TL;DR - has the charms of Trails in the Sky First Chapter (FC) with an improved engine but even worse pacing and cliffhanger. Trails of Cold Steel (CS) has the hallmarks of a great Trails game: unparalleled English translation, excellent music, fun turn-based combat, deep character development, detailed and consistent world with an epic story that spans multiple titles, unique among RPGs (playing previous games is not required, but CS will have spoilers.) The theme of the story is serious, focusing on class conflict, but has a healthy amount of comical moments. This game is not for those that lack patience, as it is very text-heavy and the plot moves VERY slowly to allow character development. It easily takes 80+ hours to finish, then ends on a cliffhanger, basically requiring you to play the sequel. Compared to Trails in the Sky, CS is most similar to FC. Lots of sidequests and NPCs who all have their own little stories you can follow. In terms of differences, CS introduced combat links, which is interesting. Quartz system is completely reworked, making it more beginner-friendly but a lot less deep. Combat overall is much easier if you know what you're doing though. Graphics is mostly 3D, but it's low-poly 3D, so it doesn't always look better. English voiceovers in many cutscenes, not just in combat. Most of the voices are surprisingly good, but some scenes are only partially voiced, which can be annoying. If you are prejudiced against dubs, there's an unofficial undub mod online. What compelled me to knock off one star is that CS characters, though interesting, can be too cliche at times (e.g. tsundere); the pacing of the story is also poor even by Trails standards. Things get really interesting only during the last hour of the game but resolves nothing. Even FC resolved a major event before the cliffhanger. CS2 will likely be epic, but CS1 on its own is less satisfying than FC. Overall, a very enjoyable RPG, but don't expect it to be as good as the Sky games.
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.
TL;DR - if you played through the first game and liked it, you'll love SC! If not, this is more of the same, so probably not your cup of tea. I've already detailed what I thought were the strong and weak points of the first Trails (FC). SC is really working off the same formula with some minor tweaks to combat mechanics to make it marginally more interesting and some new music tracks. It picks up from the end of FC so you need to have played it to understand the plot, which IMO is the most important part of the game. Everything that made FC great continues in SC, namely, world-class English translation, detailed and internally consistent game world, NPC dialogues and newspaper that changes with events, continued character development, good mix of comedy, emotional moments and plot twists, more shenanigans from Olivier etc. Unlike FC, the end of SC does not end with a ridiculous cliffhanger, though it purposely leaves open new questions to keep you hooked for the 3rd game. My only complaint is that the first few chapters follow a somewhat predictable and repetitive pattern (will not say more to avoid spoilers), though things do get more interesting after that. I think the pacing overall is better than FC though, where I thought the beginning was a little too slow. SC is a much longer game though, I spent almost 100 hours to beat the game (I did every side quest.) I spent only about half that time on my first pass of FC. The plot gets much more intricate in SC than FC. Every time a question is answered in the game, one or two new ones pop up and by the end of the game, I have definitely become a fan of the series! Highly recommend this title if you played FC. If not, go read some reviews on FC to see if it appeals to you, bearing in mind that SC gets better!
TL;DR - buy now if you like anime with excellent character and plot development; you need to play the second title to get any reasonable closure The Trails series is among my favorite RPGs, but it's definitely not for everyone. Here're the highs and the lows: 1. Translation - by far the best English translation I have ever seen! 2. Lore - the continent depicted is remarkably internally consistent with many cross-references and very detailed, e.g game NPCs' dialogues update with world and personal events and react differently if you helped them 3. Character development - superb, with likable though somewhat cliche characters 4. Plot - it takes a while for the story to get going. I wasn't hooked until after the Prologue and Chapter1, but then couldn't stop playing and became a huge fan! The story may seem generic but has an excellent mix of development, comedy, emotional moments and plot twists 5. Music - fits the various scenes very well and I listen to it outside the game, too. Music leans orchestral 6. Quests - often have very entertaining side stories that complement character development. Some are missable though, and include some tedious wild goose chases 7. Combat mechanics - fun but nothing spectacular 8. Not open world - storyline is linear, so you can't just go wherever, though it works well for driving the story along 9. Graphics - a little dated but charming - see if the screenshots appeal to you 10. Grindy - not bad for a JRPG but still a little grindy at times Overall, I found Trails to be an incredibly enjoyable experience despite some of weaker points. The best way I can describe it is that Trails is like playing instead of watching a good anime. If you liked older animes like Naruto that aren't too dark or fan service-oriented, you'll probably enjoy playing Trails. One final important note: game ends with a huge cliffhanger, so you need to get SC to get any reasonable closure. The 3rd is not necessary though, as it is a different arc of the story.
This game has elements of trading, life simulation and combat in it. Its cartoony graphics, fairly detailed animations and humorous touch makes it a pretty charming game, but the gameplay is not that deep. If you're expecting gameplay on par with The Sims or FTL, you'll be very disappointed. Trading is where you'll be making most of your money early game. The economy is dynamic, with rates of production and consumption dependent on how well-supplied planets are. Each planet has a cap of how much goods it can hold, so profitable trade routes can get saturated. However, the caps are same across all planets and there just isn't enough info provided to make it a deep trading experience. It's nice for a low-stress evening of fun, where you try to fill an unmet demand, rinse and repeat. What keeps the sometimes monotonous trading entertaining is watching your crew in flight. Note that I said watching, not managing - once you've hired a somewhat compatible crew and set their schedules, it's really just watching them. You can't control them directly like The Sims, so you often find everyone waiting at the bathroom when they can be doing something else. The art is nice, so it can be fun to watch your crew. I have also found a few different approaches that work for keeping your crew happy, so there's some strategy. Combat is slow, and you can use the same working formula every time unlike FTL. I have found multiple working combos though, even a lowly trade ship can be used for combat if you have a good setup, and you can trade in old ships for full value, so you can experiment as much as you like once you have the money. Overall, for a nice casual game, I would have given it 4 stars, but for the crashes! The game does not allow manual save (it saves every time you enter and exit planets I think) and it crashes fairly often, so it can get frustrating. Otherwise, it's a pretty fun low-stress game.
