@Ayn and anyond that did CS2's prologue:
Spoiler: show
@Ayn and anyond that did CS2's prologue:
Spoiler: show
Please tell me I can wife Sara.
Oh? What brought that on?
I think this is my favorite song on the Cold Steel II OST, although there are many others that I like almost just as much
The Intermission has 100% been the best part of the game so far, I'm on Act 2 Part 2 now. I think the game is better than Trails in the Sky SC personally, but I know a lot of people will disagree with that.
I'm sorry but I am literally about to end this game and do not feel these games will even come close to Trails FC and SC, there better be something good at the end or I absolutely feel ripped off. The C fight was a joke compared to Loewe, and don't even get me started on how that entire stupid ass incident ended and how they skipped out on showing all the fun events post incident that I actually wanted to see (Rean pretty much mocks you and says it would take hours and we wouldn't want to see that) and go to straight to the shitty ass school event I honestly don't give a flying fuck about! Going straight to the old school house, I am pretty disappointed in this game. Why do they show so many fucking random things and explain NOTHING!? Worst of all, I feel no connection with any characters at all and the game is about to end. It's annoying and I better get some answers or I am not looking forward to CSII at all.
Spoiler: show
Good thing the game isn't over yet. You're going to feel silly when it is. Also I don't know why you'd expect every question to be answered in the first game of a trilogy. Just chill bruh, there wasn't even a plot until the last few minutes of FC
Praying to Aidios you are right, because I am going to feel even more silly playing through this for nothing! I hope I feel absolutely borderline mentally retarded at the end. You're right about the plot but at least in FC I had already liked some of the cast by the time the end came around, and shit went down, not just the ending.
Not every question of course, but at least rather than it being sloppily swept under the rug for the thousandth time. I just really dislike this plot and most characters in this game, I am sorry. I don't know what else to tell you all. I hope the ending clearly effects me as much as it has all of you, because I don't know what kind of shit you guys were smoking, but I need to get myself some of that.
The game is really dragging it's ass with this dumb school event, I just want it to be over already but can't even seem to figure out how to get the day to advance, so I am stuck now. I fucking hate this.
Edit: Finally got past this extremely annoying event. Maybe something good will finally happen now.
Double Edit: Oh let me guess because EMMA has to be taken and doesn't seem surprised at all, she knows EVERYTHING right? I don't use her and the game forces you to take her when I don't want anything to do with this two faced liar, everyone else has been real and upfront with Rean except her shady ass.
Hmm, I dunno, I think part of what I appreciated (and I'm also being more conscious about it in CSII) is taking the time to talk to *everyone* (something I learned from the Ys games, due to the sheer amount of dialogue); so I liked the NPCs as well, and a few throwbacks to FC/SC, like the Anton/Ricky quest.
Also after playing FC, the pacing and things not being answered didn't bug me as much because I figured (as my earlier post mentioned), it was a large set up for something later. The pacing of FC was actually like that if you think about it; a good chunk of the game was Estelle and Joshua getting their braces quals while meeting people along the way (..field studies anyone), with larger plot points becoming more apparent at the end (Richard's coup, Ouroboros).
Also uh, while we can empathize with it man, you also have to keep in mind most of the people here finished FC *years* ago and had the agonizing wait for SC, so maybe we're a bit more patient.
To me it's all about the characters, the NPC's can go diaf.
CASE and POINT:
Spoiler: show
dot dot dot.
That's my point I am trying to get across here. It doesn't matter how OMG amazing the end is, what does it matter if I don't even give a shit about these characters at all?
Anyway I am not going to kill myself trying to finish CS1, especially after finding out it's only worth playing for the very very end. I am on the final dungeon and I will post my thoughts when I finish this horseshit at my pace.
The "villains" in this game were just... /facepalm. That was like shit tier quality as it gets. The fact that the story seems to be slipping away from the Aidios and holy relics storyline is also kind of lame. If anything that aspect of the storyline intrigued me the most.
No wonder people regard the Crossbell games as the best in the entire series, they fucking go neck deep into that shit.
Did you guys know that everyone pretty much agrees that Ao/Zero are the best in the series? Apparently even the fanboys in NeoGaf that probably don't even read Japanese and played through it. It's crazy to think even after CS people still hold to that, but I believe it. Those games look way more interesting to me.
Also I notice no one in here talking about CS2 past the prologue, that can't be good. Trails SC also had a very slow start after that epic prologue, so I hope they handle it a bit better.
Different strokes for different folks. For me it's about the world in its entirety, so while it can be tedious, I actually do appreciate the NPCs; especially when they recognize characters and reference things from the previous games: Whether it's reacting to Rean, or reacting to Estelle after she's become a bracer.
Yeah, I know the Crossbell games are regarded as the best in the series, but until we get them I'm trying not to read too much into them.
