Why You Must Play Zero and Ao
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 11 окт 2019
- Why You Must Play Zero and Ao - My thoughts on why you should play Zero and Ao, in my opinion, the two best Trails games in the series thus far.
A lot of people ask the question 'Are Zero and Ao required', or, 'Are Zero and Ao translated?', or the most pressing of the bunch 'Should I play Zero and Ao?'. All of these are pertinent questions, and for a long time, I was also contemplating whether it would be worth my time to play through what some refer to as the Crossbell duology. After 120 hours of game time, I felt that I had to express my feelings on the matter, and hopefully to give an answer to the aforementioned questions, and the simple one of 'Why are Zero and Ao good?'. I want to give you my thoughts on Zero and Ao!
Though I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum by making the discussion as general as possible, note that there will be some scenes which could act as potential spoiler material should you choose to play it, but that comes with the territory if you're watching a review!
We'll be talking about the gameplay, the characters, the story, and the location, and why they all come together so well. Ultimately, I'm hoping to get people to watch this video, and coming to the conclusion that they 'must play Ao and Zero'. As far as I'm concerned, they are the best games in these series that I've played thus far, and that really is giving high praise considering what I already think about the Trails universe. I'm hoping that fans who watch this, but are hesitant to get involved with games they may consider 'unpolished' due to a lack of English port, can get past the barrier, and try them out for themselves.
But how to play Zero and Ao? Well, I'll briefly go over some methods you can use to play the games yourself, however, I would implore you (reiterated in the video) to buy the games yourself, and support Falcom as best you can, even if you can't play them on Vita etc. Show your thanks to Falcom!
Hope you enjoy this one, was a heck of a lot of fun to edit and put this video together. See you in the next video!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you like this content, please stay connected via:
Twitter - / the_kiseki_nut
Facebook - The-Kiseki-N...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fun fact: Falcom has said in an interview that they created Crossbell based on their impression of Hong Kong, which is both amusing and fascinating considering the events happening in Hong Kong right now and the parallels of its political situation with that of Crossbell.
Obviously Falcom said this years before HK became a global political hotspot. If they say something like this today, they would have to kiss all of their Chinese revenue goodbye (considering what happens in the Crossbell games) XD
That's actually very interesting, and definitely something I didn't know! Thanks for mentioning that! :)
@@TheKisekiNut no problem! Thanks for spreading Crossbell love :)
@Neocon Ingsoctrination That's not fair to the US. Unlike Calvard, the US is at least trying to help HK maintain its autonomy, even if it has its own agendas for doing so.
that was really interesting
Pray for Hong Kong 🙏🙏🙏
I love how well this video aged. I'm currently playing the first crossbell game, and the illusions to other arcs is plentiful, and I'm only in chapter 2
The trails series is honestly the most amazing thing I've ever been apart of and I'm so looking forward to Cold Steel IV
As a person who has played CS4, I'd say it's highly likely you'll enjoy it.
@@TheKisekiNut especially considering how i don't have the money for the GeoFront Crossbell translations
@@KudaGeatsune3821 Funny you say that since I've just bought the PC version of Zero which is currently on sale. £10 off DL site (which is like 14 USD), apply the patch and ready to go within 20 minutes. The patch itself costs nothing, just go on the Geofront site and follow the instructions.
@@TheKisekiNut one last question know any good hotels in Crossbell city
I get the feeling I'm gonna be there awhile
I'm late to the party and just got into trails of cold steel in December...im so hooked im already on cold steel 3.i talk to every character and have never seen npc dialoge change so much.i actually cared about them.this series is amazing and already in my top 3 series.i love a series where just casue you don't control the characters doesn't mean you won't see them again and its one giant world.i get over jrpgs where the worlds dont connect.this world was meant to connect and you can tell
I had no idea the Kilika in Zero in the business suit was the same Kilika from the bracers guild in the Sky trilogy. She acts & looks pretty different now
Just finished the Crossbell arc last night and my goodness what a glorious journey it was. Definitely glad I played both games.
There's a reason why many in the fandom call it the pinnacle of Trails at present. :)
Patience has paid off. Anticipating the US release next month! I almost played in the exact order as you but decided to not keep playing CS1 and jump over to the Sky Trilogy first. 5 games in and I'm stoked to play Trails from Zero on PS4!
I just finished Ao no Kiseki directly after I finished Zero no Kiseki, and I understand why it is your favorite arc in the series, the game is really amazing, the world-building, the lovely cast of characters, the great additions they added after Trails in the Sky are all very good, and I loved how the side quests are so important to the story and make you understand the main & side characters more.
My start in the series: Trails in Sky 1 & 2, then Cold Steel 1 & 2 & now Zero/Ao no Kiseki, I am totally ready for Cold Street 3 with a better understanding to what happened in the Cold Steel 1 & 2.
It's an amazing duo of games. They set the pressure and stakes just right, and you're always feeling on edge. Loved them from start to finish!
Hope you enjoy CS3! I'm loving it so far. :)
I love the crossbell duology....
And I will say that it really is necessary
Completely agree man! I loved both of these games from start to finish, and I'm hoping with the developments at Geofront, more people can get involved.
@@TheKisekiNut u do know it is technically impossible to play trails of zero and ao on anything else other than pc. Cause u psp link for trails of zero is broke and we don't have the evolution versions for ps4 vita translated and nobody is going to translate it cause the psp version is done.
