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

[aneonfoxtribute]

Made my way through the second floor of the True Reverie Corridor, did some gacha, and played two Episodes.

Spoiler

I got George from my gacha, very happy, I like George a lot. The Episodes I played were the Schera/Olivier door, which was really cute and wholesome and I really liked it, and the Millium/Altina/Jusis/Alisa door, which was really cute and wholesome and I really liked it and OH MY GOD MILLIUM CURLING UP IN LAMMY'S ARMS IS THE C U T E S T THING I HAVE EVER SEEN AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

[Briar King]

CS3 ch 4 home base stuff

guess we going to Heimdall. So much happening I don’t have a clue about. New stuff brought in all the time with these games. I got happy thinking I was about to see a Red Moon Rose like event down in tunnels but nope. Interesting conversation between Regent and Emp.

[Weltall]

15 hours ago, aneonfoxtribute said:

Just listen to Hajimari's music. Holy hell is there some good stuff.

Oh yeah, Hajimari has some amazing music. It also finally gave the Poms their own fitting theme, right as it brings them firmly back to the Metal Slime-esque grinder's paradise they started out as. xD

So far the stuff we've heard for Kuro is pretty good too. And while it's not (so far at least) a proper Kiseki game, Nayuta's soundtrack is awesome.

13 hours ago, Briar King said:

CS3 ch 3 ending

  Reveal hidden contents

phew I’m so happy I’m done with that chapter. I had such bad luck on day 1 with my 3 redo’s it really slowed me down/hindered my enjoyment. What an ending though...much was easy to see coming like Musse as the new Duchess/the conformation of Crow but the George thing...yeah I didn’t see that whammy coming.. I’d be shocked if Angie is actually dead. That group is truly not what they seem. Now I’m waiting on Towa to pull some crazy reveal. The Gaius build up was really cool. I enjoyed him so much this chapter and wondered why he had no S craft. He’s going to get a super build up I suspect after that.

My PS5 said something about a blocked scene which I ain’t to happy about..

That was a stellar ending to my least favorite chapter. I’m kinda tuckered out though so it’s a good chance I will not do my standard 11:15PM what till ambien kicks in playtime tonight cause I know it’s going to be a long skit but I’m excited to see what’s next so who knows..

Will 100 do it in AM to get through skit so I have some controlled play for 4PM.

Good stuff!

 

Yeah, when you see that message pop up you know something's going down. And it did...

9 hours ago, aneonfoxtribute said:

Made my way through the second floor of the True Reverie Corridor, did some gacha, and played two Episodes.

  Reveal hidden contents

I got George from my gacha, very happy, I like George a lot. The Episodes I played were the Schera/Olivier door, which was really cute and wholesome and I really liked it, and the Millium/Altina/Jusis/Alisa door, which was really cute and wholesome and I really liked it and OH MY GOD MILLIUM CURLING UP IN LAMMY'S ARMS IS THE C U T E S T THING I HAVE EVER SEEN AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

I knoooooow, I think I got diabetes in the best way from watching the latter of those two Episodes.

Spoiler

You clearly had better RNG than I did, George was one of the last characters I got so I couldn't put together my Upperclassmen Quartet team for the Corridor until almost the endgame. Thank you Falcom for finally giving him an S-Craft too.

I do find it hilarious that way back when they were promoting CS1, Falcom actually told us George's weapon (well, they said 'Hammer' rather than 'Combat Shell as a hammer' but close enough) four full games before we got to actually see it.

 

[Briar King]

Now that I think about it it may have happened twice that chapter. I had some other thing pop up when I first switched to the PS5 but assumed it was just a bug out.

I assume its new game+? Is it spoilery going forward?

[Eluvianii]

Did.. did I just get my ticket towards an endgame weapon in exchange for a pin? 

[Weltall]

17 hours ago, Briar King said:

Now that I think about it it may have happened twice that chapter. I had some other thing pop up when I first switched to the PS5 but assumed it was just a bug out.

I assume its new game+? Is it spoilery going forward?

When you see the message about how recording is stopped, it means the developer doesn't want to make it (quite so) easy to record the scene, to reduce the likelihood that it's going to make its way onto the internet and spoil other people. For your purposes, just think of it as 'Important Scene Ahead'. Or, y'know, disable notifications so you don't see them in the future.

8 hours ago, Eluvianii said:

Did.. did I just get my ticket towards an endgame weapon in exchange for a pin? 

Yes, yes you did. xD

[Briar King]

CS3 ch 4 home base stuff

I always forget just how long and dialogue round heavy these Levees bits are with the way I’ve been playing and spending upwards of a month out on field study. 

[NattyBo]

Just hit the June midterms in CS1. Really enjoying the pacing so far. Beginning of Trails arcs always seem like such a good slow burn. 

[Eluvianii]

Wait, I didn't just spend almost three hours and a half on the festival, did I? It didn't feel that long. 

