Trails SC : A Mixed Bag of Goodness

(This serves as both a review of FC an SC but the rating is for SC)

The Trails series is one that I wanted to try out for a while now, Falcom is an historic company that was for the most part in advance for its time no matter the era you're looking into but never got the success of exposure of companies like Squaresoft, Enix, Bandai Namco or even Atlus despite their huge catalog.

So far my journey had led me to try out a few of the Ys titles which were a pretty pleasant experience if you can handle the crust of some of the earlier titles but the series they're probably more known for is the Legend of Heroes series and most importantly the "Trails" subseries of games which by that point is its own beast of its own much like Persona has become independent from the SMT series.

One year and an half ago, I played through Trails in the Sky FC and thought it was an alright game honestly, mind you nothing truly mind blowing but it has a lot of charms and the simple nature of the story that continuously build up to one big bombastic finale , it is a slow game that made me think of older Dragon Quest titles were you go around the world solving little cases here and there while discovering the world along Joshua and Estelle who are simply put one of the most iconic pair in JRPG history at least to me. Estelle and Joshua but much more so Estelle are absolutely great. They don't truly fit the typical JRPG protagonist role which was quite refreshing to see, Estelle for example is an absolutely fantastic exemple of a strong female character that doesn't fall into the "too cool for school woman that needs no man" mentality that is seen way too much with this type of character, she's a spunky tomboy who kicks ass, take no shit from anyone and will often times make quirky sarcastic remarks to mock the different antagonists with a stick up their ass.

The rest of the cast is also really damn nice, not all of them are created equal mind you, Agate and Zin barely have any screen time and barely anything resembling a character arc in FC but this is something that the sequel does fix a little. My absolute favorite character to me is Olivier, he's just a random sexually ambiguous spoony bard with an heart of gold ans a passion for beauty and grace that makes him so corny yet so enjoyable and every time he was on screen was a good time (which is why he stayed for a long while in my party during SC, I just love the dude that much on top of also being an excellent spellcaster).

The alchemy between these characters and the little moments most of the cast has together especially in SC makes you attached to these characters almost instantly and since FC was the introduction, SC does expand on them and put some neat little twist on them. This is of course served wonderfully by the dialogues which are written in such a snappy and natural way, these characters speaks like human people and not actors on a play like most JRPG tend to do (which mind you isn't a bad style just a different one) and it fits the tone of the game perfectly, no matter how casual the dialogues between party members or NPC's tend to be, there's always something to look forward to.

Which leads me to talk about another one of the series strong point, its sense of cohesion and attention to detail for the most part of FC you're going on your little adventure minding your own buisness and are only introduced to serious stuff at the end of the game making you feel like a single unit in a vast world, in a way Trails pulls off something that reminded me of Durarara (a pretty damn cool show, if you can handle the concept being kinda wanky), even if you're a bunch of JRPG protagonist with important roles and stuff, do know that every single member of the world live lives that are about as complex and intricate as you ! Each NPC in the game has a name and some of them even have small little character arc , yeah totally faceless random NPC becomes more interesting because you get to see them throughout the course of the game either during the sidequest when they ask you something or just by randomly talking to them, the world feels dynamic and alive and I'd say that the way trails introduces his worldbuilding is buttery smooth and rarely revolves around pointless infodump, there's truly a delicious amount of hidden lore that you can only find if you go out of your way to find it, there's a local newspaper for exemple that talks about what has been going on in the background while you were doing JRPG protag thing and the NPC's themselves always have something new to say and different reaction and routine in response to events of the story (FOR FUCK SAKE EVEN THE EMPTY CHESTS HAVE LORE).

This of course is one of the game strongest aspect and what made it so in advance for its time, that does mean that you probably gonna miss a lot of things by the end but the game make sure you at least retain the finer details in a way that feels satisfying enough.

The sequel SC also continues these little subplots from the first game and most of the NPC's you go to will remember you for what you helped them with in the previous game thanks to the transferable data between each games changing some small stuff here and there.

