i loved playing as the only non corrupt cop in the city
Two games of build up... absolutely incredible
The rest of the game was great too. The SSS are a fun bunch. The gameplay was nicer too. I did almost all the side quests which I normally never do so goes to show how much I enjoyed it.
Overall: PEAK.
The rest of the game was great too. The SSS are a fun bunch. The gameplay was nicer too. I did almost all the side quests which I normally never do so goes to show how much I enjoyed it.
Overall: PEAK.
He’s him
I can’t believe people actually skip parts in this franchise
The gameplay is way better than the sky games but the story isnt as good as FC. It's missing the sense of adventure that game had, moves MUCH slower, and a lot of the story beats kinda feel like rehashes of Sky. I already felt kinda burned out on Crossbell City by the 2nd chapter and found myself really missing the structure of going from city to city, exploring new areas and meeting new people. There are a handful of really great moments though, and the game plays its small scale to its strengths by allowing you to get very close to the main party and the city's inhabitants. It's also probably due to the lower amount of overworld maps that the dungeons have MUCH better design and feel like proper JRPG dungeons for the first time in the series, but sadly there aren't very many of them.
The combat is fantastic but it is an absolute shame how little it's used. The dialogue:gameplay ratio is WHACK compared to the Sky games, and theres a lot of time spent where nothing is really happening. For reference of how much time is spent out of combat this time around, in my FC playthrough (50 hours) I fought 720 battles, and in Zero (70 hours) I fought 690 battles. Like always, exploring and talking to every npc, keeping up with their stories and getting to know them is a blast and one of my favorite parts of these games, but it was made a good bit more tedious now that they're all centered in one big city.
Despite my grievances, I still had a lot of fun playing it and never really felt bored despite feeling underwhelmed sometimes. The best part of this game is the main cast, Lloyd, Randy, and Tio. There's also some boring girl that follows them around but we don't have to talk about her. Supporting cast doesn't really live up to Sky's (Grace is far less fun than Nial and Dorothy for example), but there are some really fun characters like Ilya and Lechter. Excited for Azure and hope it has better pacing/more interesting things happening.
(Btw this would prolly be a 7.5 rather than a 7 but ya know 5 star rating system)
The combat is fantastic but it is an absolute shame how little it's used. The dialogue:gameplay ratio is WHACK compared to the Sky games, and theres a lot of time spent where nothing is really happening. For reference of how much time is spent out of combat this time around, in my FC playthrough (50 hours) I fought 720 battles, and in Zero (70 hours) I fought 690 battles. Like always, exploring and talking to every npc, keeping up with their stories and getting to know them is a blast and one of my favorite parts of these games, but it was made a good bit more tedious now that they're all centered in one big city.
Despite my grievances, I still had a lot of fun playing it and never really felt bored despite feeling underwhelmed sometimes. The best part of this game is the main cast, Lloyd, Randy, and Tio. There's also some boring girl that follows them around but we don't have to talk about her. Supporting cast doesn't really live up to Sky's (Grace is far less fun than Nial and Dorothy for example), but there are some really fun characters like Ilya and Lechter. Excited for Azure and hope it has better pacing/more interesting things happening.
(Btw this would prolly be a 7.5 rather than a 7 but ya know 5 star rating system)
This isn't a common take but this game is one of my favourite Trails games ever.
It acts both as an amazing set up game for the Crossbell arc in how engaging the city is from a worldbuilding perspective (a continued strong suit for this series) and how it also serves to make Crossbell an incredibly interesting setting for the main story.
Gameplay wise there are a few weird downgrades that were frustrating at times, but a few new additions which made the game fun and QoL improvements which definitely enhanced it. Overall though the core gameplay is super similar to Sky, so the good and bad additions kind of even out.
The dynamic of the main cast is very well established and in this game already we're able to have very memorable character scenes, but the interactions themselves are also so damn good too.
