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I think I've hit some sort of crisis regarding Cold Steel 3. Maybe playing two 100h+ games in a row was not such a good idea, or maybe I just got burned out. I played CS3 for few hours, and so far - it's boring, I don't like the the new interface, I don't like the music, I don't like new class VII. Basically, all the changes I see seem to be for the worse :/ But maybe it's just some sort of nostalgia after playing two other ones for so long?
Trails fatigue is real. I feel like this probably colored your initial impressions on Cold Steel II a bit too. I can't speak to the quality of CS III as I'm not there yet, but I'd suggest just taking a break and waiting until you're craving Trails again. I've talked earlier in this thread about this, and I hold to it. This isn't really a series that is meant to be, or that lends itself to binge playing. Better to step away here and there.
I've bought the 3rd like two years ago but finally finished it in August
Pretty good game, with pretty infuriating fights (especially facing the dragon with my backbenchers was such a bother)
Still not enough to scratch the itch ladies and gentlemen, I've recently bought and started playing Cold Steel and haha oh my Lord
The game is so ridiculously weebish I'm having a blast
I retract my comment about it being a bit more difficult than previous entry, it became piss easy past first night of first chapter. Game got even more cheese than before, which i don't mind because i avoid them for boss battle, but even the big baddies are not capable of putting a descent fight. They should be at least immune to the breaking mechanic when they are not enhanced, because you can stunlock them way too simply ( i had to skip lot of my turn so that they could get at least 1 turn for S-crafting me).
UI is hot garbage, and for some of the biggest monster ( mainly cryptid), animation sometimes don't show up, neither do the damage.
Brave order could have been a cool mechanic (some are obviously OP ), but my they are in conflict with the already existing buff, which make either the order or the spell redundant.
Story is of course still weebish, but if you get that far in the license, you knew what to expect. Some question of the plot are finally answered.
Boy, i hope you love cliffhanger, because it sure is way worse than cold steel 1
You didn't say anything objectively wrong, it's just your take was different from mine. I thought CS3 was by far the most difficult of all three. Try taking out Aurelia on Nightmare! I just about did it the first time after cheesing her thanks to a guide on the internet - couldn't take her out at all second time. That's what the Trails games are all about, they'll let you get through the mandatory bits, but if you try the optional fights you'd best git gud.
I don't remember any problems with the UI but I did my playthrough on PS4, haven't got far in my PC playthrough - perhaps a bug?
You didn't say anything objectively wrong, it's just your take was different from mine. I thought CS3 was by far the most difficult of all three. Try taking out Aurelia on Nightmare! I just about did it the first time after cheesing her thanks to a guide on the internet - couldn't take her out at all second time. That's what the Trails games are all about, they'll let you get through the mandatory bits, but if you try the optional fights you'd best git gud.
I don't remember any problems with the UI but I did my playthrough on PS4, haven't got far in my PC playthrough - perhaps a bug?
There is indeed a lot of 1v1 fight in this one, which are arguably the most difficult part of the game (i actually lost on my first try against aurelia, her prismatic craft petrified rean). My biggest gripe is all the "epic boss fight" are waaaaaaay too easy and lack gimmick.
Only one i could remember are the stalhritter, which are the only one who actually do something with their combat link apart from a follow-up attack once in a blue moon
For the UI, I found two problem : lack of visibilty of your team ressources (especially MP), and lack of feedback for you own action.Time to time, camera fuck up and don't let you see the damage, so you can only guess if you hit or missed your targets.
I get that they changed it a bit so that camera could be closer to action and action menu smaller and quicker to use, but I think that the previous one was better.
For bug, i only got one against
the fool
, where i did not get any follow up attack, even when he was in a boken state. I first thought " ho well, maybe he got special buff or something", but no, i reloaded the fight and that was not the case anymore. Weird.
Well, I just finished up the Finale of Cold Steel II, and I must say
What an absolutely gratifying experience it is to not only see Crossbell rendered in 3D for the first time, but to take control of fucking LLOYD AND RIXIA. Holy shit. Geofront music kicks in and you're right back in Crossbell two months after the Azure Tree.
I am so glad I waited to play through the Crossbell duology before hitting Cold Steel. Man...
fight between Lloyd/Rixia and Rean/Altina. What an interesting and intense moment in a game series. To be fight against the protagonist of the past two game in a fight that is no joke was great. I can't think of another series of games that has every done this so well.
