I think this is the best out of the three Trails in the Sky games. Yeah, it can be argued that SC has a better or more important story, but SC was too repetitive for my liking. I thought SC was going to be a completely new journey so I was disappointed when most of that game's journey consisted of revisiting the same handful of towns as in FC. There's also reused content in Trails in the Sky the 3rd, but the experience felt new enough that it didn't bother me.
Trails in the Sky the 3rd takes place in another dimension called Phantasma. This place operates kind of like a dungeon with multiple floors, except sometimes the floors are pieces of the overworld from the previous games. Phantasma has a strange and ethereal atmosphere that helps even the reused content feel new. I much prefer the atmosphere of Phantasma to that of Trails FC and SC. Those games felt too cheery without any sense of danger or intrigue. Trails in the Sky the 3rd was a lot more mysterious. I really appreciate the developers changing up the atmosphere here.
The thing that really made the atmosphere more enjoyable for me was the music. Like I mentioned before, Trails in the Sky FC and SC were a bit too cheery for me, and that extends to the music. In FC, every track from the town themes, to the battle theme, to the boss themes were just too happy and had no sense of drama. Thankfully in Trails in the Sky the 3rd every track has a certain amount of either intensity or mystery to it. I knew from playing Ys that the Falcom sound team is capable of creating magnificent soundtracks. I didn't feel that strongly about FC or SC's soundtrack, but with this game in particular it feels like Trails has found its musical identity.
The combat is pretty much the same as before, but I was a lot less frustrated with it here for some reason. It may be because the boss fights in this game were more fair (unlike a certain white-haired gentleman in SC who likes to make copies of himself at random). I'm still not completely in love with the combat system but it's easier to see its merits in this particular game. The fact that this game gives out new party members like Halloween candy probably helped a lot with keeping combat fresh as well.
The Trails games have a habit of treating every character like the main character. Now that Estelle has retired from her position as a protagonist, it becomes really clear how much of a strength that approach is for a multi-part series like this. Giving every character the depth of a protagonist means they can instantly fill the protagonist role when need be. Kevin, this game's protagonist, is an example of that. He was given a big spotlight in SC which made it easier for him to become a protagonist in this game. But even smaller characters are allowed to have some time as a protagonist in Trails in the Sky the 3rd - in the side stories.
This game has multiple side stories that can be found all over Phantasma. These take the place of sidequests and they're a much better way of handling side content. These side stories allow the player to play as some of the less prominent characters and discover more about them, which is way more interesting than doing random chores for NPC townsfolk.
The overall story was more of a self-reflective journey of a specific character than a series of important events, but I'm fine with that because this series has good characters.
I am really starting to understand why people like Trails now. The large ensemble cast that evolves over the course of multiple games is something that works incredibly well, and I can't wait to see where the story goes next.
Trails in the Sky the 3rd takes place in another dimension called Phantasma. This place operates kind of like a dungeon with multiple floors, except sometimes the floors are pieces of the overworld from the previous games. Phantasma has a strange and ethereal atmosphere that helps even the reused content feel new. I much prefer the atmosphere of Phantasma to that of Trails FC and SC. Those games felt too cheery without any sense of danger or intrigue. Trails in the Sky the 3rd was a lot more mysterious. I really appreciate the developers changing up the atmosphere here.
The thing that really made the atmosphere more enjoyable for me was the music. Like I mentioned before, Trails in the Sky FC and SC were a bit too cheery for me, and that extends to the music. In FC, every track from the town themes, to the battle theme, to the boss themes were just too happy and had no sense of drama. Thankfully in Trails in the Sky the 3rd every track has a certain amount of either intensity or mystery to it. I knew from playing Ys that the Falcom sound team is capable of creating magnificent soundtracks. I didn't feel that strongly about FC or SC's soundtrack, but with this game in particular it feels like Trails has found its musical identity.
The combat is pretty much the same as before, but I was a lot less frustrated with it here for some reason. It may be because the boss fights in this game were more fair (unlike a certain white-haired gentleman in SC who likes to make copies of himself at random). I'm still not completely in love with the combat system but it's easier to see its merits in this particular game. The fact that this game gives out new party members like Halloween candy probably helped a lot with keeping combat fresh as well.
The Trails games have a habit of treating every character like the main character. Now that Estelle has retired from her position as a protagonist, it becomes really clear how much of a strength that approach is for a multi-part series like this. Giving every character the depth of a protagonist means they can instantly fill the protagonist role when need be. Kevin, this game's protagonist, is an example of that. He was given a big spotlight in SC which made it easier for him to become a protagonist in this game. But even smaller characters are allowed to have some time as a protagonist in Trails in the Sky the 3rd - in the side stories.
This game has multiple side stories that can be found all over Phantasma. These take the place of sidequests and they're a much better way of handling side content. These side stories allow the player to play as some of the less prominent characters and discover more about them, which is way more interesting than doing random chores for NPC townsfolk.
The overall story was more of a self-reflective journey of a specific character than a series of important events, but I'm fine with that because this series has good characters.
I am really starting to understand why people like Trails now. The large ensemble cast that evolves over the course of multiple games is something that works incredibly well, and I can't wait to see where the story goes next.