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

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Panthera
10/04/23 6:59:06 PM
#201:


The real question is why all your sick Gladiator and status protection accessories disappear between games. Those aren't connected to your orbments at all! Maybe they had to sell all of them off to pay for rent on the SSS building?

---
Meow!
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ZeldaTPLink
10/04/23 9:01:05 PM
#202:


Not much text today but I did talk with every npc in the city, that takes a while.

So today is sunday. I know it because KeA went to Sunday School. Now, the bank doesn't normally open sundayl. But it's open now

Omg I know whats going on. The owner of the bank is now the mayor, which in this country is the highest executive seat. He rewrote the labor laws so he can make people work in the weekends too!

The demon.

I go into the newspaper and find the mysterious blind dude who appeared in Sky 3rd. That's one elaborate set up. Wonder what this character will be used for.

We are talking to npcs and Wazy randomly makes one guy come out of the closet as bi because of him. That's the story.

The treatment we are getting from npcs this game is completely different. ost of them love us, and the first division doesn't immediately foam with their mouths when they see us. Just a little.

this game is giving face portraits to all characters who should have gotten it to begin with. The era of face portrait famine is over

Wazy seems like he saw through Rixia almost immediately

The game users Noel and Wazy as an excuse to have the entire cast introduce themselves to the party again. Clever.

fun interaction of the day. The old couple from the luxirious building who is alreays bickering because he spends too much. Then we talk to him with Noel in the party and they start bonding over hoe they both like cars. She's gonna cause a divorce at this rate.

Cao continues to be the coolest motherfucker in Crossbell. He's impossible to faze.

Ofc the spymaster knew we were hired to go counter spy him

We receive the recipe notebook and i'm here wondering what happened to the previous one

I catch up to Lechter rather easily, by looking for him at his natural habitat: rooftops

He literally escapes with a "Look whats that!" trick

Yeah ok that's enough gaming for today
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andel
10/07/23 12:17:39 AM
#203:


i just started chapter 4 in my replay of azure. it's so fucking great imo. zero was great but azure really steps it up

---
I am thinking about just walking into the river now that Megaupload is gone and condoms are in porn.-Fubonis
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Mega_Mana
10/07/23 9:34:33 AM
#204:


ZeldaTPLink posted...
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

Hotel Roenbaum (Day) -[1/36] You remember reading the teaser in Trails in the Sky Second Chapter for 'Trails in the Chest,' but you didn't feel like reading it then. Yet suddenly, you have a craving for more Trails...in the Chest.
Phelio & Lakeisha's House (Night) -[2/36] This is the story of a chest so finely carved, words alone cannot hope to illustrate a worthy picture. Many have certainly made attempts, of course, but each usurped the crown as a greater failure than the last.
Grancel Castle -[3/36] At best, most choose to describe its features in simple terms: a dark, cherry-red wood framed with a steel that was painstakingly etched end to end with florae.
Silver Road 2 -[4/36] It is yet to be spoken of in legend, for its mother was a modest carpenter who carved it with no other purpose than to hold a confession. It was never meant for a grand display, but for a quiet, sincere love.
Hotel Roenbaum (Night) -[5/36] 'My Dearest Genevieve,' the letter within began, the handwriting noticeably delicate and imperfect from what must have been nerves, 'I present two gifts: this chest, of which there is no other, and my love.
Umbral Labyrinth -[6/36] 'Perhaps the second gift will be unwelcome, and should it come to that, I would still dearly wish to be your friend. The days we've spent in that shop are and will always remain precious no matter the answer.
Jenis Royal Academy - Monochrome -[7/36] 'I ask you this: do you love me? I have the only key that locks the chest. Should you return my love, I wish for us to meet once more in that shop, and together, we will forever secure our love inside.
Grancel Castle -[8/36] 'I shall await your answer at midnight. From my heart to yours, -Jubilee'
Sunnybell Inn (Day) -[9/36] The story truly begins neither with Genevieve nor with Jubilee, but with the shop in the letter. Located in Bose, cramped between two of the most popular shops on the block, was a tiny, tiny building.
Hotel Roenbaum (Night) -[10/36] There was a time when it had the polish of its products---and, oh, if only that continued to be the case! One might quip that it had character now, but that was only the polite way of saying it was in shambles.
Jade Corridor -[11/36] The face greeted customers with an aged brick that had long eroded to the point of holes; the cracked windows, taped for stability and adorned with cobwebs and insect dropping, were repugnant.
Wingard Orbal Factory (Day) -[12/36] The place looked less like a shop and more like the newest secret playground for the local children, long abandoned after the passing of its owner. But no; to clarify, it was very much 'in business.'
Silver Road -[13/36] Despite first impressions, it was as much a shop as any other along the same street. A shop was still a shop even after it was no longer full to bursting with wealthy customers. Or any customers, really.
Grancel Castle -[14/36] Before it fell into such a state, its owner was known far and wide even before the Orbal Revolution. He was a carpenter of unparalled skill, and he was frequently commissioned to bring life to all manner of things.
Duncan's House -[15/36] Building, furniture, instruments, wedding rings... No matter the job, he carved each and every piece handsomely, and each one showed more heart than the last.
Luminous Labyrinth -[16/36] His passing brought great sorrow to all but one: his son, who was acutely aware that no one could surpass his father's talent. More than he despised carpentry, he despised the crushing weight of his father's name.
Weis Arms & Guards (Day) -[17/36] 'Good riddance,' the son coldly muttered as he turned the key to lock the shop. This would be the last time he would be forced to ever step inside. 'I'll bet I can fetch a pretty mira for his tools at the market.'
Grancel Port Office (Day) -[18/36] The shop and its contents was now his to do with as he pleased, and as far as he was concerned, he would be a happier man if he never had to experience the nauseating smell of freshly cut wood ever again.
Grancel - Port (Day) -[19/36] His wife, however, disagreed. She was never one to keep quiet--a trait of hers he normally adored--and tonight, she was no different than usual as she voiced her concerns over dinner.
Edel Department Store (Night) -[20/36] Clack, clack, clack! Their silverware played an awful musical number with every smack on their plates, each note ringing with a hint more irritation than the last.
Golden Road -[21/36] 'And I say we keep it,' she said, her stiff tone implying that any other plans he dared to present would be, to put it delicately, stupid. 'Think of all the history you're abandoning. Fifty years!'
Third Plane Regroup Area -[22/36] 'And for thirty-three of those years, I hated that damn place,' he snapped between chewing cuts of lamb. After swallowing, he added, 'Who's going to run it? I sure ain't, and you're no carpenter.'
Arseille -[23/36] 'Sure, but selling it won't help you escape from your father's shadow.' Ouch. There was that sharp tongue of hers. He really did adore it...when his old man wasn't the topic of discussion. 'We're keeping it.'
Golden Road -[24/36] 'No, we aren't. That place is mine, and I can do whatever I want with it. And what I want to do is wash my hands of the thing for good!' He swallowed another healthy chunk of lamb, then clack! went his knife.
Grancel - Port (Night) -[25/36] 'You say to think about history. What about the mira? Think about THAT. I'll bet we could go live it up at the casinos in Crossbell City for weeks off one brick!'
Luminous Labyrinth 2 -[26/36] She sighed in a way that was half frustrated, half disappointed. She never cared about money. Why would he try to win an argument with it? She could only say quietly in her mind, 'My husband is an idiot.'
Jade Corridor -[27/36] With one particularly obnoxious clink, she set down her utensils then glared at him with an uncomfortable firmness that would have a lesser man avert his eyes in shame. She bit her bottom lip before asking:
Grancel - Port (Night) -[28/36] 'Have you asked Jubilee what SHE wants?'
Golden Road 2 -[29/36] The son scoffed upon hearing Jubilee's name. His wife always had a habit of biting her lip before playing her ace in the hole, and there was no finer ace against him than their daughter's opinion.
Wingard Orbal Factory (Night) -[30/36] No, he mentally panicked. No, no, no! There was nothing in this world that would have him budge--not even sweet Jubilee. Not this time!
Silver Road -[31/36] Or so he believed. There was a pause in noise after the question was raised, and seconds later, they both heard the flat-footed thumping of their daughter's steps coming towards them. 'Did you call me, Mom?'
Duncan's House (Night) -[32/36] Jubilee had turned twenty just last month. She was a clumsy girl with broad shoulders, a stunning height that dwarfed most women her age, and the widest, goofiest, most sincere smile seen on Bose's streets.
Grancel - Port (Day) -[33/36] Her candor had won over everyone she met; she may have been an unusual sort, but she had won over both peers and elders alike. She was a source of pride for her parents, and that would never, ever change.
Silver Road -[34/36] That was quite unfortunate for the son. A single glance at her curious, simple smile and he knew he would cave to whatever she said. Doubly unfortunate since he also knew who she would side with...
Grancel Cathedral (Day) -[35/36] 'S-So...' the son began cautiously, '...what would you say if I told you I was thinking of selling Grandpa's shop?'
Old Schoolhouse -[36/36] That was how Jubilee, who adored her grandfather and took every chance to spend her days with him as a child, became the new owner of a little carpentry shop in Bose.

