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

[Val the Moofia Boss]

1 hour ago, NattyBo said:

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?

For regular battle themes: CS1 > CS4 (great but a little too short) >>> CS3 (great first 10 seconds, rest of the song is meh and too short) > CS2 > FC = SC >>> 3rd > Zero >>> Ao.

Edited June 11, 2021 by Val the Moofia Boss

[NattyBo]

That’s quite the tier list!

[NattyBo]

CS1 progress: I think I’m getting towards the end, based on the date and what I know happens in Crossbell. We’re traveling to the field study in

Legram. Which is cool cause Laura is one of my favorite members of class VII. We’re all supposed to meet at Tangram gate after, which would put me back at the opening of the game.

.

[Eluvianii he/him]

For me it probably would be Sophisticated Fight and The Glint of Cold Steel. Get Over the Barrier has a lot of charm but at this point I think about that one more as a boss theme. May have to add CS2's theme to that list as it's growing on me fast. It's really good, if a little too synthesised. 

On that front, started CS2. I'm a little too hooked right now. I hope it fades away a little, otherwise I'll finish the game before I save up enough for CS3. 

[Weltall]

18 hours ago, NattyBo said:

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?

My favorite would be Get Over The Barrier but that almost feels like it's cheating. Glint of Cold Steel's a great one too and I'm also really fond of Seize the Truth from Azure and a two-way tie of Like a Whirlwind and Wind-Up Yesterday from Hajimari. If I had to pick one that isn't Barrier I'd go with Seize the Truth.

However, if you included rearranges I'd have to throw in this version of Sophisticated Fight.

21 hours ago, Eluvianii said:

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. 

Sometimes it's really hard to tell what they're singing but I don't recall anything that sounded like that. A couple times you can make out words though; they seem to like borrowing from the Dies Irae when they have a chorus but there's definitely English in some of the vocals. Unfortunately, they're rarely nice enough to give us a transcription, like they did with Ys Origin for the lyrics that play during Termination.

That said, if parts of the song sounded familiar there's a good reason for it: The Great Power shares a melody with Vermillion Capital of Heimdallr.

[aneonfoxtribute]

Finished off Lloyd and C's chapter 3. 

Spoiler

We met Novartis, fought a fake McBurn, got Noel, if I had a nickel for every time Renne murdered dolls of her parents, I would have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice. We fought Emperor, and he turned out to be fake like I thought, and now Rufus is going off to meet Grimwood

All in all, very eventful day 

[NattyBo]

Just played the end of Chapter 5 and about to hit the practical exam for chapter 6 in CS1. The end of chapter 5 was fun, and great to bring things full circle with the opening. 

[Eluvianii he/him]

I was carefully planning how to manage my bonding points based on the characters I like the most or the stories I'm interested in, before realizing my hand is basically being forced if I want all the character profiles. 

[Weltall]

4 hours ago, aneonfoxtribute said:

Finished off Lloyd and C's chapter 3. 

  Hide contents

We met Novartis, fought a fake McBurn, got Noel, if I had a nickel for every time Renne murdered dolls of her parents, I would have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice. We fought Emperor, and he turned out to be fake like I thought, and now Rufus is going off to meet Grimwood

All in all, very eventful day 

Yeah, a lot happens in Chapter 3, across all the routes. Just wait until you start Chapter 4 because there's a beautiful scene at the start of C's route which comments on events near the end of the route in the prior Chapter.

Spoiler

I'll just say this: Lapis is a treasure and that gang plays so well off each other.

 

Edited June 13, 2021 by Weltall

[Eluvianii he/him]

You know, considering this is a Japanese game, I'm surprised at the amount of hugs. 

[Briar King]

Quick pop in

E3 is disrupting my sessions so thankfully it ends today.

Im still at home base of Ch 4. Yikes.

[Eluvianii he/him]

Alright, I might need to reread Carnelia.

