This video covers up to Trails into Reverie. Please do not post Kuro/Daybreak spoilers in the comments. People like to go into games as blind as possible without knowing any details at all about the story, even ones you may consider insignificant. I will be removing Kuro spoiler comments from here on out as they have nothing to do with the video. Favorite Trails moments video: th-cam.com/video/_1BdPeh13JI/w-d-xo.html I have also made a favorite Zelda moments video here: th-cam.com/video/ooMLr1TnI-s/w-d-xo.html
The lack of commitment to killing chars and the non satisfying ending for the romance sub plot are definitely my 2 biggest gripes with a series that I still enjoyed! Good video.
I suppose the fans that hate their favorite character is killed/don't get with the MC are the most virulent on the internet so the hardest to control if you don't pander to them. That said Alisa being my least favorite playable character(along with Angelica and Musse) i am not sad there isn't a canon couple since it would have probably been her.
MAN, you're so based for picking Towa, though! Finally somebody gets me! They also had a moment together at the end of cold steel 2, where Rean showed her his vulnerable side after returning from war - that moment actually sold it to me. Because NOBODY from the supposed romancable characters even considered to do this. Hell yeah, brother! I know I sound crynge, but hey. I also think, that part of the problems of Cold Steel 1 is that it was used to test too many considerable changes to their usual formula at once, which made it both better than previous games at some things (like battle system - although it became too casual for my liking), and worse at others (like playable character development, cause there was too many of them). Great video man)
Thank you! You are correct, that's one of Towa's best moments, and I still regret not mentioning it in my top 10 favorite moments video. 😔 CS1 was the second game in the series I played, so I didn't really notice all the problems until I played it a second time. I did like the battle system of the whole CS series, but yeah, all the other new "features" just seemed to make the series worse.
Never mind important characters never dying, what I find even more ridiculous is that even the most unimportanr NPCs hardly ever die except vague mentions in flashbacks. I found it very hard to take the civil war plot seriously when a village burned down and...one old man died. That's it. I was like "Oh, come on!"
I liked the hotsprings scene in Sky though. It at least progressed Estelles character, so I don't see how it's worse than the coldsteel ones just because their a bit more natural.
what i hate the most is when i beat the villains they sometimes say something like "oh? not bad" and act like they lost on purpose. or when someone is with the good guys but they must 1st test your resolve or whatever and you have to fight them. this is almost in every game
25:39 - It actually just hit me that Franz couldn't have known Millium was going to die at the end of CS3 since they'd been planning on Altina being sacrificed for the sword for practically the whole game. So why would he have an extra copy of Millium and not Altina? The only explanation is that he made a quickee clone right after Millum died, or prepared for both possibilities and made an extra copy of both sisters. Which makes a little more sense, but than it means there's an extra Altina out there somewhere >_>
While I understand the point you made regarding the more "slice of life" moments of the series, I think the moments from Sky FC, such as the hot springs and Jenis festival moments, are more endearing as they function as character moments and buildup for the very end of the game where Joshua leaves, as it shows Estelle steadily beginning to see Joshua as a romantic interest as opposed to family, as well as a break from the action. The highs are only high if they have the necessary setup for a good payoff.
Fair enough, I just would rather not have to go through the same motions in the same way in every single Japanese game. It's just a personal annoyance, and not that big of a deal overall. Thanks for the comment 👍
The games are being created in a culture where there is communal bathing. The characters are teenagers, and the games are being made for teenagers who have to deal with the awkwardness of that. I liked the written romances way more, but it's dumb to disregard slice of life content entirely when that is what anchors people to fantasy worlds
I really must say thst watching this shows how different the taste of people can be. I started with Trails of cold steel and loved it to the point that cold steel 3 is my favorite. I can understand problems with some parts but it not means other likes it in one way or another.
Probably you started with it just like me. But once I played Sky, SC became the peak for me, followed by most of Kuro no Kiseki (the very ending of it I didn't like). So yeah. Cold Steel has way too many "I wanna Be Persona" moments.
Sorry for the late reply (I blame TH-cam lol), but yeah, there's a billion different takes on this series out there. CS3 is definitely my favorite of the CS series, so there is that. Thanks for the comment 👍
While i understand why people like CS3 so much, for me it was boring ass game until the last two chapters. I much prefer first chapter of CS4, because i have time to play without Rean and watch how everyone interacts with each other without him. It was so fresh that i was so sad when it comes to actually saving the guy, because i had such a great time with the cast without him.
i dont mind the way that Crow came back is CS3 because it makes sense with the other knight awakeners but what they did to the corageous crew is just BS, either have the balls or dont do anything
Olivert and Victor make sense, since Olivert served as the Courageous 2's pilot and Victor was affected by the curse... but the others don't make sense, I mean - the only purpose that Toval served (Other than the salt pales) was helping Rean and the others track Argres which in turn gave them the chance to stop Ishmelga for good due to the Earthen Prison
@@fierytigergaming8112 the point is, why making us think that they all die and then nobody dies!!!, that is something that really drops the franchise down, either have the balls to kill some1 or dont attempt to
Building off of #6: Characters having a normal conversation in a room, when suddenly a voice interjects from outside the room, everyone reacts with the (!!) and turns towards the door, and a new character waltzes in and joins the conversation with full knowledge of what was being discussed before they walked in. Like, were they just standing outside waiting for a dramatic moment to enter? How else would they know what everyone was talking about? Anyway, great vid, based choices in Rean pairings. My personal least favorite moment in the series is... the entirety of CS4 Act 2 (the "your princess is in another castle" arc after Rean rejoins). Like, you could cut it in its entirety and literally nothing would be lost in terms of plot, character development, worldbuilding, etc. And I would have 30+ hours of my life back.
Yes. T H A T W O N ' T B E N E C E S S A R Y And thanks. I agree those parts of CS4 are kind of a drag, and there are a few other Trails games that have the same filler problem to varying degrees.
fishing is incredible in stellar blade. it's a very complex system vs the just "Press the button at the right time" mode; gotta handle the direction of the rod, reel it in with adaptive triggers (too little pressure, no go, too much pressure, no go) stellar blade fishing figured it out
I feel like it's the insistence on adhering to tired anime tropes, redundant gameplay loops, and safe storytelling that encompass all the grand issues with the Trails series. All of which are emphasized moreso because they're repeated in different story arcs. Hot springs, beach scenes, raging lesbians, cross-dressing the pretty boys, the deluge of waifu bait, friendship speeches, the false threat of character deaths...all made worse as the games go on until you basically become numb to it all. But you're Number One reason is mine as well. When I first played the CS games I knew it was a slim chance the good guys would suffer any perma-deaths because the waifu factor was dialed up to a hundred and fandoms would riot if say Towa died. I feel like Falcom was chasing profitable trends when it adopted the Persona social links and choose your love interest factor, but the reason it works in Persona is because it's one game and you're done which prevents larger inconsistencies since each game is a whole new cast. Plus the MCs are blank slates that you are SUPPOSED to insert yourself into. Not fleshed out characters with personalities all their own in a narrative that suggests they themselves should choose a love interest they become attracted to due to their own interests and character traits. I feel like Falcom tried to have their cake and eat it by shoveling in the dating simulator/waifu factor but still pursue an in depth hero's journey, which was handicapped because Rean now has no love interest to contribute to it in more than a superficial way. Rean is destined to canonically hook up with no one, ever. Even Ishmelga Rean would feel bad for him.
Yeah it's really annoying, and such a shame because of how much potential this series has squandered just to chase trends. Sometimes we gotta remember who their actual target audience is: younger Japanese boys, and not really people like me who've been gaming for ~30 years, even if we've been into the series for a long time. If they shifted their focus to the mindset of those who have enjoyed the series since the beginning, I think it would benefit the series more in the long-term.
@@LowestExpectations Yeah, I'm a little worried they're going to continue this habit. From what I've heard of the Kuro games they're going to implement a Mass Effect-esque morality system, which...COULD work if they're dedicating substantial amount of foresight to it, but could also be them chasing trends again to the detriment of this grand narrative they're sculpting.
Now that I think about it, an annoying moment about Trails into Reverie is when people kept mistaking Rufus for his Simulacrum, because not one person brought up the fact that it couldn't have been Rufus who was in charge of Crossbell due to him having his hair cut (Guess they weren't wrong about Rean being clueless...), even Duvalie glossed over the fact (Which could've possibly been down to the grudge she held for him killing Lianne)
I think it says a lot that not only is Trails 3 you're favorite entry, but almost nothing in Reverie is accounted for on this list. Seems like it's the generic anime tropes and plodding gameplay/storytelling elements that really grind your gears because by the time those games take place...all the settings and characters are long since established so it's all about developing them further rather than obsess over anime tropes or waste time on countryside backtracking. And even if they are present they're all optional "Doors" that you can skip.
Reverie is a weird one. The story felt almost secondary because it's quite shorter than previous games, and I spent so much time just dicking around in the randomized dungeons with all the characters that nothing really stuck out to me. I also didn't do all of the memory segments, so maybe there is a bad one I could have included in the dishonorable mentions. I almost included the Juno Naval Fortress thing, where _literally not a single person was at the largest active military base_ when it gets destroyed, but it's just a typical eye-roll moment at that point in the series.
@@LowestExpectations I wouldn't say any memory segments are especially terrible, but over a third seemed like unnecessary padding. I didn't need to know the exact details of how Jingo got her airship, or go on a random bug hunt as Freddy. But what's actually funny about Juno getting nuked is that Marquis Ballad, Musse's pompous goof uncle introduced in CS 3, is revealed in one of the memory segments to have been put in charge of the Naval Fortress. I was laughing at the thought of this minor character suffering such a gruesome fate before Aurelia hand waves off any consequences by saying an entire fortress was emptied. Given it might have been a needlessly cruel fate for the poor guy, but I was still like "Come on, you can't even kill THAT GUY."
@@Negajoe Those details can be nice for worldbuilding junkies like me, but the one where they slap a dress on Kurt to accomplish nothing is really unecessary, it's basically trying to redo the "Joshua in a dress" but without the plot reason of Joshua infiltration Grancel; it's basically the Jenis play with even less enjoyment
I'd personally say my least favorite moments would be in Cold Steel 3 and 4 due to how out of hand the harem dynamic got. Like why are the students lumped into the group of love interests? Especially given the uptick in women stepping forward about being sexually harassed and assaulted by male authority figures in Japan. Also, basically any moment where LGBTQ+ characters are stereotyped are on my list.
I try not to draw parallels to the real world _too_ much, and just take the story as is, but yeah, I did say in #1 that "turning Trails into a harem anime is the worst thing that ever happened to it," and I stand by that. Thanks for the comment 👍
Cold Steel III actually scaled back the harem stuff with only Alisa, Laura and Emma being treated as serious love interests in their bonding events, the Elise-Rean dynamic shifting away from the awkward pining and more onto Rean's comically overprotective big-bwother tendencies while the students and other female characters in Rean's orbit (Millium, Towa, Sara, Fie, Elise & Alfin) being treated in a more platonic manner. Apparently this angered the Japanese fanbase, which (as mentioned) consists of a significant number of male middle and high school students, who were upset their favorite waifu wasn't being romanceable and the backlash resulted in Cold Steel IV doing a 180 and having ANYONE with ovaries having a thing for the player...er...I mean Rean. I kinda wonder how things would have gone if Falcom had been able to do paralel domestic/foreign releases and the western fanbase had been able to get their say in along with the domestic fanbase before CSIV would have been finalized.
@@Erpy80 I was not aware of this. Really puts into perspective all the things I complain about in this series when it's really not made for someone like me, at all.
Vantage master is my shit, my only gripe with it is that they don't really add any new cards in Reverie aside from boosting some of the weaker Master cards
I had the pleasure of watching your video, I got a good few chuckles, I love this series, I get the pain in the ass, stupid plots, but remember the biggest thing about games, they are all fantasy😂
Great video! I loved all the Trails games so far but they definitely can be criticized. I played pom-pom party exactly once in the Crossbell arc for the "fight" against Campanella, lost several times, and Tio swooped in to save the day 😁 One of the annoying things, mainly in CS but also Sky, is just the constant fighting of the same bosses over and over. Oh we fight Campanella, Duvalie, or McBurn and "win" I guess, but then they're just "holding back their true power" or whatever and "won't hold back next time". (♥Campanella tho so more Campanella always good) Rean's optimism was also quite annoying and unrealistic, on how "we'll get Crow back". Man, that guy was leader of a terrorist organization, lied and tried to kill you several times, but hey he gave you 50 mira once so that makes you buddies? I kinda wish that the "bad" ending of CS4 should have been the only ending, if it was expanded and filled out with resolutions to all the ongoing threads. It would have made a lot more sense and I could've accepted that fate for all the involved characters. It would have been a great ending for Rean, similar to the ending of Tales of Berseria.
Thanks! When you spend a long time with a long story, it becomes easier and easier to notice any problems it has. Yep, re-fighting every antagonist is an annoying series staple lol. I remember Lloyd being more of an optimist than Rean was, but you're right, super ultra optimism gets really annoying and cringey sometimes. I don't know if I'd like the band ending to be canon, but maybe if it was something in between the two endings; Crow still dies, Millium remains as the sword (and maybe downsizes for Jusis to use it?), but they still destroy Ishmelga with Rean surviving. I dunno, haven't put much thought into it.
On your number 1 I've been replaying the whole series before Kuro 1 and 2(partially to see if my feelings that the franchise has been gotten worse were nostalgia or not. Its not nostalgia.) you mentioned that Towa and then Laura are reans most compatible pairs and I firmly agree but Alfin is also a strong number 3 they have really earnest bonding moments and the plot actually leans into it to a noticeable degree(especially with the royal dance in CSIII), no idea how they managed to make this happen in spite of the other class VII girls especially Alisa.
It's funny you say that, because I think my #3 for Rean would have been Alfin too. Not only because of what you said, but it would have been a more interesting outcome for Rean's future storywise. Not that it matters because I doubt they will commit to anything when it comes to Rean. Oh well. Are you going to play the current fan translations or wait for the localized release?
@@LowestExpectations I'll just play them now and then use the summer release as my NG+ point for Kuro 1 unless I end up loving the new combat and want to play it again straight after.
On #7, I actually prefer the ability to revisit places and see how they and the people in it develop and change. I really liked having been significantly limited by the orbments not functioning and no fast-travel. However, it's just a little too much in TOCS4, in particular the final day, where it feels like they padded it out just a little bit too much. All the teleporting/moving around Erebonia gets a bit silly.
I don't mind revisiting places either, but by that point, we had visited those places like 4 times already. I agree about CS4 too though. All the side quests take you on a wild goose chase around the country while there's supposed to be military patrolling everywhere and all that. It is kinda silly.
Love this series, my major gripe with the cold steel games is that the antagonists never feel truly "evil" they need to bring back characters like weissmann who are believable and show no remorse for their actions.
@@LowestExpectations but aren't villains " just for lol " cartoony ? Like Ratigan in the disney movie with mice. Aren't the villains like osborne more believable ? I wonder if the choose this name from spider-man of is juste a coincidence.
I didn't mind a lot of the more "mundane" character and "slice of life" moments. I really like the slower character focused moments like at the beginning of Zero where they travel to Armorica on foot or conduct the investigation in Mainz, I think they were important and necessary for introducing the player to the new cast and new country. They also make the plot feel more grounded and believable I do feel its necessary to clarify I still hated the bonding event system and the hotspring/beach BS in Cold Steel, and that isn't what I mean when I say "slice of life" moments. Cold Steel could've used more charcter building moments in the latter half so I could actually maybe take CS 4 somewhat seriously.
Understandable, I just didn't find that interesting or compelling in Cold Steel especially. I probably wouldn't have minded if it was cut down a bit, but since they went with the whole high school theme, it was probably inevitable. Thanks for the comment 👍
@LowestExpectations Yeah it would be hard to because just like anime shows and games the comedy is cringe and all the same so for something funny or good jokes to actually happen is very rare especially in this day and era.
they should do as rex in xenoblade with have nia , pyra , and blond girl , , love them all , rean + all his harems and many babies from each girl LOL for the end
@@LowestExpectations they must do a photo with all girl pregnant in rean in center include juna , towa ,altina , sara , elise , alfin , and musse with a big smile , nadia and reene also and other class XI girl , linde and her sister , and loyds , randy headpating rean shoulder for his duty ,and elie unhappy by watching loyd , and a fat tio , and mireille stare randy bcuz she jealous , and agnes pregrant and elaine jealous too
Amazing Video bro ! Keep it up, I totally agree with all ur points but with the last one i have a different opinion i believe having dating sim elements in jrpgs is common and a fun aspect but tocs 4 overdid it they made each and every character fall for rean as tho they dont have their own lives if my memory serves right the closest we got to know characters seeing someone else beside rean is Elliot who hinted on datin someone at the boys ending of theme park but guess wat elliot is a guy who rean cant date bruhh.. Instead of making all females they shouldve just stick to the main three girls ( Alisa , Emma , Laura maybe Sara too for ppl who wants spicy things) these four options make most sense for rean becuz Emma is a witch & witches doesnt date and respect relationship like these ,Laura first love is her swordmanship , Alisa have alot of burden so she doesnt have time to meet new ppl and sara ofc is sara.it would make sense for them to date rean since hes the only valid option for them
Yeah I don't like dating sim elements. In most games where it's optional, I tend to skip over it, even in games where it's supposed to be a major part of the experience, like Rune Factory. It's fine if you like things like that, but in Trails, it's an even bigger problem because of what I outlined. They will either have to accommodate for all of these dating options in future games where/if Rean appears, or retcon everything so that none of it mattered. This wasn't the right series for something like that.
Personally, as someone who played through all the games in a row chronologically recently, I have to agree with most of your points, especially the one about romance being shafted in service to a dating sim mechanic that no1 asked for nor cared about just because the Persona franchise was getting popular. I would even go so far as to say every character in cold steel has a token relationship with someone other than rean just to be slightly more relatable and virtually no relationship to anyone else from the game (jusis/machias, laura/fie). That being said, I personally like the less relevant to the plot scenes in the games that just flesh out parts of the world that the writers were curious about or felt like had something to say (agate training the 3 stooges and the lechter academy door, for example) so long as they dont overextend their welcome (which i agree both examples did to some extent) and aren't set the evening before a literal continental war is about to break out. I also appreciate the minigames for what they are: small breaks of pace to do during the 80h you will have to dedicate to the game that aren't mandatory at all for anything other than completion.
Sorry for the late reply, I have a hard time responding to comments sometimes. It's true that a lot of relationships in Cold Steel feel like token relationships. Maybe a lot of the side fluff content would have been better spent away from the main character to flesh them out a bit more, maybe that would have helped, and maybe I would have enjoyed some of the side content more if it did this. As for the mini games, I normally don't mind them all that much either... when they're good. A lot of them just feel half-baked, and Pom Pom Party is a straight-up rip-off of other games (Puyo Puyo).