---
"In my headcanon, some staffer saw Trump pull out his phone and start typing so they just Terry Tate Office Linebacker'd him out of his shoes." - FFD
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Mega_Mana
10/07/23 9:36:24 AM
#205:


ZeldaTPLink posted...
I go into the newspaper and find the mysterious blind dude who appeared in Sky 3rd. That's one elaborate set up. Wonder what this character will be used for.

...!!!

I didn't even realize that... holy crap. I need to go watch Moon Door 2 again

---
"In my headcanon, some staffer saw Trump pull out his phone and start typing so they just Terry Tate Office Linebacker'd him out of his shoes." - FFD
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ZeldaTPLink
10/08/23 8:36:22 AM
#206:


Mega_Mana posted...
Hotel Roenbaum (Day) -[1/36] You remember reading the teaser in Trails in the Sky Second Chapter for 'Trails in the Chest,' but you didn't feel like reading it then. Yet suddenly, you have a craving for more Trails...in the Chest.
Phelio & Lakeisha's House (Night) -[2/36] This is the story of a chest so finely carved, words alone cannot hope to illustrate a worthy picture. Many have certainly made attempts, of course, but each usurped the crown as a greater failure than the last.
Grancel Castle -[3/36] At best, most choose to describe its features in simple terms: a dark, cherry-red wood framed with a steel that was painstakingly etched end to end with florae.
Silver Road 2 -[4/36] It is yet to be spoken of in legend, for its mother was a modest carpenter who carved it with no other purpose than to hold a confession. It was never meant for a grand display, but for a quiet, sincere love.
Hotel Roenbaum (Night) -[5/36] 'My Dearest Genevieve,' the letter within began, the handwriting noticeably delicate and imperfect from what must have been nerves, 'I present two gifts: this chest, of which there is no other, and my love.
Umbral Labyrinth -[6/36] 'Perhaps the second gift will be unwelcome, and should it come to that, I would still dearly wish to be your friend. The days we've spent in that shop are and will always remain precious no matter the answer.
Jenis Royal Academy - Monochrome -[7/36] 'I ask you this: do you love me? I have the only key that locks the chest. Should you return my love, I wish for us to meet once more in that shop, and together, we will forever secure our love inside.
Grancel Castle -[8/36] 'I shall await your answer at midnight. From my heart to yours, -Jubilee'
Sunnybell Inn (Day) -[9/36] The story truly begins neither with Genevieve nor with Jubilee, but with the shop in the letter. Located in Bose, cramped between two of the most popular shops on the block, was a tiny, tiny building.
Hotel Roenbaum (Night) -[10/36] There was a time when it had the polish of its products---and, oh, if only that continued to be the case! One might quip that it had character now, but that was only the polite way of saying it was in shambles.
Jade Corridor -[11/36] The face greeted customers with an aged brick that had long eroded to the point of holes; the cracked windows, taped for stability and adorned with cobwebs and insect dropping, were repugnant.
Wingard Orbal Factory (Day) -[12/36] The place looked less like a shop and more like the newest secret playground for the local children, long abandoned after the passing of its owner. But no; to clarify, it was very much 'in business.'
Silver Road -[13/36] Despite first impressions, it was as much a shop as any other along the same street. A shop was still a shop even after it was no longer full to bursting with wealthy customers. Or any customers, really.
Grancel Castle -[14/36] Before it fell into such a state, its owner was known far and wide even before the Orbal Revolution. He was a carpenter of unparalled skill, and he was frequently commissioned to bring life to all manner of things.
Duncan's House -[15/36] Building, furniture, instruments, wedding rings... No matter the job, he carved each and every piece handsomely, and each one showed more heart than the last.
Luminous Labyrinth -[16/36] His passing brought great sorrow to all but one: his son, who was acutely aware that no one could surpass his father's talent. More than he despised carpentry, he despised the crushing weight of his father's name.
Weis Arms & Guards (Day) -[17/36] 'Good riddance,' the son coldly muttered as he turned the key to lock the shop. This would be the last time he would be forced to ever step inside. 'I'll bet I can fetch a pretty mira for his tools at the market.'
Grancel Port Office (Day) -[18/36] The shop and its contents was now his to do with as he pleased, and as far as he was concerned, he would be a happier man if he never had to experience the nauseating smell of freshly cut wood ever again.
Grancel - Port (Day) -[19/36] His wife, however, disagreed. She was never one to keep quiet--a trait of hers he normally adored--and tonight, she was no different than usual as she voiced her concerns over dinner.
Edel Department Store (Night) -[20/36] Clack, clack, clack! Their silverware played an awful musical number with every smack on their plates, each note ringing with a hint more irritation than the last.
Golden Road -[21/36] 'And I say we keep it,' she said, her stiff tone implying that any other plans he dared to present would be, to put it delicately, stupid. 'Think of all the history you're abandoning. Fifty years!'
Third Plane Regroup Area -[22/36] 'And for thirty-three of those years, I hated that damn place,' he snapped between chewing cuts of lamb. After swallowing, he added, 'Who's going to run it? I sure ain't, and you're no carpenter.'
Arseille -[23/36] 'Sure, but selling it won't help you escape from your father's shadow.' Ouch. There was that sharp tongue of hers. He really did adore it...when his old man wasn't the topic of discussion. 'We're keeping it.'
Golden Road -[24/36] 'No, we aren't. That place is mine, and I can do whatever I want with it. And what I want to do is wash my hands of the thing for good!' He swallowed another healthy chunk of lamb, then clack! went his knife.
Grancel - Port (Night) -[25/36] 'You say to think about history. What about the mira? Think about THAT. I'll bet we could go live it up at the casinos in Crossbell City for weeks off one brick!'
Luminous Labyrinth 2 -[26/36] She sighed in a way that was half frustrated, half disappointed. She never cared about money. Why would he try to win an argument with it? She could only say quietly in her mind, 'My husband is an idiot.'
Jade Corridor -[27/36] With one particularly obnoxious clink, she set down her utensils then glared at him with an uncomfortable firmness that would have a lesser man avert his eyes in shame. She bit her bottom lip before asking:
Grancel - Port (Night) -[28/36] 'Have you asked Jubilee what SHE wants?'
Golden Road 2 -[29/36] The son scoffed upon hearing Jubilee's name. His wife always had a habit of biting her lip before playing her ace in the hole, and there was no finer ace against him than their daughter's opinion.
Wingard Orbal Factory (Night) -[30/36] No, he mentally panicked. No, no, no! There was nothing in this world that would have him budge--not even sweet Jubilee. Not this time!
Silver Road -[31/36] Or so he believed. There was a pause in noise after the question was raised, and seconds later, they both heard the flat-footed thumping of their daughter's steps coming towards them. 'Did you call me, Mom?'
Duncan's House (Night) -[32/36] Jubilee had turned twenty just last month. She was a clumsy girl with broad shoulders, a stunning height that dwarfed most women her age, and the widest, goofiest, most sincere smile seen on Bose's streets.
Grancel - Port (Day) -[33/36] Her candor had won over everyone she met; she may have been an unusual sort, but she had won over both peers and elders alike. She was a source of pride for her parents, and that would never, ever change.
Silver Road -[34/36] That was quite unfortunate for the son. A single glance at her curious, simple smile and he knew he would cave to whatever she said. Doubly unfortunate since he also knew who she would side with...
Grancel Cathedral (Day) -[35/36] 'S-So...' the son began cautiously, '...what would you say if I told you I was thinking of selling Grandpa's shop?'
Old Schoolhouse -[36/36] That was how Jubilee, who adored her grandfather and took every chance to spend her days with him as a child, became the new owner of a little carpentry shop in Bose.

