Eh, I have basically zero confidence in game review sites, that and they got a pre-release version. I wont jump on the Nisa hating bandwagon until after I play myself. I do feel like rpggamer's review wasn't even trying to be objective. I mean it makes basically no mention of the music other than jumping on the singah hate bandwagon, which if you agree with or not, the fact music was mentioned and it was all complaint and nothing else, really? The story is a hot mess? Cold steel has its faults to be sure, but I find it still has a far greater story than basically every other rpg game series that gets a pass for 'epic' stories and I'm sitting here thinking they don't even pass as average to a book I read. Something about the complaint that 'the curse' being a catch-all excuse comes across as probably true though. I'd rather have a mystical mysterious curse have its nature change on convenience than the main villain or something though like other games tend to do. As for Sieg/Zeke, we'll see what gets released, though the name change would be lame. That said I still am not really over the zane/Zin change.
Actually it's weird, every jrpg game has these backseat translator complainers who complain about this b eing a butchery of the translation, and that being a butchery, and even if the original TiTs, FC and SC didn't have that so much, there were s till people complaining about certain lines on occasion, but I never heard anyone say Zane should have been Zin, then one day boom, apparently it should have been Zin all along and nobody seems to have taken issue with it but me? blah.
In all seriousness though, the only reason why I even look at game review sites is generally to try and glean information that they aren't trying to convince me of in the first place. Like if a roguelike game has reviewers go 'baww the rng is so unfair, this game has no strategy, only luck'. I can generally assume that the game will be interesting in the long-term and the reviewer is just bad and doesn't want to learn to git gud =P.
But basically despite liking the previous games in of themselves, all of cold steel was a giant mistake because they feel that 4 didn't sufficiently end the saga well enough. I suppose these people were with gamers when they were complaining about Mass effect 3's ending when the whole pitch of the series was that 3's nature would depend on your actions from the start onwards? Probably not, probably called the gamers entitled and toxic. I mean I suppose I should look and see what that reviewer in particular said but I don't care enough to. Just that the whole platform/site has a bad reputation with me, nothing personal against that individual writer (probably).
Not to sound like a fanboy, lord knows I've been open to criticism for CS2 for example.
I've never been hard on translations. I remember when Persona 5 came out there was a lot of flak and a website that went in on various lines they felt were badly translated. Many of them felt like it was so minor I had to really think about it to even go "I guess it's a little off". I feel like today translations/localizations are the big things that are scrutinized along with graphic/FPS. All those I see people complain about and unless it's really egregious, I can look past it.
I'm not taking the RPGsite completely at face value, because it's one persons opinion and with anything opinions vary wildly, especially with this series. Still, overall the reception has been positive from what I saw, with the main problem consistent with the criticism being pacing and certain plot points falling flat.
I actually agree with the review for the most part. Having finished the story, in retrospect much of the Sen series was, narratively, a waste of time. It didn't develop the issues or characters that needed developing for the climax and many plot threads were introduced before being abandoned or cut off. It's as if FC had spent the entire game chasing the Capua Gang and going into every member's backstory, before abruptly dropping them to focus on the real plot. Hajimari is an improvement, but if Falcom had written out the entire story ahead of time and revised it with appropriate cuts in accordance with their resources, Hajimari wouldn't have been necessary.
(Can't speak to the translation issues, didn't notice any problems with the graphics, and appear to be largely immune to Singa.) Having spent hundreds of hours playing these games my reaction to IV was similar to this reviewer's. It's an honest appraisal by someone very familiar with the game and the series.
Of course there are fans who are equally familiar with the series who loved it. It's a divisive game and everyone will have their own view of it.