Notable is how this game's story serves to follow up on stuff established in Sky and manages to tie them into it in an incredibly natural and satisfying way, creating a plot that I think is probably the most well constructed one in the series (not the best plot, but more so the most flawless). I love this game and I love [REDACTED]
It acts both as an amazing set up game for the Crossbell arc in how engaging the city is from a worldbuilding perspective (a continued strong suit for this series) and how it also serves to make Crossbell an incredibly interesting setting for the main story.
Gameplay wise there are a few weird downgrades that were frustrating at times, but a few new additions which made the game fun and QoL improvements which definitely enhanced it. Overall though the core gameplay is super similar to Sky, so the good and bad additions kind of even out.
The dynamic of the main cast is very well established and in this game already we're able to have very memorable character scenes, but the interactions themselves are also so damn good too.
Notable is how this game's story serves to follow up on stuff established in Sky and manages to tie them into it in an incredibly natural and satisfying way, creating a plot that I think is probably the most well constructed one in the series (not the best plot, but more so the most flawless). I love this game and I love [REDACTED]
Cozy JRPG with a charming setting and a wonderful main cast. The story, as is tradition for Trails games, goes off the rails by the end. But it has heart and the character moments in this game are great. I had a good time.
Forever my favorite arc. Gosh, I cry every time when the scenes with Renne or Tio start to hit. I remember how I first didn’t like Randy that much back then (I never disliked him, though), but chapter by chapter, I started to love this bro so much. This game even manages to make me like a dude like Dudley.
This game manages so well to present you the overarching story without letting you realize it from the start. Just near the ending, you realize how much of the overarching story happened right at the start. What seemed like subplots at first turns out to be one of the best happenings of a complex and mind fckn conspiracy.
First time on Nightmare this time. First Nightmare experience in Trails ever. That was an experience. Loved and enjoyed it so much!
If I could pick one game that I had to play forever, it would be Trails from Zero.
This game manages so well to present you the overarching story without letting you realize it from the start. Just near the ending, you realize how much of the overarching story happened right at the start. What seemed like subplots at first turns out to be one of the best happenings of a complex and mind fckn conspiracy.
First time on Nightmare this time. First Nightmare experience in Trails ever. That was an experience. Loved and enjoyed it so much!
If I could pick one game that I had to play forever, it would be Trails from Zero.
While it felt like a shorter adventure, it actually was a very good +40hrs rpg.
It took a while to get used to the new cast, but everyone was very likeable and seeing the final resolution to Renne arc was nice to see.
The gameplay wasn't a revolution but it was still very good (if a bit simpler now), but otherwise it is still a good game and good first half to this new arc.
It took a while to get used to the new cast, but everyone was very likeable and seeing the final resolution to Renne arc was nice to see.
The gameplay wasn't a revolution but it was still very good (if a bit simpler now), but otherwise it is still a good game and good first half to this new arc.
Zero is a very good experience. I love the SSS as a group (when overly repetitive jokes aren't ruining the conversation) and this game flows at a decent pace. It's slow from time to time, but what isn't. My faults come with the story and character development. Story isn't a good starter and if your name isn't Tio Plato you aren't getting shit bud. Lloyd tries to gaslight you into thinking he gets real character development, but it's false. All of the character development in Zero more resides in how the SSS gets a lot closer to each other and how they solve each case they need to.
Beat: 5/30/23
Beat: 5/30/23
SSS is something special man
This review contains spoilers
Major NEO TWEWY spoilers in this review, probably spoilers for the sky trilogy as well.