Thanks for the work! Will try to make time for reading this later.
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ZeldaTPLink
10/08/23 8:42:56 AM
#207:


we manage to corner Lechter and have him admit hes a spy, though we already knew that so its not exactly new info

I guess when a spy is known enough abroad, the game changes to whether they can do their job without being followed. Actual unknown spies are even more dangerous, though

Some red haired girl shows up and I think she was in the opening among other evil guys? But those can be misleading

She assaults Lloyd, to the horror of the girls. Wazy whistles. Lmao.

Then she assaults Ellie

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/0/6/AAO9CbAAE6Ya.jpg

Trails In The Sky 5

random thought, I love how Sergei always calls us exactly when we finish a story mission. Imagine if he tried to calls when we are in the middle of fighting a chest monster. But nope, we leave the dungeon and the phone rings, like clockwork

we do a quest involving ambushing some idiots who do crazy things with a car, and the game makes no effort to make it feel good. They get away scot free because they are from Calvard, one of the countries that literally own us, and that's it

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/0/7/AAO9CbAAE6Yb.jpg

That's... fair

And now a red haired dude I also think was in the opening. Hmm

He asks me if I counted all the passengers in the train that just went by. Of course i did not. But I bet I get DP if I say I did. This series and its impossible to achieve 100% scores

WIld guess this is Randy's dad

He just went and took our sidequest from us. An npc. stealing what looked like a random sidequest from the players. That's new

there are some fly monsters hovering around the corpses of the big ones and I'm seeing a Lion King dead father scene. Wonder if this is intentional

yay new area!

does the police academy has to be behind a forest which is already way outside the city is anyone's question tho

we arrive at the police academy, where turns out we are getting a car. Cool.

We have to do driving lessons tho

why bother? Just give the wheel to Noel. She already drives tanks and she's a car geek so she's the one who will likely be driving

Oh the boss just taught us traffic law and left Noel in charge of teaching the party the practical stuff. Fair

Sad Randy isn't here to join too, though. Tio too, though shes too young to drive I suppose

Hmm the prison is here too. A prison in videogame story. Is this going to be a prison break plot? Or a prison infiltration? Or a mass prison riot that releases criminals into the outside world? So many possibilities.

I was wondering why only Verne and Reinford made cars, and not Zeiss. Suddenly we learn Zeiss made our car. Yay go my Liberl!

they literally scaled down an airship engine for a car. Typical

I feel like Noel and Tita would get along really well

We have a police dog, and now a police car! Now all that's left is some tear gas and we can be real police

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/0/8/AAO9CbAAE6Yc.jpg

What is it with this game's cars looking like busses inside? Is this Harry Potter?

they drive on the left side of the road. Apparently Hong Kong does that too. Nice reference.

I'm gonna guess one of Erebonia/Calvard drives on the right and the other on the left, to mimic UK/China

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/0/9/AAO9CbAAE6Yd.jpg

Noel is carsexual
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ZeldaTPLink
10/08/23 8:45:42 AM
#208:


We finally see Randy, who is with Mireille, another character who has been given a portrait since last game

Which means I have to start going to Bellguard gate more than once every two chapters now. Character portraits mean relevant dialogue.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/1/0/AAO9CbAAE6Ye.jpg

Shes rather cute, ngl

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/1/1/AAO9CbAAE6Yf.jpg

The military uniform doesn't fit Randy, imo.

Randy can also see people who are inside a vehicle who is passing fast. Yep, that's the hint. Eyepatch is Randy's dad

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/1/2/AAO9CbAAE6Yg.jpg

Randy used headpats. It's super-effective

She gets away from Randy and goes back to being an evil drill sergeant

Time to go to the cathedral to pick up McGuffin Girl

Meanwhile, we see Ries leave her favorite facility, the bakery, to go to her second favorite facility, the church

Elie knows Ries. Interesting.

Elie just knows everyone, doesn't she. Like, if she ever meets Kloe I expect to learn she knows her too

And Elie knows she's gralsritter too, but Ries asks her not to tell her the party.

Not exactly the most sound infiltration plan if random people in Crossbell may know what your real work is. The Kevin infiltration plan in SC was better.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/1/3/AAO9CbAAE6Yh.jpg

You may have a point, Wazy. She has a character portrait.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/1/4/AAO9CbAAE6Yi.jpg

Infiltration: Success

So KeA is such a nerd she's the teacher now. Figures.

She continues to have magical knowledge abilities. First with cooking, now with math.

We make a phone call with Tio across the continent. That's a thing now.
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ZeldaTPLink
10/08/23 8:48:44 AM
#209:


Next day is a rainy day. We have weather now. After 4 whole games

ok so every single npc in the game is walking with umbrellas. And the PCs don't have any. this is weird

we go to Neivanlli for intel on red hair eyepatch. Owner refuses to give us more than a couple hints, but as soon as we leave, we see a cutscene of her discussing more bits with her daughter. The implication is that the guy has a daughter of his own, who I'm guessing is the one who was with Lechter

Wald corners us to get revenge on Wazy for becoming a cop. Wazy then makes a passionate speech, the kind I wasn't expecting him to make.

they fight, but before then, Wazy gets an aura and the fight is a joke. Not sure if he got a stat boost or if Wald's stats just got scaled down, but he can't even touch me and goes down in a few attacks

Wazy then just turns back and leaves, for Wald's despair. Police, I'd like to report a murder.

We go to the civic center where Wazy randomly proposes they should start throwing parties at night. Lloyd makes a great comeback.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/1/8/AAO9CbAAE6Ym.jpg

My favorite side plot of this chapter is Fran wanting to call her sister Noey but having to use Miss Seeker. Uh, have you tried meeting at a middle way, maybe? Such as her... name?

In the end, Fran wins. Noey it is.

She says she was havin "Noey withdrawals". Okay.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/1/9/AAO9CbAAE6Yn.jpg

"Anyone scared by rain/cold/etc can't call themselves X" is one of modern society's dumbest recurring quotes. It shows up everywhere.

Maybe people aren't scared of rain, they just want to avoid it because it's unpleasant? And may give you pneumonia?

I run into one of the kids I rescued in the geofront back the prologue of the last game giving shit to his sisters for travelling too much. She calls him back "junior geofront inspector". lol

The stock broker and his wife saying how they love each other despite him losing their house is pretty cute.

TIme to investigate what happened to the fishman guild. Turns out they have been taken over by a rival guild, led by one Lord Lakelord III

That's a strong candidate for the name of the series' final villain. Book it.

This is just one elaborate ploy to make me restart the fisherman ranking ladder. lol.

We go to the bank, where we meet the richest man in Zemuria and his daughter. The later proceeds to grope Elie like usual

Ok so what's up with this duology and the gags about women sexually assaulting each other? It's not less wrong just because it's two women.

we had it twice in this chapter, and there was also Ilya last game, multiple times

I don't know if they are going for "lesbians are crazy like that" or "hahaha women groping each other's boobs is funny" but it's terrible either way

this series sometimes

I am prepared to dump all those freaks to the bottom tiers of my list, honestly

And then the same Mariabell starts giving shit to Lloyd for doing "inappropriate things to Elie". The massive hypocrite.

The next quest is to playtest videogames. ... yeah.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/2/0/AAO9CbAAE6Yo.jpg

This escalated quickly

I play some tetris then go back to police work. There's racism to be done.

