HELLO???? PEAK FICTION DEPARTMENT?????? I'D LIKE THE FILE A CLAIM!!!!!

Anyways in the SC review I mentioned it was tied for my favorite Trails game and Azure is the game it's tied with. Everything good about Zero is here and better. The gameplay is expanded on and has some fun new mechanics like combo crafts actually mattering and bursting which I barley used at first but came in very clutch in the late game. Combo crafts are pretty much your number 1 mini boss clearing tool and they're very good at that, I came to rely on them a lot but like an inverse of bursting they got worse at the game progressed, but man for how good they were early game I don't care. Then there's the BIG addition in Master Quartz, I think in this game Master Quartz are fine, they're just a tool to give some bonus stats in order and give you elemental points for higher tier spells than you would get normally. I have a problem with them in Cold Steel but that's not really this game's fault.

The game's story unlike Zero kicks it into high gear right away and basically never stops, if anything Lloyd's wacky ride through Crossbell only gets wackier as the game goes on. The game has some really great character moments for almost everyone (poor Elie got shafted here AND Zero despite being a main SSS member). I think the highlights were Randy, Lloyd, and of course KeA they were alright in Zero but Azure really made me care about them a lot more. As for Tio she kinda already had her arc in Zero so she doesn't do much here, but unlike Elie I think that's fine as she already got her time in the spotlight. Noel and Wazy are fun additions to the squad who also get some needed development, especially Wazy. Even the side cast get some cool moments, like Seregi, Zeit, Grace, and the last minute additions of Dudley and Rixia. I think the villains in comparison fall a bit flat, I think Dieter Crois is fine but Mirabelle kinda just felt like a lesser Weissman, and Ian COULD have been a cool twist villain if he didn't immediate go back on his actions after Lloyd talks to him for 2 minutes. But the game isn't about any of them hell none of them are even the final boss. And that's not to say ALL the villains are bad Wald is a great antagonist for Wazy and the SSS as a whole, and the Red Constellation is a cool overarching threat. But the core of the game is the SSS's relationship with KeA and Crossbell as a whole. And in that conflict I think it shines spectacularly. Crossbell was already an amazing setting and seeing it get fucked over from the trade conferenced to the red constellation attack really fucks the group up and makes them question if they can really protect Crossbell (they can't) but it doesn't stop them from trying. This on top of KeA betraying them for what she thinks is their own good really puts the SSS at their lowest. Seeing them throughout the endgame fight a battle they can't win but going on anyway because it's the right thing to do was really great. The ending is my favorite in the franchise and one of my favorite endgames period. The game's finale is actually perfect and the final boss couldn't be better.

On the topic of the final boss can we talk about how fucking good the Crossbell arc's soundtrack is? It nails literally every mood, from intense battles, to chill city vibes, to silly carnivals, brutal plot revelations? MAN there is nothing this soundtrack CAN'T do and it's yet to be topped in the series. Overall yeah Azure's kinda peak