In a way, I wish I was at the end of the game. It really should have ended with what I just posted above. Trails games have a tendency to do this - where they drag out the ending for much longer than they really should. The only Trails game that didn't do this was 3rd, which is probably one of the reasons why it's still my favorite of the series. Still, playing through the above, I'm more enticed to finish up the tail end of this than I thought I would be.
Overall, I really liked Cold Steel II a lot. It broke the structure and mold much more than prior installments, besides 3rd. Unfortunately, it suffers very much so from being the second half of a single game presented as a sequel, but is still better at it than Trails in the Sky SC was.
I think overall, I love this series deeply, and have finished more consecutive sequels of it in year than any other series I've played. I just wish they'd start to pay more attention to things like dungeon design and exploration. I know it's a storyfag/combatfag game deep down, but I also know they could make some really compelling dungeons to explore, and maybe even improve the world exploration a bit.
Going to be taking a long break from the series. I plan to play Cold Steel III in December, so I have plenty of time to look forward to and crave Cold Steel IV. I've played through 5 Trails games this year already, so I guess I haven't been taking my own advice to not binge them. There's always something to keep driving me forward though. It really has become something that I just crave.
fight between Lloyd/Rixia and Rean/Altina. What an interesting and intense moment in a game series. To be fight against the protagonist of the past two game in a fight that is no joke was great. I can't think of another series of games that has every done this so well.
In a way, I wish I was at the end of the game. It really should have ended with what I just posted above. Trails games have a tendency to do this - where they drag out the ending for much longer than they really should. The only Trails game that didn't do this was 3rd, which is probably one of the reasons why it's still my favorite of the series. Still, playing through the above, I'm more enticed to finish up the tail end of this than I thought I would be.
Overall, I really liked Cold Steel II a lot. It broke the structure and mold much more than prior installments, besides 3rd. Unfortunately, it suffers very much so from being the second half of a single game presented as a sequel, but is still better at it than Trails in the Sky SC was.
I think overall, I love this series deeply, and have finished more consecutive sequels of it in year than any other series I've played. I just wish they'd start to pay more attention to things like dungeon design and exploration. I know it's a storyfag/combatfag game deep down, but I also know they could make some really compelling dungeons to explore, and maybe even improve the world exploration a bit.
Going to be taking a long break from the series. I plan to play Cold Steel III in December, so I have plenty of time to look forward to and crave Cold Steel IV. I've played through 5 Trails games this year already, so I guess I haven't been taking my own advice to not binge them. There's always something to keep driving me forward though. It really has become something that I just crave.
Probably worth taking the break - for those that are staying close to the english releases I think Cold Steel 3 came after a year and a bit break after Cold Steel 2, and plot wise it also doesn't just pick up start directly after CS2, but at a point where a bit (a year) of time has passed and some additional stuff has happened in the meantime, and it kind of felt like that this gap was accommodated in the was the player was treated.
CS3 goes to places that you (in the main) you haven't been in Erebonia so far; whilst I don't think the dungeons get any less linear, one of the specific new places you visit may take you by surprise...
Also (not sure if you care but) rather weirdly CS3 assumes you completed the NG+ of CS2 and seen the extra scene for collecting all the black records. If you don't want to play through the whole game again just for one small but (very important) moment, video in the spoiler....
Well, I just finished up the Finale of Cold Steel II, and I must say
What an absolutely gratifying experience it is to not only see Crossbell rendered in 3D for the first time, but to take control of fucking LLOYD AND RIXIA. Holy shit. Geofront music kicks in and you're right back in Crossbell two months after the Azure Tree.
I am so glad I waited to play through the Crossbell duology before hitting Cold Steel. Man...
This was the first time for me when I regretted not playing everything in order, to be honest. I can imagine what a feeling it was for those who played all the old titles.
Also, you are in for a treat in CS3 - even more comebacks to the past from what I see.
The TL : DR:
-Base stat become nightmare mod, with some tweak : HP/DEF/ADF don't change much, ATK/ATS is boosted and Speed has a HUGE boost and break def even more.
