Thanks for the nice review! Zero (on Switch) is our first ever console port, and our first physical release as well, so I'm especially happy with how it turned out (and that we could port such a great game).
Thank you for watching! I really appreciate all the work you and your team have done! Also, who do you need to talk to in order to get them Sky games on Switch? So many people in the comments here have been wanting to see that happen!
Thank you for such an awesome localization job. I grabbed the physical copy for switch for my collection and I grabbed it on steam to play on my steam deck. Thanks for the 16:10 resolution support during gameplay that is not normal for JRPGs. Especially 12 year old ones.
Zero/Azure are amazing games. Totally captivating story. I played the Trails series in release order for the most part after so many recommendations. Enjoyed the series going back to the 'Dragonslayer Legend Of Heroes' days. Despised the poor translation of the PSP Gagharv series. Prayed that one day the series would be given the artistry and care it fully deserved. Cold Steel series is all fine and very good. Genuinely thought Zero was not gonna get official love over here. Coming from Sky trilogy on PC expectations where so high. Being a 40 year old I genuinely thought I would never experience the kinda emotions I did with the likes of Grandia and FFVII back in the day. To think I would experience so many emotions with Zero all over again. Genuinely felt nostalgia. Really amazing. Congratulations to the team for fine work. Sky trilogy is in my heart forever. Zero/Azure really got me in the feels and surprised me however. The story captivating, the side content intriguing, the lore expansive. Genuinely didn't think ANYONE had the ability to give westerners a truly artistic and emotionally charged experience with Zero. Much respect to everyone involved. Here's to Azure rounding off this experience. Sky trilogy on Switch or it never happened lol All the best.
Thank you so much for making it 60 FPS on Switch! I was considering buying it on PC, but such a game is so much better on a portable device for me. Can't wait to buy it!
You guys are absolute legends. Well done on such a great port. Hope you are the ones in charge of azure coming to switch next year too. You guys are on fire. Thanks a bunch for all your hard work.
It's wonderful that people are finally getting to play what is my personal favourite arc in the entirety of Trails! The 'sacrificial lamb' is no more. :) Awesome review as always my man.
YEEEEES, the day has finally come. This is the first review of yours that I've watched for a game I've already beaten. I am now playing Azure on my Steam Deck. So looking forward to the next 120 hours.
Visuals like this have their own artistry and charm to them. Hand-drawn sprites in a 3D background remind me a lot of the PS1 era of RPG's, with Xenogears and Vagrant Hearts, and they lend themselves really well to anime artstyles. The "hand-drawn characters in polygonal 3D backgrounds" look is something we're seeing quite a bit of in the indie scene lately, even in platformers like Demon Turf, Tinykin and Here Comes Niko.
Are they really hand drawn though? I've played Sky, they just look like pre-rendered 3D models. Not bad looking, but doesn't have the same charm as some of the examples you've listed who use 2D sprites in 3D environment for better artistic effect. The models don't show any emotion, just blank faces with big eyes, all standing in the same stiff way. Emotion is portrayed through character portraits and little emote bubbles. I love Nihon Falcom's games, but visual direction isn't a selling point for them. In the examples you've listed the 2D sprites have so much more charm and emotion.
I am very happy that these two games are finally coming to the west! Although it's odd that they were never brought to the west when they were originally released on the PSP. This franchise has always interested me. It's a matter of time before a spend a couple hundred of hours from Trails in the Sky to Arise. I believe it will also be nice to play the game in release order like what was originally intended.
The Kiseki Nut has a very well done video talking about the history of the entire series and he does a good job of explaining why the original games never arrived here. But the TLDR is that it took 2-4 years for the Sky games to get localized because of the massive amount of text, so by the time both Crossbell games came out, the PSP would’ve been dead. Also, Arise?
Alex thank you SO much for pointing out this was a good place to start in your eyes! I have been putting off starting the Trails series as I don’t have a good way to play the Sky trilogy and the fandom always strongly insists to NOT start anywhere but Sky. Almost to a toxic degree if I’m being honest - like don’t even bother if you’re not gonna start with Sky. But the cult element and availability of this game have really made me want to just start here and I was waiting for someone I trust to give the go ahead that it’s a solid place to start. So I think I will (after I roll credits on FFXVI )
Wow some really strong praise for this game!! I am even happier that I decided to wait for this release after beating Cold Steel 2. I'm thinking of getting the steam version to play on my steam deck it looks like the game supports 16:10 resolution during gameplay for those that care about that stuff like me.
Bought this for the Switch today after watching your review. I've played Cold Steel 1&2, then Sky FC, and a little bit of SC but got too busy and decided to drop it, because I just couldn't give it the attention these games deserve, and that was six months ago. After seeing your video I'm thinking of just playing Zero and going back to the Sky trilogy down the line (I'm one of many people hoping for a console release by then bc my laptop has seen better days). Great review, thanks for reassuring me that this massive series doesn't HAVE to be played in necessarily the "correct" order. Love your content!
Inexpressible amounts of joy from this game officially coming out. Glad to hear you enjoyed this one! The SSS really are the best party, it's great that you get to stick with them for so long and learn everything about them.
@@BacklogBattle Yeah I really hope that it comes out early in 2023 (after the game flood in february I hope). Azure is right there for my favorites in the series (still biased toward Sky SC, and ofc Cold Steel 4)
What a magnificent review! I'm so excited to start this duology! Thanks again Alex for all your work. This praise must mean this game is something special.
@@sirmel11 sorry for the late response, I’m currently finishing Trails in the Sky SC and will be starting Trails the 3rd right after. My friend, who I’ve introduced trails to, just played through Cold Steel 1 because of me, but immediately jumped into Cold Steel 2. I’ve been trying to convince him to go all the way back to Trails in the Sky but he said he’ll go back to play the Crossbell arc as a compromise lol.
