While the second game, which describes the aftermath of the events in the first game, was going to be a perfect game in the true sense of the word, it turned away at the last moment. Still, it's a good enough game to rank first on the list of the best games ever. The second game, which has taken some of the missing parts of the first game and improved. He further developed the mechanics that were not good enough. It is an undeniable fact that it is one of the best JRPGs ever, with its story and enriched gameplay experience.

The Story: As I mentioned at the beginning, it is about the events that took place in the first game, but after the prologue part of the game, there is a time jump and our characters show certain changes in this process. This time jump isn't long, by the way. We unravel the mystery of Weissman's Gospel plan, one of the Ouroboros members we learned in the first game. We learn the dark side of aureole. We witness the tragic past of the Astray family and many other characters. At the end of the play, even in the scientific sociology classes in today's world that revolve between both Estelle and Weissman, we see a topic that is important enough to be discussed in real life, causing serious discussions among the professors. Most importantly, we meet the character of Kevin Graham, who will be the main character in the third game. Enemy characters, some of whom you will hate and some of whom you will adopt like a real-life comrade, also overcome the game in a completely different dimension. Even some side characters that were seen as unnecessary in the previous game are handled and included in more detail in this game. An incredible story awaits you.

Gameplay: We tour all the Liberian cities and towers in the previous game, but this time our starting point is Ruan, not Rolent. One of my favorite features is that the items in the previous game are always stronger than the previous one, which does not repeat often in this game. In the previous game, we used to dress our characters with high-status items. Items can have different advantages in this game. That's why we can sometimes keep that item for that advantage. This is a positive development for the game. They developed the skills that we used under the name of "Arts" in the previous game. They connected the story of the game to the previous game and fed it very well. In other words, as in other rpg type games, it is not passed on as a new skill for you. They even tell us how we got it. We now have 7 orb slots instead of 6. These orb slots can also be upgraded three times in total. Each of our upgrades increases our character stats according to the color part of the orb tree. Yes, now our characters' stats do not rise equally, but also in different ways. This makes the different areas that our characters are prone to more prominent. No two characters are alike and they have a more unique gameplay than the previous game. A lot of new orbs are being added to the game, and there are a lot of special new orbs among them. Of course, new orbs mean getting new 'Arts' abilities. A much larger "Arts" combination tree awaits you. One of my favorite features is that they have also improved the "Craft" tree. In particular, the characters have new unique abilities of their own, as well as the S-craft system, which we called the strongest ability of the characters, which only serves to inflict more damage in the first game, has also left its place to more creative new character abilities in this game. Some S-crafts now have different uses and special bonuses. I wanted to add additional. Each character combo mechanic has been added to the "Craft" tree. Combos evolve as the characters get stronger. This is another useful mechanic.

Music: From the improved versions of the first game's soundtrack, there are many more new tracks available in the game. All of them contribute a lot to the presentation of the game. Of course, it's a good thing that old and favorite pieces are still in the game.

Audio: The game has a slightly more advanced sound system, but it is still a minus for this game, as in the Evo version, that the dialogues still do not have sound. In many scenes, I said it would be nice if there was a voice over there. If these characters had dialogue voiceovers, the game would have been rated 10/10.

Art and Universe Design: They raised the bar on the first game. It's really perfect. Writing is much more advanced. Details such as fishing and gambling have been added to the game. It contributes to the atmosphere. Side quests now host more different dialogs and players can win many unexpected rewards. This pushes you to do side quests even more. Art design, on the other hand, is already playing the peaks. Especially in the last episodes, it is necessary to congratulate the producers. The food system has become more diverse and has a much more important place in the game. Now, the variety of new auxiliary materials has increased and its importance is felt much more.

Chapter Design: Again, it belongs to very nice and logical chapter designs. However, the no grid situation in the first game is not so valid in this game. The game asks you to make the grid, although not much. I recommend doing it especially before fighting bosses.

