Yeah, zero/azure is the turning point for me with the series too.. it feels like the writers are capitulating to some perception that people may be against canon romances and any character ever dying. (And they continue to do this for the most part with later Trails games, although there's still nice character moments, they don't really build to something we'd find in Sky...)

Sort of the narrative equivalent of stripping away the complexity of an action/movement game in favor of something considered more 'broadly appealing'.