There's a scene at the cathedral with a nun discovering Ries' real identity and the implication that the archbishop also knows it. This is the lousiest infiltration ever

We are interviewed by Nielsen, which is basically a quiz about the plot of the last game. Then he leaves and goes back to being a setup character
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NFUN
10/08/23 9:15:10 AM
#210:


you should drop them to the bottom of the character rankings for their sexual assault

---
What can the harvest hope for if not for the care of the Reaper Man?
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ZeldaTPLink
10/08/23 11:24:50 AM
#211:


NFUN posted...
you should drop them to the bottom of the character rankings for their sexual assault

Well, I'm willing to ignore bad gags on otherwise good characters since I know it's mostly the product of a Japanese company wanting to please the worst fans in the planet to make money, so Ilya gets a pass since she mostly has good traits, I suppose.

And red haired girl is new. Still need to learn what her other traits are.

But holy crap is Mariabell horrible. She's Josette tier of bad at this point.
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Thorn
10/08/23 12:54:38 PM
#212:


Yeah the sexual harassment "gags" are terrible. Definitely among the worst parts of Azure (and the series as a whole.)

---
May you find your book in this place.
Formerly known as xp1337.
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catesdb
10/08/23 2:12:07 PM
#213:


YUP

like I know its the writers fault and I could just choose to ignore those parts of those characters

and there are times where I feel like thats possible

but its unfortunate

---
Pronouns - she/her
FFXIV - Ultros [Primal] - https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/character/39263879/
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ZeldaTPLink
10/08/23 8:05:50 PM
#214:


I love that you can pass in front of Rosemberg studio and go "oh that place is connected to orobouros. They are the main villains of this series. Pay no mind"

we go in there and bump into an orobouros meeting, for that matter

holy crap Campanella's voice is so annoying. It's more childish that what I expected, but still annoying af. Perfect.

this scene is so awkward is hilarious. major big bads from the series talking when suddenly some rando cops walk in and ask whats going on

big bads "nothing were just planning the end of the world. Have a good day" [leave]

Everyone can see Campanella and the Professor are evil just by looking at them. Except Noel. Shes really this party's polyanna huh

which balances out since Wazy is the shady underworld guy

this professor guy is one of the anguis, if I remember my lore correctly. The one who built the pater mater. And he wants it back. Unfortunately for him, Renne has gotten character development, and I guess that doesn't include giving important weapons back to the bad guys

We arrive at Mainz and Wazy is asking why they didnt just use their new car. I agree with Wazy's point, but is there a single person who plays this game and doesn't go by foot the first time? There are treasure chests to be found and xp to be obtained, after all

dont worry Wazy we are probably never walking this path again except when we get to go to the moon temple

I'm tasked with going into (another) abandoned mine to investigate supernatural phemomena. As soon as we go in, rocks fall behind us and we are trapped. How so video-gamey

this burst thing is really cool

I dont feel like the battle system needs more mechanics though. But hey it works

we get to the end of the dungeon and are attacked by a dragon. Ok.

Lloyd asks the women to run, in classic Lloyd fashion

Randy to the rescue!

Randy: "It was worth it to be away just so I could be one of those people who shows up to rescue the protags this time!"
He did not say that but I bet he thought it

And Doggo too

Randy automatically replaces the fourth chatracter which in this case is Wazy

We beat the dragon, who is not resistant to stat reduction which means Noel keeps his attack cut in half and thats about it

Then we leave the mine, having accomplished a grand total of nothing

Because we didnt bring the car, Randy did

lol at the characters making fun of Randy for being less of a ladykiller than Wazy is

Called it. The new characters are Randy's family

Meanwhile, the main villains watch. Chess pieces move and phantasmal blazy plans develop.

The professor teleports away. Because the good guys have internet and cars, so the bad guys need freaking sci-fi tech to stay ahead

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/6/9/AAO9CbAAE6fp.jpg

Perfect timing for Estelle and Joshua to leave the playable cast indefinitely /not

also this is the 2nd time Campanella implies he knows about the existance of the 4th wall

Randy went to confront his family

And Lechter. Because fuck it, that's why

You take your eyes away from Lechter for one day, and he helps install a jaeger HQ in the middle of the city

This character is going to spend the whole series making me unsure if I like him or not, won't he

Oh he's Randy's uncle, not dad? Weird

And the father is dead. Huh

Time for character development, Randy. It will hurt, but it will be worth it

Chapter 1: "This felt more like a prologue tbh": beaten
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_stingers_
10/08/23 11:11:28 PM
#215:


Campanella breaking the 4th wall is always the hypest shit I swear to God

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Congrats Black Turtle!
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andel
10/11/23 11:23:52 PM
#216:


i just reached the final dungeon in azure. it's so damn good

---
I am thinking about just walking into the river now that Megaupload is gone and condoms are in porn.-Fubonis
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_stingers_
10/12/23 1:26:08 PM
#217:


So damn good

---
Congrats Black Turtle!
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ZeldaTPLink
10/14/23 6:55:17 PM
#218:


New chapter (Hollow Knight starting to feel repetitive again)

There's going to be a big internaional conference and all squads of police/military will be helping defend it

the player characters? We will be backup forces

the guys who get deployed when things go to shit

Finally! After over an entire game, we get to be the ones who appear at the last second to stop other characters from dying!

chapter 2 begins: "this time we gotta succeed in the first try since the backup is us": begins

"You can now access all of Crossbell with the orbal car"

I dunno what to do with all that power

there's only one thing to do: walk everywhere

Ries is giving a lecture to some kids. They try to nap mid lecture

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/8/4/AAO9CbAAE7ys.jpg

Bad idea

one thing that is weird about Crossbell games is that the airport and the train station are always off-limits, unless there is a specific quest requiring going to them. In Sky, going to the airport was always part of visiting a new town. Sounds tad arbitrary to me

So there is a new quest at the fighing guild. Defeat the four elite fishers of the Imperial Fishing Club, then the champion. Epic.

They are literally called the Elite Four. I'm not making this up

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/8/5/AAO9CbAAE7yt.jpg

Sounds like a fearsome bunch

Wald's goons want to try to get him a date with Ries to cheer him up. Not sure if I ship it.

We stop in front of the Chinese Mafia and the owner just steps out and goes "hey perfect timing I got a sidequest for you"

We have to babysit the mafia boss' kid. CLASSIC.

Also the kid is in love with Elie. Why not.

Only 3 characters are coming though. Elie, Lloyd and one more. I bring Randy. I feel like this has the most potential for humor. Wazy is funny too, but he is more of a "troll others" type, while Randy is one who gets trolled. And this annoying kid is perfect for that.

Noel is, alas, not very funny

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/8/6/AAO9CbAAE7yu.jpg

lol

This quest produces some priceless interactions, to say at least. And contains some hints for future plots at the ends

Also KeA continues her peferct streak at making every character love her, even that arrogant mafia heir kid

we have to take Nielsen to check out Stargazer Tower

Massive reg flag. Do not engage in quests to take curious intellectuals to ancient ruins related to the game's macguffins

Rixia is worried that important people from other countries are coming to see her dance. Likely because someone from Calvard knows she's Yin

ok so orbment setups reworked and city rounds done, now there's THE ENTIRE MAP that the game dropped on me. Where do I even start
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_stingers_
10/14/23 9:24:06 PM
#219:


ZeldaTPLink posted...
Also KeA continues her peferct streak at making every character love her, even that arrogant mafia heir kid
tbf she is literally impossible to not love

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Congrats Black Turtle!
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Panthera
10/14/23 11:35:46 PM
#220:


If they'd given us a car in Sky I would have actually seen most of the dialogue from all the people at the gates and military bases, instead of just seeing their dialogue on the first trip and then never wanting to go on those hikes ever again

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Meow!
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th3l3fty
10/18/23 11:00:18 PM
#221:


I hiked to every gate without fail but I certainly understand why that might not be your thing

---
thelefty for analysis crew 2008 imo -transience
I have a third degree burn in flame-o-nomics -Sir Chris
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ZeldaTPLink
10/21/23 11:47:01 AM
#222:


I'm still playing, but exploring an entire freaking map worth of enemies produces a lot of gameplay hours but not much posting material, so I'm waiting to accumulate a little bit more. Post incoming likely later today/early tomorrow.

