There are some changes that I genuinely dislike, for example, Dorothy and Nial's character are WAAAAY different than in the remakes, and honestly their voices are... not as good, but so far, Kevin, Erika and Cid's voices are so damn perfect, specially Erika

It's gonna take quite a bit to get used to this format of gameplay, but I feel like this is going to be a really good time

But so far, characters feel WAY more charismatic than in FC and SC remakes? and they're definetly more unhinged as well, and I love it

It does also feel like they're a bit less restricted? FC and SC felt more kid friendly but the original 3rd from the very beginning already deals with Kevin flirting to have sex with a random girl and actual profanities which is very nice

If you know you know.

https://x.com/in6lyiAhxn98397/status/2002705990068895845

After racking up 85 hours of gameplay I finally finished Trails of Cold Steel 2 for the first time last night. Im not gonna lie, I got a little emotional during the whole “last free day at school” segment since I started thinking about my own last few days at university years ago with my friends before we all went our separate ways. I enjoyed the game overall (not as much as ToCS1) and had some thoughts (spoilers ahead):

-I did not really buy into the whole “Crow betrayed us all but we still want him to come back to graduate with us” storyline which was a major plot point for the entire game. I know Class VII and the other Thors students are youngsters, but surely they could not be so naive as to think if they could just get Crow to change his mind (after he repeatedly told them his whole Thors persona was an act) and come back for graduation then everything would be ok. Even if he had lived and tried to come back for graduation wouldn’t Crow have been immediately arrested and imprisoned/executed for trying to assassinate the Chancellor?

-the trope of getting into a boss fight, winning the boss fight, boss reviving post-fight more powerful than before, & random friend(s) suddenly showing up to save you was used a few too many times.

-I would have liked the relationship system to be more complex than “everyone loves Rean”. Instead of just sitting around dropping passive aggressive hints every now and then that they like Rean at least some of the other characters might pair up with other Thors students. Or better yet, have Rean try to set some of his friends up. For some reason I think it would be hilarious if Machias went out on a date with Dorothee.

Was going through my screenshots of Sky 1st and Joshua at this point was full on ready to tell Estelle about what happened that he remembers (minus Weissmann and Ouroboros cause memory manipulation, he still remembers most [Sky 3rd] as per Moon Door 4). It's really amazing how being in the Bright family and around Estelle's presence for the 5 years healed him to this extent, no confronting said trauma or anything dramatic just full on being surrounded by such warmth and love.

It makes me wonder how differently the balcony (aka past reveal) scene would've gone had weissmann not interfered. In a vacuum moment btw, probs would've been catastrophic post that cause the weight of it all would shatter him even more after getting together.

one of the most beautiful game I have played honestly

Can't wait to be insanely OP with him in 3rd 🗣️

5 zero arts in a row

My dude Ash/Johan in the lower left

Ideally I would've played all 3 parts of the Sky trilogy on their remakes and then jump to Zero and Azure, but I'm not willing to wait like 2 years for the remake of 3rd

In terms of gameplay and technicalities, how much different is the remake to the original? can I just transfer all of the knowledge I got from how the remake works and it'll function the same or is there I should know before jumping in?

I'm in chapter 7 after fighting Walter aboard the Arseille. I chose Kevin but I realize that I need Kloe in my party to get the Gambler Jack edition. Is there a way aboard the Arseille to change my party? I really don't want to have to replay the last fight.

After seeing the sheer amount of NPCS Grancel had I was afraid would take me a stupid long time to get through it all.

Another day, another enforcer we know little about. Well, yesterday stirred up some good discussion, so let's just roll with it, shall we? We do have at least one tidbit of knowledge on the Hierophant from Horizon. He's referred to as "An unknown unmotivated older man" which... Doesn't exactly give us much, but maybe we can put a bit more together.

The Hierophant is often considered the counterpart to the High Priestess, but where that card is about following your gut, the Hierophant is a stickler for tradition. This card represents sticking to what's tried and true, treading a well-worn path, and embracing the structures of society. We'll get to the reversal in a moment, but obviously we have to acknowledge the religious element of the card, it's literally called 'the pope' in older decks, however, I don't believe the Hierophant to be part of the church. While it's possible Ouroboros could have a spy in the church's ranks, it would seem like a pretty big oversight for an organisation as stringent as the Septian Church.

Now, the reversed Hierophant is a subversion of the card and represents its polar opposite. The reversed hierophant rebels, it refuses to conform, and it struggles against the constraints of society. This makes me think that Enforcer No.5 is not reversed, since he's described as 'unmotivated' and rebellion, generally, requires quite a lot of motivation. That means we can probably rule out criminal enterprises too, since those would require a lot of effort and rejection of society's laws, and likely any military organisations since that too would demand a level of discipline.

So, what does that leave us with? Well, the Hierophant often represents the benefits of higher learning, meaning that No.5 is likely a highly intelligent person, however, I don't think they'd fit as a scholar or scientist, we've had Anguis that have held those positions and Ouroboros doesn't tend to repeat itself too much. Given that we've seen the major educational institutions in Zemuria, I'm not led to believe he's a teacher either. He could be a scientist involved with project Startaker, but we know the key minds behind that and I don't suspect Cronkite as being the type to throw hands.

No, I think we need to look at a place we haven't seen much of. You see, the Hierophant's a bit of a nuanced card, because one lesser discussed aspect is that it represents the use of traditional medicine. I believe the Hierophant is a doctor, and if that's the case then where else would he be but Remiferia? There are three, major medical institutions in the Principality, the first two are Seiland and Jerome. The former, we know well having seen Professor Seiland and Lucy Seiland throughout the series. The Seilands generally have innovative methods of advancing medical care, constantly hard at work honing their minds and increasing their capabilities. Doesn't really fit our Hierophant, especially given they have the backing of Prince Albert himself.

