To cap off the rest of chapter two, it has a pretty strong finish. I'm a bit iffy on Juna's story involving being saved by Rean when Crossbell was first occupied. It kind of dampens the idea of Juna having to come to terms between the two sides of Rean when she always viewed him as a savior for saving her and her siblings. Her story doesn't get ruined by that aspect, but just adds another character Rean gets centered around in some form.

Obviously with my bias, everything with Olivier is great, especially with his message to Osborne via Lechter. Then you have the reveal of Crow being alive. Once again, minor annoyance here is how quick the characters are to dismiss him being alive. If he was the first one to show up, fair enough. However, Fie's adoptive father who died a few years before Crow is alive and kicking, so the idea that Crow can't be alive is silly. 

Between the end of Crossbell stuff and the start of chapter 3, a slightly bigger problem is becoming more apparent. Cold Steel 3 does a good job of being eventful with lots of plots in motion and big moments interspersed with climatic ends to each chapter. However, as time goes on the amount of people and threads to keep track of becomes a problem.

With Cold Steel 1, you did have multiple groups between the reformists, nobles, and the terrorists. That said, you had the noble faction being the main focus with the terrorists being a questionable group of where they fit in the story. The game did a good job throwing kernels of what was going on the background, while allowing Class VII to deal with their field studies and partake in one aspect of the overall conflict brewing in the country. As time went on some of the dots were connected, and once the big reveal happened everything fell into place pretty easily.

In this game, however, you got Ouroboro's, Osborne's faction, Zephyr, Gnomes aka Black Workshop, other Jaeger groups. When you get to end of game and into next, things are clearer, but you are still tasked to keep in mind all of these people/groups and how they are fitting into the greater conflict. As such, it becomes frustrating when you have all these questions that are piling up, and none of them seem to be answered, and trying to connect them feels nebulous. A big one for me was why Ouroboro's was doing these experiments. I had to look it up at one point after finishing 4 because I couldn't even remember but knowing that and replaying the game, I can see a little more clearly what they were going for.

Another problem with all of this is how it drowns out other aspects of the game. You clearly know Musse is up to something, but she is in the background with her scheme's that you are focusing much more on the bigger things going on. Then when you have most of her screen time hitting on Rean or talking about Rean her character feels like a one trick pony. Ash also gets hurt by this. He is working with Lechter, but what he is doing and why is left up in the air, and most of his screen time is about being a troublemaker of some sorts, dissing people most of the time. All in all, with so much in motion, you don't get much time to breath and the amount of time to develop each aspect is much smaller.

Finishing off with Rean again, the start of chapter 3 is where some of my problems with him prop up as well. I'm more accepting with how his situation with his powers work out. In this game you see how he is more of a liability in his current state, as going all out makes him go berserk and he has to be careful with how he fights, and even with help he only has so much control. It's still a problem how little time we get on screen with certain developments, but there's more than I used to give credit for.

His whole situation with the 8 Leaves style is a whole different matter. I've read posts about the philosophy around it, and I respect those who enjoy this whole aspect of Rean's character. That said, this feels like one of the very few times we get some sort of focus on it. As far as the relationship between him and his master, the letter does a good job of showing that. However, only just now getting some focus shows me how little his swordsmanship is actually important to his character. I understand his style has a philosophy behind it, but the game doesn't do anything to let me get a grasp on it, so it ends up feeling superfluous to his character.

This game is still pretty solid, you can take a lot of individual moments and scenes and they are a treat to enjoy (outside any scene talking about Rean's love life, which is a lot, or the sexual assault performed by Shirley). When trying to connect it all together, it feels messy and less satisfying compared to past games, especially games that are set up for the next game to complete what they started.

Just finished the fight against Aurelia and Victor. While at this time I don't have much to say about the overall story, there is something about experiencing this particular segment that got me thinking.

You have Aurelia, who reached her pinnacle of the sword, but did not find fullfillment in that. She was quick to learn that her path began anew, that with that she had a new purpose to find and fulfill. Looking back on the other sagas, you have people who are considered the top of their class, that everyone looks up to. You have Cassius, Arios, Arianrod, Victor, and at this time in the story Aurelia. While behemoths in their own right, the stories masterfully show that they are still yet human, and that they have a need/want to make way for those behind them.

