What Trails Game Should You Play First? (Reverie Edition) | Backlog Battle
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ส.ค. 2024
- There are 10 Trails games out right now. But there's only one perfect for you. Find out what that is in this video!
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@LadyVirgilia 's Story Summaries:
Trails in the Sky Trilogy
• Trails in the Sky FC, ...
Trails from Zero & Trails to Azure
• Trails from Zero & Tra...
Trails of Cold Steel I & II
• Trails of Cold Steel I...
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#kiseki #trails #nisamerica #xseed #jrpg #rpg #trailsintoreverie #trailsfromzero #trailsofcoldsteel #trailsinthesky #nonbinary
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I'll be honest, I bought all the Kiseki games that have come out on Switch (before the price keeps going up) and haven't played one yet due to over analyzing where to start. This helped a lot. I've purchased the Sky trilogy, Cold Steel I, and Cold Steel II on steam deck now so I can enjoy them in order.
I did too, recently ^^
Enjoy it, take your time so you don’t burn out. Sky is amazing! They all are lol
@darkrulier started it yesterday. Excited as I know the world building is supposed to be top notch
Just started this series myself and am already in love 🥰
I’ve been told just any series first part is fine, i myself started with cold steel, now completed 1 and 2 taking some time before continuing don’t wanna burn myself out
I started with the first, Trails in the Sky FC, back last fall, and just last week I finished Trails in the Sky 3rd Chapter. They were all so amazing! I've now started up Trails From Zero. Definitely going to play them all in order, it's rapidly becoming one of my favorite jrpg series ever.
3 months ago I became a Trails fan, I played Sky FC and haven't looked back ever since, playing all games back to back just finishing CS4 2 weeks ago, it was amazing, I have never experience something like this before 😍😍
Dude you are amazing, 6 months ago I started my Trails journey and just finished trails to azure today
And yet SE thinks people don't like turn based combat anymore *rolls eyes*
I remember reading the Suikoden comparisons in the latter part of ‘16 and I was already a fan of that series.. Soo I requested the Lionheart edition of TOCS for Vita that Christmas.. Unfortunately it didn’t arrive til New Year’s Eve which was kinda cool in a way..
I then got TOCS 2 for my birthday September 23rd.. When I finished on thanksgiving I started YS VIII the same night.. Awesome memories!
Started Trails in the Sky FC last week, currently on Chapter 2. Been great, if not slow, so far. Loving the world building and characters .
Keep it up! Sky FC may be slow, but also makes Sky SC so much more special.
I wish I could play them for the first time again. Enjoy :)
If you like ANY of the games, you will enjoy all of them. So, imo, it’s best to bet on the best possible experience by starting with Sky FC. I started with CS1 and, while I don’t regret it, I wish I’d played Sky FC first.
Same I played CS 1 and 2 first then Sky trilogy. I will replay CS1 and 2 after I finished crossbell next, still wish I would have played Sky first 🥹
Elite weirdo option: PlayStation TV Vita versions patched into English for Trails in the Sky trilogy
lol beat me by a hair
Best choice tbh
Honest question, what makes this the best option?
@camma12 The best version is probably the PC version with the voice patch installed since it has the highest resolution for the graphics. The Vita version on PSTV is nice though if you want to play the game on your TV from a couch and you don't have an easy way to connect your PC. You can also play the Vita version on the Vita on the go.
@@neverchris I say go the vita route since it already has the voices and nice form factor
I started playing Trails in December with the Sky trilogy and I binged all 3 games in the span of 2 months. I made sure to talk to every NPC after EVERY. SINGLE. story bit because I enjoyed how lively the world felt with these interactions. I had to take a bit of a break due to how fast I played those games, BUT I'm currently on the final chapter of Zero and VERY close to Azure. During this playthrough of Zero, I've still continued to talk to everyone. And by everyone, I really do mean it. I travel to St. Ursula, Mainz, Armorica, Bellguard, Tamgram, and EVEN the Doll Studio whenever I get the chance to. Every story beat? I go. Time progressed slightly in the day? I go. Idk what it is about the Trails games, but this is the first series where I'm actively seeking out the NPCs rather than just talking to them once and forgetting about them. Also, every time I go to the Bracer guild, the first thing I do is look at the listings board to see where Estelle and Joshua are because I love them so much. It's so much fun seeing how everything ties together.
I've also made sure to buy every single Trails game during the Steam Spring Sale so I should have no problems playing all the games to completion uninterrupted. I absolutely love this series so far and my only regret is not starting it sooner.
PS. I took the plunge and also bought Reverie with the sale containing all the DLC outfits. Won't be seeing any of that for the next few months though ahahahaha
This is another game series that I want to get into. I watched all of Retro Rebound’s videos on the series and he relates the series to the MCU of RPGs; how it’s all one continuous story.
It is which makes it so daunting especially when people show up and the game expects you to know them,their history and story because you played the prior games but it is extremely rewarding once you're "up to date". Also nice to see another Retro Rebound viewer he's really cool
@@controlroomguy I like when games respect my time. If I played the previous games I don’t need you spend 5 hrs “establishing” this character again. Give me a quick reminder and let’s get moving. Also, I agree. I like that I can disagree with some of his takes yet still respect it.