Also I did personally mind Zin getting changed to Zane at the time so I was relieved to have it changed back 😉 Still not used to Kloe or Aidios (although it's understandable you couldn't have a character whose name is pronounced Clothes)
Obviously can't remark on the 4th game, but yeah Cold Steel overall had problems properly building up and sticking the landing on a lot of points. Though I think it's less because of waste of time and more too much bloat. I absolutely love the Sky games but I know there are people who think those games have unnecessary elements and could be cut out, which I disagree with. With Cold Steel, it's less me thinking that content needs to be cut and more that there are so many characters and plot points that need to be developed and it fails to do that adequately.
There was a review that mentioned that CS IV gives the full backstory of Emma, a character who has been around since the first game. My feelings aside for any character, the fact that it takes 4 games to get the full backstory of a character who is in the party is ridiculous. Then there's the fact that Reans story takes 4 full games to complete. No character should take 4 full length games to get their story completed, especially when all 4 together add to 3 to 400 hours of game. I love Estelle, but even her story would not be nearly as effective if stretched to that length. So Rean gets all those games and the rest of the characters get small portions of each game that may or may not really contribute to their growth and story.
Of course these games were going to be bloated and have much bigger pacing problems since originally it was supposed to be 2 games and became 4. I know the same ratio can be said about Sky, but throw in how you could finish Sky FC and SC in about 100 hours, about a 3rd of the time to complete the whole Steel saga, the bloat doesn't stand out as much. Of all the reviews I've seen this is the one I'm taking more at face value since it does touch on my own personal problems story wise.
On a different note, NISA really dropping the ball as nobody can preload the game and from Twitter seems like even those in Time Zones that the game is supposed to be released can't download the game. I still have 6 hours before it would unlock for me so hopefully it will be downloadable from there. Still a little weird how there has been no marketing hype for the game, and smaller games they will constantly be talking about on their twitter and posting positive reviews of the game. Makes me afraid that Trails was too much work for them and may pass on doing future games.
Edit.
Well game is supposed to be released at this time and still can't download :(. Thankfully I didn't ask for tonight off it just worked out that way so not a big deal, just hope before going to work again I will have the chance to play a little bit of it.
Hello, I apologize for just sorta jumping into the conversation, but I disagree with stuff in your post and was hoping to discuss it. Also, I apologize for the length of this reply.
Obviously can't remark on the 4th game, but yeah Cold Steel overall had problems properly building up and sticking the landing on a lot of points. Though I think it's less because of waste of time and more too much bloat.
I don't think Cold Steel had many issues with that personally (though I do agree it had some), and I disagree about the games having bloat. Rather I feel that it didn't have enough content. The Erebonia Arc had more numerous development issues than the previous Arcs which combined with the larger scope of the story to inhibit the content Falcom intended to include in each game. The initial issues started and were most severe with CS I's development and it carried over for the remainder of the Arc. Despite CS I having the most severe development issues, I actually feel it was the least effected by them compared to the latter entries.
I absolutely love the Sky games but I know there are people who think those games have unnecessary elements and could be cut out, which I disagree with.
I would also disagree with this. In fact I would argue the opposite and would say it also could've used more content in certain areas (especially in regards to Sky the 3rd), though overall not quite as much as the Cold Steel games.
There was a review that mentioned that CS IV gives the full backstory of Emma, a character who has been around since the first game.
Firstly, I haven't experienced CS IV in awhile so I can't remember for certain just how much backstory Emma ultimately gets in CS IV, but I'm not sure, even if it was a significant amount, I would agree with that statement. For one thing, she has gotten backstory revealed in every CS entry after CS I (and it made sense why she didn't get any in the first game, imo) so I'm not sure learning we get more in CS IV is all that significant (in my opinion), and for another, if I'm not mistaken, she also gets a little bit more revealed about her past in Hajimari so I don't think you can even really say you learned everything about her whole backstory.
My feelings aside for any character, the fact that it takes 4 games to get the full backstory of a character who is in the party is ridiculous.