10:52 dude I totally agree. Every single one of these games puts a spell on me. Like, it’s all I want to do, I just wanna keep playing to see what happens in the story.
I wanted to thank you. I love the cold steel arc and was waiting for this one but I kind of became unsure if I wanted to play it. I can happily say that I will be Buying Trails from Zero tomorrow morning so I can play it when I get back form work. Thank you for the review.
I’m glad this seems like such a successful port; I’ve never played any of the series, and I’m only vaguely aware of what it’s about in the first place, so this seems like the perfect onboarding game. Great video, as per usual!
These type of rpgs with this kind of art work make me really appreciate the fact that there are games similar to this and octopath traceler making a come back it’s proven graphics don’t mean anything but these beautiful sprite style art is awesome
@@BacklogBattle ruclips.net/video/928ND5ow1lY/видео.html Thats so odd that some of my searches like this link and a few has them. And some dont. Im so confused
Happy trails from zero release day Alex and everyone! enjoy! just a heads up but in some regions the steam version isn't out yet and might take a bit or a while depending on where you are.
Condensed review. Played the game 2 years ago with a fan patch. The main story of this game is great and *mostly* grounded in reality and pretty unique for a J-RPG. Since you're a detective, it's all about taking on the corruption of Crossbell, which revolves around an Italian mafia like organization and an organization similar to the Chinese triad and the war between the two organizations plus a grand conspiracy that lurks in the shadows, there's also 2 minor gangs that you interact with as well. Crossbell basically has a lot of parallels to real world New York or Hong Kong, which is pretty cool. Plus there's some returning characters from the Sky trilogy and getting to see them again and how their story tied into this game has some major payoff if you played the Sky trilogy beforehand. Gameplay was basically standard Trails gameplay which I've come to know and love with a couple extra gimmicks thrown in, soundtrack was nothing short of a masterwork that you just expect from Falcom JDK Band, dungeon design was awesome as well. The game deserves every bit of praise it gets. From the detailed and immersive setting to the masterful character development and sprawling interconnected narrative that becomes crucial to the story of later entries in the series. This is a game that no J-RPG fan is going to want to miss and I can't wait to play it again as soon as my limited edition gets here in a couple days!
Damn.. I saw this and the other Switch Trails games on sale and thought I'd pick them up. Several RUclips videos later and I now have Trails of the Sky 1-3 on Steam Cold Steel 1 & 2 on PS4 Cold Steel 3 & 4 on Switch Trails from Zero on Switch Looking forward to diving in with more on the way!!
@@BacklogBattle I was going to jump in at the Cold Steel series but on watching a lot of vids I was then convinced to try and start at the beginning! 🙂
I played through Sky 1 & 2 first, then Cold Steel 1 & 2, and then just this year came back to finish Sky 3 and Zero. Next year will be busy, I'll be playing Azure, and Cold Steel 3 & 4 in rapid succession before Reverie comes out.
I cannot see myself playing on switch since iirc CS has no 1-2 on switch. And the save bonus transfer for reverie is gonna be gone since its cs1 to 4 also has bonus for reverie too
My copies are hopefully coming tomorrow! Hopefully we’ll one day get the Sky games on console. It will nice to actually experience in game some of what’s being referenced in the Cold Steel games. I know they are on PC, but personally I don’t have one to play them on T-T
@@BacklogBattle maybe not, but maybe he knows the people to talk to make it happen! As you said, there’s been a bunch of people that want to see it lol
I got the Switch versions by "other" means and bought the PS4 version for the trophies. The Switch versions rule due to all the features. Playing this games after CS is fun as you get a diferent perspective. Timeline-wise, they are parallell so it is quite cool. The PSP look actually adds to the experience imo. That is part of th charm of these old games. And due to that, they have to use many other tools in order to tell the story since there is no 3D to help.
God I'm still a little passed with how the PS4 version was treated. I pre ordered the PS4 Special edition way back in January of this year and with getting a PS5 recently, having that power + on a big TV would be a great experience. But to hear that this upgraded texture and sprite work wasn't done to it after this fact just rubs me the wrong way, like I'm gimped for deciding to get this version. Like not all players are going to experience the same "game" due to this weird decision (in a visual sense). I mean it'll still look better then when I played the PSP (before Geofront) version with one of those early english fan patches (memories of "big sister Cecile" XD)
I haven't started my Trails journey in earnest yet, but this is one of the ones I'm looking forward to the most. I'll probably end up getting both a PS4 and Switch copy. I want to experience both Falcom's Kai version in its original form, and the new Switch version as well! (double dipping on a game isn't anything new for me xD) in a a way, I'm kind of glad I (unintentionally) put it off for so long, since I have the opportunity to play the games in their chronological order :D
I just started Cold Steel and I’m head over heels with this series already. I’m tempted to just start zero after CS1 but I’m also thoroughly CS so I may just go backwards. I also don’t have a working PC so Sky is going to have to wait awhile.
I have the first two Trails in The Sky games on my Vita. I think I’m going to play those first, then jump into this one. I wish they would rerelease the Trails in The Sky games on modern consoles as well.
You may have already heard it, but it's worth repeating, skipping trails in the sky 3 would be a shame. Also, PC is now the best platform to enjoy the localized trails game.
@@yodastitch4227 I don’t have a gaming pc, so that’s not possible at the moment, otherwise, I would explore that option. I’m just fortunate to be able to play the first two, which is better than nothing.
am i the only one who likes the amount of character pool in cold steel? all 3 arcs (sky,crossbell,cold steel) are amazing! but cold steel is still my fave
Great review!! Already played the fan-translation but will definitely be getting this. Not day one, just because I’m so annoyed about NISA’s lack of transparency, but will get it nonetheless. Crossbell are my favourite Trails games so far.