As a whole honestly, the only characters that bugged me were Emma (and CSII puts a bit more of that into context) and Laura (while not BAD, just some of the stuff she got kinda pouty about). But again, I think part of that comes from seeing them in relation to their surroundings: I talked to everyone in Bareahard, so that gave me more depth to Jusis's character; same for Machias/Elliot in Heimdallr, or Laura in Legram (where everyone seemed to have a lesbian crush on her).
..And I don't think Corr and the others are talking much about CSII right now because they're either in the middle of playing it, or in my case, somewhat busy with work (I'm again, taking my sweet time with it).
Either way, it's cool that you don't like the game (there are valid criticisms of it), but the rest of us did enjoy it. For me, I just see a lot of the little touches (which were also evident in the first trilogy) that make me really appreciate what went into the game.
The overall writing and NPC's are nowhere near as well written as FC and SC, so I just skipped a lot of that.
Spoiler: show
After I just said I would never EVER give a game a day one pass again just because I think it's going to be good. I didn't buy No Man's Sky, but I will feel just as foolish if I don't feel anything when I see this notorious ending that will apparently change everything I think about this game. Ok no more replies until I finish. Later on.
Wrapping up Final Chapter:
Spoiler: show
Cold Steel Ending (in progress)
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Hehehhe. Told ya the ending dropped a bombshell.
By the way, on the game's website, they translated the drama CD from the first game that happens between the end of Chapter 6 and the concert:
Good read.
http://www.trailsofcoldsteel.com/cs2/memoirs1.html
YES, goddammit lol I was so upset that they just skipped all that!
I am seriously in the crosshairs of the end, but one last fight to watch and I will end it. I have like 4-5 beers in me as well, so maybe this was meant to be?
Final Thoughts:
Spoiler: show
If I had to review and rate this game tl;dr based on dime scores:
Story 8/10 - Story overall was pretty entertaining when you look at the big picture of how things are by the end of CS. I will admit it has my attention with that ending but it was nowhere near as good as people claimed it to be. The way things wrap up does give me a little hope for the sequel which I am going to start immediately as soon as I finish typing this.
Characters 3/10 - Counting Fie, Rean and Elliot as the only characters I actually kind of liked, and since there are 10 main playable characters. The characters that inhabit this world just did not leave an impression on me much so that is not a good sign at all. The parental issues they all seem to have are completely ridiculous, and I get that it's set in a fictional fantasy world and that's to be expected. I think having a cast of interesting adults and even a child from insanely different walks of life was what really got me vested in TiTs. Going from that to seeing a bunch spoiled little brats get special treatment because of who their parents are and the things that irked them or issues they had were extremely lame and nowhere near as complex or well written as the original cast. I know it's unfair to keep comparing it to the original but it's the only other series of games out here.
Gameplay 10/10 - Gameplay was on point, I enjoyed it even more than the original games. The Links, Burst attacks and the option to skip battle animations were welcomed with open arms though I did tend to let a lot more S-Crafts go off than I want to admit. I loved how all my favorite old spells got their visual upgrades and some new amazing ones spawned as well. The direction this game play is going I know is at least secure. I am in love!
Music 10/10 - Hah was it even a question? It's FALCOM Team JDK! The soundtrack was unbelievably amazing at some points, but most of the field and dungeon themes really weren't as good as FC+SC but weren't bad. Tracks like Exceed, Belief, all the battle themes and the final dungeon theme was incredible, pure ear ecstacy. It's really up there with FC's epic final dungeon remix of all the best tracks in the game.
I'm yet to play cs2 but I guess you should notice that most of the time you're comparing the experience from two games with one game, SC adds a lot to the characters story etc. Wonder how CS2 will fare in this department
Also, I think the reason that so many of us were more floored by CS1's finale than FC's:
Spoiler: show
I can tell you that the characters are significantly less insufferable in CS2, Rean shares many parallels with late SC Estelle and I actually kind of like him now. While some of them don't necessarily don't get more "development", they definitely do become way way way way way less annoying (with the exception of Jusis and Machias's weird angsty yaoi love thing going, but even they have a mutual respect for each other so it's less obnoxious.)
I more or less agree with your final assessment of the game except I'd rate the characters less harshly, mostly thanks to Sara/Sharon/Crow (p.s. fuck you for hating on Sharon and Claire.)
Spoiler: show
Anyway, I'm glad you're done the game. CS2 improves on CS1 much like SC does on FC. Everything about the game is vastly superior to its predecessor, although it does have moments where it drags on (but so does SC, chapter 7 anyone???) So far Part 2 has been the most disappointing part of the game just because the travelling becomes more open ended and at times I feel bogged down when I just wanna follow a linear story. Part 1 and the Intermission had some insanely hype parts which Part 2 hasn't delivered on yet, but I imagine it'll start coming soon.