Yes! Zero is a great place to start if you haven’t played one! It’s mostly an all new cast in a brand new country and the story is primarily about the new characters. There are a few returning characters in this game from the Sky trilogy (Zero is the fourth game in the overall series), but the new characters are meeting old characters for the first time so you won’t be lost.Hi friends, I have never played a Trails game but this one interests me, can I start with Zero?
Yeah Zero is too often pretty breezy by comparison for better or worse. If you knock enemies out on the field a team rush often obliterates them. There’s some gnarly equipment / quartz combos beyond that.Soooo close to the end with Zero. I'm in the final chapter but I don't think I've hit the final dungeon quite yet. I'll have other things to play but I'm not ready for the trails void it will leave once it's over! At least Azure and Reverie are coming relatively soon.
Also, I don't know if this game is supposed to be hard or not (on normal), but I feel like I've made some pretty busted equipment/quartz combos haha. I'm certainly not complaining though, I tend to avoid higher difficulties in these kinds of games. I feel like the Sky games on normal were a bit more difficult, though.
I haven't found too much yet, but I'm still just at the end part of Chapter 1, so I know the broken stuff will be coming. There was a lot of great fun stuff in Cold Steel 1/2, like untouchable dodge-Fie, Super-strength-S-Break Laura, and magi-master Emma.Yeah Zero is too often pretty breezy by comparison for better or worse. If you knock enemies out on the field a team rush often obliterates them. There’s some gnarly equipment / quartz combos beyond that.
One of my favorites in Zero is definitely pouring resources into Tio early so she can cast amazing spells that hit everyone often. Hydro Cannon (which is a line attack) and then Avalon Gate were my favorites this playthrough. By the end of the game you can make her even stronger by cutting her casting time in half and her best weapon has a 20% chance of deathblows lol.I haven't found too much yet, but I'm still just at the end part of Chapter 1, so I know the broken stuff will be coming. There was a lot of great fun stuff in Cold Steel 1/2, like untouchable dodge-Fie, Super-strength-S-Break Laura, and magi-master Emma.
I played Zero and Azure last, but for the main party it’s probably the full SSS for me. Not a single dud in there whereas Sky I’m not a big fan of Schera, Class VII Elliot and Millium, and New Class VII Musse.I am done with Zero. What a joy of a game, I thought I did everything but I missed like 2 or 3 requests. I think I can understand why people like the series. Overall the game was great, the cast was top notch, epic soundtrack (specially at the end), goofy side characters, etc. I cant wait for Azure, I might do a NG+ before it, but I have FE and Octopath so will see. If I had to pick something that I was not a fan of, and this is a mega nitpick, is that towards the end I was barely using regular attacks on bosses and just spamming arts and crafts. My guess would be that given the battle system, its not a priority. I did have 1 go to craft, Burning Rage, the damage was insane.
For Trails fans which game has your favorite cast (as a group)? And was it the first game you played in the series? Cause that happens with series, funny enough playing P5R, I am enjoying it cause my first persona game was PQ2 lol.
I always find it hilarious that so many characters in Trails have these silly overblown nicknames. Like, who is giving them to them? I kinda like it with the senior bracers when they are a sort of combination of adventurers and investigators that do quests, so it’s reasonable that they’d end up as local folk heroes or something. A bit like superheroes. But with random generic bad guy from super secret evil organisation #4? Do they choose their own and just encourage their pals to keep saying it until it catches on?Just finished Chapter 1, and the game is still great and I’m having fun with it. But it just busted out probably my least favorite cliche from Cold Steel (or I guess maybe this game, since it was first?): The “mysterious figures look on from a distance and announce their names, AND nicknames, to the camera for literally no reason other than to tell the player” bit.
“Oho, it’s you, John Smith! Or should I say… the Raging Conflagration!”
“Well met indeed, Eliza Johnson… or rather, Specialty Enforcer Extraordinaire Number 37, the Doom Hope Destoyer!”
