A great epilogue to the liberl arc of trails. When I first started the game I was thinking about how this was one of the mixed games due to its difference in the gameplay loop as there was no exploration which I think was a good choice since it would have been boring to have to explore liberl for a 3rd time. Also the change of protagonists was an unexpected but welcome change due to Estelle having been an already well developed character and 3rd does a good job of having her be part of the story without having to create another character arc for her. Instead of Estelle being the protagonist it expands more of the backstory of Kevin which in SC had a minor role but definitely had a lot of mystery from him which 3rd expands on. The best part and the main part of this game is the memory doors which works as side stories of where the characters are now and for some backstory which gives characters more time to shine. It also shows what they are doing post SC which gives some closure to the liberl arc but also opens up the next arc with expanding the constantly growing world of trails which im excited to continue playing through
Finally finishing the original trilogy feels so surreal... I loved this conclusion to the Liberl arc. I was in tears finally saying goodbye to the entire cast in this grand finale. I will miss them. Especially Kevin! I really loved this guy. I hope he pops up again soon!
Simultaneously my favorite entry in the trilogy but also the most disappointing one. I really enjoy the structure of the doors and think its pacing is the best of the three titles (outside of chapter 6), but its large party size that primarily stays in the hub area when not in use means it misses out on a lot of the character interaction that made the last two so good. I think Kevin is a great protagonist and his naturally distant nature can somewhat explain the lack of banter, but it would have been nice to have more scenes of a cast this large just bantering around together.
All my issues with the gameplay from the previous titles still hold true here unfortunately, combat is a major slog without turbo mode and the gear/orbment management is genuinely so close to being a dealbreaker, ESPECIALLY when you have to outfit everybody at the end.
All my issues with the gameplay from the previous titles still hold true here unfortunately, combat is a major slog without turbo mode and the gear/orbment management is genuinely so close to being a dealbreaker, ESPECIALLY when you have to outfit everybody at the end.
This review contains spoilers
The end of the Liberl arc. Just like with Final Fantasy X, I was surprised, because going into Trails, I thought it'd be some jrpg I'd play and then just forget abt later, but I never thought that I'd end up liking this series and the characters this much, gameplay too. Probably one of my favorite turn-based systems. OST is amazing and the game looks beautiful. Ig my only problems would be some story beats not hitting as hard, or just certain parts being meh, but it was all worth it and I'm happy to keep going into the Trails series.
The episode is the one I liked the least but the story has some good links with Crossbell/Erebonia events.
I liked Kevin & Ries story and the lore on the dominions and the squire. Olivert's goal and Osborne's one are a bit more explain here. This game is actually important to understand what's happening in the background of Class VII's journey in Cold Steel I and II. Also Renne's story was the big moment of this game to me.
However, the game could have been way shorter to be better. Some stories were really not that interesting and to me, just there to make the game bigger. The difficulty was sometimes really ridiculous with fights who seemed made to be lost (CB for example); like you think you have won but suddenly, the enemy has strangely four to five turns following and wipe out your team. There is no way of fighting to learn, it's just there to make you restart the fight with a boss with less HP.
Overall, not a bad game but it's not at the level of Sky SC at all or even FC.
I liked Kevin & Ries story and the lore on the dominions and the squire. Olivert's goal and Osborne's one are a bit more explain here. This game is actually important to understand what's happening in the background of Class VII's journey in Cold Steel I and II. Also Renne's story was the big moment of this game to me.
However, the game could have been way shorter to be better. Some stories were really not that interesting and to me, just there to make the game bigger. The difficulty was sometimes really ridiculous with fights who seemed made to be lost (CB for example); like you think you have won but suddenly, the enemy has strangely four to five turns following and wipe out your team. There is no way of fighting to learn, it's just there to make you restart the fight with a boss with less HP.
Overall, not a bad game but it's not at the level of Sky SC at all or even FC.
This review contains spoilers
Kevin Grahame and Ries Argent are PEAK. PEAK I SAY.
Trails in the Sky the 3rd is a great game, I don't know why people dislike it? Kevin is probably unironically my favourite protagonist and probably in my top 4 characters in the Liberl arc.
Let's start with world building. This is absolutely peak. It sets up so much things for future games. The Star, Moon, and Sun doors all help with this of course, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Star Doors 13, 14, and 15 are probably the best of them all. 13 sets up lore for Cold Steel, 14 also sets up the lore for Ouroboros, and introduces us to the Phantasmal Blaze Plan. Star Door 15 got me all types of messed up. I don't even want to recall it because it messed me up that badly. I also enjoyed the minigames in the Sun Doors, the fishing minigame had peak music.
Battling! I enjoyed that Estelle and Joshua were no longer required party members, and instead Kevin and Ries were (but weren't for some chapters). Even though I say that, I still used Joshua on my team because why the heck not. I loved the additions of Richard and Renne to the playable cast, not much so for Josette because of how insanely bad her kit is. I've never seen such a horrible orbment and crafts. My main team was a mix of Kevin, Ries, Renne, Joshua, Kloe, and Olivier. I played the game on Nightmare, and I firmly believe that this trilogy was not made for the Nightmare difficulty because of how unforgiving the games are.