I wanted to get into the trails series recently but am totally overwhelmed.. I don’t actually own a PC so not sure how to play some of them. Can I play this without the other games??
You will need a PC for the Sky games (unless XSEED does the unthinkable and ports them to modern consoles). But they are only a hard requirement for Cold Steel 3 onwards, so…
Great review I havent started with any Trails game I hear that its best to play it in order to appreciate the story despite that being said on your personal opinion which do you find better Trails of Zero or Trails of Cold steel? By way of Story and gameplay.
Just started playing the sky trilogy. Playing First Chapter with the English dub mod and its making all the difference. This is the second time I tried playing the game and it just didn't stick without the voices. Looking forward to catching up. I've been missing out.
I dont know if its because I have gotten impatient with age (33) but I hate slow burn stories in JRPGs, because I have so much to play through already. I am currently playing Kuro no Kiseki with the english patch, which is amazing, but I find myself skipping most story stuff or not enjoying it as much, because these games are so long to begin with. Dont know how I feel about this, it kinda annoys me, but I do enjoy the battle system, so I guess thats okay. Thanks for the review!
It hard to say. But the Kiseki games are very story driven. Much more as many other RPGs as each little npc has a mini story^^. They are really not made for people that don't like long burning RPGS. As you might not even get a satisfying conclunsion in one game as it is a part of the grander plot^^
Played this one originally when I bought it and applied the geofront patch last year or two I don't remember exactly. I liked it better than Trails in the Sky 1 actually. I guess it just didn't feel as slow as Trails 1. The music and story and characters are excellent. Apparently this game "sucks" compared to the second game but that's fanbases for you I guess. Gotta be so dramatic. I only played a little bit of Azure but I lost my copy of it on my PC when I nuked it for security reasons. I was burned out on playing Trails anyways as I was struggling to care to finish Cold Steel IV hah but did got the best ending too. Maybe someday I'll get to Azure when it gets the official release. That's another thing the loud parts of the fanbase consider this the worst place to start for some reason too because of basically one character. Nice review here though, I definitely recommended the game.
@@BacklogBattle Native controller support so no worries there. 👍 (when you brush the touch screen it'll flash the mouse and keyboard keys until you use the controller buttons again. Not really any different to other similar games a standard PC)
I think you can start at sky. Or skip sky completly. As going back to sky really doesn't feels great. The story is good especially in Sky SC. But you have to take a lot of steps backwards in gameplay if you do crossbell or even worse steel first:)
It looks really nice. Graphically right up my street but 76 hours. That is just too much time. What is there? Something like 9 games. 600+ hours to complete and I usually go way over standard hours so probably 800-1000 hours of story. Anyone over 16 with a life doesn't have 1000 spare hours.
This is why I’ve hesitated putting my hours played on the thumbnail as it represents my play time and not the community’s How long to beat clocks the game at 41 hours of playing just the main story to about 76 hours for a full completion. My hours played isn’t a 100% completion run, so I’ve still got side quests not done.
I’m beyond LIVID that I preordered this game via retail, and no one has received shipments. I didn’t want to digitally download this game. I almost don’t want to at this point because physical copies absolutely should’ve been available when they were promised. The ball was dropped, and I’m am not happy.
Is Zero the best JRPG ever made? Lol no. The game scale is pretty small, you only have 4 permanents party members, spend the whole game in 1 city and it's surroundings and don't get to save the world. And to be fair, it's one of my favorite JRPG I've ever played. This game is not for everyone, but I was excited to see how good a JRPG set in a single city would be, and I was not disappointed. At the time, I was hoping to get away from Cold Steel bloated cast and to see a more personal story, it's also quite nice to see how you end up learning who most of the NPCs in the game are since you can always pay a visit to everyone in every chapter.. Zero did not disappointed, it turned out to be exactly the kind of game I wanted to play at the right moment. So if you are looking for something similar, I'm sure you'll love this, otherwise, you can give it a chance, but I can't claim you'l like it as much as I did.
I want to get this for switch because its a superior version compared to ps4 thanks to Durante but my copies of the cold steel games are in ps4 and I wanted to get these games on a single platform outside pc. Maybe if switch gets english releases for the first 2 cold steel games. Also hoping Sky trilogy gets a collection release for modern platforms
I mean u can start with zero, the only problem is that one of the biggest payoffs that has been built over the course of the sky series will simply not hit very hard for people starting with this game(I am of course talking about the scene from the end of the game)
If a person is discouraged from starting in the first place, the payoff doesn't really matter since they never started to begin with, right? Better to start with one game than to never even start.
@@MarluxiaX2 What is my blud waffin about😭😭😭 Literally said in the first sentence that u can start with this game, just that one major payoff won't hit as hard
I still think trails of the sky 1 and 2 are a good start (you can skip 3 if you want as it is a side story) Not only is it the real start and set up for everythink in Crossbell and cold steel. It also not easy to go back to the simple battle system of sky 1 after Steel or Crossbell. Estelle is also the best protagonist of the whole trails serie^^
@@BacklogBattle don't be a fool, and play them on PC. They will most likely not get another version never again, due to licencing issues. Also, Sky the 3rd is one the most important game of the series in terms of lore, don't even think about skipping that one.
See stuffs like this (PS4 version being the worst) + lack of initial games on PS keeps me away from getting into Trails series as much as I would love to. Truly sucks.
@@BacklogBattle but its the truth you can mod the pc and play it on steam deck you can also mod the exclusive vita quest on PC which is missing in this version and you can also mod the music to evolution.
I came into this as having played sky but none others, kind of feels like you are assuming we've played cold steel and none else because you keep bringing up things in cold steel that verge on spoilers :(
Because before people can even care about taking in a series the right way, the most important thing they care about is whether or not they should invest their time in a series.
i liked your review but PLEASE stop recommending people to not play in order, they are only doing a disservice to the series by doing so because they were meant to be played in order sure you can start in zero or cold steel 1 if you want but the way to get the best experience playing the series is starting with sky FC and that’s just a fact.