One thing I'd like to add. I'd say that starting with Trails of Cold Steel is pretty cool because throughout Cold Steel 1 and 2 you are presented with these little nuggets of info regarding Crossbell. It was so cool learning about this place via conversations and news papers. By the time I got the chance to play Trails From Zero there was this sense of, "Okay, so this is the place I've heard so much about." I don't know, it was pretty cool. That would be the reason I'd start with Cold Steel 1. If this is the route you take, just be sure to stop at Cold Steel 2 and circle back round to the Crossbell Duology before moving forward. Just my two cents. :)
I played Cold Steel I and II before the Crossbell games, and it just made me want to play the Crossbell games even more. Like it just got me more interested to see what was really going on in Crossbell, seeing it from afar in Erebonia.
@@user-od5th6zd2f OMG right?!?! Same here! It’s like those little nuggets made playing Trails from Zero even more fun!
i dont know if you will ever see this comment, but i want to thankyou for your knowledge and opinion, its a great video for me to know where to start the series
@@ericwilson9220 I always read comments! And you’re welcome!
I started with Sky FC last year and had to llay SC right after. This has now become my favorite game series ever! I've played other games since but since starting Zero in March I've been playing every game in the series in succesion. At Cold Steel 2 right now. Buying Reverie day 1 to encourage the devs. Can't wait to get there!
I bought sky arc a few days ago I havnt play any I’m waiting till I bought them all I think there too more in this series is the dark arc
As someone is new to the trails games, I was overwelcomed with the amount of games and didn't know where to start. This video was very helpful.
I started with Cold Steel and went back to Sky and now find myself in Zero. Whatever your choice was, is, or will be, I say give it a shot and then you'll be equipped with your own experience to help guide you on where to go next.
trails in the sky is really gooood. If you skip this arc and watch a summary, i think you will miss out a lot. It's not about the end but your journey with trails games.
Probably would have watched a Let’s play instead of a summery, if I wouldn’t have had the possibility to play it.
I spent over 500 hours playing through the series this last year. I played Cold Steel 1 and 2 then Trails from Zero and Azure, then Cold Steel 3 and 4, now finally Sky 1 and 2. I unfortunately don’t have a pc for Sky 3, which sucks because Kevin is awesome! Either way playing them so out of order didn’t deter a solid group of interesting and lovable characters that grew over a few years in their timeline. I wish they did have some bigger balls though when it came to committing to deaths.
Never played it so I can't confirm but I'm told the next two games after Reverie definitely doesn't hold back on death.
I started with cold steel 1, I downloaded that a week or 2 before ff7 remake came out to hold me off until then. Ended up liking it so much that even though I downloaded and played a little of ff7 remake I couldn’t juggle both and chose cold steel. Didn’t regret it. I’m a Rean fan. Wish I played trails in the sky first. Never knew bout this series back then
My first game was Trails from Zero on the Nintendo Switch and I immeidately fell in love with this series. After finishing the incredicle story, I couldn't wait to play the rest of the Trails series. Although I did buy Trails to Azure, I decided to go back and play the Sky trilogy on Steam and I do not regret that decision. I love playing Trails into Sky FC on my Steamdeck. I'm still going to pick up Trails into Reverie, but I'll get to it later once I finish the Sky trilogy, Trails to Azure, and then finally all 4 Cold Steel games.
I actually started with Cold Steel first and am now playing through the 3 Trails in the Sky games and Trails of Azure next.
Thank you for your advice, it makes the whole thing appear much less daunting! I first got interested in this series very, VERY long ago, in fact I even got a japanese copy of Trails in the sky back when it released in Japan (when it was only known as Sora no kiseki to me), hoping to leverage it as a mean to coerce myself into learning japanese. Long story short, it failed. I played maybe 2 to 3 hours worth of regular progress but it took me over 10 hours of painstakingly translating japanese with the meager tools available back in the day (with nowadays' tools it would probably be easier). 20 years later I thought I would never have the time to catch up on this series that everyone I hear talk about praises, but I guess the time has come. I'll start from Trails in the sky that I got on Steam when it released there but only played a couple hours then.
4:31 I started with CS1 and instantly fell in love with it cos of the game's storytelling. I then spend the next few hours watching summary videos just to understand the story better since CS sometimes talk about the past events in Sky Arc, and the overlapping events in Crossbell. Fast forward to CS4, seeing Sky & Crossbell characters together with Class 7 makes me feel it's so worth the effort to watch the summaries just to get the full experience
Ultimately it's up to the individual but I say with any game, if you look at it and it screams to you and you just want to play it, dive in and figure it out later.
For me the strongest reason to go back to Sky as early as possible is because of how the gameplay evolves. Almost every entry adds or improves on the previous one, so going back to Sky after finishing the rest might become something of a struggle. The series is 20 years old and design/QOL stuff changes a lot over that time!
When I first found Trails in the Sky FC about 5 years ago, I immediately knew I would like it. Then I played it, and it is still my favorite Trails games even after playing 7 other Trails games.
Great video, I’m honestly still new to the series and I’ve hopped back n forth in between playing TCS1 & TCS3. I started playing TFZ & have really been enjoying it. Just wanted to share that.
Zero is such an amazing game. Held up really well! One of the best!
Yeah, you got to play the very first game to truly get the full story of the game. All these games are connected and if you miss one game, you are missing out on a big chunk of the story that severely matters.
It's crazy to be that xseed really tried to skip the trails from zero/azure games. My first run through of cold steel 1 like, 25 hours in, I felt like I was missing something and boy was I right.
I never finished cold steel until I got my hands on the translated version of zero/azure. When I finally went and played cold steel 1, there was I huge noticeable difference of what was going on in the story that made more sense and made the experience that much greater.
