Trails of Cold Steel (and the Kiseki series in general)

[Eluvianii he/him]

15 minutes ago, Weltall said:

CS2 has a sharp difficulty curve where Accuracy is a big deal early on, but lessens later on. Sticking Hit Quartz or an accessory that boosts the stat on your heavy physical hitters is a good idea in the early game, though it will become less of a factor later on.

Yeah, in the end I reloaded and tweaked everyone's equipment starting by giving Laura 100% acc. Also resistance against stat down for physical hitters, against mute for those who needed it, etc. All of which

Spoiler

was arguably unnecessary considering Rufus still goes and one-hits everyone, but I say the AP is worth it. 

 

[NattyBo]

Just wondering for planning purposes, anyone have thoughts on the Switch ports of CS3 and 4? Gonna be traveling quite a bit over the next 2 months, portability would be a plus. Would prefer PC but if they’re not terrible ports, I wouldn’t mind double dipping. Obviously I’ll miss out on previous save bonuses which kinda sucks, but I’ll survive.

[Eluvianii he/him]

Not personal experience but after a bit of research since I'm also planning to get the Switch versions, it seems CS3 has a bit of a problem with crashes. Not like it will crash every session but "7 or so times during the entire playthrough" was the experience I found. Still don't know much about CS4. 

[Weltall]

Haven't played any of the Switch ports so I couldn't say either.

Also, we got a character confirmation for Kuro via Twitter of the 'well of course they were showing up' variety, but it's nice to know for sure. Very minor CS4 spoiler:

Spoiler

The person she's talking to may be a bracer since the term she's using has only been used in the games before to refer to the guild, but it's also broad enough that it could be referring to some other organization.

Oh, and there's also going to be an event next Thursday featuring a virtual JDK Band concert, a message from Kondo and 'special announcements'.

 

Edited June 18, 2021 by Weltall

[Eluvianii he/him]

Ok, wow. 

General CS2 stuff up to the beginning of Act 2.

Spoiler

This game's structure is so weird, it's like it takes things from Sky and Crossbell and CS1 and makes a mix hoping it works and then it does. I think that's how Mole was invented. 

Like, the world just opened up massively, and the idea of going anywhere anytime having a moving hub is so Crossbell, but then we have fully developed roads in between which is so, well, everything but it was Sky where we circled a country on foot. And then you still have to do some local quests and bonding on special free days which is just building upon what CS1 brought to the table. It's bizarre but it's also fun and makes for a lot of content so I'm not complaining. 

Speaking of a moving hub, the idea of giving a state of the art airship to a bunch of students with the instructions "End the war please", while also suggesting to get even more students aboard so that it becomes their own teenage flying country is so ridiculous without context (even with context you could probably have a heated debate about it), but I really like the idea that everyone in the crew will be someone you as a player know personally from the first game, so that's a crem load of motivation accounting for all the students. 

Also, love the "Heroes and villains being best friends and joking mid battle-to-the-death" trope and I hope that keeps up. As silly as it was, the scene where the Corageous comes to the rescue while Rean and Alfin try to escape is already one of my favorites in the series. 

Finally, Alfin was alright in the first game but I'm really starting to love her character here. 

I apologize for the big spoiler box, but things are happening fast and I have to dump my thoughts somewhere. 

 

[Val the Moofia Boss]

8 hours ago, Weltall said:

Very minor CS4 spoiler:

  Reveal hidden contents

The person she's talking to may be a bracer since the term she's using has only been used in the games before to refer to the guild, but it's also broad enough that it could be referring to some other organization.

 

CS4

Spoiler

Would be nice if the Bracer Guild finally gets to experience the fallout for their actions. "Non-interference in the political affairs of other nations" my ass. Erebonia and Calvard should've banned them after the stunt they pulled in Liberl, and especially after CS4.

 

[aneonfoxtribute]

Made some progress in C route. 

Spoiler

I fought best girl Duvalie and got her in my party, then I fought not one but TWO Arios' (one of the funniest out of context images I have ever seen), and then I got the REAL Arios in my party. 

So awesome.

[Weltall]

10 hours ago, Val the Moofia Boss said:

CS4

  Reveal hidden contents

Would be nice if the Bracer Guild finally gets to experience the fallout for their actions. "Non-interference in the political affairs of other nations" my ass. Erebonia and Calvard should've banned them after the stunt they pulled in Liberl, and especially after CS4.

 

If countries had a problem with that, they should have read the bracers' charter more carefully before agreeing to it. Meanwhile, the guild did have troubles in Erebonia, but they were too useful to completely get rid of and with the way things ended up, banning them from operating in the Empire after the events of CS4 was just never going to happen. To say nothing of Liberl after FC.

[aneonfoxtribute]

12 hours ago, Val the Moofia Boss said:

CS4

  Reveal hidden contents

Would be nice if the Bracer Guild finally gets to experience the fallout for their actions. "Non-interference in the political affairs of other nations" my ass. Erebonia and Calvard should've banned them after the stunt they pulled in Liberl, and especially after CS4.