I won't because that's pretty much the number one reason why many RPG fans have passed on the Trails series. Telling them that they have to start on game 1 of a 10 game arc ending with Reverie is a sure way to discourage them from ever starting a single game. Even creators like The Kiseki Nut and LadyVirgilia started with or recommended folks to start with Cold Steel, with TKN going back and playing through the games he missed. You can't force someone who's interested in a later game to play an earlier game "because it's the best experience" since they don't even know what to expect. That's like really sick car dealer type stuff. "I know you want this Mercedes Benz, but here's a Smart car! It's like driving a Benz because we make it!" At the end of the day, I want people to try the series out. That's how you get people interested, not by telling them that they gotta jump through hoops just to play that one game they asked you about that they're really interested in.
@@BacklogBattle im not saying everyone needs to start with Sky, all im saying is that you need to be specific and tell people that starting with Sky is the BEST way to experience the series, since it was designed that way, you can start with pretty much any game you want at the end of the day but starting with sky FC willl undoubtedly always be the best option, and no one who has started with Sky has ever regretted playing in order since you see all the dots connecting and how the entire story develops from beginning to end.
No. Quit trying to think that people want to spend hundreds of hours playing through content before the game they actually want to start off with. End it.
@@BacklogBattle Why did it take them so long to finish it then? They were able to do the Trails of Cold Steel games in about a year and those were all dubbed in English. If they were going to take a year off and get even further behind on the new games they should have atleast dubbed it. Sounds like alot of their work was already done for them by the geofront people.
This is going to be my 1st Trails game, ive only heard good things about this one! I preordered the switch deluxe edition from best buy so I could get the physical edition!
Thanks for the nice review! Zero (on Switch) is our first ever console port, and our first physical release as well, so I'm especially happy with how it turned out (and that we could port such a great game).
Thank you for watching! I really appreciate all the work you and your team have done!
Also, who do you need to talk to in order to get them Sky games on Switch? So many people in the comments here have been wanting to see that happen!
Thank you for such an awesome localization job. I grabbed the physical copy for switch for my collection and I grabbed it on steam to play on my steam deck. Thanks for the 16:10 resolution support during gameplay that is not normal for JRPGs. Especially 12 year old ones.
Zero/Azure are amazing games. Totally captivating story. I played the Trails series in release order for the most part after so many recommendations.
Enjoyed the series going back to the 'Dragonslayer Legend Of Heroes' days. Despised the poor translation of the PSP Gagharv series. Prayed that one day the series would be given the artistry and care it fully deserved. Cold Steel series is all fine and very good. Genuinely thought Zero was not gonna get official love over here.
Coming from Sky trilogy on PC expectations where so high. Being a 40 year old I genuinely thought I would never experience the kinda emotions I did with the likes of Grandia and FFVII back in the day. To think I would experience so many emotions with Zero all over again. Genuinely felt nostalgia. Really amazing.
Congratulations to the team for fine work. Sky trilogy is in my heart forever. Zero/Azure really got me in the feels and surprised me however. The story captivating, the side content intriguing, the lore expansive. Genuinely didn't think ANYONE had the ability to give westerners a truly artistic and emotionally charged experience with Zero. Much respect to everyone involved.
Here's to Azure rounding off this experience.
Sky trilogy on Switch or it never happened lol
All the best.
Thank you so much for making it 60 FPS on Switch! I was considering buying it on PC, but such a game is so much better on a portable device for me. Can't wait to buy it!
You guys are absolute legends. Well done on such a great port. Hope you are the ones in charge of azure coming to switch next year too. You guys are on fire. Thanks a bunch for all your hard work.
It's wonderful that people are finally getting to play what is my personal favourite arc in the entirety of Trails! The 'sacrificial lamb' is no more. :)
Awesome review as always my man.
And thank you for the help with the footage! Wouldn't have been able to do the comparisons without your help!
I thought the portraits were gonna be animated with lip movements and eye blinks. Was i wrong? That's only for the Evo version?
As a long time subscriber I just wanted to say you are killing it woth these reviews Alex! Thank you!
Thank you so much!
YEEEEES, the day has finally come. This is the first review of yours that I've watched for a game I've already beaten.
I am now playing Azure on my Steam Deck. So looking forward to the next 120 hours.
Visuals like this have their own artistry and charm to them. Hand-drawn sprites in a 3D background remind me a lot of the PS1 era of RPG's, with Xenogears and Vagrant Hearts, and they lend themselves really well to anime artstyles. The "hand-drawn characters in polygonal 3D backgrounds" look is something we're seeing quite a bit of in the indie scene lately, even in platformers like Demon Turf, Tinykin and Here Comes Niko.
Are they really hand drawn though? I've played Sky, they just look like pre-rendered 3D models. Not bad looking, but doesn't have the same charm as some of the examples you've listed who use 2D sprites in 3D environment for better artistic effect. The models don't show any emotion, just blank faces with big eyes, all standing in the same stiff way. Emotion is portrayed through character portraits and little emote bubbles. I love Nihon Falcom's games, but visual direction isn't a selling point for them.
In the examples you've listed the 2D sprites have so much more charm and emotion.
I am very happy that these two games are finally coming to the west! Although it's odd that they were never brought to the west when they were originally released on the PSP. This franchise has always interested me. It's a matter of time before a spend a couple hundred of hours from Trails in the Sky to Arise.
I believe it will also be nice to play the game in release order like what was originally intended.
The Kiseki Nut has a very well done video talking about the history of the entire series and he does a good job of explaining why the original games never arrived here.
But the TLDR is that it took 2-4 years for the Sky games to get localized because of the massive amount of text, so by the time both Crossbell games came out, the PSP would’ve been dead.
Also, Arise?
