A few things of note before going into the bigger plot talk. There are a few times in the final chapter where someone will say "that man" in regard to people helping President Crois. Throw in the fact that there is one particular character who hasn't been shown in the game since Crossbell was made an Independent State, you have a subtle but huge hint of someone who has a big role yet to play. While my first play through I wasn't a fan of the late reveal, and how I feel this time is yet to be known, it can't be denied that there are much more hints for the late reveal unlike Zero.

So the end of chapter 4 I feel works well a lot much like the end of chapter 2, it is pay off for a lot of little points that had been laid out before. If you are able to do the quests for Nielson, this makes a few larger pieces of the puzzle come into place. The part that works really well here is seeing the script flip. Crossbell was at the whims of the two superpowers on both sides of it. Now with the Power of a more powerful Septerrion, along with being able to freeze all assets on the continent, Crossbell has complete control over the continent. In a way, this shows the theoretical of what could have happened if Richard's plan in Sky came to fruition. The fight to gain a way to fight off their foes would become a way to try to control everything on the Continent. 

While chapter 3 was each day being separate plot point that seemingly have no connection to each other, in this chapter they all come together to show how they have been working together. One major thing I have come to realize is one of the reasons why I love the older games, which is the sudden animated cut scenes to show the really hype, major turning points. There's something about a change in style and presentation of a cutscene of the older games that really makes the moments more dramatic. Sure, these days games can look gorgeous both in game play and cut scenes, many times with there being little to no difference between them. But the drastic difference that you had back then helped make certain moments really stand out, allowing the player to know this was a moment that the game makers really wanted you to pay attention to.

Ending the chapter with seeing all these people who were friends and allies being the ones who orchestrated the attack on Crossbell, and took Kea for a project that has been in the works for Centuries puts Lloyd in the lowest he has been yet. It makes it all the the more interesting when it's a talk from Garcia in the prison cell that gets him back into his spirit, to break out and attempt to get over the impossible barrier before him and the SSS. Zeit coming to the rescue and giving some backstory on the old Septerrion, and the reveal with Wazy makes for an impactful hour of game that occurs. The continued rise and fall of action, with each rise being larger than the last really shows how this game is so loved by many.

In my first playthrough, late into the final chapter the game really started to out stay its welcome. Currently I'm not at that point, but some of the problems I had before are still present. The better translation has made certain characters stand out better than before. Overall I can appreciate Noel and Rixia's character a bit more. That said, I still don't have a huge attachment to them like some of the fanbase seems to have. The chapter also doesn't really pick up until much later, as once you start doing the "get back the team" section of the game, I'm not terribly engaged with what is going on until you get to fight Campanella and the Steel Maiden. It makes sense to have that section and see the changed across the state, but I just don't care much for it. Thankfully, after the fight at Stargazer Tower, it really starts to pick up again.

I need to wait until the showdown with Dieter to complete my thoughts, but so far I can say I like him with a bit of a caveat. Not a fan of the fact that he used the Red Constellation to attack his home city. At the end of the day, it all makes sense why, as such a huge attack makes it easier to rally the citizens for the sudden changes he makes under the guise of defending the citizens. While you would think some would question why their attackers are suddenly helping them, I can easily see the excuse of them being bought out at an extremely high price as a way to quell uneasiness, since the way Jeagers work is pretty well known.

My main problem is it makes Dieter and those working with him harder to completely sympathize with. In Sky, the attempted coup was largely in the shadows and done in a way to mostly leave civilians out of it, outside some exceptions. Here, you had a full scale attack that traumatizes the entire city. While the motivation of the core group in some ways is due to past trauma of the Empire and Republic, the attack on the city is an extreme tactic to employ. That said, the game hasn't gone out of the way to put them in the most sympathetic light, and still threads things pretty well at the moment. 

At this time, I think my opinion of the game is a good bit higher than my first time playing it. I feel the pacing can be a little wonky, and many of the characters don't click with me as much as Sky, but everything plays out much better than I remember it did. Part of the problem at that time may have been me getting franchise fatigue at the time. Now we also have a better translation, so more subtle things may not have been able to be parsed out due to the way the machine translation was like. 

And with 47 hours of play time, all battles using speed up mode, I have finished my journey through Crossbell. 

At this point, I don't really have much else to add. Overall I found my replay of both games to be much more enjoyable compared to the first time, especially Azure. While not as exhausting, the final chapter does feel like it drags on too long, mostly from how many dungeons you have to go through, and the final one just continuing on and on. Thankfully, like my first time, the final boss did not give me trouble as I won without dying to its ultimate attack. While I used a guide for quests and character events, I fought all bosses without the guide. I can see how on hard and nightmare that boss can be frustrating with getting wiped out by the ultimate attack being extremely easy.

I'm still not too keen on Grimwood being the true mastermind. Part of it is the problem of the reveal being so late that you don't have time to develop emotional ties, since the game doesn't do much once the reveal occurs, and even before he is a distant confidant. The other problem is that despite everything he did to put this plan into motion, he backs down pretty easily. On paper, everything makes sense, but the execution is just lacking to me.

Overall, the Crossbell games are really strong titles and does an extremely good job of creating tension and a great political story. The way everything is done shows why it is such a beloved duology and considered the best, building on the past foundation of the Sky games to reach further heights. At the end of the day though, I have an extremely emotional attachment to the Sky games, where the characters are much more endearing to me, and the smaller scale and slower pacing are something I love that many others don't, so due to personal preferences I still find the Sky games to be the superior saga compared to the Crossbell games. 