 

Spoiler

I mean, they don't interfere in the political situations of other countries. FC was them using a loophole, that Richard was actually hurting people, and SC was unrelated to political nonsense. CS4 is them LITERALLY STOPPING AN APOCALYPSE FROM HAPPENING! It doesn't matter if the person trying to cause the apocalypse is a political figure, he is still trying to cause an apocalypse, so the Guild can absolutely intervene 

 

[aneonfoxtribute]

Finished C chapter 4. That was short but there was a lot. 

Spoiler

We met with Ian and Shizuku, and we learned that Lapis is actually a part of the AI Elysium, and Elysium was taken over by somebody and is probably the fake Rufus. Also Lloyd and friends apparently were doing some work and got communications around Crossbell back up

 

[Weltall]

Yeah, C's Chapter 4 is full of incident for how relatively short it is.

Spoiler

Smug cheating bastard Rufus in his duel with Duvalie... but it's kind of her own fault for not specifying 'And no Orbment shenanigans'. And then not only do you get her but Arios, who's absolutely insane to play with, even moreso than he was in Azure.

Oh yeah, so on Elysion, that's another none-too-subtle Gagharv nod and for bonus points, the creepy appearance and name of Emperor=Dogma calls back to the final boss of that trilogy. Seeing Nadia and Swin take him down (again) was so satisfying.

<gets popcorn ready>

Edited June 20, 2021 by Weltall

[NattyBo]

CS2, Chapter 1 Act 2 stuff: 

 

FINALLY reunited with my bae Laura. Also I have to say Fie’s costume is as embarrassing as they come, even in the trails universe. On the positive side, I have enjoyed reuniting most of class VII so far, with only Jusis left. Obviously the buildup here is going to lead to some intense stuff later in the game. Rean is still being hopelessly idealistic about Crow, but that’s what makes him Rean I guess.

[Eluvianii he/him]

I don't think this is exactly a spoiler but

CS2 Act 2 Part 2

Spoiler

I think I see the worms. Are these the worms? Like the worms? The ones that attack for half your health when you attack them? The ones Tha come in groups of 8? The ones that if you dare use an s-craft on them will kill you 4 times over? Are they back for a third time? 

 

[Briar King]

Popping in real quick.

CS3 ch 4 day 1 stuff

I have finished Levees bit and am now at Ex camp near Hemdiallr or however it’s spelled.

 

My play time has been about 15 minutes a day for the past week if I’m lucky. Both kids as well as nephew and niece are here from Houston. Ugh. Another week to go..

On the tv front the guy at Best Buy told me the wrong info. This Sony has no HDMI 2.1 so it’s getting returned just as soon as my other tv gets delivered I bought today. Stumbled across an LG nanocell 8K 75in with 4 2.1 ports normally $3600 that I got in a Father’s Day sale for $1700. I will wind up dropping about $300 more but it’s a far superior tv so hell with it. That whole situation pisses me off as they didn’t sell me what I asked for. 

[Weltall]

1 hour ago, Eluvianii said:

I don't think this is exactly a spoiler but

CS2 Act 2 Part 2

  Reveal hidden contents

I think I see the worms. Are these the worms? Like the worms? The ones that attack for half your health when you attack them? The ones Tha come in groups of 8? The ones that if you dare use an s-craft on them will kill you 4 times over? Are they back for a third time?

Yes, yes they are. They appear in Hajimari as well and if they don't show up in Kuro I'll be very surprised.

Spoiler

That said, they're considerably less painful to deal with in Cold Steel compared to Azure.

 

Edited June 21, 2021 by Weltall

[Eluvianii he/him]

16 hours ago, Weltall said:

Yes, yes they are. They appear in Hajimari as well and if they don't show up in Kuro I'll be very surprised.

  Reveal hidden contents

That said, they're considerably less painful to deal with in Cold Steel compared to Azure.

 

Well, that is good to know. I remember this taking about an hour in SC but that's probably due in part to all the limitations you had to deal with at that point in the game. I'll be careful still. 

[aneonfoxtribute]

I am so insanely confused. I am on Rean chapter 4 of Hajimari. W

Spoiler

What in the hell is this Mecha Mishy plot lmao

 

[Eluvianii he/him]

Wow, this is some pretty nice attention to detail. 

CS2 Act 2 Part 2

Spoiler

See how Angelica has a spot on the right side of her face? I love how when she calls the Corageous before the Roer stuff happens, it's on the left side, because that's how webcams work. I really wouldn't have expected them to be careful with that of all things. 

 

[Weltall]

So the Famitsu scans have come out and while there isn't as much as I was expecting, we did get some interesting new Kuro info and confirmation on some things we've expected but haven't been hard confirmed previously.