There are multiple working PSP links to get the translated ROMs and such and I doubt no body would try and do the EVO versions on Vita since the Sky trilogy was translated then they did the Sky EVO trilogy and even if that is the case it is very likely Crossbell will be remade for new platforms based on Kondos interviews.
@@SuperOtakuKyo can u give me the links pls
Don't like linking to pirated copies and ROMs and such, but it is literally a google search away.
Just finished geofront’s Azure and I can say it was the best storytelling experience I’ve ever seen. Truly amazing.
Hi hoping for your kind help.. do you by chance still have the patches for zero and azure?
@@Jose-or3zw I do! How can I contact you?
I managed to add you on discord
Thank you so much, You're a life saver!!
I have heard so much praise for the Crossbell games. I am very excited to dive into them. I just finished the Sky trilogy the other day. I haven't felt like this since I finished the Mass Effect trilogy years ago. I am really glad I discovered these games.
Glad you're enjoying the journey man! The Crossbell games are amazing, I think you're gonna enjoy these if you had a positive experience with Sky.
I watched this the other day, and promised to come back to comment on your lovely video about the Crossbell arc. I completely agree with all you said.
Thank you Falcom for creating such a masterpiece. And to my friend who told me I should play these 2 games. I was unaware about the Crossbell arc before and almost jumped to Cold Steel were it not for him.
it hasn't been long since I finished playing this amazing arc and I haven't started playing Cold Steel but I can confidently say that this arc is so far the best among the Trails series. The Special Support Section are all lovable, and honestly not cringey? LOL. From the story, on how it develops and unfolds, the topnotch soundtrack (currently listening to it), the voice-acting and just the fact that as players we can see how the SSS' reputation changes over time really gripped my heart (there are so many reasons but I'm not good in expression).
Thank you for taking the time to comment! Your friend did good getting you to play the Crossbell arc first. :)
Even now, all aspects of these 2 games remain at the top of my personal Trails arc list. It's a shame that they're not as easily accessible as the other titles, but the Geofront is dong a great job to circumvent that issue.
Hope you enjoy your Cold Steel journey!
Just finished this Arc, and guess what? I just cried my eyes out xD Finallyyyy! Preparations for Cold Steel are in order, will start right away! Please continue making vids like this! More powers to youuu!
Hope you enjoy the Cold Steel arc too! :)
Crossbell really is a feels train from start to finish, and you'll be rewarded for playing these 2 first in my opinion, especially come CS3.
Falcom just announced the opening of the website for the new installment! U might wanna check it out as well, ghad I am soooo hyped!!
HANDS DOWN the greatest and most beautiful arc in the series! The story, soundtrack, plot twists, everything! I can't count the number of times my jaw dropped because of this game's awesome storytelling which is not forced and the plot twists are just freakin' good! Revelations and character development are just insanely breath-taking! Argh! I can't describe my love for this game without spoiling anything! Hahaha
Couldn't of said it better myself! :)
My next ranking video will be a Community ranking of the Trails in the Sky characters, and the poll will close next Monday. If you get the chance, please get involved, the more respondents, the better the content! :)
www.polljunkie.com/poll/ityesz/trails-in-the-sky-community-ranking/admin - SINCE ENDED!
I love how despite being the latest arc it seems like everyones first Trails game is Trails of cold steel
this video should be called why they need to localize them
Amen!
@@TheKisekiNut I am getting these games running right now. Ao is just taking a while. Files still need to be extracted.
I remember after finishing Dragon quest 11 I was in a slump for games and looked up popular Jrpgs and cold steel popped up. Watched a video about one of the first fights with Rean in the second title and I was like hmmm I’ll give it a try in my spare time. This series took my time, patience, and focus by STORM and I couldn’t put it down. Ended up emulating zero and Ao but bought physical copies anyway. The Duology was and is still my favorite games in the series (even after finishing cold steel 4). Love the videos man
Great stuff as always TKN!
Crossbell is personally my favorite setting and holds my favorite cast of the series so far~ (though Sky's is a very close second and the most nostalgic one to me ^^)
I prefer stories that offer a lot in geopolitics (Zero and Ao reads like a sprawling fantasy epic with a living, breathing world), so it's the main reason Crossbell wins out over the other Kiseki arcs so far...
Though I'm withholding my judgment of Cold Steel arc until I play CS3 and CS4.
Totally agree with how amazing these side quests are for adding continuity across all the games!
P.s. nice editing direction with this video!
Thank you as always for the support Lady!
I loved it, I remember you and Feb in particular telling me that this arc was the best in Trails so far, and you were absolutely right. It combines that fantasy element with a grounded concept in politics, and does it extremely well, as you've mentioned. :)
Yeah, it was fun to edit this one. I felt doing screen after screen in something like this wouldn't be too engaging, so decided to go for something more gripping this time around, glad you enjoyed it! :)
thanks for the video, I always wanted to start to play the trails series, with the release of trails from zero on switch I'm finally getting started. the game is coming tomorrow you're video convinced me to jump in.
These 2 games alone had me at almost 240hrs playtime. Ill do it again when Azure is finished with its geofront translation they did such a good job.
Good video. The Crossbell games are great and Crossbell is my favourite setting in Trails. And the games have the best music in the series IMO. Highly recommended to play these games before CS3/4 due to their many links to this arc.