[NattyBo]

Y'all, I'm sitting in the second hour of a zoom meeting, at 7:18PM my time, with no end in sight, and I'm thinking I'm really close to the end of CS1.... argh.

CS1 Final Chapter Spoiler, Azure spoilers

 

 

The festival is finished and after the dance Garrelia fortress went boom. Pretty cool seeing the reaction in Erebonia to the weapons KeA is controlling. When I turned the game off, Rean and co. were going to find Millium and Crow, who didn't show up for class with everyone else.  Ol' Blood & Iron is set to give a speech at 12PM.

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by NattyBo

[Eluvianii he/him]

7 minutes ago, NattyBo said:

Y'all, I'm sitting in the second hour of a zoom meeting, at 7:18PM my time, with no end in sight, and I'm thinking I'm really close to the end of CS1.... argh.

CS1 Final Chapter Spoiler, Azure spoilers

 

  Hide contents

The festival is finished and after the dance Garrelia fortress went boom. Pretty cool seeing the reaction in Erebonia to the weapons KeA is controlling. When I turned the game off, Rean and co. were going to find Millium and Crow, who didn't show up for class with everyone else.  Ol' Blood & Iron is set to give a speech at 12PM.

 

That transition is probably my favorite scene in the game.

Spoiler

The little soundtrack there is is ominous as hell. It's that little moment when nothing is happening openly just yet, but you know everything is blowing up in the background. It's a kind of frightening calm before the storm that I really like. 

 

[NattyBo]

Credits rolling on CS1. 
 

Hated the final boss fight.

 

It wasn’t hard or anything, I just dislike when you play an insanely long party RPG and then your stats and gear don’t even matter?

[Val the Moofia Boss]

1 hour ago, NattyBo said:

Credits rolling on CS1. 
 

Hated the final boss fight.

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

It wasn’t hard or anything, I just dislike when you play an insanely long party RPG and then your stats and gear don’t even matter?

 

The design for that battle system at the end wasn't refined in CS1, but take heart it was polished by CS2 and isn't dependent on RNG in CS2.

[Briar King]

Bought a 75in tv just now. Boo yah CS gonna be back on the big screen. Actually a bigger screen that is.

[NattyBo]

Preface: not at all trying to bring politics to the thread, buuuuut

My brain is broken, Vladimir Putin said today "In life there is no happiness. There’s only the mirage of happiness on the horizon. So cherish that." 

And all I can think of is “sounds like something a boss in Trails would say”. XD XD

[Eluvianii he/him]

I mean, mirage is one of the seven elements. I can imagine a speech like that prior to the awakening of the Mirage Sept-terrion (which we probably already saw and I can't remember because I forgot what element is each). 

[aneonfoxtribute]

Just now, Eluvianii said:

I mean, mirage is one of the seven elements. I can imagine a speech like that prior to the awakening of the Mirage Sept-terrion (which we probably already saw and I can't remember because I forgot what element is each). 

We have saw. Mirage is Crossbell. 

[Val the Moofia Boss]

The mirage of Crossbellian independence!

[aneonfoxtribute]

Finished Rean Act 3, and with it Chapter 3 of Hajimari. 

Spoiler

We fought Arios, and then we fought Arios again, and then a giant robot came out of nowhere and destroyed literally everything. It was awesome. Arios' crafts were so cool. I dunno what else to say except "that was just awesome"

 

[Briar King]

Dropping in quickly.

CS3 ch 4 home base stuff

oh my! My very 1st thing I test out temporarily on the big new screen is the bit where Altina gets to pilot a Goliath!

Ive never seen CS so large before! I’m 10 inches larger then the largest I’ve ever been and it is quite insane!

[Eluvianii he/him]

Currently at the battle at the end of Act 1. Laura is missing quite literally all of her attacks, the rest barely do scratches, and the boss can lower the strength stat. This is gonna take a while. 

[Weltall]

12 hours ago, Eluvianii said:

Laura is missing quite literally all of her attacks, the rest barely do scratches

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.