This review contains spoilers
Rated as 4.5/5 stars, would put this at about 8.5 out of 10 though. This review will contain mild - moderate spoilers about the mid-game.
Trails in the Sky SC is a beautiful game and near-perfect sequel to FC. Picking up immediately where FC leaves off, Estelle gets all of her emotions jumbled up and then throws herself into combat training for fun times. The pacing of the beginning of the game feels quite nice, with each chapter having its main focus well written. Chapter 3 in particular was a great introduction to Renne and can catch any unsuspecting player completely off-guard if they aren't reading between the lines hard enough.
However, I have quite an issue with Chapter 4. The entire purpose of this chapter is just to be used as a plot device to showcase Estelle's depression and anxiety about Joshua which then gets neatly wrapped up with a bow after a dream sequence. Schera on the other hand who was heavily tied into Chapter 4 was mostly given a "we'll bring this up later, don't forget it!" and then it trailed off quite hard (you're given an explanation near the end of the game, but it's so quick and short that what little build-up you had from Chapter 4, if it already hadn't left you by the time you reach Finale, is gone). Also, Chapter 8 sucks and was NOT fun in the slightest (but has good plot reasons for why it sucks and was not fun).
Speaking of Joshua, Mr. Dark and Brooding himself, had quite a story arc to build up, but ultimately ended up with him running around with sky bandits for a bit, trying to solo the big bad organization, and then having a very "dramatic" scene with Estelle.
Now, don't get me wrong, that scene is important for the character growth of both Estelle and Joshua. However, the scene is just so directly written that it lacks any real consequence or shows any major growth that could've happened in the time they were apart. Joshua says leave me alone, you're better off without me, I'm a terrible person, blah blah blah, and Estelle goes on her happiness rant, they get back together, yay, good for them. That's it. This is a recurring issue not only within this game, but with a lot of Japanese media, whether it be in games, manga, anime, etc. The tendency to try and use so many colorful adjective to describe how great (or bad) a person is which ultimately gets flipped by "shut up, no you're not a bad person" happens far too often, and unfortunately it hits in one of the most important scenes of SC.
Now, despite the number of characters whose whole internal conflict or major wall-to-overcome are skimmed over (Schera, Kloe, Kevin/Tita to a certain extent), I will give credit where it's due for these two characters: Agate and Zin.
Agate and Zin's respective arcs within the game are some of the better character developments I've seen within a JRPG (if not any game with direct character development). They both get a lot of screen-time and time to healthily develop past their issues (unlike Kloe who spends 85% of the game constantly bringing it up that she doesn't know what she wants to do), which honestly was a treat to play through.
All-in-all, Trails in the Sky SC is a direct sequel and direct improvement to FC in many ways. Beyond the continuation of the plot with the cliffhanger/introduction to the Society of Ouroboros, you have the serene music, the return of beautiful models/renders, a great camera, and the slight gameplay tweaks that FC sincerely could've used (a semi-free party system). SC does require you to play FC to understand the characters, world, and little intricacies, but it is very much worth it.
Trails in the Sky SC is a beautiful game and near-perfect sequel to FC. Picking up immediately where FC leaves off, Estelle gets all of her emotions jumbled up and then throws herself into combat training for fun times. The pacing of the beginning of the game feels quite nice, with each chapter having its main focus well written. Chapter 3 in particular was a great introduction to Renne and can catch any unsuspecting player completely off-guard if they aren't reading between the lines hard enough.
However, I have quite an issue with Chapter 4. The entire purpose of this chapter is just to be used as a plot device to showcase Estelle's depression and anxiety about Joshua which then gets neatly wrapped up with a bow after a dream sequence. Schera on the other hand who was heavily tied into Chapter 4 was mostly given a "we'll bring this up later, don't forget it!" and then it trailed off quite hard (you're given an explanation near the end of the game, but it's so quick and short that what little build-up you had from Chapter 4, if it already hadn't left you by the time you reach Finale, is gone). Also, Chapter 8 sucks and was NOT fun in the slightest (but has good plot reasons for why it sucks and was not fun).
Speaking of Joshua, Mr. Dark and Brooding himself, had quite a story arc to build up, but ultimately ended up with him running around with sky bandits for a bit, trying to solo the big bad organization, and then having a very "dramatic" scene with Estelle.
Now, don't get me wrong, that scene is important for the character growth of both Estelle and Joshua. However, the scene is just so directly written that it lacks any real consequence or shows any major growth that could've happened in the time they were apart. Joshua says leave me alone, you're better off without me, I'm a terrible person, blah blah blah, and Estelle goes on her happiness rant, they get back together, yay, good for them. That's it. This is a recurring issue not only within this game, but with a lot of Japanese media, whether it be in games, manga, anime, etc. The tendency to try and use so many colorful adjective to describe how great (or bad) a person is which ultimately gets flipped by "shut up, no you're not a bad person" happens far too often, and unfortunately it hits in one of the most important scenes of SC.
Now, despite the number of characters whose whole internal conflict or major wall-to-overcome are skimmed over (Schera, Kloe, Kevin/Tita to a certain extent), I will give credit where it's due for these two characters: Agate and Zin.
Agate and Zin's respective arcs within the game are some of the better character developments I've seen within a JRPG (if not any game with direct character development). They both get a lot of screen-time and time to healthily develop past their issues (unlike Kloe who spends 85% of the game constantly bringing it up that she doesn't know what she wants to do), which honestly was a treat to play through.
All-in-all, Trails in the Sky SC is a direct sequel and direct improvement to FC in many ways. Beyond the continuation of the plot with the cliffhanger/introduction to the Society of Ouroboros, you have the serene music, the return of beautiful models/renders, a great camera, and the slight gameplay tweaks that FC sincerely could've used (a semi-free party system). SC does require you to play FC to understand the characters, world, and little intricacies, but it is very much worth it.