Mr. Jakes! I'm the English VA for Rene Kincaid in Trails through Daybreak. Wanted to reach out to let you know how much I love your videos. I've watched so much of your PC-88 Paradise library. Your style is perfect - you're so easy to listen to, and you strike just the right balance of history, humor, and gameplay. I also so appreciate your dedication to showing box artwork, manuals, and other materials from the time. It's all so fascinating and wonderful. Thanks for making such a great series.
Hajimari is great, Kuro is great, both have english injection patches out now so you can buy the chinese or korean version and patch them to english yourself.
I'm now playing it on PC with the English fan patch, and I'm glad that PH3 managed to fix the load times for this port. Load times are short enough that they might as well remove the loading screen tips, since I don't have time to read them anyway.
Interesting to hear that you weren't hooked with the prelude and chapter 1 since a lot of people are saying It's great and very unusual narrative direction from Falcom. Also the pacing is much improved and is more Zero no Kiseki than CS arc.
For me it felt a bit slow near the beginning. Basically just a mafia and a private detective investigating a murder. Maybe a bit of a different narrative for Falcom (and kind of like Zero/Ao now that you mention it), but not something that I haven't seen a lot in TV shows and other media. The story and characters do get gradually better, I think. But this is all just my opinion of course. I hope the game grabs others from the very beginning. Thanks for watching!
Well, because I collect games for the NEC PC-88 computer, as well as other old Japanese PCs. I live in Tokyo and usually buy the games used online in Japan. Check my "PC-88 Paradise" video series. Thanks for watching!
Looking forward to the full English release in a few days time, and I like your reviews so interesting to hear your (non spoilery) thoughts. I'm more into modern games so I have a feeling I'll enjoy this quite a bit
Really enjoyed this video. Weirdly it gave me flashbacks to watching your preview of Cold Steel III back in the day. Had to wait two years before I could play that game in English and it might be the same situation with Kuro. Regardless, thanks for making the preview.
This is one of the few videos on TH-cam that describes the game in a compact yet detailed way without spoiling a lot! Thank you for that! The church theme 🤣, yes I get that this theme has been used since the first Trails game, probably to be consistent with the religion it belongs to. It can also feel nostalgic. Like when they used a slightly reworked theme from a specific facility the Crossbell Arc that returned in CSIV, that hit the feels... And yes, those big cities are the bane of my existence... Especially since I would like to experience everything and Trails games have the lovely NPC side stories too. I'm looking forward to a great localisation 🙏, maybe that will make you feel more connected to the characters as well. And of course maybe a PS5 version will bring it extra FPS and even sharper textures to take it to another graphical level, although it already looks amazing!😍
That's an interesting trend that a lot of JRPGs have these days; allowing you to shift between live action and turn-based. The first time I noticed this was in FF7R. Is it because they want to appeal to both audiences or just give players more flexibility and options? I like both turn-based and action style so I don't care either way.
Other than the fact that FF7R was half as* labor cheap about it. This is a good comparison. I care either way, It you put enough labor into you get better sales and product.
Can't really call it action combat, more like improved field combat since every fight that you don't hopelessly overlevel would still end up in turnbased mode. Its a gimmick but one that smoothes out the gameplay a bit so its fine.
no, the action part is just an improvement to the "getting an advantage before battle" systems in jrpgs. You hit them untill you stun one of them and then switch to tur based to get tons of advantage bonuses. Its way better than the usual "hit monsters behinds once to get advantage bonus".
I've completed this one. It's a solid game with many fantastic moments. The music is also great, even above average in the saga. My main complaint is the difficulty: even on Nightmare, my party died only like four or five times before the final battle, an enormous difference from Reverie where the Abyss difficulty had my party killed hundreds of times. This deviates quite a lot from the elaborate tactics system the game introduces. My second more minor complaint is the Finale, especially its pacing. Though there were great moments, I thought parts of the Finale were the weakest in the entire series.
This video made me really want to play Trails again even though I just beat CSIV a few months ago. Falcom really stepped things up and looking forward to how things play out. Might just play through all the Trails and other Falcom games I own.