Nearly 7 months after my conclusion of the sky trilogy, and over a year since I first started the trails series, I have finally completed Trails from Zero. I’m debating jumping in to Azure after a few short games, or even directly after because this was better than FC,SC, and The Third for me. There was a dynamic I got with the characters here that I never got with Estelle and Joshua. There were a few plot decisions I am unhappy with(which I’ll get into) but regardless this is still the best trails game I’ve played so far. I’ll start the breakdown now
Characters: Now without a doubt the biggest fear I had as soon as I saw Estelle and Joshua show up was our 2 favorite bracers overshadowing the new characters and giving the new characters very little development(cough cough neo bringing back every old twewy character) but now after beating the game I can say, fortunately, they barely show up at all(and I am so glad that they only saved the SSS once) and are very much deuteragonists. This is perfect for them, because they still have their unfinished arc with Renne(which gets completed), but this isn’t their trilogy anymore, and I’m glad the writers respected that. This is the SSS’s game, I guess you could say it is their rise from zero :troll:. Not every character from the sky games showed up either, another thing I’m happy with. They brought in minor characters like Killika which I thought was cool. Also, Rixia being Yin was something I didn’t expect. I loved that twist. Also Joshua’s new sprite looks like he had a lobotomy.
Music: Like the others, most of the music is ok with a few bangers thrown in. The main battle theme slaps pretty hard.
Story: I loved the story besides one aspect. At the end of the auction part , I was honestly leaning towards a 10. That’s how much I was enjoying this game. But there was a small fumble. They reused the same twist. Guenter was evil. I predicted this as soon as he talked about the cult. The Weissman twist was fucking awesome and unexpected because it was unlike anything we’d seen in FC at that point. But reusing it and expecting me to be surprised again is just poor writing. I hope they don’t keep doing things like that in future games, especially Azure, since I am looking forward to it so much. If someone’s reading this who’s played Azure don’t tell me thx. Also glad Elie didn’t join the government because that would be reusing Kloe’s arc. Her staying with the SSS was great.
Gameplay: You can go read my otherrants reviews on FC, SC, and the third if you really want to but the short version is the gameplay still sucks dookie. I still hate it.
Lore: Something I’ve noticed whilst playing Zero is that these games aren’t just chronicling these countries’ political struggles and battles against other forces, but it also is documenting their technological advancements. There’s tons of lore here which has to be one of, if not my favorite part of trails. This game didn’t disappoint on that front.
Final thoughts: There is no denying this series is cheesy, cliche, anime, and shonen af, but I can’t deny I had a giant grin on my face during the most anime moments. I wouldn’t have this series any other way, especially since it seems to be self aware of how cheesy and anime it gets. This game is a 9/10 no doubt, the first Trails game to break the 8.5 barrier. I loved this game. I might blitz through Azure, I dunno.
oh and i wanna thank the Geofront for the fan translation patch, I’ll prolly rebuy this game when it comes out officially because I loved it so much.
Nearly 7 months after my conclusion of the sky trilogy, and over a year since I first started the trails series, I have finally completed Trails from Zero. I’m debating jumping in to Azure after a few short games, or even directly after because this was better than FC,SC, and The Third for me. There was a dynamic I got with the characters here that I never got with Estelle and Joshua. There were a few plot decisions I am unhappy with(which I’ll get into) but regardless this is still the best trails game I’ve played so far. I’ll start the breakdown now
Characters: Now without a doubt the biggest fear I had as soon as I saw Estelle and Joshua show up was our 2 favorite bracers overshadowing the new characters and giving the new characters very little development(cough cough neo bringing back every old twewy character) but now after beating the game I can say, fortunately, they barely show up at all(and I am so glad that they only saved the SSS once) and are very much deuteragonists. This is perfect for them, because they still have their unfinished arc with Renne(which gets completed), but this isn’t their trilogy anymore, and I’m glad the writers respected that. This is the SSS’s game, I guess you could say it is their rise from zero :troll:. Not every character from the sky games showed up either, another thing I’m happy with. They brought in minor characters like Killika which I thought was cool. Also, Rixia being Yin was something I didn’t expect. I loved that twist. Also Joshua’s new sprite looks like he had a lobotomy.
Music: Like the others, most of the music is ok with a few bangers thrown in. The main battle theme slaps pretty hard.
