This visual novel does romance in a way I haven't really seen before and thought I would never find in a work like this. By the end of it I disliked the main characters in the same amount that I loved them, and I think it'll stick with me for a long time.
I wouldn't call it perfect, Closing Chapter had some weaker parts that dragged and made me stall it for some time (especially in the side routes), but CODA was good enough that the whole journey felt worth it in the end. One of the routes especially was the highest point of the VN and every scene in it was that much powerful because of everything that came before.

今でも覚えている あの日見た雪の白さ
初めて触れた 唇の温もりも忘れない
粉雪のようなあなたは 汚れなく奇麗で
私もなりたいと雪に願う
I still love you.

Haven't played the original but this was very enjoyable. Definitely the best presentation in any visual novel I've seen, with solid characters and a very engaging story beneath it. A lot of it does feel like setup for what's to come in the second part, with characters being introduced and shown off but not really having any part to play just yet.
Unfortunately even without having experienced the original sometimes it's very clear what's added on for a more interesting climax or setup reasons, and at its worst the story shifts its focus from one plot to another instead of being a cohesive whole. Or in one case drags out a lot.
I still don't know if i'll go back to read the original but this definitely made me interested in far side, as there's so many more things to discover and I already considerably like the characters that will be the focus there. I'm also sure that I'll end up seeing some events here in a different light once I have the full scope, so looking forward to it.

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.

While this game has some big problems, most of which I can't even hint at here due to heavy spoilers, Azure is the best trails has ever been in many moments. It executes so many plot threads involving what came before, the imediate conflicts and the future of the series perfectly and has a pacing that grabs you and doesn't let you go for the majority of the game.
When I think of an ongoing story of a world told throughout many entries, this is the kind of stuff I want done and I haven't really found it anywhere else.
This is also where I enjoyed gameplay the most so far, with some great changes to combat, incredible ost, amazing QoL changes and super fun bosses.

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.

This game made me realize I just don't like Class VII as a whole, there's definitely some hints of a few good characters there but overall it had so much filler dialogue and way too many conversations that led them nowhere.
That said, I still had a ton of fun with Cold Steel II. Act 1 and 2 have vastly different structures which helped break the pace and made the game not as tiring as CSI was by the end, Act 2 especially was amazing gameplay wise, exploring Erebonia freely and recruiting old friends was a ton of fun, even though it was one of bigger lows trails has had in terms of story.
The finale was pretty stellar with some great reveals and the best fights the series has had.

Nayuta is a super solid game all around with very creative game design and fun combat that just keeps getting more interesting even at the last stretch. Not as much focus on the story as your standard trails game but what's here is well done with some very endearing characters and fun NPCs.
The additions for the Kai version are great, especially all the new art made for the game which adds so much to a ton of scenes and has my favorite artstyle in the trails series so far.
It was the perfect game to use as a break in my cold steel binge and I'll definitely revisit it in New Game+ at some point.

A better Cold Steel 1 in pretty much every way, while carrying many of the faults of that game as well: an extremely formulaic structure being the main one that really wore me down after so many hours. That said, everyone in the new cast, the new areas, new additions to the gameplay and improved graphics were all great and made for the best entry in the Cold Steel games yet.
The call backs and involvement from past games were also implemented very well and made the huge investment in the series feel worth it.

Cold Steel IV has a lot of issues in its narrative, maybe more than any other trails game, but it's also a big celebration of the entire series and sticks the landing in many important points to finally conclude the Erebonia arc and in some ways set the stage for what's to come.
Having the largest playable roster in any trails game this far while improving the already great CSIII combat mechanics makes for the most fun entry I've played. Coupled with the amazing side content it offers (some of the best quests in the franchise, huge amount of very interesting NPC dialogue) as well as the best parts of its story it became my favorite Cold Steel game and a fitting finale for an arc riddled with issues but full of interesting ideas and great moments.

Maybe not the most well written trails game, but for me it was the most enjoyable one. After binging these games pretty hard in the past few months, it was a perfect conclusion to everything that came before and left me very satisfied and still hyped to experience the rest of the series as it comes out.
The new characters introduced are extremely well done, and most of the established characters were used very well and had moments that way surpassed what I thought a game like this would try to go for.
Also used this series to practice my Japanese so it felt like a great accomplishment to finally finish this final one and take a break while I wait for Kuro to come to PC.