Quite frankly, when it comes to your criticism about "Fragments" in Cold Steel IV - I'd have to disagree, because one could argue that it's this "Power of friendship" that serves as the pieces of his mind which are in... wait for it, "Fragments" (Although, ngl - it would've been better if they'd shown segments of past games with each character in if they were going to keep Crow and Duvalie out) The one in the FINALE, however... had no purpose whatsoever, since it was the Earthen Prison which had suppressed Ishmelga)
I mentioned this in a reply to another comment, but my main issue with that segment is _how_ everything works. It doesn't make sense, it isn't explained well enough in-game, and everything just works out conveniently for the sake of the writers getting the results they want for the next chapters. I get that it's a part of Rean's character growth, and all that. But you have to try and fill in the plot holes yourself in order for it to make sense, like you have with your description of his mind being in "fragments".
Pom Pom Party slander?! Nice vid, man. Agree with just about all of it. Nice to know I'm not the only one who's a little disinterested in where the series went (edit: i'll be bringing up similar points in a vid soon that i wrote a month ago; so i promise i ain't copying you lmao)
Lol thanks. I look forward to watching it just to make sure all of your points are completely different than mine, otherwise I'll bust Grimwood out of prison. 😉
Now that I think about it, I don't think there's ever any real tension in any anime or game series since almost nobody ever dies. Even though the trails series is super long, it's not nearly as long as the likes of dragon ball, one piece, and Naruto, yet those shows have maybe one or two important people die (except one piece since the number is up to maybe 10, but it's a smaller fraction considering the scale of it) just like the trails series.
I'm not much of an anime watcher but I think a fair amount of characters die throughout Final Fantasy as a counterexample. It really depends on the story they're trying to tell. Trails has so many _very_ serious and morbid topics in it that the lack of on-screen deaths is just really odd, and clashes with the subject matter, at least in my opinion.
Most of the gripes I agree with though I would like to add, gameplay for the Sky Trilogy, particularly combat wise seems jaringly slow compared to the other games. Also for the side quests there's a huge amount of backtracking even with a guide. I didn't get that as much with the other games.
I am a Turbo Mode abuser so I don't really feel that way with any of the Trails games, but that has also made many other turn based JRPGs (like Sea of Stars) feel very slow. I do agree the side quest backtracking is annoying though.
I feel like the worst thing the trails series ever did was introduce the curse in the cold steel series. It makes every villainous character so fucking lame since every bad thing that has ever happened in Erebonia boils down to being caused by Ishmelga. I loved Hamel so much in the trails in the sky saga because as fucked up as it was it was realistic, shit like that happens in real life. The reveal that Lechters dad just did it because of this amorphous curse makes it so much less impactful
I agree, and I'd probably say something about the curse if I remake this list because for some reason I didn't really talk about it at all in this video lol. But what you say is true. I talked about it in my favorite moments video, but things like Hamel, Kevin's past, the DG Cult, Star Door 15, all that stuff, as horrendous as it all is, it's also a big part of what made this universe feel so alive because you see and hear about things just like that in real life. Reducing the cause down to a curse that manipulated the minds of people to do evil things made everything feel like a cheap cartoon made by people that are painfully naïve about humanity and history.
@@LowestExpectations 100% agree man, i don't really know about the development history of the trails series but there must have been a writer change or something between the first 5 games and the cold steel games. Don't get me wrong I still like the cold steel series but sometimes comparing the erebonian games to the Crossbell and Liberl games feels like comparing an anime to its 4 kids dub
@@theku3604 I don't really look into the development side of things either, but I have heard from others that writers changing around is what's been going on, and it really shows.
I disagree about the "fragment" and number 3. The fragment doesn't have to be necessarily explained what it is, it's a symbolism to how Rean's bond is a part of himself. You connect this to 8L1B Void "a nothingness that contains all". For number 3, i know that it is silly that the characters were having fun, while tomorrow they have to fight to save the world. But looking back at characters like Crow and Rean who did not have much time and didn't know what's the result of tomorrow, i understand why they made that moment. Both of them just wanted some moment of peace after what they've been through throughout the games. Crow wanted to restore his bond with his old friend, and Rean wanted to enjoy his time with his friends, something he didn't get to do even after being reunited. Of course i wouldn't forgot Jusis and Millium. So i understand Falcom's decision to made that moment, while also understand your point.
My problem is that in order to make sense of that moment, you have to speculate. There is no in-game connection to 8L1B in this scene, as well as any scene this little friendship crystal appears in game. It's a deus ex machina through and through.
@@LowestExpectations Interpretation exist you know. Writers don't always have to explain what happen, they could left it for readers to interpret it for themselves. Besides, 8L1B is important aspect of Rean's character, especially his friends which is why that fragment scene happened in the first place.
Couldn't the Trails series just pull a Mass Effect of transferring your save of the romance that you went with in the previous game and have a few unique cutscenes with whoever you romance going forward, Falcom even did that with Cs4 a bit.
They could do that, but depending on how involved the other girls are in the story, they'll have to come up with unique dialogue for all of them too, and if they aren't with Rean, that leaves them all with nobody, unless they find some weird way to pair them off with other characters other than Rean depending on your choice. It'll be a mess regardless of what they do, unless they purposely leave these characters out of the story as much as they can. While on the other hand, if there weren't romance options, reintroducing these characters would be very simple. It's a problem they created for themselves, with not a lot of positives to balance it out.
My disappointment with the Trails series is when they introduce manned giant robots in CS. Japan will somewhat put them in every story, given enough time and plot extensions. Reminds me of when Marvel sold the rights of Spiderman to a japanese adaptation, it even looked well done until suddenly some giant monster appeared and, well, giant robot.
Nice vid. I agree with most of the points you brought up. Special shoutout to PomPom Party being my personal least-favourite minigame ever, especially at the higher difficulties (which Trails kinda forces you to do anyway if you want those sweet sweet powerful items). I swear it is not my imagination but the opponent somehow moves at 2x or even 3x speed, leaving you with barely any chance to counter. I may have lost some hairs just from this minigame alone 🥲
Yeah the last few are pretty tough. I used to play games like Pom Pom Party a lot in the past (Tetris, Panel de Pon, etc.) so I don't think I struggled with it as much as others, but it's still just a ripoff of Puyo Puyo, which is just lame lol.
For dead characters, slight correction (I think) Gideon dies on-screen, I think he's meant to be the 'terrorist leader' killed by the Red Constellation, right?
My least favorite moment has to be in cold steel 4 when you get to the basin and find Musse again. I hated Musse throughout the entire new class VII arc and only keep her on the team for healing but goddammit her entire personality is just sexual harassment. Anyway she goes through the speech about how she’s been creating a 3rd faction for the war, talking with major powers into joining the cause, not to mention planning this since CS 3 barely begins and I thought oh wow Musse is actually really intelligent and cunning I respect the hustle. Then as soon as the other characters get on it they’re like “oh so all of that weird stuff you do is just a diversion from your real plans?” And Musse replies something like “No I really do just want Instructor Rean’s *Divine Blade*” I immediately wanted to kill off Musse
Maybe Falcom could redeem her and kill her off by heroically sacrificing herself to save Rean and the others... Gahahaha just kidding they would never do that. See #2 in the video lol. I don't like Musse all that much either. She's like the personification of Falcom's bad direction post-Azure.
It's kind of interesting that you brought up the various pairings that came out of the Sky cast as superior to Cold Steel's ambigious-by-necessity harem pairings, while one of the former pairings (you know the one) is arguably one of the biggest sources of western Trails cringe nowaydays. Tita's puppy crush on Agate was brought up as early as SC, especially if you pick Schera as your bracer partner, which means that during the Zeiss chapter, it's Agate and Anelace you run into during your quest activities and afterwards, Tita anxiously wonders if Anelace and Agate are an item and acts relieved when Estelle loudly LOL-nopes the idea.The Bose Chapter with Agate and Tita then proceeds to be one of the Trails series most emotional and heartwarming sections and deserves nothing but praise. Then 3rd comes along and when Agate rejoins the team, Olivier makes a comment to him about Tita's (quoted literally) "juvenile scent". Instead of dragging Oli-boy over to the Hermit Garden's restoration pool and dunking his head in while counting to 30 very, veeery slowly, the rest of the party instead decides to play along and start teasing Agate. (Tita's thirteen years old during that game) Then Cold Steel III and IV come along, which basically have everyone in Erebonia treating Agate and Tita as an established couple before Falcom stops pretending altogether and makes a comment directly to the player (through one of Reverie's mini-games) stating that relationships with a 12-year age gap are not uncommon in real life. (yes they are, Falc...uh... Beryl. Maybe not later in life, but if one partner is 28 and the other is 16, they abso-friggin-lutely are)
What do you mean by western Trails cringe, is there something different in the translation we got or does it have something to do with the western fandom? Looks like there's a lot I forgot about Tita and Agate's relationship though. I picked Agate over Schera last time I played SC, and in Reverie, I don't think I watched every side story thing. It's also not super significant to the overall story so I didn't place much importance on their interactions. But the whole age gap thing is besides the point I was trying to make. If you put the _weirdness_ aside, Tita and Agate's relationship is still better than anything Rean gets story-wise. And Lloyd too I guess. That's just the unfortunate thing about all this. Thanks for the comment 👍
@@LowestExpectations I'm not really sure how the domestic fanbase sees it, but I imagine that if the Japanese fanbase was uncomfy about the way Falcom handled the ship, the latter would have made an attempt to course-correct in the next game instead of doubling down on it. (kinda like how they "course-corrected" with the Rean harem in CSIV after CSIII kept his bonding interactions with all but three of his female companions platonic) And by the way, Agate's and Tita's interactions themselves are largely fine. A young teenager developing a schoolgirl crush on an older guy who literally took a bullet for her isn't that weird. Agate softening up to a girl who in some ways reminds him of his late sister and him finding a surrogate family in 75% of the Russell household is also fine. Heck, the way they interact with each other is fine. It's the rest of Zemuria openly encouraging Tita to pursue a relationship is what's cringe, especially since they have to know that if Agate reciprocated, he'd be tossed out of the Bracer Guild at least and probably thrown in the slammer by the very colleagues who were shipping him before. It's kind of a contrast with that time in Sky FC when Estelle pointed out that a girl of her age (Klaudia) being married off to an adult member of another royal family was gross and the others present agreed with her.
@@Erpy80 Okay, I see what you mean by that. I never really put much thought into it. I was probably like "haha... they're just teasing them and it's funny lul" and moved on.
@@LowestExpectations Part of it IS probably teasing, but in CS4 there's an optional scene where Rean (who unlike Fie, Musse and Renne, does NOT have a trollish personality), during a hotspring soak with Agate, pretty much asks him to his face if he's interested in Tita. So it definitely feels like Falcom is heading in that direction.
I have to agree with how annoying it was that they'd constantly, Constantly, keep shoving Alisa in your face as the primary bonding choice. By doing that, the creators are basically telling you that your character of choice doesn't matter in the end and in consequence, the entire bonding system that *they* put in the game has no reason to exist in the game since they've already made the choice for us in the end. It's not unlike the Shadow the Hedgehog game and its 10 pointless endings, as the one ending at the end is the one that matters. Screw your choice of whether or not you wanted Shadow to be pure evil or good. In their defense (a small defense), they did establish some kind of relationship between Jusis and Millium. Personally, my choice had always been Emma. Her moments with Rean feel more personal and actually center around the main story more than the others (granted I haven't played anything past CS2 yet so only time will tell).
Even if they didn't shove Alisa into Rean's spotlight as much as they could, your bonding choice was bound to not matter anyway since it's a continuous saga and keeping this mechanic throughout the rest of the series that Rean appears in is unrealistic at best. Emma is not a bad choice for Rean due to the storyline like you said.
Very interesting list. Most things I can definitly live with, given my investment in the world. Some I would disagree... well, preferences. Personally I like the "slow-burn" stuff (and even the slice-of-life distractions, even they definitly _can_ distract from a sense of urgency). I am quite opposed to the total-global-utter-anihilation-of-the-world-that-needs-to-be-prevented content. There a nice little scene from one of the earlied Pratchett Discworld novels, where Rincewind the Wizzard is told "You must save the world!"... and he respond with something like "What? Again?" It just gets increasingly difficult to build up a compelling adventure, when you already beat the gods trying to destroy the universe three games earlier. This would tie perfectly into the "lack of commitment" issue: the overarching narrative of everything. The heroes have thwarted the "bad guys" (Ouroboros) schemes over and over again... and still we get constantly told "Yep, that was totally according to plan. We meant to do that!" Perhaps this is meant to build an "aura of mystery"... what the heck DO they even mean to do?... but together with all the "I meant to lose this fight. I just held back this time... but next time... I will also hold back... because reasons!" fights... it's a heavy burden on the suspence of disbelief. The heavy use of anime tropes has been featured... but in this regard, there is something that I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere, and that keeps bothering me: the Cold Steel Highschool setting. _Class VII doesn't make any sense_. The other groups we were playing as had a justification for their existence. Bracers are a genius idea for an RPG... they are basically a professional Adventurer's Guild. They are established, they have a job, they have a reason... they are the perfect setting for protagonists of a game to work for. The SSS is similar. Part of an established group, and there are valid reasons for some "unconventional individuals" to play at being policeman versions of bracers. Class VII is extremely lacking in that regard. They are students playing at being bracers... without any reason for them to do so. There is no plan or structure to use "Class VII" (as an organization, not as a "group around Rean Schwarzer") to replace bracers in Erebonia, either as a training program or as an actual group. There is no reason to use them as test subjects for "combat links" or "Arcus units"... there would be groups better suited to that task. The only reason for "Class VII" to exist is to use anime tropes that the creators thought would appeal to the intended audience to get the protagonists together. And then, finally, the prime objective, err, objection... the "romance" system. I couldn't have said it better than the video did. It is jarring. It is breaking the narrative. It is useless, because there mustn't be any relevance for the story. It's shallow, because it doesn't allow for any deep story to evolve. It is unjust to the non-"main"-character individuals. Again, it only exists because the creators considered it an appealing feature, without considering the consequences. Ogling some boobies on the beach? That's harmless! But this pseudo-romance nonsense is fanserice that harms the story and the worldbuilding.
Yep, a lot of this is just down to preferences at the end of the day, like my getting triggered whenever there's a hot springs in a JP game lol. The slow burn stuff definitely has its place, but there are times in this series (like #5 and #3 in my video) where there is a super serious important thing going on and your main cast is just dicking around for the sake of it. That said, it's funny you mention not being a fan of the global annihilation plot points, as the biggest global annihilation moment is in one of the worst games in the whole series (CS4). At least in my opinion. As for the Ouroboros thing, it is kind of bizarre how it's progressing for sure, but I guess the only thing we can do is wait and see what happens after 10 more games lmao. I think the way they justified Class VII existing is that Olivert's travels around the world compelled him to create something similar to the bracers from other lands, as well as a bit of the SSS (both being diverse groups of heroes, in his eyes?) while the bracer guild in Erebonia floundered and was shut down by the imperial government. His way of bringing a diverse group of potential heroes together was to assign them in Class VII, so that their bonds could create something special or something like that, or in his words "the power of love". It's still ridiculous. And like you said, just meant to shove anime tropes into the story, as they could have made them any other type of group other than high schoolers, but that was the popular thing at the time I guess. And yeah, the whole harem/dating sim aspect was extremely short-sighted. I can't wait for them to reintroduce those characters into the story later down the line to see what they decide is canon or retcon or whatever. It's going to be very strange. Thanks for the long comment. I appreciate the thought you put into this, and it's always interesting hearing what people have to say about the series 👍
True, though it's not portrayed as a serious relationship and came off as more of a close big bro/ lil sis friendship to me. I could be wrong though. Thanks for the comment 👍
@@LowestExpectations It's one of the optional dialogue in the Reverie Corridor. I am not sure if they stood at the bottom area or on the upper area on the left side.
@@charaxas452 Ah okay. I must have missed it. I played the game back in January-ish using an English patch before the localization came out, and some of the side dialogue was still untranslated, so I may not have seen it at all.
hoo boy that's just... something else CS4's Fragments chapter is my favorite chapter in the series, and I've been playing these game since 2015. I realize that Deus Ex Machina is EVERYWHERE in CS4, however this one I actually can agree with. While "power of friendship" is a whole meme. Here it kinda makes sense and let me explain how and why. Rean for all 3 prior games has: 0 confidence, thinks himself trash and doesn't believe he can be loved, this is the reason why he gets devoured by his ogre power when what happens at the end of the Gral happens. Rean's an emotional wreck of a person for the entire time he's on screen pretty much. However Fragments showcases that he isn't alone anymore, as he thought himself to be. Yeah it may be cheesy, but this isn't the situation where that's a bad thing. The overall hype you see throughout the chapter leads you to a great payoff that leads 1 to feel satisfied. Rean was always aware of those who helped him while in the demon form throughout that chapter, he saves Celine from the bot at the start, he notices some significance in the coin tossed to Rean by Crow, he understands what the gang are saying to him and at the end he awakens from this wreck of a mental state he was in because he hears his partner Valimar and Millium's voices. Rean blames himself for what happens to everyone that's blatantly obvious, but here he starts to forgive himself and starts a journey of him being a good character.
Yep, that's what to expect with a video like this😉 Believe it or not, I actually agree with most of what you're saying. I kind of like Rean as a character, and his development and growth is very compelling to me for various reasons. I don't really have any issues with the character aspect of that part. My problem has more to do with the logistics of everything that happens in that subchapter. More of the "how" rather than the "why", if that makes sense. For a series that has been _mostly_ consistent with how things work in the universe throughout (debatable, probably), there's a lot in CS4 that is seemingly unexplainable, like that little friendship crystal thing Rean has inside of him, or whatever that's supposed to be. I guess you could just hand-wave it as "it's just magic bro" but Trails is generally more interesting than that, and I just found it really disappointing. Thanks for the comment 👍
@@LowestExpectations Honestly, I'd say that's a pretty strange thing to say, because Trails is like half slice of life. All 3 arcs. They start you out living the mundane life, and use it well for world building (and as a solid contrast for you to really feel the difference later on when shit hits the fan).
@@jmporkbob That's all well and good, but like I said in #3, the games kept being a slice of life in spite of all the serious things going down, so it's hard to take the games seriously when they're trying to be serious. At least in the Sky trilogy, they kept it to a minimum, and only did it in places that never felt out of place (except that school segment aslkdjghaklshdgfaklsghjkls)
@@LowestExpectations Out of all the countless times that Trails goes slice of life, I feel like there is only one time it is as you describe? Even then, out of all the complaints I have against CS4, that barely even registers on the scale tbh lol.
@@jmporkbob I mean, that was pretty much the whole of Cold Steel 2. There's a civil war going on, but in between each chapter, you gotta pretend that's not happening and waste time going on dates and doing other random things. In the Crossbell games, it's a bit more fitting at least, since you gotta patrol the city when things are quiet, but I thought going around town and just talking to people/doing menial tasks was boring. I know a lot of other people like it, so at the end of the day, it's mostly down to preference I guess.