It's a different experience not only having both old and new class VII on their own paths towards their goals, but seeing in real time someone reach their pinnacle in the middle of the story, and changing their goal as a supporter. You also can have the bonding event with Kurt, where they talk about leaving a legacy, and that everyone leaves their own, big or small.

Despite any complaints I have of the various games, Falcom does one thing pretty consistently. Whether with the main cast or side characters, you see many types of journey's people take, and the impact both big and small they have. Not every character's story can leave an impact on each person, but the variety is enough that you will find something to enjoy in these games. It's because of that even when I am being really hard on one of the games, I can't find myself to hate them, that I still have a soft spot for them even at the worst of times. 

180 hours across the first three Cold Steel games, I am one game away from completing my replay of this franchise. I'll have to look at the other posts for total hours on other games, but this will easily be 500 hours between all of these games. While I am looking forward to Reverie, after CS IV I will need a bit of a breather before going into that one. That will work for the best, as whenever I do finally get to it, hopefully there will at least be some idea of if/when Kuro will be localized.

Cold Steel III at the end of the day is a great experience overall from start to finish. The constant need to shove every lady from Class VII and a few others as potential love interests towards Rean does get tiresome, and there are times where scenes go on for way too long with flashbacks to scenes that feel superfluous. Still, it grips you early on and much like Azure has a way too keep you engaged with constant questions being asked and each chapter having bigger climaxes as you continue through.

As for all the various threads coming together by the end, that's where it gets dicey. On the one hand with Osborne having many conspirators and setting things up in order to start a war with Calvard, that's the one that comes pretty well together. Funneling tax money to bolster their power, taking advantages to defang any potential naysayers with any semblance of power, and allowing Calvardian agents to infiltrate the country as a means to get the common person behind going to war. With having Ash shoot the Emperor with a Verne company gun to get people really enraged.

The other stuff does not fare as well. Having an open mind on the curse, I'm not as down on it as I was before, but I am still not a fan. I get the idea that the curse is something that doesn't cause all of the problems, that human nature will still cause conflict. The idea of two powers clashing to form something even more powerful that in turn perpetuates the cycle started by those two clashing. It gives a more physical manifestation for our heroes to take on, which in itself can lead to a more satisfying climax of fighting off that manifestation. 

At the end of the day, my major problem is how unlike the other stuff I just mentioned, this feels like a sudden twist tacked on late into the saga. You can make the argument that between Claire and Lechter, they talk about how their family situation and have this idea that the people they knew weren't the kind to do such things. Much more so in Lechter's situation, where he outright states his father was a coward, but not a bad person. Perhaps if this story was isolated to just CS III and IV, I could overlook this a little more.

However, there are 7 games of context starting from Sky FC to this point. The games have done an excellent job of showing how people are created by their circumstances. You have someone like Richard who lead an attempted coup due to the trauma of the 100 day war, and that lead him astray to do something he probably wouldn't have done if not for that. You even have CS I and II where certain people behave due to either trauma or the want to keep power. The idea that a curse is a factor to push people into horrifying actions dulls things, as it feels like even without it I can easily see those actions still having taken place. Heck, Erebonia is shown as a military nation and pride is a huge aspect of the populace. Everything before this reveal was making it more as a problem from centuries of their culture and history warping people's perceptions and ideas. The curse being there kind of gives the idea that it will be an easier fix, not something that will take years/decades of hard work disassembling the way of thinking that is ingrained in their country.

Even outside the curse, another problem is that so much stuff is just thrown at you all at once near the end. Stories tend to have those moments where you get certain things thrown at you, but here, it feels like an avalanche of information. At a certain point, my brain gets overwhelmed with everything and it's hard to process everything.

To end of a more positive note, I know there are those who are not fans of the cliffhanger. Personally, it's a brilliant end sequence, especially when compare it to CS 1. In the first game, while it ends with the capital getting taken over and Crow revealing his true colors, there's still a tinge of hope at the end. You have all of Class VII smiling and allowing Rean to escape, the one person who has a chance to change to course of the war.

Here, it goes completely bleak. Rean is overtaken by his ogre power and is the one to unleash the curse. He is detained and now he is one of 6 current active knights, how he can make a difference seems to be questionable. The curse spreads throughout the land, creating the most hostile environment, spreading across the entire empire. Most importantly, the Courageous, with Olivert and Victor, shining lights of hope whenever things seem dire, have been snuffed out. If you want to present despair to the audience, they did that in spades, and even knowing what happens in CS IV doesn't take away how effective it is. 