@@BacklogBattle I had a brain fart I was thinking of Reverie, but for whatever reason I was conflating Tails of with Trails of in my head.
beacuse their studio is too small even time and resource . For example .All Chinese vision made by agent
@@RegalPixelKing it’s ok! My wife confused them all the time too lol
Alex thank you SO much for pointing out this was a good place to start in your eyes! I have been putting off starting the Trails series as I don’t have a good way to play the Sky trilogy and the fandom always strongly insists to NOT start anywhere but Sky. Almost to a toxic degree if I’m being honest - like don’t even bother if you’re not gonna start with Sky.
But the cult element and availability of this game have really made me want to just start here and I was waiting for someone I trust to give the go ahead that it’s a solid place to start. So I think I will (after I roll credits on FFXVI )
Wow some really strong praise for this game!! I am even happier that I decided to wait for this release after beating Cold Steel 2. I'm thinking of getting the steam version to play on my steam deck it looks like the game supports 16:10 resolution during gameplay for those that care about that stuff like me.
I really enjoyed it a ton! Well worth the wait!
Bought this for the Switch today after watching your review. I've played Cold Steel 1&2, then Sky FC, and a little bit of SC but got too busy and decided to drop it, because I just couldn't give it the attention these games deserve, and that was six months ago. After seeing your video I'm thinking of just playing Zero and going back to the Sky trilogy down the line (I'm one of many people hoping for a console release by then bc my laptop has seen better days). Great review, thanks for reassuring me that this massive series doesn't HAVE to be played in necessarily the "correct" order. Love your content!
Thank you so much! Games are awesome, and I believe the more people get to play what they want, the better it’s going to be for everyone!
Inexpressible amounts of joy from this game officially coming out. Glad to hear you enjoyed this one! The SSS really are the best party, it's great that you get to stick with them for so long and learn everything about them.
The only thing that sucks now is that Azure isn't out! I want more adventures with the SSS!
@@BacklogBattle Yeah I really hope that it comes out early in 2023 (after the game flood in february I hope). Azure is right there for my favorites in the series (still biased toward Sky SC, and ofc Cold Steel 4)
What a magnificent review! I'm so excited to start this duology! Thanks again Alex for all your work. This praise must mean this game is something special.
It really is. Especially since it just snuck up and didn’t expect it to be so good!
Are you going to take breaks or play through all of them?
@@sirmel11 sorry for the late response, I’m currently finishing Trails in the Sky SC and will be starting Trails the 3rd right after. My friend, who I’ve introduced trails to, just played through Cold Steel 1 because of me, but immediately jumped into Cold Steel 2. I’ve been trying to convince him to go all the way back to Trails in the Sky but he said he’ll go back to play the Crossbell arc as a compromise lol.
10:52 dude I totally agree. Every single one of these games puts a spell on me. Like, it’s all I want to do, I just wanna keep playing to see what happens in the story.
I wanted to thank you. I love the cold steel arc and was waiting for this one but I kind of became unsure if I wanted to play it. I can happily say that I will be Buying Trails from Zero tomorrow morning so I can play it when I get back form work. Thank you for the review.
This pleases me so much! I hope you enjoy your time with Zero! It was a surprisingly incredible experience!
I’m glad this seems like such a successful port; I’ve never played any of the series, and I’m only vaguely aware of what it’s about in the first place, so this seems like the perfect onboarding game. Great video, as per usual!
Thank you so much! Glad to have helped!
Amazing review! Was waiting for this one. Thanks 🙋🏻♂️
You’re welcome!
Thanks for this. I’ve played none of the Trails games yet, so I feel better about starting with it. I also ❤️ an RPG that lets you speed up battles.
You’re very welcome! I hope you enjoy it!
I will play it on the Steamdeck, that arrived just in time yesterday! Can't wait to finally close this gaping hole in my Trails history
It'll just be a partially gaping hole, once you beat Zero!
@@BacklogBattle Haha, I know. But Azure isn't too far away either. It is finally happening!
These type of rpgs with this kind of art work make me really appreciate the fact that there are games similar to this and octopath traceler making a come back it’s proven graphics don’t mean anything but these beautiful sprite style art is awesome
Agreed! Sometimes, graphics aren't everything! One aspect of a game can make a game standout!
Best arc🤩
I thought the portraits were gonna be animated with lip movements and eye blinks. Was i wrong? That's only for the Evo version?
I quickly looked up playthroughs of the Evo versions and that didn’t have lip movements either
@@BacklogBattle ruclips.net/video/928ND5ow1lY/видео.html
Thats so odd that some of my searches like this link and a few has them. And some dont. Im so confused
Happy trails from zero release day Alex and everyone! enjoy! just a heads up but in some regions the steam version isn't out yet and might take a bit or a while depending on where you are.
Belated happy Zero release day!
Condensed review. Played the game 2 years ago with a fan patch.
The main story of this game is great and *mostly* grounded in reality and pretty unique for a J-RPG. Since you're a detective, it's all about taking on the corruption of Crossbell, which revolves around an Italian mafia like organization and an organization similar to the Chinese triad and the war between the two organizations plus a grand conspiracy that lurks in the shadows, there's also 2 minor gangs that you interact with as well. Crossbell basically has a lot of parallels to real world New York or Hong Kong, which is pretty cool. Plus there's some returning characters from the Sky trilogy and getting to see them again and how their story tied into this game has some major payoff if you played the Sky trilogy beforehand.
Gameplay was basically standard Trails gameplay which I've come to know and love with a couple extra gimmicks thrown in, soundtrack was nothing short of a masterwork that you just expect from Falcom JDK Band, dungeon design was awesome as well.
The game deserves every bit of praise it gets. From the detailed and immersive setting to the masterful character development and sprawling interconnected narrative that becomes crucial to the story of later entries in the series. This is a game that no J-RPG fan is going to want to miss and I can't wait to play it again as soon as my limited edition gets here in a couple days!