I still want to get this, I got hooked on Ys 8 back at the start of the year and thoroughly enjoyed Ys 9 when that came out so I want to try and get into other Falcom series. I enjoyed this review, there might be somethings I dont like, there might be some things I do. But I'll still take the risk and still give it a go.
Definitely give it a go! This is one of the better entry points to the series. Keep in mind that it is a time-consuming series, though, and the characters will talk forever about every little thing. With some patience and a willingness to enjoy the "world", it can be a very enjoyable experience.
I suggest starting with either Sky FC or Coldsteel 1. Kuro while being a start of a new arc game has tons of returning characters and Van the new protagonist knows a lot of the preexisting characters.
I have a feeling that Calvard will me my favourite arc. And you saying it sometimes feels a lot like Tokyo Xanadu, which I loved, reinforces that. Can't wait to play it, but I have to get through all of Cold Steel first -_- I'm so behind...
I don't like the idea of this split battle system. It seems like the game has identity problems. Be one or the other--turn based or action--just make sure you do it really well. Instead, this seems to try to dabble in both and comes up with a half baked result. Despite the idea that turn based battles are archaic and out of style, I would recommend that the game stick to those because the audience playing this sort of game is likely used to that and would want that. In any case, great video. I always love your content. I can't think of anyone else on TH-cam who covers obscure Japanese PC games from the 80s and 90s nearly so well. I notice that people who do usually stay away from the eroge's, which I completely understand, but it is leaving out some kind of interesting games regardless of the sexual content like Dragon Knight and Possessioner.
There is no split system, its just shitty advertising. Action combat mode is foreplay for turnbased. You weaken enemies and finish them in turnbased. Bosses are fully turnbased from the start.
Thanks for the video! I'm a huge Trails fan, mainly because of Trails in the Sky (I remember waiting forever for the Second Chapter translation, and all the drama that surrounded it); and I know it sounds like a minor complaint, but Trails of Cold Steel left a bad taste in my mouth because of the "choose your own romantic interest" system. One of the things that Trails in the Sky did so well was telling a clear, compelling story about two main characters - Joshua and Estelle - and the evolution of their relationship; Cold Steel threw everything out of the window, making Rean an impossibly perfect chick magnet with little personality, so he could be the avatar of the player, and I think that was a big mistake from Falcom. One of the side effects of this system (besides relegating romance to optional events instead of making it an important part of the bigger picture) is that no other male character in a huge, diverse cast can get romantically involved with any female character, 'cause the protagonist must have his harem choice intact. And Rean can even bang... okay, let's say kiss... his hot, older teacher. Say what you want, but I find it almost disturbing.
@@BasementBrothers to be honest I kind of expected it since the stuff with rean then kea, seen it a mile away. Can see calvard use the septtarion in the past from the old kingdom in the east and or Thier revolution history.
I found it annoying to have to go backward in time and be told "All that stuff you just did never happened!" Even though I knew that I was actually progressing the game forward and I got to keep all my XP, equipment, etc. It just felt like I was being set back somehow and I hated that. I suppose it might not bother some people at all.
@@BasementBrothers I totally agreed with how you feel. I got bored of bravely default because of the same kind of mechanic. Didn't really finish or play any of the others because of it
Hmm. Unfortunately I don't have much to say because I'm unfamiliar with this game Alec. But I do have to say it does look very interesting. I like it bro. Thank you Alec, I learned something new today. 8^)
Seems to be an improvement over cold steel in characters. Cold steel left me extremely disappointed to the point I dropped the series at CS3 because how insanely cheesy and generic harem it became. Crossbell was the peak for me. Least playabe characters made me actually care about them and it felt like they all mattered unlike in cold steel where half the cast felt pointless and could easily just have existed as an npc and do the same job.
Thanks for the review! I'm a little disappointed that the action side of the battle system is so basic. Ys and Tokyo Xanadu are a lot of fun to play, so i was hoping this would be too. But just basic attacks and dodging sounds so...dull.
I have yet to play a Legend of Heroes game, but I’m interested in getting into the “Cold Steel” games. The battle system you show seems like it lacks confidence. If you feel like you RPG’s battle system needs a separate alternate battle system to prevent you from getting bored, maybe your system isn’t what it should be. Jamming two systems together doesn’t seem like the solution. Pick one and make it really good!