No it isn't. There is no rule you have to reveal everything about a character after a set amount of time or a certain amount of entries. Putting what feels like an arbitrary time limit on things like that just limits creativity and would prevent long/continuous series (like Trails) from existing in the first place*. It's not done as often in games, but look at almost any other medium with long stories and you'll find works that took a long time to reveal something (especially in regards to written works). For one example, look at a series like Hunter x Hunter, which has been going since 1998 and still hasn't finished. We still have characters whose backstories haven't been fully revealed yet. Granted the story of Hunter x Hunter isn't as long in and of itself, and has at times had long gaps between releases, however I still think it's a fair comparison.
Also, in my opinion, Emma isn't one of very few characters in the series, or one who mandates an immediate explanation of their entire backstory. There are many characters in the series (a lot more if you count any side characters, which I personally would) and they also get development throughout the games. For example, you may not get a lot of development for Emma in CS I, but you do for most of the rest of the characters.
*It also seems even more arbitrary if we're saying it's mostly an issue with Cold Steel for taking 4 games to reveal a playable characters full backstory when it took 3 for many of Sky's cast. There was certainly more we learned about Estelle and Joshua's past, Schera's past, and Kloe's past to name a few. They each had full Doors dedicated to giving more backstory.
I love Estelle, but even her story would not be nearly as effective if stretched to that length.
The main difference between Estelle's and Rean's stories, I would say, is the length of their own personal stories and the length of their involvement in the plot (in connection with the main plot's own length). Estelle's is long enough for 2 games and Rean's is enough for 4. You couldn't fit Estelle's into 4 games as there is too little story and you couldn't fit Rean's into 2 either given there is too much story.
Of course these games were going to be bloated and have much bigger pacing problems since originally it was supposed to be 2 games and became 4.
I disagree with this as well. Both the Liberl and Crossbell Arcs were intended as one game each (you could also say Crossbell wasn't planned at all either) and I wouldn't say there's a bunch of bloat or pacing problems there either. Off the top of my head, the only things I can think of is maybe early into FC where I think they could have had more (low stakes) sub plots or more character driven moments, or in Sky the 3rd where I think having towns be explorable in the Doors would improve the game a little bit. Arguably the first could be considered a pacing issue, but I would argue both are just adding more content.
As an aside, Erebonia might have been initially thought of as two games way in the past, but Kondo has said since that in hindsight they still would have needed at least 3 games.
I know the same ratio can be said about Sky, but throw in how you could finish Sky FC and SC in about 100 hours, about a 3rd of the time to complete the whole Steel saga, the bloat doesn't stand out as much.
But again, the story of the Erebonia Arc is bigger than the Liberl Arc, and with more characters and world-building and storylines going on. And they still couldn't tell it all due to the development issues they had which caused them to have to pull content they intended to be in the games.
The stories also grew as they went along. While we may not have gotten everything they originally intended they also made up for it in other ways, like with New Class VII in CS III/IV and C's Route in Hajimari, neither of which were originally planned and likely wouldn't have happened if things didn't turn out the way they did when developing the Erebonia Arc. We may not have even gotten a Hajimari at all!
If Falcom decided to go back and remake the Erebonia games, I imagine it'd be pretty different then when they thought of it as 2 games, and probably even when thought of as 3. CS I, II, III, IV, and Hajimari are 5 games (100 hour ones as you mentioned) filled with tons of content, and yet there's still content they couldn't fit due to development reasons. Honestly I'm not sure how you could even make it into 3 games. Or why I would want that to be honest. If I had to improve the Erebonia Arc, personally I would do it by improving or adding upon what's already there. Rather than trying to remove anything. I certainly wouldn't want that for Sky either.
Anyway, those are just my own thoughts on the matter. I could try to go into more detail about certain things, if you'd like. Though my memory isn't always the best when it comes to exact details. Also, I hope nothing I wrote came off as rude at all as that certainly isn't my intention. Sorry again for the lengthy reply.
Hey, always enjoy a conversation so no problem. Also, not used to how this particular forum works so not sure how to copy each point to respond to them.