End of the day, CS III is a game I enjoy 90%+ of the time, and has some great moments. However, some of the end reveals take some of the wind out of it, and while new Class VII as a group is fun, individually most of them leave a lot to be desired. My opinion of the game stays mostly unchanged, mainly just being more lenient on the curse aspect. I'd still put it low on my personal ranking due to the various issues I've previously stated. 

Now the big question is how will I end up enjoying CS IV. By the end of the game, I was pretty unenthused, but perhaps there's a chance that I will find more enjoyment this time around. I'm also in an interesting situation, as I am helping my friend through the game and we just started act 2, so I will be retreading some stuff again already. However, I can absorb everything with all the renewed context and evaluate my feelings from there.

Ok, CS IV Prologue is complete. Opening sections of a game, while not needing to be bombastic or groundbreaking, need to be solid to set the mood for the rest of the game. Doubly so when a direct sequel that is jumping off plot points from the last game. In the past, every trails game has been anywhere from good to solid, but here, it just doesn't get me in the mood.

Those first batch of scenes work well enough, seeing the different areas as two weeks have passed and how you have those enraged and looking for blood, while others are deeply afraid of the blood lust growing around them. However, you then get the section where you get to play as some of the characters from past sagas. As Estelle is my favorite protagonist in this series and probably my favorite ever, I would be lying if I said I wasn't happy to be able to play as her again, even if for a very short segment. However, despite enjoying that, it feels needless when it feels like it doesn't contribute anything at all, story or character wise. It feels like a section put in to grab people who need to be able to play right away before moving on to more of the story.

Then you have the stuff in Eryn village. Seeing how the various characters are taking what just happened was very heartbreaking. Obviously, those like Gaius and Elliot are taking things a little better, where those who lost people closer to them or felt betrayed like Alisa can barely hold on. Then you get to the pep talk by Juna and things just veer off for me completely.

I get what the game is trying to accomplish. In the past 3 games, Rean has been a person pushing through many struggles, and instead of opening up to others about his feelings he suppresses them. While grinning and bearing it, he seeks to support everyone else around him. That eagerness to support everyone makes him the foundation, and with him gone the one person they could all rely upon to talk to and help sort out their feelings is gone. Juna's speech is that now is the time to put aside their worries, that Rean is at his absolute lowest point ever, and it's their turn to return the favor to him.

On paper, that sounds like an amazing thing which would set a great tone to start the game. However, I just can't buy into what it is trying to sell me. I have tried my best to engage with Rean as a character as the game presents him, having read so many things here and elsewhere to prime myself on replaying the game. Despite all of that, Rean is a character that I just can't find myself enjoying much. 

One of the big things is seeing the nightmare in which Juna, Kurt, and Altina are back at school where everything is different and they don't remember Rean. When they go into his room, they remember and it's all supposed to be how important he has become to them as an instructor, guiding them during some of their most formative years. Outside Altina, the game never really sold me on their relationship with Rean being that deep. There was those moments, but it never felt like a huge thing to me.

So when you finally get to the pep talk, where Rean is brought up because he is the one person central to all Class VII old and new, it doesn't resonate with me. In fact, due to how I view the various relationships, it becomes much worse. Where I should be nodding my head at this moment, it becomes a frustrating experience. It feels forced, as if the game is trying to sell that Rean's problems supersede everyone else's problems. He's this swell guy who is so important to everyone in this room, how dare they mope around with their own trauma to deal with. Despite 3 games culminating to this moment where Rean needs their help and it's time to return the favor, it just feels patronizing.

Part of the problem is that some of the wording just doesn't help. I find it utterly bizarre that Juna's thinks that new Class VII knows better than old Class VII is that Rean is suffering right now. Having just talked to all of them prior, they seem to understand the situation, but there is so much to process they can't just think about Rean. Seems like restructuring the speech could've made things go a little better, with Juna talking about how while everyone is sad and confused, now is the time to push on and help Rean out. I still wouldn't buy the bonds between Rean and everyone else being that strong, but I wouldn't be as agitated by the speech.