Next comes the Cold Steel games, and I'll be doing another post before I restart my journey into Erebonia.

Despite my many hang ups from finishing the Cold Steel saga a few years ago, this is the one I have been looking forward to most on my replay. Overall I and II are pretty solid entries and I think the Noble arc of the saga is pretty good. III is also an overall fun time even if late game has me question certain story beats and wonder why certain characters were focused over others. As for IV, well my feelings are pretty known, pretty mixed for most of the game with the ending just not sticking the landing for me personally.

All that said, with a few years to ruminate on the saga and having softened my position on certain aspects, now more than ever am I ready to give the saga a fresh look and judge it on what it is rather than what I hoped it would be. Much like the Crossbell games, this will be the first time going through the saga knowing all the ins and outs as I play. These games are dense with so much information and dialogue that 4 games of that it is easy to overlook clues that were placed. I have doubts that all my problems will be placated, but I think I am ready to enjoy what the games provide more since I have had time to accept what these games ultimately are.

On a different note, I am going to put on a self-imposed challenge to see how far I can get into the saga. Once I fail the challenge, I will just go back to playing normally as I am not restarting, I am just interested to see how far I can get. The challenge is simple, when a character gets knocked out in battle, I cannot use them in battle for the rest of the saga. So if Elliot goes down in battle in the first chapter of CSI, if I am still doing the challenge by the end of the game I cannot use him. A few notes:

- Any battle that is impossible to win (ie the battle against Sara, McBurn fight in early CS II) will not count as a loss, since even in new game plus it doesn't let you win as their health stays at 1 and will spam attacks until you lose. 

-Since Rean is needed to play solo sections, to counter him dying an unfortunate death I will make it so if he goes down the person linked to him (assuming they are a character that is alive), will take the death after the battle. So if Rean dies in a battle linked to Fie, Fie will finish the battle, but afterwards Rean comes back and Fie stays down

-Assuming I can even finish a game, I will give myself a resurrection for any character at any time. This will be a long challenge and RNG will happen, so I want to give myself some kind of leeway.

Beyond that, if I get to later games a few other rules will happen due to the Divine knight/soldat fights, but we will get there if we cross that bridge. No idea why I want to do this outside of just the funny potential and to make me more invested in all the characters. If I can just beat one game with this challenge I will consider it a success.

With all that said, I am looking forward to seeing just how much my mind changes on this saga as I make my way through.

There's something endearing about the janky looking character models of CS 1 and 2. The second half of the saga no doubt has much better models, but since my formative years were spent on the PS1 era and early PS2, I have a soft spot for those polygonal looks. Returning to Trista where everything feels so low stakes and the out look isn't so grim at this point.

The prologue does do an overall good job of introducing each class 7 member and giving a small idea of their personality. Of course this group of individuals while a class has yet to feel like a cohesive unit and there are some bumpy roads ahead for them to reach that end goal. While most of the class starts out well enough, there are two that come off abrasive and make me not like them at first.

You have Machias, who while having a good point about the Noble class as a whole and the need to move away from that system, comes off way too strong. The main problem is that hates Jusis right off the bat due to the fact he was born into a noble family. While understandable that being a teenager and not very experienced with the actual world, it still makes him come off as unlikable. That said, there is a character that the writers really started off on the wrong foot.

Knowing the whole saga, the unfortunate reality of Alisa from what I recall is how like all the other characters, she gets side lined and overall her arc feels incomplete. Ultimately, the start of her character isn't something that breaks her. However, it baffles me that the writers went with the direction they went for starting it. Even at the time it came out in Japan, the accidental boob gag was already old. Throw in the fact that it was the inciting incident for Alisa to not talk to him for weeks just to show off her flaw of difficulty of approaching others, it is not a great start.

What I forgot was how even after smoothing things over there are some small "gags" that just make her come off as ridiculous. It's understandable that she would not be happy about sharing a room with the opposite sex and that is something to overcome as she is in a military academy. Fine with that. The fact she looks at Rean and says she should tie him to the bed is such a dick move. Implying that because of the incident he would use that opportunity to sexually harass or assault her once again makes her come across as unreasonable. Many see it as a gag and move on, to me it's just in terrible taste.

Assuming I recall correctly, after this the reference to the incident mostly die and you get to enjoy seeing this small group become a cohesive unit. Also, later like many others, Alisa does get expanded upon and becomes one of the more interesting characters. It's just unfortunate it had to start off like that. 

Beyond my complaints here, I forgot how overall it's another nice, relaxing introduction to the story and setting of Erebonia.

Before going onto to actual story stuff, time to talk about my challenge status after beating chapter 1! So first of all, I screwed up on the prologue boss fight and Jusis died, so being so close to the start I started over since it took about 20 minutes to catch up with speed up. Now that I'm so far in I will actually have to go with permadeath as starting over would take too long to catch up. As for chapter one, most fights are easy, but one regular battle against the bugs had me almost lose a member, but I managed to scrape by. The chapter boss was mostly not a problem, just kept everyone's health up and chipped it down until using both S-crafts to win. So with the current run no deaths and on to chapter 2!

In past runs I've considered this group to be mostly mundane and saw the whole thing with Laura and Rean to be a pointless quick one and done thing that just happens. On a replay, everything with this group is a subtle showing of certain things to come.

With Rean and Laura, on Laura's side you see how her conflict with Fie will arise. She is a very prideful person and takes her swordsmanship very seriously, and everything she does is a reflection of that. With Rean she is disappointed with how he lacks confidence in himself and as a reflection see's it as a disrespect to the way of the sword and himself. Due to Rean's penchant of constant self-reflection and seeing how he offended Laura's sensibilities; they move on pretty quickly. Later when it comes to Fie who is much more aloof and lost in life, this is where they have a hard time seeing eye to eye, where Laura can't understand where someone doesn't take anything in life seriously.