Nah the existing battle system was fine but they just wanted to spice things up. Arts and crafts combat has existed in trails series since 2003 trails in the sky
There are no 2 systems. The "action combat" is just improved field combat to serve as foreplay for turnbased. You hit the enemy like 5 times and then do a special move which stuns them as you transition to turnbased. It smoothes out field encounters, nothing more nothing less. There really is no "Do you want to play action or turnbased?" choice, both systems flow into eachother. Though you can ignore the action combat and go straight to turnbased.
The first game in any new trails series is always the worst, as the first game tends to have the most heavy lifting to do in terms of setting the scene. I'm curious to try the new battle system. I'm a turn-based purist at heart, but I do love the action RPG system of Y's, and I want to try this hybrid.
With one of the characters being 69 years old, it's not hard to imagine that one of the devs clearly have a sense of humour there... At least, I doubt that was an accident.
I've been watching a Lets play of Kuro and in the middle of chapter 1 it does feel slot like CS1 it is so average 4 a trails game not my favourite or least favourite TLDR it's a trails game for better and worse
The characters are so far above class 7 in terms of being interesting and they don't throw all of them at you at once. Van has an actual personality and doesn't follow all the tropes that Rean was constantly plagued by. Aaron is an actual good pervy character who doesn't let that become his only character trait. All the party members also don't finish their character arcs in game 1 unlike coldsteel so they will stay relevant for kuro's sequel. Connect events are also a big step above bond events. Only time I saw coldsteel writing in this game was chapter 3 which was probably the main thing handled by the old writing staff. Bad parts of kuro are definitely the gameplay becoming even easier and the turn order display becoming a lot more confusing for 0 reason. The game has good music but doesnt use it well, multiple times you face a new cool important boss who should have their own theme but they play the same boss theme for the 10th time while other generic boss themes play just once or twice. The alignment system is pretty trash all things considered. Some jobber bosses also get way overused to the point where you fight them 2x in a chapter. But thats honestly ok, they can fine tune the combat and music placement has always been hit or miss. Having a good foundation however will go a long way for this arc to not end up a mess like CS.
As long as they don't make him a harem anime protagonist like with Rean I'm happy. Having the option to romance your students was the cringiest thing ever
@@akiradkcn Cold steel Killed the series for me. CS3 was the final straw with the forced harem. Sure didnt give me a choice on that matter. Saddens me how it fell from the perfection being Crossbell to the shallow game being cold steel.
Mr. Jakes! I'm the English VA for Rene Kincaid in Trails through Daybreak. Wanted to reach out to let you know how much I love your videos. I've watched so much of your PC-88 Paradise library. Your style is perfect - you're so easy to listen to, and you strike just the right balance of history, humor, and gameplay. I also so appreciate your dedication to showing box artwork, manuals, and other materials from the time. It's all so fascinating and wonderful. Thanks for making such a great series.
Really glad to hear you enjoy my videos! And also hope that Daybreak is a hit in English! I'm sure you did Kincaid justice.
I can't wait to play this and Hajimari. I'm currently at the final dungeon of CSIV and I'm dragging it out- I don't want it to end 😭
Hajimari is great, I can tell you that
Hajimari is great, Kuro is great, both have english injection patches out now so you can buy the chinese or korean version and patch them to english yourself.
I can't wait for the game to finally come to the west in July.
Reasons why I should learn Japanese
Now that you mention Tokyo Xanadu I really want them to make a Tokyo Xanadu 2
PS4 and Switch demo releasing June 4!
And you can transfer the save data to the full game.
Glad it's not full action as I prefer turn-based combat. Love the new engine. Hope it gets translated sooner then later.
I'm now playing it on PC with the English fan patch, and I'm glad that PH3 managed to fix the load times for this port. Load times are short enough that they might as well remove the loading screen tips, since I don't have time to read them anyway.
Interesting to hear that you weren't hooked with the prelude and chapter 1 since a lot of people are saying It's great and very unusual narrative direction from Falcom. Also the pacing is much improved and is more Zero no Kiseki than CS arc.