Thank you for watching! I have to agree, so far, the two games represent the best arc in trails, and definitely, in my mind, must be played before CS3.
well sucks to be sora no kiseki since liberl arcs already had been taken care of it's pretty much finished when it comes to joshua and stelle's story, there's nothing more story of them to tell other than their cameo in other games also the 3rd was so irrelevant to the story of FC ans SC might as well just do not exist in the first place.
Havent played 4 yet, but cs3 was my favourite feel good. Seeing everyone split up, but the new students gave it a shot and all grew... watching characters grow is the best feeling in tv series and video game. Therefore coldsteel is my favourite arc. Seeing characters from previous games.. ALOT not just one or 2 so you feel it a bit.. it's all massively important.
Is this available on vita?
@@reno9571 The optional side stories (doors) covered a lot of loose ends the first 2 games had, like kevins past, agate and titas relationship after the events in sc, joshua and kloes talk, the ravens being trained by agate, the last door showing an interaction with ouroboros grandmaster and all of the anguis, rennes past... So on so forth. It wasn't like fc and sc, but it still told very important things about the story, which in my opinion, makes the game totally worth existing...
Nice info bro. We need to spread the greatness of the Crossbell arc. I spent too many hours exploring the city and taking interest in the city and its state.
What a great review!! You are so erudit and well spoken!! You've got one more subscriber!! I'm ready to dive in the world of trails!!
Thank you for watching my man, and for the comment!
Now get to playing, they're amazing games. :)
Now GO!!!... A new adventure awaits. Great finish to a nice review.
Man, I'm glad I got into the Trail series early this year. I played through all 3 Evo Trails in the Sky trilogy on the Vita, and when I was done with that I played Zero no Kiseki. Once I got close to finishing up that game, the Geofront translation to Azure came out, and I was excited to play that game back to back after finishing Zero. What a privilege it was to experience these two Crossbell games with proper translation. While I did love the Trails in the Sky trilogy, I think Zero and Azure was the better arc.
Hello im new to your channel but you are already quickly becoming one of my favorite subscribers for providing trails related news with your deep insight and great analysis of these amazing games. One thing I wanted to ask though is do you plan on creating video's on your impressions of the games in regards to the quality of the translations and things of that nature. One of my growing concerns is Will nis america be able to handle the standard quality of translations set by xseed from previous games and what sort of censorship issues or certain cultural edits will be apparent that may hamper enjoyment. I just want to play this series with the most authenticity and degree of quality that i can.
Great you have you aboard, and thank you for your kind words! When it comes to localisation quality etc. I will generally only mention it in regards to the game I'm talking about. I don't think I'll ever do focused videos on those topics, as I prefer to celebrate the games rather than spark debate. However, I will express my honest opinion during reviews or retrospectives when i touch on aspects of the games. But so far from the 8 games I've played, I have very little to complain about in regards to localisation quality (CS3 being my most recent experience).
They seriously need to try and localise these games imo, i love this series and the five games i have played so far (Cold steel 1,2 and 3 and Trails in the sky fc and sc) were fantastic and a real highlight for me. Trails the 3rd is available any time on pc so it’s basically just the crossbell arc that needs to be released in english so that new fans of the series ( i started playing it back in July) can enjoy these epics as well.
Another great narration btw, this channel is rapidly becoming one of my favourites on RUclips. 😊😊😃
Totally agree, I'm just hoping something may be announced this coming shareholder meeting, but I'm not holding my breath. The good thing is we nearly have Zero in the best possible form it could be (fan translation wise), and Ao is serviceable (definitely better than the current Zero translation). It's sufficient for now, but I would love an English physical copy of both games for myself... :(
Thanks as well for the support as before, if people find these videos useful, then that's all the more reason to keep doing them!
Did you finish cs 1 and 2 before going into tits fc and sc? What was your experience like? I'm thinking of going the same route. Thanks Gwynnbleidd
I am currently playing this arc. I finished Zero and am at the end of chapter 2 in Ao. I'm moving in a month and can't wait to get a normal internet connection that doesn't block every single gaming site. I'm also visiting my dad in about 2 weeks and can play Ao a lot when I'm home. I hope I can get close to finishing the game. I want to play Cold Steel before Hajimari comes out. Although I am gonna play the Crossbell Arc again just for the data transfer to Hajimari. I'm also looking forward to Kuro. I love these games. But a really nice thing about knowing Cold Steel 1 while playing Ao is seeing how Cold Steel got referenced even before it came out. That is some stellar writing these games have. But I really likde Zero, especially how it really ramped up at the end.
Just finished the geofront zero translation. Damn that game was good
I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it! From what I understand, the experiences of many using the Geofront translation has been very positive.
Thanks for this! I just started playing zero Evo version on my vita Along side of just starting to playing cold steel 3.
Funny story I downloaded zero thinking it was trails of sky FC Evo which I meant to start after finishing cold steel 2. Anyways I quickly learned it was zero and was like.. uh.. alright I'll go through this especially after playing Lloyd in cold steel 2 and seeing Randy in 3.
So I'm looking forward to it!
Thank you for watching!
You're in for a treat, I firmly believe that Crossbell is the best arc so far (but I might have to hold judgement till I finish CS3). Zero definitely starts slow, but picks up quickly. Ao is just full throttle all the way through.
Nice video mate! Just an update that the Asian Chinese version of Zero and Ao No Kiseki EVOLUTION were released on PS Vita Asian PSN store around two weeks ago. Price is 352 HK each.