Gameplay wise, the game certainly does have some depth to its battle system but playing on normal I felt was piss easy and I only had trouble during the final boss of the game and some encounters during side quests, the exploration was also fairly simple but there's definitely a huge issue with back tracking between places which is something you will do a lot especially if like me, you're the type of person to do all the side content (which the game kinda pushes you to do anyway since it's the only effective way to gain money without fucking you over gameplay wise and they go from "cool" to mediocre to borderline insanely tedious at times).

The dungeon layouts are pretty barebones and often times confusing with the rotating camera that can disorient you if you're not paying attention and they're basically just huge caves with monsters in them , nothing truly standout in that area but Liberl does have tons of charm as a region visually. The game kinda looks like an evolution of games like Grandia mixed with Digimon World 2003 aesthetically and while it might not please everyone, it does give the game a very relaxing and comfortable vibe to it and honestly I'm a sucker for minimalism and chibi models usually.


But at the end of the day, despite my praises and the flaws I mentioned , I'd say that FC was a decent and fun experience that I did end up having some fondness for while looking back on it after a year.

Yeah I did wait a solid year and an half to finally dive into SC properly, not because I didn't want to play the game (in fact who the fuck would not want to play the second one immediately after the big reveal at the end of FC seriously) but because a lot of things came in the way and I just forgot about it and became a Muv-Luv fan instead (which I dunno if it's honestly better than becoming a Kiseki fanboy lmao).

But honestly I didn't feel the need to replay FC to refresh my memories and attachment to the cast, after all JP people had to wait 2 years for this game and English people had to wait 4 between the first and second chapter translation so my situation while being far from ideal is actually closer to the intended rhythm you're supposed to play these games with and beside the game will constantly remind you of what happened in FC and the characters are as good if not better than they were in FC.

I'm not gonna expand on the points mentioned above since I do think SC retains a lot of the same qualities as FC in terms of its writing and general "kiseki" vibe BUT THE FLAWS SHINES WAY MORE IN THIS SEQUEL THAN THEY SHOULD DO.

The game is the very definition of padding the fuck out of a story that could honestly have been told in less than the required 100h of game it took me to complete it, if the first game was around the 50h mark which was decent to say the least, this game is LONG and doesn't really respect your time with all the shit it's pulling at you.

The first half of the game is especially dreadful and if I have one word to describe the SC experience it's definitely "redundancy", the first 5 chapters of the game follows a structure that I swear makes it more boring than literally anything happening in FC which isn't much. The game pretty much makes you go on a second tour of Liberl where you have to solve cases related to Ouroboros the new group of antagonist to this game, so yeah you thought the first game was build up and character introduction ? Well fuck you here's even more build up and this time the formula gets tiring very fast, this second round of Liberl does make for some cool and cute scenes of nostalgic melancholy of your journey in FC at times but these moments are so few and far between that the entire package feels like it could've been delivered in a better way.

Because the game is a direct sequel, you do explore literally all the same maps and dungeon you've been backtracking endlessly already in the first game, but this time you double the backtracking and divide the fun by zero because while in the first game you were discovering these places, in SC you're pretty much dragging your ass through all of the same content and the game will not let you continue unless you do so, so prepare yourself to do all of that shit all over again. And the villain of the week formula truly doesn't help, most of the chapters follows a similar structure that gets old very very fast.

SC plot structure is like

-Go to Place
-"Oh no something is making people shit themselves"
-"Oh my god what could it be?"
-"It's ouroboros but I'm not sure..."
millions of fetch quest later
-"It was Ouroboros"
-"HAHAHA I'M POOPWINKLE THE DICKWINKLE ENFORCER N°69 OF OUROBOZOS FIGHT A RANDOM TRASH MOB FOR ABSOLUTELY NO REASON"
-Repeat

