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The Legend of Heroes Thread - Trails of Cold Steel in the Sky

cruel

Cipher
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
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857
Grrr, I really don't like when a game does that to you. End of part 1, visiting a certain place below the ground. You have 3 boss fights, using 3 different groups / team members, followed by a boss fight, and then followed by yet another boss fight, with a completely different / mixed team. So basically, I was fighting one of the hardest fights so far in the game without Seraphic Ring or even Heavy Breath, just regular Breath :| Earlier games (CS1, CS2) at least asked you for party confirmation / equipment + quartz review before major fights. And, to make it even more funny, there are bonus AP conditions for bringing both bosses under specific health threshold - but the fight ENDS right after you bring one of them below the threshold (without being obvious about it in advance). So you are absolutely required to make final blow with a huge S-Craft and hope to bring both Bosses (having completely different health pool) below threshold in one hit. What a pain.

It seems that Max AP is 336, while 310 required for top rank. So far I have 98 out of 108, so probably not going to redo 2 hours of fighting just to get it.

Playing on Hard seems to be OK for me. Some of the regular mobs already have too much health (making the fights too long), and bosses are able to wipe the whole party with one S-Craft. But, if somebody wants a real challenge (more than 2 fights in the first 40h requiring restarting few times), Nightmare may be a way to go. I imagine that the fight I just described above would require several restarts on Nightmare (with no option to modify equipment / quartz setup just before the fight).
 

InD_ImaginE

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Pathfinder: Wrath
https://www.siliconera.com/the-legend-of-heroes-kuro-no-kiseki-announced-for-2021/

Alongside the initial The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki announcement, Nihon Falcom shared a few details about the upcoming game. This included information about changes that will be made to the combat system, which will add real-time combat. Movement and combat will be seamless. In addition, more active elements will be added to the series. The Tactical Link and Brave Order systems have been removed, and will be replaced with an entirely new system.

Another traditional JRPG series died. RIP TB Kiseki.
 

Jermu

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https://www.siliconera.com/the-legend-of-heroes-kuro-no-kiseki-announced-for-2021/

Alongside the initial The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki announcement, Nihon Falcom shared a few details about the upcoming game. This included information about changes that will be made to the combat system, which will add real-time combat. Movement and combat will be seamless. In addition, more active elements will be added to the series. The Tactical Link and Brave Order systems have been removed, and will be replaced with an entirely new system.

Another traditional JRPG series died. RIP TB Kiseki.

https://www.gematsu.com/2020/12/the-legend-of-heroes-kuro-no-kiseki-announced


  • [*]Commands are input in real-time instead of pausing.
    [*]You will also have the option to switch to command-style battles.

So there is still some hope if that means traditional turn based combat. Otherwise it seems quite good Calvard can be interesting place and a smaller cast is a promising direction (please no more fighting same bosses 4+ times and always bs ending when they are not even trying and always lose because cant win vs anything except in last game of the arc). CS becomes such a clusterfuck when the cast size is 1000+ and everyone needs their moments.

Anyway I replayed sky1-Ao games after CS4 and I had a good time with these games and after those tried to replay CS1-2 but I just cant do it they are such a drag dropped after first couple of chapters. Sky/Ao casts are so much better its not even close and Rean is so bland/boring/uninteresting. Laura and Sara are cool though.

At least nightmare combat is better in CS than sky1-2 but Zero/Ao/sky3 combat is best in all kiseki games​
 

Jinn

Arcane
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
Messages
4,930
Liking some of the shifts in aesthetic and scenery here. A lot! I've been looking forward to Calvard ever since I first met Zin.









Please have better exploration! And please have a little better pacing! I recently started Cold Steel 3 and the dungeon design/overworld travel seems to be on the better side of the series, so I have hope.

Still incredibly excited for Hajimari too, as it sounds like the Sky 3rd of this generation of Trails.
 

jungl

Augur
Joined
Mar 30, 2016
Messages
1,420
still looks like a ps3 game. Turn based combat the series had always been shit. It can't hurt for them to experiment with real time.
 

Deleted member 7219

Guest
The turn-based combat in Trails is one of the best things about it. And the best turn-based combat I've seen in any game.

This is major decline.
 

cruel

Cipher
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Messages
857
still looks like a ps3 game. Turn based combat the series had always been shit. It can't hurt for them to experiment with real time.

People like you are the reason why 95% of new games are total shit.

I can imagine somebody complaining about few things in Trails, but combat is one of the best things the game has to offer.
 

Jinn

Arcane
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Nov 8, 2007
Messages
4,930
I'll reserve judgement on how decline this new combat system is until I see it in action. They straight up said it's not an action-RPG system, and that there is an additional option you can switch to to change it. My guess is something like ATB with a "wait" option.

I love the Trails series combat a lot, but since it's essentially been the same with little tweaks and variations since Trails FC, I'm interested to see how they switch it up. Also just have faith in Falcom to make fun, engaging combat in any game they put at this point.
 