It's not that they TRIED to skip it. it was deemed to big a financial risk (especially after the ABYSMAL Sales of FC on PSP) by the time they would've been able to do it. It was originally released on PSP and between focusing on That or trying to get Cold Steel out, the went for Cold Steel 1. it all came down to realeasing a game on a dying platform (Cold Steel 1 on PS3/Vita) vs. Release a game on a DEAD platform (Zero/Azure on PSP)
Oh perfect timing! I just played my first 2h of trails in the sky FC😅 I hope for great adventure👾💥
Great video! You have probably the most reasonable approach to this series that I’ve seen on this platform. I feel like too many fans, whether knowing or unknowingly, gate keep others from this series. I’ve heard or had so many Trails fans tell me that I HAVE to start with the Sky trilogy. Look, I understand the fans of this series are passionate. I’m one of them. But if you really love the series, it seems like you wouldn’t want to scare people away. It doesn’t help incentivize more people to give the series a chance. Personally, I started with Cold Steel 1. I hadn’t even heard of this series before that game. I fell in love with this franchise & it prompted me to seek out the other games. Let people get in where they fit in I say. Eventually, we all arrive at the same destination.
I started playing Trails of Cold Steel 1&2, and was amazed by how great both games were so I bouth the 3rd and the 4th games for my PS4 also... I also noted that the lore of the Zemurian continent (which is where the Trails series takes place) was huge and that I didn't understand many things about it, so I started diging about the series and discovered there were 5 previous games that were connected with the Trails of Cold Steel arch.
Given the respect I felt for the 2 games I had just played, I decided to start the entire series from the begining... so I bought the Trails in The Sky trilogy on Steam, which plays smoothly on any modern PC, even if it doesn't have a dedicated video card installed, and for my sorprice, Trails in the Sky SC became my favorite game of all time... it's an incredible piece o art that any RPG fan must play.
Then I bought the Crossbell Arch on my PS4... a few days ago I finished the Trails from Zero game and soon will start to play Azure.
My point is that every game in the series has an amazing story, outstounding characters, great world building, fantastic music and a phenomenal turn based combat system... if you love RPGs, you should play the entire series from the start and you'll feel happy for doing so... All of these games are interconnected in important parts of the story...
Nihon Falcom rocks!
I have a good friend that really wants me to play this series so this video is right up my alley.
And after watching....While my best bet is probably checking out summaries and then diving into Cold Steel or Zero (since my backlog is long enough lmao), I'm probably gonna do the exact thing I'm currently doing with the Yakuza series: Begin right from the start. I just can't help myself. Unless there's a valid reason not to start from the beginning of a series, I always do so. I want to be immersed in the story from the beginning just like I would if I was reading a book series.
Yakuza is a legit one of the best series ever. also Jugdment is so good. i also started whit Yakuza 0
@@TheMetalHeadbangger Yeah the plan was Y0 - 7, Ishin, then the Judgment series. On Y6 right now so almost there.
I started with CS1, finished it, and then went into wanting to start from the beginning. I slowly play those games though as I play many others, some of them also JRPGs, as well.
I have one gripe though - I love the worldbuidling in these games and that NPCs and their dialogue that often updates hint at stuff coming and/or tell their own stories. I caught all or ..as many as I could in both Sky FC as well as CS1, but it always was a pacing killer - the thing that let me put off playing the games for a few days or week because I wasnt in the mood for that but also didnt want to skip it.
I am still unsure how to handle that bit, as it is both a source of enjoyment but also a hinderance to that at the same time.
Trails from Zero felt like a perfect point to jump in for me last year! Cant wait to catch up and play Into Reverie
I started with Cold Steel 1 around the time that it came out and was ultimately underwhelmed, but it also kind planted a seed in my brain and got me interested in Trails in the Sky which I played through this year and loved and I'm now pretty far into SC and plan to go to 3rd and so on until I've played through the entire series. I just hope that Cold Steel 2 will be more interesting than Cold Steel 1 or perhaps it will be more fun to play just because I will have built up for it with the rest of the series until then.
CS1 is widely regarded as the worst Trails game, it's got a real mid-tier anime feel.
Wow really? I loved CS1. I liked its nice SoL feel at times and character building. The ending was intense too.
Finished that game now I'm starting at beginning of series with Trails in the Sky FC
I started with Cold Steel 1 and played Skies FC right after it. I agree, the starting order doesnt matter as much as diehards will complain. When cold steel came out in the west, we didn't even know if the Crossbell games were ever going to see the light of day official or unofficial, but they published Cold Steel anyways.
At some point I would strongly recommend playing the Skies games, even if its later. It is a really good story on its own terms, and has a lot of what makes the later series great: amazing characters, tells a really good political story, and has that top tier cohesiveness the series in known for. Its the best coming of age story ive come across. If you don't want to start there, that's fine, but do play it at some point.
There is also a team working on an English voice acting patch if you are playing on PC, so if you come back to the series in a few years you might have one or two of the games voiced. (One of my gripes with Nisa is that they didn't include English VA with the Crossbell games, but at least they have Japanese VA, AFAIK no Skies western release came with English or Japanese VA other than battle lines)
Zero and Azure had fan patches then went on to get Geofront fan patches. I can't imagine starting anywhere but Sky and getting certain massive twist spoiled. If you want voice acting in the sky you could've imported voices but that took work thankfully Zero & Azure had JP voice acting by default.