The Story – 10/10
Gameplay – 9.5/10
Music – 10/10
Audio – 6/10
Art and Universe Design: 10/10
Chapter Design: 10/10
Total: 10/10

Trails in the Sky Second Chapter is, in one word, awesome. In many, it's a really interesting game in a lot of ways. This game completely builds on the previous Trails in the Sky game, and still feels like it's building up to whatever's coming next in the Trails series. The characters are the heart of these games, for me at least. From Estelle, to Agate, to Loewe, to Joshua, I love practically every character this game presents me. Whether it's their larger than life personalities or the more down to earth aspects to their writing. Though these games feature true walls of dialogue, I never really got bored of these characters interacting with the world or each other, and as the set pieces became bigger and bigger towards the game's end, I was completely enraptured by the world in front of me.
The gameplay here is fair. A little better and more fun than its predecessor, but not earth shattering. Combat is pretty fun, but exploration doesn't really feel that exciting especially considering there's been little to no changes to Liberl between the previous game and this one. Menuing feels a bit clunkier than it could, but I didn't really play this for the gameplay so much as the story. I know Trails is meant to be a grand tale, but if it gets this good in the second entry, I wonder how far up it can go.

8,5/10

Aoi toki egaku kiseki tadori

kotae sagasu, onaji sora miagenagara
Mune ni himeta omoi afuredashi
sora o kakete gin'iro no ya ni kawaru

Motomeau kokoro ga tagau itami wa
shinjitsu no michi kasumaseru keredo

Kousa suru gin no ya, mitsumeau hitomi ni
onaji yume tashika ni utsushita
Tatoe tsumazuite mo, tatoe kizu tsuite mo
tobitatou, kaze tsubasa ni shite

Koe mo todokanai tooi basho de.

GOAT.

The Trails in the Sky games occupy a similar spot in my mind with the Persona 2 games. They're very dated and lower budget RPGs with some good stories and characters, but gameplay that is far from being great. However, while I have played other Persona games before playing Persona 2, I have no prior attachment to Trails so I'm less enthusiastic about putting up with the archaic mechanics here. If Trails in the Sky is really supposed to be the best starting point for the franchise... it needs to get a better one.

But let's focus in on this particular entry: Trails in the Sky SC.

I was excited upon starting Trails in the Sky SC because it seemed as though it was going to be very different from the previous game, but it ended up repeating a ton of content. The locations, music, battle system, party members... But not only that, Trails in the Sky SC also repeats a lot of content even within the scope of this singular game. There is a team of villains in this game who you have to battle three times per member of the group. This just added to the feeling of the game being formulaic. Trails in the Sky first chapter is definitely not a perfect game, but what I can say is that it felt fresh throughout. Trails in the Sky SC might be a better game but I definitely can't say that it felt fresh.

The battle system definitely has a unique hook, but by the end of Trails in the Sky SC it had started to wear out its welcome. By that point I had the thought that I'd be having more fun just playing a different game that didn't repeat so much content from the previous game. And I still have to play the third game in its entirety, so this is not a great sign. I am really hoping that the combat gets better in future Trails games because otherwise it's going to be rough.

I quite enjoyed the story and characters in Trails of the Sky SC. It's a continuation of the first game's story but now contains the high stakes that the first game was sorely missing. Party members are now permanent, which is great because their individual stories are allowed to get fleshed out. They contrast with the villains quite well and it allows for the sort of character drama that this franchise seems to do well with. All things considered, it is a pretty standard type of plot to defeat the team of villains, but I appreciated the higher stakes and character development.

By now I understand at least somewhat why people like this series, but I don't agree with this particular entry being as highly rated as it is on this website. It was an improvement from the first game, but a downgrade in originality. The combat system has overstayed its welcome and doesn't really differentiate itself from the system in the first game. And while I enjoyed the story, it's a little more standard than the high praise would make it out to be.

A fine game, for sure, I'm just hoping for my own sake that this isn't the peak of the series. I'm putting a lot of investment into this franchise because people say it's good, but if the fans are exaggerating the quality of the rest of the series like they are with the quality of this game then it's going to be a big letdown.