I understand this is more a me problem, not necessarily a problem with the game itself. Not everyone is going to be satisfied with any character, and my tastes are unique compared to the greater fan base, what with Sky FC being my favorite game of the franchise. That said, with my particular qualms that I have, this game was destined to not grab me, and I have a feeling even with a more open mind, I will still have problems with this game. 

With Rean rescued, it's on to Act 2. Overall, Act 1 is pretty solid, with the rescue as a nice top off to everything.

Much like CS2, while there is a lot of returning to familiar places, you get to see how much things have changed, both with the curse causing many to be more hostile, and the heavy atmosphere of a major war creeping up. Unlike CS 2, here you get a lot more places to explore that weren't shown in CS3, with Crossbell having some of their other areas open for exploration. Throw in New Class VII taking the center stage with Rean out of the picture, it's a nice change of pace.

Most of the big moments with characters showing their resolve or trying to reach out to Ash/Musse worked pretty well. My biggest gripe is using Rean has it worse than you on Ash. Even if it was another character, I would hate the moment, as the whole "someone has it worse than you" as a way to assuage others is just never a great idea to use on anybody. It trivializes that specific person problems and always leaves a bad taste in my mind. Beyond that, everything else was mostly on point. There are aspects of Musse that I have issues with, but I will wait till later to go into more detail about that.

While you move further along and get closer to getting Rean back, the game doesn't back down on how insurmountable the odds seem. You get some moments of triumph against Rutger and Cedric, but when Rufus becomes the final awakener and overwhelms 4 soldats no problem, you are reminded of how small Class VII is in the face of this conflict, and that to overcome they are going to need a large amount of support.

As for the scene with Rean slowly regaining his senses, yeah, it's so cheesy and makes me laugh somewhat. It doesn't help that all these characters are pouring their heart out to reach Rean and I hate how these bonds don't feel that developed, they all feel relatively generic. Despite that, especially when Valimar and Millium show up at the very end as just memories, I can't help but crack a smile. I may not buy into most of these bonds, but the scene with that cheesiness still manages to hit me a little, so at the end of the day I like it.

The unsung hero of the save Rean part for me is Duvalie. The places I've been to she seems to be the but of jokes a lot of times. Personally, she's always been a blast, and the voice actress brings a great performance every game, and I can't help but love this knight who worships her lord, a person she see's as her mother as well. It's because of that her heel turning works so well. Despite their banter she has a deep bond with Ines and Ennea, and having to go against them breaks her heart. An even stronger moment is Arianrhod being pround of Duvalie following her own path, and despite being on opposite sides they both have mutual appreciation of each other. 

One thing that feels really awkward is how the escape wraps up. You have Alberich claiming multiple times their chances of escape get slimmer and slimmer, then suddenly you are just allowed to be let go. With context of the whole story, you can argue that it makes sense they were basically let go. Still, it feels like a section of the scene was missing to make the flow work better.

While missing a lot to make me really love Act 1 and the Rean rescue section, I still enjoy a lot of what it offered. A few other standout moments is Bleublanc making his grand reentrance, anything with Estelle, and Juna grilling Campanella.

After completing Act 2 and finishing the Luna shrine, the game is not swinging into the meat of what the game has to offer. The bulk of Act 2 really feels like fluff, for better or worse. Much like CS II, each day ends with a rescue mission, but this time fighting against former friends and allies. It's neat and you get a number of call backs, but it lacks any real emotionally great moments, and stuff like the main campus students going against Cedric lacks any punch with how sudden it's brought up. 

It's the ending of the act and the follow up where everything is truly loaded in that makes everything so memorable, and where things become very conflicting for me in various ways.

In the past, I found it a bit ridiculous how Mildine, a person who was unknown to even Erebonian nobility was able to gather such a group of important and influential people. It also felt like a convenient way to have forces that match exactly the number the Erebonia has. Another thing is it seemed like she was taking away from Class VII having their impact on bringing these forces together. For the first point, having people like Aurelia and Vita help have her more sway, and as for the third point, it's moot as Class VII and their allies are staunchly against the all out war aspect. 

Still, this part does show how Class VII as a concept has not been executed as well as it could. The game does put into perspective that the hero groups in each saga are one part of the larger picture in play. With Liberl, they went off to the ark while Cassius and others took care of the problems on the ground. The SSS had their goals, which only through joining forces of others allowed them to make it through to the tree while the others stayed back to deal with the aftermath. In the same vein, Class VII is there to fight the true problem, the curse and Osborne directly while two giant forces clash to try and avert total cataclysm. In that regard, there shouldn't be any issues.