-Huge nerf and rework of the most broken tool : BO (Millium/Sara/Elliot ...) Bell, delay, craft (arcane gale, accelerate ...), and an interesting nerf on chrono burst.
-Tweak art
-Huge nerf on evasion
-Boost status ailment
-Nerf S-craft.
-Change boss AI and give or tweak their technic.
-Tweak 1v1 and mecha battle in order to not make them autistically difficult.
I see that Cold Steel IV is coming to PS4 on October 27, which means 16 days from now. I promised myself a big break after finishing CS3 (so far 84 hours in), but the closer it gets, the harder it is for me to delay it for so long.
Is anybody aware if there is any strong incentive to wait 5 months and play it on PC instead (assuming it will come to Steam in March 2021)? I know that there was a save import between CS1 and CS2, and from what I read there will be a similar one between CS3 and CS4. Does anybody know if it covers anything significant, or just few items or something like that? I played all games so far (CS1, CS2, CS3) on PC / Steam.
Why they don't release the PC version the same day as PS4
I see that Cold Steel IV is coming to PS4 on October 27, which means 16 days from now. I promised myself a big break after finishing CS3 (so far 84 hours in), but the closer it gets, the harder it is for me to delay it for so long.
Is anybody aware if there is any strong incentive to wait 5 months and play it on PC instead (assuming it will come to Steam in March 2021)? I know that there was a save import between CS1 and CS2, and from what I read there will be a similar one between CS3 and CS4. Does anybody know if it covers anything significant, or just few items or something like that? I played all games so far (CS1, CS2, CS3) on PC / Steam.
Why they don't release the PC version the same day as PS4
Honestly even if it's Trails I've got no incentive to suffer through load times and playing a JRPG without a bit of frameskip.
I will say that Cold Steel 3 was pretty respectful of my time relative to certain JRPG grinds, the boss health soak of Trails SC was notable, but I'm still happy to wait for the best version.
The TL : DR:
-Base stat become nightmare mod, with some tweak : HP/DEF/ADF don't change much, ATK/ATS is boosted and Speed has a HUGE boost and break def even more.
-Huge nerf and rework of the most broken tool : BO (Millium/Sara/Elliot ...) Bell, delay, craft (arcane gale, accelerate ...), and an interesting nerf on chrono burst.
-Tweak art
-Huge nerf on evasion
-Boost status ailment
-Nerf S-craft.
-Change boss AI and give or tweak their technic.
-Tweak 1v1 and mecha battle in order to not make them autistically difficult.
The issue with balance mods is that you have to be certain that the game, post mod, is actually fun to play. Which means you need to do what all game designers do and that is to design the 2-4 "intended strategies" to play a turn based game with and check they are fun and enjoyable.
It seems like you are substituting status spam, whilst simultaneously increasing enemy survivability a lot. But you have to check your final product is actually worthwhile to play.
I feel like they intended this entry to be all about break for a reason, it's a mechanic that wasn't explored in previous games and it's a change of pace which is something they have said they are worried about, keeping gameplay fresh in the series.
Clearly the enemy damage output wasn't ever enough to make it threatening to people who've understood the mechanics, but the thing is since Trails games are so long the audience of people who understand the mechanics and do multiple playthroughs (which is required to truly learn the system IMO) is vanishingly small. The game is balanced for a first playthrough kinda, even Nightmare.
The issue with balance mods is that you have to be certain that the game, post mod, is actually fun to play. Which means you need to do what all game designers do and that is to design the 2-4 "intended strategies" to play a turn based game with and check they are fun and enjoyable.
It seems like you are substituting status spam, whilst simultaneously increasing enemy survivability a lot. But you have to check your final product is actually worthwhile to play.
That is the thing i am mainly afraid of, will it still be fun ?
I checked a bit on his discord for feedback, they seem to find it ok, but i will make my own opinion eitheir way. By the way, dude was gladly explaining people how to change variable if you feel something wrong.
I was planning on doing another playthrough around december-january in order to wait for CS4 release, will probably try it then and share my thougt on it.
I see that Cold Steel IV is coming to PS4 on October 27, which means 16 days from now. I promised myself a big break after finishing CS3 (so far 84 hours in), but the closer it gets, the harder it is for me to delay it for so long.