(okay I made these up but that’s not far off how this dialogue tends to go )
I was coming here to ask this, and then noticed it was already answered in the OP lol. Really looking forward to getting back to this series after Pokémon, and with Fire Emblem being late January I may be able to finish both Sky the 3rd and Zero in between.If you feel satisfied with Zero, your Trails journey can safely end with Zero as it doesn't end on a cliffhanger.
So much I want to say, but you are so close to the end. Can’t wait to hear what you think! As for your spoiler, I’ll do as best I can with info I think you’d have:I'm in the middle of Chapter 4, now, and the game is still really enjoyable but one negative I have so far is there's not a whole lot resembling an overall 'plot' per se and it feels pretty episodic. There are some lingering questions and some things that I'm sure will tie together, but I guess so far the only main thing that seems to be the biggest driver is the 'Revache vs. Heiyue' story, but even that doesn't have much of a story to it, it's more of a backdrop.
But then, that seems to be kind of Trails' thing: Lots of slow buildup of lore, factions, characters, etc., and then things will eventually happen that utilize them in interesting ways, but you have to be patient. As an example, some things that I've always been curious about that I still have basically no clue of even still, despite having played half of Trails in the Sky, all of Cold Steel 1 and 2, and most of this game:
Ouroboros show up in every game, I think, and I still have absolutely no idea who they are, what their goals are, or why they do what they do. IIRC some of this is talked about more in Cold Steel 2 especially but I've probably forgotten some of that, honestly .
I'm also really curious about the ancient lore stuff, that's what interests me the most: Stuff about the Valkyries, ancient Zemuria, artifacts, all of that stuff. And it seems to be VERY hidden and rarely talked about throughout the games.
So far the only things I feel like I'm missing out on having not played the whole Sky trilogy is there's clearly a lot in there with Renne that I don't have the backstory for, but otherwise this game has been great for a starting point. It even gives you a good look at some characters who will be in Cold Steel later, like Lechter (who I did not remember being the goofball that he is in this game, lol)
Great write up with tons of stuff I agree with and some I don't fully but even then I largely see where you are coming from! Having played the next five games already, I won't dive into a great bit here since I have a very full picture (so if I avoid topics you want to talk about, forgive me!) but I'll throw some Zero thoughts behind a spoiler tag. Super cool you are playing these games in order by the way. I went with the English release order of 1 > 2 > 6 > 7 > 3 > 8 > 4 > 9 > 5 by necessity using the Geofront fan translation for 4 and 5 as they released. Having/lacking knowledge that I wasn't/was supposed to have obviously impacted my opinion of these games, stories, and characters for better and for worse in unnatural ways, so I'm forever jealous of people who can go through as intended. (Incidentally why I'm so hyped for Reverie being the first game since Sky SC where I'll have all the game prior under my belt before playing it)Well, that's that. Feels surreal to finally play a new Trails game after waiting for over 2 years. Only two more months until Azure, and then there will finally be no more barriers to playing the full series (well, not counting the delayed localizations).
As for my thoughts on Zero...they're a bit complicated. Let's get this out of the way first. I liked this game a lot. It was great! But there are a lot of elements that I felt could've been handled a whole lot better. The obvious comparison here is Sky FC, and while Zero fixes some of Sky FC's worst aspects, it also regresses in some of its best aspects too.
I have a lot to say, so I'm gonna use spoiler tags to split everything up. Will have spoilers for all of the Sky trilogy, as well as Zero.
- The main highlight for me is, of course, Crossbell. Liberl was a great setting, but Crossbell is on a different level entirely. Seeing the town change over the course of the game, even if those changes are minor, is really cool to see, and is a great evolution from Sky FC's structure of traveling all of Liberl. While Sky FC moved you forward through the world, Zero makes sure that the world moves alongside you, which really helps you get attached to Crossbell.
- The sidequests are also better here, too. While I think they're equal from a writing perspective, the day-based structure of Zero makes it a lot easier to keep track of everything and set proper deadlines. It was way too easy to miss out on sidequests in Sky FC and SC, and that issue is pretty much eradicated here.