@@controlroomguy they had fan patches back when Cold Steel 1 came out?
Also I played CS1 without the end of Skies SC spoiled, so starting there and jumping back to Skies FC isnt bad either if all it takes is one game to get a new fan hooked. There is a reason new fans often don't want to start with Skies FC. Even the jump from FC to SC fixed a lot of issues FC had, let alone so many games later worth of QOL improvements.
@@yy-hj4br The first fan patch I don't know if it was out by Steel 1 but I think it was out by 2 and defo by 3
I think honestly Cold Steel 1 is fine it spoils as little as possible about groups in the world or the sky FC twist. and I get Cold Steel 1 is the more modern looking/appealing game it's why I'd want Sky remakes on that factor alone since it can turn off some people. (not having voice acting the sprites etc,) Also yeah SC fixes alot gameplay wise and it's faster paced then FC by design since FC is supposed to lulled you into a false sense of security untill shit hits the fan
I've just started with Trails from Zero and had loads of fun.
While there were clear indications of links to past Sky games from time to time, I didn't feel like I was missing key elements to get what was currently happening. The game does a good job to fill you in when necessary.
I plan to play Azure next to finish the Crossbell arc and probably go through Cold Steel next. I'll then maybe take a break at one point to play the Sky trilogy as a "prequel".
When you put it like that, it's almost as if the Crossbell arc is equivalent of watching the original Star Wars Trilogy (it's not a trilogy but you get my point), while Trails in the Sky is the Prequel Trilogy and Trails of Cold Steel is the Sequel Trilogy (or in this case Tetralogy). Of course I haven't played any of the games myself so we'll see if this comment ages well when I eventually buy and play one.
Play the Sky games either right after Zero (because you will want to have that game fresh in your mind when playing them) or right before Cold Steel III (because that's where the plotlines start to merge).
@@Javifaa Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Since I've already started Azure, I'll go for playing them between Cold Steel II and III then.
@@HalfpennyTerwilliger depending on how fast you finish Azure, you could still reap the benefits of playing the Sky games close to Zero by playing them after Azure.
@@Javifaa Ok! I'll keep that in mind and decide after Azure then. Thanks again for the advice!
Haha, not gonna lie, you were my entryway into Trails when I won the four Cold Steel games 😅 but that did more than enough to sell me on both the Trails series and Nihon Falcom in general! Despite my subpar, old laptop, I ended up getting Sky FC, SC and 3rd, Ys 1&2, Oath in Felgahna, Ark of Nepishtim and VII, as well as Xanadu Next on Steam sales, got Ys Memories of Celceta, Lacrimosa of Dana and Monstrum Nox, Tokyo Xanadu Ex+ on PS4 and bought Zero and Azure day 1 on my PS4 as well (impatiently waiting to buy Reverie day 1 as well!)
Not gonna lie, while playing through Cold Steel 1 and 2, I got the feeling these are the only decent alternative entry points to the series having now played through every game pre-Reverie, though Kuro might be a good alternative being not only a new arc, but moving away from the chaos surrounding the plans that culminated in CS4. I feel like Zero, while probably my favorite first game of the three arcs due to my bias towards organized crime stories, requires solid knowledge of the Sky trilogy to hit as strongly with the Bright family subplot, and I feel like the priest and his hungry squire's presences wouldn't impact someone who didn't them beforehand, but that's just my opinion.
Also I think Sky 3rd and Reverie wouldn't be the worst entry points, not only because of their transitional goals, but the gameplay loop is very different in those two games compared to the rest of the series. Reverie in particular is meant to be an epilogue for the previous 9 games, I honestly don't think going in without having experienced those games or having acquired familiarity with the massive cast can be done justice for a newcomer. Maybe it's just 'learned' opinion and I'm wrong, ignorance could still be bliss, after all the gameplay can still hit it's mark in the end and I'm sure the story can intrigue some people coming in blind, but I find that hard to believe...
But that said, I think any story driven RPG fan could find something to love in Trails, it's a really solid series that definitely helped to get me back into RPGs (along with Persona 5 Royal and my descent into the MegaTen hell 😂 )
Anyone reading this, you owe to yourself to give this series a try. If you don't want to pay full price, these games often go on sale on PS4 and PC. See you on the trails! 😁
I jumped around a bit through the series personally. I first discovered it through Cold Steel with the PS4 release.
I played through Cold Steel 1 and 2, then backtracked and played through Sky FC and SC.
Went back to Cold Steel upon 3's release, followed by 4.
Decided to go back to play Sky 3rd after all the numerous references CS4 made to Phantasma, and then finally experienced Zero and Azure upon the releases of Geofront team's original translation patches.
And now I just started my Journey through Reverie yesterday.
I hope they bring trails of the sky to the switch
Sometimes there is no right answer but in this case the answer is very straight forward. You have to start from the beginning with Trails in the Sky FC. There are entire chapters in the later games that follow up on previous games.
Glad you made this video, I just got into the trails series and was fortunate enough to pick up Zero/Azure, Coldsteel 3/4/ and Reverie all on the switch. Will probably have to buy 1 and 2 digitally when I get to the coldsteel arc. But will for sure be starting up the crossbell arc.
