since I started and dropped last year) and I think I'll be doing that for a change. But I made this topic for the two Crossbell games so I guess I just keep bumping it until I start Azure.

that's cool i can be patient

You cannot go wrong by starting Hollow Knight anyways tbqh. Fantastic game.

I haven't commented since somewhere during your SC playthrough since I never played Sky 3 (still haven't) or Zero before, but I did just finish Zero about twenty minutes ago so I guess I'll be following along again with Azure since I'll be starting on it pretty much right away (summary of my responses to your opinions on this game: I agree Zero was great)

you should play sky 3

you really should play Sky 3 before Azure

Why Azure specifically? If anything I'd say it'd have been more important before Zero for the Estelle/Joshua/Renne plot. Not to say there isn't stuff there - it sets up things basically for everything going forward and I'm not even sure everything has even been used yet!

because it's a little too late for Zero!

Sky 3 isn't really an option for me, I don't use my (shitty ancient) laptop for gaming beyond emulating old stuff (which is how I played Sky 1+2), I don't want to have set up an account and payment shit for Steam or whatever for one single game and unless I missed something only the PC version got an English release. Given how much I enjoyed Zero despite not playing 3rd first I think I'm fine anyway, the only thing in Zero that felt like I was missing out on was the reference to Phantasma which I only know of as the setting to 3rd, but that was basically just an example to illustrate Joachim's mind reading, I didn't feel confused by having not played the relevant game. I already knew Renne's backstory beyond what SC tells you from reading about it online and I think Zero makes it pretty clear by the end regardless. If there was anything else it literally didn't even register as noteworthy, or it felt like a background reference (I'm pretty sure there's a bunch of places/people in this series that will never matter as more than background details despite being referenced multiple times) or just something that would be dealt with later (which I imagine fits if people say some stuff 3rd builds to is still just being built to a billion games later).

Panthera posted...

Sky 3 isn't really an option for me, I don't use my (shitty ancient) laptop for gaming beyond emulating old stuff (which is how I played Sky 1+2), I don't want to have set up an account and payment shit for Steam or whatever for one single game and unless I missed something only the PC version got an English release. Given how much I enjoyed Zero despite not playing 3rd first I think I'm fine anyway, the only thing in Zero that felt like I was missing out on was the reference to Phantasma which I only know of as the setting to 3rd, but that was basically just an example to illustrate Joachim's mind reading, I didn't feel confused by having not played the relevant game. I already knew Renne's backstory beyond what SC tells you from reading about it online and I think Zero makes it pretty clear by the end regardless. If there was anything else it literally didn't even register as noteworthy, or it felt like a background reference (I'm pretty sure there's a bunch of places/people in this series that will never matter as more than background details despite being referenced multiple times) or just something that would be dealt with later (which I imagine fits if people say some stuff 3rd builds to is still just being built to a billion games later).

Watch a video of Star Door 15. That's the big thing you missed from 3rd in terms of plot that relates to Zero. Yes you read it but the emotional punch can only be gotten from seeing it.

I'd maybe watch Star Door 14 too. It's mostly a tease but seems very relevant to the story as a whole.

There is also a door that mostly builds to Cold Steel. Forgot the number, but felt like must-see material for Cold Steel. Not for Crossbell though. If you wanna see it look for the Olivier/Osborne door.

Rest are mostly backstory doors or characterization doors. I e. theres one that shows Kilika's thought process towards becoming a spy, but doesn't really add any new plot info.

I think 3rd is by far the weakest game in the series I have played, but I've noticed I'm the minority opinion.

ZeldaTPLink posted...

There is also a door that mostly builds to Cold Steel. Forgot the number

8, IIRC.

ZeldaTPLink posted...

I think 3rd is by far the weakest game in the series I have played, but I've noticed I'm the minority opinion.