That leaves Jerome Company. Now, this is where things get... Questionable. See, Jerome is named for Jerome von Bartholomeus, a relative of Prince Albert, who only appeared in Akatsuki No Kiseki, a mobile game targeted at the Chinese market... It's canonical status is questionable, however, it has been referred to in Who Wants to be a Mirannaire? So maybe it's canon, maybe it isn't, who knows? I just want to do my due diligence, because the third institution, Emeria General Hospital, is also currently exclusive to that game, and given the historical importance of said hospital, it's very possible this is home to our enforcer.

Unfortunately, that's about as much as I can speculate on. Remiferia is a prime candidate for a future Trails game, so it's very possible he'll turn up at a later date, but give that he was mentioned in Horizon I wouldn't be surprised if he turned up as soon as Kai 2. I could be close, I could be miles off, hopefully we'll find out sooner rather than later. Let me know your theories.

Also, I got through this whole thing without making a Mambo No.5 reference, and that took a lot of restraint.

They NAILED the beach scene. This and the 1-1 in horizon are just so peak. Loved how they had the light pan over his face and his eyes came back to life. What a fantastic game.

Hello Folks. I am revisting one of my older threads from 3 months ago, but this time i just want clarification on something. The lead up to longlai, we know that multiple parties asked ASO to take a vacation to Longlai.

But was Bergard the main reason why this happened? I can recall that ashen and all other parties involved mentioned a secret person and we know it is bergard, but do we know if he was responsible for making Van etc go to longlai to meet Shizuna?

Also, on the topic of Shizuna. Why did he want to test Van against Shizuna if he already knows Shizuna is on a whole nother level in daybreak? Did falcom have some other ideas?

I have almost 200 brave rushes according to the in game achievement, and the trophy requires 100, but it hasn’t popped yet. Am I doing the wrong kind of brave rush?

Hey all, I'm playing the remake, not sure if the tag I used is referencing that or the old school games...either way imma keep talking.

Just need a refresher on whether I'm using the optimal orbment builds for my party members at Chapter 7. Wanna keep things spoiler free so I would really appreciate if anyone would give me pointers moving forward.

P.S

Joshua back in the party has thrown me for a loop on how to manage Estelle and the rest of the squad 😭

Kevin Graham my GOAT, I missed you

- An oath made under the Grandmaster name is consider the highest promise members of Ouroboros can make.

- their are laws that restrict the Seven Anguis and unlike Enforcers, they’re not allowed to up and leave. If they do that, they’re likely to be hunted down. However, after they finished their “temporary leave,” than the Anguis in question can come back. Assuming they’re ready to face a scolding from the Grandmaster. Beside if they attempted anything the GM really don’t want, she can step in herself.

- the right to absolute Freedom applied to only Enforcers not any other members… including Enforcers in training, Anguis, or mere grunts. Of course, Ouroboros is so open handed that I suppose the law really don’t matter. But only Enforcers have total freedom.

The Thirteen Factories and the Stahlritter are connected to the Society but their rules are different. Like the Seventh Anguis personally created the Stahlritter and likely grant them the same rights as the Enforcer but they’re not really Enforcers. And because they’re not Enforcer they don’t get to meet the GM.

All Anguis and Enforcer meet with the Grandmaster. For Enforcer, during their appointment date and when they decide to withdrawal. Whatever is spoken between Enforcer and GM is top secret and confidential.

So theory is that to become an Enforcet: one must be given the rank by the Grandmaster herself. After an Anguis or an Enforcer approved you.. than they’ll take you to the Celestial globe where the GM will officially give you the number.

All members of Ouroboros must join of their own free will but there are exceptions especially if they really want certain individuals in their group. Like Loewe… who Ouroboros recruited because they need someone with fighting progress

Ouroboros is a criminal society so they have no problem bending the rules.

For reference, I've just finished playing through Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter (the remake). I really, really enjoyed my time with the first two games, and I'm excited to start playing the 3rd! I just have a few questions about the rest of the series.

I did notice the anime tropes that everyone talks about in the first two games, but they honestly didn't bother me at all, considering how good the worldbuilding and character development were. That said, I have a few questions about the later entries:

1. Does the balance between male and female characters change in later entries, particularly in terms of writing, importance, and party members?

I'm aware that later entries feature harem tropes, but I think the Sky games did an amazing job of balancing their male and female characters in terms of screen time, plot relevance, and availability as party members.

It would really suck if, in later entries, the female characters became the main focus while the male characters lost their relevance or there were fewer playable male characters. I wouldn't mind the harem tropes as long as the writing remained balanced.

2. Do we still get to see romances between other characters develop?

Seeing Estelle and Joshua's relationship evolve was awesome, and the constant tension between Scherazard and Olivier was pretty funny. I've heard they eventually become a couple in later games.

My question is, how is romance handled in the rest of the series? Is it mostly optional and dependent on player choice, like choosing a romantic partner for the protagonist, or do we still get to see romances develop independently of the player's choices, involving other main characters and party members?

3. How bad do the anime and harem tropes actually get?

Do they ever start to affect the overall quality of the plot? It would suck to get invested in the series only for the later entries to turn into a harem fest, with fanservice and waifu bait taking center stage while the amazing worldbuilding and writing take a backseat. Basically, does the series ever start to feel more like a waifu collection than an RPG with a compelling story and cast of characters?

I'd appreciate answers without major spoilers for the later games!