I watched the Trails in the Sky recaps by Lady Virgilia (I wrote this before you mentioned it, hype!), then played Crossbell on Switch, and now I’ve played CS1 and 2 on my PS5 - I’m in love with this series and I can’t get enough. I can’t remember the last time I’ve lost sleep playing late and wanted the work day to be over just to keep playing. I’m excited to get caught up; I may even play Sky trilogy after I finish Reverie to experience it for myself, as I’ll probably have time before Daybreak comes out… I’m just disappointed that Sky isn’t on anything but PC, and CS1-2 are not on Switch. Ideally, I’d have started from FC and played every game on Switch, if they were on there, but now I had to switch to Playstation I’m going to do CS 3-4 and Reverie _probably_ on PS5, especially since I’m getting the Portal on day one next month.
would you recommend watching the sky recap and then starting zero (if you know you're probably not going to have the attention span for 10 games lol) or would you say after doing this you wished you just started at zero without context?
This was the exact video I needed, I was literally digging through Wikipedia pages and multi hour long TH-cam video to discover what you said in 6 minutes. You also addressed my problem of not gaming on a Windows PC and being a console gamer only. I am checking out the recap videos now. Thank you and subscribed
I started last year I'm on sky the 3rd and I'm really having a blast. Really a great series which reward you for your time investment.
I started with Cold Steel 3 because it was on sale for cheap. Was it the best entry point? No. Did I still enjoy the game? Yes.
Honestly I'd say start with trails in the sky first and go in order just because you get more out of the story and lore. I've currently played up to cold steel 3 and am finishing it up right now. Then i'll play cold steel 4 and I already got my deluxe edition of reverie coming tomorrow. So I'm setup for the next few months on gaming.
I think just in order lol but i did something weird i went sky FC then SC then cold steel 1&2 then sky 3rd then zero then azure then cs3&4 bc of the platforms i didn’t own at the time
Great video. Play Sky + Crossbell. Watch summaries for Cold Steel. Play Reverie :)
Why watch a summary for the best arc? :P
I started playing trails about 2 years ago. My first game ended up being cold steel 1. After beating that game I played cold steel 2 and wanted to go into 3 right away, but I quickly noticed that there were characters I should've known about. After that I decided to watch Lady's trails summaries for both the sky trilogy and the crossbell duology because I didn't want to spent 300+ hours just to play the game I wanted. I ended up going back to sky after beating cold steel 4, but the only sky game I've actually beaten is first chapter. Mainly because I feel the game doesn't appeal to me with is combat as much as cold steel did. I did however play both crossbell games and have also recently finished reverie. I agree with the fact that you don't need to start from the first game to enjoy the series.
Nice summary. A couple of years ago, someone suggested Trails of Cold Steel to me as an entry point. This person knew I had just finished Persona 5 Royal, so I suspect they gave that suggestion to hook me in. The suggestion given to me was to go head with Cold Steel 2, but go back to the Sky Trilogy if I was really hooked. So, that is what I did, and by the time I was done with those, the official English releases for the Crossbell Arc were on the horizon. I am actually glad I went with those suggestion. Would I have been hooked if someone told me to start with Sky? I think so.
That is how I got hooked. JRPG’s quite often have outdated mechanics anyway so the old mechanics of Sky never bothered me. I was just on love with the music and the characters.
I loved this video! Great job, Backlog Battle! I think this is amazing advice. I actually started with Trails of Cold Steel because, at the time, the Crossbell series hadn't hit the Switch/PS4 yet. However, thanks to videos such as these, I knew not to move forward to Trails of Cold Steel 3 before going back to Trails From Zero and Trails Into Azure. So far I've cleared Trails into Cold Steel 1 and 2 as well as Trails into Zero. Shortly after completing Trails into Zero, I purchased a Steam Deck and went back to play Trails into the Sky, which I completed. I'm currently playing through Trails into the Sky SC.
Immediately got Trails in Reverie for PC when it released and I have spent 4 hours in the very beginning, just after the Prologue, talking to people. I know I can move on, but got damn is it nice to see how far we've come. I still have strong feelings about the story beats of CS4, but I'm glad we're here.
I recently bought everything up before reverie (thank you steam sale and Nintendo sale) and just started Sky fc. It’s so good so far! I love the world and the characters…I’ve got a long road ahead of me.
I had no idea where to start.
Thank you.
Great thing i have a switch and good gaming PC. I can play all the trails.
Thank you so much. I needed affirmation to go with Trails from Zero, which four other videos I watched said is the worst choice to start with. But this is the game that interests me most.
Thank you! Can't get into a series if you're being forced to play a game you're not interested in! It's common sense!
There are worse places to start. Like Trails into Reverie. As far as a game is a starting point, you can start there.
@@Javifaa so trails to reverie is the newest one and caps cold steel? And just to confirm, you are saying trails to reverie is a worse place to start or a better place to start?
@@michaelcarrig627 short answer: yes, and worse.
Long answer: Reverie is the newer game that both caps the Crossbell and Cold Steel arcs (while setting up stuff for the future of the series). It is, so far, the worst place to start, including the games not related in the west. It's like starting to read TLoTR after the One ring got destroyed (if you have read the book, you will understand why I used that specific example).
@@Javifaa yes, I understand completely. I think I will grab Zero, and if I really love it I will continue. If I don’t I’ll try again when they localize the newest entry.
I started with cold steel 1, its a decent starting point i think and introduces the mechanics and story aswell as the characters and history at a decent pace. Im now almost at the end of CS 3 and definitely see why people recommend the crossbell arc after cold steel 1 and 2. I didnt appreciate the characters as much in the 3rd game but it still does a great job of introducing characters and story. Its worth mentioning on the ps5 versions the game looks brilliant and eagerly looking forward to jumping into 4 straifgt after
I started Trails of Coldsteel 1 without any prior knowledge of previous or future games. Ho boy… I got myself into something HUGE. I’m now playing through the 2nd Coldsteel game. I’m gonna try and get the rest.