[NattyBo]

Took a mental health day today from work. Hoping to get a lot of CS1 time in. Pretty stressed IRL so I need that relaxing Trails gestalt.

[Briar King]

Buying TVs soon! Will be great getting this series back on atleast a 65in but likely 70-85in screen vs this little 32 I’ve been stuck with for a third of CS2 and all of CS3.

[NattyBo]

Haven’t played much as I want yet today, but so far I’m at the third field study at

Nord Highlands

.

 

Have let out a few squeaks of delight so far at seeing old faces, primarily

My man Olivier

. Still getting used to the voice acting for

Phantom Thief B

. Also enjoyed meeting

Vander’s uncle

again.

[Eluvianii]

I'm at what looks like the final dungeon. But isn't it a bit too early in the chapter? Or is this a case where we get through a few hours of dungeon first and the rest, however long, is pure unadultered story? 

Edit: Welp, I think I'm up against the big one. I'm betting the duration of this fight on Laura and her 1300 str. Unless he's more weak to art damage in which case I believe Emma and Elliot can cover me. Either way, I want to think my party is balanced enough. 

Edited June 10, 2021 by Eluvianii

[Weltall]

14 hours ago, Eluvianii said:

I'm at what looks like the final dungeon. But isn't it a bit too early in the chapter? Or is this a case where we get through a few hours of dungeon first and the rest, however long, is pure unadultered story?

Mmmmmmaybe. xD

Oh yeah, since you're there, a fun factoid about that boss you're fighting, tagged for anyone who hasn't gotten to CS1's final chapter yet

Spoiler

Loa Erebonius is named for the Spirit of Darkness from Cagesong of the Ocean, the final game in the Gagharv Trilogy, which was the sub-series of Legend of Heroes before Trails. We were waiting since Sky FC to see if 'Erebonia' was in some way connected to 'Erebonius' and after six games, Falcom said 'Yes'. xD

 

[NattyBo]

Glories of PC gaming: posted on another forum how the turbo feature in CS1 actually just skips stuff in combat and also messes up certain spells (specifically noticed the ones that are supposed to draw enemies towards a center point don’t work). 
 

Got pointed to a fan patcher that fixes the turbo skip issue, installed an HD texture pack, fixed some lip sync and other small bugs. Feels like I’m playing the definitive edition now! 
 

Story wise, we’re at the 4th field study.

Edited June 10, 2021 by NattyBo

[Eluvianii]

5 hours ago, Weltall said:

Mmmmmmaybe. xD

Oh yeah, since you're there, a fun factoid about that boss you're fighting, tagged for anyone who hasn't gotten to CS1's final chapter yet

  Reveal hidden contents

Loa Erebonius is named for the Spirit of Darkness from Cagesong of the Ocean, the final game in the Gagharv Trilogy, which was the sub-series of Legend of Heroes before Trails. We were waiting since Sky FC to see if 'Erebonia' was in some way connected to 'Erebonius' and after six games, Falcom said 'Yes'. xD

 

Man, that's a bit of a long time. All the better though. 

Regarding stuff that has happened, well, guess I should spoiler things just in case. 

Spoiler

I noticed I can still upgrade the orbment, so I'm fully expecting something else. 

I love Victor's reaction when he's told his daughter helped take down an eldritch horror. As in, I love how he barely reacts at all. 

Also, the presentation really could have used something extra, Spika style idk. It's just uncomfortable when the song playing in the background doesn't match what the characters are doing on-screen. 

 

[Briar King]

CS3 ch 4 home base stuff

takes so long to get through these bits to get to the Keep part. I’m “about to go in” meaning later tonight or tomorrow’s 4PM session. Been wondering if Tita was going to join considering so many others have done so this game. Testing out a mech suit.

[Weltall]

2 hours ago, Eluvianii said:

Regarding stuff that has happened, well, guess I should spoiler things just in case. 

  Reveal hidden contents

I noticed I can still upgrade the orbment, so I'm fully expecting something else. 

I love Victor's reaction when he's told his daughter helped take down an eldritch horror. As in, I love how he barely reacts at all. 

Also, the presentation really could have used something extra, Spika style idk. It's just uncomfortable when the song playing in the background doesn't match what the characters are doing on-screen. 

 

Yeah, that could have used more work to feel 'real' but I can see why they didn't want to rerecord a song and pay multiple VAs to sing it, just for verisimilitude.

40 minutes ago, Briar King said:

CS3 ch 4 home base stuff

  Reveal hidden contents

takes so long to get through these bits to get to the Keep part. I’m “about to go in” meaning later tonight or tomorrow’s 4PM session. Been wondering if Tita was going to join considering so many others have done so this game. Testing out a mech suit.