I...actually love all of these points and are high/very enjoyable moments for me that never took away from the game I'm playing. Well, I guess I just love anime stuff in my games. Also, I never get why people call the bonding events in CS harem cause if that was the case all of that lovey-dovey stuff would take place in the main story, not optional fun little bonding events...that are just there for fun, not to be taken so seriously. Obviously Alisa is Rean's main love interest and everything else is just fun what-ifs. Well, that's just how I see it. Angelica is so funny and a blast every time I see her on screen. In CS3 on the ship during intermission and some victory battle qoutes have me die laughing thanks to her antics though I love pervy/flirty characters like her so obviously she'll be a fav. of mine. Aside from the 3rd having some things I don't like, namely being in a dungeon the whole time, some doors being annoying/too long/too short, and Kevin and Ries being kinda...meh to me(mostly due to not being a usual Trails game with traveling throughout the region/country and interacting with NPC's), it's why it's at the bottom of my list and I don't think that's ever gonna change. Now Zero Azure are just above it but them being so low is the lack of an English Dub at all, not even in battles, and me being a huge English Dub fan it really sucked. Oh well, maybe in the future with a remake of them(and the Sky games) I'll get that full English Dub experience like I did with the Cold Steel games and that'll heighten(except maybe 3rd cause that'll most likely still have the disappointing parts for me in a remake lol). The Cold Steel still stands as my favorite in the series with a lot of my favorite moments in it and I don't see that changing soon. I don't have a bad moment in the series. It's all I've asked for in my games, except for the oddity that is Sky 3rd and looks like Daybreak is still going with the norm which I'm glad about it. Also, since Reverie has so many Crossbell cast with an English it feels like THE Crossbell game for me and made me really like the characters and setting more than the main games did lol Personally I hope Falcom keeps all of my favorite things I love about the series...that a lot of people seem to hate in Daybreak and onward, like hotsprings, fanservice moments(cool and sexy), flirty/pervy characters, cool/badass entrances/saves, romances among characters that FALCOM wants to create even if it makes people "uncomfy" or "cringe", and giving characters 2nd chances even if it means they didn't really die cause I love that shit lol(among many other things I love that many hate lol)
It's all good man, we all like different things. I for one wish the series would focus more on worldbuilding, lore and history of Zemuria to make the overarching story more interesting. I'm admittedly not much of an anime fan so a lot of these tropes are a major turn-off for me. Still appreciate the time you took to check out my content and write such a long comment! 👍 I also made a favorite moments video if you're interested.
@@LowestExpectations Oh, you're not a big anime fan but still love this series? That surprises me but also makes me happy that this series still managed to hook you. Regardless of anything I'm always happy to see others try out this series and get hooked like I did. Oh I did and a lot of those is some of my favorite moments too lol
I might have liked it more if I hadn't played other games that are exactly the same as it beforehand (Puyo Puyo, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, etc.).
Number 6 is my number 2 personally. Hate that trope in trails especially in cold steel. Gotte disagree with your number 5 tho. Estelle and Joshua wanted to do the play for the orphanage kids after there home burned down. Also didn't Jill elude to what happen in Hamel.Seeing Loewe face in the end and saying they almost got the story right and confirming that Loewe was the one who save the kids from the orphanage, which is also a call back from the Hamel incident he can't let this happen again.
That's fair. I don't remember all the details about the school segment because it was so long ago, I just remember hating having to do it when there was a more interesting plot point we could have been exploring instead.
I genuinely hated playing through CS4. The moments of bad writing and general fan service cringe really soured my thoughts on CS as a whole. The ending and Reverie are what saved it.
Honestly the ending of CS4 was ridiculous to me, and I thought Osborne was the only one who got a proper conclusion to his story. Reverie didn't do enough to pick up the pieces, but I did really like that game because of its gameplay.
Having not yet watched the video, I wanna list a few just for fun. I imagine some are on the list. -Sky 1 is perfect. Fight me. Chapter 2 isn't boring, you are. -Sky 2's got some filler, and is quite boring for the first half or so, but nothing really offensive to the point where I'd call it "worst". Chapters 2 and 4 maybe. Chapter 8, but it's like 5-10 minutes of running so if you're skipping most of the optional stuff it's not bad. -Sky 3's around the same as Sky 2, though reusing a fake Loewe as the Big Bad is pretty lame. -Zero's mostly forgettable to me, tbh I don't remember much outside of the Schwarz Auktion and everything from the raid on St. Ursula's to the end. The inclusion of Estelle and Joshua kinda feels forced, I don't think they improve the game too much here. -Ao's got the first real stinker. Noel was done so, so fucking dirty. 0 chance that's not on here, genuinely my least favorite moment in the series. -CS1 has like four chapters that are a complete waste of time, so probably those. The way romance is handled in this game/arc is atrocious, but there's not any single event I can point out except maybe Rean not getting shipped with Towa. Laura and Fie's short subplot where they hate each other is weird, and is never mentioned again after Chapter 4 so whatever. The high school anime bullshit's a big one too, Rean falling on Alisa and landing on her boobs in the first few minutes really does set the tone for the first 70% of the game. Patrick sucks. -CS2's gotta be that middle third, just flying around on the Courageous from dungeon to dungeon, very little story progression for a very long time. Terrible game. -CS3's got pretty much just Crow, the whole Azure Siegfried bit was obviously dumb. The ending is one of my favorite of all time, but I'd argue it almost deserves to be listed here. Not that it's CS3's fault. -It's CS4's. This game is a travesty. The random revival of every single dead character from CS3. They even have the gall to treat Olivert's death with respect with that trip to Alster and its fantastic theme, knowing they're going to reverse it all soon enough. The 40-80% stretch where literally nothing happens. The Zemurian World War boiling down to a single cutscene, fought mostly off-screen. Mille Mirage coming out of absolute nowhere, but mostly also occurring offscreen. Basically everything to do with Musse. Agate and Tita getting shipped by the game's characters, which is a shame because their relationship in Sky 2 was really heartwarming. Randomly forgetting to have a final boss theme, though To the Future is a banger so that one gets a slight pass. Giliath Osborne's motives/backstory getting revealed was the biggest letdown for me though. Between his sparse appearances in Ao and CS1, Giliath had been built up masterfully, and this just... wasn't it. -Hajimari's biggest sin is by far the final 30 minutes. Rufus being allowed to live is a shame, because his character arc would have been so much more memorable if he had died the way he planned to. His being saved was total nonsense. -Kuro's actually an awesome game, go buy it. Just came out. -Kuro 2's got a couple stinkers, but the game's not out for a while longer so maybe we skip those. -Kai no Kiseki's OST hasn't been pre-uploaded to youtube yet, which is a pretty big letdown to me tbh.
6:46 I’m not disagreeing….fanservice generally annoys me(I don’t mind it if it’s in a series that is clearly made to be fanservice the show, you get what you signed up) but games, anime and books where they’re asking you to take them seriously then bust out the fanservice gets my goat(I don’t make exceptions, western entertainment also gets on my nerves when they do it(especially if like in the lot2 they try to pretend they’re doing it for a good reason….lies and damned Lies) and pointing it out doesn’t make it any less annoying). The bathing scenes are just stupid in my book, I don’t mind if they imply they’re bathing but we don’t need to see it(though strangely I can think of an anime that used a bathing scene for a good reason. Digimon 01 did it and while bathing is weird there I can see why the scene was included, it was to give the kids a very sense of normality and comfort as they could before hitting the audience with the kids crying about homesickness and devimon’s attack but maybe I’m looking too much into it).
I guess we're pretty much in the same boat then. I am no prude, and I will play straight up porn games if I think they're worth playing, but like you said, and like I said in the outro, I start to get annoyed when an overused, copypaste fan service segment pops up in a story that appeals to me for other reasons, as if they think they can't hold our attention if they don't include things like that every now and then. It's insulting and annoying. I don't know what "lot2" is, but the thing you describe in Digimon doesn't even sound like a fan service moment at all, at least the way you describe it. If the goal was to portray a normal life, then having a bath is certainly part of that, and can definitely portay a feeling of "safety", so it would be a fantastic contrast to something bad that happens later.
@@LowestExpectations lot2 was just me saying the last of us part 2(I saw that nudity scene in that game and instantly got annoyed. While fanservice is annoying I at least know Japanese game developers aren’t doing it for a higher purpose, they’re just doing it out of fanservice needs but to pretend your fanservice(and to play by different rules from your competitors on the whole nudity thing) isn’t fanservice and is being done for a higher purpose to me is annoying(I often say anime doesn’t get away with things that for example family guy gets away with regularly). I don’t think you’re a prude for wanting fanservice not to be included in places where it shouldn’t be. Going to another Japanese game, Valkyria Chronicles, had a moment where I nearly threw my controller at the tv, in the 4th game there was an extra scene and one of the characters who kept banging on about her respectability and who the game wanted you to take seriously called Minerva….was shown wearing a bikini in a fanservice moment. It actually got my goat because i think it came up not long after her entire squad was killed(though set before) and I thought “are you kidding me?!” Because it was bad when they did it to the other character but Minerva?! Seriously?! I watch anime and video games with lots of fanservice in them and it is simply put annoying(I don’t think I’m a prude either). Yeah something I left out of the Digimon comment was Digimon also falls guilty of fanservice later but this was episode 8 and really early on in the show’s run. I remember as a kid how scary I found the show and to see the kids chilling and just having a brief few moments of joy only to have Joe bring the mood down and then for it to transpire to be a trap by devimon was all the more gut wrenching(as a kid I thought one of the kids may end up dying….i wasn’t a smart kid to think Digimon would dare kill off a child character(though in my defence around the same time power rangers lost galaxy was airing and it killed off a kid character on screen so Maybe my guard was up).
@@andrewobrien8325 Okay yeah, I haven't played The Last of Us 2, but I've seen that scene in so many memes and stuff since it got leaked before launch, and man... It's just perfectly symbolic of how far Playstation has fallen since 2018 or so. That Valkyria Chronicles 4 scene you're describing does sound annoying. I remember hearing a lot of negative things said about VC4. I've only played about half of VC1, so I don't know what the rest of the series is like.
@@LowestExpectations I don’t have any other negative things to say about Vc4 but that’s because I’m a muppet who’s easy to please(except with food) but yeah I can see a few small issues. I didn’t play the last of us 2 either but like you, I couldn’t escape the memes and the commentary on it but my rules are simple if the Japanese games and media gets criticism from America and Britain(and anyone else who it applies to in the west) and isn’t squeaky clean I’m going to call them idiots but as I said I don’t complain often(unless it’s about Scottish football, small joke).
By the way, why the hell did Victor and Toval have to be still alive in CS4 if they served no purpose ever since the series started and shouldn't even have existed in the first place? What is the point of Toval and Victor at all, and why can't Falcom kill them off? By the way, half of the cast in the CS series could have been cut and nothing would have changed. Let's see: Toval, Victor, Alfin, Angelica, Elise, Thomas (could have been merged with Gaius), Neithardt, Scarlet, Duke Albarea, all of the teachers in CS1, heck, you could cut half of Old Class VII (Laura, Machias, Elliot, Gaius, Millium). Not to mention all the things CS could have done and didn't: CS could have been a violent arc where you control an anti-hero rising to help Osborne conquer the world and Lloyd's sworn enemy, just why didn't it happen? Were it for me, I'd have the new and old class VII be one single class VII made of Crow, Emma, George, Jusis, Juna, Altina, Kurt, Ash, with Rean already starting off as history teacher (cause as a student in CS1 and 2 he completely lacks a character arc), and Millium as Cayenne's servant rather than Osborne's one in order to fully commit to the concept of Altina as opposite to Millium. Were it for me, I'd actually have Class VII be divided for the civil war, some students fighting for the nobles and some others for the empire ( I'd make the civil war about not the corruption of the nobles but rather about Osborne wanting to invade Crossbell and Calvard and the nobles refusing to accept it, I'd make Rean aware of being Osborne's son from the get-go and an active supporter of the Crossbell annexation, while Crow, Jusis, Juna and Sara (a fellow teacher) become Rean's enemies (Crow is C, Jusis is a noble, Juna is crossbellan, Sara is a bracer, so it'd make sense for them to turn into Rean's enemies). The rivalry in the Infernal Castle could have actually worked and had Rean absorb Crow. The Gral of Erebos could have replaced the Reverie Corridor as the extra dungeon of CS2 and Millium dies permanently there. And then they could have had a CS3 where Rean is evil (not berserk. Evil. As in having fully committed to being an Ironblood) and you would control the Royalist students Jusis and Juna, along with Sara and the heroes of the Crossbell games, to fight the Rivalries and have a climactic battle between Lloyd and Rean.
Toval first appeared in the Trails from Zero prequel manga. I haven't read it so I don't know what the significance is there, but he's been around for quite a while, and I wouldn't say he serves no purpose. He's a bracer after all, but I guess he does have a kind of cog-in-the-machine kind of role. Victor is still a mentor figure to quite a few of the younger cast, so he's not irrelevant either. I expected him to actually die at some point because he's an older male character, and older male characters in JRPGs always die, but... Well, Falcom seems to be afraid of letting non-antagonist characters die. Oh well. Thanks for the comment 👍
@@LowestExpectations But for instance, why did they need two Dominions (three if counting Barkhorn) and Thomas never do anything as a Dominion until CS3? Couldn't Gaius have been a Dominion right from the get-go?
You know, I disagree with a lot of your points, nearly all of them, or the to be mor precise I don't think those are problems, but holy hell if the statement "becoming a harem anime is the worst things that happened to Trails" is not the rawest of truths, I don't know what is. And I say that as someone who likes most of what you would call "anime bullshit". I like harem anime. I like them to the point of owning my favorites on Blu-Ray. Trails has NO business being a harem anime. One of the biggest draws to Trails is the continuity, and the "choose your waifu" - mechanic torpedoes that so hard. It prevents Rean from having a canon relationship, and even worse, it prevents everyone else around him from having one too. We spent four games with the original class VII, and have no romantic tension between the group outside of Rean's bonding events. That prevents any romantic moments in the main story as well, which is a crying shame when you think back on the backbone the romance was to the main story of Sky, or even smaller moments like the wedding in CS4. Bonding events, which are not something I am in favor of for Trails games generally, were at least done the best in Zero, where the different events could all have happened canonically. Loyds romantic moment with Ellie or the heart to heart with Randy are not mutually exclusive, and the next game in the series could take both into account for continuity. The nature of their relationships does not change, only the amount you get to see on your playthrough. Anyway, just wanted to rant and leave a comment for engangement, since it was a good video after all. I recently watched a video where the guy said that the existence of CS 3 and 4 made 1 and 2 meaningless, and after that hearing some thoughtfull critique was refreshing.
>The existence of CS3 and 4 made 1 and 2 meaningless I am trying to wrap my head around this and failing lol Thanks for the support. I will say I still don't much care for the bonding moments in Zero/Azure because it's arbitrarily missable content. That's annoying from a gameplay perspective, and I'm glad they did away with that in Daybreak (from what I remember).
@@LowestExpectations I guess they meant nothing of story consequence happens? It was a stupid point, that would be like saying the existence of The Return of the King makes Fellowship and Two Towers meaningless. Yeah, I would much prefer to not have bonding events in Trails at all, for the same reason, but IF you must have them, at least make them all canonical. Glad to hear Daybreak doesn't have them, but I still need to play Reverie first. I am hyped though.
I usually avoid video's like these on things I adore altogether but oh well... As a trails fanboy, this video was hard to watch lol. Still watched through all of it and I can't really deny/disagree with most of the points. Those negatives are definitely there and I can understand people disliking them. Still I don't get really get why you would play through all of it, if you dislike some much.
I appreciate that you took the time to stick through it. There will alway be things you can point out as flaws in the media we like. I can only recommend to not be a fanboy... Fanboyism doesn't do you any favors lol. As for me, I do like the series, and I loved the idea of having a long series of continuous stories within a single universe. I made a top 10 favorite moments video long before I made this one after all. I do think they haven't taken advantage of this interesting universe as well as they could have and wish they took the series in a more expansive and serious direction than they did with Cold Steel. As of now, I kinda don't expect the series to end in a satisfying way but you never know.
31:52 yeah I started with cold steel and nearly stopped playing at that moment. I also didn’t care for the dating sim angle which actually got worse when Joshua and Estelle entered the picture, I was left wondering who they were but when I looked into it(and asked the friend who told me about the series who they were), I was left asking “So why do I have to pretend I care about who this game wants to ship?! It clearly wants me to pick Alisa!” And I went for Laura because Laura and Jusis were my favourite characters(not counting general craig). One of my favourite moments in reverie was that cute moment between Estelle and Joshua with the ice cream because even though I don’t know a lot about them, they feel very genuinely close and I ended up nearly cracking a rib laughing at Estelle’s reaction to the whole situation.
If you went back and played Sky (or watched the scenes online), I think your disdain for the dating sim elements would grow even more because Estelle and Joshua's relationship is _very_ well done. It just makes me think of what could have been. Even though I don't care for Alisa, her relationship with Rean could have been another great, fleshed-out romance. Heck, I can even say the same for Lloyd and Elie. And it's looking like I might end up saying the same for Van at the end of his arc... 😮💨
Seeing the second least favorite moments and thinking: Fuck. I have no way to say it'll get better. I don't think it will xD Oh and I actually agree that the state of the localization of NIS is a bit... weird right now. Joke or not, it's true that some sentences are written in a very bad way and that the fan patches are way more finished than NIS localization itself. We still have typos and bad descriptions for items AND abilities in the game, and I don't think they will fix those too soon. Even if they do, Nis has a history of fixing bad text on console but not PC. (Cold Steel III still have some 1.0 script there never fixed).
I don't want to say anything spoilery, but if you're all caught up with the series, play Kuro. But yeah, NISA localizations have been bad since the company's inception. At least CS3 and CS4 were decent-ish, but their sloppiness in Reverie was just inexcusable. Also, I got a notification for another comment of yours on this video, but I can't see it because TH-cam is hiding it (or did you delete it?) Anyway, thanks for the comment 👍
Generally, I avoid commenting on these sorts of videos to avoid the arguments and such that naturally end up swirling, but I do find it a bit sad that the Jenis arc is one of your least favorites. Maybe it's just me, but I see why they used that section as a break. It's pointing out that many of the other characters in Estelle and Joshua's line of work don't see them as equals yet. They get pushed into a side job instead of the main problem initially because they are not experienced enough, as well as Agate always wanting to go it alone. It's a character point for Agate's problems as well as Estelle and Joshua. This is only the second major chapter with any major story, given the prologue is just that, a prologue. It's easy to see them as naive and inexperienced enough to be shoved aside by the full bracers that don't need nor want a trainee getting caught in a major incident. As for the side content section of Jenis I think it is both understandable for your dislike, as it is long, but also many people don't tend to end up playing the games in the original intended order, given Steam is the only place to play The Third anyway. I know steam is popular for gaming, but it's more likely that someone will end up starting with Cold Steel currently, until remakes happen of course. Many of your other points I definitely agree with. I generally tolerate the minigames and such but the pom party one I hate with a passion. As for my favorite Cold Steel girl... Fie all the way!
I try not to get into arguments on the internet too, there's no point, and I'm not going to change anyone's mind. I probably was a bit harsh on the Jenis part (probably others too), but I strongly dislike the JP high school setting, and I dislike seeing it inserted into everything. I understand why they made a diversion like that, including the things you outlined, but did it have to be high school specifically? It's so tiresome. I can't be too salty about it though since the game was made in 2004, before it was an annoying trend.
