While FC had a smaller scope and executed that very competently as setup for this game, SC aims for a greater scope and ambition, with what I think is more flawed execution. It turns into Trails in the Backtracking: Padding Chapter at times, though it generally didn't bother me (yes, even in chapter 8, turn on turbo), other than the final dungeon which was backtracking incarnate in identically looking hallways across multiple floors.

When in FC the game's main villain was most present right at the end and didn't have a very strong dynamic with the cast, though it was serviceable, the FC antagonist group, Ourorobos, are present throughout all of the game. Each member of that group serves as a foil to most people in the main cast, such as Renne for Estelle, Leowe for Joshua, etc. When in FC you had initially episodic stories that didn't connect until the end, you have a central plot from the get-go here. When in FC Joshua's backstory wasn't revealed until the end, it is front and center here. And when in FC the moral/themes of the story don't really come into play until the very end, they are pretty clear here from early on.

So what's the issue? Well, I think it spread itself thin despite having plenty of time to deeply develop all of these things.

I felt like Joshua's exile arc had too little screen time to hit hard before his return. And while Estelle is insanely charismatic and likable, more than my favourite protagonists across fiction, and I like her, I would resonate with other types of protagonists more than pretty much an all-good person. Well-adjusted, hopeful, "bright" protagonists have their place, and I generally like them, but they don't leave a long-lasting impression beyond their personality being charismatic for me. I get that there's a cool dynamic between Estelle and Joshua in the way that she brings him back into the light in a sense, and their romance is fine for me, but I dunno, I just don't care for it that much. Her connection with Joshua and Renne of trying to bring them back to the human side and tell them how to join in on the warmth of human connection is neat, but it doesn't really wow me. The ending was cool, but yeah. Joshua himself seemed to have more potential when he was in his edgelord arc, and his dynamics with Leowe and Weissmann are cool, but again, not enough screen time for them to truly resonate with me.

The supporting cast is much better in this. They all get deeper dynamics, and most of them have their backstories explored more, such as Agate, Schera, and Joshua, of course.

The theme that Weissmann discusses is very interesting, but unfortunately I feel like it was not featured enough to truly resonate with me. The game definitely did have the runtime for it, so I don't know what happened.

Also, what's up with the OST in this game? While some songs, like the opening, are great, I overall felt that the first game's soundtrack had both better and more atmospheric tracks on average, as well as higher highs. The final boss themes in SC feel a little more lowkey and for the worse, in my opinion. Still cool, though.

Overall though, just like FC, definitely a good game, but it didn't blow my mind. I am however excited for 3rd, as Kevin was really cool in what little screen time he had in this game, and Azure, which everyone is excited for at the point in my journey anyway. I think I prefer SC to FC for sure.