 

FYI, that's the continuation of a plot thread that was started in The 3rd, and then expanded on in Azure. Very minor spoilers for those games:

Spoiler

The original Orbal Gear was designed by the Russell family at the ZCF based on the 'Vanguard' archaism deployed by Ouroboros and was test-piloted by Tita. It made her one of the best characters in the game. The Epstein Foundation took that research and created the Eidolon Gear which Tio used, though in her case it was just treated as a high-powered S-Craft.

 

[Eluvianii]

..........what?

So ummm CS1 ending stuff

Spoiler

Crem really went down really quickly. 

I knew Vita was with Ouroboros but a freaking Anguis? 

I also didn't know there would be mecha battles so soon.

What is considered the final boss here? The 40-minute one with Latin vocals or the glory run of a battle that is the Divine Knight? 

And that was one heck of a cliffhanger. It's like FC but this one is even bigger. 

Actually the whole game is like FC all over again, but twice as big. I clocked twice as many hours, the cliffhanger was even more sudden. Crap. I had only heard about how shocking CSIII's ending was so this came as a surprise. 

I can't even put my thoughts in order enough to make theories at the moment, I just want to keep playing. 

 

[Val the Moofia Boss]

I remember being rather irritated when I first beat CS1 because the last fight was RNG based. It doesn't matter if you hit the right body part every single turn; if RNG is in the boss' favor and they crit/link attack too often you will lose. Took me about half an hour before the RNG let me win. Fortunately that is the only time that happens and fights in the sequels are better designed.

[Eluvianii]

1 minute ago, Val the Moofia Boss said:

I remember being rather irritated when I first beat CS1 because the last fight was RNG based. It doesn't matter if you hit the right body part every single turn; if RNG is in the boss' favor and they crit/link attack too often you will lose. Took me about half an hour before the RNG let me win. Fortunately that is the only time that happens and fights in the sequels are better designed.

Was that on hard? Because I played on normal and it felt almost impossible to lose. Your HP goes down really slowly and you have two free heals. There was rng involved but it was really tame. 

As a side note:

Spoiler

Gundam's screen cuts to see the faces inside are my favorite thing ever and I'm so glad to see that here. 

 

[Val the Moofia Boss]

7 minutes ago, Eluvianii said:

Was that on hard?

Yes. I played the first few hours on normal and thought it was too easy, so I restarted on hard. Only had trouble with the last bosses of chapters 5, 6, and the last boss.

[Weltall]

1 hour ago, Eluvianii said:

..........what?

So ummm CS1 ending stuff

  Hide contents

Crem really went down really quickly. 

I knew Vita was with Ouroboros but a freaking Anguis? 

I also didn't know there would be mecha battles so soon.

What is considered the final boss here? The 40-minute one with Latin vocals or the glory run of a battle that is the Divine Knight? 

And that was one heck of a cliffhanger. It's like FC but this one is even bigger. 

Actually the whole game is like FC all over again, but twice as big. I clocked twice as many hours, the cliffhanger was even more sudden. Crap. I had only heard about how shocking CSIII's ending was so this came as a surprise. 

I can't even put my thoughts in order enough to make theories at the moment, I just want to keep playing. 

 

And now you know why my response to your question earlier was 'Maybe' xD

Spoiler

- Yep! Fun fact, Kondo recently confirmed a suspicion that fans have had for years, that the woman on the Lusitania who flirts with Kevin was the Second Anguis all along. There's a few hints buried in the game if you're looking really carefully, and some foreshadowing in Zero that only becomes obvious in retrospect.

- A lot of people seem to forget that the Soldats show up in the opening movie until the ending reminds them of it. This is one of those things that Falcom very briefly teased before the game first came out, in a short commercial that was released a few weeks prior to release IIRC. And like the OP shot, it's one of those things you can easily forget about in all the gameplay leading up to that point.

- Both of them, kinda. Loa Erebonius is the final boss for all intents and purposes when it comes to the regular gameplay, since the only fight after it is the Drakkhen (plus the unwinnable battle with Scarlet's Spiegel) but Ordine is the final boss in story terms even though it uses its own new system.

- Indeed, welcome to the evil cliffhanger of doom. And yeah, CS1 has a lot of the same vibe that FC did, to the point that several of the quests were straight repeats in new locations to give a bit of nostalgia for the players who started from the beginning. Not to mention that progression is pretty similar except that instead of a constant grand tour of a country you have a hub location you return to in between visits to far-flung locales.

Whenever you do get your thoughts in order enough to start coming up with theories, I'll be looking forward to reading them.

[Eluvianii]

Not a theory, but a thing I noticed after compulsively listening to the final boss theme. I swear I hear just a little bit of Shine of Eidos in it. Actually, I could also swear that I hear the lyrics saying Shine of Eidos at one point. Don't think it has any relevance but I feel paranoid about it. 

[NattyBo]

I think “The Glint of Cold Steel” track might be dethroning “Fate of the Fairies” as my favorite regular battle track. What is everyone else’s fave?

Edited June 11, 2021 by NattyBo