Spoiler

- Elaine Auclair (24) is, as we knew, Van's childhood friend and the current youngest bracer to ever reach A-rank. She's known as the Sword Maiden and her weapon is identified as a 'Knight's Sword'. She's voiced by Saitou Chiwa.

- René Kincaid (25) is Van's other childhood friend and a highly successful agent of the CID. It's mentioned that he's Elaine's biggest (actually it says only) supporter and his joining the CID hasn't changed that. He uses a military-issue pistol. Voiced by Fukuyama Jun.

- The Central Intelligence Department is confirmed to be the successor to the Rocksmith Agency (which we've suspected) and Kilika is identified as its former chief, but after Gramheart's election the CID was reorganized into three bureaus and Kilika was placed in charge of the Joint Analysis Center.

- There's discussion about how the Bracers and Spriggans don't see eye to eye

- The Alignment Frame has three parameters: Law, Grey and Chaos. Decisions made during the game (in quest resolution and dialogue options for example) will change your score and later on this will affect the narrative with different groups being willing to work with you depending on your alignment. There's a shot of Zin and the party with the caption 'If Law is high' and another showing Cao with the caption 'If Chaos is high'.

 

13 hours ago, aneonfoxtribute said:

I am so insanely confused. I am on Rean chapter 4 of Hajimari. W

  Reveal hidden contents

What in the hell is this Mecha Mishy plot lmao

 

Yeah, even the characters aren't sure what's up with that either...

Edited June 23, 2021 by Weltall

[Val the Moofia Boss]

37 minutes ago, Weltall said:

So the Famitsu scans have come out and while there isn't as much as I was expecting, we did get some interesting new Kuro info and confirmation on some things we've expected but haven't been hard confirmed previously.

  Reveal hidden contents

- Elaine Auclair (24) is, as we knew, Van's childhood friend and the current youngest bracer to ever reach A-rank. She's known as the Sword Maiden and her weapon is identified as a 'Knight's Sword'. She's voiced by Saitou Chiwa.

- René Kincaid (25) is Van's other childhood friend and a highly successful agent of the CID. It's mentioned that he's Elaine's biggest (actually it says only) supporter and his joining the CID hasn't changed that. He uses a military-issue pistol. Voiced by Fukuyama Jun.

- The Central Intelligence Department is confirmed to be the successor to the Rocksmith Agency (which we've suspected) and Kilika is identified as its former chief, but after Gramheart's election the CID was reorganized into three bureaus and Kilika was placed in charge of the Joint Analysis Center.

- There's discussion about how the Bracers and Spriggans don't see eye to eye

- The Alignment Frame has three parameters: Law, Grey and Chaos. Decisions made during the game (in quest resolution and dialogue options for example) will change your score and later on this will affect the narrative with different groups being willing to work with you depending on your alignment. There's a shot of Zin and the party with the caption 'If Law is high' and another showing Cao with the caption 'If Chaos is high'.

 

Kuro speculation

Spoiler

Upon closer inspection, that is a very fancy sword Elaine has. Previously, the swords characters used were either family heirlooms (like the swords the Albareas, Arseids, Vanders, or Arnors wielded), or they were cheap mass produced swords (like Rean's tachi). This implies that Elaine might come from a prestigious family (perhaps the remnant of a noble family from when Calvard was still a kingdom?), or she was given it by her swordmaster.

Edited June 23, 2021 by Val the Moofia Boss

[Briar King]

Popping in 

Started ch 4 opening dialogue round(in town) today. 

[aneonfoxtribute]

Finished all Chapter 4s and started the final chapter in Hajimari. 

Spoiler

Estelle and Joshua joined Lloyd, they fought Ilya, and Rean went through that..... strange ordeal with Mishy and then fought everyone's Shadows, and Rean's Shadow (who seems to be from CS4 normal end) started like taking him over or something. And then all the teams started planning the raid on Crossbell

 

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Trails localizations by NISA have been leaked:

• Hajimari no Kiseki is being localized as Trails into Reverie, coming 2023.

• Nayuta no Kiseki being localized as "Boundless Trails", set for 2023.

• Zero being localized, coming 2022.

• Ao for 2023.

They're coming to the Epic Games Store. Not sure if this means that they will be EGS exclusives.

[Weltall]

So Val, you remember that statement from last year where you were so certain that Crossbell wasn't going to be localized because there were newer games and because the Geofront continuing to work on them was further proof it was never happening? I've been wondering, what does humble pie taste like?

 

[Eluvianii he/him]

I'm kinda curious. Geofront made it a conscious decision to rename Zero Trails from Zero when they had been using Trails to Zero. Now the official one is also using from, even though there tends to be a huge leap between fan translations and official translations to the point where things aren't even similar. 

So did they just came to the same conclusion that 'from' was a better fit? Or are they collaborating with Geofront in any capacity? I think this is a case where collaborating would benefit all parties. Also would explain how they're doing this with only one year to spare.