- The combat also sees a much needed improvement. It lacks the complexity that you can get in Sky SC and Sky the 3rd, but that's understandable given that you're starting from scratch here. What's important is that it takes off much faster than it does in Sky FC, which doesn't take the kiddy gloves off until the finale. There's a lot more room for customization in Zero, which helps keep the gameplay engaging. Grinding is also improved with the Team Rush ability.
- This is fairly minor, as Sky FC has a great OST too, but Zero's is my favorite one yet. Get Over the Barrier is absurdly good for a regular battle theme, and I really dig the other combat themes too. The overworld themes are also excellent.
- This one is more of an even split, but Zero's ensemble of side characters is fantastic, matching the high bar set by Sky FC. I don't think anyone here is as strong of a character as Nial, but it's still great overall. I guess maybe Sergei or Arios, although I'm expecting the latter to develop a lot in Azure.
- It's hard to really judge Zero's characters against Sky's, given that the Sky characters had three games to develop, but even taking Sky FC on its own I prefer that cast to Zero's. The chemistry between Estelle and Joshua is just off the charts. This is where Zero struggles a bit, as a lot of the character development between the SSS feels...unnatural, for lack of a better word. There's less chemistry between them compared to the Sky FC cast, for one, and a big reason for that is the lack of any downtime. Sky FC is great in this regard, spending a lot of time slowing things down and letting Estelle's relationships develop in a more casual setting. Zero is completely lacking here, relying on the player to buy that everyone in the SSS bonded off-screen, and it didn't quite land for me. The Crossbell Festival would've been the perfect time for that, but they let that opportunity pass them by. I do like what they did with Lloyd though; he's no Estelle, but he's a strong character overall. Definitely lacking his own Joshua though, which was a big reason why Estelle was such a great character.
- Sky FC also set up the rest of its cast better, in my opinion. Agate and Kloe in particular really shine here; Sky FC does just enough to get you hooked on their character development without being overbearing, and I think a big reason why is due to how the cast rotates between chapters. Character X joins the party, sets up their character arc, and then exits the party before overstaying their welcome. Zero tries to copy this formula a bit, but it doesn't work quite as well due to the main cast remaining permanent party members. Big pieces of backstory are seemingly dropped out of nowhere, like Randy's Jaeger origins or Tio's suffering at the hands of D∴G, but there isn't a lot of buildup to these revelations, and it isn't really capitalized on all that much. Elie has some great moments in Chapter 2, but then proceeds to have almost no effect on the later chapters. Randy's Jaeger origins are played up to be this big reveal, but have pretty much no impact on him or his relationship with the SSS whatsoever. Tio's backstory is the most important here, but it shows up so late that it feels almost inconsequential in a lot of ways. And this isn't even getting into the optional characters like Noel (who's entirely inconsequential), Wazy (who I adore, but also has a very minimal role here), Dudley (who's one of my favorite characters, really liked how they handled him), and Yin (I still don't understand why they revealed her identity as Rixia, felt way too premature and had no payoff at all).
- The resolution to the Renne story is wonderful, and it does tie in quite nicely with D∴G, but it ultimately feels very out of place. Estelle and Joshua showing up was a great surprise, and they don't completely overtake the story, but Renne's story with them is blatantly pulled from the Sky trilogy. The final scene with them making up with Renne is adorable, but that doesn't change the fact that it has pretty much no relation to the main plot threads of Zero whatsoever, so it definitely felt a bit off. Probably the biggest reason why I still fully recommend playing Sky over Crossbell first, even if Zero is a decent enough starting point.
- One of my biggest problems with Zero has to be D∴G. Sky FC handled the final antagonist perfectly, setting up the Intelligence Division early on and keeping them relevant throughout the whole game. Learning that they were behind everything is a great twist, but it doesn't feel like a complete asspull, and the connections all make plenty of sense. It's an earned twist, which makes it a great one. D∴G, on the other hand, shows up completely out of nowhere in Chapter 4, and while the connections to them all make sense, they feel a lot more forced due to how late they were introduced. Understanding the Intelligence Division's plot felt fair and rewarding, because the clues were there at the start, whereas everything related to D∴G is withheld to the final 10 hours of the game. Their plot also felt a bit ridiculous for Trails standards; a coup is a lot more logical than brainwashing an entire population.