As for Rean, this is where you see him having little confidence in himself. It's great that he has the outlook of improving and can see where he needs to improve, but he judges himself way too harshly. While later characters unlocking their S-crafts can feel like it just happens because it's their story time, here it works pretty well, as with a push from Laura and him practicing he has a chance to try out something he has been working on. You also see that while he is mild mannered, he does have a tendency to bottle up his feelings and history, something he shares with Alisa. The end of the chapter him letting his fellow classmates know something as seemingly as mundane as being in a family of small nobles, as well as the bigger fact of being a noble, is a major step in Class VII being his family.

As for Alisa, the chapter does do a good job of contrasting her with Rean. Both are hiding their family ties, but where Rean is mild mannered, Alisa has no problem being more abrasive and letting her feelings be known. She can have the opposite problem of Rean, where she can be hard to approach in certain respects due to her abrasiveness. However, despite that she genuinely cares about others even if embarrassed about it when confronted. 

Then you have Elliot, who seems out of place in the group as he originally didn't want to go to Thors, but a music academy. He claims he wasn't serious about it, but seeing his room with musical instruments and subtle implications of how in tune with music he is, you know he's hiding his music love inside him. While not nearly as active as the others in the field study, he is integral to finding out the provincial army is hiding something with actively mistaking who was selling the bracelets. 

The chapter subtly shows how each person brings something to the table, while showing there are certain aspects where they need to grow and how they may rub others in the group the wrong way. Growing and understanding how they need to work with each others differences with be key in becoming a strong group. Some have bigger hang ups than others, but it doesn't make any of them lesser in needing to grow.

Playing the other games, you understand that one of the major aspects of this arc is the noble faction working to overthrow Osborne, and while small this chapter shows what kind of low tactics they will stoop to. Actively harming those living in their province to have complete control over them. Cold Steel 1 has been my favorite of the Cold Steel saga for a while, and replaying the game even just this far in has shown me why. 

Oh Aidios, chapter 2 had a few nail biters with fights, with the monster quest where Jusis and Machias are unable to stay linked being the hardest one. Early on it wasn't too bad, but late fight I was fighting to keep my members properly healed and it seemed like someone was going to die. Thankfully, enough time passed to get two S-crafts available and I won before anyone could die.

As for the chapter itself, it's definitely a great one when you go to talk to all the NPCs. In Celdic, you just get the idea that Duke Albarea is pulling the strings. Here, you see how overall the Noble class truly views themselves and those below them. Outside some exceptions the Nobles care little for the lower class, and even among the nobles they have rankings they cling to. In front of Jusis, you have Nobles show their respect, but behind his back they chastise him for being commoner born. 

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention one of my favorites, Bleublanc, making is entrance into the story. Sure, he was briefly shown last chapter, but I consider this chapter his proper introduction. The Voice actor for him is perfect, and I can never get enough of his "HaHa". 

Stakes get a little higher with Machias being detained and getting a close look at the military force being built up by the provincial army, showing how the conflict is quickly escalating between the Noble faction and the Reformists. You also have many other figures moving in the shadows, observing how different people/factions are acting. 

Early on Jusis, while not the most affable person, was one who I was interested in, and this chapter really elevates him. His much more gentle personality with the children, as well as his soft spot with his older brother contrasted with the harshness his father has towards Jusis himself. Throw in the complicated fact he's a bastard born from a commoner, he becomes a really complex character in such a small chapter. Once again I am reminded why he is one of my favorites in this saga. As for Rufus, seeing him at the start and knowing the outcome of his character is quite the whiplash, but once again the complex circumstances of Nobility politics and how much a terrible person Duke Albarea explains a lot.

Machias, while still not the most likable, softens up more and with having actual displays of nobility arrogance permeating the story makes his thoughts resonate much more easily compared to his feud with Jusis. As for Fie, we finally learn about her background of being a Jaeger. Of course there was Randy, but something about Fie in particular is a great way to introduce that not all Jaegers are merciless killing machines. Before I only played this game having some Sky game context, but now having Crossbell with Shirley despite being from a Jeager Corps she is relatively normal. Of course her lackadaisical attitude is in sharp contrast to most others we have seen. With that revelation, while one problem with class VII smooths over, another one is about to start brewing.

Well, my challenge run came to an unfortunate and sudden unclimactic end. During the school house section I had Rean and Jusis get instakilled by enemies I didn't know could do that. Elliot took Reans death and then against the fight at the end of the section by team got wiped. Was hoping for something more climatic, but I assumed this was how I would lose, just not so soon.

Now having played the Crossbell games, this is where the references and seeing the timeline where they match up start to occur. One thing I wonder with the whole incident with the attack on the watch tower and the Calvard base is how the other stuff in the background played a role. I heavily suspect with all the knowledge of the Crossbell games that Kilika was on the Calvard side to calm their forces down, and I imagine both Rocksmith and Osborne were all but happy to calm everything down with their agenda's they had planned for the Conference. 

Gaius is one of those characters people like to meme on with him talking about the wind, but this chapter really shows how he has a great understanding of the greater forces going on in the world. Despite being a small nomadic group in the middle of nowhere, eventually even they will be swallowed up in the conflicts going on in the world. While a calm and collected individual, if his home is in danger he becomes determined to do whatever he needs to do in order to protect it. Not one of the deepest characters, but still a pretty solid character in his own right.