This is literally the first half of the game and mind you by the time you're over with chapter 5, you've already sinked 60h into the game and almost no important plot progression has happened outside of a few more intimate scenes between characters which are for the most part really good, in order to even access that good content, you have to put up with so much tedium that you could fill an entire mine with it. It also truly doesn't help that outside of Loewe (and maybe Renne), the Ourobozos actually are a rather pathetic attempt at the vilain organization trope, they're pretty ridiculous and corny and rarely ever fun to interact with, It's cool that some of them have connections to some of your party members , making for some cool scene but the group itself are pretty barebone and generic anime villain, which is insane considering the original game had Richard which was quite honestly an amazing vilain with great motivations and which ideals and goals fitted with the nuanced and grounded world Liberl is. Meanwhile at depressed chuuni boomers with world domination fetish, we're so evil that the main bad guy has to play to organ in a very clearly evil manner to remind you how evil they are, the subtlety has been thrown out the fucking window with these clowns being around and since they're the main center of attention and source of conflict within the narrative, suffice to say that it makes them as ridiculous as they sound and even Estelle mocks them constantly at how bad they are, really going from Richard to some cartoon network villain , is truly saddening.

There's little to no variety in the plot and it fucking drags as fuck, fortunately once you gain back Joshua, the game starts to pick up again and the rythm becomes somewhat consistent but there's still a lot of needlessly long and stretched out gameplay section, chapter 7 and chapter 8 could've honestly been both a series of cutscenes but no, in chapter 7 you go through the 4 towers to defeat the 4 bad guys, so you're dragging your ass through 4 very similar looking dungeon to defeat one bad guy and maybe have a cool scene or two and chapter 8 tries to do the "world of ruin" bits from FF VI but instead of it being a major event that changes not only how you approach the world but also the tone of the game , it's another way to drag you through all the same location for more backtracking but this time WITHOUT YOUR SPELLS because we gotta keep shit RP. The chapter ends on a pretty high not tho so it's not entirely wasted.

The final chapter is actually really damn nice even if again, it needlessly drag, it's like Falcom was scared that the game wouldn't have been worth our money if each chapters wasn't at least 10h long to go through but some other JRPG's can tell much more and much more meaningful stuff in less than the time and with less the tedium while keeping the variety afloat.

Which this whole thing is a shame because story wise, SC does deliver on a lot more emotional bits than FC and brings closure to almost every characters and subplot almost perfectly while introducing new cool characters to booth, I liked Renne and Kevin the most out of the new characters and much like Estelle I damn wish Renne wasn't part of Ourobozos because she clearly deserves better than being indoctrinated by an evil organization which goals and ideals are...

Well I don't know and the game never truly expands on that actually..., I guess it's part of the continuous narrative of the series to answer all of these questions but if that's the case then let me tell you that the introduction of that plot was less than optimal cause the most memorable thing about them would be the Weissman plotwist in FC and nothing else so far (and it's insane the game actually tries to make a case for Estelle joining them but they barely gave any valuable reasons to do so...)

Loewe honestly should've been the final antagonist of the game by a land mile and he was done so dirty by Falcom at the end, he should've killed Weissman and carry the plan himself like any good villain sidekick do in a JRPG especially since he doesn't like the guy all that much anyway and also he's just way more cool and has still one of the sickest battle theme ever, that would've made for a way more meaningful and cathartic final confrontation imo.

Some scenes in the back half of the game makes it worth it but there was probably another way to go around some of the most tedious bits of the game I think and some corners could've honestly been cut or reworked in a way to be more digestible.

I'd say that yes, SC was overall a less enjoyable experience than FC because FC at least had qualities that SC doesn't ruin by needless padding, the plot does deliver a lot more but it's truly the structure that make or break this game. Estelle has great character development and is probably the best aspect of the game storywise honestly, she matures without having a drastic change in character too much and becomes able to empathize with way more complex situation than her and we go on this journey along with her.

SC overall is about as good as FC quality wise but the flaws are that much more prevalent and by the time I approached the ending, I really wanted this to end already which is honestly never a good sign.

So yeah, looks like despite some genuine qualities, I ain't gonna rate this game highly in my mind or even in my heart and it's a damn shame since I truly wanted to enjoy this experience to the fullest and I still love the cast and a lot of the neat stuff the game does with its world and characters, I hope 3rd changes my mind on the series for me to consider going forward with it.