- I'm not really sure who's the better comparison, but it doesn't really matter, because Richard and Weissman both kick the shit out of Guenter as antagonists. Richard, just like the Intelligence Division, is set up well beforehand, and while I thought they could have done a better job with him, he's still a great antagonist. Weissman, on the other hand, is a lot more shallow as a character, but his presence is so unabashedly evil and charismatic that it's hard not to love him as a villain, and he gets plenty of time to shine in SC. Guenter drops the ball in all of these areas: there's very little buildup for him as a character, his evil persona is rather boring and tropey, and he gets all of 15 minutes to justify himself as the main antagonist. It's impossible to get attached to him at all, especially considering how big of a heel turn he makes between his doctor persona and his crazy insane cult persona. It's not like there's a whole lot of room to improve him either, unlike Richard (who got some incredible development in SC and 3rd).
- I may not care for Guenter as a character, but credit to the game for pulling a fast one on me, as I didn't see it coming at all. I really should have, considering he's pretty much just a bootleg Weissman/Alba, but I was way more suspicious of Dieter Crois and Grimwood. Still am, actually. The former ascending to mayor feels like a disaster waiting to happen, and the latter is just...there. It's too suspicious for my liking.
- Lechter is still a goddamn treat to behold. Absolutely lost my shit when he showed up in Chapter 3, and I can't wait to see his shenanigans continue throughout the series. Kilika showing up was also an awesome surprise.
- It's better than Sky FC, but Zero definitely has a few tropey and/or uncomfortable moments. Pretty disappointing, given that Sky SC and 3rd did a great job of scrubbing themselves clean after Sky FC indulged a bit too heavily in them.
- They aren't terribly related, but I'm really interested to see what happens with Heiyue. Garcia aside (who was cool), Revache was pretty boring, but Cao and Heiyue have really piqued my interest. Can't imagine they just fade away, so their involvement in Azure has me intrigued.
- I brought them up before, but I also want to see what happens with Noel and Wazy in Azure, given that they seemingly join as permanent party members. Have to imagine the SSS learns of Rixia's true identity as well, and I hope Dudley joins as a permanent member eventually.
- KeA is adorable, but similarly with Renne, everyone's attachment to her feels a bit forced. It just happens so suddenly, and while I definitely understand the desire to protect her, everyone treating her as this magical panacea for everyone's problems felt a tad extreme.
Overall, I think I'd rank the games like this:
But things could of course change over time. Can't wait for Azure.
- Trails in the Sky the 3rd (absolutely love the anthology approach they took here, and the gameplay/bosses are fantastic)
- Trails in the Sky
- Trails from Zero
- Trails in the Sky SC (talked about my grievances in the main RPG thread)
Great write up with tons of stuff I agree with and some I don't fully but even then I largely see where you are coming from! Having played the next five games already, I won't dive into a great bit here since I have a very full picture (so if I avoid topics you want to talk about, forgive me!) but I'll throw some Zero thoughts behind a spoiler tag. Super cool you are playing these games in order by the way. I went with the English release order of 1 > 2 > 6 > 7 > 3 > 8 > 4 > 9 > 5 by necessity using the Geofront fan translation for 4 and 5 as they released. Having/lacking knowledge that I wasn't/was supposed to have obviously impacted my opinion of these games, stories, and characters for better and for worse in unnatural ways, so I'm forever jealous of people who can go through as intended. (Incidentally why I'm so hyped for Reverie being the first game since Sky SC where I'll have all the game prior under my belt before playing it)
Definitely want to say the stuff with Tio is actually built up a good bit before the full explanation, but a lot of it is behind way off the beaten path conversations. There's a big optional one in the hospital with the head nurse and I forget where but some details that start giving good hints about her relationship with Guy. I know some you get if you choose her in path splits. I focused on Ellie on my first playthrough and focused on Tio this time. I love Zero's structure because you really come to care about Crossbell, but with the whole world constantly open there's so much room to miss things unless you are playing with a guide handy and even then my preferred one for Zero still missed things I kept an eye out for. Same deal with the path splits which is frustrating, but thankfully isn't too extreme here. Well I say that, but I have no idea what may or may not be shared for Randy if you pick him all the time which is frustrating.