However, unlike the other two arcs where it was more character focus across two games where they rally to be the group that takes the main problem head on, Cold Steel early on made a point that Class VII was to become a force to weather the storm and be a third path. At the end of the second game, they split off because they would need to become stronger, gather information, and create a stronger network to take on the force that was Osborne and his ilk. While the expectation would be that Class VII would eventually take on the big wigs, the support they would garner would help them along the way.

Unfortunately, the games have done a poor job of showing Class VII of having an impact, and to me, it feels more like all these people they met come in and carry them. I'm fine with Olivert behind the scenes having his own plans to support the people he put his trust in that they don't know about. Bringing in the wings and return the hope that will dispel the darkness is a great moment. The lack of Class VII having anything in their back pocket to bring to the table just makes the whole concept of their inception feel pointless. Having at least a semblance of information or something to help come up top once in a bad situation would go a long way.

This goes back all the way to the Class VII reunion in Cold Steel 3, whereby the end nothing of note really occurred. It was never expected that they would have the whole picture, but at least having something to show for their time apart would help. Instead, you do stuff and then exposition dumps happen to move the plot forward, with Class VII just acting upon all of that. They could have at least brought up learning about something called the Great Twilight, and even by not knowing everything and shows they learned at least something. Perhaps if I had more investments in the various individual characters this would be less of an issue, but the way everything is executed just leaves a lot to be desired.

One of the problems of course is having so many returning characters and competing love that comes with it. When it comes to the core cast of Cold Steel, at best they are solid with one or two that stand out. In another game by itself, they would be good. However, there's that moment you have so many of the Sky cast back together, a group with so many I hold in high regard, with a story that swept me off my feet. Seeing all of them together, for me it just puts into perspective how all these little things over time just make the Cold Steel arc disappointing in comparison. 

Then comes in the major reveals after beating Roselia in her Holy Beast form. The main part being the truth behind the curse, that it's a being with malice that has been guiding this in the background. It does recontextualize the curse and kind of removes the problem I had with it a little bit. It's not necessarily that a curse has caused every bad thing every in the country. Moreso that many of the major events have been orchestrated in some way to lead to the Great Twilight becoming a reality, and that this being used the weakness of the people, from their desires and dark thoughts, and make events a reality. 

On paper, the idea is actually really neat, and in some ways I found myself liking it. It never really lands because we spent 3.5 games to get to this truth, 100's of hours of story to recontextualize everything. With almost no kernels to follow to this lead up, it doesn't feel like an earned moment of realization, just a dump of info of reveals. Worse so, is how now Osborne as an antagonist is completely sidelined in a sort of way. Since the Sky games, he was a major presence looming in the distance, a terrifying figure to overcome. Now, instead he is just a victim of everything leading to this. In a single game or a duology, this could be great. But with so many games and arcs leading up to this, instead of the satisfaction of taking down Osborne, you have a figure that is introduced late into a 4th game as the one to take down to end this long conflict. It deflates a lot of hype that had been built up to this point.

It's frustrating, because I really want to like what I am seeing, and I do see the appeal. However, all things considered, with the foundation we had before, this just clashes with the expectations previous games built up to. That said, Act 3 at least has my interest, with both Rutger and Arianrhod as the two main people to take on, both who I like a lot. 

Wow, this game is so much shorter when you just stick to the main story and not talk to every single person. My initial playthough was 80 to 90 hours, and I am in the part before the final act starts at around 45 hours. It may also help that I'm reading everything and will skip the voice acting to be complete when I have read the lines.

I know I have had a lot of grievance between 3 and this game, but Act 3 is just solid all around. Before taking on Rutger, you get to wrap up Alisa's stuff, and her and her mother having Sharon come back to them was really well done. Irina is usually very unfazed in her demeanor and speech, but here she cracks a little making it very effective. Professor Schmidt isn't exactly a likable person, but seeing him give that smug bastard Alberich a failing grade is a great moment. Then you have Rutger dying for the second time with his final moment with Fie. It's already a pretty sad scene with Fie barely keeping herself together, but her calling Rutger dad in the very last moments really punched me in the gut. 