For a deeper character, this was Alisa's chapter to shine and get a glance into her mind and problems. The game does well in showing that her problems are quite complicated between her family dynamic and hard upbringing with little friends to interact with. It also establishes that her and Rean have some similarities that they can each relate to in some way, even if their situations are very different. 

The biggest part of this chapter is setting up the idea of what a noble is, which makes sense given that this and CS 2 is focused on the noble faction's actions and their machinations in trying to assert their grip over the country. There is the idea from Patrick's point of view that they come from a lineage that makes them distinguished, and as such mean they are meant to lead and are above reproach. That contrasts both with how Laura and Jusis carries themselves, and the more simple place Gaius comes from. Everyone there carries a certain type of dignity, but they respect each other and have their role to help each other live day to day. 

If I had one big complaint, it's how the chapter doesn't go much farther in what the purpose of a noble is, or if they are even needed. Something that has stuck in my head is if you answer "I don't know" for the last question when teaching the kids. Rean makes two points, the first one I agree with which is what a person considers the point of nobility varying from person to person. The second point is one that I am frankly baffled by, which is where Rean feels that Erebonia wouldn't be where it was without the nobility, and that the idea of it could work if removing the problems.

Some will say that is an optional choice so doesn't mean a lot. However, Rean being the main character and the moral compass, this is something I consider how he feels even if he was to choose the other options. My grievance with this is how you are told nobility has its purpose and could be good when removing the problematic elements, but what those are and what those purposes are don't get expanded upon. There are ideas you could extrapolate from based on context and how Rean feels on certain things, but without going into much detail I feel like anything I come up with doesn't equate with only a person who is a noble can do. This becomes a bigger issue later as the games seem to think that it's overall an individual problem, as you have the good ones that if they take over would rid of all the problems, and not go into the broader issues about how the system would be an issue even with better people taking over.

Even with all that said, it's a solid chapter with more of the board pieces showing itself. Last thing from me for now is Emma. Between this and last chapter you know that she is hiding something, but I want to just mention how I am making sure to see her bonding events. In the past I haven't been huge on her character, but people have said that seeing her bonding events help expand her character, especially in CS 2. There's always been in the back of my mind that she was popular because a lot of people find her, for lack of a better term, waifu material. Having seen some of the bonding events, it's kind of enforcing that belief. One had Rean and Emma accidently touch hands and they blush, and another has Emma get up close to help him study and he can't stop thinking how attractive and well endowed she is. Perhaps CS II stuff with actually expand on stuff, but for now I'm still not that keen on Emma as a character.

Playing through this game having now been able to play all the previous games leading up to it, certain decisions about the game make much more sense. This is most notable with how certain major characters don't get much limelight. Back when I first played this game, I only had Sky FC and SC under my belt, so when you see so little of Lechter, one of the Ironbloods, it was so strange that he had little relevance and time in the spot light. Now knowing that a lot of his character building was done in the Crossbell games and he was gone for most of the time, it makes sense that he doesn't get showcased in CS I and II. You get the same but to a lesser extent with Osborne, but with the conflict being more about the Nobles for the first two games, it makes sense he doesn't steal the spot light.

One of the few characters that I find myself not changing my mind on much is Elise, and as far as her introduction is concerned that is where she comes off her best. It's a way to introduce some of the facets of Rean's character, where he feels that the best course of action is to cut ties with his adopted family for "causing" problems for them, and the introduction of what would be called his ogre mode. At the same time, knowing all too well even by the time she reaches Thor's that she has a crush on him isn't exactly something I'm too keen on. Perhaps upon replaying everything my opinion could change, but as the games go on her use in the story feels inconsequential, and from what I remember everything about her centers around Rean. Speaking of Rean...

It's no secret from my past posts that I have at the best of times mixed feeling about him. That said, much like with many of his classmates and a lot of stuff with this saga, Cold Steel 1 does a great job of laying the framework of his complicated situation and mindset. You had the incident with Patrick where he lays it into Rean for not having noble blood in him, which stings hard with how him being adopted into a noble family was very controversial, causing no end of slander by others. Add on to a strange power that takes control of him suddenly, it's no wonder why he has self esteem issues. Feeling like he doesn't belong with is adopted family, you also see why he feels lost with no sense of belonging. 

As the cold steel saga continued on and we had to wait many years to get through everything, I very much started to get burned out. Replaying this game, that burnout made me forget some of the intricacies that were set up in earlier games. Perhaps by the end of my replay of the saga my feeling on Rean will be the same overall. That said, it would be remiss of me to say that Rean didn't have potential, as he very much did have a framework put into place to build off of. It was all there to begin with, but I think with how dense these games are with text, one can easily miss out on certain elements if not viewing in the correct context, or not having an interest on certain events or characters. Having more of an interest on actually tracking Rean's journey, I am able to pick up on more than I have in the past.

Replaying CS1, it's interesting how everything changes in the chapter you visit the Capital. The first part of the chapter is wrapping up the final conflict between two members of Class VII, Fie and Laura. With them coming together to form the strongest duo in the group, you go from a class that was months ago a rag tag group of various people to a group united from different experiences working together and being able to see past their differences. With all that development, now the game starts to put more focus on the bigger picture, and the conflicts they will be put in the middle of.

At this point in the story, with the class not in unity it's time to introduce a shakeup to add some more mystery between the bigger set pieces. You have Crow come in to be part of the class, for reasons you can definitely see knowing his personality. Then you have Millium, the Ironblood that some in the class hesitate to accept at first, and even with most everyone accepting her quickly, question what her purpose being around is. After all, Osborne specifically set it up so she would be put in the class, with the Emperor's recommendation. While Emma has her secrets that you wonder about, Millium is a walking red flag of ulterior motives.