Also week has been tiring so I haven't played that much.
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ZeldaTPLink
10/21/23 4:33:59 PM
#223:


https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/3/2/AAO9CbAAE9Xc.jpg

A new character with a face portrait appers!

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/3/3/AAO9CbAAE9Xd.jpg

they are onto me

We meet Cecile, who immediatelly adds Noel AND Wazy to her Lloyd shipping chart

And Wazy learns the fun of teasing Lloyd about female NPCs being friendly to him
which balances out Randy's suffering over it

The new neurology doctor does not have a face portrait. The probability of her being evil is much lower

You know what would be cool? If this series had a character without face portrait who revealed themselves to be an orobouros enforcer and only started showing the portrait afterwards. That would be a twist.

We are going to climb Stargazer Tower again for a sidequest, but this time there are no enemies. The party is happy. I'm not.

this dungeon is still very pretty, though

Someone stole all the books we came to get. Heh, you thought this was going to be a free sidequest clear? Think again

My money is on Phantom Thief, because the number of Trails games he's appeared so far is currently lower than the number of game's I have started (4 vs 5), and we gotta fix that

the quest ends and we don't get to learn what happened. That's a first for this series.

we return to Doctor Seiland, for a lecture on how the drug from the last game worked

I love how she gives a science explanation then admits the whole thing is also magical

rational characters in magical settings who refuse to admit magic exists are annoying. Now rational characters who agree it's weird but accept that it exists and try to understand how it works are much more interesting

one interesting mechanic this game has is how when you get amushed by an enemy, it also randomizes which party members enter the battle.

Like, Noel is my currently reserve party member but she appeared in the last battle instead of Randy

Well, jokes on them, her s-craft was exactly what I needed here

the hike to Armorica village continues to be extremely long, but I remain dilligent in my combing of the map for chests, fishing spots and bestiary entries

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/3/4/AAO9CbAAE9Xe.jpg

Yes Wazy, but you didn't have to throw it on our faces

we go meet the new commander for the Tangram gate

alas, he also lacks a face portrait. turns out the state of Crossbell only has a budget for two of those in the whole CGF. Since Noel quit, blonde girl got a portrait, but that's as many as it can have

and now for another Trails classic. Beating up soldiers to help train them. Never gets old

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/3/5/AAO9CbAAE9Xf.jpg

Wait what

Shit. The game finally realized what's going on and decided to get it back on the player. We are screwed aint we

it is... tough. But I make it, thanks mostly to the fact this game gives you recovery items like crazy so I had a stock

We learn this guy was Lloyd AND Randy's mentor. That's a CV right there

and we also learn some backstory on Sergei

feels like this guy was created just to info dump, though

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/3/6/AAO9CbAAE9Xg.jpg

I won't let you down, Chest-san
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ZeldaTPLink
10/21/23 4:42:25 PM
#224:


I play more poker, which is somehow even worse in this game (and I don't even touch blackjack, which stopped being playable a few games ago). I estimate by the time this series ends, the casino minigames will be just showing two cards to the player and asking them to pick which one is higher, with a 100 mira payoff for each right one

Seriously, it's amazing how consistent this series is at making its card minigames worse every installment

my gambling spree is rewarded with a scene where Lloyd and KeA bond over the stuff he just decorated his room with

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/3/9/AAO9CbAAE9Xj.jpg

these imaginative devs

time for a chat with Arios

we learn Randy's uncle is the real deal since Arios is praising him, though Arios is the humblest character in the series so you can never be sure

Nice lore here. So both Kilika and Lechter are helping their governments plot with respective criminal syndicates

lots of lore hints. the game presents what the likely upcoming conflict is but at the same time hints that it's all a red herring

Of course it is. The Orobouros part of the puzzle is still unaccounted for

there is a tense sequence where the party is returning to HQ for building and you just know something is about to happen. Fortunately, the building doesn't explode like I'm expecting. There's just a mercenary girl sitting on the living room couch, waiting for the party

I love Lloyd telling Shirley that she's sitting on a taxpayer funded couch

Lloyd is the coppest cop who ever copped. Sometimes that's obnoxious, but sometimes it's just cool

Lloyd and Wazy just take control of the situation, cool MFs they are

I love those little scenes where Lloyd an co. question bad guys. It's always super tense but Lloyd always manages to get something from it

Eyepatch just goes and almost breaks Randy by revealing some bad stuff he did

I'm supposed to guess what the jagger's goal is and I guess assassinating the president. The game tells me that can't be it because the price of 100 million would be too low

what, I'm supposed to know the relative worth of trails currency now?

meanwhile...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/4/0/AAO9CbAAE9Xk.jpg

The greatest returns

Well not THE greatest, because that's Estelle. But the next best thing

This series is gonna get fabulous again

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/4/1/AAO9CbAAE9Xl.jpg

See above

Olivier laments Estelle isn't coming. I understand

We also move to an airship, where a somewhat less great but still solid character is watching the sky

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/4/2/AAO9CbAAE9Xm.jpg

these Crossbell cast members better raise their game because good characters are arriving

basically the entire Sky cast is plotting together to use the Crossbell cast to achieve their goals. Fitting

We then move to the Geofront, where we learn Campanella is now using Jona's abandoned computer terminal

should have burned the whole place down

considering what i'm used from this cast, Campanella is probably a hacker too

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/4/3/AAO9CbAAE9Xn.jpg

When you hack things, "mission complete" appears on the screen

We see a montage where a bunch of world leaders arrive for the conference

Calvard president looks goofy

we see everyone's faces, except the prince of Remiferia's

Sorry bro, but your country is unimportant. It doesn't even have its own game, except for some JP-only gacha spin-off no one played

I think it's funny how this duology doesn't give characters portraits unless it's absolutely sure it's needed. But I also think this is bad game design. It makes the plot a little more predictable, and breaks immersion a little. Because there are characters who do seem important to the setting, but don't get portraits since the writers know they aren't actually, and they aren't trying to hide it. I feel like Sky wasn't so cheap with portraits like this. People like the mayors and the guild clerks all got theirs. Even the orphanage kids did. So if someone like Mary ended up being important, it was a surprise.

I just love Crois's voice acting. It's a mix of goofy and imposing

I dunno about you, but I feel like Orchis Tower is the name you give to an evil lair, not to the setting's Empire State equivallent

Did they really do the entire construction of this thing under a huge blanket?

Kloe: "Meh, SC's final dungeon was taller"
Yes Kloe, I know JRPG final dungeons are huge, but try to be a little more sporting, ok?

Lechter: "Imagine going to the roof, man"
New ship: Lechter X Roofs

KeA is getting dejavu at the huge tower. The plot thickens

Some fun sounding quests for the next day, including one to find Olivier. Heh.
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tcaz2
10/21/23 5:00:27 PM
#225:


Well you dont gotta worry about portraits after this game anyway because Cold Steel stops using them cuz 3D.

Speaking of which, the pink haired girl you met in the police academy did not originally exist there before the rerelease. Hmmmm mysterious I wonder why~

Also you actually are familiar with the name Seiland from 3rd. Doctor Seiland is the I think older sister but I forget the exact relation of Lucy Seiland, who was the student council member chasing after Lechter in Kloes door.
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_stingers_
10/21/23 6:17:44 PM
#226:


tcaz2 posted...
Speaking of which, the pink haired girl you met in the police academy did not originally exist there before the rerelease. Hmmmm mysterious I wonder why~
is that the chick from cs3? I havent played it yet but

---
Congrats Black Turtle!
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ZeldaTPLink
10/21/23 6:31:00 PM
#227:


I did have a feeling that was a CS character.

Maybe I'm making shit up but I feel like there is a certain pattern for characters of those games. They are more anime like. Characters from Sky feel more like stuff from older jrpgs. And I guess Crossbell ones are somewhere in-between.
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catesdb
10/21/23 9:06:06 PM
#228:


i'm glad they added her

<3

---
Pronouns - she/her
FFXIV - Ultros [Primal] - https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/character/39263879/
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zinformant
10/21/23 9:08:30 PM
#229:


ZeldaTPLink posted...
Maybe I'm making shit up but I feel like there is a certain pattern for characters of those games. They are more anime like. Characters from Sky feel more like stuff from older jrpgs. And I guess Crossbell ones are somewhere in-between.

