The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd

You will like this Game, if you have enjoyed the first end second Part of Trails in the Sky. But you have to read a very lot of text dialogs and have to calculate about one hour to reach real start of the Game in Chapter 1 (Hermit's Garden). In this first hour, most of the time the Game will run automaticly like a movie, and your only interaction il limited on pressing Space (A on Gamepad) to get to the next line of dialog. So you may put some item on the space key and watch the story (or do somthing else). But after reaching the first Chapter, you will be rewarded by a great and ivery interesting Story.

This game is very different from the previous two installments. If you haven't played those, buy them and play them because otherwise this game won't make any sense and you'll get only a fraction of the enjoyment out of it. As other reviewers already stated, Trails 3rd is an epilogue to Trails in the Sky duology. And it is a very dark epilogue indeed. The setting is radically different and instead of recycling the Kingdom of Liberl for the third time, Falcom opted to present a fantastical, eerie realm. This realm is inhabited with new enemy types, giving Trails 3rd a welcomed breath of fresh air, even though the entire game is essentially one gigantic dungeon. Another aspect of Trails 3rd that is different from the previous games is its approach to main storyline. Instead of lengthy cutscenes evolving a stereotypical good-vs-evil story you get a much darker, more mature storyline that is chopped up into fewer and smaller pieces. There are still lengthy cutscenes presented as flashbacks, but you don't have to watch them if you don't want to. You will spend much more time fighting in this game than in FC or SC. Combat is the focus of 3rd's gameplay and is better and more challenging than ever. However, it's not that 3rd became an "action JRPG" with bland storyline. It's more like that both combat and story are polished to perfection. You will experience many epic battles, powerful moments, and plot twists in the 3rd. If you liked FC and SC, then this is, in my opinion, the ultimate ending and a must-play.

Although Joshua and Estelle's story came to a satisfying conclusion in SC, this game effortlessly continues their stories, as well as delving deeper into the stories of Kevin Graham and Ries Argent. It also explores matters of faith, love and regret with a delicacy rarely seen in the realm of games. I loved: +The music - some of the best in the Trails series +The characters - Kevin is love, Kevin is life +The combat - the most refined and arguably the most challenging out of all the TiTS games +The story, particularly the tears-inducing moments in Renne's Moon Door I was ambivalent about: =The reused areas from FC & SC - although narratively justified, it can be a little dull to trek through so many dungeons from previous games I disliked: -Not being able to change the difficulty mid-game -The overly random nature of the fishing and gambling mini-games OVERALL: A must-play JRPG for those that liked or even loved TiTS FC & SC, and a shining example of how to do a moving, thoughtful narrative right.

Trails in the Sky 3rd chapter is... notably different from the two games that precede it. The first two games effectively finish off the arc, and this game serves as a sort of unusual catch-all game that's almost spin-off levels in terms of its strangeness. It also focuses on a different two main characters than the first two games, which is refreshing if a little bit unusual. I had my problems with this game if I'll be honest. The worldbuilding in this game isn't really present like it was in the first two games, with no town. Its more structured like a dungeon crawler than a traditional JRPG, and its a bit more "game-y" in how it handles things like its additional story elements. Rather than sidequests, there are these "door" mechanics and... you'll figure it out in-game. Anyways, despite its unusual nature, structure and... really everything, it finishes off the trilogy nicely with what it does. Like the other two games it requires patience to realize this game for what it is, but when you do, you'll realize that it was worth it. I'll be honest and say I didn't enjoy it as much as SC+FC, but not enough to take off a star from it. The characters were interesting, the soundtrack is slick, the combat is revamped a bit (arguably to the point of imbalance with its strangeness). Its just a very weird game, but give it time and it'll grow on you. It focuses very much on its "main" set of characters versus everything as a whole like in the other games, but thankfully with the characters and organizations/factions involved, it makes for a very entertaining story. To give an idea of what I might compare it to, I get a more hellsing ultimate vibe from this game (though obviously with less gore and edginess). Its satisfying as all hell and its worth playing for the closures and conclusions and just general little things that the ending of SC couldn't satisfy. Its worth your time and money, just stick with it like you did with the others, and you'll like, maybe love it!

TL;DR - storytelling format is different - the main plot moves slowly and the side stories often dominate the experience. The game world is less immersive but the lore building is excellent. Highly recommended but don't expect the same experience as the first two. This is the 3rd installment of the Trails in the Sky series. Even though this game has a different story arc with a different protagonist, you need to play the first two before playing this as it assumes that you are familiar with the mechanics, lore and characters from the first two. The 3rd has many of the high points of the first two, which for me were: excellent English translation, new soundtracks that are as good as the first two, lots of reference to the older games extending the lore and character development, deep story with good mix of comical and emotional moments. However, there are also many things that are different that may or may not be to your liking. First off, there are almost no NPCs to talk to (reason is related to the plot.) There are no quests, instead you can explore these side stories with no time limit; some have mini-games (which I really dislike as some are luck-based.) The main plot is not that interesting, though the ending is pretty good imo. However, the side stories are well worth your time and REALLY whet your appetite for the upcoming Legend of Heroes games. Also, you get a lot more flexibility in your party composition as you have many characters to pick from pretty early on in the game; the battles are more fun in the 3rd imo, though the mechanics are the same as before. Note that the story in the 3rd is not as lighthearted as the first two. Olivier is still in the game, so there are still plenty of comical moments but the overall theme is more heavy. If you liked the intricate story, deep lore and characters from the first two, you will most likely enjoy the 3rd. Just note that the experience is a little different.