Thanks for watching buddy! Yeah, the wider Asian market is getting a lot of love too, especially Korea and China. They also got ports of CS1/2 like the West. I would expect to see more of these as we go further down the line.
I like the way lloyd fixes everyone problems left and right
The man should just be a counsellor. His words alone can just cheer anyone up, but I think that's a good reflection of his character. :)
@@TheKisekiNut I feel like falcom tried to make rean too similar to Lloyd in some ways instead of being his own character, I dunno hopefully that changes in CS4
definitely looking forward to these games, from what we know it sounds like its going to have a great switch port too which is great news for me.
I finished sky trilogy before and finished cold steel 1 and skipped crossbell games because I heard they were not localized yet so I was like if they were not localized how important can they be ? but I kinda got spoiled that crossbell characters will appear later in cold steel games so i was like ok i need to know there back story , and stumbled on the geofront translation patch and thank god I did that cuz yes , zero and azure are the best in the series so far for me , I can't begin to explain how much i loved these characters , and how much I fanboyed when lloyd was in front of kevin reis wazy and abbas and still he was like "if any one of you lay a finger on kea i will fight you" i was damn lloyd you came far my dude i am proud
I don't regret playing Zero and Aono before Sora SC and Cold Steel. Crossbell points out real situations with a new metropolis that constantly is exposed to changes and challenges as a big city and how a law or police work into it. I would like to play them over again in nightmare mode but my PSP emulator gets slow when I activate the SCrafts. Thanks for sharing a jrpgs that deserves to be well known!
7:19 The Yakuza game do this as well. My search for another game series with similar storytelling is what let me to the discovery of the Trails games in the first place.
While Sky FC and SC has a special place in my heart, the crossbell duology is the best arc in this long-running series for me. It may be a smaller area compared to Liberl or Erebonia, but it being more compact made me love Crosbell more than the aforementioned countries, even if Crossbell is smaller. And, man, the story is just great. It has flaws, for sure, especially Ao near the end, but that doesn't change the fact that it is still a well-told story in an overall overarching arc that is Kiseki. Must play JRPG, especially now Geofront is out and Flame's edit for Azure is good enough to understand wholly.
Well said sir. Crossbell is still my favourite arc in the series, and it would take something special for it to be overtaken!
Finished Ao yesterday, now I see the light😊. Phenomenal games.
Grats on finishing the Crossbell Arc! They're indeed a rollercoaster from start to finish, especially Ao, and it just adds even more when you jump in to the likes of CS2/3. :)
Alright I'm gonna say it! Crossbell Arc is the best arc
Many would agree with that statement!
i just finished playing ao no kiseki the other night and i loved it and zero so much, but damn because the version i played didn't have the latest update it crashed right before the 2nd to last boss fight in ao, but i was able to sort it out and continue to beat the game. im just so glad i didn't have to end my journey by watching a lets play on youtube
Oof, not gonna lie that would suck, especially when the ending of Ao is so damn good. It ranks as my favourite Trails moment ever (and still does even after the likes of CSIV). Glad you were able to finish it!
Hey Kiseki Nut, how did you emulate the Crossbell games exactly? I'd love the play them once I finish the Sky games but I'm not sure how to go about it
I did not played many jRPG, only Persona 5, Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI & VII. Kept them in high regard. Them, after i heard about worldbuilding of Trails I gave them a go and sunk in. After quite good times with TitS I expireinced THAT ending, great, emotional moments of SC and glory ot 3rd's last dungeon. Finally I came to Crossbell and this arc became my favorite story in Video Games after Planescape:Torment.
It's easily my favourite Arc in Trails as of yet. Who knows though, with CS3 being as good as people say it is, I'm expecting big things come October!
This was a great video! It was fun and got me hyped for the day these games get an official release since that's the only way I'll play them/be able to play them. I want a company to announce that they will be localizing this games as my christmas and/or birthday gift. I don't need anything from anybody but that and I would be happy next year. For now, I'll just play and enjoy the hell out of CS3! It's sooo close. I can't wait! ^_^
SOOOO CLOSE! Thanks for watching mate! Here's hoping the shareholder meeting this December gives us some more good news!
I still think Trails FC and SC told a more emotional story although these two games came close at times. But in terms of just telling a great story with twists and turns you don't see coming this was probably better.
And of course the music is excellent. Inevitable Struggle is probably my favorite track in the series.
Good point! I will admit, the Sky arc has the most emotionally gripping story, in terms of the attachment you feel to the characters and their journey, but for me, Crossbell wins out for the shock factor. I've never played through a story as intense as this one, especially that ending of Ao.
The Kiseki Nut exactly! Also for me azure arbitrator and thrusted reality are probably some of my favorite themes in the series. I also honestly thought that Ao was deeply and intensely emotional on a personal level once it got far enough and for me it overshadowed sky as well idk.
@@TheKisekiNut I agree with both points. The characters in Sky were more endearing, but Crossbell has more epic moments, especially Ao.
Just installed the Geofront translation after finishing up Sky. Loving this series. Sadly I started with Cold Steel 1 and finished it before I discovered it was part of a series. Good news is that it was almost 4 years ago before I played CS1 so I don't remember anything from it so I can play it again after have played Sky and Crossbell
I started with Cold Steel myself, and look where it got me! I think it's not a problem to start at that point, though after playing through it a third time, I can say it's enhanced greatly with knowledge of the other games (including the CS sequels). Hope you enjoy the Geofronts patch!