Story wise, I love how we got Kevin's backstory and we looked a little bit into the Gralsritter. I cried at the Aster House part and the reveal that Kevin killed Rufina. And to top it all off, Ries and Kevin got dragged into hell, which was really interesting, and to top it all off, we got to off Weissman once again. I don't think there was anything they could've done differently chapter wise, considering Phantasma was kind of restricting. I enjoyed the Grancel chapter, as well as the Golden and Silver Road chapters. But Chapter 7 was peak because you got to go to the Glorious, Jenis Academy, Leiston Fortress, and Ourboros' base. We finally got Cassius as a boss fight and that was seriously unforgiving. Also the triple enforcer fight was so annoying. Overall, I enjoyed the story, but it really got my heart strings at the end, when they were all leaving through the gate. Especially hurt when Renne didn't know what to do and ran off. Can't really make a child that's been traumatised make a decision like that yet.
Overall, great game and a great end to the trilogy. Excited for Crossbell and Erebonia!
Trails in the Sky the 3rd is a great game, I don't know why people dislike it? Kevin is probably unironically my favourite protagonist and probably in my top 4 characters in the Liberl arc.
Let's start with world building. This is absolutely peak. It sets up so much things for future games. The Star, Moon, and Sun doors all help with this of course, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Star Doors 13, 14, and 15 are probably the best of them all. 13 sets up lore for Cold Steel, 14 also sets up the lore for Ouroboros, and introduces us to the Phantasmal Blaze Plan. Star Door 15 got me all types of messed up. I don't even want to recall it because it messed me up that badly. I also enjoyed the minigames in the Sun Doors, the fishing minigame had peak music.
Battling! I enjoyed that Estelle and Joshua were no longer required party members, and instead Kevin and Ries were (but weren't for some chapters). Even though I say that, I still used Joshua on my team because why the heck not. I loved the additions of Richard and Renne to the playable cast, not much so for Josette because of how insanely bad her kit is. I've never seen such a horrible orbment and crafts. My main team was a mix of Kevin, Ries, Renne, Joshua, Kloe, and Olivier. I played the game on Nightmare, and I firmly believe that this trilogy was not made for the Nightmare difficulty because of how unforgiving the games are.
Story wise, I love how we got Kevin's backstory and we looked a little bit into the Gralsritter. I cried at the Aster House part and the reveal that Kevin killed Rufina. And to top it all off, Ries and Kevin got dragged into hell, which was really interesting, and to top it all off, we got to off Weissman once again. I don't think there was anything they could've done differently chapter wise, considering Phantasma was kind of restricting. I enjoyed the Grancel chapter, as well as the Golden and Silver Road chapters. But Chapter 7 was peak because you got to go to the Glorious, Jenis Academy, Leiston Fortress, and Ourboros' base. We finally got Cassius as a boss fight and that was seriously unforgiving. Also the triple enforcer fight was so annoying. Overall, I enjoyed the story, but it really got my heart strings at the end, when they were all leaving through the gate. Especially hurt when Renne didn't know what to do and ran off. Can't really make a child that's been traumatised make a decision like that yet.
Overall, great game and a great end to the trilogy. Excited for Crossbell and Erebonia!
Kevin Graham, the GOAT.
Hey you. Yeah, you, the one that's thinking about skipping this game.
Don't even think about it twice. You will love it.
Don't even think about it twice. You will love it.
This game gave me so much whiplash at the start! It felt like it really wanted to be a videogame, and the opposite thing, at the same time. It's full of very gamey mechanics, but at some points it just goes "fuck playing games, read all this text for the next one/two hours". But man, was it all worth it.
I think I get what people see in this series now, and what other people don't. It's a series about all this through world-building, and seeing the individual journey of each character as they meet with others and go through various events and adventures in their life, in this world full of mysteries and intrigue. The games are so faithful to this formula, to the point you'll either fall in love and want to see more and more, or you'll just get bored. Of course it will also depend on how much you like each character, and while I can say they aren't all super original or crazy well written, there's a lot of value in the bigger picture: seeing this little (okay maybe not little) world unfold and develop before your eyes.
And this is what 3rd is all about. It's a world-building game. I see some people call it "filler". If one thinks so, I wonder what they are into this series for?! In the end, THIS is Trails. It's the little slice-of-life moments that make the people come alive and come together, it's the lore drops that brings questions and answers, and make you wonder about the past, present, and future of this world.
But enough meta-commentary, I wanna talk about the game too! The gameplay remains the same-old from the previous entry, though you have of course way more variety in terms of characters you can use. I only wish they added a few more new powerful quartz to use. I really like the dungeons set in the new locations in the Phantasma, but mostly because of their looks and music than the gameplay. However, the ones where you control multiple parties are super fun!