Story: I loved the story besides one aspect. At the end of the auction part , I was honestly leaning towards a 10. That’s how much I was enjoying this game. But there was a small fumble. They reused the same twist. Guenter was evil. I predicted this as soon as he talked about the cult. The Weissman twist was fucking awesome and unexpected because it was unlike anything we’d seen in FC at that point. But reusing it and expecting me to be surprised again is just poor writing. I hope they don’t keep doing things like that in future games, especially Azure, since I am looking forward to it so much. If someone’s reading this who’s played Azure don’t tell me thx. Also glad Elie didn’t join the government because that would be reusing Kloe’s arc. Her staying with the SSS was great.
Gameplay: You can go read my other
Lore: Something I’ve noticed whilst playing Zero is that these games aren’t just chronicling these countries’ political struggles and battles against other forces, but it also is documenting their technological advancements. There’s tons of lore here which has to be one of, if not my favorite part of trails. This game didn’t disappoint on that front.
Final thoughts: There is no denying this series is cheesy, cliche, anime, and shonen af, but I can’t deny I had a giant grin on my face during the most anime moments. I wouldn’t have this series any other way, especially since it seems to be self aware of how cheesy and anime it gets. This game is a 9/10 no doubt, the first Trails game to break the 8.5 barrier. I loved this game. I might blitz through Azure, I dunno.
oh and i wanna thank the Geofront for the fan translation patch, I’ll prolly rebuy this game when it comes out officially because I loved it so much.
Amazing. What an amazing beginning to a new arc. It really hooked me into the new cast, the SSS, and found a way to make me love them so much. Honestly, this game did a bit better at a beginning of an arc then fc but nevertheless, I still love them both.
also
LLOYD FUCKING BANNINGS.
also
LLOYD FUCKING BANNINGS.
Prologue to the best JRPG ever made
this series is so good
this game has a really strong early-mid game, but towards the late game you will get a "oh we're doing this again" feeling. just feels a bit too similar to the late games of sky SC and sky 3rd for my liking. it also drags a bit and doesn't have an extremely satisfying conclusion (except for estelle/joshua/renne which even that felt a bit rushed and anti-climactic)
i love the SSS, the fact that the main cast is so much smaller than in sky/cold steel makes it way easier to get attached as the characters get much needed screen time and development. but admittedly, the supporting cast and antagonists are weaker than in sky and cold steel. the main antagonist, albeit with slightly different ambitions, is just weissmann 2.0 to the very end
this game has a really strong early-mid game, but towards the late game you will get a "oh we're doing this again" feeling. just feels a bit too similar to the late games of sky SC and sky 3rd for my liking. it also drags a bit and doesn't have an extremely satisfying conclusion (except for estelle/joshua/renne which even that felt a bit rushed and anti-climactic)
i love the SSS, the fact that the main cast is so much smaller than in sky/cold steel makes it way easier to get attached as the characters get much needed screen time and development. but admittedly, the supporting cast and antagonists are weaker than in sky and cold steel. the main antagonist, albeit with slightly different ambitions, is just weissmann 2.0 to the very end
Another great Trails game, it had a lot to live up to following the Liberl trilogy and it didn't disappoint. The world building is better than ever, with Crossbell already being my favorite location in the series, the cast is fleshed out really well for a first game and there's a lot of engaging mysteries and stellar moments that both set up the future of the series and tie up loose ends perfectly.
Some things could've been better, while the many improvements in combat are welcomed, the new system to run away from battles is baffling and made field traversal so much worse than sky, especially in more complicated dungeons with a good amount of backtracking. The final dungeon suffered especially from this, as it didn't have many things that made it stood out, was very long and the enemies respawning constantly got on my nerves. Some of the characters, especially the antagonists, didn't get the time they needed or actually just didn't have much to them, which is a shame but the lore we got kind of made up for it.
I'm falling in love with this series more and more as it does so many things right, and hope it keeps surpassing my expectations and delivering great experiences like this one.