I def agree FWIW, it felt like a cheap excuse to lore dump more than a game proper

i started azure myself after finishing zero. it's my first replay and i went with new game + because i know there are supposedly a few optional bosses only available in ng+

azure is a top 3 trails game imo and i really think you will love it if you have enjoyed the others tc, especially if you really liked zero

and i think 3rd was great but not on the same level as first or second chapter. they are all phenomenal games imo so the 'worst' ones i still find better than like 99% of other games

i really do wish they would release the sky games on switch tho. it would give a much wider audience a chance to play the super amazing beginning of the lore

Yeah trails on switch seems like a natural fit. I'm surprised they haven't ported it

XSEED still holds the rights to Sky AFAIK so they'd have to greenlight it. And I've also gotten the impression that it's been NISA (and/or Durante) doing the actual work of porting. If it's Durante's company entirely XSEED could contract them to do it too I assume but again they'd be doing this for a series they lost to NISA so they'd probably have to be pretty sure it'd make a profit.

So Hollow Knight has been fun but it's also kind of exhausting, both mentally and physically. It scratches a different itch I guess, one not related to 100h playthroughs. So I feel like taking a break from it for now, which means unbreaking this game. I might play more HK in short bursts between Trails chapters if I feel like it. We'll see.

I just beat the Dung Defender in that game, which seems close enough to a midpoint to stop the game at. So it is time to focus on something that smells better than dung flinging bosses and ancient sewer dungeons. Something less frustrating than a metroidvania and less filled with death and pain than a game about a a civilization destroyed by an infection.

Something like... police.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/4/3/AAO9CbAAE4tL.jpg

uh now that I think about it, those guys are worse in all those criteria, aren't they

but hey, this isn't REALLY police is it? It's bracers with police badges.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/4/4/AAO9CbAAE4tM.jpg

See?

(what a mean banner btw)

So let's play: Trails Copaganda Edition: Part 2
aka Trails 5
Aka Trails to Azure

(wth is an Azure btw)

Our heroes are in Calvard. Actually, just Lloyd, some non-regular party members, and Arios.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/4/5/AAO9CbAAE4tN.jpg

This looks like a final dungeon. Isn't it a bit too early for that?

the cult just likes to build final dungeons I guess.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/4/6/AAO9CbAAE4tO.jpg

Noel's character portrait got updated. It looks more casual I guess?

We are promptly attacked by beholders. Weird way to make a battle tutorial but I'll take it

YAY playable Arios!

Arios's scraft is pretty cool

so Arios just deals more damage in a turn than the rest of the party combined. Figures

Prologue: "We can't call them beholders cuz Hasbro will sue us so they are just "fiends"": begins

I missed being able to press a button to look at old dialogue while I was playing HK. Every game should have that

the cast complains about how they got a new orbment which means they have to start collecting quartz all over again. Uh, just use the old one?

But yeah, this series needs excuses to restart orbments every time so get used to it

I have reloaded games and gone through 10 minute cutscenes again because I missed a line of text in the past so strong agree

text backlog displays are a godsend

ZeldaTPLink posted...

the cast complains about how they got a new orbment which means they have to start collecting quartz all over again. Uh, just use the old one?

If they carried the old ones around too they wouldn't have any room left to carry all their other stuff! Video game inventories may be infinite, but they're also extremely limited in every way that matters. Fun fact: Being able to store things in inventory that aren't supposed to go there is the secret power Blueblanc uses to get away with the shit he pulls.

I mean at least SC had a whole conversation about how losing quartz is a worthwhile sacrifice to get stronger in the long run.

And 3rd used Phantasma bs to justify it.

Zero was just a new cast.

But here they are in the middle of a mission. I'd just bring the old one and leave the new one at the base.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/5/6/AAO9CbAAE42w.jpg

A manhunt is a fun way to start a videogame

oh ok Dudley and Arios are 15 lvs higher. And Arios has a sword with 300 more attack. Makes sense.

the overworld enemies all running away when they see us is hilarious

even Arios's overworld attack is badass. He doesn't merely swing his katana. He shoots a wind slash with it

This is the easiest prologue in the series so far. Yes, 3rd was a cutscene only prologue, but this one still manages to tie with that because you just have to press the attack button over and over as Arios wrecks everything in one hit, so its not different from just going through dialogue

and I'm playing on hard. But I suspect even on Nightmare this would still be a joke

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/5/7/AAO9CbAAE42x.jpg

ikr

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/5/8/AAO9CbAAE42y.jpg

... damn

So Hartmann is a shadow of his former self, while Ernest still believes he can rise to power. Time to take them out of their misery

We learn Crois is the new mayor. There is a new superpower in Crossbell, and it's capitalism. Ho.