The story, as you can guess, is VERY plentiful in this entry, but of course in an extremely different way from previous games, as it's more about world and character building than progressing a plotline. It's a full-on buffet! It's amazing to have so many different characters get all that attention to them. And some plot points introduced leave your mouth watering for the future. And a specific one will break your heart and soul and leave you hollow inside. [ Received ⦿Nothingness. ]
The music is Falcom. Takeshita is my goat. Listening to his 3rd tracks reminded of Ys Origin and so my heartstrings have been tugged. "Recluse Cube" is such a mystic and wonderous track I couldn't help but not skip the game intro everytime because of it (thank you Sonoda). "Golden Road, Silver Road" is such a fun and endearing track, it's on my mind and keeps coming every now and then. It also played in a great dungeon so it can't be helped! And oh boy, there are so many great tracks I'd like to mention... It could be a review of the soundtrack on its own to be fair. But I'll finish with saying the final dungeon and boss tracks go above and beyond.
And on the topic of the final dungeon... What a climax to this game, and to the Sky trilogy. It was such a rich and heartful experience that I'm sure to never forget the feelings I had. The visuals, gameplay, and soundtrack all come together perfectly to enrich each other, to deliver you the kind of experience only games can, and they all should strive to do. "Castle of Illusions (Phantasmagoria)", absolutely one of my favorite Falcom tracks of all time. Thank you, kings. And a very special shoutout to the chest messages in there too, hehe.
It's a game that really makes you feel thankful. For all the artists, writers, programmers, musicians, translators, managers, QA people, marketers... And all the passionate people who live and breathe this series. I'm definitely one of them by now, and I'm here for this ride across Zemuria.
I think I get what people see in this series now, and what other people don't. It's a series about all this through world-building, and seeing the individual journey of each character as they meet with others and go through various events and adventures in their life, in this world full of mysteries and intrigue. The games are so faithful to this formula, to the point you'll either fall in love and want to see more and more, or you'll just get bored. Of course it will also depend on how much you like each character, and while I can say they aren't all super original or crazy well written, there's a lot of value in the bigger picture: seeing this little (okay maybe not little) world unfold and develop before your eyes.
And this is what 3rd is all about. It's a world-building game. I see some people call it "filler". If one thinks so, I wonder what they are into this series for?! In the end, THIS is Trails. It's the little slice-of-life moments that make the people come alive and come together, it's the lore drops that brings questions and answers, and make you wonder about the past, present, and future of this world.
But enough meta-commentary, I wanna talk about the game too! The gameplay remains the same-old from the previous entry, though you have of course way more variety in terms of characters you can use. I only wish they added a few more new powerful quartz to use. I really like the dungeons set in the new locations in the Phantasma, but mostly because of their looks and music than the gameplay. However, the ones where you control multiple parties are super fun!
The story, as you can guess, is VERY plentiful in this entry, but of course in an extremely different way from previous games, as it's more about world and character building than progressing a plotline. It's a full-on buffet! It's amazing to have so many different characters get all that attention to them. And some plot points introduced leave your mouth watering for the future. And a specific one will break your heart and soul and leave you hollow inside. [ Received ⦿Nothingness. ]
The music is Falcom. Takeshita is my goat. Listening to his 3rd tracks reminded of Ys Origin and so my heartstrings have been tugged. "Recluse Cube" is such a mystic and wonderous track I couldn't help but not skip the game intro everytime because of it (thank you Sonoda). "Golden Road, Silver Road" is such a fun and endearing track, it's on my mind and keeps coming every now and then. It also played in a great dungeon so it can't be helped! And oh boy, there are so many great tracks I'd like to mention... It could be a review of the soundtrack on its own to be fair. But I'll finish with saying the final dungeon and boss tracks go above and beyond.
And on the topic of the final dungeon... What a climax to this game, and to the Sky trilogy. It was such a rich and heartful experience that I'm sure to never forget the feelings I had. The visuals, gameplay, and soundtrack all come together perfectly to enrich each other, to deliver you the kind of experience only games can, and they all should strive to do. "Castle of Illusions (Phantasmagoria)", absolutely one of my favorite Falcom tracks of all time. Thank you, kings. And a very special shoutout to the chest messages in there too, hehe.
It's a game that really makes you feel thankful. For all the artists, writers, programmers, musicians, translators, managers, QA people, marketers... And all the passionate people who live and breathe this series. I'm definitely one of them by now, and I'm here for this ride across Zemuria.
Trails in the Sky the 3rd is easily my favorite of the Liberl Arc. Yes, the game is not the conventional Trails game since its more of a dungeon crawler rather than exploring a nation with a grand story and full of named NPCs. Despite it being different, Sky the 3rd still is an amazing game in its own right. The gameplay is still solid, with the big thing being you can basically use a lot of the major characters from the first Sky games and use them in anyway you want. The dungeons (or Corridors) were fun to do and raising a team of about 16 playable character is easy due to level experience gains being easy for low - level characters. The biggest things to note about the game is specific - colored doors in which there are three - Moon, Star, and Sun Doors. While Sun Doors are simply minigames, the Moon and Star Doors are significant is they provide more moments of characterization between the main playable characters, as well as giving focus to side-characters, and setting up plot points for future games. They are all great in quality, though I do admit the Moon Doors do take long (thankfully only five doors are in the game). As for the story, while it isn't a grand tale that doesn't reaches the highs of SC, it still is a well-told story that focuses greatly on Kevin and newcomer Reis. Maybe that fact that the game is shorter in length and didn't have problems with being split unlike FC or SC, the story's pacing is well-done and there is barely any padding at all in it's execution. Music is still great with my favorites being "Fighting Right On" and "Determination to Fight". The only negative I can really think off is the lack money (which even that isn't a problem since you get ample amount of quartz to trade in for mira), the Sixth Corridor does pad out with too many fights, and the game being more of a dungeon - crawler (which is still more on preference than anything). Overall, Sky the 3rd is an excellent game that made Kevin a top-five favorite character and is a game that should NEVER be skipped, even if the game structure is different. Easy 4.5 / 5.