As for backstory, I suppose I chose the wrong framing for my thoughts. You are correct that in something long running it is fine when and if they choose to reveal information about certain characters or anything else. So I concede that point.
A better way to put it, I hope, is more the execution with how and when such information is revealed to us. Emma a lot of times is just my go to for how at times Falcom failed to deliver necessary info and build up to make their moments interesting, with the main problem in CS II being her most relevant info being presented in bonding events, and in III Celine tells us rather than her. To be fair, Crossbell started this trend and also failed to effectively build up some of their characters without those moments as well (Rixia and Noel being the main ones for me). Without knowing the actual context, it was unfair for me to say that such a thing being brought up is unacceptable, and was more irked remembering how it feels like delivery in previous games has been a mixed bag especially when it comes to Emma, at least for me personally.
At this point with Rean, I've talked about my thoughts on him exhaustively and may after finishing this game do one big final post with the saga being done. In the end, it comes down to personal opinion and I disagree that he needed 4 games for his arc. CS III made me like him more mainly since he started to feel like an individual character and less a player avatar, where I and II he felt mostly like a player avatar with some points here and there where he was his own character. It's fine that they decided that Rean needed 4 games to tell his story, but not everyone is going to find that necessary and when you are someone who finds Rean overall a bland character it's really hard to stick with his story for that long.
As for bloat and whether more or less content is needed, I suppose this will always be the dilemma with long running, huge world building stories. With small games that are well loved like Undertale, you can make a compact game and have pacing and everything else come out pretty good. In something like Trails, inevitably opinions are going to vary wildly on what is considered too much or too little. With the Erebonia saga, once you hot three games then after finishing that you knew there was going to be a 4th, some are going to start feeling that the game is taking too long to conclude.
As you said, there were a lot of plot points that needed to be addressed and as such more games/content would be needed. However, at this time saying we needed more content in such long games feels wrong to me. I don't disagree that more content to build up certain aspects was needed, but then that could make the pacing even worse than it already is. Ultimately, Falcom needed a better way of weaving plot and characters through the games, since while plot was generally spread out mostly well, characters suffered a lot with how many they were. For example, Musse gets some stuff late game about her being another person trying to fight against Osborne and becoming the Head of the Cayenne household to facilitate her plans. On the other hand, for the very little time we have for that the rest of it is her harassing Rean. Yes, her story like Emma is more necessary to expand in the next game, but it feels like instead of having a hard on for Rean perhaps there could be more of her using various means to get people to act in her advantage. There was a few of those instances but it was usually more blatant and I never got the feeling she was some kind of genius in manipulations like Rean talked about when confronting her about it. (manipulation isn't quite the right word I'm thinking of, just the idea she behaves to get exactly the right reactions).
Personally, outside of Act II of CSII feeling pretty hollow and needing a lot of revamp in execution, I think if Falcom did a better job weaving their characters through the various story beats to make them feel more present would go a long way. CS III fixed this, at least with the new class VII being small so even if it wasn't their chapter for their arc they still felt present and there was the feeling of a group dynamic. Original class VII however still doesn't feel like a group with being frontloaded with all the characters and despite everything not feeling like a cohesive group.
I hope my points come across well enough. I may write more later but getting close to my sleeping time so sorry if my points weren't clear
Well my Amazon order finally charged my card, didn't say it was shipped yet, estimates it will arrive November 2nd. I hope that's just an overly conservative estimate, I'll die if I don't get it soon, DIE.
Anyway in regards to above. I do think that alot of the people complaining about how much unneccesary dialogue and whatnot is in Cold steel (and/or the rest of trails), are just.. uhh. I get the feeling they just don't really like reading in general. Like they don't like reading books for example, maybe they like watching tv or anime, maybe manga, but probably never enjoy picking up an actual novel and reading it. I do agree that characters like Musse (in cs3 at least) have way too much time spent harassing Rean, and very little actual interesting content, but her rean harassing scenes are generally pretty short and aren't really even 1% of the games being dragged out from 2 games to 4 + haji or whatever.