For me it felt a bit slow near the beginning. Basically just a mafia and a private detective investigating a murder. Maybe a bit of a different narrative for Falcom (and kind of like Zero/Ao now that you mention it), but not something that I haven't seen a lot in TV shows and other media. The story and characters do get gradually better, I think. But this is all just my opinion of course. I hope the game grabs others from the very beginning. Thanks for watching!
ROFL HOW THE HECK do you have the ORIGINAL DRAGON SLAYERS on diskette no less! That's amazing.
Well, because I collect games for the NEC PC-88 computer, as well as other old Japanese PCs. I live in Tokyo and usually buy the games used online in Japan. Check my "PC-88 Paradise" video series. Thanks for watching!
@@BasementBrothers I'm a sucker for detective stuff, sounds amazing but it does also sound slow.
Traditional Rpg with a 40 year old protagonist? Yakuza 7. He loves Dragonquest. Ichiban Kasugai.
Looking forward to the full English release in a few days time, and I like your reviews so interesting to hear your (non spoilery) thoughts. I'm more into modern games so I have a feeling I'll enjoy this quite a bit
Really enjoyed this video. Weirdly it gave me flashbacks to watching your preview of Cold Steel III back in the day. Had to wait two years before I could play that game in English and it might be the same situation with Kuro. Regardless, thanks for making the preview.
This is one of the few videos on TH-cam that describes the game in a compact yet detailed way without spoiling a lot! Thank you for that!
The church theme 🤣, yes I get that this theme has been used since the first Trails game, probably to be consistent with the religion it belongs to. It can also feel nostalgic. Like when they used a slightly reworked theme from a specific facility the Crossbell Arc that returned in CSIV, that hit the feels...
And yes, those big cities are the bane of my existence... Especially since I would like to experience everything and Trails games have the lovely NPC side stories too.
I'm looking forward to a great localisation 🙏, maybe that will make you feel more connected to the characters as well.
And of course maybe a PS5 version will bring it extra FPS and even sharper textures to take it to another graphical level, although it already looks amazing!😍
That's an interesting trend that a lot of JRPGs have these days; allowing you to shift between live action and turn-based. The first time I noticed this was in FF7R. Is it because they want to appeal to both audiences or just give players more flexibility and options? I like both turn-based and action style so I don't care either way.
Other than the fact that FF7R was half as* labor cheap about it. This is a good comparison. I care either way, It you put enough labor into you get better sales and product.
Can't really call it action combat, more like improved field combat since every fight that you don't hopelessly overlevel would still end up in turnbased mode.
Its a gimmick but one that smoothes out the gameplay a bit so its fine.
The turn based mode in 7Remake is hot garbage tho?
no, the action part is just an improvement to the "getting an advantage before battle" systems in jrpgs. You hit them untill you stun one of them and then switch to tur based to get tons of advantage bonuses. Its way better than the usual "hit monsters behinds once to get advantage bonus".
I've completed this one. It's a solid game with many fantastic moments. The music is also great, even above average in the saga. My main complaint is the difficulty: even on Nightmare, my party died only like four or five times before the final battle, an enormous difference from Reverie where the Abyss difficulty had my party killed hundreds of times. This deviates quite a lot from the elaborate tactics system the game introduces. My second more minor complaint is the Finale, especially its pacing. Though there were great moments, I thought parts of the Finale were the weakest in the entire series.
This video made me really want to play Trails again even though I just beat CSIV a few months ago. Falcom really stepped things up and looking forward to how things play out. Might just play through all the Trails and other Falcom games I own.
Got a chuckle at 5:45.
I’ve been waiting for this review. I’ve been thinking of buying the Japanese version.
Great Stuff, as always.
I still want to get this, I got hooked on Ys 8 back at the start of the year and thoroughly enjoyed Ys 9 when that came out so I want to try and get into other Falcom series.
I enjoyed this review, there might be somethings I dont like, there might be some things I do. But I'll still take the risk and still give it a go.
Definitely give it a go! This is one of the better entry points to the series. Keep in mind that it is a time-consuming series, though, and the characters will talk forever about every little thing. With some patience and a willingness to enjoy the "world", it can be a very enjoyable experience.