Kevin graham the GOAT 🐐
Definitely a substantial improvement from the earlier games. Decent pacing for the most part and some strong moments. Kevin is a really good protagonist. Can't believe star door 15 was even allowed to be put in. That shit was crazy.
However, while still better than the earlier games, it still has things holding it back dramatically for me. My main issue with the game is that it's fairly underwhelming for most of it as everything that it does is done better in other games or stories I've experienced. 3rd is a standard execution of its ideas that brings nothing new to the table nor does it in a way that feels very impactful for me.
Another problem I have with it is that while the pacing is decent and for sure better than the earlier games, it's still not very good for me. Not much actually happens for most of the game as it mostly just repeats a similar formula, barely deviating until the very end, which by then the story is immediately about to end. The combat and dungeon crawling do not really circumvent this issue as they're fairly unimpressive for me overall, and by this point in the series, I'm burnt out and want to see a major shake up to the combat. I'm also fully burnt out on the setting and cast of Liberl, which further accentuates this problem for me. Hopefully the crossbell games deliver on these fronts.
For a series I have spent more than 150 hours at this point to be this underwhelming, it's such a shame and also a bit annoying. Especially when it is a hyped up entry such as this one.
However, while still better than the earlier games, it still has things holding it back dramatically for me. My main issue with the game is that it's fairly underwhelming for most of it as everything that it does is done better in other games or stories I've experienced. 3rd is a standard execution of its ideas that brings nothing new to the table nor does it in a way that feels very impactful for me.
Another problem I have with it is that while the pacing is decent and for sure better than the earlier games, it's still not very good for me. Not much actually happens for most of the game as it mostly just repeats a similar formula, barely deviating until the very end, which by then the story is immediately about to end. The combat and dungeon crawling do not really circumvent this issue as they're fairly unimpressive for me overall, and by this point in the series, I'm burnt out and want to see a major shake up to the combat. I'm also fully burnt out on the setting and cast of Liberl, which further accentuates this problem for me. Hopefully the crossbell games deliver on these fronts.
For a series I have spent more than 150 hours at this point to be this underwhelming, it's such a shame and also a bit annoying. Especially when it is a hyped up entry such as this one.
Greatest conclusion to the greatest trilogy. Didn't expect Kevin and Ries' story to move me so much in such a short time but they quickly became some of my favorite characters in the series.
I was a bit skeptical at first with the dungeon crawler format with doors replacing sidequests but it grew on me after a while. Each door (save for like 3) was interesting and just made me appreciate the Sky cast even more.
I was a bit skeptical at first with the dungeon crawler format with doors replacing sidequests but it grew on me after a while. Each door (save for like 3) was interesting and just made me appreciate the Sky cast even more.
"That brief hesitation was all it took to spawn a great evil. It crawled through the fields, ran through the hills, and spread disaster in the skies above. Book of Ezer, Verse 2, 'Disaster Unleashed.'"
An epilogue to a finale. The bridge which leads to the next story arc for this legendary series as well as one that is filled with context of the past, present, and future of this story.
Trails in the Sky the 3rd is massively different from its predecessors and ones that follow it. A dungeon crawler with Visual Novelesque side stories that are apart of its own door system. There is a requirement for every door and whoever fulfills it gets granted a flashback to the past. On how this is handled it is easily one of the best side story concepts I have seen in a video game. I am definitely going to miss doors like Moon Door 4, Star Door 8, and Star Door 15. Obviously there are more but those are ones that stood out to me or are the most memorable.
Although I have seen people who dislike the gameplay in this game, I personally love it. I think it was a very different change of pace considering how you're done with Estelle and Joshua's magnificent journey, and Kevin motherfuckin Graham takes over.
Kevin Graham's story is something that will stick with me for a LONG time. I thought Estelle would never be topped or let alone matched when it comes to a main character standpoint in this series and it did not take long for my expectations to be shattered. Now I don't know where I stand in the comparison between the two, but I can confidently say I love them both.
The soundtrack is somehow on par or arguably better than the last. I really don't know how this is even possible but man it is something special. When I first started the game and this track was the first thing I heard I knew we were in for something special.
Unlike SC, this game had me invested from beginning to end. There were several times where I just audibly said "wow." At this point I can just say that this is one of the best video game trilogies ever. Like each game of this trilogy just sets a high bar for the rest of the genre after experiencing it.
The Trails in the Sky trilogy has truly been an emotional and special journey and I just can't wait what future games has in store waiting for me.