I can really see what rub people the wrong way are the anime tropes which i guess is specifically for the anime fans and not for pure rpg jrpg fans. As someone who don't mind the tropes being played, mostly cause I understand who's it for. Id say the only thing i dont get is Crow living. And while i am kinda okay and even happy a bit that he lives, i never get why. Millium makes more sense to live since she's artificial Other than that im fine with, but thats just enjoying the game with the mindset of just riding the wave, investing myself into it. But if I put the third person goggles on, yeah they do play it safe a bit too much and the bonding really makes people question whats canon and whats not. Id say Daybreak fixed that tho so thats Great video, love trails games
Yeah, I'm not an anime guy, I don't watch anime like at all. Even without that, it's still very easy to recognize those overused tropes that annoy the hell out of me. Having already played Kuro 2, I don't think the Calvard arc has "fixed" anything really, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see with Kai.
@@LowestExpectations cool man, at the very least i hope you still enjoy the experience as a jrpg game to some extend. And yeah, here's hoping Kai to be great for most if not all.
Honestly, i don't mind the dating sim, i think the woman Rean can chose are all pretty cool (almost)*, i just mind how they've done it, take the Mass Effect trilogy (just like Kiseki, one of my favourite) you have the choice of who you can date, but the character you don't chose aren't still chasing you during the entire game, it feels really natural no matter who you chose, but in kiseki that harem protagonist thing disturb me (really love Rean as a character btw, not against him, more against the female character chasing him ) i found it pretty cringe when i did the first 3 games always doing the last BE with Fie, and then in CS4 10 other woman/girl still hit on you and kiss you despite at least half of them being probably aware of Rean's interest by that point, like the woman BE in that game (apart from Duvalie and Celine) are only romance event *+People talk about Elise, but while she's by far the least interesting person in Rean's circle, i don't care she's a romance, what disturb me is Altina, they did a fantastic job with Rean/Altina relationship with him being like a big brother/father figure to her managing to teach her how to live, why the f*** would i want a romance with her? Give me appropriate Bonding event/ending fitting with that kind of relationship PS: After FIe, Towa was my second choice, nice one (followed by Sara)
I don't like tsunderes so THAT scene in the beginning of Cold steel 1... eww. I liked Nadia the secret of blue water and Neon genesis evangelion but it's despite Nadia end Asuka.
I have not seen Evangelion so I don't know the reference, but I don't like tsunderes all that much either, unless it's a comedic setting like Neptunia.
God, this video is so relatable. And kinda entertaining too. I fully agree with Zero first chapters being unjustified boring. While it's understandable that Falcom wanted player and SSS to get familiar with Crossbell, it probably could have been done better. Trails SC chapters before Tea party are also not entertaining in a bit. Because of that, I didn't find it as awesome as many people on community do. When I remember SC, I immediately think of this part of the game. And the thickness of plot armor in the games is also kinda of a big issue, thought I don't thinks that Cold Steel games are that bad. I also don't enjoy every bit of cringy anime fanservice that Falcom tries to shove into your mouth, but I'm not hating them. For me they are ok, as the filler or as break before player will face major events.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it 😆 I hope it didn't come across like I didn't like the Cold Steel series or that I think they're bad, because I still enjoyed my time with all of them despite their glaring issues. It looks like your comment got cut off at the end somehow?
Gotta say, I pretty much completely agree with the majority of your takes and felt embarrassed to play Cold Steel IV to the point where I rushed the last half of the game as I just wanted to be free from it. I made the mistake of playing it infront of my ex and she looked at me like a weirdo for the rest of the day. Also the lack of death in Trails really hinders its GOAT status and makes it feel more like a child's toybox than a gritty war story. That said, my number 1 least favorite moment in Trails is actually the music in CS 3, 4, and Reverie. It's not bad, it's just mid. And considering how many songs from the first half of the series are on my Spotify playlist it just hurts that most of Singa's tracks sound like a chunk of scrap metal put through a blender and then thrown off a mountain.
Bahaha, yeah, even playing CS4 alone is embarrassing at certain parts. Thing is, it didn't need to be a gritty war story at all, it just needed to be able to be taken seriously, even if just at certain key parts, and it failed at that. The music throughout all of Cold Steel is pretty weak imo, at least by comparison to others in the series. Most of it just sounds like anime cheese to me, but there are some good tracks here and there. I thought Kuro was a step up because it fits the theme of that game so well, but they will never top Sky the 3rd's music. Ryo Takeshita's tracks were just pure magic, just sayin' Thanks for the comment again 👍
@@LowestExpectations Of-course, I'm always happy to engage over Trails content and am tempted to put my own opinions out there one day. Yeah, I had Overdosing Heavenly Bliss blasting on repeat for months, same with Get Over the Barrier and Don't be Defeated by a Friend. It's actually nice to speak to someone who values Sky the 3rd as much as me as it's always been in my top 3
@@Synthpopper Yeah Sky the 3rd is actually my #1 in the series still. That game continues to age like a fine wine with all of the interesting lore presented to us via the memory doors and other parts slowly being realized and revisited with each game that comes out. The story was very emotionally gripping and written so well, and the music carries each scene even further to the point I always strongly recommend people _not_ to mod in the JP voice acting, and just let the music express everything better than the VAs can.
I agree with a lot of things on this list. Especially the stupid Cs4 ending. The normal ending would have been better where it not for the fact that it ruins Reans character development! I also think that the herun bulshut really started in cs3 and got worse in Cs4. In coldsteel 1 you can just dance with anyone including the boys and it was a very sweet friendship moment. In cs2 you can romance all girls but they only confess to you in after you make your romance choice. So it never becomes a herun. In cs3 and 4 though you get the persona 3 vanilla problem where completing all of a character social events makes them confes to you. I hate it. Cs4 is my least favorit trails game I played.
Yeah from a story perspective, I think CS4 is the worst in the series. Pretty much just the gameplay/battle system is what holds it up from being completely bad. Thankfully the harem crap is heavily reduced in the Calvard games.
I already disliked the bonding mechanics in Zero, but at least the romance option in that game was clearly just Elie. This got a bit worse in Ao because now Rixia and Noel were kinda there too and it does show in Reverie later too. But at least, I think even after Reverie, no matter who (likely Rixia) your favorite Crossbell waifu is, everyone will accept Elie has the more realistic choice for Lloyd due to the many scenes, both optional and obligatory, that kinda throw things in that direction. As you said, in CS1 the game kinda did the same with Alisa in CS1, as she clearly feels like a more "canon" option in that game due to many obligatory scenes... but contrary to Crossbell they quickly threw that away and for CS3, Laura and Emma felt just as canon, and by CS4... oh god.. this is the lowest point. Duvalie became my favorite playable girl likely because she didn't have a Sky or Crossbell crush already (Lianne doesn't count) and she didn't love Rean. That's it. The bonding events went to the extreme in the romance with pretty much every single old enough girl (younger one were just kinda left on hold, but they're there too). And while the events weren't that relevant to the main plot, a lot of things of different bonding events are assumed to have happened, or there are things that lead to them, etc. Every single girl loves Rean, which ironically makes them victim of the second biggest curse that took hold Erebonia with Rean at its center: All erebonian females are bound to be single for the rest of time. Even is Rean chooses one of them, they'll just forget in a while (next game). I don't give a damn who Falcom picks. At this point they could even pick Elise for all I care (she annoys me, but whatever), just pick something (I guess this is more on that refusal to commit problem). Pick someone, let the other girls get someone. Millium somehow managed to escape the curse and thanks to that she ends up having some nice moments with Jusis, Gaius is a male so he manages to have some nice moments with the nurse twin (not Vivi, forgot name right now), Machias is likely building something with that crazy girl that works in the department store in Crossbell... but girls? yeah, nothing. Elise, ironically speaking, could have something with Patrick and that would actually be nice to see, but of course it can't happen. I sure hope at least Lloyd and Elie become something official at some point and Rean -not the player- just chooses someone and we can all move one. I don't know, now that we're moving to Calvard it might be hilarious if Rean meets a completely new girl and just leave his complete harem behind for her. Oh, the reactions would be hilarious. Years of waifu wars and no victor. But that won't happen.
Yeah the bonding mechanics were not fit for this series at all imo. Lloyd and Elie are the most natural fit for each other, it's no contest, and Rean is kind of up in the air, but I'd want them to just choose one and be done with this nonsense too. I don't know if you've seen the Kai no Kiseki previews, but we may get an answer for one of them in that game... maybe.
About Kuro 1, all I am going to say, is: --spoiler warning-- They changed the Harem for a triangle, a weird triangle in which a young high school girl has feelings for an older mid twenties guy that has a troubled past relationship with another woman that still loves him but is tsundere. WEIRD!!!!! To add to it, said woman expresses her feelings as soon as in one of the 3 text stories at the end of reverie, the last door you get in post game, yes. I would have preferred for Falcom to just make a story of how they get back together or something. That makes for better writing. So I guess, harem and hot springs are still present in Kuro.
It's not a triangle, it's Agnes thinking of Van, but Van only has eyes for Elaine (and is staying single intentionally because he worries about her and doesn't want to hurt her). Van does NOT requite Agnes' feelings at all, his dialogue with her is strictly nonromantic. Plus, maybe Agnes' words could be seen as more of seeing him like an older brother or older friend, rather than romantic. Would be a triangle if either Van was undecided between Elaine and Agnes, or if Agnes was interested in both Van and Elaine. Maybe Kuro 3 will explore Van getting back together with Elaine, who knows? Or maybe Van is either aromantic or a complete romance-disliker who has no interest in dating anyone
Add relying on Valimar for literally every situation that Rean isn't bailed out by some deus ex machina. Literally every chapter in Cold Steel 2 ends with "HeEd mY CaLl vAliMaR" and I fucking hated it every time. I've never been a big gundam guy, so maybe thats part of my problem, but it was so damn predictable. The Divine Knight Battles were consistently some of my least favorite parts of CS 2, 3 and 4. even when they tried to make them slightly more interesting in 3 and 4 by adding a second giant robot, It just boils down to a game of rock paper sciscors over and over again.
Lol, it was pretty silly the way it was portrayed too. He calls Valimar and everyone just stands still until he flies across the state to the battle. Like I mention in #6, their approach to action scenes was just total incompetence. As for the battles, I thought they were just okay, but definitely weren't deep enough to have them appear for more than a handful of boss fights, so at least they didn't overstay their welcome.
I felt so validated watching this because I'm the only one in my friends circle who has massive problems with this series despite liking it overall. There are a few other huge problems I have that weren't mentioned here like: 1) Zero's bad structure: Everything from the prologue to Chapter 3 builds up naturally with you investigating the problems in Crossbell's underground, and it feels like the game is leading to a climax where you fight the Mafia and change Crossbell for the better... except no, suddenly there is this Cult that has had zero presence in the story up to that point, taking over as the main antagonists with no build up and is dealt with in the same chapter so there isn't even any impact there, and to make matters worse, they recycle the same twist from FC with Joachim who was just a much worse version of Weissman. 2) Azure's garbage twists: As if that last twist in Zero wasn't bad enough, Azure not only doubles down but triples down on it with the overdone "I was the REAL bad bad guy all along haha" that is less shocking and more annoying at that point, not to mention how bad Ian was as an antagonist, he didn't even do anything the whole game only to show up at the end, be revealed to have killed Guy, then Lloyd gives him a talk-no-jutsu and he is like "damn I never thought of it that way, understood have a good day" like ??? That has got to be the most unserious storytelling I have ever seen in any piece of media, then of course he gets "killed" by Mariabell who is also an extremely boring and cheap antagonist, but not really because he is saved at the end. If they kept it to Arios and Dieter being the main antagonists that would have actually been okay because they both had build up as characters and their motivations were much more compelling, they brought more to the table in terms of challenging the protagonists. Also, the attack on Crossbell has basically zero lasting consequences after like the first couple hours of playing, no one is killed not even the NPCs (which is such a wasted opportunity considering one of the best things about Trails is how well developed they are and how you grow attached to them especially in Zero-Azure because you talk to the same people all game long, it would have been so effective to kill many of them off and make you feel lonely and depressed). I never understood how people view this game as a masterpiece of storytelling and hold it above other games in the series when it only relies on cheap shock factor and ruins the entire saga. Crossbell was so obviously a rushed project because they didn't plan it out originally (they wanted to do Sky FC & SC and then immediately jump to Cold Steel which would have also been 2 games) and I'm convinced that they wrote the script on the last week because there is no way someone actually thought this was good enough to release, it should have been 3 games as well (1st game focusing on the Mafia, 2nd game on the Cult and 3rd on the conspiracy). 3) Cold Steel 3's tediousness: This is a problem with all the Cold Steel games, but CS3 was the biggest offender to me by far because you could really tell they were stretching it out as hard as they could, the first 3 chapters basically did the same thing over and over, just with different characters each time, they kept building "suspense" over what Ouroboros was planning but without giving us any interesting pieces to fill out the puzzle, instead it was just "Ouroboros is doing something sus" each time, it didn't help that the game has the same structure as CS1 where every chapter is repetitively doing the same thing in a different location, but it's much longer than CS1 and since it's the 3rd game, it's much worse. Seriously everyone praises this game for being such good payoff to your investment in the series but it really doesn't do anything until the very end with a cliffhanger that ultimately meant nothing. This is the opposite problem of Crossbell where CS3 and CS4 should have been a single game (same with CS1 and CS2 tbh). 4) The dialogue: This is a problem with the series as a whole, but it gets SIGNIFICANTLY worse in Cold Steel, the characters are constantly repeating the same generic lines over and over and over again, there isn't really a naturally flowing dialogue based on the characters' unique personalities because every character tends to say the same thing in reaction to the same stuff. There is also the whole "every character needs to sneak in a line" before any major confrontation which just makes it feel extremely forced and they usually don't add anything of value. The character bonding events add to this problem because a lot of the dialogue there has no bearing on the main story, so you will often find the same sentiments and lines being said by characters in the main story even though as someone who has played through everything it's like "You've already gone over this, say something else". It makes it really difficult to take anything seriously when the dialogue takes you out 99% of the time.
I don't know if I can comment on your #1 and #2, as Zero and Azure are the only games I've only played once, and I can't remember a lot of the early to mid-game plot points, other than I agree on Mariabell being lame, and Ian being the killer was kind of a letdown. It's also funny you mention that nobody died during the attack on Crossbell, as I had that as one of my top 10 favorite moments, but I think if I remade that video, I don't know if it would even make the list. 3. In hindight, yeah, the game was pretty tedious, but I remember not minding at the time, especially for chapter 1. Being able to visit Hamel ourselves was a big moment. Wasn't handled that well, but I still really loved it. I also played CS3 before Zero/Azure so going to Crossbell in chapter 2 was actually new to me. 4. This one I 100% agree with, and like you said, it's been a problem since the beginning, but Cold Steel really ramped up the cringe. Whenever someone mentions a problem the entire series has, I try to think, "which game did it the least?" and I'm always drawn back to Sky the 3rd. I think in this regard, because that game's main story is more focused, so there's less room for silly cliche dialogue sequences to ruin important events. Kuro 1 as well, but I won't get into that here. Thanks for the long comment, I always like hearing what people say about this series. 👍
This video covers up to Trails into Reverie. Please do not post Kuro/Daybreak spoilers in the comments. People like to go into games as blind as possible without knowing any details at all about the story, even ones you may consider insignificant. I will be removing Kuro spoiler comments from here on out as they have nothing to do with the video.
Favorite Trails moments video: th-cam.com/video/_1BdPeh13JI/w-d-xo.html
I have also made a favorite Zelda moments video here: th-cam.com/video/ooMLr1TnI-s/w-d-xo.html
right. since the majority prefer to play the official localization of Kuro even if it takes too long
@@fadadfasdfd minority u mean , majority of fan of this nic series already play it , only casual and fake player wait for 4 year
@@เผด็จาร-นนนนง nice gatekeeping being a fan
Kuro takes place in Calvard
Oops spoilers
@@Notsuspiciousguy5 Series. Ruined. 😔
The lack of commitment to killing chars and the non satisfying ending for the romance sub plot are definitely my 2 biggest gripes with a series that I still enjoyed! Good video.
Yeah, the series still manages to stay interesting in spite of all these problems. Thanks for the comment 👍
I suppose the fans that hate their favorite character is killed/don't get with the MC are the most virulent on the internet so the hardest to control if you don't pander to them. That said Alisa being my least favorite playable character(along with Angelica and Musse) i am not sad there isn't a canon couple since it would have probably been her.
i strongly agree with point 6. the "not so fast" that thign supposed to add a hype only become a meme
_"T H A T W O N ' T B E N E C E S S A R Y"_
I agree
MAN, you're so based for picking Towa, though! Finally somebody gets me! They also had a moment together at the end of cold steel 2, where Rean showed her his vulnerable side after returning from war - that moment actually sold it to me. Because NOBODY from the supposed romancable characters even considered to do this. Hell yeah, brother!
I know I sound crynge, but hey.
I also think, that part of the problems of Cold Steel 1 is that it was used to test too many considerable changes to their usual formula at once, which made it both better than previous games at some things (like battle system - although it became too casual for my liking), and worse at others (like playable character development, cause there was too many of them).
Great video man)
Thank you!
You are correct, that's one of Towa's best moments, and I still regret not mentioning it in my top 10 favorite moments video. 😔
CS1 was the second game in the series I played, so I didn't really notice all the problems until I played it a second time. I did like the battle system of the whole CS series, but yeah, all the other new "features" just seemed to make the series worse.
Never mind important characters never dying, what I find even more ridiculous is that even the most unimportanr NPCs hardly ever die except vague mentions in flashbacks. I found it very hard to take the civil war plot seriously when a village burned down and...one old man died. That's it. I was like "Oh, come on!"
Lol, yeah, it's just tiresome.
I liked the hotsprings scene in Sky though. It at least progressed Estelles character, so I don't see how it's worse than the coldsteel ones just because their a bit more natural.
It has to do with the way they shove hot springs scenes into every game regardless of the setting. I just find it annoying, but it's not a big deal.
what i hate the most is when i beat the villains they sometimes say something like "oh? not bad" and act like they lost on purpose.
or when someone is with the good guys but they must 1st test your resolve or whatever and you have to fight them. this is almost in every game
Yeah it gets really tiresome after a while.
25:39 - It actually just hit me that Franz couldn't have known Millium was going to die at the end of CS3 since they'd been planning on Altina being sacrificed for the sword for practically the whole game. So why would he have an extra copy of Millium and not Altina? The only explanation is that he made a quickee clone right after Millum died, or prepared for both possibilities and made an extra copy of both sisters. Which makes a little more sense, but than it means there's an extra Altina out there somewhere >_>
That was a silly contrivance, but it still makes sense that they had backups of all the Oz units just like the random mooks you fight in the dungeon.
Who even knows at this point lol
While I understand the point you made regarding the more "slice of life" moments of the series, I think the moments from Sky FC, such as the hot springs and Jenis festival moments, are more endearing as they function as character moments and buildup for the very end of the game where Joshua leaves, as it shows Estelle steadily beginning to see Joshua as a romantic interest as opposed to family, as well as a break from the action. The highs are only high if they have the necessary setup for a good payoff.
