Trapezohedron
A rather refreshing game compared to its predecessors, thanks to it trying to tread new ground.
This should however not be taken as unequivocal truth, because it also retreads old ground just as frequently as the previous games did before.
What it is, besides being the second multi-arc 'capstone' game, is a story told from three perspectives, two from previous protagonists and another from a new one.
Make no mistake, unlike in 3rd where it was largely a church-related lore story that served to fix some issues, this one is still largely Cold Steel, and the parts where Lloyd gets involved is unfortunately more retread ground, with around 70% of it being almost exactly like a condensed version of Trails to Azure.
The game has two halves: the Main Story, which involves capturing yet another insurgency growing up in Crossbell (poor independent Crossbell), and the gameplay component: Reverie Corridor.
The former is a well-paced story, which still kind of overstays its welcome given our heroes are going on a wild goose chase here and there, and the latter is a grindfest with access to most of the things that made endgame CSIII and CSIV work so well. Vantage Masters, Pom Pom Party return here, as well as a bunch of new mini-games, one of which is especially crap, and more story episodes called Daydreams, which are functionally identical to the Doors in 3rd, except all in a menu now instead of you having to haul ass to get there.
Annoyingly, Trails into Reverie is rife with typographical errors and some awkward grammar. Nothing about this makes it 'Ruined Forever-tier,' but the most egregious of errors are the ones that result from tooltips that are outright wrong.
One of the high-tier items are advertised as cutting EP costs by 75% when in reality it only chops it by 25%, which is a BIG difference. Or one of the quartzes that advertise giving 1600 STR when in reality it only gives 160. The game is very-obviously rushed, given the rabid fanbase was complaining over the game taking a while to release.
Alas, this is the price to pay when it comes to games being rushed like this.
All in all, this seems like an apology letter for the weird things that was on Cold Steel IV, which I can heartily-accept, but I'm not sure if I'll stay here and wait for Daybreak. I think I've had enough of my fill of Trails, thanks.
This should however not be taken as unequivocal truth, because it also retreads old ground just as frequently as the previous games did before.
What it is, besides being the second multi-arc 'capstone' game, is a story told from three perspectives, two from previous protagonists and another from a new one.
Make no mistake, unlike in 3rd where it was largely a church-related lore story that served to fix some issues, this one is still largely Cold Steel, and the parts where Lloyd gets involved is unfortunately more retread ground, with around 70% of it being almost exactly like a condensed version of Trails to Azure.
The game has two halves: the Main Story, which involves capturing yet another insurgency growing up in Crossbell (poor independent Crossbell), and the gameplay component: Reverie Corridor.
The former is a well-paced story, which still kind of overstays its welcome given our heroes are going on a wild goose chase here and there, and the latter is a grindfest with access to most of the things that made endgame CSIII and CSIV work so well. Vantage Masters, Pom Pom Party return here, as well as a bunch of new mini-games, one of which is especially crap, and more story episodes called Daydreams, which are functionally identical to the Doors in 3rd, except all in a menu now instead of you having to haul ass to get there.
Annoyingly, Trails into Reverie is rife with typographical errors and some awkward grammar. Nothing about this makes it 'Ruined Forever-tier,' but the most egregious of errors are the ones that result from tooltips that are outright wrong.
One of the high-tier items are advertised as cutting EP costs by 75% when in reality it only chops it by 25%, which is a BIG difference. Or one of the quartzes that advertise giving 1600 STR when in reality it only gives 160. The game is very-obviously rushed, given the rabid fanbase was complaining over the game taking a while to release.
Alas, this is the price to pay when it comes to games being rushed like this.
All in all, this seems like an apology letter for the weird things that was on Cold Steel IV, which I can heartily-accept, but I'm not sure if I'll stay here and wait for Daybreak. I think I've had enough of my fill of Trails, thanks.
TBD
The less I talk about this game, the better. Both 1 and 2 played, cumulative hours.
2016
This review contains spoilers
SDV 1.5.
Reached the island on year 2. Considering it finished. Art still is an eyesore.
Reached the island on year 2. Considering it finished. Art still is an eyesore.
2019
Gameplay is fun, but I am not entirely too fond of the plot. It doesn't feel... too personal compared to Persona 4.
Playthrough was done after someone else's NG+ run, with the express goal of building some endgame-suitable personas and 100% compendium unlock...
Playthrough was done after someone else's NG+ run, with the express goal of building some endgame-suitable personas and 100% compendium unlock...
2021
Plot is great. Gameplay can be frustrating. Shelved not because of the game but due to personal circumstances and haven't found an opportunity to go back to it since.
Representative of 3 games in the series' arc. Despite the simple plot compared to its later successors, this one is more heartfelt in general and easily is the most consistently great game in the series.
Representative of two games for convenience. This part of the arc has a great police procedural before it enters the main meat of the conflict, but it starts to tread into the annoying anime tropes.
Has one of the most complex plots in the series, but tends to repeat its suspenseful developments across multiple games. Burnt me out. Still a great series, but you'll like it or grow tired of it. Cold Steel IV is especially contentious.
2018
This game is woefully underappreciated by most people, but for those who played it, they tend to put this in their top ten lists.
Consider playing with Sergey Hax if you're going to do NG+. Yes, there's an NG+.
Consider playing with Sergey Hax if you're going to do NG+. Yes, there's an NG+.
2021
Galaxy on Fire II if it was developed with a better budget. For a looter shooter, it has considerably less options than expected.
Don't get me wrong, the game is a fun DOOM/Quake-like, but it's not for me. PS: The Shotgun hurts far less than it should.
2011
If you're still playing this, you're at the very least playing it with either XRM with TC plots enabled in AP or you're doing Litcube's Universe or its derivative mod-mods.
Reduce 1 star from this rating if playing vanilla, and remove 1 more star from this rating if you dislike economy simulators.
Reduce 1 star from this rating if playing vanilla, and remove 1 more star from this rating if you dislike economy simulators.
May revisit later. This is basically Dark Days Ahead with a more sensible gameplay loop.
Arcade shooter with real world planes and Belkan warcrimes that aren't, all set to the awesome music of progress.
2014
Take old Xcom, apply genericifying facepaint to it, then expect the next alien to paint the walls red with their flesh.
You get this game. Also, progression isn't what it seems in this game.
You get this game. Also, progression isn't what it seems in this game.