I too was not happy with Emma after CS1, and yes her group is supposed to be secret, I forgave her by CS2 since she was clearly remorseful and self-aware of that issue. As for backstory, I feel like her backstory is sufficiently expanded upon already. Yeah there are still some unknowns in her past life, but that goes for everyone in every game. I mean just consider how little we know about Zin for example. All we know is his relationship with his former colleagues in martial arts. Schera too has very little info on her backstory beyond being part of the wandering troupe. Heck we don't even know about the CONTINENT she was born on yet, or how(and why) she traveled from it to Zemuria just to end up in a slum.
I haven't played CS4 yet, but about the large cast, I can sort of see one issue I have with many games (not just trails)... That's the whole major boss fight or something and every character has to spew some kind of 1 liner before battle that don't seem particularly relevant to the story but is just tacked on like they NEED to say something. I think you can get by with just the general pump-up speech by one character (protagonist, or maybe that boss' most relevant rival or something), and everyone else going 'yeah', or something =P. But again, I don't think that's dragging the game out.
I mean cold steel does take a long time, but that's because I generally enjoy going around and talking to all the npcs more than other trails games just because I find it easier to recognize them and such. Heck, I'm replaying CS3 right now now that I have a working tv again in anticipation for 4, and I just got to crossbell, and I bumped into Bond. I knew from where he lived that he was the guy in AO who gets caught up in the main plot, and whose daughter's cat you rescue and all that, but I never realized that he is the same guy whose suitcase you find and correct in Himdallr in CS1 (or was it 2?). I like talking to npcs in cold steel because they are more memorable and recognizable. Despite being one of the few npcs I went out of my way to talk to in Crossbell, it never occurred to me his name was bond and he was that guy, but the second I spoke to him in CS3 (the 2nd time), I was like ohmygosh, it's him. Not that it's a super important connection but it's just one I enjoy.
Point is I think alot of the time in CS is all the non-vital content. If you skipped to the main story and subquests only, I kinda doubt they would feel very bloated at all IMO. Of course the games tend to punish you for NOT doing this with the book collecting and stuff..
Anyway I think the game's storytelling style isn't messy or bloated or whatever, it's just more for people who want storytelling styled more like reading a novel, but lots of players want it to be like watching an anime I guess.
The suitcase quest is in CS1 Heimdallr. But yeah, Bond and his daughter are one of the more memorable NPCs in Trails. Sunita is one of the biggest daddy's girls ever and it's nice to watch her hit the books in subsequent Cold Steel titles, because she wants to become an amazing stock broker like her papa. 🙂
@Cold_Steel_IV, @TrailsofPersona
To give my own two cents about the narrative issues of the CS arc, I have to agree with both of you. The CS arc feels bloated at certain points but at the same time lacks content in other areas. And I think both problems ultimately stem from the same core issue: a fixation of four 100-hours JRPG goodness on a single main character. This doesn't mean that I dislike Rean. On the contrary. While I had a bad first impression of him, he ends up being the Trails protagonist I empathize the most with. Instead, the problem is that any single POV character, no matter how great, is simply incapable of carrying the kind of story that the Erebonian Arc grows into.
It's ironic really, because one of the core messages of all Trails games is the importance of human bonds and human cooperation, how any single person is powerless in the face of Zemuria's 'turbulent times', but at the core gameplay level, Falcom still sticks to the true-and-tried formula of probably 99% of all videogame RPGs trying to tell the story through the lens of a single main character. (Occasional stints like CS2 Divertissement nonwithstanding)
The intricate worldbuilding and interconnected character relationships (and the backstabbing) in the Trails series has grown to the point that people compare it to sprawling fantasy epics like Song of Ice and Fire, the Malazan Book of the Fallen or Sanderson's Cosmere series, which all happen to be long running door-stopper fantasy novels. And these novels all utilize a simple but effective narrative technique that the Trails series, especially future installments, would greatly benefit from: rotating 3rd person limited.