Fair enough, I just would rather not have to go through the same motions in the same way in every single Japanese game. It's just a personal annoyance, and not that big of a deal overall. Thanks for the comment 👍
The games are being created in a culture where there is communal bathing. The characters are teenagers, and the games are being made for teenagers who have to deal with the awkwardness of that.
I liked the written romances way more, but it's dumb to disregard slice of life content entirely when that is what anchors people to fantasy worlds
I really must say thst watching this shows how different the taste of people can be. I started with Trails of cold steel and loved it to the point that cold steel 3 is my favorite. I can understand problems with some parts but it not means other likes it in one way or another.
Probably you started with it just like me.
But once I played Sky, SC became the peak for me, followed by most of Kuro no Kiseki (the very ending of it I didn't like).
So yeah. Cold Steel has way too many "I wanna Be Persona" moments.
I honestly prefer Sky fc and sc, but Cold Steel 3 has my favorite soundtrack.
Sorry for the late reply (I blame TH-cam lol), but yeah, there's a billion different takes on this series out there. CS3 is definitely my favorite of the CS series, so there is that. Thanks for the comment 👍
While i understand why people like CS3 so much, for me it was boring ass game until the last two chapters.
I much prefer first chapter of CS4, because i have time to play without Rean and watch how everyone interacts with each other without him. It was so fresh that i was so sad when it comes to actually saving the guy, because i had such a great time with the cast without him.
i dont mind the way that Crow came back is CS3 because it makes sense with the other knight awakeners but what they did to the corageous crew is just BS, either have the balls or dont do anything
Yeah, they killed any sense of consequence in CS4. It was hard to take that game seriously. Thanks for the comment 👍
@@LowestExpectations even at the end of Reverie i was like, yeah they will save this guy somehow and BAM
Olivert and Victor make sense, since Olivert served as the Courageous 2's pilot and Victor was affected by the curse... but the others don't make sense, I mean - the only purpose that Toval served (Other than the salt pales) was helping Rean and the others track Argres which in turn gave them the chance to stop Ishmelga for good due to the Earthen Prison
@@fierytigergaming8112 the point is, why making us think that they all die and then nobody dies!!!, that is something that really drops the franchise down, either have the balls to kill some1 or dont attempt to
Building off of #6: Characters having a normal conversation in a room, when suddenly a voice interjects from outside the room, everyone reacts with the (!!) and turns towards the door, and a new character waltzes in and joins the conversation with full knowledge of what was being discussed before they walked in.
Like, were they just standing outside waiting for a dramatic moment to enter? How else would they know what everyone was talking about?
Anyway, great vid, based choices in Rean pairings. My personal least favorite moment in the series is... the entirety of CS4 Act 2 (the "your princess is in another castle" arc after Rean rejoins). Like, you could cut it in its entirety and literally nothing would be lost in terms of plot, character development, worldbuilding, etc. And I would have 30+ hours of my life back.
Yes. T H A T W O N ' T B E N E C E S S A R Y
And thanks. I agree those parts of CS4 are kind of a drag, and there are a few other Trails games that have the same filler problem to varying degrees.
Now i can't stop imagining character as badass as Arseid listening to the door giggling until the right moment
fishing is incredible in stellar blade. it's a very complex system vs the just "Press the button at the right time" mode; gotta handle the direction of the rod, reel it in with adaptive triggers (too little pressure, no go, too much pressure, no go) stellar blade fishing figured it out
I will find out once it comes to PC
also they shove for Alysa because she was actually supposed to be the main character, not Rean, it changed to rean during mid development
I feel like it's the insistence on adhering to tired anime tropes, redundant gameplay loops, and safe storytelling that encompass all the grand issues with the Trails series. All of which are emphasized moreso because they're repeated in different story arcs. Hot springs, beach scenes, raging lesbians, cross-dressing the pretty boys, the deluge of waifu bait, friendship speeches, the false threat of character deaths...all made worse as the games go on until you basically become numb to it all. But you're Number One reason is mine as well. When I first played the CS games I knew it was a slim chance the good guys would suffer any perma-deaths because the waifu factor was dialed up to a hundred and fandoms would riot if say Towa died. I feel like Falcom was chasing profitable trends when it adopted the Persona social links and choose your love interest factor, but the reason it works in Persona is because it's one game and you're done which prevents larger inconsistencies since each game is a whole new cast. Plus the MCs are blank slates that you are SUPPOSED to insert yourself into. Not fleshed out characters with personalities all their own in a narrative that suggests they themselves should choose a love interest they become attracted to due to their own interests and character traits. I feel like Falcom tried to have their cake and eat it by shoveling in the dating simulator/waifu factor but still pursue an in depth hero's journey, which was handicapped because Rean now has no love interest to contribute to it in more than a superficial way. Rean is destined to canonically hook up with no one, ever. Even Ishmelga Rean would feel bad for him.
Yeah it's really annoying, and such a shame because of how much potential this series has squandered just to chase trends. Sometimes we gotta remember who their actual target audience is: younger Japanese boys, and not really people like me who've been gaming for ~30 years, even if we've been into the series for a long time. If they shifted their focus to the mindset of those who have enjoyed the series since the beginning, I think it would benefit the series more in the long-term.
@@LowestExpectations Yeah, I'm a little worried they're going to continue this habit. From what I've heard of the Kuro games they're going to implement a Mass Effect-esque morality system, which...COULD work if they're dedicating substantial amount of foresight to it, but could also be them chasing trends again to the detriment of this grand narrative they're sculpting.
@@Negajoe No comment on that 😶
I know domineering women irl who experimented as lesbians in their youth and ended up married to unmasculine men. It's not that uncommon
@@LowestExpectations ...alright now I see what you were refraining from talking about in regards to the Kuro morality system >_>
Now that I think about it, an annoying moment about Trails into Reverie is when people kept mistaking Rufus for his Simulacrum, because not one person brought up the fact that it couldn't have been Rufus who was in charge of Crossbell due to him having his hair cut (Guess they weren't wrong about Rean being clueless...), even Duvalie glossed over the fact (Which could've possibly been down to the grudge she held for him killing Lianne)
I don't remember much of that, but it does sound silly.
I think it says a lot that not only is Trails 3 you're favorite entry, but almost nothing in Reverie is accounted for on this list. Seems like it's the generic anime tropes and plodding gameplay/storytelling elements that really grind your gears because by the time those games take place...all the settings and characters are long since established so it's all about developing them further rather than obsess over anime tropes or waste time on countryside backtracking. And even if they are present they're all optional "Doors" that you can skip.
Reverie is a weird one. The story felt almost secondary because it's quite shorter than previous games, and I spent so much time just dicking around in the randomized dungeons with all the characters that nothing really stuck out to me. I also didn't do all of the memory segments, so maybe there is a bad one I could have included in the dishonorable mentions. I almost included the Juno Naval Fortress thing, where _literally not a single person was at the largest active military base_ when it gets destroyed, but it's just a typical eye-roll moment at that point in the series.
@@LowestExpectations I wouldn't say any memory segments are especially terrible, but over a third seemed like unnecessary padding. I didn't need to know the exact details of how Jingo got her airship, or go on a random bug hunt as Freddy. But what's actually funny about Juno getting nuked is that Marquis Ballad, Musse's pompous goof uncle introduced in CS 3, is revealed in one of the memory segments to have been put in charge of the Naval Fortress. I was laughing at the thought of this minor character suffering such a gruesome fate before Aurelia hand waves off any consequences by saying an entire fortress was emptied. Given it might have been a needlessly cruel fate for the poor guy, but I was still like "Come on, you can't even kill THAT GUY."
@@Negajoe Those details can be nice for worldbuilding junkies like me, but the one where they slap a dress on Kurt to accomplish nothing is really unecessary, it's basically trying to redo the "Joshua in a dress" but without the plot reason of Joshua infiltration Grancel; it's basically the Jenis play with even less enjoyment
I'd personally say my least favorite moments would be in Cold Steel 3 and 4 due to how out of hand the harem dynamic got. Like why are the students lumped into the group of love interests? Especially given the uptick in women stepping forward about being sexually harassed and assaulted by male authority figures in Japan.
Also, basically any moment where LGBTQ+ characters are stereotyped are on my list.
I try not to draw parallels to the real world _too_ much, and just take the story as is, but yeah, I did say in #1 that "turning Trails into a harem anime is the worst thing that ever happened to it," and I stand by that.
Thanks for the comment 👍
Cold Steel III actually scaled back the harem stuff with only Alisa, Laura and Emma being treated as serious love interests in their bonding events, the Elise-Rean dynamic shifting away from the awkward pining and more onto Rean's comically overprotective big-bwother tendencies while the students and other female characters in Rean's orbit (Millium, Towa, Sara, Fie, Elise & Alfin) being treated in a more platonic manner.
Apparently this angered the Japanese fanbase, which (as mentioned) consists of a significant number of male middle and high school students, who were upset their favorite waifu wasn't being romanceable and the backlash resulted in Cold Steel IV doing a 180 and having ANYONE with ovaries having a thing for the player...er...I mean Rean. I kinda wonder how things would have gone if Falcom had been able to do paralel domestic/foreign releases and the western fanbase had been able to get their say in along with the domestic fanbase before CSIV would have been finalized.
@@Erpy80 I was not aware of this. Really puts into perspective all the things I complain about in this series when it's really not made for someone like me, at all.
I agree with fishing and I also agree with Pom Pom party. I also hate card games, but Blade and VM are alright lol
Fishing in video games is the bane of my existence lmao
Vantage master is my shit, my only gripe with it is that they don't really add any new cards in Reverie aside from boosting some of the weaker Master cards
I had the pleasure of watching your video, I got a good few chuckles, I love this series, I get the pain in the ass, stupid plots, but remember the biggest thing about games, they are all fantasy😂
Yep, as much as I rag on the plots, they are still fun to play too.
Great video! I loved all the Trails games so far but they definitely can be criticized.
I played pom-pom party exactly once in the Crossbell arc for the "fight" against Campanella, lost several times, and Tio swooped in to save the day 😁
One of the annoying things, mainly in CS but also Sky, is just the constant fighting of the same bosses over and over. Oh we fight Campanella, Duvalie, or McBurn and "win" I guess, but then they're just "holding back their true power" or whatever and "won't hold back next time". (♥Campanella tho so more Campanella always good)
Rean's optimism was also quite annoying and unrealistic, on how "we'll get Crow back". Man, that guy was leader of a terrorist organization, lied and tried to kill you several times, but hey he gave you 50 mira once so that makes you buddies?
I kinda wish that the "bad" ending of CS4 should have been the only ending, if it was expanded and filled out with resolutions to all the ongoing threads. It would have made a lot more sense and I could've accepted that fate for all the involved characters. It would have been a great ending for Rean, similar to the ending of Tales of Berseria.
Thanks! When you spend a long time with a long story, it becomes easier and easier to notice any problems it has.
Yep, re-fighting every antagonist is an annoying series staple lol.
I remember Lloyd being more of an optimist than Rean was, but you're right, super ultra optimism gets really annoying and cringey sometimes.
I don't know if I'd like the band ending to be canon, but maybe if it was something in between the two endings; Crow still dies, Millium remains as the sword (and maybe downsizes for Jusis to use it?), but they still destroy Ishmelga with Rean surviving. I dunno, haven't put much thought into it.
Cold steel dating mechanic is why the game is peak
Haha....
No.
The mini games
Haha...
On your number 1 I've been replaying the whole series before Kuro 1 and 2(partially to see if my feelings that the franchise has been gotten worse were nostalgia or not. Its not nostalgia.) you mentioned that Towa and then Laura are reans most compatible pairs and I firmly agree but Alfin is also a strong number 3 they have really earnest bonding moments and the plot actually leans into it to a noticeable degree(especially with the royal dance in CSIII), no idea how they managed to make this happen in spite of the other class VII girls especially Alisa.
It's funny you say that, because I think my #3 for Rean would have been Alfin too. Not only because of what you said, but it would have been a more interesting outcome for Rean's future storywise. Not that it matters because I doubt they will commit to anything when it comes to Rean. Oh well.
Are you going to play the current fan translations or wait for the localized release?
@@LowestExpectations I'll just play them now and then use the summer release as my NG+ point for Kuro 1 unless I end up loving the new combat and want to play it again straight after.
On #7, I actually prefer the ability to revisit places and see how they and the people in it develop and change. I really liked having been significantly limited by the orbments not functioning and no fast-travel. However, it's just a little too much in TOCS4, in particular the final day, where it feels like they padded it out just a little bit too much. All the teleporting/moving around Erebonia gets a bit silly.
I don't mind revisiting places either, but by that point, we had visited those places like 4 times already. I agree about CS4 too though. All the side quests take you on a wild goose chase around the country while there's supposed to be military patrolling everywhere and all that. It is kinda silly.
Love this series, my major gripe with the cold steel games is that the antagonists never feel truly "evil" they need to bring back characters like weissmann who are believable and show no remorse for their actions.
@@fitforchrist1990 Yeah it got a bit too cartoony and unbelievable in CS for me too. Osborne was the best one imo
@@LowestExpectations but aren't villains " just for lol " cartoony ? Like Ratigan in the disney movie with mice. Aren't the villains like osborne more believable ? I wonder if the choose this name from spider-man of is juste a coincidence.
I didn't mind a lot of the more "mundane" character and "slice of life" moments. I really like the slower character focused moments like at the beginning of Zero where they travel to Armorica on foot or conduct the investigation in Mainz, I think they were important and necessary for introducing the player to the new cast and new country. They also make the plot feel more grounded and believable
I do feel its necessary to clarify I still hated the bonding event system and the hotspring/beach BS in Cold Steel, and that isn't what I mean when I say "slice of life" moments. Cold Steel could've used more charcter building moments in the latter half so I could actually maybe take CS 4 somewhat seriously.
Understandable, I just didn't find that interesting or compelling in Cold Steel especially. I probably wouldn't have minded if it was cut down a bit, but since they went with the whole high school theme, it was probably inevitable. Thanks for the comment 👍
I swear the voice actors were having fun from the way they say Rufus name 11:24 it always cracks me up lol.
Yeah that's half the reason I felt compelled to include it lol
@@LowestExpectations if there ever a chance you'll do trails funniest moments (which will probably be hard because rare) that part should be top one
@@ixitalicshadow4136 That's not a bad idea, but I don't think I could come up with 10 moments.
@LowestExpectations Yeah it would be hard to because just like anime shows and games the comedy is cringe and all the same so for something funny or good jokes to actually happen is very rare especially in this day and era.
Him sharing his name with the mascot of Kim possible(at least in french) made me sometimes hard to take him seriously.
they should do as rex in xenoblade with have nia , pyra , and blond girl , , love them all , rean + all his harems and many babies from each girl LOL for the end
please no lmao....
@@LowestExpectations they must do a photo with all girl pregnant in rean in center include juna , towa ,altina , sara , elise , alfin , and musse with a big smile , nadia and reene also and other class XI girl , linde and her sister , and loyds , randy headpating rean shoulder for his duty ,and elie unhappy by watching loyd , and a fat tio , and mireille stare randy bcuz she jealous , and agnes pregrant and elaine jealous too
true dad of tio"s babies is not mishy but rean . tio 's baby should be creating during elise and tio saving in cs4 for thank rean hahahah
good idea
Amazing Video bro ! Keep it up, I totally agree with all ur points but with the last one i have a different opinion i believe having dating sim elements in jrpgs is common and a fun aspect but tocs 4 overdid it they made each and every character fall for rean as tho they dont have their own lives if my memory serves right the closest we got to know characters seeing someone else beside rean is Elliot who hinted on datin someone at the boys ending of theme park but guess wat elliot is a guy who rean cant date bruhh.. Instead of making all females they shouldve just stick to the main three girls ( Alisa , Emma , Laura maybe Sara too for ppl who wants spicy things) these four options make most sense for rean becuz Emma is a witch & witches doesnt date and respect relationship like these ,Laura first love is her swordmanship , Alisa have alot of burden so she doesnt have time to meet new ppl and sara ofc is sara.it would make sense for them to date rean since hes the only valid option for them
Yeah I don't like dating sim elements. In most games where it's optional, I tend to skip over it, even in games where it's supposed to be a major part of the experience, like Rune Factory.
It's fine if you like things like that, but in Trails, it's an even bigger problem because of what I outlined. They will either have to accommodate for all of these dating options in future games where/if Rean appears, or retcon everything so that none of it mattered. This wasn't the right series for something like that.
Reverie not getting a single moment is reflective of how godlike the game is, ayyyyyyyyyy
I wouldn't go that far lol
Personally, as someone who played through all the games in a row chronologically recently, I have to agree with most of your points, especially the one about romance being shafted in service to a dating sim mechanic that no1 asked for nor cared about just because the Persona franchise was getting popular. I would even go so far as to say every character in cold steel has a token relationship with someone other than rean just to be slightly more relatable and virtually no relationship to anyone else from the game (jusis/machias, laura/fie). That being said, I personally like the less relevant to the plot scenes in the games that just flesh out parts of the world that the writers were curious about or felt like had something to say (agate training the 3 stooges and the lechter academy door, for example) so long as they dont overextend their welcome (which i agree both examples did to some extent) and aren't set the evening before a literal continental war is about to break out. I also appreciate the minigames for what they are: small breaks of pace to do during the 80h you will have to dedicate to the game that aren't mandatory at all for anything other than completion.
Sorry for the late reply, I have a hard time responding to comments sometimes.
It's true that a lot of relationships in Cold Steel feel like token relationships. Maybe a lot of the side fluff content would have been better spent away from the main character to flesh them out a bit more, maybe that would have helped, and maybe I would have enjoyed some of the side content more if it did this.
As for the mini games, I normally don't mind them all that much either... when they're good. A lot of them just feel half-baked, and Pom Pom Party is a straight-up rip-off of other games (Puyo Puyo).
Quite frankly, when it comes to your criticism about "Fragments" in Cold Steel IV - I'd have to disagree, because one could argue that it's this "Power of friendship" that serves as the pieces of his mind which are in... wait for it, "Fragments" (Although, ngl - it would've been better if they'd shown segments of past games with each character in if they were going to keep Crow and Duvalie out) The one in the FINALE, however... had no purpose whatsoever, since it was the Earthen Prison which had suppressed Ishmelga)
I mentioned this in a reply to another comment, but my main issue with that segment is _how_ everything works. It doesn't make sense, it isn't explained well enough in-game, and everything just works out conveniently for the sake of the writers getting the results they want for the next chapters.
I get that it's a part of Rean's character growth, and all that. But you have to try and fill in the plot holes yourself in order for it to make sense, like you have with your description of his mind being in "fragments".
Pom Pom Party slander?!
Nice vid, man. Agree with just about all of it. Nice to know I'm not the only one who's a little disinterested in where the series went
(edit: i'll be bringing up similar points in a vid soon that i wrote a month ago; so i promise i ain't copying you lmao)
Lol thanks. I look forward to watching it just to make sure all of your points are completely different than mine, otherwise I'll bust Grimwood out of prison. 😉
@@LowestExpectationsthat ain't no prison, it's a four-star hotel xD
Now that I think about it, I don't think there's ever any real tension in any anime or game series since almost nobody ever dies. Even though the trails series is super long, it's not nearly as long as the likes of dragon ball, one piece, and Naruto, yet those shows have maybe one or two important people die (except one piece since the number is up to maybe 10, but it's a smaller fraction considering the scale of it) just like the trails series.