Zero with the official release was a replay for me, so I definitely kept a good eye out for foreshadowing and I did know what characters/signs to look for. NISA largely kept, but did alter the Geofront script at key points. I don't have the two in front of me, but in the Geofront version whatever Guenther's opening line was made me incredibly suspicious of him right off the bat whereas it was far more neutral in the official version. I could definitely see him being more of a curveball in the official version. I liked in my replay reexperiencing the scene where he almost captured KeA early as he seemingly innocuously suggests having her stay at the hospital a few days to run tests and seeing the parts where's he subtly a little pushy and in other ways where he backs off.
Not for any future game reasons which I won't discuss if they exist or not, but I totally was expecting Renne in Crossbell and how her story played out because there was a not very good anime OVA for Trails in the Sky SC that released on Blu Ray in America years ago and featured parts of her story that...didn't exist in Sky SC. I was impressed how Renne's story in Zero continued off the story beat introduced in Sky The Third's final door. Between those two games you really get a full picture of the Cult and its operations.
Other stuff:
Heck yeah Nial is awesome! Also agree I really enjoyed Lechter and Killika returning in this game.
I enjoyed all of the optional party members in this game and always threw them on my team. I don't think I can say more without implying anything sadly.
- Interesting that there's more Tio stuff that I missed. I unfortunately didn't really engage with Crossbell's citizens as much as I would've liked, so it's a shame that I missed out on that. She was probably the best non-Lloyd party member though, my issues mostly lie with how they handled Elie and Randy.
- Renne showing up in Zero wasn't a surprise at all given how 3rd went, and I should stress that I really do like how they concluded that narrative thread. Her reaction to the Hayworths, and then finding a home with the Brights is incredibly sweet. My main problem there is that it very much still feels like a Sky plot thread, rather than being properly incorporated into Zero. Felt a tad bit forced for my liking.
- In regards to the optional party members, I don't hate the implementation at all, especially since anyone on the bench still gets EXP. I mostly just don't understand why Noel was the most prominent one, at least in terms of time spent as a guest party member, given that she's incredibly flat as a character. Not bad or anything, she just has nothing of note to add, so it's weird that she got such special treatment. I also found it kinda strange that Wazy got the party member treatment over Wald, but Wazy is way more interesting so I sure as hell won't complain about that.
Huh, interesting. Wasn't planning on doing a replay, but I might power through on easy mode if there's really that much extra content.Yeah a big thing with Zero is that there are tons of details that all build toward big picture plot and character development and it's never obvious it's there and some of it even leads to hidden quests. Perhaps most infuriating since it is way out of the way, I don't know how often you stopped by the Rosenberg Doll Studio for example, but you can encounter Estelle and Joshua there in addition to Renne occasionally who incidentally also pops up around town a bit. Like the SSS totally has its own relationship with Renne that isn't really fleshed out if you just stick to the critical path. I think something to consider with characters like Renne in regards to this series in general, a lot of these characters stories extend beyond their main games. Definitely something to look forward to as you play the Trails games.
But yeah, in addition to the major NPCs like Wazy, Shizuku, Jona, Michel etc. there are NPCs connected to the main characters I'd check in with on each day like the casino owner, the factory owner, and some of the defense force members to get all of Randy's stuff for example. It's one of my favorite parts of the series that usually everyone matters, but in Zero at least with the world always open it's tedious at times to do full tours around the country each time the story/world advances. Definitely something to look into for a replay. Since you beat the game, I definitely made sure to check in on all of the characters who get involved in Mafia/Gnosia incidents for example. Really cool to follow those stories through and see how it all connects.
I'm also really looking forward to Azure even if for me its a replay. It has some of the highest highs in the series that'll be very fun to discuss and does a lot of cool and interesting things. Though it does have some of the lower lows three gross groping scenes actual groping, not like Zero's boob touchI'm pretty excited for Azure at this point, which I did not expect to be not too long ago. I really want to see how things play out and certain events happen. It also helps that the game isn't out until mid-March, so it'll be a decent bit after most of the other games I'm excited for early this year. Even if it'll probably end up being more of an April game since I have a LOT to play beforehand. But April is wide open, so that works! Azure will be a nice and very different game to play in the leadup to TotK.
