As the first 3d trails game introducing the biggest region yet in the series this game had a lot to setup, and it is very much an introductory game that takes its time showing you the world and the massive new cast of characters.
It's my least favorite trails game for a bunch of reasons, mainly the extremely formulaic chapters and a cast that didn't really manage to grab me in this first game, but it also does a lot of things right and a lot of the strong points of the trails series are still here in great form, like the fantastic NPCs and engaging plot once it gets going.
Lots of changes to the combat but it still has the same feeling, with some pretty fun new mechanics to play around with.

I should also mention this game does not look good. While it was nice seeing the new 3d enviroments, the character models and animations are lacking a lot, to the point I prefer how the 2d games with the great sprites and charming combat animations looked over this title, but it was the start of the 3d era so i'm sure it'll get better eventually.
Overall it was a solid foundation for an arc that has immense potential, and I'm definitely looking forward to continue with these games.