well this boss was a bit tricky. In the sense that it kept almost killing non Arios party members and forcing him to stop to heal them instead of soloing the monsters, that is

Rocks fall and split the party in two groups. The lv 60 group and the lv 47 group. Guess which group I'm playing as now

Though Lloyd and Noel learn a combo craft. i'll take it

the next area has new enemies. Which I guess are much weaker to compensate for the massive cut in party strength

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/5/9/AAO9CbAAE42z.jpg

Where are Randy/Tio/Elie to roll their eyes when we need them to? Damn Lloyd

Noel enlisted to the army at 15. I'm not even going to pretend I get it

Trails in the Chest has returned! Except I didn't read the original because it was in random order and I never bothered to look online

We arrive at the altar where the bad guys wait. The lv 60 party members are not here though, despite the supposedly shorter path they were going through

Oh ok they summoned a gigaton of minibosses to keep them busy. So we have to face the main ones

The problem with villains like this is that they feel less threatening due to how batshit insane their plan is. This guy wants to turn into an omniscient demon lord so he can become... mayor. What does he think other countries are gonna do? They will invade his ass the following day. It's similar to Amalthea trying to conquer Liberl with a single tank.

at least Guenter seemed to have something more grand going on, likely after he captured KeA

We beat the boss and he turns into an even bigger boss. Which kinda looks like the final boss of Zero. Hey, this is a prologue!

And we had Estelle/Josh last time! This isn't fair.

Somehow he fails to obtain omniscience though. Interesting.

Oh we have to fight round 2 too. Though with Dudley/Arios this time

It is somehow easier. 4 characters instead 2 with one being Arios makes up for the boss's stat increase

Lloyd blames himself for letting Guenter die so he'll try to save Ernest. Not like either of them deserved it. But hey that's the hero for ya

Lloyd uses Talk no Jutsu. It works enough to make the villain regret his actions, but he's still melting

Then the most unexpected backup arrives

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/6/6/AAO9CbAAE426.jpg

Surprise Kevin is the best Kevin

This game may not have the best Trails protaginist but it has the next best one

also Kevin's Japanese voice is deeper. I approve.

It's not that deep, but English Kevin sounded like a goblin while this one is a normal tenor dude

He activates his stigma and says some magical words and boom, demon is human again

Seriously, if you want to defeat orobouros just make Kevin the protagonist of every game. He's too OP

Dudley then goes and comes up with the most convoluted way to say "good job" ever. The tsundere

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/6/7/AAO9CbAAE427.jpg

And then Kevin does the proper hyping up of this game's incoming plotline

"Yes, there was a good reason you paid more for this game than the last one, don't worry"

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/6/8/AAO9CbAAE428.jpg

Oh and there's Ries. With her favorite friend, Food.

This one has a softer voice. Eh I think I prefer the English one. Sounded more badass.

Oh she's infiltrating the Crossbell church. Interesting.

Noel is apparently joining the party for good now, so time to give her some much needed character development. Starting with some sad backstory

So Ravache is basically gone. As well as the cult. And Hartmann. And the CGF boss, apparently. We really wiped the bad guys clean, huh.

All it took was them all associating with a demon cult and the cult making a failed attempt to conquer the country. Feels a little too easy of a way to end the city's corruption imo, though I'm guessing the game will come up with new bad guys now

Wazy is also a cop now too. i'm gonna pretend that makes sense

And the other 3 party members are gone, at least for a while. I don't mind the variance, tbh

Crois personally vouching for Wazy is curious, though

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/6/9/AAO9CbAAE429.jpg

nice photo

the game references the Ellie x Lloyd optional scene from the last one. I wonder how this works if I saw a different character scene

Fran to Noel: "You are not hurt, right sister?"
Noel: "As you can see, I'm perfectly fine!"
Me: "Yes, those 5 or 6 reviving balms did their job"

Elie arrives and announces she's also going to be at the starting party, so we get 4 people

She and Lloyd are staring at each other weirdly, though. Does this dialogue change if I pick a different scene at the end of Zero?

Fran is surprisingly wise about romance when it's related to literally anyone but herself.

And Lloyd has a harem now. Typical.