I used this one for Zero that covers a very thorough playthrough. If you just played through Zero, I'd most recommend holding off and take a break before Azure and just start being more thorough there. But if you did want to do it, there is also the extra new game + only dungeon I've never seen so there is a cool incentive. Given the way this series works and with the Crossbell games especially, I feel no shame in checking against a guide for missables before big story advances.Huh, interesting. Wasn't planning on doing a replay, but I might power through on easy mode if there's really that much extra content.
Do you know of any good guides for this type of stuff?
Just as a heads up, there are a few characters and one particular plot thread that is very much a direct continuation of the Trails in the Sky trilogy. Not fully understanding said plot thread won't hurt your enjoyment of the game, but I'd say it's still important to be aware of its Sky origins, so that you won't feel like you missed something important in Zero.I decided to pick this game up today and now I stumble onto this thread! Can't wait to play it tonight, it will be my first dive into the series. I'm glad to get confirmation in the OP that it's indeed a good starting point. Unfortunately I always feel the need to start at the very beginning with game series even when there aren't any story concerns. LoH having story arcs spanning multiple games really made me shy away from getting in. No more!
Just as a heads up, there are a few characters and one particular plot thread that is very much a direct continuation of the Trails in the Sky trilogy. Not fully understanding said plot thread won't hurt your enjoyment of the game, but I'd say it's still important to be aware of its Sky origins, so that you won't feel like you missed something important in Zero.
As someone who didn't have that background, I don't think it hurt the game all that much. There's really only one or two scenes that you really feel like you're missing something (the main one being at the very end of the game). Definitely would have been better to have the Sky trilogy under my belt, but it's certainly not a deal breaker.Just as a heads up, there are a few characters and one particular plot thread that is very much a direct continuation of the Trails in the Sky trilogy. Not fully understanding said plot thread won't hurt your enjoyment of the game, but I'd say it's still important to be aware of its Sky origins, so that you won't feel like you missed something important in Zero.
I know, that wasn't my intention. I still think it's important to know ahead of time though, so that you don't mistakenly think that you missed something from earlier in the game.As someone who didn't have that background, I don't think it hurt the game all that much. There's really only one or two scenes that you really feel like you're missing something (the main one being at the very end of the game). Definitely would have been better to have the Sky trilogy under my belt, but it's certainly not a deal breaker.
Go for it!It’s on sale on the eShop right now. I guess I should try it out, shouldn’t I? It’s gonna be the first time I play a game in this series.
Thankfully there’s autosaves for your situation and in a worst case turbo mode (ZR or LR, I forget) and holding B to fast forward dialogue, but yeah you can manually save at anytime provided you aren’t in a cutscene. IIRC it’s the bottom main menu option (System?) and then again iirc the top option in that should clearly be marked Save. You’ll get used to the menus, they are pretty straightforward for JRPG standards and have largely useful info. Once you learn it too, you’ll be set for the series basically too.I started the game yesterday, I had no intention to do so right now but for whatever reason when I was about to go to bed I kind of wanted to play another RPG before Octopath 2 hits and opted between Trails and World Ends With You and grabbed them from the shelf, as I couldnt find my touchpen which usually is by the bed I opted for Trails.
I have never played any games in this franchise before so I didnt really know what to expect, all I knew was that this was the best way to get in to the game without having to play the very first one. So yeah I was kind of surprised when the game seemed to start right in the middle of something hah. But that turned out well..
Short impressions after my first hour or so - Writing seems cool, modern and quirky( game might be heavy on the dialogue?), nice looking and running, battles seems to be fun also. Though I must say, looking in to the menus when new to the game and a bit tired.. was very scary, that's a lot of stuff going on. And maybe I was a bit too tired right before shutting down last night, but I couldnt find a way to save?
Promising start, see if it grabs me,.