TL;DR : Estelle is Bestelle

An all time favorite of mine now. Mask of Truth is a masterclass at balancing incredible character growth, gut-wrenching emotional moments, comfy slice of life greatness, and an intriguing war story. Mask of Truth rarely crumbles under the weight of how ambitious its main story can get. All of the intended impactful plot-beats are executed almost flawlessly. The execution of the story makes Mask of Truth consist of some truly incredible scenes, with many of these scenes moving me to tears multiple times. This story probably has the largest cry ratio for me out of anything I experienced. One part near the middle and the entire ending section of the game almost killed me with how much it messed me up.

The main cast are some of my favorites in any story, but Haku steals the show as the standout character. His growth from a bumbling but well-intention slacker into a living legend is one of the best character journeys I have seen, being both emotional, tragic, and impactful. Everyone else is just as colorful as they were in Deception, but the war setting and slice of life scenes brings into light their personal struggles, and lets us appreciate the characters in all of their facets, flaws and all. How the characters' interact with the new circumstances of the world around them and Haku's change creates some incredibly gripping scenes in the story. Kuon is a phenomenal main heroine as well, with her development throughout the game alongside her developing relationship with Haku's new circumstances being a standout aspect of the story. The only critique I have about the cast is the harem-like nature the game gets into near the middle, with almost every female character falling in love with Haku, but it's not a dealbreaker.

The insert songs deserve their own special mention, with Mask of Truth's usage of them being the best I've seen in the visual novel medium. Every time a new Suara song hits, you're bound to feel some sort of heavy emotion.

Gameplay wise, it's still pretty easy, and not the most complicated SRPG in the world, but it does the job in making you feel like you are having an impact in the story itself. Certain story moments hit way harder with the addition of gameplay interaction from the player, especially the final map. The final map is probably one of my favorite levels in a game ever.

If I had any real flaws about this game, it would be that the story in the last third is a bit contrived and messy compared what came before, but the last few hours manage to salvage it hard.

Overall, pure greatness, peak fiction, made me cry like 10 times. Play this game!

If Haku has a million fans I am one of them.
If Haku has ten fans I am one of them.
If Haku has one fan then that is me.
If Haku has no fans then I am no longer on this earth.
If the world is against Haku I am against the world.
I love Haku until my last breath.

Utawarerumono is a tale about people trapped in their past and unable to move on because of it, whether that be because they can't get over it, or simply because they have to deal with the responsibility that comes with it. And along with that are valuable lessons about responsibility and burden that permeate throughout the trilogy. There is no way to separate burden from responsibility, after all burden is one of its facets. You choose the burden you are willing to carry and at the same time the things you intend to abandon for that burden, your actions are all your responsibility, after all, this is the path you chose and the actions you committed or committed. Utawarerumono is a unique and extremely emotional story, it provides us with tragic moments, with a lot of sadness and loss, but manages to be as welcoming and comforting as it is. It is an experience that I will keep with me, I cried, had fun and learned with these characters in the midst of this new fantasy and epic world that was created by Suga.

Full review here, but it's in Portuguese since it's my native language, but in that case just use google translate: https://medium.com/@Feripe/utawarerumono-responsabilidade-e-caminhando-em-direção-ao-futuro-86e981200150

Fata Morgana, is the nice boy in class, he has all the good grades, he's not particularly ugly, he's cultivated, he'll likely gonna get into a good university once he's gonna graduate, he seems to have no flaws, except one, he's painfully boring in its flawlessness
Subahibi on the other hand, he's the bad boy , he's dark, sinister, a bit cringe , he has black hair, he makes barely passable poetry , he smokes marijuana and is involved with several case of high school crime, he always brings a guitar and listen to 21 pilot on his airpods, not the kinda guy you should get interrested in, he looks silly , he looks like a fucking looser, he thinks he's goat, but he's not goat, he's just a piece of shit edgy kids and oh my god I hate this guy, but one day you go to a party
Who did you end up in bed with ? That's right , not fucking Fata, he's too good for this, It's Sca-di, you woke up next morning, and he fucked you and you look past the bed border and your mom is lying on the floor , fucked like she never has been before. Then he wokes up with pancackes, kiss you goodbye and leaves you with a teen pregnancy he's never gonna act upon. But the memory of such an experience will last with you for the rest of your goddamn life