Another interesting note for me is how perspective changes how you view some things. There are a number of fans who played each game in release order, so when going into this game blind with the other games being their only context makes you view the timeline here very differently. Once you finish the Garellia Fortress section, you know in a few months time is when world events really start top shake up. While the story is focusing on the terrorist group that just made their name known. Even with their leader supposedly taken down in the mines, you know that things will be shaking up soon.

This makes what will be the bulk of the final chapter make a little more sense from a writing perspective. You go from all these high stakes to the school festival with little to no stakes. When taking this game in a vacuum, it's a weird decision and a little disappointing. Knowing the events that take place in Crossbell and how the timeline overlaps, there's a tension there that isn't present for those not having the context. You know at some point this time of leisure will be short lived from events outside this particular story, let alone knowing the conflict that is brewing with this story.

Something else that stood out to me is the escalation of the Noble alliance, and the point of no return for their plans. At the end of the game you have things go really crazy, but for most of the game they keep their cards close to their chest. What I never really thought about is how the attack on the mine means that the Noble Alliance has no choice but to do what they go with. There is proof that they are working with the terrorists, and was stealing huge amounts of ore (as an aside, speaking with NPCs in Roer give small hints, and only the reveal at the end shows just what everything was for). With enough time, the Noble faction would have lost power due to all the schemes that they were up to, so trying to wrest control of the entire country is the only option to keep their power.

With the unveiling of the Courageous, there are a few things that stand out a little bit to me. Mainly, how we first get to see the Emperor's face then see Osborne's reaction to it. Considering info we get much later in CSIII and CS IV, I can kind of fit some of what is being shown into what they go for much later. Won't go into detail about that since I need to get to that part and see how everything really does work. That said, the way the everything goes gives some vagueness to everything. Osborne seems pleased a little bit with Olivert's move, yet still see's everything as a board with all pieces in play. The Emperor seems to know some of the grand mechanisms at play, and wishes to see how his son goes about navigating that.

Much like Sky FC, CS I really does get better each time I play it. Still got the final chapter to go, but even with the narrative lull I will still love this game by the end. Before restarting this game I was hesitant to think I could end this saga with much positivity. However, there may be hope that my thoughts on the saga could turn around to some degree. Either way, too early to tell.

And with that Cold Steel 1 is finished, with only 3 games left in this grand replay. In the past, I've seen the school festival as a weird decision. You had all these events going on and suddenly everything grinds to a halt to have the entire last chapter happen at Thors with the greater story moving on at the end of the chapter. Going through it now, everything about the chapter makes more sense.

At the start of the game, you come to the school bright eyed towards what the future holds, put into a group of strangers to do a little exercise in the old school building. Then each chapter has you start at the school until you do your practical exam and then leave the school for you field study. The final chapter is basically just taking the school section of a chapter and making it the entire part of it. You have the part where you help out the student counsel and others, then you finally venture into the school building, where your final exam takes place to face a creature beyond anything else you have seen.

Outside the strange metallic being that is unlocked at the end, everything else goes back to normal school stuff, with the only exception being that the talk about Crossbell creating unease for some. Then the brilliant part is the ending. There's all the huge events and reveals that take place, but the ending is the clincher that the chapter was building up to. Throughout the entire game, the school was a safe haven, where the events of the rest of the country, while having some effects. were mostly irrelevant to the day to day life of the students. While the field studies made Class VII come face to face with the reality of the world, they always had the end of the study to return to their haven.

When Crow and the Soldats come in, and Rean is flown away not of his own will, the world he, his classmates, and us the audience came to know is completely destroyed. The second game will be an extended field study, but the events have escalated so much that no matter where they go the effects of the world will follow them. With Thors about to be taken over, there will be no respite. The place of belonging which Rean finally found solace in, gone.

Viewed in that context, the final chapter is a brilliant way to top off a very well crafted game. Even though I wasn't as enthused about the final chapter in the past, CS I was one of the games higher up on my list. With this replay, there's so much more I appreciate, and I have no problem solidifying this game as one of my top three of the franchise of all the ones I have replayed, joining Sky FC and Sky 3rd. 

As for the next game, that is the one I'm interested in seeing how my views have changed. In the past, I found the start and the final act for the main story to be pretty solid, with the middle act being a drag and the actual final part of the game feeling superfluous. 

One final note is some thoughts regarding the speech of Osborne. Knowing the events of later games, it's interesting to see what happens here to events that go down in the same place in the 3rd game. The bigger thing is how the game very intentionally has Osborne menacingly make his speech in front of the statue of Driechles. Knowing the late game reveal in 4, there's a part of me that can see this as a hint. On the other hand, the imagery with the events that occur shortly make me feel this is more a great way to show how a murder in front of it knowing the historical context of said figure, is an appropriate way to have civil war break out. It also shows that Osborne is a figure that will have a huge impact on the country in his own way, much like Driechles.

After a break I am making headway into CS II, now about to start Act II.

Just as a I remember, Act I is a strong start for the game. With such a huge change to the country being in a civil war, returning to places you've been to is much more interesting. Places like Celdic and Nord that had a warm, welcoming atmosphere have a more tense air to them. Then you have Bareahard where it had nobles flaunting their power before, but with the Noble Alliance dominating they are even more pompous than before. 