In a way, Hajimari already experimented with this idea by introducing the Cross-Story system, but I think this approach doesn't work very well for the first game of an arc, where we are introduced to an entirely new set of characters. Though once the second game hits and characters from previous arcs get involved, the Cross Story system is useful in mitigating cast bloat. But rotating 3rd person limited can be done even within a core cast, especially if they are bigger (like OG Class VII) by switching the POV between chapters or locations. The playable characters are still (mostly) kept together, but the lens with which players experience the world switches. In a Trails game, this could manifest in numerous ways.
- The NPCs mainly respond to the current main character and he/she is the one where most of the inner dialogue/snark is displayed.
- Depending on the location/situation/main plot conflict, like the various field studies in the CS arc(Nord=Gaius or Roer=Alisa), the appropriate player character from the core cast is put in charge which is enforced by gameplay, character selection and the way the story quests are conveyed.
- If bonding events still exist in future arcs, the focal point of said bonding events can be changed between different POVs. Depending on cast size, the amount of POVs cannot be too big (three for example), but a situation like in the Cold Steel arc, when 10 OG Class VII members plus Sara/Towa/Alfin/Elise plus 5 New Class VII members all orbit around Rean is simply not the way group dynamics work in real life. Distributing the burden of 'leadership' on three comparably charismatic characters out of a 10-12 person cast, each of whom build their own little clique with relationship overlaps and intergroup dynamics could make for a more interesting and also more believable core cast even if it's on the bigger side. Of course Trails could also go the Fire Emblem way and let everybody bond with everybody.
There is of course another solution, namely reducing the cast size, but I think this is unfeasible for future arcs for numerous reasons. The world building is only going to become bigger and more intricate in the future. Calvard has been touted as Erebonia's equal for 10 games now, hinted to be a nation with complex politics, culture clashes due to the immigration issue and more mafias/secret societies than Estelle could shake her stick at. A small cast simply can't represent all the facets of such a complex and large nation. Then there's Falcom's core message of human cooperation and considering the way each arc's main conflict becomes successively more difficult to solve, it stands to reason that more awesome characters need to cooperate together. Different than most RPGs, when it's either the protagonist or at most the party who save the entire world, Trails emphasizes repeatedly that even saving a single nation requires the help of lots and lots of people. And they are not shy of showing that.
Hmm, I do think the games put too much emphasis on Rean rather than spreading the focus around on the entire cast. I know we have some die hard rean fans, but I still think he's just not t hat great a character compared to a lot of the cast. I mean don't get me wrong, I still think he's perfectly fine, but He's no Estelle, and I personally have a major distaste for JRPG protagonists having 'chosen-one', or 'hidden power' elements. I'd probably be less opposed to them if it was more core to the character though... Like something they actively used regularly instead of something of a only when serious situation, this way it wouldn't seem like a cheat button but instead is more like 'I'm different, deal with it'.
As a whole though I still think these are elements to CS that aren't ideal or perfect, but are not even close to dragging the game down as a whole for me personally... Well, Rean doesn't drag the game down, but I do think that he prevents it from being omg amazing like Estelle does for sky IMO. Err, the games are still amazing to me, just, not as much as sky =P.
Honestly though, after playing the crossbell games, I definitely do like sky more still, though Crossbell was cool with its main cast of 4ish (for dialogue I mean). I wonder if Falcom felt that 4 protagonists was a kind of sweet spot after trying cold steel some when they kinda did that with cold steel 3, and seems like they kinda sorta do that with hajimari based on what I can see (I know it changes around, but I mean C's party seems to be 4 mainly, and then you get the SSS back again, I mean it has noel and Wazy, but still, can't get rid of characters and it's still pretty close to that number).