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Ysaye

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May 27, 2018
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I'll reserve judgement on how decline this new combat system is until I see it in action. They straight up said it's not an action-RPG system, and that there is an additional option you can switch to to change it. My guess is something like ATB with a "wait" option.

I love the Trails series combat a lot, but since it's essentially been the same with little tweaks and variations since Trails FC, I'm interested to see how they switch it up. Also just have faith in Falcom to make fun, engaging combat in any game they put at this point.

Maybe it will go back to something like a sophisticated LoH:Gagharv series style combat?
 

Deleted member 7219

Guest
I finished Trails to Azure today.

Overall impressions: A good game (of course it's good, it's Trails), and it has a great combat system (of course), but it's probably my second least favourite in the series so far. The storyline gets messed up half way through. The last 50 hours of the game feel like one big stretched out ending. In contrast to the other games in the series, there isn't really a central narrative / story structure taking you through the majority of the game - instead, it's just one big event after the other. I liked those events as I am a Trails fan, but if I was approaching this with a more critical hat on, I'd have to rate it down for the overall quality of its narrative.

Combat: Zero felt like the missing link between Trails in the Sky and Trails of Cold Steel. Azure doesn't do much different from Zero's format. You have burst mode (was that in Zero too? I can't remember). I still think TOCS 2 has the best combat in the entire series (I like TOCS 3/4 too with their orders, but the button presses still confuse me - I'm much more of a menu fag).

Characters: I know a lot of Trails fans on the internet love the characters of the Crossbell Arc. I don't really. I'm much more attached to the Cold Steel characters, who have their own extensive back stories and supporting characters, and a very different attitude and perspective to share. Lloyd and Randy have that, but Elie and Noel are quite dull, Tio and Rixia are frustratingly underdeveloped, and Wazy only gets interesting right at the end.

Quests: Typical Trails fare

Soundtrack: Good (it's Trails!). This particular tune is brilliant. It may originate in Zero but the super arrange version comes up fairly often in Azure:



Graphics/Presentation: Obviously the best they could do with the PSP engine. Some interesting experiments with camera angles / cutscenes in both Crossbell games.

Difficulty: Fucking HARD on hard. I couldn't get past the last phase of the last fight despite 10+ attempts. I had to hack my save file to downgrade to normal in the end. Probably the hardest Trails game I've played after TOCS 3.

I'm going to play through it again when the Geofront localisation is released, but I definitely prefer TOCS to Crossbell.

Ranking: TOCS 2 > TOCS 3 > TOCS 1 > TITS 2 > TITS 1 > Zero > Azure > TITS 3

Now I can finally start playing TOCS 4!
 

Jermu

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Ranking: TOCS 2 > TOCS 3 > TOCS 1 > TITS 2 > TITS 1 > Zero > Azure > TITS 3

Never have I disagreed so much with a ranking list in codex TOCS2 is imo easily worst in the entire series and after it TOCS1 :D.

Tio and Rixia are frustratingly underdeveloped

Tio underdeveloped? Compared to cold steel characters (besides Rean and few more)? wtf.

Agreed with Ellie being quite dull worst char from main zero cast.
 

Deleted member 7219

Guest
Ranking: TOCS 2 > TOCS 3 > TOCS 1 > TITS 2 > TITS 1 > Zero > Azure > TITS 3

Never have I disagreed so much with a ranking list in codex TOCS2 is imo easily worst in the entire series and after it TOCS1 :D.

Tio and Rixia are frustratingly underdeveloped

Tio underdeveloped? Compared to cold steel characters (besides Rean and few more)? wtf.

Agreed with Ellie being quite dull worst char from main zero cast.

Rean is given the most development of any character in Trails besides Estelle, Joshua, Renne and Olivier.
 

Jermu

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Ranking: TOCS 2 > TOCS 3 > TOCS 1 > TITS 2 > TITS 1 > Zero > Azure > TITS 3

Never have I disagreed so much with a ranking list in codex TOCS2 is imo easily worst in the entire series and after it TOCS1 :D.

Tio and Rixia are frustratingly underdeveloped

Tio underdeveloped? Compared to cold steel characters (besides Rean and few more)? wtf.

Agreed with Ellie being quite dull worst char from main zero cast.

Rean is given the most development of any character in Trails besides Estelle, Joshua, Renne and Olivier.

Yes but my point is that if you think Tio is underdeveloped then pretty much all characters beside Rean in CS are way too underdeveloped. Which char for example in class 7 have more development?
Here is quite ok writeup about Tio you might have missed something:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hAAdwU_TMS8qd6Zi7nJb5M0BPm6oadWeeWdJBh6rYbw/edit
 
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jungl

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Mar 30, 2016
Messages
1,420
Best thing about it the turn based combat? Spam ultimate attack or strongest magic. Sadly it is the only thing it has going for it cause the plot for these games feels like I'm watching a anime that consists entirely of filler episodes.
 