Then you have Rean making headway into reuniting with his class, each reunion just as sweet as the last where it seems like as they gather strength they may be able to make some sort of difference. However, as they reunite they face off against foes way above their weight, and only with help of allies do they scrape by. With the end of the act having class VII and Rean crushed effortlessly, a lot of that optimism seems squashed, as only Rean being taken on the Pantagruel will everyone be spared.

In terms of setting up the conflict and just how much Class VII has to overcome, it is done superbly. Class VII is a seed planted to weather the storm that is current Erebonia, but they are nowhere near blooming, and even then the powers they face they will need allies, which the Courageous sweeping in when things look bad for Rean shows the blooming allies they have, and more they have yet to realize. Also, much like CS I each of Class VII has their own interests when it comes to family members to worry about, but their bonds as a class have them come together to help each other with their interests and struggles.

Now it's time for my first big post of Rean, as with the intermission he reaches a major steppingstone and I need to post my thoughts on him as of that moment. In the past while the moment was neat, I wasn't too invested in the moment. As of this playthrough, my feelings are a bit complicated.

Looking at Rean in the context of how we get him at the start of CS I, I see a character who lacks a number of things. Thinking about all of Class VII, I start to think about three things: sense of self, sense of place, and sense of purpose. With most of class VII, they have 2 of 3 of those filled out with one they have to work on, even if some of the others are a little dubious as well in some regards. However, with Rean, it feels like none of those are filled out. He doesn't have a place until the end of CS I where he finds Class VII as his place where he belongs, which is ripped out of him at the end of the game and at the end of act I in CS II. He doesn't really have a purpose as he just does things to help others but doesn't seem to have aspirations. And then the big one is sense of self, where there's a lot about him he doesn't know or like, and doesn't view himself in the best light.

Viewing Rean in that light, I see the payoff with him and Alfin on the Pantagruel. He has his place of belonging. With the country as it is, he has a purpose to help the war end so he can go back to how things were. As for self, he see's himself as valuable to others and not just a burden, and in some ways instead of just being selfless he can think about doing things just for himself. With all three senses filled and finding a balance, he can take control of his power and make a move. However, once again by himself he can do only so much, and the balance he has is delicate, with his power only being active for so long.

When I view things in that light, I get the appeal and it works well enough. But that's the problem for me, well enough. To me, the way all this happens feels sudden and not enough build up. Rean's feelings and thoughts are complicated, and with so much going on it feels like we don't get enough time to see his actual thoughts and feelings during the conflicts, and when the major turning points for him happen, while on paper works, doesn't get enough time in the oven to be as strong as it could be. It doesn't make it outright bad, but makes me wish there was more to make these moments land much better.

That may not be fair though, as I think there's a bigger issue that just can't be fixed. While reading so many thoughts of others about why they liked Rean and enjoyed his journey, which I appreciate, there's just a lack of something that makes me get invested in Rean as a character. Unlike Estelle and Kevin in the Sky games where their personality and other traits make me love them and invested in their journey, nothing happens for me to do the same for Rean in this game. At the end of the day, I have my preferences and biases that make me like other characters and stories over others, and with Rean it just doesn't fit that for one reason or another.

The funny thing is that typing out what I have, Rean is a character that I should like. There are certain aspects I can relate to as the inherent need to please others and struggle with confidence. There's just nothing there that grabs me, and that's not really the fault of the story here, as they did what they want and most likely changing some things that would grab me would change Rean in some ways that while still pretty similar, would be off putting to others. So while I look forward to experiencing his story and seeing it for what it is, I also have to live with the fact he is just written in a way that isn't quite for me like others.

Now I look forward to Act II, as in the past that's where I start to be less charitable towards this game. Perhaps with my new perspectives, I may find it better than last time.

Well, I'm basically done with CS II, just have to wrap up the free day of the epilogue.

My feelings on the game as a whole are still complicated. Act II is still a problem for me, mainly because of how long it is and how little happens that grabs my attention. In past games, you have sections that happen that feel slow and need to happen even if not something that makes the greater plot move forward. In Sky SC, you have the first bunch of chapters happen to introduce the various enforcers and have different characters have their arcs happen. Act II is supposed to be like that after getting Class VII back together.

The problem is it feels like everyone just kind of exists but they don't really get their moments to shine, even when they are supposed to be the center of the situation they are put in. I have to use Alisa because she is the easiest one to get my point across. In CS I, she was built up pretty well in having issues with her mother and needing to prove herself and also come to understand her mother a bit more. In CS II, while on paper she kind of does both, you don't get to really experience those moments and realizations. The quest where you fix the watch and see how her mother still loves Alisa, but has a hard time expressing it is a great moment. However, an actual moment between the two just doesn't really happen. It doesn't help that Angelica takes the actual spot light, and while I enjoy her the stuff with her father is so underdeveloped it doesn't really make for much an emotional payoff.

In the past, I've complained about Act II being too Rean centric, but replaying it I have to alter that. Rean is the one who is the main voice in some ways, but despite being the main character he also feels removed from the actual story. There's the events of facing of Vulcan and Scarlet, and his struggle of not saving Vulcan and becoming stronger and more determined which lets him save Scarlet. I can see why Rean as a character the kind of person would be to not want others to die, but once again, everything feels so undercooked that I'm not really invested in that internal conflict for him. Past games did pretty good on the character moments with build up and pay off to bridge the big story sections, but not so much here.

Late Act II does have some moments, the stuff with Duke Albarea and Jusis is the highlight of the act, and the liberation of Thors is nice, especially with the tsundere Patrick accepting Rean's hand after slapping it away the last time they dueled. Having the time at Thors before being thrown into the turmoil of the final day of the war makes what happens next hit all the harder.