I still think he's perfectly fine, but He's no Estelle, and I personally have a major distaste for JRPG protagonists having 'chosen-one', or 'hidden power' elements. I'd probably be less opposed to them if it was more core to the character though... Like something they actively used regularly instead of something of a only when serious situation, this way it wouldn't seem like a cheat button but instead is more like 'I'm different, deal with it'.
The whole 'chosen-one' and 'hidden power' shtick so often seen in JRPGs or Light Novels is exactly the reason why Rean made such a bad first impression on me. I'm probaby as allergic to these tropes as you, but the way I interpret Falcom's narrative treatment of him, he was written to be something of an anti-chosen-one.
Basically, both his gigantic robot and his Ogre power end up screwing his life over far more than they ever help him out. Combined with his self-sacrificing nature, he allows himself to get dragged into conflict after conflict until he bites off more than he can chew... which leads to very nasty repercussions - case in point, CS3 ending. And I also get the impression that him being treated as the chosen one even by his classmates is actually detrimental to him.
Now whether this whole anti-chosen-one was well conveyed by the CS narrative or whether I'm simply reading too much into it is another question entirely. It's nothing more than an interpretation.
The whole 'chosen one' thing with Rean is more interesting than a straight example of the trope, especially once CS4 is over.
More importantly perhaps, he wasn't 'chosen' to fill the role he occupied at the end, that was Osborne looking at everything he knew about Ishmelga and about Rean, realizing there was a third option that Rean and only Rean could pull off and subtly steering events to encourage him to be the one to win the final Rivalry, all while preventing Ishmelga from realizing just where he was going with the planning.
In that sense he's chosen... by Osborne, rather than by destiny, Aidios or anything like that. And as the two endings indicate, the difference between the Rean who could take that third option and the Rean who couldn't was slim indeed.
<Goes back to waiting for the package to arrive>
Woo, they finally fixed the problem so game is downloading and I will be able to start later once I wake up before going to work!
To finish my thoughts on my problems, a lot of it comes down to personal taste and just small things adding up. Cold Steel is by no means bad, it's overall pretty good. There's just so many small things here in there that while not a huge problem overall can sour my view in certain ways, and when compared to what really shined for me in Sky, it falls short. My main problem being characters don't feel as developed and get pay off, and that with so many different plot threads some just don't stick the landing and can feel a bit more out of nowhere.
No matter how much I may criticize certain aspects of certain arcs and perhaps can be a bit too negative at times, I will always applaud Falcom for undertaking such a herculean project that is the Kiseki universe. Making such a large world across so many games and console generations that works so well is a testament to their abilities. It's also making a niche series out of a niche genre and I have nothing but respect for the passion they have to make such a realized world that no matter how I feel about certain aspects, I keep coming back to because of how well they pulled me in.
Now I will set aside criticisms and enjoy the final entry of this 4 game saga. I will post my thoughts on events as I play through, as even with knowing some of the bigger plot elements much like III there will still be plenty of juicy details to savor, and the context will make things even better. Ciao.
If there are any localization hills I’m willing to die on, it’s:
If there are any localization hills I’m willing to die on, it’s:
SpoilerAo+Sen IVChanging Mystic Core to Thaumaturgical Sector and removing the East reference from Jusis’s line before the rivalry with Crow. The first implies a connection with the church that straight up doesn’t exist and the second well removes one of the biggest East foreshadowings we’ve had.
People are already that far into the game? Well, I'll probably play on Easy and just power on through the story once my copy arrives since I've already done it 'properly' twice and after Hajimari I could use a break from having to think about the mechanics for a while.
Also, I should probably look up that second reference in more detail... I'd almost forgotten it was even a thing. Once again, I blame Hajimari. ;p
Well life stuff happened so as soon as I got into the first playable section I had to stop. That said.
I knew going in they were the first playable group, but I was surprised with how many of the old Thors students that weren't shown in III just show up, plus all those Crossbell characters that weren't in III.