Love this series, I bought and played all games (excluding trails of sky that I played on my psp many years ago - rom from the Internet as game was not available in my country). Waiting now for Kuro no Kiseki
Just finished ao no kiseki yesterday and now i am fully caught up. Cant wait for CS4
Can't wait till Fall man, this is gonna be a nice end to the year! :)
@@TheKisekiNut have fun with the game early. For me unfortunately i dont have a ps4 so im waiting for the pc port
Ive just started my legend of heroes jorney this week with FC and I just hope by the time I get to Zero, Geofront has released their translation. It is So close, yet so far :(
Here's hoping, it's very close now, the first edit is complete I believe. Haven't heard any more updates as of yet, but I think you might be in luck. :)
already released for the pc version.
The Crossbell Arc has the luxury of having the advantage of everything happening on a small area the way the Yakuza series gets with its sidestories. Cold Steel got the short end on that as Erebonia is literally Germany and Russia combined together.
I'm about 10 hours away from the platinum trophy on Zero No Kiseki evolution on the VITA. I just beat the game on Nightmare, but apparently the difficulty didn't stack, so I need to beat the game again on Hard. Regardless, I just finished the Prologue of Ao No Kiseki. WOW! What a great way to start a direct sequel. All I've heard is that the stakes are even greater and the game is on the rails from start to finish. How long until I get to You Know Who? No spoilers please.
Just finished and platinumed the Trails in the Sky Evolution trilogy on the PS Vita. Prior to that, I got into the Trails/Kiseki series via Cold Steel I and II, which I've already platinumed. From what I'm hearing, the Crossbell arc is arguably the best. Anyways, I've got my PS Vita right here, and I'm starting Zero no Kiseki in 3....2....1....I'm in Crossbell.
You're gonna love Crossbell if you liked the other 2 arcs. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's masterfully written, especially Ao no Kiseki. Hope you enioy it man! :)
I am still playing Zero in chapter 1 at 7 hour gameplay. This is my first playthrough.
For me, the combat is not slow. I often using speedhack. It's not really a problem to me.
The pace is slow but all trails game is like that, So no problem at all.
Just finished my first playthrough of Zero No Kiseki Evolution. WOW!!!! Best in the franchise, that's after playing CS1, CS2 and the entire Trails in the Sky trilogy. Sidequests, geography, politics and crime narrative, game mechanics that paved the way to CS1/2, music, character development and story were all top tier. And that final chapter was off the rails...AAAHHH!!! Once I get the platinum, I'm moving onto Ao No Kiseki. Then I will get to face Ms. You Know Who. I already curb stomped her in Trails in the Sky 3rd, me thinks she won't be a walk in the park in Ao No Kiseki.
Honestly, if you liked Zero, you're gonna love Ao. It took the whole situation to another level. Zero is a more slow burn culminating in that final chapter. Ao maintains that same suspense, but it comes in more impactful doses. It remains my favourite in the series for that reason.
I think ill start with sky after finishing cold steel 3, well i got general knowledge of the "main characters" though, i still can identify who from where in tocs 3. I guess im just gonna figure the connection as i finish all the games, got plenty of time before the 4th game.
TL;DR - They're amazing!
Yakuza does it a lot. If you're looking into something to get into. The original Yakuza had no side missions, so even its remake (Kiwami) had NUMEROUS side mission references to its prequel, Yakuza 0.
As do Kiwami 2, 3 Remastered, and 4-6 to each other.
I didn't think there would be a game topping Sky SC in terms of storytelling, action, and music until i've beaten Azure. This game was such a thrill from beginning to end falcom really went off on the narrative for this game. Now I can go back replaying Cold Steel 1 and have a much more enjoyable experience now that I have the knowledge of the previous games. Again proves why the trails series is so good
Trails in general is a special Series, but for me Ao will likely remain at the pinnacle for many further releases. It has everything I value in the Series and ramps those elements up a level or two.
@@TheKisekiNut I agree with you Ao was seriously outstanding, I'm curious tho what's your favourite battle theme in the series so far mine personally is Seize the truth, I haven't played CS4 yet but I heard it has a great theme as well
@@babatundeismail6732 It's definitely CS4's. Seize the truth is brilliant as is over the barrier from Zero. But for me CS4 blows them all out of the water. Hajimari's aren't too shabby either.
Now the Geofront Translation (Fan Translation Project) of Zero is out
I'm glad I played the crossbell games, I waited to play cold steel 2 because I know they spoil each other kind of, now I'm caught up and ready to play cold steel 3
Unfortunately, no matter which arc you start with, you'll get something spoiled from the other one. But I think it works well in this case. I played CS1 and 2 before Crossbell, but the events in CS2 in particular gave me even more motivation to play through these 2. Glad I did!
Any news on a localization? or is there a good and safe place to buy or download the game on PC so that I can use Geofronts translations? I do prefer to buy, just want to make sure its compatible. This is the first time, I have ever tried to go out of my way for a Japanese-only game. So, Im lost lol
No news on a localisation, and can't see it happening any time soon. DL Site is your best bet for Zero no Kiseki, you'll have to buy it digitally though. From there it's just a case of applying the patch, which Geofront have a guide for on their site.
I think Crossbell duology is important to Cold Steel one and two because, well both games (Crossbell arc and the first half of Cold Steel happens at the same time after all).