Deleted member 7219

Guest
Best thing about it the turn based combat? Spam ultimate attack or strongest magic. Sadly it is the only thing it has going for it cause the plot for these games feels like I'm watching a anime that consists entirely of filler episodes.

'Spam ultimate attack or strongest magic'.

You don't know what you're talking about. The toughest fights are fights where your S-crafts barely deplete the HP of the enemy, and they usually respond with their own S-craft that wipes your party out. In those fights you keep the S-crafts right for the very end, and chip away at their HP through other means.

Your strongest magic attacks also take the longest to cast, use the most EP, and the strongest enemies have resistances to their effects.

Of course, because you're a retard you were probably playing on Easy where you CAN win every fight using those tactics, and you were probably sitting thing there thinking, "Gosh, this is easy!".
 

Jermu

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Best thing about it the turn based combat? Spam ultimate attack or strongest magic. Sadly it is the only thing it has going for it cause the plot for these games feels like I'm watching a anime that consists entirely of filler episodes.

'Spam ultimate attack or strongest magic'.

You don't know what you're talking about. The toughest fights are fights where your S-crafts barely deplete the HP of the enemy, and they usually respond with their own S-craft that wipes your party out. In those fights you keep the S-crafts right for the very end, and chip away at their HP through other means.

Your strongest magic attacks also take the longest to cast, use the most EP, and the strongest enemies have resistances to their effects.

Of course, because you're a retard you were probably playing on Easy where you CAN win every fight using those tactics, and you were probably sitting thing there thinking, "Gosh, this is easy!".

Well he is actually somewhat right (if we are talking about CS, c-craft spamming does not work in most cases with sky-Ao).

Here for example are speedruns for NG CS1-2 nightmare found out these last week (he also has CS3 but not nightmare):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSFUnVaEjHI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqHgCQV76Ws

Buffing str and spamming c-crafts does short work of most bosses

So considering nature of speedrunning gear/levels are not even close to optimal. CS2 speedrun is at least 100% AP so gear is somewhat better compared to CS1 speedrun. Also at least for me CS3-4 were easier games for nightmare than CS 1. I have only played CS games once but I think difficulty for me was CS1>CS2>CS3>CS4. Also every CS game was easier than any sky or zero/Ao but Sky 1-2 nightmare difficulty is unbalanced bs mess which is not even entertaining some of time (sky2 prologue comes to mind first).
 
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jungl

Augur
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Mar 30, 2016
Messages
1,420
I played cold steel 1-3 on hard. The combat sucks. I don't know how they did it for a game that comes out 10+ years after xenogears it has worst combat mech combat then it. Mech combat never feels exciting in trails but yet another autistic game where you watching numbers.

I'm sorry you zoomer trails fans missed out on actual jrpgs, playing them 10+ years after release is not the same thing and had to settle with this late 2000s post Skyrim shitty jrpg franchise.
 

Jermu

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game that comes out 10+ years after xenogears it has worst combat mech combat then it. Mech combat never feels exciting in trails

Surprisingly good points for a troll account this is indeed true. Every mech combat in CS I wish I could have just skipped (heaaaar my calll valimaaaaar 100 times gets pretty boring when there is not really significant differences between each 1vsX instance. When controlling 2-3 mechs those fights were a lot better and some were actually quite fine).

In Ao there is actually interesting mech combat (non-playable) which was on the other hand presented poorly.
 
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Gastrick

Cipher
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Aug 1, 2020
Messages
1,704
For the first TITS game, when does it pick up? Around last year I played 11 hours in waiting for something to happen in the story, but when that story event was Team Rocket I stopped playing. Also the combat felt like there was only one possible decision you could have made. Does that get more complex later on?
 

Deleted member 7219

Guest
For the first TITS game, when does it pick up? Around last year I played 11 hours in waiting for something to happen in the story, but when that story event was Team Rocket I stopped playing. Also the combat felt like there was only one possible decision you could have made. Does that get more complex later on?

What difficulty are you playing on? The answer is yes - although TITS nightmare is basically Earth Wall wins the fight.

TITS 1 story is charming at the start, boring in the middle, but great at the end so keep playing - if you don’t like the game by the end then Trails ain’t for you.
 

Jermu

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Kuro No Kiseki characters art:

y34dw8a0zg661.jpg


dyoyn8a0zg661.jpg


Might be the oldest MC so far (or Kevin)
 

Gastrick

Cipher
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Aug 1, 2020
Messages
1,704
What difficulty are you playing on? The answer is yes - although TITS nightmare is basically Earth Wall wins the fight.

TITS 1 story is charming at the start, boring in the middle, but great at the end so keep playing - if you don’t like the game by the end then Trails ain’t for you.
Had to dig up my old PC to check. It doesn't display the difficulty, meaning I was playing on normal mode.
 

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