It’s the same developer, but it’s not related to Ys, no.
The other downside is that it took them months to patch in missing features from the first port, so who knows what state this one will be in. To their credit they did eventually finish it though, and I guess the game was still playable without the monster guide.
A few more superficial notions about the series:
The overall series comprises 13 games. The first two are not-really-noteworthy SNES-era RPGs. Then there’s a trilogy available in the West for PSP, called “Gagharv Trilogy”, but still not good enough to get the attention and popularity.
The 6th part, the one we’re talking about here, marks the switch to a different, new setting that is maintained through the rest of the series. It was planned as one game (the “Sora” games), but being too large it was split in three. The first two are the parts now to become available on Steam, the third is unavailable and without a planned release either.
The first chapter ends on a big cliffhanger and the second one (the one released next week) follows directly the first and concludes the storyline of the two main characters. The third chapter (that we probably won’t see any time sooner, if ever) instead should be considered more like a spin-off, it follows two other characters and wikipedia says “Third Chapter shifts its story-telling into a darker direction”, which is interesting, but it’s overall a bit shorter/smaller compared to the first two chapters and is considered as less significant because it’s used mostly to bridge the story toward the two following games. So, instead of actually concluding the trilogy, the third part is mostly used to set up the sequels, and so it stands a bit in shadow of the rest.
The 7th part is made of two games (“Zero” + “Ao”), they follow directly the timeline but take place on a different continent. These also, being directly linked to the 3rd chapter above, are not planned to be translated in the West, currently (even if this is where the actual quality and worth is, along with the 6th part).
The 8th part is currently ongoing and made of three games (“Sen”). The third is not out yet in Japan. Translated as “Trails of Cold Steel”, these are the games that are coming out next in the West (but not on Steam, it’s console stuff). They still use the setting of the previous games. The first game is a big prologue, the second is the one where I read the quality in writing starts taking a dive. Instead the “worse” game released this year is one made by the same team, but not directly part of this series.
The problem is: Falcom (the company) got very successful with these titles, in Japan. But more recently it seems to have started to steer toward the more commercial and accessible stuff. The “Sen” games take place in a school, and the newest of the company, Tokyo Xanadu is directly in a modern setting and about “idols”. So there are fears that even the Kiseki series goes down that slippery slope.
This thread has the best title!
-Todd
It delivers every single time it’s bumped.
Pretty sure I’ve said this elsewhere, but the main problem with Gagharv Trilogy was that the PSP ports are not very good, and the English versions are further dragged down by the near-machine-level translation. Otherwise I’d sooner play them than any of the Trails games.
The quality of the Trails series aside, Gagharv Trilogy are three games with a lot of personality and soul not always seen in video games, and shouldn’t be dismissed easily.
And the sequel to this game that shall not be named comes out next week. $30. It is massive, twice as big as the first game.
Define massive. Is this in play time?
I’ve given “data” myself ;) Playtime is 40-50 hours the first game, and 70-80 the second part. And there are three more hypothetical games, all 60+ hours each.
Maybe I should edit the first post, but without editing the title I’m not sure it’s any useful, if people use the forums like I do…
…wait, this isn’t about Mugen Souls?
It’s too bad I cannot jump in and play SC on day 1, because I’d left FC unfinished. Steam says 38 hours and only chapter 1 finished. It’s been a year since I played, so I’ll have to clear a block of time and start over, because the story is that great.
Thought this was pretty good:
Still haven’t played the first one, but I definitely want to get into this series. Got Trails of Cold Steel pre-ordered.
So. Found this thread. The aforementioned game was 10 dollars on sale during the winter jambaroo.
Pretty great game so far. Had a ridiculous time getting the game to run correctly, which was very annoying, but once I ironed out the issues, it was great.
So, if you have issues with the game crashing after
“my name is…”
it is because whatever codecs you have installed on your PC don’t jive with the bullshit technical decision not to include codecs with the game or run the cutscene in engine. Open the launcher, turn off intro cutscene, and play. Watch the cutscene on youtube.
Are there other cutscenes in the game that will crash me later? I am about 2 hours in.
Looking through the game files (GOG version), there are two .avis total - the logo you see while loading the game, and the “ed6_op” opening video which I suppose caused your crash (you could check if that’s the one by playing it). So you should be safe.
Also, I’m about halfway through and I don’t remember any other pre-rendered cutscenes.
There is another pre-rendered cutscene in the end, during credits, IIRC.
I restarted the game 2 weeks ago. 23 hrs in, early chapter 1 (I just got Olivier!). This time I’m using a guide to aim for 100% bracer points. Already missed out on a trophy or two because I didn’t buy the cheaper weapons in the prologue. I wonder how people can finish this game within 40 hours…
So, for lack of anywhere better-named to talk about Legend of Heroes and Trails games:
I’ve gotten really into this over the last month or two. I played Trails in the Sky all the way through again on PC (I had played it on PSP in 2011 and been frustrated at the cliffhanger), which took me about 35 hours (to get as close to 100% as you can on a single play through, on hard mode, already knowing most of what I was doing). Then I played SC, which clocked in around 60-65 hours and which I picked as my game of the year in the other thread. Then my wife got me Trails of Cold Steel (the first “Sen” game, as HRose mentioned) for Christmas, because she hates my time and she enjoys watching me play through these games on the giant screen (thanks Steam Streaming, by the way). Cold Steel is a bit different, as it takes a bunch of elements pretty much directly from the Persona series: high school setting, built around regular events from a school schedule, emphasis on social interactions with “bonding” activities (even if nowhere near the Persona level of depth), there’s an old schoolhouse that mysteriously re-arranges itself into a different dungeon level for you every month. So there’s definitely been a nod towards “this other idea was commercially successful, let’s try to mix some of it in”.
That said, Cold Steel is still a really good game. The writing remains better-than-JRPG-average, even if it’s short of where Trails in the Sky was. My biggest complaint is that there are a bunch more Japan-standard tropes (aka what turns me off most JRPGs), or maybe they’re just more obvious/annoying here. But I still like the combat and character building, most of the characters are still pretty fun, and it continues to pose and hint at a lot of interesting questions about both the characters in this game and the overall situation in Zemuria. I’m through three chapters, which appears to be about halfway, and I’m probably going to blow through the rest of the game by the end of the weekend.
(No idea re: potential decrease in writing quality in the second Sen game, as I’m coming at this strictly through the English-available games.)
There’s a sale going on GOG right now: http://www.gog.com/promo/special_promo_trails_in_the_sky_110316
The thread title led me to believe this was a Steam exclusive. Why would I want to buy it from a third-party?
The next game in the series, Excellent Classic JRPG 3 has been confirmed for a 2017 Steam release.
Not only is its name generic, its qt3 nickname is generic. Sigh.
Has the following Let’s Play been mentioned here before? It’s based on the PSP release, but it’s an essential info source for me, who plays this game in fits and spurts:
http://lparchive.org/The-Legend-of-Heroes-Trails-in-the-Sky/