I think the Sky series is really important to Cold Steel in general because there's not a single game they don't reference Estelle And Joshua, the events in liberl with the Gospel plan and all that jazz. But especially with CS3-4 bringing lots of characters from Liberl arc into Erebonia too, and I have to say. Hearing the events I know happened in Erebonia actually being told in Liberl on the sky series (I played CS1-2 first), it's quite amazing how well done the story was from the beggining.
That being said, it's a fucking pain in the ass that Falcom doens't make any pushes with Crossbell ark to XSEED or Nisa, to make those games available for us. Yes, I can buy a copy if I try really hard, and I can apply a fan patch but it's not as good as having everything working on Steam, with patches for bugs and stuff like that.
I'm almost on a point where I'll watch someone playing those games just so I won't have to do all of that for now until they localize the Evolution versions of Crossbell arc, because Yes, right now, if anyone should even think about localizing those games they SHOULD localize the newer versions of them. Period.
This is something I'll be addressing in my next news video. Honestly speaking, I can't see them being localised, especially not the evo versions with the licencing issues. Eventhough Falcom has the IP, development and publishing of the Evo games was done by another company. If we were to get an official localisation, then it would most likely be the Kai versions on PS4, which also raises some problems which I'll address on the day.
just finished ToCS 3 and planning on playing EVO zero no kiseki on vita hope its a good one
Xerix 777 the only problem is that, unfortunately, ao no Kiseki evo currently does not have an English translation
I managed to download zero easily but cant seem to find ao no kiseki anywhere. Any clues?
To anyone who has played Dragon Age, have you noticed similarities in the structure of the arcs of Kiseki and the entries in DA?
Trails in the Sky and Dragon Age: Origins both see you traveling the country to gather allies to eventually stand against an evil organization or alliance bent on world domination/destruction (world in this sense meaning the countries in which the games take place, Liberl and Ferelden, not the larger continents they inhabit).
Zero/Ao no Kiseki and Dragon Age 2 contract to focus on the barely contained tension and turmoil of a single city doomed to fall, and the people trying to hold it together.
Trails of Cold Steel and Dragon Age Inquisition expand again to focus on a great collection of people standing against a villain who thinks he’s a god and has all the loose ends wrapped up.
Yo must play it for the "Unfathomed Force" Theme Fight.
love this games so much
I was supposed to start with the trails of the sky trilogy, I was halfway thourgh the first game but my savefile got deleted. So I play Zero no kiseki and damn I love the main character llyod, elie,Randy, tio. The playable characters aren't too bloated unlike the trails of the sky it really focuses on the 4 main characters. Also love the Russian roulette lol.
I've been sold! But the problem for me is, where to find an emulator for the Zero/Ao series for my pc? Should I wait for the Geofront localization? Throw me a bone, please!
Cuz I'd definitely love to check this series out, if I could play them!
Glad to hear you want to try them out! You're gonna love these games if you found the previous entries to be compelling. I used the PPSSPP emulator, it's literally the first one you find when searching 'PSP emulator'. And then just search for the translated roms on a site like CD Romance. But to support the developer, I have also bought both of these games in Japanese. The translations are serviceable. The issue is that Geofront are currently in the testing phase, and they have found some interesting bugs they're trying to work through, so we're not sure on when we'll get the greenlight for Zero as of yet.
Scratch that in regards to Zero, just went on Twitter to see that the Zero no Kiseki Geofront patch is about a month away!
Check this out man, geofront.esterior.net/2019/12/26/trails-of-zeroing-in-on-zero-imminent-release-is-all-but-azured/
What about trails of cold Steel 3 and 4 aren't you forgetting those. I do 100% agree though trails to zero and azure are two amazing RPGs. I hope I get the pleasure to play them some day.
Which one should i play fisrt zero or azure
it was hard to download zero and ao no kiseki but oh boy it was so fucking worth it
I naturally agree with this statement. :)
I have truly loved these games and all other jrpgs will be compared to the crossbell arc from now on....which they will no doubt fail to match.
how do you get them do I need to download something ?
I'm in the final chapter of Trails in the sky FC, looking forward to clear the trilogy before i can start Zero on Sep
I absolutely love the Trails series and did enjoy the Crossbell games quite a bit, but they are not my favorites. Trails in the Sky SC is my pick for the top spot (Cold Steel 4 hasn't been localized as of this post, so maybe that will change) for a few reasons. I started the series with Trails in the Sky on PSP shortly after it's release and had a blast. The characters were charming, the story was a sweeping adventure through the small kingdom of Liberl and of course the cliffhanger ending had me begging for more. Unfortunately I found out that there were problems getting the Second Chapter localized and translated into English. It didn't look like it was going to happen at all. Years later I finally heard that it was under way and we would finally see how Estelle's journey would continue. The anticipation elevated the experience of getting to play SC at last into something of a triumph and boy did it deliver. It has awesome character moments, tells a gripping tale with high stakes, and has a more charming cast than either the Crossbell games or Cold Steel. The map layout and route that the game takes is more interesting than Zero and Ao where you start in the city at the center of the map and then each quest sends you in one cardinal direction then you return to the city, rinse and repeat through the length of both games rather than ever travelling anywhere. I like them all, but SC is tops for me.
I personally believe the central location lends to the brilliance of the Crossbell arc. You're never to far away, you're always in the thick of the events, and I feel the interconnection in Crossbell more than the other arcs.Sky is definitely more character driven, and there's no doubt it's an excellent arc, but I would still pick the Crossbell cast over them personally, despite Renne being my favourite character.
