A welcome departure from the usual Trails formula without ever feeling derivative. Whereas most other Trails games focus on a larger-scale narrative, Kuro 2 opts to explore the intricacies of the main cast's dynamics. That's not to say that there are still aren't stakes, but they, to me, feel a lot more interpersonal with them tying into the overarching theme of humans and sin.

I do very much enjoy the route structure returning from Hajimari while also blending the 3 act structure from CS2/4. It helped keep the story consistently engaging despite a few sections not being particularly interesting for me. What sets Kuro 2 apart from the games before is its inclusion of the time rewinds and bad ends which helps add tension to almost every scene and action the characters make.

With this game being more character-driven than most, it has some immensely resonant scenes with the connect events in particular being the prime example of that. Kuro's cast is phenomenal and maybe the best in the series to date counting those outside of the Solutions Office. The villains too were great, having great dynamics with the cast members while being interesting in their own right.

If I had to nitpick about anything in this game, it would be the music, more specifically the direction. The music in these games are almost always a huge hit and while I do like this game's soundtrack, the bad direction is very noticeable to even someone like me who isn't particularly knowledgeable on music theory. Though with its weird utilization of certain songs in the wrong moments and spamming others to the point of scenes being immersion-breaking or fights not being as weighty, it's hard to turn an eye to it.

One final highlight of experiencing this game was both the theories I had while playing and those that I now have once finished. As an avid lore merchant, this game certainly scratched that itch of immersing me more into the mythos of Zemuria and its factions. As the series heads into its final stretch, I'm as happy as ever to be a fan of Trails.

Also, that final boss fight might be the single greatest peak in the entire series.

A well-needed pallet cleanser after years of mediocrity. It feels fun to finally play an expansion that values your time and feels like a game more than a mandatory job. That being said, the in-game narrative direction and presentation are still pretty poor despite having very well-done side quests and an expanding lore that only grows more intriguing. I think viewing DF as the foundation for a future of WoW that's more grounded and is a return to form allows me to appreciate it a lot more than something that attempts to rectify what came before.