Thanks for sharing! I love how so many people are passionate about Crossbell!
This game is very interesting to me but I have never played a trails game before, will I be lost story wise?
@@Swagzillaaye nope. Someone in the comments said it too, but the Crossbell story is pretty self contained. It’s a great introduction to the series
Damn.. I saw this and the other Switch Trails games on sale and thought I'd pick them up. Several RUclips videos later and I now have
Trails of the Sky 1-3 on Steam
Cold Steel 1 & 2 on PS4
Cold Steel 3 & 4 on Switch
Trails from Zero on Switch
Looking forward to diving in with more on the way!!
Wow! All you really need now is Azure in March and Reverie in July and you’ll have all of them!
@@BacklogBattle I was going to jump in at the Cold Steel series but on watching a lot of vids I was then convinced to try and start at the beginning! 🙂
I played through Sky 1 & 2 first, then Cold Steel 1 & 2, and then just this year came back to finish Sky 3 and Zero. Next year will be busy, I'll be playing Azure, and Cold Steel 3 & 4 in rapid succession before Reverie comes out.
Only review I need! I honestly thought this game was months away it crept right up.
Aww thank you so much! This means a lot to me!
I cannot see myself playing on switch since iirc CS has no 1-2 on switch. And the save bonus transfer for reverie is gonna be gone since its cs1 to 4 also has bonus for reverie too
I’m trying to buy this game digitally on the switch but it’s not giving me the option for some reason?
What region are you in? Maybe it's due to that?
Great video! This will be my first Trails game, I can't wait!
Enjoy and I hope you have a blast!
So excited to get to the later games :) still on SkySC
Almost there! Only 3rd to go after SC!
My copies are hopefully coming tomorrow!
Hopefully we’ll one day get the Sky games on console. It will nice to actually experience in game some of what’s being referenced in the Cold Steel games. I know they are on PC, but personally I don’t have one to play them on T-T
I already bugged Durante about it in the comments but he’s not responsible for approving that haha
@@BacklogBattle maybe not, but maybe he knows the people to talk to make it happen! As you said, there’s been a bunch of people that want to see it lol
I got the Switch versions by "other" means and bought the PS4 version for the trophies. The Switch versions rule due to all the features. Playing this games after CS is fun as you get a diferent perspective. Timeline-wise, they are parallell so it is quite cool. The PSP look actually adds to the experience imo. That is part of th charm of these old games. And due to that, they have to use many other tools in order to tell the story since there is no 3D to help.
back again looking at this to add to the backlog. tempted to do from zero and the next 2, but no time but want to!! grr
As Arnold Schwarzenegger said, "The day has 24 hours." If you need time, make it!
@BacklogBattle many things to juggle. But I think this soon. Maybe wouldn't drop like p5 and dq11
God I'm still a little passed with how the PS4 version was treated. I pre ordered the PS4 Special edition way back in January of this year and with getting a PS5 recently, having that power + on a big TV would be a great experience. But to hear that this upgraded texture and sprite work wasn't done to it after this fact just rubs me the wrong way, like I'm gimped for deciding to get this version. Like not all players are going to experience the same "game" due to this weird decision (in a visual sense). I mean it'll still look better then when I played the PSP (before Geofront) version with one of those early english fan patches (memories of "big sister Cecile" XD)
I haven't started my Trails journey in earnest yet, but this is one of the ones I'm looking forward to the most. I'll probably end up getting both a PS4 and Switch copy. I want to experience both Falcom's Kai version in its original form, and the new Switch version as well! (double dipping on a game isn't anything new for me xD)
in a a way, I'm kind of glad I (unintentionally) put it off for so long, since I have the opportunity to play the games in their chronological order :D
I just started Cold Steel and I’m head over heels with this series already. I’m tempted to just start zero after CS1 but I’m also thoroughly CS so I may just go backwards. I also don’t have a working PC so Sky is going to have to wait awhile.
Thanks. Nice review.
Just platinumed trails from zero.. Took me 3 playthrough but its all worth it.. Best arc in my opinion.. Can't wait to play azure in march
I can’t wait for March either!
Cold steel was the best arc for me
Does the switch version have the text log?
Sure does
I have the first two Trails in The Sky games on my Vita. I think I’m going to play those first, then jump into this one. I wish they would rerelease the Trails in The Sky games on modern consoles as well.
I’d love to see Sky on Switch!
@@BacklogBattle yea, my thoughts exactly. It would be perfect there.
You may have already heard it, but it's worth repeating, skipping trails in the sky 3 would be a shame.
Also, PC is now the best platform to enjoy the localized trails game.
@@yodastitch4227 I don’t have a gaming pc, so that’s not possible at the moment, otherwise, I would explore that option. I’m just fortunate to be able to play the first two, which is better than nothing.
@@Brandon667x1 fair enough.
Enjoy the sky arc 👍
Maybe one day I'll play these games. There's so many of them!
This one’s a good one to start with!
This artstyle always looks better or suits the Switch more than PC and PS4 imo. I will be buying this on Friday and i cant wait
I think art style tolerance differs per person, but I can see why you’d say that!
You might say these games where trailblazers
That’s good 😂
Eyyyyyyy 🤙🏽
am i the only one who likes the amount of character pool in cold steel? all 3 arcs (sky,crossbell,cold steel) are amazing! but cold steel is still my fave
Same here. I like seeing Rean go super saiyain for the first time in Cold Steel 1
5:26 nooo u didnt read the chest message 😢
I did! I just didn't show it LOL
Love the battle system. Its reminding me of Lunar on PS1.
That takes me wayyy back!
I'm enjoying this game right now and it is top notch
Great review!! Already played the fan-translation but will definitely be getting this. Not day one, just because I’m so annoyed about NISA’s lack of transparency, but will get it nonetheless. Crossbell are my favourite Trails games so far.