Wazy shows up and makes some gay tease at Lloyd. The harem is literally the entire party

Randy and Tio need to come back asap or this is gonna go down in flames

Though he admits he's just doing it 4 teh lulz

Prologue: "I hope you enjoyed those OP characters, now enjoy the noobs for the rest of the game": beaten

And the opening plays. Trails openings are always a treat

What I got from this opening:
1- The support party member option is gonna get a lot more use now
2- This game is considerably more emo. Or at least it's being marketed as such.
3- You miss Orobouros? This is about to stop being an issue. I hope you like Campanella (I do).
4- KeA still important despite everyone who was trying to use her abilities being dead or imprisoned

time for the first batch of requests. We begin with two monster exterminations, a glorified tutorial, and fucking Lechter. Your usual trails experience.

I learn our PCs finally learned Lechter is a spy, during the timeskip between the last game and this one. This is gonna make interactions more fun.

I wonder if they know about Kilika too.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/3/6/AAO9CbAAE4_0.jpg

Well thats a way to introduce a room

So the excuses for the non-complete party is that Randy is helping the unzombified army recover from all the drugs they took at the end of Zero, while Tio is helping expand the interwebz. Feel kinda of tacked on

Wazy makes a rant about how school sucks in front of KeA. He is by far the most non-cop member this party's ever had and I'm 100% for it

Wazy notices how KeA is studying high school level math even though shes like 8 and I thought it was only me

Renne gotta be careful there's competition in the child prodigy arena

wait since when does she talk with Zeit too

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/3/7/AAO9CbAAE4_1.jpg

[professor Oak meme]

Chapter 1: "Welp time to start opening those slots again": begins

Wazy at the item store: "Yo do I get free stuff since I'm hanging out with the mayor's daughter"

It seems Crois has built a building even taller than the IBC, because owning the highest building isn't enough, he wants the highest in the entire continent.

This guy is like who Maybelle wants to be when she grows up

The new department store rooftinme seems like the perfect place for emotional character conversations. Probably half of them involving Yin

Balloon Selling NPC is right up there with Singing Airship Pilot for nicest people in Zemuria

Michel from the bracer guild has a face portrait now. Always thought he was a little too major not to have one

He looks less like a dickhead than I imagined

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/3/8/AAO9CbAAE4_2.jpg

Estelle is gone. Dark times are upon us.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/3/9/AAO9CbAAE4_3.jpg

How did I endure an entire game without this guy as a regular party member is what I want to know

He is just filling that Olivier shaped hole in comedy that I thought Randy was going to fill but never did

The rest of the minor bracers don't get character portraits, though. Somewhere, Grant laughs.

The Fisherman Guild members have disappeared. Clearly they are going to return a few chapters from now with an entire navy, ready to annex Crossbell to the Fishing Empire

Or perhaps they are pissed that one of their members, Guenter, was killed, and they are plotting their revenge

Alternatively, they don't give a fuck about the nerd, but him (and Estelle) being gone means there is an empty throne now and they must compete for the title of biggest fisher of Crossbell (other than Lloyd). So they are preparing for the fishing civil war.

one of the kids at downtown asks us what we are doing with Wazy if it's not putting him in the slammer
I wish I knew, kid. I wish I knew.

Predictably, Wald is pissed Wazy is now a cop. I'm eager to see them meet again

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/6/0/AAcM16AAE5AM.jpg

finally i can post

ZeldaTPLink posted...

The Fisherman Guild members have disappeared. Clearly they are going to return a few chapters from now with an entire navy, ready to annex Crossbell to the Fishing Empire

fisherman guild has bigger fish to fry

ZeldaTPLink posted...

How did I endure an entire game without this guy as a regular party member is what I want to know

He is just filling that Olivier shaped hole in comedy that I thought Randy was going to fill but never did

so accurate

i mean i love randy, but that doesn't make it less accurate

ZeldaTPLink posted...

But here they are in the middle of a mission. I'd just bring the old one and leave the new one at the base.

this is understandable

but don't worry, azure has the best quartz system in the series so far (ignoring kuro which i know little about)

catesdb posted...

this is understandable

but don't worry, azure has the best quartz system in the series so far (ignoring kuro which i know little about)

I mean I'm just nitpicking story wise. Gameplay wise I know finding quartz from the beginning is part of the package.