Thanks for the recommendation. I plan to start with Zero. With newer trails games being released in the west on consoles, it's a shame the Sky Trilogy still isn't. It's also a shame Cold Steel 1-2 aren't on Switch.
Agree with you. XSEED still owns the rights for those games you mentioned and I’m surprised that they are just sitting on these games
I haven't played too far into it yet, but I decided to start with Sky FC not only because I want to experience everything in order, but also because my PSone loving self adores sprites on 3D backgrounds xD
I'm on chapter 3 in Trails in the sky 1. My first time playing the series.
I would say just start with the first game in any of the 3 main arcs and you should be good to go
You either star with Sky or start with Cold Steel and work your way backwards or forwards from there. Zero is, IMO, the hardest title to get into. The storyline has nothing to draw you in until the mcguffin pops into the story at the very end. So being kinda “meh” about a story until the tail end is not a good sign. Sky FC has an interesting story that settles you into the worldbuilding of Kiseki from the get go even if the game is a relic gameplay-wise. And Cold Steel is a lot more modern so easier to get into even if it is considered part of the least interesting arcs.
I just started with the sky games and in love now!
So many videos I have seen on my feed where to start and I always stand by what I say and its always Skys FC. The threads begin to connect fully by I say CSIII, but they always drop little hints each following game about the previous one. I remember replaying CS 1 or may have been CS2 and they talk about the red constellation Yegar corps. Think it was millium who talked about them.
To get full picture play from sky first chapter and do all the side quest and speak to all npcs cause sometimes even those stories come around full circle! Looking at you Anton and ricky!!! xD
I started with Trails from Zero because the cast looked most interesting. A couple hours in and clearly it stands alone very well. The game is really great so far
I have purchased Trails from Zero, Trails to Azure, Trails of Cold Steel 3 and 4, and Trails into Reverie all on Switch in the last couple of weeks. I guess I'll wait until i play through Sky and Cold Steel 1 and 2 on steam. Hopefully they release the others physically on Switch or on the successor.
My play order was: Cold Steel 1+2>Sky>Crossbell>CS3+4 (plus I played Hajimari and Kuro with a fan translation to avoid spoilers, but I will re-play them in English to fully enjoy them.) I'd say my order is the best for those not wanting or unable to start with Sky, since CS1 doesn't draw much on previous games at all, aside from a few references here and there (late game CS2 is where things start getting confusing for people going that route, though, and it's obviously recommended to at least play Zero+Azure before CS3.)
My issue for people starting with Zero, is some of the best scenes in that game directly build on events from Sky, so newcomers won't get the full effects of it without at least seeing a summary of Sky (especially SC and parts of the 3rd.)
Each method will provide its own advantages and disadvantages, though, but personally, my ranking for starting games, in terms of enjoyment for newcomers is: Sky FC>CS1>Zero.
The problem with summaries is that you won’t be attached to the characters at all.
You feel no impact in the reunification scene or when that specific girl rescued her little brother.
@livault Well, what do you want people to do? Falcom could have at least released the Sky games on Mordern consoles, but noooooo. Some people don't have either a PSP or a PC. All that effort, just to play three games? This is why the series struggles to get newcomers, and it puts some people off. I personally love this franchise and will continue to play them all, but the entry point is not newcomer friendly in the slightest.
Not to mention, there are some serious gatekeeping problems in the fanbase. Because of that behaviour, newcomers get immediately put off from even attempting to try one game. This is why this specific youtuber is 100% correct. We should be more supportive of newcomers. Not slandering them, because they want to start with an arc that looks more appealing to them. Let them start where they wanna start. After that, I guarantee they will want to go back and play the others.
@@GilgaMax305they could… but there are other games that take priority in that regard. Party because they are on PC and run well on modern hardware, while other parts of their back catalogue are in a worse position.
I played trails in the sky for hours and hours and thought it was boring. but I still want to get into it
Did you finish the first Sky game?
@@user-od5th6zd2f nah.
I've started fc. Intend to play them all. The new persona games dropping early next year tho so this is gonna take a long time. I like that there are so many to get through because when I ran out of persona I was very sad.
I would point out that all these games are on GeForce Now. Which means if you own a compatible TV (I own a Samsung smart TV), you can connect a controller to the TV and play your Steam purchased game on your TV like a console. Just another accessibility option.
Switch + Moonlight = all trails games on my switch and PC + Laptop and I can use the same saves on all devices.
Love that.
I started with Zero, then Azure. Then I did the Sky trilogy and played crossbell duology again (I'm redoing azure RN). I can't wait to get to Cold Steel and reverie !
Started with CS 1 loved it and immediately went back to sky fc took a long time since it felt really slow( I know CS is slower i just liked the setting) got to the ending plot twist and was hooked from there skipped trails in the sky the third because of the dungeon crawling but watched doors and video summarys.
Yea, I can bring myself to play 10 games to get to the end of a games series I dont even know ill like. Ill watch those youtube summary suggestions you had. Thank you. I already bought the lastest one, just gotta get a brief overview before I play. If it proves good enough then Ill consider playing the others.