Designs are reflective of their release era (or even a generation lagging behind). This conveniently slots in with each country having its own identity in accordance with the regional treasure, but there is definitely a chimeric quality to blending designs from different story arcs.

---
While we count these petals to pluck them off a cosmos
The stem is likely to blast but never does the fate
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Panthera
10/21/23 9:38:42 PM
#230:


ZeldaTPLink posted...


considering what i'm used from this cast, Campanella is probably a hacker too

When the Zemurian internet gets fully online, half of every forum will just be Campanella's seven hundred alts trolling

---
Meow!
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ZeldaTPLink
10/22/23 1:24:06 PM
#231:


while checking out on new dialogue, I run into Olivier, who is just enjoying the Testaments bar. It's rare to find the solution of a quest before I'm even given the quest

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/3/0/AAO9CbAAE9j6.jpg

I was gonna say "you are not tricking anyone" but Kilika pulled the same play a game ago and it worked

the cops don't buy it, but they pretend they do

we go back to Downtown street to grab Olivier, only to meet (yet another) gang fight. But don't worry, a bard arrives to stop the fight with the power of music

One does not find Olivier. Olivier finds you.

He then proceeds with his usual routine. But unfortunately...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/3/1/AAO9CbAAE9j7.jpg

The goofy bard from Sky meets the gritty realism from the Crossbell games. Because he picked the roof of a weapons smuggler to play music on, and her daughter is a badass

Olivier then escapes from the party with a "hey look whats that" play and I'm astounded this has worked TWICE in the same game

we meet Grace, who reveals she still knows more about the plot than she lets on

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/3/2/AAO9CbAAE9j8.jpg

I love these interactions

next quest is another fight, against the two female bracers, Lynn and Aeolia

it's tough as hell, mostly because Aeolia, who is a doctor, spams a healing craft

also Lynn hits hard and has a bunch of Zin's skills, plus deathblow, while Aeolia spams mute, seal, sleep and poison too

fortunately there doesn't seem to be an AI picking Aeolia's skills so eventually she spends too much time without healing

we go into Ilya's house for some very lesbian cutscene. Nuff said

I go to the church and catch Ries clearly plotting something

we are treated to Olivier dancing with a guy in a cat suit in all its sprite glory. That's the sentence.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/3/3/AAO9CbAAE9j9.jpg

The cat guy is weirdly excited about this

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/3/4/AAO9CbAAE9j-.jpg

Elie is catching on. Only the ways of ultraviolence can work with Olivier.

Somewhere, Estelle is feeling proud

we complete the quest, and are treated to a scene where Olivier and Mueller reveal a little more of their plotting with the Liberl duo
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Thorn
10/22/23 1:28:19 PM
#232:


mueller should rock that look more often tbqh

---
May you find your book in this place.
Formerly known as xp1337.
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ZeldaTPLink
10/22/23 1:28:24 PM
#233:


sidequests done, now for the main story quest: to find a missing cat while jagger girl helps us

We have to question the local playboys if they saw the cat. The guys decide to be jerks about it. And we can't just beat them up for the info because we are cops (I mean, they are white and rich).

Unfortunately for them, we just happen to have a bloodthirsty mercenary tagging along

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/3/6/AAO9CbAAE9kA.jpg

Rixia and Shirley is a weird character interaction

it's filled with the usual sexual harassment this duology can't let go of, but also has some tension since the two girls are bloody killers but they don't know about each other

this cat chase sequence feels filler af but I think it's leading to something cool

Shirley is less worried abouy exposing herself than Rixia is so she just goes, make some acrobacies and catches the cat

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/3/7/AAO9CbAAE9kB.jpg

How to build an anti-villain character: show they like kittens

Yep, Rixia figured her out. Atta girl. Wonder if the vice-versa is true too, though

Shirley implies she did, too

Suddenly, a certain definitely not magical bird appears

Time for Kloe and Olivier to put their plans into motion, I guess

time to do a quest that's practically impossible to find unless you are following a list (like me). Go to a random room in the hospital right after receiving the letter from Kloe, but before going to meet her, and talk to Arios

and I did check every room in the hospital at the start of the day, and no other dialogue has changed since except this this, so yeah, the devs are really being shady here

And this is because, if you come here at this exact time, a random NPC is going to faint from eating a rare poisonous mushroom, triggering the quest to find ingredients to heal his condition

and now we gotta escort the freaking prince of Remiferia while he looks for a mushroom

the good news is that we are overleveled so most enemies in this area run from us. So the quest is a walk in the park

Now we are done hanging out with the prince of Erebonia and the prince of Remiferia, time to go meet the princess of Liberl. Such is the life of Not Bracers

Oh yes, the inside of the Arseille. Feels like Trails 2 again.

We meet Kloe, then Olivier enters the room and reveals he's the prince all along. I love this interaction

Yes, I'll be calling them Kloe and Olivier forever and you can't stop me

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/3/8/AAO9CbAAE9kC.jpg

I mean, Olivier has always been the real one. Oliviert is the guy he has to be in order to save his country, but I suspect once that ends, he will just retire and spend the rest of his life as a bard

Olivier says they are all nakama and I'm just happy all my playable characters are getting along

It's been 1.3 games, but I think it's finally time to reveal the plot of the Crossbell Arc. Unleash the lore!

ok there are so many factions being outlined here I'm confused

we have two empire factions, an imperial terrorist group, the republican government, a republican terrorist group, the jaggers who work for one of the imperial factions, the republican mafia, and our unlikely alliance of playable and former playable characters.

And obviously the church and the society, just watching from the sidelines and waiting to strike at the right moment

Did I miss anyone

(besides the two fishing guilds, I mean)

ok this was less a reveal of the main plot and just a long outlining of all the possible ways this could go

Kloe and Olivier know how the system works, having been PCs before. You find the current PCs in the setting, dump all the intel you got on them and just let them eventually run into the plot and figure it out

back to base. KeA decides Dudley's name is Doodles and I agree with her

So Jona just learned Campanella has been using his computer (the one inside the underground dungeon), and we gotta go there, into the underground dungeon, to check it out

And Dudley joins the party! This is random but I'll take it
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tcaz2
10/22/23 2:51:39 PM
#234:


Its funny because while everyone that starts with Sky cant stop calling him Olivier despite the games calling him mostly Olivert from now on, most people that start with Cold Steel and go back to play
Sky have the opposite problem
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ZeldaTPLink
10/22/23 7:24:10 PM
#235:


wdym I can't change Dudley's quartz? What is the point of getting temporary party members if I can't raid their equipment for the main characters?

we learn Dudley likes cats. Everyone likes cats in this setting

Predictably, the shortcut to Jona's room is barred and we gotta cross the dungeon

I love the new Geofront music

dungeon beaten. also stopped by the fishing spot near the exit and caught a bunch of new fish. Campanella can wait.

he'd probably understand, knowing the guy

the music playing is a distorted version of Jona's normal music, as if we are playing some weird 4th wall breaking videogame like Undertale or DDLC

ok so whats the chance we caught Campanella by surprise? Because that almost never happens with Orobouros. Like, the biggest victory I've ever seen anyone get against them was taking down Weissmann, after a convoluted series of plays by Kevin and Joshua, and they still left with the sept-terrion in the end

I'm asking cuz Campanella left blueprints for the Orchis Tower in the monitor for us to find, but was it intentional or not? I give it 99% chance it was

The door locks, the little shit starts laughing and I have my answer

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/8/9/AAO9CbAAE9ph.jpg

Hello, SSS. I want to play a game.