The performance in Crossbell just gets me so hard. It's just a fun little moment that you get to watch, and then Bleublanc and Vita just come in to join and I love it. Of course, this is a nice little moment for Sully as well. A kid who came from poverty and hated Illya and the stage, to becoming the center for once and having so many applaud her is a nice moment. 

Then of course is the showdown against Lianne. The build up to this moment has been coming since Azure, where she was first introduced and seemed like an insurmountable foe. Now, she is in a do or die situation, win the Rivalry and continue the journey she has been on alone for over 200 years, or lose and leave the new generation to handle it as she passes on. Everything with her and Duvalie is just great, and it only makes the slap to the face harder when Rufus comes in to finish her off, the coward. Seeing everyone's reaction, including many other Ouroboro's members come to give their respect really shows how powerful her presence was. Her overall time amongst all the games was pretty short, but she always left an impact on me.

Before you get much a chance to absorb what just happened, you get the reveal of the fortress and it's about a day away from war breaking out. Once again, despair starts coming in as the bloodlust is reaching a fervent high, and with Rufus taking the power of Lianne's knight, you feel less at an advantage. 

Finally at the end of the tunnel, beginning the infiltration of the 5 pales. Completed all the quests including the final hidden one, did all trial chests, and got a few other optional things done. Did end up missing one book despite using a guide, though got all of the books to read before playing Reverie sometime later in the future.

Overall, my feeling about this game is still more on the negative side. I'm not as against the idea of the curse and can get behind some of the aspects it was trying to go with. On paper, I can kind of get behind everything that Falcom was going for. Still, execution is severely lacking, whether because this game didn't do enough, or that the build up from other games didn't lend itself well for some of the stuff that happens in this game. Much like CS III, it really doesn't help that this game has a couple sections where everything is thrown at you, and there's a lot in between where you are doing stuff that feels like padding with not much in the way of building up towards the next revelations. 

With the eventide section done, it's time for me to dive into Rean one last time, at least until Reverie. Despite reading so much about him and excited to experience this character that people love, he just does not come across as an interesting character. One of my main issues still is that you have a complicated character like Rean whose character arc spans across 4 games. The first two games do well enough to introduce him, but in 3 and 4 the games are packed with so many things Rean feels relegated to the background. Playing all 4 games in a row over the span of about 2 to 3 months, it's even more apparent that he just did not get the time he needed to truly be his own character, despite so much screen time.

There's also a huge issue of Rean just not feeling like a character most of the time. I understand that part of the reason he's very passive and not the most upfront person is due to his past issues he needs to overcome. That said, there's this very distinct feeling to me that Rean was filed down a lot in order to be more palatable and kind of a self-insert in some ways. This is no more apparent to me than how he interacts with pretty much anyone in his class. While Lloyd was a step down compared to Kevin and Estelle, when it came to his connections between other characters there still seemed to be distinct ways he interacted with each of his teammates. With Rean, I just don't feel like he has any unique connections, especially when you just consider the main story.

He's very affable towards everyone, and tries to support everyone the best he can. While there's no problem with that in of itself, the way he treats everyone the exact same makes interactions feel pretty bland. During bonding events, there can sometimes be unique things happening, or at the very least, you have moments where you can see how Rean might prefer a person over the others due to their interactions. One of the big ones has been Towa, where them both being people to put others ahead of themselves is a common point they can understand each other with. However, outside that one moment it doesn't really have much bearing on how they interact with each other. When considering the Harem aspect, I can see why they wouldn't want to do this even if they have a personal favorite pairing. Having Rean show actual interest towards a specific person would take people out of the fantasy of having so many women pining after him. I still think the one that makes the most sense pairing wise is Crow and Rean.

Back to the whole Eventide section, this is supposed to be Rean's big moment, with him overcoming his biggest fear (his ogre powers/curse), and becoming a Divine Blade. This moment rings so hollow for me, as while I get the vaguest idea of what the philosophy of Void is and how it connects to Rean's arc, once again it's an aspect that is severely undercooked. A few moments here and there touched upon his journey, only to then have him master his form. At least for me, you get a much better payoff shortly after, with Olivert proposing to Scherazard in a very heartwarming scene.

