The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

One of the best JRPG series of all time. The chemistry between each character and the world building that surrounds them is extensive and perfect. The gameplay is engaging and deep enough without getting obtuse, though I will say if you aren't a total newbie you should start on Hard rather than Normal difficulty.

This game surprised me with how much depth it offered and how much I liked the characters, even if it isn't quite "amazing" at anything. Perhaps the greatest strength of this game is in it's high attention to detail in its world and setup for future mysteries (and sequels) without feeling the need to make a big deal of it. Nearly every NPC in the game will have a name, and will change their dialogue over time or act as recurring extras you can get a small story from if you pay attention. The overall story was also well done, if a bit too cliche and predictable at times, with an excellent build-up in scale. It's no Final Fantasy VI, but it tries hard. The protagonist is basically the daughter of a previous (non-existant) story's legendary hero, but doesn't know it, and sets out to fill his shoes while he's away, which is a premise I really like. The combat was enjoyable, often required actual thought, and rarely required grinding if you did sidequests, with the XP gains from particular monsters scaling down relative to your level till it becomes worthless. I definitely liked it more than the classic Final Fantasy style, but it has its weaknesses when it comes to the lack of variety in ways to counter spells and effects. I felt like I abused the powers the game gave me to make the final boss a cakewalk by simply spamming the completely impervious "Stone Wall" spell each round which negates an attack on each party member. Plus some fights (notably one of the last bosses) were heavily dependent on a particular status effect to be challenging, and so were either a nigh-unwinnable nightmare or rather simple with the right equipment. Some enemies *always* try to stop you from casting a spell if you are doing so, which is easily abusable to prevent bad attacks. New equipment was almost always a linear upgrade rather than an interesting choice, with accessories being the exception. Spell animations also were painfully long, but there is a turbo button. Solid 8/10 for me.

The "Trails" series are an epic world-building narrative series, focusing on the geopolitical events amongst the Zemuria continent. I won't say too much here, but you should only get this game if you're willing to go through a slow story to begin, for an epic payoff. The JRPG elements are nice, but they are not really the core of the game. Of all the narrative and world building games out there, this is arguably the best series, so do give it a try if you're interested in narrative gaming experiences!

I've been craving a good old-school rpg for a few months. This satisfies all those desires. The game ports quite well, but there are some glaring issues. The controller scheme is a little messed up. You can use your mouse, but for some reason the keyboard didn't work (even after the patch and using the config.exe). It also failed to boot until I changed the resolution to something not quite right. However, this game is great. The graphics are sharp and the movement accurate (though a little fast). The translation is good, and there is a LOT of dialogue. If you want a game for story, this isn't it. The game leads you to like the NPC's and your characters, but it's a pretty generic idea (many of the mechanics feel ripped from other games). I enjoy the very thorough development of all the characters, but the main storyline is lacking. Gameplay is pretty good. It's a little tactical, but nothing too overbearing. You won't have any difficult breezing through the games combat system. You will however, need to dedicate about 70 hours if you want to read and do everything in this game. Is it worth it? For me yes, but I don't think many other people would enjoy it.

I've played several games, if not all, of Trails saga, and others, and this seems the best of all for me. The way the story evolves and how your characters travels from mission to mission and grows feels just satisfaying. In following games I just don't feel so involved, though they're all good games.