We have to win at pom pom party or we die. Wow

Yeah ok thats the timing for Tio to arrive

pom pom party is a crapshoot. unless you are good (I'm not), you just have to randomly get a bunch of chains and use an s-craft before Campanella uses his, for the win. After a couple tries, I do that

theres also a "reduce difficulty" option available if you lose, which is amazing. Imagine if every game with non-standard gameplay modes had those. I'm looking at you, Danganronpa

I win round 1, then Tio shows up to bail us for round 2

She deletes Campanella

btw playing this dumb minigame while the 8-bit version of the Orobouros boss song plays is a nice touch

first time that song plays in the Crossbell duology and it's pom pom party

Tio joins the party again and it feels awesome. Sorry Wazy and Noel, I like you guys, but the OG 4 are the classics

Surprise Yin appears

So we were just one international assassin randomly showing up and deciding to escort Tio from getting a TPK.

Dudley points a gun at Yin and I want popcorn

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/9/0/AAO9CbAAE9pi.jpg

... please no

Dudley best tsundere

interaction I didn't know I missed: Lloyd trying to treat Tio like a kid and getting her weirdly voiced death glares
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tcaz2
10/22/23 7:33:34 PM
#236:


Tio da bess
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pyresword
10/22/23 8:37:06 PM
#237:


ZeldaTPLink posted...
Like, the biggest victory I've ever seen anyone get against them was taking down Weissmann

Honestly though a good chunk of Ouroboros is probably just as happy about this is as the good guys are.

---
I didn't do guru this year but azuarc can be in my sig anyways.
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NFUN
10/22/23 8:39:09 PM
#238:


doodles

---
What can the harvest hope for if not for the care of the Reaper Man?
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Thorn
10/23/23 3:51:16 PM
#239:


tcaz2 posted...
Its funny because while everyone that starts with Sky cant stop calling him Olivier despite the games calling him mostly Olivert from now on, most people that start with Cold Steel and go back to play
everyone - including the characters in-universe, lol

---
May you find your book in this place.
Formerly known as xp1337.
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ZeldaTPLink
10/26/23 8:53:41 PM
#240:


day 3

after a long session of picking Tio' orbments, and rearranging everyone else's, I make the daily rounds. Not much special going. There is a cutscene of Kloe and Julia in the graveyard. It goes as usual for Kloe scenes. Sweetness and politeness.

We also find Rixia's house. She is still fixated on Shirley.

Another highlight is a hidden quest to help Ries investigate the moon temple (and likely seize the cursed bell in the name of the church). She joins the party!

Except not really, she's an escort. I'm assuming she'll keep her coolest moves to cutscenes

Also Ries is the newest member of the KeA fanclub, by virtue of the fact the later is a magical cook and the former is a walking bottomless stomach

Ries doesn't fight but she instantly revives party members in her turns which is cool

especially since one of the enemies automatically uses aoe deathblow on the whole party when you kill it

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/7/1/AAO9CbAAE-jD.jpg

danmit

the dungeon is greatly reduced from its Zero version. It's basically one long corridor

There is a similar demon boss at the end. It's strong but not very bulky since Tio can take it down with a few photon shots and the rest of the party uses Impede and stuff. Also Ries

then the bell summons another 2 of it and I guess it's time for Ries to show her hand

yep, thats it. Ries reminds us that she was in a game where the max lv was 150 and destroys the bosses

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/7/2/AAO9CbAAE-jE.jpg

Ceiling Campanella is watching you masturbate

We talk to Imelda and shes basically bragging about how she does stuff and never gets caught. I swear, Imelda is probably one of the most powerful factions in the setting. I'm guessing shes head of one of the 13 factories or the 4th anguis or something

One thing I like about Ilya is how whenever we talk to her, she greets us with "hey, if it isn't my favorite little guy"

She just thinks Lloyd is a nice guy. I love honest interactions like that

Aeolia is my favorite of the bracer girls just because of her interactions with the party. Namely her going full Anelace at Tio and rejecting Randy with a smile

time for the usual routine. Beaublanc. Another game, another stupid clue quest

He robbed the bank and hid part of the loot in the police chef's office. The nerve of the guy

there is an npc who has been wanting to go out with an inn waitress for a while. He finally musters the courage to ask her out. She says sure, as long as he can eat 10 omelettes in one hour. Ouch

I think this plotline is going to end at the hospital

I play one of those sections where I have to pick one party member to help in a side-quest, except it's decided by rock/paper/scissors. If this actually counts for the friendship system it would be funny

The quest seems rather boring, until it becomes a whodunnit for who stole a train ticket (or whether it was even stolen). Then Xin crashes the party and solos the quest. This kid is entertaining.

No seriously the kid is young Don Corleone

And then it has a twist in the end about who the criminal is. This quest is so funny

Back to Beublanc's quest, which is eventually beaten. Then he casually reveals he's an enforcer in his latest message, to the surprise of everyone who is not playing their 5th Trails game

Lloyd tries to find out if Mariabell is Beaublanc All Along but shes too busy being the worst character in the duology to give him the time of the day

the party returns their authorization card to the bank's elevator and we can no longer roam it. What the hell, we could go wherever we wanted last game!

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Panthera
10/27/23 12:57:22 PM
#241:


ZeldaTPLink posted...


time for the usual routine. Beaublanc. Another game, another stupid clue quest

My response to this comment can be found where the minds of many rot away

---
Meow!
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ZeldaTPLink
10/27/23 1:23:11 PM
#242:


To be fair I'm ambivalent on Beaublanc quests. They are mostly annoying, but I think the character is hilarious.
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th3l3fty
10/27/23 2:21:27 PM
#243:


Bleublanc quests are fine since you have quick travel and most of them are pretty easy if you've been exploring at all

---
thelefty for analysis crew 2008 imo -transience
I have a third degree burn in flame-o-nomics -Sir Chris
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ZeldaTPLink
10/28/23 2:33:46 PM
#244:


time for the major political event that is being hinted since the start of the game

major political events are important in a series like Trails, since the protagonists often aren't chasing anything specific, so they give a chance for bad actors to start shit and force the PCs to react

Time to explore Orcus Tower. I mean, Orchis.

we have a chat with the mayor, where he reveals the governments of Calvard and Erebonia are likely plotting something and he doesn't know what. useful.

having an npc give a tour to the building is an interesting choice. Normally the player is released to explore the entire place on their own before the plot kicks in. Hmm...

we climb to the top of the tower and see the entire country from it. Suddenly I wish I was playing Breath of the Wild so I could just jump off and glide

ok tour time is over, time for politics, and police work

uh I'm not sure if you guys should have positioned Olivier and Osborne sitting right by each other. The danger of violence is high. Though I suppose it makes sense to keep Osborne away from Rocksmith, too

the friggin Arios standing by the window looking at everyone. That alone should be a deterrent for starting shit, I suppose

everyone is worried. Of course, sooner or later Campanella could lock the room and force all those chiefs of state to play Pom Pom Party. And nobody wants that

Tio can talk to Not a Falcon. Well of course she can, but it's still fun to see

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/2/8/AAO9CbAAE-4Q.jpg

Hmm I guess?

Lechter is in the chancellor's room. I'm more worried about the other person we did not find in the president's room, though

Lechter is both acting like an idiot and showing full control of the situation at the same time. The PCs are playing checkers and he's playing chess.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/2/9/AAO9CbAAE-4R.jpg

another random Cold Steel character appearance, I'm guessing

oh there's Kilika

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/3/0/AAO9CbAAE-4S.jpg

Kilika can hear your PC banter

we get an interesting but about how Crossbell's army is also helping with the security of the event, but they are supposed to stay hidden because the two nations that own us shouldn't be reminded that we have an army, lest they will want to do something about that

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/3/1/AAO9CbAAE-4T.jpg

Not that they don't remember. But politics is about looks, I guess

We learn that Nial and Dorothy won the Fulitzer. Well that's deserved, that's two entire games of getting involved with every major plot event that happens

Grace is anxious to win the Fulitzer too. Well Grace, now your country is the one featuring in a Trails game so that's the best chance you'll ever have
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ZeldaTPLink
10/28/23 2:37:23 PM
#245:


Osborne and Rocksmith want to talk with the PCs. Their PC-dars are well calibrated, it seems
Lloyd doesn't want to do. Dudley tells him to grow the fuck up and do his job

he also says if things go to south, just let Elie do the diplomatic work. That's good advice tbh