Keeping on the topic of becoming a Divine Blade, another annoyance is how especially with this game, it feels like the whole idea that Rean is just a awesome and talented guy keeps getting pushed onto you. So many scene's will happen, and in some way it feels like Rean has to be mentioned. Case by case basis it feels understandable why it is brought up, but it just happens so much. Then when Cassius shows up, he mentions how Rean supposedly has more potential than even him, and is hoping to master all forms. Have one of the most famous people in the world just drop that to be like "Wow, Rean really is something special". So when Rean master's his form to become a Divine Blade, it feels like another thing to throw onto the pile of making Rean look cool, instead of having him be an actual character.

I really wanted to enjoy Rean, especially after CS I and II which while not a favorite of mine, at least reminded me of his potential. But like so many other things from this saga, the second half overtime burned my good will, and failed to build from the first half and stick a landing. I'm really happy for those who like Rean, but playing through all 4 games, the Rean you talk about just doesn't exist in my eyes. He mostly comes across as a player avatar in the second half with some moments here and there where he feels like his own character, before being drowned out by everything else going on.

Thankfully, I'm at the final stretch. Time to finish this game and wrap up this gigantic series replay.

9 games, 460 hours, and my 7 and a half month journey for replaying the Trails series has finally been completed. 

The start of my journey was what I expected. I always had a love for the Sky trilogy, especially the first one unlike most of the fanbase. So, the start of the journey was always going to be easy for me. Humble beginnings with my favorite protagonist of all time leading up to a conflict putting the entire small Kingdom of Liberl in jeopardy. Topping it off with a third game with another great protagonist with one last hurrah for such a fantastic cast never fails to get me emotional. 

From there, I got to reexperience the turbulent political situation of Crossbell. While the final part of Zero felt a little rushed, in the grand scheme of the duology, Zero is a very well-structured game and a fantastic experience. Azure ups the ante many folds, with a number of great moments of triumph and failure. Overall, it's a great time, where I just don't have as much love compared to the Sky games due to personal preferences and certain things about Azure in particular that make it not reach the same heights for me.

Then came the Cold Steel games. Seeing how I left the saga back in 2020, I was uncertain how I would enjoy these games. CS I and II were a great time, even with the shaky pacing of CS II. Together, they built a solid foundation and executed a great story for the story of Class VII and their eventual struggle against the Noble Alliance. Having been so far removed from those games and having grown since playing them, I have a much greater appreciation for what they did and accomplished.

Cold Steel III was where things did slowly start to fall apart. On a whole, it was a mixed big with some genuinely great moments. However, with the important reveals all happening at the last chapter back-to-back, it gave little room to breathe and felt like the buildup was nonexistent. With this part being more about Osborne's faction, the lack of focus was jarring. This would all come to ahead in Cold Steel 4.

CS 4 did have a solid act 1 with Rean being out of the picture, and all in all, the rescue portion is overall a fun time. Act 2, unfortunately, feels like fluff that was there to give time before once again you have the end of the act and early act 3 as a exposition dump. And while Act 3 is solid from start to finish, after that, nothing really stands out to me, and by the end of the game I feel like I'm just going through the motions. When combining CS 3 and 4 together, it's an exercise in frustration, as there is a number of things that I like spread out through stuff that was underwhelming to say the least.

Despite all that, when the final credits of CS 4 rolled, unlike last time where feelings of empty frustration filled me, this time I felt content. Sure, Cold Steel as a whole left a lot to be desired, but I did come to terms with it and was able to enjoy certain aspects I wasn't able to before. Above all though, this was the end of a journey I started with Sky FC back in January. Being able to do everything in one long playthrough, it was the end of that journey. In the 460 hours across 9 games, sure there was a number of things that I felt could've been better, or wanted to have gone differently. However, the vast majority of time I found myself engrossed and enjoyed myself, having something to think about with what the games were presenting me. 

With everything said, this journey was definitely worth it and I am glad I decided to do it. I definitely never plan on doing this again, only seeing myself replaying the Sky trilogy again in full from time to time and dipping into some of the other games if I ever feel up to it. Doing it this one time did allow me to at least sort all my feelings out for this large saga.

For those of you who have read my thoughts, whether you agree with them or not, I hope you found some enjoyment in what I had to say. It has been fun to type it out to sort everything out. Now it's time to take a break and hopefully by the end of the year get myself into playing Reverie. 

Finally, I will give my top three games of my replay. It's Sky FC>Sky Third>Cold Steel 1.