@@BasementBrothers
Well I've come to expect long dialogue from JRPG's so I should be fine
I suggest starting with either Sky FC or Coldsteel 1. Kuro while being a start of a new arc game has tons of returning characters and Van the new protagonist knows a lot of the preexisting characters.
Finally no more Rean harem focused character interactions
still waiting for the crossbell arc to be ported here... as well as Hajimari...
Had a good time with this game, new engine is smooth, ost is good. Much needed break from class 7 I can't even put in words 😂
Yea Class 7 bullshit started to get out of hand. To many characters
An unapologetic Falcom fanboy. I am definitely one of those myself Falcom is the best of the best in my opinion.
I have a feeling that Calvard will me my favourite arc. And you saying it sometimes feels a lot like Tokyo Xanadu, which I loved, reinforces that. Can't wait to play it, but I have to get through all of Cold Steel first -_- I'm so behind...
Whoops, my error Alec. I really need to be aware on your other family members names to prevent these mistakes bro. My apologizes. 8^)
Anthony..
It's just me and Mr. Jakes making videos these days. The third brother doesn't make anything.
I don't like the idea of this split battle system. It seems like the game has identity problems. Be one or the other--turn based or action--just make sure you do it really well. Instead, this seems to try to dabble in both and comes up with a half baked result. Despite the idea that turn based battles are archaic and out of style, I would recommend that the game stick to those because the audience playing this sort of game is likely used to that and would want that.
In any case, great video. I always love your content. I can't think of anyone else on TH-cam who covers obscure Japanese PC games from the 80s and 90s nearly so well. I notice that people who do usually stay away from the eroge's, which I completely understand, but it is leaving out some kind of interesting games regardless of the sexual content like Dragon Knight and Possessioner.
There is no split system, its just shitty advertising. Action combat mode is foreplay for turnbased.
You weaken enemies and finish them in turnbased. Bosses are fully turnbased from the start.
thank god this gameplay is better 😮
You boys be quiet down there. We all experienced this growing up.
Thanks for the video! I'm a huge Trails fan, mainly because of Trails in the Sky (I remember waiting forever for the Second Chapter translation, and all the drama that surrounded it); and I know it sounds like a minor complaint, but Trails of Cold Steel left a bad taste in my mouth because of the "choose your own romantic interest" system. One of the things that Trails in the Sky did so well was telling a clear, compelling story about two main characters - Joshua and Estelle - and the evolution of their relationship; Cold Steel threw everything out of the window, making Rean an impossibly perfect chick magnet with little personality, so he could be the avatar of the player, and I think that was a big mistake from Falcom. One of the side effects of this system (besides relegating romance to optional events instead of making it an important part of the bigger picture) is that no other male character in a huge, diverse cast can get romantically involved with any female character, 'cause the protagonist must have his harem choice intact. And Rean can even bang... okay, let's say kiss... his hot, older teacher. Say what you want, but I find it almost disturbing.
So it's good? It's not good? I honestly can't tell from this review
It's both, man. Like most things it's got a little bad and a little good in it.
What were your thoughts on crimson sin ?
It was fine overall. I liked the improvements in the field battles, but I didn't like the time slipping aspect in the story.
@@BasementBrothers to be honest I kind of expected it since the stuff with rean then kea, seen it a mile away. Can see calvard use the septtarion in the past from the old kingdom in the east and or Thier revolution history.
I found it annoying to have to go backward in time and be told "All that stuff you just did never happened!" Even though I knew that I was actually progressing the game forward and I got to keep all my XP, equipment, etc. It just felt like I was being set back somehow and I hated that. I suppose it might not bother some people at all.
@@BasementBrothers I totally agreed with how you feel. I got bored of bravely default because of the same kind of mechanic. Didn't really finish or play any of the others because of it
Hmm. Unfortunately I don't have much to say because I'm unfamiliar with this game Alec. But I do have to say it does look very interesting. I like it bro.
Thank you Alec, I learned something new today. 8^)
Hi Anthony. All the Falcom videos aren't mine. My brother makes this stuff. It's not even my voice. -Neo-Alec
Seems to be an improvement over cold steel in characters. Cold steel left me extremely disappointed to the point I dropped the series at CS3 because how insanely cheesy and generic harem it became. Crossbell was the peak for me. Least playabe characters made me actually care about them and it felt like they all mattered unlike in cold steel where half the cast felt pointless and could easily just have existed as an npc and do the same job.