Lastly although I was absolutely loving this game while playing, there was a line by Kevin himself that really stuck with me and solidified this game as an all timer.
"It's why it gave me the strength to move forward, even knowing how many hardships awaited. Because for every hardship, there'll be just as much joy waiting for me."
An epilogue to a finale. The bridge which leads to the next story arc for this legendary series as well as one that is filled with context of the past, present, and future of this story.
Trails in the Sky the 3rd is massively different from its predecessors and ones that follow it. A dungeon crawler with Visual Novelesque side stories that are apart of its own door system. There is a requirement for every door and whoever fulfills it gets granted a flashback to the past. On how this is handled it is easily one of the best side story concepts I have seen in a video game. I am definitely going to miss doors like Moon Door 4, Star Door 8, and Star Door 15. Obviously there are more but those are ones that stood out to me or are the most memorable.
Although I have seen people who dislike the gameplay in this game, I personally love it. I think it was a very different change of pace considering how you're done with Estelle and Joshua's magnificent journey, and Kevin motherfuckin Graham takes over.
Kevin Graham's story is something that will stick with me for a LONG time. I thought Estelle would never be topped or let alone matched when it comes to a main character standpoint in this series and it did not take long for my expectations to be shattered. Now I don't know where I stand in the comparison between the two, but I can confidently say I love them both.
The soundtrack is somehow on par or arguably better than the last. I really don't know how this is even possible but man it is something special. When I first started the game and this track was the first thing I heard I knew we were in for something special.
Unlike SC, this game had me invested from beginning to end. There were several times where I just audibly said "wow." At this point I can just say that this is one of the best video game trilogies ever. Like each game of this trilogy just sets a high bar for the rest of the genre after experiencing it.
The Trails in the Sky trilogy has truly been an emotional and special journey and I just can't wait what future games has in store waiting for me.
Lastly although I was absolutely loving this game while playing, there was a line by Kevin himself that really stuck with me and solidified this game as an all timer.
"It's why it gave me the strength to move forward, even knowing how many hardships awaited. Because for every hardship, there'll be just as much joy waiting for me."
The best one
The best Sky game, Kevin is a gem
this is arguably the best trails game. it is one of the best at least
It's skyover
While the story continues and threads run forward, i will never stop thinking about how much this journey meant to me. Each character, relationship, town, country, npc, mechanic, song, all elements are crafted with so much sincerity and love, its impossible to not be completely absorbed it. The Sky's heart and soul shine through at every turn, blinding you with it's beauty. I am so happy I gave these games a shot, there is truly nothing else like it
fuck this game it made me cry
It's peak.
This review contains spoilers
I hate this game. I am hating so hard on this game right now. I am confused why they made a trails game, which is a series known for having a lot of story, which has little story. This is a game where you go through the exact same dungeons you did in the last 2 games for 40 hours. Chapter 5's final boss can suck the fattest cock known to man kind, I hate getting petrified and then having to back out, put on the petrify immunity accesories and then do it again. Chapter 6 is like 15 hours long and filled with endless walking through empty dungeons from the last game. Chapter 7 started with me walking aimlessly then the game just decided that its time to proceed when I didn't do anything. I also clipped into the ground in chapter 7 because I was using fast forward and lost a lot of progress so be careful with that. Chapter 8 pulls a FF6 and makes you use all your party members, so have fun leveling and getting new equipment for literally every character.
The door mechanic is a lazy way to implement story that doesn't actually matter. I am not here to play a VN, this is a jrpg. Its like they gave up on trying to balance the story and gameplay and just said "fuck it, do it yourself". I personally don't care for these cutscenes, I don't need more character development in this game, I already have 100+ hours invested in these characters.
The characters trying to ship Agate and Tita together is absolutely fucking disgusting. Tita is a child and Agate is a grown adult, and Anelace, one of the other characters says that the age gap is nothing to their love. Ew, gross, I can put the Estelle and Joshua love thing aside because they aren't blood related and it's also just weird shit they do over in Japan that you get used to if you've watched enough anime. I didn't talk about this in my SC review but it's also gross how Agate uses Tita as a substitute for his dead little sister. His arc would've been a lot better if it was about him learning to cope with his loss and not just finding a new sister replacement.
I think Kevin's arc is interesting but I think Falcom struggles with displaying emotions through writing. I feel like they tackle these issues on a very surface level without getting too deep into. I don't know what they are afraid of, but they failed both times with Joshua and Kevin at making me feel anything for these characters. Like yea, Kevin feels like he should go to hell, and then literally goes to hell, but it falls flat, it doesn't truly express the despair Kevin is feeling to the player, or at least me personally.
Otherwise, in terms of story content, I struggle to understand how any of this is important. This is a fanservice game, they get all the characters together, write about whatever random bullshit they did between SC and 3rd and put them in doors, and repeat dungeons from the previous games. I just find FC the best, everything is new, every character doesn't hang out with you like they do in SC because like real people, they got stuff to do. The character dynamic between Estelle and Joshua was great, and fleshing out the world was great. SC gave me the impression they were gonna dig deep and make true on the promising writing of FC but then they just wrote shounen slop. Then 3rd is a nothing burger for fans, and 15% new content. At this point, I just want to get to crossbell. The combat system is stale with nothing new, the story is irrelevant and non-existant, the soundtrack is probably the weakest, and environments are painfully generic. My expectations are now in the gutter and I expect nothing from crossbell.