While I can see the boss rush exhausting, especially with each one ending with having to be saved, I don't mind and see why as a narrative reason. In past games, this is the point where the protagonists would come out on top, and win the day and everything is good. Not the case here. Despite a month of hardship, they consistently are shown they are nowhere near the level they need to be to come out on top, which sows seeds of doubt if they can truly succeed. Que a climatic battle with Crow and an epic three part fight against the calamity, while the victory at first seems sweet, it all goes south fast.

Of course, if you have played the past sagas, you know a little of what to expect, mainly with Osborne being alive and taking over Crossbell. The game does good with building up to this moment, between making new players question Osborne being dead with his body having disappeared, and the constant showing that Class VII is in no way prepared for the current state of Erebonia. Add on top the back-to-back reveals after Crow dying, it definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat.

As for the Crossbell section, it was nice to hear all the names and have the faces and character history to back it up. Still, overall I can't help but feel it was too fanservicy in how it went about things. That said, overall it was much more effective emotionally having the previous games to look back on to see such drastic changes, as well as having an understanding of what was going on in Crossbell at the same time.

Lastly, is the final days at Thors. Once again, mixed emotions here. On the one hand, it's brilliant having everyone back to normal routines. However, with everything that happened and Class VII parting ways, it doesn't have that cozy feel that it had in CS I. It shows that returning to normal won't be happening, and that the trials they went through shows they all need to go their separate ways for now to become a force to make change. On the other hand, as others have pointed out in the past and like with a lot of Act II stuff, we don't really get into the head space of the others, and as a result I am not as invested in everything. Unlike Act II, I think the game as a whole did enough to see the idea of the Class splitting as the logical conclusion of the game. Individually, there is more to be desired.

End of the day, CS II is not a bad game and has a solid start and end to the main conflict, with a middling Act II and the finale also lacking in some respects. If it was another game series, I would just leave it at that. However, past Trails games have always managed to be mostly consistent with a little faltering here and there. The fact that there was a lot missing to really engage me for a significant portion of the game is frustrating. So yeah, with that, of all the games replayed it's definitely still at the bottom of the list.

Now starting chapter one of Cold Steel III, and just want to do some thoughts bridging the two arcs of this saga of Cold Steel. 

In the past, I always saw the epilogue of CS II as pointless and just delaying the end of the game. While I think after having the final dungeon of the main story was enough and the true final dungeon could've been a much shorter affair, the narrative significance of it isn't lost on me. It's supposed to give you a unsatisfying sort of feeling, a final day that at the end of it was the final moments of Class VII before parting ways. On the surface it's like the free days of CS I, but underneath you can tell it's just imitating it, as deep down everyone is holding back their emotions, which is finally let out after their final "trial". It is a nice way to wrap up the Noble Alliance arc and before moving to the Osborne arc.

Speaking of the epilogue, I can't help but feel like extending the feelings to the franchise as a whole. Having completed CS II, I am done with the games that XSeed helped bring to the West. While I have no doubts the people working tirelessly at NISA to continue to bring these games to audiences outside of Japan, I think how XSeed was the ones to start bringing the franchise over, and the bittersweet feelings that they would not be the ones to continue doing so. Of course, there is some happy stuff where some of them came on in various capacities to help with the later Cold Steel games, but at the time I know emotions were high as the staff were also huge fans of what they were localizing. 

Moving onto CS III, while the game looks much cleaner than the first two, there's a charm to the more polygonal looks you could see in the character models of I and II. I think that mainly comes to my formative years being from the PS1, N64, and Gamecube games I grew up with, and there's some nostalgia from some of the less smoother looks you had back then with certain games.

Not much to say with CS III at this time, mainly just how nice it is to start with a more laid back atmosphere before the turbulent times happen late game and into next game. Rean becoming a teacher makes sense with what we saw in the first two games. Many people like his classmates, instructor, and others helped him grow and counseled him during the many events that occurred, so I see him wanting to repay in kind by helping others. It can also be seen as a repentance of the tasks he had to carry out, even if he did so for personal reasons such as to mitigate deaths in the conflicts that he was in the middle of.

The much smaller class VII does help make the dynamic between everyone feel much better, letting each personality shine as they bounce off each other more effortlessly. You get one familiar face with two new characters with distinct background, Juna from the annexed Crossbell, and Kurt who is a Vander who has to use the duel sword style due to his physique not able to handle the more famous of the two Vander styles. 

Then of course this is where you get characters of both Sky and Crossbell having more prominent roles. As for Sky, having Agate and Tita is a great way to bring returning characters. As much as I love Estelle, she has finished her story arcs and main motivations, so getting other characters to show how they have grown and current progress is nice. Randy is a good rep for Crossbell, someone who has a fondness for Crossbell, but with his background can be understanding towards someone like Rean who has his own complicated circumstances.

Lastly, knowing the events of all the games, I can see the dots of the setup of the branch campus, and the vague plots that Osborne seem to be setting into motion. At the end of CS IV, I was not impressed with how he was handled as a character and how everything with him was wrapped up. Certainly, I can see some seeds sowed for certain aspects of his character. I may yet come to terms with how the games ultimately made his character, but there are still aspects of him that I need to see for certain problems I had to go away.

Cold Steel III, while at the beginning is still laid back with not as much going, compared to other first games of an arc has a lot more going for it. Unlike the field studies in CS I, here things become much more intense right off the bat, with an Enforcer and Duvalie attacking the camp. As for the background plot, you don't have anything being done outright by Osborne and the reformist faction, but they are content on not coming in to help in any capacity in order to strip any remaining power that the nobles have. 

