So, I was initially going to wait for a Japanese PC release, but the fact that it is nowhere in sight combined with me desperately wanting to see what happens next in the Trails series made me play this earlier than I expected. At least I got the latest update of the translation, and it reads fine.
The gameplay in this is the peak of the series, obviously, best JRPG combat ever. I'm curious as to why they nerfed S-Crafts even further by adding a cooldown though, they already nerfed them with S-Boosts in Kuro 1, so what gives? I like the addition of Quick Arts. The music is amazing in this, badass electric guitars all around.
My GOAT Renne shines here (as per usual), however her actual substantial scenes and contributions amount to about 30 minutes, otherwise she's a pure supporting character. You can see this as a conclusion of sorts to her series-long arc, though, which is cool.
The characters and plot are all over the place for me here. The plot, as you've probably heard from other reviews, does nothing to progress the overall Zemurian storyline (not inherently a problem, 3rd was, until this point, the most irrelevant game to the series as a whole and yet it was amazing), with the society doing jack shit in this, but it also doesn't do all that much to progress the remaining mysteries of Kuro 1. It does finish some loose ends, but for the most part it feels like a side quest before the actual sequel. I think Van being "too complete of a character", in a manner of speaking, contributes to this. His arc was, a couple mysteries aside, very conclusive in Kuro 1, so this one retreads old ground at times. It's honestly hard to describe... it just feels like shit happens in this sometimes, and that's it? Not something you often see in Trails. Maybe rushed is the right word?
The final boss is amazing gameplay wise, but after the novelty wears off for that and the story part of it, the ending is extremely underwhelming. Probably my least favourite ending in the series.
One thing I will give this game though, it really does help flesh out a lot of characters, they just aren't Van or Agnes. The pacing and structure for how these subplots are approached is another question entirely. You may have heard about how chapter 3 is one of the least liked chapters, that's definitely part of it.
I'll be waiting for Kai no Kiseki, but to be honest, I'm in no rush right now. Maybe I'll 100% Reverie or something (which would be a first for a non-VN game for me, I just liked it that much). Kuro 2 is not a bad game by any means, but the best way to describe it is that it's a mish-mash, a first mess of this kind since CS2 and CS4. It reminds me of those games the most.
The gameplay in this is the peak of the series, obviously, best JRPG combat ever. I'm curious as to why they nerfed S-Crafts even further by adding a cooldown though, they already nerfed them with S-Boosts in Kuro 1, so what gives? I like the addition of Quick Arts. The music is amazing in this, badass electric guitars all around.
My GOAT Renne shines here (as per usual), however her actual substantial scenes and contributions amount to about 30 minutes, otherwise she's a pure supporting character. You can see this as a conclusion of sorts to her series-long arc, though, which is cool.
The characters and plot are all over the place for me here. The plot, as you've probably heard from other reviews, does nothing to progress the overall Zemurian storyline (not inherently a problem, 3rd was, until this point, the most irrelevant game to the series as a whole and yet it was amazing), with the society doing jack shit in this, but it also doesn't do all that much to progress the remaining mysteries of Kuro 1. It does finish some loose ends, but for the most part it feels like a side quest before the actual sequel. I think Van being "too complete of a character", in a manner of speaking, contributes to this. His arc was, a couple mysteries aside, very conclusive in Kuro 1, so this one retreads old ground at times. It's honestly hard to describe... it just feels like shit happens in this sometimes, and that's it? Not something you often see in Trails. Maybe rushed is the right word?
The final boss is amazing gameplay wise, but after the novelty wears off for that and the story part of it, the ending is extremely underwhelming. Probably my least favourite ending in the series.
One thing I will give this game though, it really does help flesh out a lot of characters, they just aren't Van or Agnes. The pacing and structure for how these subplots are approached is another question entirely. You may have heard about how chapter 3 is one of the least liked chapters, that's definitely part of it.
I'll be waiting for Kai no Kiseki, but to be honest, I'm in no rush right now. Maybe I'll 100% Reverie or something (which would be a first for a non-VN game for me, I just liked it that much). Kuro 2 is not a bad game by any means, but the best way to describe it is that it's a mish-mash, a first mess of this kind since CS2 and CS4. It reminds me of those games the most.