Is anybody aware if there is any strong incentive to wait 5 months and play it on PC instead (assuming it will come to Steam in March 2021)? I know that there was a save import between CS1 and CS2, and from what I read there will be a similar one between CS3 and CS4. Does anybody know if it covers anything significant, or just few items or something like that? I played all games so far (CS1, CS2, CS3) on PC / Steam.
Why they don't release the PC version the same day as PS4
I don't believe there is anything that carries over from CS3 to CS4.
If you want to take a break before moving onto the next game, get to the bit where Rean finishes dancing at a certain event with certain people then when Claire is leading you to see a certain someone just stop there until you are ready to finish the game and go onto the next one. Otherwise the angst I suspect will be too great.
Got an email from NISA yesterday that pre-orders of Cold Steel 4 have been delayed; they are apparently hoping to ship the (original) release week for NISA and November 2nd for NISA Europe.
Got an email from NISA yesterday that pre-orders of Cold Steel 4 have been delayed; they are apparently hoping to ship the (original) release week for NISA and November 2nd for NISA Europe.
I'm not a PS Plus member (I only use my PS4 for the Blu-ray player, and playing Cold Steel games before they come to the PC). The cost of the digital deluxe edition is astronomical. I'll be much happier with the physical deluxe edition and play it a week later.
Only annoyance was having to move my week off work back a week.
Honestly even if it's Trails I've got no incentive to suffer through load times and playing a JRPG without a bit of frameskip.
I will say that Cold Steel 3 was pretty respectful of my time relative to certain JRPG grinds, the boss health soak of Trails SC was notable, but I'm still happy to wait for the best version.
The TL : DR:
-Base stat become nightmare mod, with some tweak : HP/DEF/ADF don't change much, ATK/ATS is boosted and Speed has a HUGE boost and break def even more.
-Huge nerf and rework of the most broken tool : BO (Millium/Sara/Elliot ...) Bell, delay, craft (arcane gale, accelerate ...), and an interesting nerf on chrono burst.
-Tweak art
-Huge nerf on evasion
-Boost status ailment
-Nerf S-craft.
-Change boss AI and give or tweak their technic.
-Tweak 1v1 and mecha battle in order to not make them autistically difficult.
The issue with balance mods is that you have to be certain that the game, post mod, is actually fun to play. Which means you need to do what all game designers do and that is to design the 2-4 "intended strategies" to play a turn based game with and check they are fun and enjoyable.
It seems like you are substituting status spam, whilst simultaneously increasing enemy survivability a lot. But you have to check your final product is actually worthwhile to play.
I feel like they intended this entry to be all about break for a reason, it's a mechanic that wasn't explored in previous games and it's a change of pace which is something they have said they are worried about, keeping gameplay fresh in the series.
Clearly the enemy damage output wasn't ever enough to make it threatening to people who've understood the mechanics, but the thing is since Trails games are so long the audience of people who understand the mechanics and do multiple playthroughs (which is required to truly learn the system IMO) is vanishingly small. The game is balanced for a first playthrough kinda, even Nightmare.
The creator of that mod worked on CSII difficulty mod. Which I felt was really solid. He tried to keep all the crazy strategies viable without being ridiculously broken. E.G Evasion tanks were too much.
He has extensive knowledge on the series and strats. At the least, it's worth checking out for yourself.
Also, lots of big trails fans joined the discord channel to test and bring up opinions & recommendations.
Is it only me, or is the ending of Cold Steel 3 very... disappointing? To be precise, I mean events before the final dungeon. Heavy spoilers below for those who didn't play.
For the whole game, there is a slow buildup of tension and intrigue - different factions involved (Osborne, Gnomes, Ouroboros), working against each other, having their own goals. Secrecy, mystery, nothing is known - OK. Gnomes and Ouroboros almost fight with each other at Juno Fortress. The game keeps building this up and making the aura of mystery more and more dense. And then, suddenly, 5min before the final dungeon, all of that is thrown away for the sake of: 'let's all of us combine forces together and work on destroying the world! yay!'. Seriously? WTF was that? I found that totally unbelievable and felt treated like an idiot to be honest.
I've just entered the final dungeon, so if the game changes some of that in the next few hours, please have this in mind (spoiler-wise).
And of course, I was too weak to wait, continued playing CS3 and bought CS4 already.