Unlike in CS I where you didn't get much in the way of other class members having big interactions with each other outside of Rean, here we get a great moment with Kurt being frustrated with Juna and Altina cheering him up. It definitely provides a much better dynamic in the group compared to the original Class VII. As far as Kurt as a character himself though, while I like him enough, he's not exactly a character I find memorable. On the surface, I understand how as a Vander that uses the less known sword style and was basically stripped of his calling, he is restless and is trying to find a purpose and people to rely on him. However, nothing that was done really stood out to me to really engage with his character. 

As far as the chapter goes, it does end on a strong note by allowing players to step into Hamel themselves for the first time in the franchise. New players will be shocked at what transpired, and people who started from the beginning will be hit by the somber tone and connect the dots with the various things on the ground to characters they know of from the past. The mood is set up perfectly the whole time you are in the town and reminds me that Falcom can still hit moments out of the park.

Regarding Rean, this is where I start to really tire of him, but not necessarily because of anything he does specifically. In the other two games, Rean was the central character and got a lot more of the spotlight, but there was spacing between his moments and not every moment was centered around him. He could also have moments just happen and people not comment on what he did. Now, it feels like there are so many scenes that while he isn't involved, he becomes part of the topic in some ways, and this is most apparent with stuff involving the girls/women of Class VII.

At the start of chapter two, you have the girls doing the cooking class, and the topic of Rean having a girlfriend comes up. Due to his fame, fair enough to come up I suppose, but then the idea that because Fie and Laura being women in his old Class, there has to be more between them, because Aidios forbid he's just friends with them. It also feels like any interaction with an old Class VII member that is a woman has the veneer of Rean might be romantically interested in them, and any interaction he has with them gets ruined since the game, whether outright stating it or implying it, can't just be a nice moment between classmates but a potential romantic moment.

You had that in CS I and II, but it was specific moments and while annoying, wasn't so saturated to make me think every moment with a female member of Class VII was romantic and only the male members were platonic. In CS II, you have Rean give a heartfelt speech to Emma after she felt she no longer deserved to be in Class VII, and everyone agreed with him and it was a nice moment of affirmation and nothing more. With how CS III plays out scenes, something would occur to imply Rean is being a ladies man at all times. Emma would blush and everyone would comment on how he was acting towards Emma. 

This bleeds into other aspects more overtime, which I will go into more details at they happen. 

Despite my complaints, the first chapter is pretty solid. You get an idea of many different plots in motion from different groups, including people from Thors having their own agendas. The only thing for me is despite playing all 4 games, there are moments that I am still not quite sure what they are referring to. The main one is Ash talking to Lechter saying things are lining up. I know why they are working closely with Ash due to his important role late into the game, but what all he was really helping with is something I don't grasp or remember really being touched upon. That might be due to how dense the games become with information that keeping up starts to become hard, especially 8 games in.

Finished the first day in Crossbell, and I feel that this really represents the duality of emotions I have when it comes to this game.

With the good, you have the tension of seeing and experiencing Crossbell having been annexed under Erebonia, with Juna as the character to show focus on the complex emotions that come with that. The struggle of coming to terms with the current state of the world, but having that optimism of believing everything will be ok, as her heroes are there to save the day at any moment. In the background, you have Tio and Randy holding up their own facade, knowing what's happening behind the scene and the powers that be making them completely powerless to do anything.

The truth of what is going on crushing Juna's spirit and crying for the return of how things were is a really strong moment. Her grabbing on to Rean makes it work so well, as he represents the duality of everything. He's the hero of Erebonia who she can't come to terms with, as that is the person who helped annex her home state into Erebonia. At the same time, in the past few months he has become her instructor, someone who she does trust to a degree and see's the human, not the hero. It only makes sense to let her frustrations out on him.

Cold Steel 3 really knows how to hit you hard when it wants to, but on the flip side there are frustrating elements that you have to go through as well. This chapters starts hitting you even harder with the whole Rean and the ladies of old Class VII being potential romantic partners, to the point of absurdity where Juna is checking out Alisa after she hugged Rean and is just jealous of everything about her. Add on the whole sister complex thing and the joke that Rean may have had his way with Altina, those parts get annoying real fast and keep coming up.

On a different note, you have the part with Sharon where she tells Rean about her backstory, which she feels the need to since she may at some point no longer be with her. I'm not a fan of the fact that Rean found out such important information before Alisa, since it was established how close the two of them were. I understand that it happens to build suspense in two ways, one which is Sharon potentially going her separate ways. The other being that what would happen with their relationship should Alisa find out. 

All that said, it just adds on to the fact that the game needs to make Rean the one in the center pretty much at all times. There could've been ways to give the information outside of her just telling Rean, but that's the way we got it. I think this would've worked better had the game been straight forward and made Alisa the love interest full stop. Even if not in a relationship at this time, having time to show them growing closer together and Sharon feeling that Rean having this knowledge to help her later to come to terms with it would make sense. As is, Rean is a crush Alisa has on, and their relationship is mostly the same as with his other classmates outside her being more embarrassed showing affection towards him.

I know in some ways it looks like I'm nitpicking, and in truth I am to an extent. However, all these small moments build up overtime, and this game does things in such a way that instead of everything playing out in a way that works for me, it takes on a different meaning and tone. Once again with Rean, I understand he is the central character and the games make him more front and center compared to some of the past characters. All that said, the way I see how everything plays out, it feels like they are making him the center of too much to the detriment of other characters and the story.