Some things could've been better, while the many improvements in combat are welcomed, the new system to run away from battles is baffling and made field traversal so much worse than sky, especially in more complicated dungeons with a good amount of backtracking. The final dungeon suffered especially from this, as it didn't have many things that made it stood out, was very long and the enemies respawning constantly got on my nerves. Some of the characters, especially the antagonists, didn't get the time they needed or actually just didn't have much to them, which is a shame but the lore we got kind of made up for it.
I'm falling in love with this series more and more as it does so many things right, and hope it keeps surpassing my expectations and delivering great experiences like this one.
If I were to express my thoughts on Wazy I would get banned
What an interesting direction for the series to take. Going from the "orbal-clockpunk" world of Sky, to the high-tech Crossbell State is a trip, but everything tends to fall into place by Falcom's hand. Zero suffers a bit from "first-game" syndrome in its arc, where the stakes are more often low than they are high, but serves well as an introduction nonetheless. The SSS are an example of a fantastic RPG cast and their dynamic with each other is excellent. Just an incredibly comfy game overall.
Managed to get something in my eye right at the end, not sure what it could've been.
Good shit right here.
Good shit right here.
This game is great, and it feels like a natural next step after the Sky trilogy. It does a great job expanding on existing lore and events from the Sky trilogy, without overly relying on what the trilogy did before it.
The story was very well paced, giving plenty of time for world building and revealing more and more about the city of Crossbell. Because of that, I could sympathize with the protagonists and better understand their plights.
Zero definitely pays homage to the previous games throughout its story by using previously seen characters and reusing some plot elements; however, it never feels predictable or samey, and each reference feels like it adds something meaningful to the overall plot.
The second half of the game centers around corrupt political systems and goes absolutely nuts with it, yet the conflict feels like it naturally progresses with higher and higher stakes, especially given what the player will know about Crossbell at that point in the story.
Because I’ve played the Sky trilogy, the protagonists all feel familiar. There are certain tropes and archetypes that remind me of the previous games, but the protags here don’t feel like anything like copies. They definitely feel like their own characters, through and through.
Each character brings something new to the table, both with how they interact with others and with how they develop as characters. Perhaps they don’t have the most engaging personalities on their own, but collectively, they're the most interesting team I've seen in the series.
I’m hard pressed to pick a favorite character. All four of the protagonists are awesome, and many of the support cast are great too.
The gameplay is a natural improvement from previous games, keeping everything familiar, but giving me so much more to play with. It’s very easy, which is my only gripe, but I did play on Normal, so perhaps Hard would’ve been a better challenge for me.
OST-wise, it's kinda hit-or-miss for me. The town themes are generally calm and nice, but there are some earworms that get grating after a while.
The battle themes are amazing and high energy, which holds true for all Trails games, and are my favorite tracks.
Because Zero is so different from other Trails games, I’m not sure where I would rank it compared to the rest of the series. At this point, I think I would consider it better than Third, but just below SC.
After playing through the game, off-and-on, for almost 9 months, entirely in Japanese, I had a great time. I've put a couple hours into the sequel already, and it looks like that will be a fun one too!
The story was very well paced, giving plenty of time for world building and revealing more and more about the city of Crossbell. Because of that, I could sympathize with the protagonists and better understand their plights.
Zero definitely pays homage to the previous games throughout its story by using previously seen characters and reusing some plot elements; however, it never feels predictable or samey, and each reference feels like it adds something meaningful to the overall plot.
The second half of the game centers around corrupt political systems and goes absolutely nuts with it, yet the conflict feels like it naturally progresses with higher and higher stakes, especially given what the player will know about Crossbell at that point in the story.
Because I’ve played the Sky trilogy, the protagonists all feel familiar. There are certain tropes and archetypes that remind me of the previous games, but the protags here don’t feel like anything like copies. They definitely feel like their own characters, through and through.
Each character brings something new to the table, both with how they interact with others and with how they develop as characters. Perhaps they don’t have the most engaging personalities on their own, but collectively, they're the most interesting team I've seen in the series.
I’m hard pressed to pick a favorite character. All four of the protagonists are awesome, and many of the support cast are great too.