Thanks for the review! I'm a little disappointed that the action side of the battle system is so basic. Ys and Tokyo Xanadu are a lot of fun to play, so i was hoping this would be too. But just basic attacks and dodging sounds so...dull.
This review is excellent and balanced, thankfully it’s not another gushfest like I usually see whenever someone reviews the trails series.
Is this game in English yet? All I can find are patched pc versions. I wanna buy it.
No. They still need to release the game that comes before this one, "Trails of Reverie". It's due out in English finally this year.
I will buy the pc japanese version and then patch it in English
I have yet to play a Legend of Heroes game, but I’m interested in getting into the “Cold Steel” games.
The battle system you show seems like it lacks confidence. If you feel like you RPG’s battle system needs a separate alternate battle system to prevent you from getting bored, maybe your system isn’t what it should be. Jamming two systems together doesn’t seem like the solution. Pick one and make it really good!
Nah the existing battle system was fine but they just wanted to spice things up.
Arts and crafts combat has existed in trails series since 2003 trails in the sky
Turn based in trail series is already great, I'm playing Sky trilogy right now, have tried a bit of cold steel but i'm gonna wait until i finish sky.
There are no 2 systems. The "action combat" is just improved field combat to serve as foreplay for turnbased.
You hit the enemy like 5 times and then do a special move which stuns them as you transition to turnbased.
It smoothes out field encounters, nothing more nothing less.
There really is no "Do you want to play action or turnbased?" choice, both systems flow into eachother.
Though you can ignore the action combat and go straight to turnbased.
The first game in any new trails series is always the worst, as the first game tends to have the most heavy lifting to do in terms of setting the scene. I'm curious to try the new battle system. I'm a turn-based purist at heart, but I do love the action RPG system of Y's, and I want to try this hybrid.
With one of the characters being 69 years old, it's not hard to imagine that one of the devs clearly have a sense of humour there... At least, I doubt that was an accident.
I've been watching a Lets play of Kuro and in the middle of chapter 1 it does feel slot like CS1 it is so average 4 a trails game not my favourite or least favourite TLDR it's a trails game for better and worse
The characters are so far above class 7 in terms of being interesting and they don't throw all of them at you at once. Van has an actual personality and doesn't follow all the tropes that Rean was constantly plagued by.
Aaron is an actual good pervy character who doesn't let that become his only character trait.
All the party members also don't finish their character arcs in game 1 unlike coldsteel so they will stay relevant for kuro's sequel.
Connect events are also a big step above bond events.
Only time I saw coldsteel writing in this game was chapter 3 which was probably the main thing handled by the old writing staff.
Bad parts of kuro are definitely the gameplay becoming even easier and the turn order display becoming a lot more confusing for 0 reason.
The game has good music but doesnt use it well, multiple times you face a new cool important boss who should have their own theme but they play the same boss theme for the 10th time while other generic boss themes play just once or twice.
The alignment system is pretty trash all things considered.
Some jobber bosses also get way overused to the point where you fight them 2x in a chapter.
But thats honestly ok, they can fine tune the combat and music placement has always been hit or miss.
Having a good foundation however will go a long way for this arc to not end up a mess like CS.
Transformation kind of reminds me of persona 5
Can you tell me how this game ends
Sorry, no blatant spoilers here, friend! For that you'll have to go find another video. Besides, I haven't even finished it yet! :)
The combat looks awful 🤦🏾♂️
As long as they don't make him a harem anime protagonist like with Rean I'm happy. Having the option to romance your students was the cringiest thing ever
Its a OPTION for a reason
Dont like it, dont do it
True. Having well written, varied, believable, and non-shallow character dynamics is also a choice.
@@jesserivera2043 yes
@@akiradkcn Cold steel Killed the series for me. CS3 was the final straw with the forced harem. Sure didnt give me a choice on that matter. Saddens me how it fell from the perfection being Crossbell to the shallow game being cold steel.
@@NisseDood whatever