FC really did feel refreshing to play too. The combat system was weird but different and fleshed out thoughtout that one unlike SC and 3rd where it stagnates. The main character was a WOMAN. That never happened back when this was made, AND she is properly fleshed out. Olivier is bisexual??? Maybe, I am uncertain about this but he says a lot of things that made me think so. It was so different from the FF games where you play as a blond guy with his short black hair girl friend to kill god. FC did not end with killing god. I pray that the future games can capture some of those feelings I felt during FC and sharpen them.
The door mechanic is a lazy way to implement story that doesn't actually matter. I am not here to play a VN, this is a jrpg. Its like they gave up on trying to balance the story and gameplay and just said "fuck it, do it yourself". I personally don't care for these cutscenes, I don't need more character development in this game, I already have 100+ hours invested in these characters.
The characters trying to ship Agate and Tita together is absolutely fucking disgusting. Tita is a child and Agate is a grown adult, and Anelace, one of the other characters says that the age gap is nothing to their love. Ew, gross, I can put the Estelle and Joshua love thing aside because they aren't blood related and it's also just weird shit they do over in Japan that you get used to if you've watched enough anime. I didn't talk about this in my SC review but it's also gross how Agate uses Tita as a substitute for his dead little sister. His arc would've been a lot better if it was about him learning to cope with his loss and not just finding a new sister replacement.
I think Kevin's arc is interesting but I think Falcom struggles with displaying emotions through writing. I feel like they tackle these issues on a very surface level without getting too deep into. I don't know what they are afraid of, but they failed both times with Joshua and Kevin at making me feel anything for these characters. Like yea, Kevin feels like he should go to hell, and then literally goes to hell, but it falls flat, it doesn't truly express the despair Kevin is feeling to the player, or at least me personally.
Otherwise, in terms of story content, I struggle to understand how any of this is important. This is a fanservice game, they get all the characters together, write about whatever random bullshit they did between SC and 3rd and put them in doors, and repeat dungeons from the previous games. I just find FC the best, everything is new, every character doesn't hang out with you like they do in SC because like real people, they got stuff to do. The character dynamic between Estelle and Joshua was great, and fleshing out the world was great. SC gave me the impression they were gonna dig deep and make true on the promising writing of FC but then they just wrote shounen slop. Then 3rd is a nothing burger for fans, and 15% new content. At this point, I just want to get to crossbell. The combat system is stale with nothing new, the story is irrelevant and non-existant, the soundtrack is probably the weakest, and environments are painfully generic. My expectations are now in the gutter and I expect nothing from crossbell.
FC really did feel refreshing to play too. The combat system was weird but different and fleshed out thoughtout that one unlike SC and 3rd where it stagnates. The main character was a WOMAN. That never happened back when this was made, AND she is properly fleshed out. Olivier is bisexual??? Maybe, I am uncertain about this but he says a lot of things that made me think so. It was so different from the FF games where you play as a blond guy with his short black hair girl friend to kill god. FC did not end with killing god. I pray that the future games can capture some of those feelings I felt during FC and sharpen them.
If you come in expecting Trails in the Sky Third Chapter, you might leave disappointed since it is quite different from FC and SC - most notably, you don't explore the world of Liberl, instead are trapped in an otherworldly dungeon for the entire game. That said, if you treat it as a half-epilogue, half-spinoff, it is maybe the best of the Sky games. Kevin and Ries are a bit more interesting protagonists than Joshua and Estelle, and the Sky combat is refined even further. The door system is an... interesting... choice as the game alternates between essentially a visual novel for hours at a time, and a dungeon-crawler, so the story/gameplay beats are more separate than in FC/SC, which holds it back in my opinion. It does give some nice closure to many of the Sky characters, allowing you to move on to the Crossbell and Erebonia arcs, while introducing new plot threads to be picked up later.
I had a feeling this was going to amaze me in some way but damn I was not expecting some of those moments, especially Star Door 15.
Trails in the Sky the 3rd is a significant improvement compared to FC and SC, primarily because of how well-written the Protagonist is in this game. Kevin Graham is a really interesting character about whom I was inquisitive by the end of SC and he didn't disappoint at all.
Ries the female Protagonist is also really fleshed out and has a strong dynamic with Kevin that makes the pair work (unlike Estelle and Joshua).
Most of the other characters were just returning from previous games with very little to offer and the side stories didn't make them any better for me as I already don't like those characters and one backstory isn't enough for me to suddenly start liking them (except some).
Another fact I noticed in this game was how good Estelle and Joshua are as a supporting cast. I liked Estelle and Joshua here a lot more than I liked them in FC and SC. I am now excited for how their roles are gonna play out in the next couple of entries.