Crossbell for me is when the series really started to click in to place as it's the focal point of so many other nations, it's the point where you start to realise the scale of story that you're part of. It helps as well that it has some of my personal favourite moments in gaming.
@@TheKisekiNut I don't mean to detract from the Crossbell games, but the centralized location of the city detracts from the feeling of adventure and of actually ever going anywhere. It leads to a lot of backtracking, revisiting places over and over again, and an overall samey feeling to the route taken through the game. I will acknowledge that it has some fantastic plot reveals, that increase in scale and profundity as the duology nears it's peak. The buildup to the climax is unrivaled among the entire Kiseki series, and while the unveiling of the grand mastermind behind all of Crossbell's drama had me disappointed and underwhelmed, the way it was done was marvelous. I think they're great games, and I may have enjoyed them even more had I been able to experience them with a professionally translated script the way XSeed had done for the Sky arc. If and when the Geofront finishes their fan translation, I would like to revisit Zero and Ao. Awesome channel btw, keep doing what you're doing!
May I ask if anybody knows of tutorial videos on how to buy cross bell and install the English patch ? I know about the geofront thing but I’m not the best with computers so going about it would be difficult for me 😅 I already played cold steel 1-3 in the summer time and played 4 when it released and I JUST beat the sky trilogy a few minutes ago and really want to play crossbell
Do you have an android you could download a psspp emulator and play it on there as well. Although you'll just get the original translation not geofront
I was at one point tempted to play Cold Steel before Crossbell. Thankfully I didn’t end up doing that.
As someone who’s finishing up Cold Steel II after playing all games in release order…DO NOT SKIP CROSSBELL. And unlike some I’m not even in the ‘Crossbell is peak Trails’ camp.
Nonetheless, there is one particular scene in Cold Steel I or II (won’t say which b/c spoilers) which is one of the most impactful and unique things I’ve ever experienced in storytelling, and it would not be possible if I’d not played in the serialized release order.
im coming up to the crossbell games just now after beating TOCS 1 and 2, and dang I'm enjoying them but I really just want to get to TOCS 3. not to be that guy, but the games just didn't age well graphically. the series is amazing on the whole but dang i'd love for sky 1-3 and crossbell to get a remake in the TOCS style, or demake into the beautiful SNES sprite graphic era (now theres a pipe dream)
I have watched this at home, also played them on my phone with a psp emulator. Trainrides got a lot better before i finished those. I miss fun trainrides
Thank you for dropping in sir! I can only imagine the joy of playing on the train, especially on long commutes.
Hengagenga Got any links for those games?
@@kugansivasakthy2091 I'm afraid I can't link them here (I don't think RUclips is too cool with that), but I downloaded the ISO's from CDRomance. A Google search found both games easily enough!
The Kiseki Nut Understood thanks for the reply 🙏
@@kugansivasakthy2091 guess he was faster than me XD
I have a fairly low spec PC. I have no problem running the trails in the sky games, though. Will these run as well as those games?
Yup
Same Engine so yes nothing changed other than combat
Consult Nitroblog and search the games English name
Ive been a long avid fan of jrpgs since i played ff4 (ff2) on snes back in 1994, and ive played almost every series, except the legend of heroes, nows the time i believe to finally start with these game, thou i would play the first trilogy that was released on psp, im aware they´re not connected to this saga, but i really think they are worth a try from what ive read on forums and reedit about those 3 games, i think it will take me about two year to complet tears of vermillion to cold steel 3, whish me luck :)
Hope you enjoy your journey through the games mate! I can say that it's been one heck of a ride for the year or so that I've been a fan!
Question? Are these available on vita?
Oh, happy day!
In a perfect universe the Trails in the Sky Trilogy and the Crossbell Duology would be ported to PS4 I wish Falcolm would just do that 😢
I think Sky is pretty much got as much treatment as it will get for now, I unfortunately can't see it being ported to PS4 with the PS5 just around the corner:(. But, Falcom are currently working on something in regards to bringing the Crossbell games to the West, though we don't know how far in to this they are, or for what platforms they intend to port them to. Hopefully, we'll be hearing something at the December shareholder meeting if we're lucky. :)
The Kiseki Nut I guess my issue with the ports is the outlier that is Trails in the Sky the Third The sole fact that that it is only on PC has me salty lol But yeah you do have a point Hopefully there is some news 🙏
@@kugansivasakthy2091 Indeed, it's in Falcom's best interest to get these games on to as many platforms as possible, but unfortunately, there will always be those that get left out. Again, we're just gonna have to wait and see for now, which isn't much consolation I know, but good things come to those who wait. :)
I absolutely loved Trails to Azure. Trails from Zero was sort of boring though until right near the end.
So I bought Zero and downloaded the patch. How do we get Ao? It looks like that one isn't translated yet
Ao is currently being worked on by the Geofront, but don't expect it this year. They're providing methods by which you can buy the game when the patch is nearer to release.
Best arc in the series by far.
How are you guys playing these though? How do I play it in canada? I hate this so much, I cant just buy it????
You can use a PSP emulator
Sweet
it's hard to find the iso of this game in english, if you know of any site please indicate here
I don't think I can really give the exact site, as they might be an issue on YT's end, but it was easy enough to find. Just searching Zero no Kiseki Iso and going on the first site was enough for me.