Thanks for your comment as always!
One of THE best trails games.
So i can start with this one right even if i havent played sky
I wanted to get into the trails series recently but am totally overwhelmed.. I don’t actually own a PC so not sure how to play some of them. Can I play this without the other games??
The games are connected but Zero and Azure can be considered a self contained story, so you’re good!
You will need a PC for the Sky games (unless XSEED does the unthinkable and ports them to modern consoles). But they are only a hard requirement for Cold Steel 3 onwards, so…
I've never seen Trails in the Sky 2 & 3 in the West. Were they even localised?
Yes
@@BacklogBattle
Ah. But only on PSP with no Vita or PS4 port and the 3rd was only on Windows. Bummer.
@@Palavon_of_Shiraz yea 🙁
Great review I havent started with any Trails game I hear that its best to play it in order to appreciate the story despite that being said on your personal opinion which do you find better Trails of Zero or Trails of Cold steel? By way of Story and gameplay.
Zero, hands down
@@BacklogBattle Nice! Thank you that was enough reason to get it, your reviews are really well made and great content. Keep up the good work.
Can I play this if I can't whistle along to tunes?
I don’t know. You can maybe hum it and you’ll be fine. But if you can’t do that, I don’t know…
Just started playing the sky trilogy. Playing First Chapter with the English dub mod and its making all the difference. This is the second time I tried playing the game and it just didn't stick without the voices.
Looking forward to catching up. I've been missing out.
You’re in for a treat! Zero is incredible!
I can't wait to revisit the Sky games once they fan dubs are complete. Such a huge undertaking.
I am playing Kuro 2 in a couple days.
Awesome! Meanwhile, the rest of us with no means to do so will age 5 years until we get a chance to do so
im getting it for the switch
If all games are so good as this one, they can all have this graphics (and they are cute).
I dont know if its because I have gotten impatient with age (33) but I hate slow burn stories in JRPGs, because I have so much to play through already.
I am currently playing Kuro no Kiseki with the english patch, which is amazing, but I find myself skipping most story stuff or not enjoying it as much, because these games are so long to begin with.
Dont know how I feel about this, it kinda annoys me, but I do enjoy the battle system, so I guess thats okay.
Thanks for the review!
You're welcome!
It hard to say. But the Kiseki games are very story driven. Much more as many other RPGs as each little npc has a mini story^^.
They are really not made for people that don't like long burning RPGS. As you might not even get a satisfying conclunsion in one game as it is a part of the grander plot^^
Would you consider doing a secret mission location vid?
I didn’t record my whole playthrough, so I probably won’t be able to do this. So sorry 😭
@@BacklogBattle no problem 👉😎👉
Played this one originally when I bought it and applied the geofront patch last year or two I don't remember exactly. I liked it better than Trails in the Sky 1 actually. I guess it just didn't feel as slow as Trails 1. The music and story and characters are excellent. Apparently this game "sucks" compared to the second game but that's fanbases for you I guess. Gotta be so dramatic. I only played a little bit of Azure but I lost my copy of it on my PC when I nuked it for security reasons. I was burned out on playing Trails anyways as I was struggling to care to finish Cold Steel IV hah but did got the best ending too. Maybe someday I'll get to Azure when it gets the official release.
That's another thing the loud parts of the fanbase consider this the worst place to start for some reason too because of basically one character. Nice review here though, I definitely recommended the game.
I'm playing on a Steamdeck and :chefkiss: it's perfect!
Great to know! I don’t know a lot about the Steamdeck, so how does it handle since it’s primarily played via mouse?
@@BacklogBattle Native controller support so no worries there. 👍 (when you brush the touch screen it'll flash the mouse and keyboard keys until you use the controller buttons again. Not really any different to other similar games a standard PC)
This looks really good, but I have no idea where to start in this series. My bad, you already mentioned a suggestion.
You might want to watch the video and find out my answer to this question
@@BacklogBattle Thanks!
I think you can start at sky. Or skip sky completly. As going back to sky really doesn't feels great. The story is good especially in Sky SC. But you have to take a lot of steps backwards in gameplay if you do crossbell or even worse steel first:)
I played FC way back when but forgot everything and Cold Steel ain't quite my thing (bit too tropey) but really want to give Zero a try. Great review
Thanks for watching! It’s easy to forget things in a series that’s 9 games long, so I totally understand that!
Is this running with 60 FPS on Switch? Doesn't look like 30 FPS.
Yes! This is also 60fps in both handheld and docked mode!
@@BacklogBattle Amazing! Thank you for your answer 😊
Can I play it without playing the other games in the series?
I address this in the video, so go watch it!
"next year's reverie". this franchise makes me feel like a world government member.
Nice One Piece reference!
crossbell is peak Trails
My next to Cold Steel it's my favorite
It looks really nice. Graphically right up my street but 76 hours. That is just too much time. What is there? Something like 9 games. 600+ hours to complete and I usually go way over standard hours so probably 800-1000 hours of story. Anyone over 16 with a life doesn't have 1000 spare hours.
This is why I’ve hesitated putting my hours played on the thumbnail as it represents my play time and not the community’s
How long to beat clocks the game at 41 hours of playing just the main story to about 76 hours for a full completion. My hours played isn’t a 100% completion run, so I’ve still got side quests not done.
I’m beyond LIVID that I preordered this game via retail, and no one has received shipments. I didn’t want to digitally download this game. I almost don’t want to at this point because physical copies absolutely should’ve been available when they were promised. The ball was dropped, and I’m am not happy.
Just play Sky, it's good. Like, really good. Ppl recommend Sky not just because it's the beginning, it's also because it's great.
Is Zero the best JRPG ever made?
Lol no.