Still, I've got my issues with the game, the first half of the game can be very boring as very little is going on other than Kevin's backstory at the beginning of each chapter which keeps me intrigued to know what's to come. But the chapters themselves are not very well done until the second half of the game.
Also, this is supposed to be a Love Letter for the Liberl arc, while also wrapping the remaining plot points left after SC, but it's hard to enjoy this since I never really got into the characters in the first two games so another miss for me.
Another problem might be a personal one, but I'm not a fan of the dungeon crawler aspect of this game, it got boring real quick and I just didn't enjoy much of my playthrough because of that.
Finally, Trails delivered something that I had expecting from the series since the very first game. And while it took its sweet time, if they are gonna continue with this level of character writing and well-done backstories, then I am really interested in what's to come from the later games. Hopefully, they don't disappoint me as the First two games did.
Trails in the Sky the 3rd is a significant improvement compared to FC and SC, primarily because of how well-written the Protagonist is in this game. Kevin Graham is a really interesting character about whom I was inquisitive by the end of SC and he didn't disappoint at all.
Ries the female Protagonist is also really fleshed out and has a strong dynamic with Kevin that makes the pair work (unlike Estelle and Joshua).
Most of the other characters were just returning from previous games with very little to offer and the side stories didn't make them any better for me as I already don't like those characters and one backstory isn't enough for me to suddenly start liking them (except some).
Another fact I noticed in this game was how good Estelle and Joshua are as a supporting cast. I liked Estelle and Joshua here a lot more than I liked them in FC and SC. I am now excited for how their roles are gonna play out in the next couple of entries.
Still, I've got my issues with the game, the first half of the game can be very boring as very little is going on other than Kevin's backstory at the beginning of each chapter which keeps me intrigued to know what's to come. But the chapters themselves are not very well done until the second half of the game.
Also, this is supposed to be a Love Letter for the Liberl arc, while also wrapping the remaining plot points left after SC, but it's hard to enjoy this since I never really got into the characters in the first two games so another miss for me.
Another problem might be a personal one, but I'm not a fan of the dungeon crawler aspect of this game, it got boring real quick and I just didn't enjoy much of my playthrough because of that.
Finally, Trails delivered something that I had expecting from the series since the very first game. And while it took its sweet time, if they are gonna continue with this level of character writing and well-done backstories, then I am really interested in what's to come from the later games. Hopefully, they don't disappoint me as the First two games did.
Best game in the trilogy. Kevin is so cool
after playing sc, the second game in the trails in the sky trilogy, I thought it would be hard for it to be topped for something better sort of until I finished the 3rd. SC was so good but I think I like this game a bit more.
trails in the sky the 3rd kind of drifts away from the style of the first 2 games, the gameplay is more like a dungeon crawler and this change might've annoyed some players but it defo didn't for me, I found this gameplay very fun although it might take a chapter or 2 to get used to the style of the game.
my favourite part of the game is the doors feature, such a unique way to present side stories into a game, these doors helps you to understand the lore and story of the game but also helped the cast individually, all of the main cast got drastically better due the stories within these doors. Other than story, certain doors have minigame features and actual objectives you need to meet which was so fun for me I enjoyed it a lot, it really helped me to immerse myself into trails the 3rd. The moon doors really felt like I was playing a VN tho. My favourite door was star door 15 by far, Renne is the most interesting character for me so far and I cant wait to see her later arcs as I play through the trails series
Kevin being the MC really paid off since his journey is beautiful and the whole arc revolving around him was just greatness. Kevin's arc is pretty much relative too Estelle and Joshua in my opinion.
i also think, unlike the first 2 games, trails in the sky 3rd had the best starting point and stayed the most consistent, this helped the flow of the game better. I cant really think of bad segments in this game due to how consistent it is. Overall this game was something else, it was so good
An amazing finale to an amazing trilogy, what an experience and I'm looking foward to the next arc which is crossbell
"so we put on our bravest faces and promise to meet again -whether it becomes true of not - and we go back to our lives and keep on going"
trails in the sky the 3rd kind of drifts away from the style of the first 2 games, the gameplay is more like a dungeon crawler and this change might've annoyed some players but it defo didn't for me, I found this gameplay very fun although it might take a chapter or 2 to get used to the style of the game.
my favourite part of the game is the doors feature, such a unique way to present side stories into a game, these doors helps you to understand the lore and story of the game but also helped the cast individually, all of the main cast got drastically better due the stories within these doors. Other than story, certain doors have minigame features and actual objectives you need to meet which was so fun for me I enjoyed it a lot, it really helped me to immerse myself into trails the 3rd. The moon doors really felt like I was playing a VN tho. My favourite door was star door 15 by far, Renne is the most interesting character for me so far and I cant wait to see her later arcs as I play through the trails series
Kevin being the MC really paid off since his journey is beautiful and the whole arc revolving around him was just greatness. Kevin's arc is pretty much relative too Estelle and Joshua in my opinion.