Is there a tutorial how to make the different versions playable in English language?
I especially would love if I had some Turbo-Modus. The animations are really bad but especially slow....
Will Australia and America get a release for English? I only got to play the cold steel saga and really wanna play cross bel and liberal arcs
I would like to think we will eventually, but I can't see it happening for the foreseeable future. But Zero and Ao Kai have released in Asia and Japan, so the foundation is there to port it over should they find a willing localisation partner.
The Kiseki Nut damn well just a few months till cold steel 4 comes
6:09 this 2 guys travel far
I can't play it. Is too late gameplay character 3d (trails of cold steel) change to 2d (trails from zero or trails in the sky). The story is amazing but sometimes gameplay is boring after playing trails of cold steel. That's funny for me not enjoying character 2d except not playing it.
Hopefully this will come to steam, I only have PC, plan to get a PS later.
Is this available on vita?
@@mementomori502 Seems so, it said it was release in 2012 as Zero no Kiseki: Evolution, and ealier for the PSP, but not for PC. :(
Im watching this video a few days after the news that these games will get official localization. i been enjoying Cold steel but if you say these two are even better than Sky..,then oh boy....
I played through Sky as well, and oh boy the Crossbell games are a bit better especially Azure.
I started playing Trails Series with these in my own chrono
1.Trails Of Cold Steel 1 (2016)
2. Trails Of Cold Steel 2(2016)
3. Trails In The Sky PSP (2017)
4. Trails In The Sky SC PSP (2017)
5. Zero No Kiseki (July-August2018)
6. Ao No Kiseki (September 2018)
7. Trails In The Sky 3rd EVO English hack patch(2019)
My 8th will be Trails Of Cold Steel 3 this Month or maybe November if it's delayed in my Country 😁👍
Can't wait for the 22nd! TOCS3 will also be my 8th game! Unfortunately though, I'm gonna have to wait till my 2 week holiday in November till I can play it properly:(.
It won't be delayed. Some people already have their hands on the game.
The actual game isn't delayed, but I won't be able to play it till November. I don't actually have a PS4, but a friends letting me borrow his over my November break from work. So the game will be with me, but I can't play it till then! :)
@@TheKisekiNut I know it won't delayed..
but in my Country it will be delayed for sure because I pre-ordered my Collector's Edition from someone who had a contact directly from NISA.. so I would expect that it will be in my hands by November
Are these bring localised for console at all?
Yes, yes, they are. for ps4 and switch.
ao no kiseki is the best fucking JRPG ive ever played
My biggest issues with Zero and Azure come down to 2 major points(spoilers below)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
1- The villains aren't good; most of them are either boring, or cheap twist villains which were way too overused throughout the story, like they literally used the "He/she was the mastermind behind it all" trope 3 times in a row and none of them were really good(Weissman was a much better villain in this regard), this for me led to the climax of both Zero and Azure falling flat, in Zero's case the whole game was building up for Revache to be the main enemy and then boom, out of nowhere this secret Cult appears and becomes the big enemy for just 1 chapter, nowhere near enough to give them proper build up and make the conflict they bring satisfying, and in Azure, everything up until the climax was fine minus the annoying overuse of the "haha I was a villain too" trope, but then they dealt with Ian thing in such a stupid and terrible manner, not only was he a bad twist villain to begin with, but after building him up at the end with even Arios saying "You won't be able to change his mind and beat him as easily, his resolve is stronger than mine", Lloyd convinces him to give up after just 1 speech? Like the speech was good but come on, that's just cheap. The whole stuff with KeA was great though and easily the best part of the whole game.
2- The lack of meaningful consequences, seriously, for a game where terrorists, secret devilish cults and conspiracies are the center focus of the story, almost nothing bad that happens is irreversible, many citizens disappear and are used for drug experiments? Oh they're back to normal after a few weeks like nothing bad happened to them. A group of mercenaries attacks and burns down the city? Oh almost nobody dies(not even any named NPC dies, seriously, I made sure to talk to every NPC at every opportunity that the game gave me and not even a single one died in any of these attacks) and the city mostly goes back to normal pretty much immediately. Illya gets injured so badly she was gonna die and the doctors didn't think she'd ever be able to walk again? Oh she's back to performing at the end of the game like nothing happened. All of this makes it very hard to take any of the threats seriously, and I feel like this is a problem with the Trails series as a whole but it's way too prevalent here.
Ultimately I found those 2 games to be the weakest in the whole series narratively speaking(still playing through the Cold Steel saga though so that might change) despite being really good in many other areas, which really brought them down for me, most people praise them for the complexity of the issues and conflicts they bring up but I think it's the exact opposite, I think Trails is at its best when it's dealing with simpler conflicts and issues, the writing just isn't competent enough to give these complex conflicts their justice, and it ends up falling flat at the end, which is why The 3rd remains my favorite game in the whole series so far, it was the simplest story by far, and thus the most powerful, and since it was the 3rd installment in the Sky series, the characters were already introduced and fleshed out so it allowed it to dive much deeper into the side characters now which made the Sky cast the most impressive by far. And unlike the cheap twists in Zero and Azure, the big twist of this story came perfectly natural, it never felt forced or like an overused cliche, and it really fit perfectly with Kevin's character arc as well as the rest of the cast's arcs in it. I think the writing of the series peaked with Ries and Kevin's story as well as Star Door 15.