Is this like, actually a question? You miss out on a TON if you don't play in release order. Start with Zero and you're missing out on Joshua and Estelle's importance, what's up with Renne, what happened with Orobouros and the Liber Arc. I'm only on chapter 2 of CS1, but there's already been tons of connections to Arianhrod, the Phantasmal Blaze plan, and the Western Zemuria trade conference drawn. You gotta start with Sky FC if you ain't a turkey
I mean, it's a question because depending on the platforms you own, you can't play certain games. If you don't have a PC, you can't play Sky at all. If you're on Switch, then Sky and CS 1 and 2 are not available. Asking someone who's curious about a series to buy an entirely new platform when they could just start with one of the arcs (which are designed by Falcom to be entry-points for newcomers) that are actually available on their platform is extremely short-sighted.
I started with Cold steel 1 and became a fan immediately. Im playing zero now and i do agree its a good starting point.
Is it really? It’s very reliant on several pieces of info from Sky (which Cold Steel also provides) while it is just a very by the books “rookie cops getting brought down constantly by corruption” until a certain character joins the cast and it suddenly turns into a proper Trails story.
I remember picking up “Cold steel 1” for vita just because I wanted an RPG to play on my new hand held. It took forever to actually get hooked on it. I kept putting it down again and again. It wasn’t until I got a little ways past the first or second field study, that it started to click. At that point I bought it on steam because it had the boost and added more voice work. I blitzed the game at that point I was all in. I don’t have the gaming stamina I used to so I have only hit like 75% completion on like ‘cold steel 2” and 3 and 4 and zero and I haven’t even started Azure but I did start Reverie recently…….. I think I have a discipline problem. I’ve bought cold steel like 3 times now.
I started with kuro 1&2 then went to reverie and it’s fine. Kuro has summaries and info on everything important
Fwiw, the Vita versions of Sky have English patches derived from the PC translations. It’s a bit of a process to patch the games, but can’t argue with the results. I’ve only just begun with Sky FC, let’s see how it goes
I’m certainly happy with however people play the games. My only issue is when people assert too much that there’s only one true way to play it. There are very real accessibility problems for Sky that many RPG fans simply don’t care to solve themselves, and I think we need to be more sensitive to those than dismissive.
@@BacklogBattle yeah there is absolutely no sense in being doctrinaire about this kind of thing. let the people have fun!
I would start with Cold steel 1 because the chances of spoilers of the Sky series is at a minimum and makes you curious about The Liberl saga, Zero and Azure spoils a lot of the sky series while CS1 and 2 don't do much spoiling until the end of CS2 and CS3, especially the first chapter of CS3.
I did that and I have no regret.
edit: I would also add Kuro 1 as a good start point because the spoilers are at a minimum like CS1 but the battle system is way revamp compared to the previous games.
awesome video, thanks for the info!
I started with cold steel. I am in chapter 4 and have already 35 hours of game time. This game is huge and needs your time really.
Personally - I feel like they're divided into chunks like this
Trails of cold steel 1-4
Trails in the sky 1-2nd-3rd
Trails from zero, azure
Any one can enjoy those chunks independently.
Either Sky Trilogy or Trails to Zero
i already play them allll except reverie.. seems good. cold steel my fav trilogy.
i still feel like sky is best place to start since its all on a linear storyline
I think Cold Steel 1 & 2 are the easiest to get into as far as gameplay and pacing goes (though they take about 100 hours each to get through if you want to get all the points). It definitely helps to play those before Cold Steel 3 & 4 since it's a continuous storyline. I still haven't made it through to the end of the other Vita Trails games yet, the pacing is so slow. And i'm still working my way through the first of the two Switch remakes. I've played enough of all non-Cold Steel games to be familiar with the various characters, but not sure If I will jump into Reverie just yet.
The order I have experienced the games
Cold steel 1
Cold steel 2
Trails from zero
Trails azure
Sky 1ch
Sky 2ch
Sky 3rd
Cold steel 3
Cold steel 4
Hoping for a sky trilogy release on modern platforms 😁 having everything else just feels off for now.
Don't mind me as I sail the seven sees to experience it all haha Don't mind me at all!... 👀
This caught my eye recently, definitely going to try it! What’s the track playing btw? Sounds so good
Dude Trails in the Sky 3rd can be played on Ps Vita with a fan translation patch. All of them can be played on console if you have a PS Vita and either a Switch or PS4
I started with Cold Steel without knowing much, the game just caught my attention when it received a physical PS4 release. After finishing the game, I jumped immediately into CS II (logical with the cliffhanger I guess). But then by the end of CS II those 2 characters from Crossbell appeared, and I began reading about the series. Then I read that to enjoy CS III the Crossbell games were important, and to enjoy the Crossbell games the Sky trilogy was important. So I played all 5 before jumping into CS III. I was already invested into the series, so 5 more games? No problem! Sometimes it is better not to know much, to just begin one of the games. Then it is hard to stop playing.
Thank god for the Steam Deck
I love my Steam Deck! I just wish I had the rest of the Trails games on there!
@@BacklogBattle After getting to nearly the end of Cold Steel 2 on my vita, I was informed that the Sky trilogy and Crossbell Duology existed. I got the previous games on my steam deck, and am on Zero right now. I love this series.