The gameplay is a natural improvement from previous games, keeping everything familiar, but giving me so much more to play with. It’s very easy, which is my only gripe, but I did play on Normal, so perhaps Hard would’ve been a better challenge for me.
OST-wise, it's kinda hit-or-miss for me. The town themes are generally calm and nice, but there are some earworms that get grating after a while.
The battle themes are amazing and high energy, which holds true for all Trails games, and are my favorite tracks.
Because Zero is so different from other Trails games, I’m not sure where I would rank it compared to the rest of the series. At this point, I think I would consider it better than Third, but just below SC.
After playing through the game, off-and-on, for almost 9 months, entirely in Japanese, I had a great time. I've put a couple hours into the sequel already, and it looks like that will be a fun one too!
Very slow paced but 2nd half are pretty much my favorite part of all game. Also has probably the best final chapter of trails
the game hard crashed for me at the final dungeon and wouldn't boot up for about an hour but after restarting my pc two times it came back, and in that moment i truly understood lloyd bannings... i overcame my own barriers, much like him...
A solid game.
The trails game I've played so far with the least amount of "bullshit". The port felt really smooth, the dialogue was consistent and I liked all the characters. I think this was one of the lighter stories in the series in terms of the tragedies that the trail games love to play on but it's fine. Genuinely enjoyed it.
Not much to say about the OST, they keep it consistent across all the games albiet minor differences, quite enjoyed it.
Gameplay is not clunky, Fast Mode works smoothly unlike some of the other games. It's also compatible with the steamdeck, and as I would say Bed Gaming is W Gaming, because we are so back.
Falcolm can do it right, just gotta get Llyod to ask them to overcome the barriers.
The trails game I've played so far with the least amount of "bullshit". The port felt really smooth, the dialogue was consistent and I liked all the characters. I think this was one of the lighter stories in the series in terms of the tragedies that the trail games love to play on but it's fine. Genuinely enjoyed it.
Not much to say about the OST, they keep it consistent across all the games albiet minor differences, quite enjoyed it.
Gameplay is not clunky, Fast Mode works smoothly unlike some of the other games. It's also compatible with the steamdeck, and as I would say Bed Gaming is W Gaming, because we are so back.
Falcolm can do it right, just gotta get Llyod to ask them to overcome the barriers.
I don't thinks words alone can do justice to how amazing this game is. The main characters are well written and endearing and the story is genuinely insane. Highly recommend this game if you're in the mood for a story focused game.
LLOYDO BANNINGS DA! WE GOTTA BREAK THROUGH THE BARRIER!!!! FUCK IT WE BURNING HEART!
Its Sky FC again but with a new cast with new twists and backgrounds, as well as being in a new part of the continent. So it makes sense you need some background information but its a bit more boring this time due to already having gone through the info dumping stuff in FC aha.
Its Sky FC again but with a new cast with new twists and backgrounds, as well as being in a new part of the continent. So it makes sense you need some background information but its a bit more boring this time due to already having gone through the info dumping stuff in FC aha.
the politics in this are a LOT better written than the other entries; you actually feel frustrated at how little you can do. i like the main cast but the group dynamic is really frustrating because they should know lloyd but then we get pervert gags every two seconds
just wanna know who changed this to a remaster bc the platform i was playing this on vanished from the options
EDIT: i have finished it! excellent game but i am docking a star because fuck 12
EDIT: i have finished it! excellent game but i am docking a star because fuck 12
Still peak fiction at least nisa removed most of the memes from cuckfront
I loved the cast so much, I got very attached to them quickly and I really really liked how they showed their relationships together and built up the new arc. A great ending to a great game and I can’t wait to see the conclusion of the arc
A grand story about facing impossible odds from absolute rock bottom, the city of Crossbell is twisted and yet these good people keep pushing forward to forge a new path of what is right. Seeing the payoffs to previous games and linking it with Sky was really rewarding, and it's a joy to see a new perspective of this giant world that still has more to show.
We got friggin CARS
We got friggin CARS