The game scale is pretty small, you only have 4 permanents party members, spend the whole game in 1 city and it's surroundings and don't get to save the world.
And to be fair, it's one of my favorite JRPG I've ever played.
This game is not for everyone, but I was excited to see how good a JRPG set in a single city would be, and I was not disappointed. At the time, I was hoping to get away from Cold Steel bloated cast and to see a more personal story, it's also quite nice to see how you end up learning who most of the NPCs in the game are since you can always pay a visit to everyone in every chapter.. Zero did not disappointed, it turned out to be exactly the kind of game I wanted to play at the right moment.
So if you are looking for something similar, I'm sure you'll love this, otherwise, you can give it a chance, but I can't claim you'l like it as much as I did.
I want to get this for switch because its a superior version compared to ps4 thanks to Durante but my copies of the cold steel games are in ps4 and I wanted to get these games on a single platform outside pc. Maybe if switch gets english releases for the first 2 cold steel games. Also hoping Sky trilogy gets a collection release for modern platforms
That’s such a quandary - the PC is the only place to have all of Trails in one place
Really wish it didn't cost so much...
It’s a lot of game for $40…
@@BacklogBattle Should of said I was in canada . price comes to 57$ on switch.
@@crispymattastic wow! That IS a lot!
I mean u can start with zero, the only problem is that one of the biggest payoffs that has been built over the course of the sky series will simply not hit very hard for people starting with this game(I am of course talking about the scene from the end of the game)
If a person is discouraged from starting in the first place, the payoff doesn't really matter since they never started to begin with, right?
Better to start with one game than to never even start.
Who cares? One pay off is not exactly going to ruin a new fan's first experience with this game. Quit gate keeping
@@MarluxiaX2 What is my blud waffin about😭😭😭 Literally said in the first sentence that u can start with this game, just that one major payoff won't hit as hard
I still think trails of the sky 1 and 2 are a good start (you can skip 3 if you want as it is a side story)
Not only is it the real start and set up for everythink in Crossbell and cold steel.
It also not easy to go back to the simple battle system of sky 1 after Steel or Crossbell.
Estelle is also the best protagonist of the whole trails serie^^
I will buy the Sky trilogy if it arrived on Switch! Have Durante do it, dang it!
@@BacklogBattle don't be a fool, and play them on PC. They will most likely not get another version never again, due to licencing issues. Also, Sky the 3rd is one the most important game of the series in terms of lore, don't even think about skipping that one.
@@Javifaa The way you phrased your sentence, it reads that I'd be a fool to play them on PC.
@@BacklogBattle edited for clarity.
Commenting for the sole purpose of supporting the idea of *NOT* skipping Trails in the Sky The 3rd.
See stuffs like this (PS4 version being the worst) + lack of initial games on PS keeps me away from getting into Trails series as much as I would love to. Truly sucks.
the PC playing in Steam deck is better than switch
Does this really need to be said? It’s an open platform compared to consoles
@@BacklogBattle but its the truth you can mod the pc and play it on steam deck you can also mod the exclusive vita quest on PC which is missing in this version and you can also mod the music to evolution.
I came into this as having played sky but none others, kind of feels like you are assuming we've played cold steel and none else because you keep bringing up things in cold steel that verge on spoilers :(
I don’t mention anything that’s already in trailers, so I wouldn’t assume that I’ve spoiled anything especially if you haven’t played those games.
Why tell people to start here? I don't get it, this game literally spoils Estelle and Joshua's story arc from Sky.
Because before people can even care about taking in a series the right way, the most important thing they care about is whether or not they should invest their time in a series.
It’s super scummy that they don’t include any of the improvements on the ps4 version. Looks like i’ll have to buy it twice :/
i liked your review but PLEASE stop recommending people to not play in order, they are only doing a disservice to the series by doing so because they were meant to be played in order
sure you can start in zero or cold steel 1 if you want but the way to get the best experience playing the series is starting with sky FC and that’s just a fact.
I won't because that's pretty much the number one reason why many RPG fans have passed on the Trails series. Telling them that they have to start on game 1 of a 10 game arc ending with Reverie is a sure way to discourage them from ever starting a single game. Even creators like The Kiseki Nut and LadyVirgilia started with or recommended folks to start with Cold Steel, with TKN going back and playing through the games he missed.
You can't force someone who's interested in a later game to play an earlier game "because it's the best experience" since they don't even know what to expect. That's like really sick car dealer type stuff. "I know you want this Mercedes Benz, but here's a Smart car! It's like driving a Benz because we make it!"
At the end of the day, I want people to try the series out. That's how you get people interested, not by telling them that they gotta jump through hoops just to play that one game they asked you about that they're really interested in.
@@BacklogBattle im not saying everyone needs to start with Sky, all im saying is that you need to be specific and tell people that starting with Sky is the BEST way to experience the series, since it was designed that way, you can start with pretty much any game you want at the end of the day but starting with sky FC willl undoubtedly always be the best option, and no one who has started with Sky has ever regretted playing in order since you see all the dots connecting and how the entire story develops from beginning to end.
No. Quit trying to think that people want to spend hundreds of hours playing through content before the game they actually want to start off with. End it.
No english dub? Guess I'm not getting it then.
Too many voiced lines.
@@BacklogBattle Why did it take them so long to finish it then? They were able to do the Trails of Cold Steel games in about a year and those were all dubbed in English. If they were going to take a year off and get even further behind on the new games they should have atleast dubbed it. Sounds like alot of their work was already done for them by the geofront people.
@@xenosaga8436 multiple projects my guy, reverie's releasing next year
@@TheProtoguy Exactly. It should have come out this year if they weren't going to bother dubbing this.
This is going to be my 1st Trails game, ive only heard good things about this one! I preordered the switch deluxe edition from best buy so I could get the physical edition!
Hope you enjoy it! Would love to read what you think when you’ve played enough of it