i also think, unlike the first 2 games, trails in the sky 3rd had the best starting point and stayed the most consistent, this helped the flow of the game better. I cant really think of bad segments in this game due to how consistent it is. Overall this game was something else, it was so good
An amazing finale to an amazing trilogy, what an experience and I'm looking foward to the next arc which is crossbell
"so we put on our bravest faces and promise to meet again -whether it becomes true of not - and we go back to our lives and keep on going"
Best of the trilogy. Do have issues but thought Kevin and his whole thing was pretty decent and definitely related to certain aspects of his character, Reis was a nice addition also, nothing extravagant or big but did well, don't have anything to say on any of the other characters as they felt like bit parts. Kind of was expecting a bit more after the starting bit but was underwhelmed just a bit, but still overall was decent. So far in the series, seems to always have one section of the game that's either stale or padded out for length which really throws off the pacing at times and something I really don't appreciate and wanes my interest, iirc it was ch. 5 or 6 in this game where I got that feeling which was kind of a blow cuz as I said earlier, was expecting a good bit based off how the game started.
A pretty big departure for the series till this point. Whereas FC & SC were slow treks around the largely idyllic countryside of liberl; here you slowly go through the levels of a dungeon crawl in a secretive dimension past the prologue.
Kevin Graham had some level of mystique in SC before his major role in the finale, and here we finally get an expansion on his character as he gets to take center stage. The tidbits of his past are slowly revealed in beginning of chapter slideshows that range from 5-10 minutes which I enjoyed, the previous two games were told in a more conventional manner and I do miss them but this style that keeps on until the final chapters holds to the pacing this game ascribes to in addition to it's own version of side content which I will touch on later. I think even with this being his only game in this trilogy and the probable rest of the series, he has the upper hand on Estelle at least in regard to how interesting I found them individually, not just their closest counterparts in their respective relationships.
In SC & FC the majority of the side content was in the form of tasks you could find on guild boards but instead here it is all seperated into short stories and mini-games - doors. Skipping doors isn't something I would recommend but especially the several that aren't minigames and that aren't just flavor pieces for characters. Multiple go in depth on events, people, and items that were probably some of the bigger questions of the trilogy and the game. A few doors in particular seem to heavily allude to and shed light on future events and the series going forward, particularly the latter doors which also just so happen to have tenser prerequisites. The very last door is incredibly dark and together with Kevin's story made this game somewhat hard to get through at times. I've seen a lot of complains that some doors drag on too long but I feel most of them aren't deserved, a lot of these refer to moon door 3. You go through the motions in this door more than any other and I do feel it went on for a bit too long but it served it's purpose well enough.
Phantasma wasn't the most fun crawl imaginable but it's backstory and reason for existence is interesting and makes me have some appreciation for it, even if I didn't quite enjoy going through it as much as I did journeying a state like in the previous games. the side content does well to break up the pace and I think that the pacing takes somewhat of a turn for the worse if you don't stop occasionally to take a peek at them, if not all.
I did not enjoy 3rd as much as others fans like I did FC & SC, and had to push myself a bit harder with this game at it's most boring points more than the last two but like the last two it has some great highs. Getting one last hurrah with the sky trilogy cast was a joy and the goodbyes at the end were very sweet. This was great fan service and sendoff for sky.
Kevin Graham had some level of mystique in SC before his major role in the finale, and here we finally get an expansion on his character as he gets to take center stage. The tidbits of his past are slowly revealed in beginning of chapter slideshows that range from 5-10 minutes which I enjoyed, the previous two games were told in a more conventional manner and I do miss them but this style that keeps on until the final chapters holds to the pacing this game ascribes to in addition to it's own version of side content which I will touch on later. I think even with this being his only game in this trilogy and the probable rest of the series, he has the upper hand on Estelle at least in regard to how interesting I found them individually, not just their closest counterparts in their respective relationships.
In SC & FC the majority of the side content was in the form of tasks you could find on guild boards but instead here it is all seperated into short stories and mini-games - doors. Skipping doors isn't something I would recommend but especially the several that aren't minigames and that aren't just flavor pieces for characters. Multiple go in depth on events, people, and items that were probably some of the bigger questions of the trilogy and the game. A few doors in particular seem to heavily allude to and shed light on future events and the series going forward, particularly the latter doors which also just so happen to have tenser prerequisites. The very last door is incredibly dark and together with Kevin's story made this game somewhat hard to get through at times. I've seen a lot of complains that some doors drag on too long but I feel most of them aren't deserved, a lot of these refer to moon door 3. You go through the motions in this door more than any other and I do feel it went on for a bit too long but it served it's purpose well enough.
Phantasma wasn't the most fun crawl imaginable but it's backstory and reason for existence is interesting and makes me have some appreciation for it, even if I didn't quite enjoy going through it as much as I did journeying a state like in the previous games. the side content does well to break up the pace and I think that the pacing takes somewhat of a turn for the worse if you don't stop occasionally to take a peek at them, if not all.
I did not enjoy 3rd as much as others fans like I did FC & SC, and had to push myself a bit harder with this game at it's most boring points more than the last two but like the last two it has some great highs. Getting one last hurrah with the sky trilogy cast was a joy and the goodbyes at the end were very sweet. This was great fan service and sendoff for sky.
if you liked the first two and feel like jerking off about them this is your game
The same game was sold three times.