I'm not much of an anime watcher but I think a fair amount of characters die throughout Final Fantasy as a counterexample. It really depends on the story they're trying to tell. Trails has so many _very_ serious and morbid topics in it that the lack of on-screen deaths is just really odd, and clashes with the subject matter, at least in my opinion.
Ok cmon the rean/alisa romance is fire and I love that moment they should’ve make it only Alisa
Nah, I think many other characters are a way better match for Rean than Alisa.
@@LowestExpectations i went with fie since i like her character story and in cold steel 4, the whole thing with rudger and fie was nice
Most of the gripes I agree with though I would like to add, gameplay for the Sky Trilogy, particularly combat wise seems jaringly slow compared to the other games. Also for the side quests there's a huge amount of backtracking even with a guide. I didn't get that as much with the other games.
I am a Turbo Mode abuser so I don't really feel that way with any of the Trails games, but that has also made many other turn based JRPGs (like Sea of Stars) feel very slow. I do agree the side quest backtracking is annoying though.
I feel like the worst thing the trails series ever did was introduce the curse in the cold steel series. It makes every villainous character so fucking lame since every bad thing that has ever happened in Erebonia boils down to being caused by Ishmelga. I loved Hamel so much in the trails in the sky saga because as fucked up as it was it was realistic, shit like that happens in real life. The reveal that Lechters dad just did it because of this amorphous curse makes it so much less impactful
I agree, and I'd probably say something about the curse if I remake this list because for some reason I didn't really talk about it at all in this video lol.
But what you say is true. I talked about it in my favorite moments video, but things like Hamel, Kevin's past, the DG Cult, Star Door 15, all that stuff, as horrendous as it all is, it's also a big part of what made this universe feel so alive because you see and hear about things just like that in real life. Reducing the cause down to a curse that manipulated the minds of people to do evil things made everything feel like a cheap cartoon made by people that are painfully naïve about humanity and history.
@@LowestExpectations 100% agree man, i don't really know about the development history of the trails series but there must have been a writer change or something between the first 5 games and the cold steel games. Don't get me wrong I still like the cold steel series but sometimes comparing the erebonian games to the Crossbell and Liberl games feels like comparing an anime to its 4 kids dub
@@theku3604 I don't really look into the development side of things either, but I have heard from others that writers changing around is what's been going on, and it really shows.
That is why I love breath of fire, no romance whatsoever
Maybe I should stop putting it off and actually give it a try haha...
my pick for number 6 would be basically all of kuro 2's third chapter
Oh I plan on remaking these videos once the entire series is over, and let me tell you, I will be talking about that part for sure haha...
The night of promises is so bad but I really really love the music
@@ZekeClowzer There's so much great music throughout the series no doubt, but I don't really like the Mishelam theme lol
I disagree about the "fragment" and number 3. The fragment doesn't have to be necessarily explained what it is, it's a symbolism to how Rean's bond is a part of himself. You connect this to 8L1B Void "a nothingness that contains all".
For number 3, i know that it is silly that the characters were having fun, while tomorrow they have to fight to save the world. But looking back at characters like Crow and Rean who did not have much time and didn't know what's the result of tomorrow, i understand why they made that moment. Both of them just wanted some moment of peace after what they've been through throughout the games. Crow wanted to restore his bond with his old friend, and Rean wanted to enjoy his time with his friends, something he didn't get to do even after being reunited. Of course i wouldn't forgot Jusis and Millium. So i understand Falcom's decision to made that moment, while also understand your point.
My problem is that in order to make sense of that moment, you have to speculate. There is no in-game connection to 8L1B in this scene, as well as any scene this little friendship crystal appears in game. It's a deus ex machina through and through.
@@LowestExpectations Interpretation exist you know. Writers don't always have to explain what happen, they could left it for readers to interpret it for themselves. Besides, 8L1B is important aspect of Rean's character, especially his friends which is why that fragment scene happened in the first place.
EVERY TIME I AM CALLING VALIMAR IN CS I GET INTERRUPTED!its so irritating😢
Haha...
"Let me wipe the floor with my enemy with my big ass gundam ffs" Rean probably
Couldn't the Trails series just pull a Mass Effect of transferring your save of the romance that you went with in the previous game and have a few unique cutscenes with whoever you romance going forward, Falcom even did that with Cs4 a bit.
They could do that, but depending on how involved the other girls are in the story, they'll have to come up with unique dialogue for all of them too, and if they aren't with Rean, that leaves them all with nobody, unless they find some weird way to pair them off with other characters other than Rean depending on your choice. It'll be a mess regardless of what they do, unless they purposely leave these characters out of the story as much as they can. While on the other hand, if there weren't romance options, reintroducing these characters would be very simple. It's a problem they created for themselves, with not a lot of positives to balance it out.
I'd rather they just stick with one canon romance
reverie uses save file from cs4 to ask if you want to keep the romance choice from cs4
My disappointment with the Trails series is when they introduce manned giant robots in CS. Japan will somewhat put them in every story, given enough time and plot extensions.
Reminds me of when Marvel sold the rights of Spiderman to a japanese adaptation, it even looked well done until suddenly some giant monster appeared and, well, giant robot.
Yeah their obsession with giant mechs really shows in a lot of games. I remember being kinda disappointed with that towards the end of CS1 as well.
"Cheap fanservice"? Is there expensive fanservice?
Nice vid. I agree with most of the points you brought up. Special shoutout to PomPom Party being my personal least-favourite minigame ever, especially at the higher difficulties (which Trails kinda forces you to do anyway if you want those sweet sweet powerful items).
I swear it is not my imagination but the opponent somehow moves at 2x or even 3x speed, leaving you with barely any chance to counter. I may have lost some hairs just from this minigame alone 🥲
Yeah the last few are pretty tough. I used to play games like Pom Pom Party a lot in the past (Tetris, Panel de Pon, etc.) so I don't think I struggled with it as much as others, but it's still just a ripoff of Puyo Puyo, which is just lame lol.
isn't there a story moment in CS 2 millium scene for the endding.
You mean her bonding moment or at the end when she cries for the first time?
@@LowestExpectations her bonding event about the crying.
@@normnavx Okay yeah, I vaguely remember that, what about it?
For dead characters, slight correction (I think) Gideon dies on-screen, I think he's meant to be the 'terrorist leader' killed by the Red Constellation, right?
Yeah I forgot about that, I think that was retconned into Azure after Cold Steel came out, right? The version I played didn't have it iirc
If I started at sky I would never have played the next two series
Why's that?
@@LowestExpectations the difference in the qol I started with cold steel then played zero and went. Through now I'm on sky 1
My least favorite moment has to be in cold steel 4 when you get to the basin and find Musse again. I hated Musse throughout the entire new class VII arc and only keep her on the team for healing but goddammit her entire personality is just sexual harassment. Anyway she goes through the speech about how she’s been creating a 3rd faction for the war, talking with major powers into joining the cause, not to mention planning this since CS 3 barely begins and I thought oh wow Musse is actually really intelligent and cunning I respect the hustle. Then as soon as the other characters get on it they’re like “oh so all of that weird stuff you do is just a diversion from your real plans?” And Musse replies something like “No I really do just want Instructor Rean’s *Divine Blade*”
I immediately wanted to kill off Musse
Maybe Falcom could redeem her and kill her off by heroically sacrificing herself to save Rean and the others... Gahahaha just kidding they would never do that. See #2 in the video lol.
I don't like Musse all that much either. She's like the personification of Falcom's bad direction post-Azure.
It's kind of interesting that you brought up the various pairings that came out of the Sky cast as superior to Cold Steel's ambigious-by-necessity harem pairings, while one of the former pairings (you know the one) is arguably one of the biggest sources of western Trails cringe nowaydays.
Tita's puppy crush on Agate was brought up as early as SC, especially if you pick Schera as your bracer partner, which means that during the Zeiss chapter, it's Agate and Anelace you run into during your quest activities and afterwards, Tita anxiously wonders if Anelace and Agate are an item and acts relieved when Estelle loudly LOL-nopes the idea.The Bose Chapter with Agate and Tita then proceeds to be one of the Trails series most emotional and heartwarming sections and deserves nothing but praise.
Then 3rd comes along and when Agate rejoins the team, Olivier makes a comment to him about Tita's (quoted literally) "juvenile scent". Instead of dragging Oli-boy over to the Hermit Garden's restoration pool and dunking his head in while counting to 30 very, veeery slowly, the rest of the party instead decides to play along and start teasing Agate. (Tita's thirteen years old during that game)
Then Cold Steel III and IV come along, which basically have everyone in Erebonia treating Agate and Tita as an established couple before Falcom stops pretending altogether and makes a comment directly to the player (through one of Reverie's mini-games) stating that relationships with a 12-year age gap are not uncommon in real life. (yes they are, Falc...uh... Beryl. Maybe not later in life, but if one partner is 28 and the other is 16, they abso-friggin-lutely are)
What do you mean by western Trails cringe, is there something different in the translation we got or does it have something to do with the western fandom?
Looks like there's a lot I forgot about Tita and Agate's relationship though. I picked Agate over Schera last time I played SC, and in Reverie, I don't think I watched every side story thing. It's also not super significant to the overall story so I didn't place much importance on their interactions.
But the whole age gap thing is besides the point I was trying to make. If you put the _weirdness_ aside, Tita and Agate's relationship is still better than anything Rean gets story-wise. And Lloyd too I guess. That's just the unfortunate thing about all this.
Thanks for the comment 👍
@@LowestExpectations I'm not really sure how the domestic fanbase sees it, but I imagine that if the Japanese fanbase was uncomfy about the way Falcom handled the ship, the latter would have made an attempt to course-correct in the next game instead of doubling down on it. (kinda like how they "course-corrected" with the Rean harem in CSIV after CSIII kept his bonding interactions with all but three of his female companions platonic)
And by the way, Agate's and Tita's interactions themselves are largely fine. A young teenager developing a schoolgirl crush on an older guy who literally took a bullet for her isn't that weird. Agate softening up to a girl who in some ways reminds him of his late sister and him finding a surrogate family in 75% of the Russell household is also fine. Heck, the way they interact with each other is fine.
It's the rest of Zemuria openly encouraging Tita to pursue a relationship is what's cringe, especially since they have to know that if Agate reciprocated, he'd be tossed out of the Bracer Guild at least and probably thrown in the slammer by the very colleagues who were shipping him before. It's kind of a contrast with that time in Sky FC when Estelle pointed out that a girl of her age (Klaudia) being married off to an adult member of another royal family was gross and the others present agreed with her.
@@Erpy80 Okay, I see what you mean by that. I never really put much thought into it. I was probably like "haha... they're just teasing them and it's funny lul" and moved on.
@@LowestExpectations Part of it IS probably teasing, but in CS4 there's an optional scene where Rean (who unlike Fie, Musse and Renne, does NOT have a trollish personality), during a hotspring soak with Agate, pretty much asks him to his face if he's interested in Tita. So it definitely feels like Falcom is heading in that direction.
I have to agree with how annoying it was that they'd constantly, Constantly, keep shoving Alisa in your face as the primary bonding choice. By doing that, the creators are basically telling you that your character of choice doesn't matter in the end and in consequence, the entire bonding system that *they* put in the game has no reason to exist in the game since they've already made the choice for us in the end. It's not unlike the Shadow the Hedgehog game and its 10 pointless endings, as the one ending at the end is the one that matters. Screw your choice of whether or not you wanted Shadow to be pure evil or good.
In their defense (a small defense), they did establish some kind of relationship between Jusis and Millium.
Personally, my choice had always been Emma. Her moments with Rean feel more personal and actually center around the main story more than the others (granted I haven't played anything past CS2 yet so only time will tell).
Even if they didn't shove Alisa into Rean's spotlight as much as they could, your bonding choice was bound to not matter anyway since it's a continuous saga and keeping this mechanic throughout the rest of the series that Rean appears in is unrealistic at best.
Emma is not a bad choice for Rean due to the storyline like you said.
i always went for fie in all cold steel games
Spoiler:
There is one (1) Todd Howard hidden in this video.
Very interesting list. Most things I can definitly live with, given my investment in the world. Some I would disagree... well, preferences.
Personally I like the "slow-burn" stuff (and even the slice-of-life distractions, even they definitly _can_ distract from a sense of urgency).
I am quite opposed to the total-global-utter-anihilation-of-the-world-that-needs-to-be-prevented content.
There a nice little scene from one of the earlied Pratchett Discworld novels, where Rincewind the Wizzard is told "You must save the world!"... and he respond with something like "What? Again?"
It just gets increasingly difficult to build up a compelling adventure, when you already beat the gods trying to destroy the universe three games earlier.
This would tie perfectly into the "lack of commitment" issue: the overarching narrative of everything. The heroes have thwarted the "bad guys" (Ouroboros) schemes over and over again... and still we get constantly told "Yep, that was totally according to plan. We meant to do that!"
Perhaps this is meant to build an "aura of mystery"... what the heck DO they even mean to do?... but together with all the "I meant to lose this fight. I just held back this time... but next time... I will also hold back... because reasons!" fights... it's a heavy burden on the suspence of disbelief.
The heavy use of anime tropes has been featured... but in this regard, there is something that I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere, and that keeps bothering me: the Cold Steel Highschool setting. _Class VII doesn't make any sense_.
The other groups we were playing as had a justification for their existence. Bracers are a genius idea for an RPG... they are basically a professional Adventurer's Guild. They are established, they have a job, they have a reason... they are the perfect setting for protagonists of a game to work for.
The SSS is similar. Part of an established group, and there are valid reasons for some "unconventional individuals" to play at being policeman versions of bracers.
Class VII is extremely lacking in that regard. They are students playing at being bracers... without any reason for them to do so. There is no plan or structure to use "Class VII" (as an organization, not as a "group around Rean Schwarzer") to replace bracers in Erebonia, either as a training program or as an actual group. There is no reason to use them as test subjects for "combat links" or "Arcus units"... there would be groups better suited to that task.
The only reason for "Class VII" to exist is to use anime tropes that the creators thought would appeal to the intended audience to get the protagonists together.
And then, finally, the prime objective, err, objection... the "romance" system. I couldn't have said it better than the video did. It is jarring. It is breaking the narrative.
It is useless, because there mustn't be any relevance for the story. It's shallow, because it doesn't allow for any deep story to evolve. It is unjust to the non-"main"-character individuals.
Again, it only exists because the creators considered it an appealing feature, without considering the consequences. Ogling some boobies on the beach? That's harmless! But this pseudo-romance nonsense is fanserice that harms the story and the worldbuilding.
Yep, a lot of this is just down to preferences at the end of the day, like my getting triggered whenever there's a hot springs in a JP game lol.
The slow burn stuff definitely has its place, but there are times in this series (like #5 and #3 in my video) where there is a super serious important thing going on and your main cast is just dicking around for the sake of it. That said, it's funny you mention not being a fan of the global annihilation plot points, as the biggest global annihilation moment is in one of the worst games in the whole series (CS4). At least in my opinion.
As for the Ouroboros thing, it is kind of bizarre how it's progressing for sure, but I guess the only thing we can do is wait and see what happens after 10 more games lmao.
I think the way they justified Class VII existing is that Olivert's travels around the world compelled him to create something similar to the bracers from other lands, as well as a bit of the SSS (both being diverse groups of heroes, in his eyes?) while the bracer guild in Erebonia floundered and was shut down by the imperial government. His way of bringing a diverse group of potential heroes together was to assign them in Class VII, so that their bonds could create something special or something like that, or in his words "the power of love". It's still ridiculous. And like you said, just meant to shove anime tropes into the story, as they could have made them any other type of group other than high schoolers, but that was the popular thing at the time I guess.
And yeah, the whole harem/dating sim aspect was extremely short-sighted. I can't wait for them to reintroduce those characters into the story later down the line to see what they decide is canon or retcon or whatever. It's going to be very strange.
Thanks for the long comment. I appreciate the thought you put into this, and it's always interesting hearing what people have to say about the series 👍
But there is atleast on couple that emerged from Cold Steel: Millium and Jusis.
True, though it's not portrayed as a serious relationship and came off as more of a close big bro/ lil sis friendship to me. I could be wrong though.
Thanks for the comment 👍
I thought so to but in Reverie in an dialogue with Tita and Nahida Millium makes it clear that she is serious about it.
@@charaxas452 Is that an optional dialogue scene? Maybe I missed it (or forgot).
@@LowestExpectations It's one of the optional dialogue in the Reverie Corridor. I am not sure if they stood at the bottom area or on the upper area on the left side.
@@charaxas452 Ah okay. I must have missed it. I played the game back in January-ish using an English patch before the localization came out, and some of the side dialogue was still untranslated, so I may not have seen it at all.
hoo boy that's just... something else
CS4's Fragments chapter is my favorite chapter in the series, and I've been playing these game since 2015.
I realize that Deus Ex Machina is EVERYWHERE in CS4, however this one I actually can agree with. While "power of friendship" is a whole meme. Here it kinda makes sense and let me explain how and why. Rean for all 3 prior games has: 0 confidence, thinks himself trash and doesn't believe he can be loved, this is the reason why he gets devoured by his ogre power when what happens at the end of the Gral happens. Rean's an emotional wreck of a person for the entire time he's on screen pretty much.
However Fragments showcases that he isn't alone anymore, as he thought himself to be. Yeah it may be cheesy, but this isn't the situation where that's a bad thing. The overall hype you see throughout the chapter leads you to a great payoff that leads 1 to feel satisfied. Rean was always aware of those who helped him while in the demon form throughout that chapter, he saves Celine from the bot at the start, he notices some significance in the coin tossed to Rean by Crow, he understands what the gang are saying to him and at the end he awakens from this wreck of a mental state he was in because he hears his partner Valimar and Millium's voices. Rean blames himself for what happens to everyone that's blatantly obvious, but here he starts to forgive himself and starts a journey of him being a good character.
Yep, that's what to expect with a video like this😉
Believe it or not, I actually agree with most of what you're saying. I kind of like Rean as a character, and his development and growth is very compelling to me for various reasons. I don't really have any issues with the character aspect of that part. My problem has more to do with the logistics of everything that happens in that subchapter. More of the "how" rather than the "why", if that makes sense. For a series that has been _mostly_ consistent with how things work in the universe throughout (debatable, probably), there's a lot in CS4 that is seemingly unexplainable, like that little friendship crystal thing Rean has inside of him, or whatever that's supposed to be. I guess you could just hand-wave it as "it's just magic bro" but Trails is generally more interesting than that, and I just found it really disappointing.
Thanks for the comment 👍
Damn, you really hate slice of life, huh? 😂
There's a time and place for slice of life and the Trails series just ain't it lmao
@@LowestExpectations Honestly, I'd say that's a pretty strange thing to say, because Trails is like half slice of life. All 3 arcs. They start you out living the mundane life, and use it well for world building (and as a solid contrast for you to really feel the difference later on when shit hits the fan).