While we go there, we get snippets of Kilika and Arios talking about backstory, as well as Lechter and Kloe, and never mind the Cold Steel girl making random references to future game events

Slow down Cold Steel girl, I haven't played those yet

We talk to Rocksmith. He starts praising us over and over, even wanting to give us a medal for our deeds in the last game

At first it seems the game just wants to hint that he is a good politician, but he's baiting the party into saying they can't receive the medal since they are from another country, just so he can reply "but your country is vassal to my country". Bullseye.

next, the big bad of this half of the series

he starts by casually revealing random stuff he knows about the party

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/3/3/AAO9CbAAE-4V.jpg

If Rocksmith wanted to make us uncomfortable, Osborne just wants to set everything on fire

Osborne is almost breaking the party. But then Lloyd does the protagonist thing and plays a higher card

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/3/4/AAO9CbAAE-4W.jpg

thats gotta sting

Osborne makes another jab and ends the conversation before it gets too heated Then he casually reveals he knows the contents of our talk with Rocksmit from 5 minutes ago. Everyone just knows everything in this setting don't they

btw, assuming I was allowed to talk to the two leaders in any order, I like how the game changed the dialogue depending on who I talk to first

back to the conference. Osborne is giving shit to Crossbell's government for failing to prevent the crisis from last game, which was primarily caused by people in Osborne's pocket

He is also mad Crossbell is in constant political strife, which is caused by well, himself

then they propose the CGF is abolished. Ofc they do

the problem of being a buffer country is when the two countries who own you decide to team up to crush your automony. The leaders of other states are complaining but it's clear there are only two people in this room who hold any power over Crossbell whatsoever

while the politicians plot annexation of Crossbell in broad daylight, we keep getting phone calls suggesting that all terrorist factions in the continent are coming to this building. The tension.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/3/5/AAO9CbAAE-4X.jpg

Crois is about to play his own card, when the room is raided by friggin apaches

Aaaaaand they also hacked the building

we get some Sprite Modern Warfare. It's going badly for the good guys, but Tio manages to unhack one of the doors so we can provide backup

The entire arc has prepared us for this moment. We are the cavarly now

never mind, Arios shows up and starts deflecting bullets with wind slashes. Godanmit, Arios.

but the enemy also has robots, so theres an opponent for us

There are bombs about to detonate above us. Clearly the only thing left to do is to have a Megaman Battle Network fight between Tio, Jona and Campanella

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/3/6/AAO9CbAAE-4Y.jpg

in the future, wars will be fought by clown avatars in blue data arenas

time go to to the grofront again, chase down some terrorists

You know Rocksmith and Osborne are going to use this event to argue for dissolution of the CGF again, right? I mean, they completely failed to prevent not one, but two terrorist factions from entering
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ZeldaTPLink
10/28/23 2:40:00 PM
#246:


The next dungeon is a huge parking lot

Party members: "do they really think people are going to need so much parking space in the future?"
Oh you sweet summer children

We are attacked by terrorists with machine guns

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/3/7/AAO9CbAAE-4Z.jpg

But our girls are armed. Noel may have just climbed a position in the rankings from this scene

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/3/8/AAO9CbAAE-4a.jpg

Those chests are commited to the joke, I give them that

we catch up to the terrorists

you know this is good writing when I'm feeling bad for the terrorists because the guy they are trying to kill really seems to be a monster

but trying to blow up a 40 floor building is not the way to go about it

the Calvardian terrorists can go to hell though, since their cause is basically "fuck those Asian immigrants"

terrorists beaten. Fun battle. Not the hardest, but it can get tricky since the terrorists have aoe and can self-buff

oh cool now we are fighting a tank

we beat the tank, though I have to reset and do the first fight again cuz I started the tank with hp too low so it kicked my ass the first time

terrorists probably escaped, though

except the red constellation was on the other side, and now they are probably wishing they had surrendered

because the constellation executes every single one of them

except one. Who is saved by a crying Randy yelling YAMEROOOOO into the room, before his cousin can slit the guy's throat

Huh. I'm not used to this much gore in a trails game, ngl. Usually the gore stays in flashbacks.

We have a freaking legal debate in the middle of the carnage, where the people doing the carnage win

Randy also tries to appeal to emotion but the timing for that couldn't be worse. This type of villain only listens to emotion after they have their asses handed to them, not before

Sigmund is a smooth guy though. He's not trying to be liked. He knows he can't. But killing the last guy in front of the PCs could escalate this situation even further, so he lets him go and leaves victorious.

A falal error has occured and Randy.exe has stopped working.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the dungeon, Heiyue does the same thing to the Calvard terrorists, but since Cao's got a lot more finesse, it looks less bad. He takes away the political dissidents so they can be executed where no one can see.

We move to the politicians reacting to what just happened, in which the empire looks much worse than the republic

See, that's the difference between a dictatorship and a democracy. The former kills dissidents in broad daylight. The later takes them to Guantanamo Bay, since public executions reflect badly in the polls.

like I predicted, Rocksmith immediately uses today's event against Crossbell. Because the empire/republic's goons had to clean the mess that Crossbell failed to

Of course, I imagine the intelligences of both countries knew this attack would happen but allowed it to anyway

But Crois has one last card to play

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/3/9/AAO9CbAAE-4b.jpg

Ok so I think the reason Orchis tower was built this big was to house this man's massive balls

meanwhile, the two mercs group meet, and we watch Shirley read Yin like a book

Chapter 2: "We tried to negotiate with terrorists but it backfired": beaten

Two weeks later, the party is on a boat, feeling like shit

Tio gives Lloyd some pep talk, and is given headpats as a thank you

The game is light shipping them and I'm not sure how I feel about it

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/4/0/AAO9CbAAE-4c.jpg

exactly
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Thorn
10/28/23 2:43:07 PM
#247:


ZeldaTPLink posted...
I play one of those sections where I have to pick one party member to help in a side-quest, except it's decided by rock/paper/scissors. If this actually counts for the friendship system it would be funny
it does lol

edit: oh i didn't realize you'd be wrapping up the trade conference writeups there.

trade conference hype. it's so good between osborne just openly taunting the SSS, all the political tension, and then the gut punch of the red constellation massacring the guys you were trying to arrest and then have a legal argument that gets them off completely free

---
May you find your book in this place.
Formerly known as xp1337.
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ZeldaTPLink
10/29/23 4:50:47 PM
#248:


Tio is REALLY hyped about visiting Misheland

the Mishy craze is pretty funny, because it sounds dumb af but mirrors some rl fandoms

some bits about Wazy having a past. I was starting to think he didn't have a character

some bits about Crossbell independence too. Which is a crazy idea but imo might be the only card they had in hands, with the two empires ready to annex it

Tio helped Lloyd realize that they need to be doing and now he's helping the rest. I love this party.

The shipping is off the charts in this section

now to Randy, who is trying his best not to let others notice he's feeling horrible

But Lloyd knows him too well

Lloyd unleashes the cheese and Randy recovers just to make him stop

I'm really vibing with Lloyd rn. Reminds me of myself in some ways

I also say some really cheesy stuff with a straight face often

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/8/7/AAO9CbAAE_Fr.jpg

no homo

the game is shipping Randy and that blonde from the CGF whose name I forgot and I'm ok with that

and theres KeA, who realizes they are all sad and feels sad too

A wild Fran appears

And the dancer crew. And Cecile. And Bell.

it's official. Lloyd is going to be shipped from all directions. He cannot escape

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/8/8/AAO9CbAAE_Fs.jpg

Oh no

Beach area: check

Large cast of young women: check

Protagonist clueless to love: check

Midpoint of the story right after a climax, ideal for character interactions and cooling off emotions: check

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/8/9/AAO9CbAAE_Ft.jpg

It's a goddamn Sexy Beach Episode

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/9/0/AAO9CbAAE_Fu.jpg

Wazy gets it
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_stingers_
10/30/23 8:14:34 AM
#249:


If I ever met someone who talked like Wazy IRL I'd kill him

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Congrats Black Turtle!
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ZeldaTPLink
11/05/23 10:59:50 AM
#250:


Bump.

Coming back soon. The end of HK is great, what can I say.
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