It's just Sky FC. I can't imagine anywhere else, I started with Steel and stopped straight away when I found out the game was so far down the line and there was others in the franchise. Sky games run on a potato so there isn't much excuse for not trying them. Zero spoils way too much and banks on you knowing Renne and her journey. Cold Steel references Sky so much in the first 2 games and by 3 you NEED Crossbell knowledge. Trails is the only fandom I've been in where people say just jump in the middle we would never say that when it comes to book like Harry Potter,Star Wars (just watch Empire), or the MCU films (start with Infinity War or start with Civil War) 10 games is alot but hey they are some of the best JRPGs in the game and once you start you won't wanna stop and there is no rush to "catch up"
I found the opposite to be true. The Trails fandom actually attack people who don’t follow the release order, regardless of the personal situation of the person who asked the advice. Passion is one thing, but to propose that there’s only one way to experience something is all sorts of arrogant, even in the situations you presented.
This also ignores the two points I mentioned: that the Sky trilogy is PC only and that you cannot play these games on console.
@@BacklogBattle It's 2023 MOST people do have a PC or laptop and any form of PC/laptop can run Sky. so that's probably personal
preference so yeah in that case as you've said there is other options like watching a LP or watching a video summary even if that isn't ideal.
I think people attack fans who don't follow the release order because of my point they are robbing themselves of great payoffs and callbacks which makes sense. Maybe they should be less aggressive sure
In spite of my suggestion above, I do agree with this. A lot of the Librel (spelling) references shared in Cold Steel went right over my head if I'm being honest. However what really prompted me to go back and play the Sky series (besides everyone saying how amazing it was) is not knowing much about Renne, Estelle and Joshua. I loved the route I took in the series and honesty gave up all hope in ever getting the chance to play the Sky Trilogy, but I do wish I'd known more about Estelle and Joshua when I started Zero. It surely would have made more of an impact when they appeared on screen.
@@controlroomguy I mostly agree with this. The only difference I have is that I don't really care that much if people are robbing themselves from the payoffs or not. Give them the information and it's their responsibility to pick the path that will bring them the most enjoyment. At the end of the day, it really comes down to personal preference. As you said, Trails games are super old and easily runnable. Some people prefer to play on console only and that's the way they like to game. I do definitely think some people are a little too passionate about it but I also do feel like I can kind of understand if they're being fed misleading information to start in a specific place.
@@TrailsofZemuria Oh for sure I remember when NISA themselves tried to push to start with Cold Steel 3 which is a horrifying idea 3,4 and Rev are like the absolute worst place to start. Yeah if people only game on consoles then summarises/let's play are there.
There is always the Steam Deck for playing all of the games in a console-like environment.
That requires yet another purchase, but you are correct that just merely having the 'Deck is a great way to have all of Trails in one spot!
God I still remember the time when Cold Steel 1 was localized that I played that as my entry point and then played Sky FC and SC on PSP emulators. After those played Zero and Azure on PSP emulators with rough English patches 😂. Loved this series since then (heck even have an imported copy of CSIII before it was localized just to be able to play it. Also played Reverie back in 2020 when it released on western Steam, but as the JP version and have played through most of Kuro 1 on my PS5) Only thing I can say now is that finishing FF16 is now gonna be on the back burner until I beat Reverie XP
I started a couple years ago with Sky FC, enjoyed most of it and quickly started SC after it, but abandoned SC around chapter 2 and never went back yet. So I guess starting from the beginning didn't work out well for me. I'll probably try starting from Zero some day.
I would love to start with Sky but I don’t have a working PC and Mac may not fair any better. I just ordered CS1 so I may start with that one and see if it’s worth my time but for now Sky is just not accessible to me right now. Tempted to watch the summaries but I also would love to support Falcom cause I’ve played some of of the YS games and loved those.
Im in the beginning-ish of Cold Steel 2
I’m near the end of Trails Zero
I just bought Reverie…
😖😖😖😖
While there are so many games with hundreds of hours to cover I think it's very easy to start, especially as all games are available now. You can't do wrong with either Sky 1st, Zero or CS1+2 as your entry into the series, however I'd rather recommend Sky or CS. Just start already ;).
I did: CS1, CS2, Zero, Sky trilogy, CS3, Azure, CS4, R.
You can never go wrong with the og order: Sky trilogy, Crossbell duology, CS series, R.
I think it's important to finish the Sky series before Azure and all other games before CS3, 4 and R.
IF you want to safe some time there's a very good summary of the Sky games on YT. However I recommend to play at least one, better two games before watching it so that you're already familiar with the world and the games general structure.
Now go ahead and enjoy the best series of all time. 😊
I started with cold steel 1+2. then now I played Sky trilogy recently and will start Zero and Azure next, before I continue with Cold Steel 3+4 🤣 not exactly the right order. But a friend of mine only played Cold Steel 1-4 and still enjoyed them a lot, without her playing sky or the crossbill arc so far. But I will still replay cold steel 1 and 2 after I finished liberl and Crossbell arcs. Love the connections those games have 👍🏻😊 my friend wanted to play Sky First Chapter but it was to difficult for her (she normally plays games in easy) and Sky 1st didn’t have an easy option to play. 🙈
Started this week on trails in sky becos i didn't finish the game on psp didn't know this game is long
I am currently streaming the entire series ng+ here on Saturdays if you want to experience the series. I do the voices on how I would imagine these characters sounding like. Currently on Sky the 3rd
I chose to start with Cold Steel and I fell in love with the series. It made me want to go back all the way to Trails in the Sky and I’m so glad I did! It’s been a roller coaster of emotions and well worth the time IMO. I’m on Sky the 3rd now and it’s amazing. But I can understand it’s not for everyone. I would recommend at least Trails from Zero first as it’ll tie in all the way to Reverie. Don’t miss out guys :)