@@jmporkbob That's all well and good, but like I said in #3, the games kept being a slice of life in spite of all the serious things going down, so it's hard to take the games seriously when they're trying to be serious. At least in the Sky trilogy, they kept it to a minimum, and only did it in places that never felt out of place (except that school segment aslkdjghaklshdgfaklsghjkls)
@@LowestExpectations Out of all the countless times that Trails goes slice of life, I feel like there is only one time it is as you describe? Even then, out of all the complaints I have against CS4, that barely even registers on the scale tbh lol.
@@jmporkbob I mean, that was pretty much the whole of Cold Steel 2. There's a civil war going on, but in between each chapter, you gotta pretend that's not happening and waste time going on dates and doing other random things.
In the Crossbell games, it's a bit more fitting at least, since you gotta patrol the city when things are quiet, but I thought going around town and just talking to people/doing menial tasks was boring. I know a lot of other people like it, so at the end of the day, it's mostly down to preference I guess.
I...actually love all of these points and are high/very enjoyable moments for me that never took away from the game I'm playing. Well, I guess I just love anime stuff in my games. Also, I never get why people call the bonding events in CS harem cause if that was the case all of that lovey-dovey stuff would take place in the main story, not optional fun little bonding events...that are just there for fun, not to be taken so seriously. Obviously Alisa is Rean's main love interest and everything else is just fun what-ifs. Well, that's just how I see it. Angelica is so funny and a blast every time I see her on screen. In CS3 on the ship during intermission and some victory battle qoutes have me die laughing thanks to her antics though I love pervy/flirty characters like her so obviously she'll be a fav. of mine.
Aside from the 3rd having some things I don't like, namely being in a dungeon the whole time, some doors being annoying/too long/too short, and Kevin and Ries being kinda...meh to me(mostly due to not being a usual Trails game with traveling throughout the region/country and interacting with NPC's), it's why it's at the bottom of my list and I don't think that's ever gonna change. Now Zero Azure are just above it but them being so low is the lack of an English Dub at all, not even in battles, and me being a huge English Dub fan it really sucked. Oh well, maybe in the future with a remake of them(and the Sky games) I'll get that full English Dub experience like I did with the Cold Steel games and that'll heighten(except maybe 3rd cause that'll most likely still have the disappointing parts for me in a remake lol). The Cold Steel still stands as my favorite in the series with a lot of my favorite moments in it and I don't see that changing soon.
I don't have a bad moment in the series. It's all I've asked for in my games, except for the oddity that is Sky 3rd and looks like Daybreak is still going with the norm which I'm glad about it. Also, since Reverie has so many Crossbell cast with an English it feels like THE Crossbell game for me and made me really like the characters and setting more than the main games did lol
Personally I hope Falcom keeps all of my favorite things I love about the series...that a lot of people seem to hate in Daybreak and onward, like hotsprings, fanservice moments(cool and sexy), flirty/pervy characters, cool/badass entrances/saves, romances among characters that FALCOM wants to create even if it makes people "uncomfy" or "cringe", and giving characters 2nd chances even if it means they didn't really die cause I love that shit lol(among many other things I love that many hate lol)
U trollin right?
@@tman4241 What? No. What made you think that?
@@Saru245 Nevermind you do you then
It's all good man, we all like different things. I for one wish the series would focus more on worldbuilding, lore and history of Zemuria to make the overarching story more interesting. I'm admittedly not much of an anime fan so a lot of these tropes are a major turn-off for me. Still appreciate the time you took to check out my content and write such a long comment! 👍
I also made a favorite moments video if you're interested.
@@LowestExpectations Oh, you're not a big anime fan but still love this series? That surprises me but also makes me happy that this series still managed to hook you. Regardless of anything I'm always happy to see others try out this series and get hooked like I did.
Oh I did and a lot of those is some of my favorite moments too lol
I agree with all of them except 1... I actually like pom party...
I might have liked it more if I hadn't played other games that are exactly the same as it beforehand (Puyo Puyo, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, etc.).
otto is not die is in trails of reverie in crossbell at the star of game near esteelle ice cream place
Overly shonen vibe of the erebonia arc really killed the deep political theme of crossbell
Number 6 is my number 2 personally. Hate that trope in trails especially in cold steel. Gotte disagree with your number 5 tho. Estelle and Joshua wanted to do the play for the orphanage kids after there home burned down. Also didn't Jill elude to what happen in Hamel.Seeing Loewe face in the end and saying they almost got the story right and confirming that Loewe was the one who save the kids from the orphanage, which is also a call back from the Hamel incident he can't let this happen again.
That's fair. I don't remember all the details about the school segment because it was so long ago, I just remember hating having to do it when there was a more interesting plot point we could have been exploring instead.
I genuinely hated playing through CS4. The moments of bad writing and general fan service cringe really soured my thoughts on CS as a whole. The ending and Reverie are what saved it.
Honestly the ending of CS4 was ridiculous to me, and I thought Osborne was the only one who got a proper conclusion to his story. Reverie didn't do enough to pick up the pieces, but I did really like that game because of its gameplay.
Oh please don't remind me of that one scene in Persona 5 Strikers...
Haha...
Having not yet watched the video, I wanna list a few just for fun. I imagine some are on the list.
-Sky 1 is perfect. Fight me. Chapter 2 isn't boring, you are.
-Sky 2's got some filler, and is quite boring for the first half or so, but nothing really offensive to the point where I'd call it "worst". Chapters 2 and 4 maybe. Chapter 8, but it's like 5-10 minutes of running so if you're skipping most of the optional stuff it's not bad.
-Sky 3's around the same as Sky 2, though reusing a fake Loewe as the Big Bad is pretty lame.
-Zero's mostly forgettable to me, tbh I don't remember much outside of the Schwarz Auktion and everything from the raid on St. Ursula's to the end. The inclusion of Estelle and Joshua kinda feels forced, I don't think they improve the game too much here.
-Ao's got the first real stinker. Noel was done so, so fucking dirty. 0 chance that's not on here, genuinely my least favorite moment in the series.
-CS1 has like four chapters that are a complete waste of time, so probably those. The way romance is handled in this game/arc is atrocious, but there's not any single event I can point out except maybe Rean not getting shipped with Towa. Laura and Fie's short subplot where they hate each other is weird, and is never mentioned again after Chapter 4 so whatever. The high school anime bullshit's a big one too, Rean falling on Alisa and landing on her boobs in the first few minutes really does set the tone for the first 70% of the game. Patrick sucks.
-CS2's gotta be that middle third, just flying around on the Courageous from dungeon to dungeon, very little story progression for a very long time. Terrible game.
-CS3's got pretty much just Crow, the whole Azure Siegfried bit was obviously dumb. The ending is one of my favorite of all time, but I'd argue it almost deserves to be listed here. Not that it's CS3's fault.
-It's CS4's. This game is a travesty. The random revival of every single dead character from CS3. They even have the gall to treat Olivert's death with respect with that trip to Alster and its fantastic theme, knowing they're going to reverse it all soon enough. The 40-80% stretch where literally nothing happens. The Zemurian World War boiling down to a single cutscene, fought mostly off-screen. Mille Mirage coming out of absolute nowhere, but mostly also occurring offscreen. Basically everything to do with Musse. Agate and Tita getting shipped by the game's characters, which is a shame because their relationship in Sky 2 was really heartwarming. Randomly forgetting to have a final boss theme, though To the Future is a banger so that one gets a slight pass. Giliath Osborne's motives/backstory getting revealed was the biggest letdown for me though. Between his sparse appearances in Ao and CS1, Giliath had been built up masterfully, and this just... wasn't it.
-Hajimari's biggest sin is by far the final 30 minutes. Rufus being allowed to live is a shame, because his character arc would have been so much more memorable if he had died the way he planned to. His being saved was total nonsense.
-Kuro's actually an awesome game, go buy it. Just came out.
-Kuro 2's got a couple stinkers, but the game's not out for a while longer so maybe we skip those.
-Kai no Kiseki's OST hasn't been pre-uploaded to youtube yet, which is a pretty big letdown to me tbh.
Thanks for the long comment. All fair moments to nominate, what did you think after watching?
NOT SO FAST
THAT WON'T BE NECESSARY
6:46 I’m not disagreeing….fanservice generally annoys me(I don’t mind it if it’s in a series that is clearly made to be fanservice the show, you get what you signed up) but games, anime and books where they’re asking you to take them seriously then bust out the fanservice gets my goat(I don’t make exceptions, western entertainment also gets on my nerves when they do it(especially if like in the lot2 they try to pretend they’re doing it for a good reason….lies and damned Lies) and pointing it out doesn’t make it any less annoying). The bathing scenes are just stupid in my book, I don’t mind if they imply they’re bathing but we don’t need to see it(though strangely I can think of an anime that used a bathing scene for a good reason. Digimon 01 did it and while bathing is weird there I can see why the scene was included, it was to give the kids a very sense of normality and comfort as they could before hitting the audience with the kids crying about homesickness and devimon’s attack but maybe I’m looking too much into it).
I guess we're pretty much in the same boat then. I am no prude, and I will play straight up porn games if I think they're worth playing, but like you said, and like I said in the outro, I start to get annoyed when an overused, copypaste fan service segment pops up in a story that appeals to me for other reasons, as if they think they can't hold our attention if they don't include things like that every now and then. It's insulting and annoying.
I don't know what "lot2" is, but the thing you describe in Digimon doesn't even sound like a fan service moment at all, at least the way you describe it. If the goal was to portray a normal life, then having a bath is certainly part of that, and can definitely portay a feeling of "safety", so it would be a fantastic contrast to something bad that happens later.
@@LowestExpectations lot2 was just me saying the last of us part 2(I saw that nudity scene in that game and instantly got annoyed. While fanservice is annoying I at least know Japanese game developers aren’t doing it for a higher purpose, they’re just doing it out of fanservice needs but to pretend your fanservice(and to play by different rules from your competitors on the whole nudity thing) isn’t fanservice and is being done for a higher purpose to me is annoying(I often say anime doesn’t get away with things that for example family guy gets away with regularly).
I don’t think you’re a prude for wanting fanservice not to be included in places where it shouldn’t be. Going to another Japanese game, Valkyria Chronicles, had a moment where I nearly threw my controller at the tv, in the 4th game there was an extra scene and one of the characters who kept banging on about her respectability and who the game wanted you to take seriously called Minerva….was shown wearing a bikini in a fanservice moment. It actually got my goat because i think it came up not long after her entire squad was killed(though set before) and I thought “are you kidding me?!” Because it was bad when they did it to the other character but Minerva?! Seriously?! I watch anime and video games with lots of fanservice in them and it is simply put annoying(I don’t think I’m a prude either).
Yeah something I left out of the Digimon comment was Digimon also falls guilty of fanservice later but this was episode 8 and really early on in the show’s run. I remember as a kid how scary I found the show and to see the kids chilling and just having a brief few moments of joy only to have Joe bring the mood down and then for it to transpire to be a trap by devimon was all the more gut wrenching(as a kid I thought one of the kids may end up dying….i wasn’t a smart kid to think Digimon would dare kill off a child character(though in my defence around the same time power rangers lost galaxy was airing and it killed off a kid character on screen so Maybe my guard was up).
@@andrewobrien8325 Okay yeah, I haven't played The Last of Us 2, but I've seen that scene in so many memes and stuff since it got leaked before launch, and man... It's just perfectly symbolic of how far Playstation has fallen since 2018 or so.
That Valkyria Chronicles 4 scene you're describing does sound annoying. I remember hearing a lot of negative things said about VC4. I've only played about half of VC1, so I don't know what the rest of the series is like.
@@LowestExpectations I don’t have any other negative things to say about Vc4 but that’s because I’m a muppet who’s easy to please(except with food) but yeah I can see a few small issues. I didn’t play the last of us 2 either but like you, I couldn’t escape the memes and the commentary on it but my rules are simple if the Japanese games and media gets criticism from America and Britain(and anyone else who it applies to in the west) and isn’t squeaky clean I’m going to call them idiots but as I said I don’t complain often(unless it’s about Scottish football, small joke).
I hate fishing in JRPGs too. It sucks so hard... these mini games are never in the slightest fun.
I'M NOT ALONE
Honestly I think enjoyment of video games is subjective and down to personal taste. I think the fishing minigames are fine
By the way, why the hell did Victor and Toval have to be still alive in CS4 if they served no purpose ever since the series started and shouldn't even have existed in the first place? What is the point of Toval and Victor at all, and why can't Falcom kill them off?
By the way, half of the cast in the CS series could have been cut and nothing would have changed. Let's see: Toval, Victor, Alfin, Angelica, Elise, Thomas (could have been merged with Gaius), Neithardt, Scarlet, Duke Albarea, all of the teachers in CS1, heck, you could cut half of Old Class VII (Laura, Machias, Elliot, Gaius, Millium).
Not to mention all the things CS could have done and didn't: CS could have been a violent arc where you control an anti-hero rising to help Osborne conquer the world and Lloyd's sworn enemy, just why didn't it happen?
Were it for me, I'd have the new and old class VII be one single class VII made of Crow, Emma, George, Jusis, Juna, Altina, Kurt, Ash, with Rean already starting off as history teacher (cause as a student in CS1 and 2 he completely lacks a character arc), and Millium as Cayenne's servant rather than Osborne's one in order to fully commit to the concept of Altina as opposite to Millium.
Were it for me, I'd actually have Class VII be divided for the civil war, some students fighting for the nobles and some others for the empire ( I'd make the civil war about not the corruption of the nobles but rather about Osborne wanting to invade Crossbell and Calvard and the nobles refusing to accept it, I'd make Rean aware of being Osborne's son from the get-go and an active supporter of the Crossbell annexation, while Crow, Jusis, Juna and Sara (a fellow teacher) become Rean's enemies (Crow is C, Jusis is a noble, Juna is crossbellan, Sara is a bracer, so it'd make sense for them to turn into Rean's enemies). The rivalry in the Infernal Castle could have actually worked and had Rean absorb Crow. The Gral of Erebos could have replaced the Reverie Corridor as the extra dungeon of CS2 and Millium dies permanently there. And then they could have had a CS3 where Rean is evil (not berserk. Evil. As in having fully committed to being an Ironblood) and you would control the Royalist students Jusis and Juna, along with Sara and the heroes of the Crossbell games, to fight the Rivalries and have a climactic battle between Lloyd and Rean.
Toval first appeared in the Trails from Zero prequel manga. I haven't read it so I don't know what the significance is there, but he's been around for quite a while, and I wouldn't say he serves no purpose. He's a bracer after all, but I guess he does have a kind of cog-in-the-machine kind of role.
Victor is still a mentor figure to quite a few of the younger cast, so he's not irrelevant either. I expected him to actually die at some point because he's an older male character, and older male characters in JRPGs always die, but... Well, Falcom seems to be afraid of letting non-antagonist characters die. Oh well. Thanks for the comment 👍
@@LowestExpectations But for instance, why did they need two Dominions (three if counting Barkhorn) and Thomas never do anything as a Dominion until CS3? Couldn't Gaius have been a Dominion right from the get-go?
@@vittoriopugliese3352 To have as many plot hole covers as possible in case Falcom writes themselves into a corner again I guess 😂
@@LowestExpectations On the other hand, the two Dominions in Kuro are very well-handled
@@vittoriopugliese3352 I didn't even know there were two dominions in Kuro. 🤫
You know, I disagree with a lot of your points, nearly all of them, or the to be mor precise I don't think those are problems, but holy hell if the statement "becoming a harem anime is the worst things that happened to Trails" is not the rawest of truths, I don't know what is.
And I say that as someone who likes most of what you would call "anime bullshit". I like harem anime. I like them to the point of owning my favorites on Blu-Ray. Trails has NO business being a harem anime. One of the biggest draws to Trails is the continuity, and the "choose your waifu" - mechanic torpedoes that so hard. It prevents Rean from having a canon relationship, and even worse, it prevents everyone else around him from having one too. We spent four games with the original class VII, and have no romantic tension between the group outside of Rean's bonding events. That prevents any romantic moments in the main story as well, which is a crying shame when you think back on the backbone the romance was to the main story of Sky, or even smaller moments like the wedding in CS4.
Bonding events, which are not something I am in favor of for Trails games generally, were at least done the best in Zero, where the different events could all have happened canonically. Loyds romantic moment with Ellie or the heart to heart with Randy are not mutually exclusive, and the next game in the series could take both into account for continuity. The nature of their relationships does not change, only the amount you get to see on your playthrough.
Anyway, just wanted to rant and leave a comment for engangement, since it was a good video after all. I recently watched a video where the guy said that the existence of CS 3 and 4 made 1 and 2 meaningless, and after that hearing some thoughtfull critique was refreshing.
>The existence of CS3 and 4 made 1 and 2 meaningless
I am trying to wrap my head around this and failing lol
Thanks for the support. I will say I still don't much care for the bonding moments in Zero/Azure because it's arbitrarily missable content. That's annoying from a gameplay perspective, and I'm glad they did away with that in Daybreak (from what I remember).
@@LowestExpectations
I guess they meant nothing of story consequence happens? It was a stupid point, that would be like saying the existence of The Return of the King makes Fellowship and Two Towers meaningless.
Yeah, I would much prefer to not have bonding events in Trails at all, for the same reason, but IF you must have them, at least make them all canonical. Glad to hear Daybreak doesn't have them, but I still need to play Reverie first. I am hyped though.
I usually avoid video's like these on things I adore altogether but oh well...
As a trails fanboy, this video was hard to watch lol. Still watched through all of it and I can't really deny/disagree with most of the points. Those negatives are definitely there and I can understand people disliking them.
Still I don't get really get why you would play through all of it, if you dislike some much.
I appreciate that you took the time to stick through it.
There will alway be things you can point out as flaws in the media we like. I can only recommend to not be a fanboy... Fanboyism doesn't do you any favors lol.
As for me, I do like the series, and I loved the idea of having a long series of continuous stories within a single universe. I made a top 10 favorite moments video long before I made this one after all.
I do think they haven't taken advantage of this interesting universe as well as they could have and wish they took the series in a more expansive and serious direction than they did with Cold Steel. As of now, I kinda don't expect the series to end in a satisfying way but you never know.
31:52 yeah I started with cold steel and nearly stopped playing at that moment. I also didn’t care for the dating sim angle which actually got worse when Joshua and Estelle entered the picture, I was left wondering who they were but when I looked into it(and asked the friend who told me about the series who they were), I was left asking “So why do I have to pretend I care about who this game wants to ship?! It clearly wants me to pick Alisa!” And I went for Laura because Laura and Jusis were my favourite characters(not counting general craig). One of my favourite moments in reverie was that cute moment between Estelle and Joshua with the ice cream because even though I don’t know a lot about them, they feel very genuinely close and I ended up nearly cracking a rib laughing at Estelle’s reaction to the whole situation.
If you went back and played Sky (or watched the scenes online), I think your disdain for the dating sim elements would grow even more because Estelle and Joshua's relationship is _very_ well done. It just makes me think of what could have been. Even though I don't care for Alisa, her relationship with Rean could have been another great, fleshed-out romance. Heck, I can even say the same for Lloyd and Elie. And it's looking like I might end up saying the same for Van at the end of his arc... 😮💨
Seeing the second least favorite moments and thinking:
Fuck.
I have no way to say it'll get better.
I don't think it will xD
Oh and I actually agree that the state of the localization of NIS is a bit... weird right now. Joke or not, it's true that some sentences are written in a very bad way and that the fan patches are way more finished than NIS localization itself. We still have typos and bad descriptions for items AND abilities in the game, and I don't think they will fix those too soon. Even if they do, Nis has a history of fixing bad text on console but not PC. (Cold Steel III still have some 1.0 script there never fixed).
I don't want to say anything spoilery, but if you're all caught up with the series, play Kuro.
But yeah, NISA localizations have been bad since the company's inception. At least CS3 and CS4 were decent-ish, but their sloppiness in Reverie was just inexcusable.
Also, I got a notification for another comment of yours on this video, but I can't see it because TH-cam is hiding it (or did you delete it?)
Anyway, thanks for the comment 👍
Generally, I avoid commenting on these sorts of videos to avoid the arguments and such that naturally end up swirling, but I do find it a bit sad that the Jenis arc is one of your least favorites. Maybe it's just me, but I see why they used that section as a break. It's pointing out that many of the other characters in Estelle and Joshua's line of work don't see them as equals yet. They get pushed into a side job instead of the main problem initially because they are not experienced enough, as well as Agate always wanting to go it alone. It's a character point for Agate's problems as well as Estelle and Joshua. This is only the second major chapter with any major story, given the prologue is just that, a prologue. It's easy to see them as naive and inexperienced enough to be shoved aside by the full bracers that don't need nor want a trainee getting caught in a major incident. As for the side content section of Jenis I think it is both understandable for your dislike, as it is long, but also many people don't tend to end up playing the games in the original intended order, given Steam is the only place to play The Third anyway. I know steam is popular for gaming, but it's more likely that someone will end up starting with Cold Steel currently, until remakes happen of course. Many of your other points I definitely agree with. I generally tolerate the minigames and such but the pom party one I hate with a passion. As for my favorite Cold Steel girl... Fie all the way!
I try not to get into arguments on the internet too, there's no point, and I'm not going to change anyone's mind. I probably was a bit harsh on the Jenis part (probably others too), but I strongly dislike the JP high school setting, and I dislike seeing it inserted into everything. I understand why they made a diversion like that, including the things you outlined, but did it have to be high school specifically? It's so tiresome. I can't be too salty about it though since the game was made in 2004, before it was an annoying trend.
I can really see what rub people the wrong way are the anime tropes which i guess is specifically for the anime fans and not for pure rpg jrpg fans.
As someone who don't mind the tropes being played, mostly cause I understand who's it for. Id say the only thing i dont get is Crow living. And while i am kinda okay and even happy a bit that he lives, i never get why. Millium makes more sense to live since she's artificial
Other than that im fine with, but thats just enjoying the game with the mindset of just riding the wave, investing myself into it. But if I put the third person goggles on, yeah they do play it safe a bit too much and the bonding really makes people question whats canon and whats not. Id say Daybreak fixed that tho so thats
Great video, love trails games
Yeah, I'm not an anime guy, I don't watch anime like at all. Even without that, it's still very easy to recognize those overused tropes that annoy the hell out of me. Having already played Kuro 2, I don't think the Calvard arc has "fixed" anything really, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see with Kai.
@@LowestExpectations cool man, at the very least i hope you still enjoy the experience as a jrpg game to some extend. And yeah, here's hoping Kai to be great for most if not all.
Honestly, i don't mind the dating sim, i think the woman Rean can chose are all pretty cool (almost)*, i just mind how they've done it, take the Mass Effect trilogy (just like Kiseki, one of my favourite) you have the choice of who you can date, but the character you don't chose aren't still chasing you during the entire game, it feels really natural no matter who you chose, but in kiseki that harem protagonist thing disturb me (really love Rean as a character btw, not against him, more against the female character chasing him ) i found it pretty cringe when i did the first 3 games always doing the last BE with Fie, and then in CS4 10 other woman/girl still hit on you and kiss you despite at least half of them being probably aware of Rean's interest by that point, like the woman BE in that game (apart from Duvalie and Celine) are only romance event
*+People talk about Elise, but while she's by far the least interesting person in Rean's circle, i don't care she's a romance, what disturb me is Altina, they did a fantastic job with Rean/Altina relationship with him being like a big brother/father figure to her managing to teach her how to live, why the f*** would i want a romance with her? Give me appropriate Bonding event/ending fitting with that kind of relationship
PS: After FIe, Towa was my second choice, nice one (followed by Sara)
I don't like tsunderes so THAT scene in the beginning of Cold steel 1... eww. I liked Nadia the secret of blue water and Neon genesis evangelion but it's despite Nadia end Asuka.
I have not seen Evangelion so I don't know the reference, but I don't like tsunderes all that much either, unless it's a comedic setting like Neptunia.
Thanks for 7K views!
Edit: 10K now! Thank you all
God, this video is so relatable. And kinda entertaining too.
I fully agree with Zero first chapters being unjustified boring. While it's understandable that Falcom wanted player and SSS to get familiar with Crossbell, it probably could have been done better.
Trails SC chapters before Tea party are also not entertaining in a bit. Because of that, I didn't find it as awesome as many people on community do. When I remember SC, I immediately think of this part of the game.
And the thickness of plot armor in the games is also kinda of a big issue, thought I don't thinks that Cold Steel games are that bad. I also don't enjoy every bit of cringy anime fanservice that Falcom tries to shove into your mouth, but I'm not hating them. For me they are ok, as the filler or as break before player will face major events.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it 😆
I hope it didn't come across like I didn't like the Cold Steel series or that I think they're bad, because I still enjoyed my time with all of them despite their glaring issues.
It looks like your comment got cut off at the end somehow?
@@LowestExpectationskinda 😅. Wanted to add more, but I think my comment is already long enough)
Gotta say, I pretty much completely agree with the majority of your takes and felt embarrassed to play Cold Steel IV to the point where I rushed the last half of the game as I just wanted to be free from it. I made the mistake of playing it infront of my ex and she looked at me like a weirdo for the rest of the day. Also the lack of death in Trails really hinders its GOAT status and makes it feel more like a child's toybox than a gritty war story.
That said, my number 1 least favorite moment in Trails is actually the music in CS 3, 4, and Reverie. It's not bad, it's just mid. And considering how many songs from the first half of the series are on my Spotify playlist it just hurts that most of Singa's tracks sound like a chunk of scrap metal put through a blender and then thrown off a mountain.
Bahaha, yeah, even playing CS4 alone is embarrassing at certain parts. Thing is, it didn't need to be a gritty war story at all, it just needed to be able to be taken seriously, even if just at certain key parts, and it failed at that.
The music throughout all of Cold Steel is pretty weak imo, at least by comparison to others in the series. Most of it just sounds like anime cheese to me, but there are some good tracks here and there. I thought Kuro was a step up because it fits the theme of that game so well, but they will never top Sky the 3rd's music. Ryo Takeshita's tracks were just pure magic, just sayin'
Thanks for the comment again 👍
@@LowestExpectations Of-course, I'm always happy to engage over Trails content and am tempted to put my own opinions out there one day.
Yeah, I had Overdosing Heavenly Bliss blasting on repeat for months, same with Get Over the Barrier and Don't be Defeated by a Friend. It's actually nice to speak to someone who values Sky the 3rd as much as me as it's always been in my top 3
@@Synthpopper Yeah Sky the 3rd is actually my #1 in the series still. That game continues to age like a fine wine with all of the interesting lore presented to us via the memory doors and other parts slowly being realized and revisited with each game that comes out. The story was very emotionally gripping and written so well, and the music carries each scene even further to the point I always strongly recommend people _not_ to mod in the JP voice acting, and just let the music express everything better than the VAs can.
I agree with a lot of things on this list. Especially the stupid Cs4 ending. The normal ending would have been better where it not for the fact that it ruins Reans character development! I also think that the herun bulshut really started in cs3 and got worse in Cs4. In coldsteel 1 you can just dance with anyone including the boys and it was a very sweet friendship moment. In cs2 you can romance all girls but they only confess to you in after you make your romance choice. So it never becomes a herun. In cs3 and 4 though you get the persona 3 vanilla problem where completing all of a character social events makes them confes to you. I hate it. Cs4 is my least favorit trails game I played.
Yeah from a story perspective, I think CS4 is the worst in the series. Pretty much just the gameplay/battle system is what holds it up from being completely bad. Thankfully the harem crap is heavily reduced in the Calvard games.
@@LowestExpectations yeah I agree. The gameplay is good. I overal still enjoyed Cs4. But it's still the weakest of the games!
As a real trails fan your opinion is invalid. Delete the video or you will be talking to my lawyer and the police and the FBI and-
have a good day :}
Lol.
You're not a real fan unless you hate the series. I don't make the rules officer!
Esto es lo que pasa cuando un juego solo es lanzado en dos idiomas...
Que pereza con esta generación de jóvenes que todo lo lloran...
I already disliked the bonding mechanics in Zero, but at least the romance option in that game was clearly just Elie. This got a bit worse in Ao because now Rixia and Noel were kinda there too and it does show in Reverie later too. But at least, I think even after Reverie, no matter who (likely Rixia) your favorite Crossbell waifu is, everyone will accept Elie has the more realistic choice for Lloyd due to the many scenes, both optional and obligatory, that kinda throw things in that direction.
As you said, in CS1 the game kinda did the same with Alisa in CS1, as she clearly feels like a more "canon" option in that game due to many obligatory scenes... but contrary to Crossbell they quickly threw that away and for CS3, Laura and Emma felt just as canon, and by CS4... oh god.. this is the lowest point. Duvalie became my favorite playable girl likely because she didn't have a Sky or Crossbell crush already (Lianne doesn't count) and she didn't love Rean. That's it. The bonding events went to the extreme in the romance with pretty much every single old enough girl (younger one were just kinda left on hold, but they're there too). And while the events weren't that relevant to the main plot, a lot of things of different bonding events are assumed to have happened, or there are things that lead to them, etc. Every single girl loves Rean, which ironically makes them victim of the second biggest curse that took hold Erebonia with Rean at its center: All erebonian females are bound to be single for the rest of time. Even is Rean chooses one of them, they'll just forget in a while (next game).
I don't give a damn who Falcom picks. At this point they could even pick Elise for all I care (she annoys me, but whatever), just pick something (I guess this is more on that refusal to commit problem). Pick someone, let the other girls get someone. Millium somehow managed to escape the curse and thanks to that she ends up having some nice moments with Jusis, Gaius is a male so he manages to have some nice moments with the nurse twin (not Vivi, forgot name right now), Machias is likely building something with that crazy girl that works in the department store in Crossbell... but girls? yeah, nothing. Elise, ironically speaking, could have something with Patrick and that would actually be nice to see, but of course it can't happen.
I sure hope at least Lloyd and Elie become something official at some point and Rean -not the player- just chooses someone and we can all move one. I don't know, now that we're moving to Calvard it might be hilarious if Rean meets a completely new girl and just leave his complete harem behind for her. Oh, the reactions would be hilarious. Years of waifu wars and no victor. But that won't happen.
Yeah the bonding mechanics were not fit for this series at all imo. Lloyd and Elie are the most natural fit for each other, it's no contest, and Rean is kind of up in the air, but I'd want them to just choose one and be done with this nonsense too. I don't know if you've seen the Kai no Kiseki previews, but we may get an answer for one of them in that game... maybe.
You could also consider Valimar, and maybe the other divine knights, as characters that didn't survive. Possibly Pater-Mater too.
Cold steel existence is mistake
The series really started going downhill with CS unfortunately... I used to be defensive about that, but I can't anymore lol
About Kuro 1, all I am going to say, is: --spoiler warning--
They changed the Harem for a triangle, a weird triangle in which a young high school girl has feelings for an older mid twenties guy that has a troubled past relationship with another woman that still loves him but is tsundere. WEIRD!!!!!
To add to it, said woman expresses her feelings as soon as in one of the 3 text stories at the end of reverie, the last door you get in post game, yes. I would have preferred for Falcom to just make a story of how they get back together or something. That makes for better writing. So I guess, harem and hot springs are still present in Kuro.
It's not a triangle, it's Agnes thinking of Van, but Van only has eyes for Elaine (and is staying single intentionally because he worries about her and doesn't want to hurt her). Van does NOT requite Agnes' feelings at all, his dialogue with her is strictly nonromantic. Plus, maybe Agnes' words could be seen as more of seeing him like an older brother or older friend, rather than romantic. Would be a triangle if either Van was undecided between Elaine and Agnes, or if Agnes was interested in both Van and Elaine.
Maybe Kuro 3 will explore Van getting back together with Elaine, who knows? Or maybe Van is either aromantic or a complete romance-disliker who has no interest in dating anyone
Younger people like older people all the time and "young" she is 16
@@alumlovescake yes, that's young, 16 isn't old at all, at 16 you still don't know what the heck you're doing
Add relying on Valimar for literally every situation that Rean isn't bailed out by some deus ex machina. Literally every chapter in Cold Steel 2 ends with "HeEd mY CaLl vAliMaR" and I fucking hated it every time. I've never been a big gundam guy, so maybe thats part of my problem, but it was so damn predictable. The Divine Knight Battles were consistently some of my least favorite parts of CS 2, 3 and 4. even when they tried to make them slightly more interesting in 3 and 4 by adding a second giant robot, It just boils down to a game of rock paper sciscors over and over again.
Lol, it was pretty silly the way it was portrayed too. He calls Valimar and everyone just stands still until he flies across the state to the battle. Like I mention in #6, their approach to action scenes was just total incompetence. As for the battles, I thought they were just okay, but definitely weren't deep enough to have them appear for more than a handful of boss fights, so at least they didn't overstay their welcome.
I disagree with everything, trails is the best jrpg saga ever, and trails from zero to azure and cold steel 3-4 are masterpieces.
If you say so lol
@@LowestExpectations im gonna spoil you kuro no kiseki 2
@@bokeronenjoyer What do you mean? I've played it already
Im so glad i found another Alisa hater.
I hope she never becomes playable again.
EVER.
Fortunately she hasn't been confirmed for Kai.... yet.
I felt so validated watching this because I'm the only one in my friends circle who has massive problems with this series despite liking it overall. There are a few other huge problems I have that weren't mentioned here like:
1) Zero's bad structure: Everything from the prologue to Chapter 3 builds up naturally with you investigating the problems in Crossbell's underground, and it feels like the game is leading to a climax where you fight the Mafia and change Crossbell for the better... except no, suddenly there is this Cult that has had zero presence in the story up to that point, taking over as the main antagonists with no build up and is dealt with in the same chapter so there isn't even any impact there, and to make matters worse, they recycle the same twist from FC with Joachim who was just a much worse version of Weissman.
2) Azure's garbage twists: As if that last twist in Zero wasn't bad enough, Azure not only doubles down but triples down on it with the overdone "I was the REAL bad bad guy all along haha" that is less shocking and more annoying at that point, not to mention how bad Ian was as an antagonist, he didn't even do anything the whole game only to show up at the end, be revealed to have killed Guy, then Lloyd gives him a talk-no-jutsu and he is like "damn I never thought of it that way, understood have a good day" like ??? That has got to be the most unserious storytelling I have ever seen in any piece of media, then of course he gets "killed" by Mariabell who is also an extremely boring and cheap antagonist, but not really because he is saved at the end. If they kept it to Arios and Dieter being the main antagonists that would have actually been okay because they both had build up as characters and their motivations were much more compelling, they brought more to the table in terms of challenging the protagonists. Also, the attack on Crossbell has basically zero lasting consequences after like the first couple hours of playing, no one is killed not even the NPCs (which is such a wasted opportunity considering one of the best things about Trails is how well developed they are and how you grow attached to them especially in Zero-Azure because you talk to the same people all game long, it would have been so effective to kill many of them off and make you feel lonely and depressed). I never understood how people view this game as a masterpiece of storytelling and hold it above other games in the series when it only relies on cheap shock factor and ruins the entire saga. Crossbell was so obviously a rushed project because they didn't plan it out originally (they wanted to do Sky FC & SC and then immediately jump to Cold Steel which would have also been 2 games) and I'm convinced that they wrote the script on the last week because there is no way someone actually thought this was good enough to release, it should have been 3 games as well (1st game focusing on the Mafia, 2nd game on the Cult and 3rd on the conspiracy).
3) Cold Steel 3's tediousness: This is a problem with all the Cold Steel games, but CS3 was the biggest offender to me by far because you could really tell they were stretching it out as hard as they could, the first 3 chapters basically did the same thing over and over, just with different characters each time, they kept building "suspense" over what Ouroboros was planning but without giving us any interesting pieces to fill out the puzzle, instead it was just "Ouroboros is doing something sus" each time, it didn't help that the game has the same structure as CS1 where every chapter is repetitively doing the same thing in a different location, but it's much longer than CS1 and since it's the 3rd game, it's much worse. Seriously everyone praises this game for being such good payoff to your investment in the series but it really doesn't do anything until the very end with a cliffhanger that ultimately meant nothing. This is the opposite problem of Crossbell where CS3 and CS4 should have been a single game (same with CS1 and CS2 tbh).
4) The dialogue: This is a problem with the series as a whole, but it gets SIGNIFICANTLY worse in Cold Steel, the characters are constantly repeating the same generic lines over and over and over again, there isn't really a naturally flowing dialogue based on the characters' unique personalities because every character tends to say the same thing in reaction to the same stuff. There is also the whole "every character needs to sneak in a line" before any major confrontation which just makes it feel extremely forced and they usually don't add anything of value. The character bonding events add to this problem because a lot of the dialogue there has no bearing on the main story, so you will often find the same sentiments and lines being said by characters in the main story even though as someone who has played through everything it's like "You've already gone over this, say something else". It makes it really difficult to take anything seriously when the dialogue takes you out 99% of the time.
I don't know if I can comment on your #1 and #2, as Zero and Azure are the only games I've only played once, and I can't remember a lot of the early to mid-game plot points, other than I agree on Mariabell being lame, and Ian being the killer was kind of a letdown. It's also funny you mention that nobody died during the attack on Crossbell, as I had that as one of my top 10 favorite moments, but I think if I remade that video, I don't know if it would even make the list.
3. In hindight, yeah, the game was pretty tedious, but I remember not minding at the time, especially for chapter 1. Being able to visit Hamel ourselves was a big moment. Wasn't handled that well, but I still really loved it. I also played CS3 before Zero/Azure so going to Crossbell in chapter 2 was actually new to me.
4. This one I 100% agree with, and like you said, it's been a problem since the beginning, but Cold Steel really ramped up the cringe. Whenever someone mentions a problem the entire series has, I try to think, "which game did it the least?" and I'm always drawn back to Sky the 3rd. I think in this regard, because that game's main story is more focused, so there's less room for silly cliche dialogue sequences to ruin important events. Kuro 1 as well, but I won't get into that here.
Thanks for the long comment, I always like hearing what people say about this series. 👍